Chapter 55: The Oath

A life-and-death struggle unfolded within the cavern as heaven and earth inverted. The warriors pressed against the ceiling were subjected to multiplied gravitational pressure.

"This is still just the probing phase, and we can barely stand. How are we supposed to fight when this thing is looking down at us from above?"

Feeling the excessive weight pressing down on his entire body, particularly his spine, Leon gritted his teeth, supported himself on all fours, and tried to stand up.

Yes, even at this very moment, Leon and his group were merely launching tentative attacks against a formidable enemy while ensuring their own safety.

Probing the opponent's combat style, testing their abilities, and searching for any potential flaws and weaknesses—adjusting one's tactics based on gathered intelligence was standard textbook strategy.

Yet, this single "Gravity Authority" alone was more than the knight squad could handle.

The sense of up and down had already been scrambled, and the feeling of being pinned to the ceiling was utterly agonizing.

Movement was difficult, let alone fighting!

Leon was in the best condition. He looked up to confirm that Maria was still standing in the same spot, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Upside down in his field of vision, the patterns on her body emitted a bizarre radiance as she simply smiled back at him.

That forged smile seemed to mock them: *Those of you who are not strong enough do not even have the qualifications to touch me.*

Leon, however, focused more on the fact that the inversion and doubling of gravity originated from her as the core.

It seemed she could not move freely either after using this power. That was understandable, as she was the center of the gravitational field. Given her habits, if his side had revealed such a massive opening, she should have already begun hunting them.

"Ahhh!" A female scream pierced through the air from behind Leon.

Talia had already been pressed deep into the ceiling. The excessive gravity immobilized her already injured body, causing her wounds to tear open continuously while her muscles and bones emitted agonizing groans at the same time.

Diemon, who was beside her, was in a much better state and had even begun struggling to stand up, attempting to help Talia.

"Why is there differential treatment?! No, this doesn't make sense. Even injured, Talia is far stronger than Diemon; she shouldn't be in the worst condition."

Leon acutely realized that the reason behind this disparity might be the key to overcoming this ability.

He was in the best condition, followed by Diemon, while Talia suffered multiple times the damage. Yet in terms of overall physical build, Talia was undoubtedly first. Without heavy equipment, she should have borne the least pressure, and her physical resilience should have made her the most durable.

"Resistance... All abilities come down to resistance. This isn't a true World Authority!"

Leon figured it out. Just as he had once roared away a spell through sheer force, a Paladin's greatest advantage was being an "all-purpose canned warrior"—a class inherently possessing high resistance against various abilities.

Diemon was a Vow Knight, and Leon himself carried the lingering aftermath of Su'er's vow, placing them among the Paladins with the highest innate resistance—so high it was almost absurd even by Paladin standards.

"Boom!"

Leon was the first to stand up. His resistance was undoubtedly the highest.

Even so, his heavy armor became a burden, and the multiplied gravity caused him extreme discomfort.

"She... cannot hold on much longer."

The sound of cracking bones echoed from behind him, and blood had already soaked the ground. Talia, primarily an agility-based fighter, saw her wounds deteriorating rapidly.

She struggled in a vain attempt to get up, but the result was that her spine endured even greater pressure. The continuous snapping sounds of fractures made one wonder how she could even move at all.

Coughing up mouthfuls of blood, she had already been reduced to a bloodied figure, yet she still stubbornly persisted.

This was the genuine power of this evil ability; one could not compare ordinary extraordinary beings with the resistance of Vow Knights.

"Don't move! I'll help you!"

Leon took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and stood fully erect.

The top priority remained preserving the lives of his companions.

However, the moment he moved, he was once again battered by multiplied pressure. He glared fiercely at Maria, who was still smiling, but found himself powerless.

Even his throwing daggers had simply dropped straight down onto the ceiling.

"Crack."

With the slightest movement, he heard the sound of his own bones fracturing internally—hardly a pleasant sensation.

Would he have to use the Soul Settlement and switch to the next heroic soul? From the very beginning, Leon had felt this was not a good idea.

Stability and controllability were always the top priorities on the battlefield.

Leon could not guarantee that after the settlement, he would immediately be able to draw another heroic soul, nor that the one drawn would happen to be useful in this specific situation... After all, no matter how powerful a heroic soul was, it still utilized his own physical body, and moreover, some heroic souls were likely spellcasters or even unsuited for combat.

In a desperate situation with no other options, one had to bite the bullet and gamble. But as long as there were other possibilities on the table, one shouldn't resort to a wild gamble. Leon had no desire to become the next Hero!

He only had one life; he truly could not afford to gamble with it!

***

"Is there any way to increase resistance, even just a little bit..."

Whether they could break through the enemy's defenses was the difference between heaven and earth, and Leon felt he was standing right on that critical threshold.

After taking a single step, Leon already felt a deep, bone-deep exhaustion.

Yet when his gaze shifted ahead to Diemon, who was helping Talia, a sudden realization struck him.

*So, the answer has been right by my side all along.*

"I vow..."

The calm words represented a realization born from the depths of his heart.

Although he possessed the rank of a Vow Knight, Leon was not a Vow Knight; Su'er was.

This was within the scope of the plan, as Leon should have been able to acquire Paladin powers following the Soul Settlement anyway.

Yet he had never intended to serve any deity.

Becoming a Vow Knight to self-generate holy power had always been his only option. In truth, he had already thought out his vows long ago.

At this very moment, however, he hesitated slightly.

It was not hesitation over whether to take this step early...

"Would the vows I prepared previously still be sufficient...?"

Leon had not originally intended to specialize as a Paladin, and thus he did not want his vows to bind him too restrictively.

The vows he had selected were broad, imposing light restraints and exacting low costs—self-imposed boundaries that his personality could easily accept.

Yet stronger vows granted greater blessings. Diemon's vow of (Life and Death) was his foundation for fighting above his weight class, while Larry's vow merely served as a supplement to her power.

Neither was inherently superior; it depended only on whether it suited them, and whether they were willing to sacrifice everything for their vow...

"...What suits me is best." This was the lesson imparted by Knight Su'er.

A person cannot deceive themselves.

Not everyone is suited for asceticism; only a "promise" born from the bottom of one's heart can be fulfilled for a lifetime.

Without that level of enlightenment, the vow would not even form.

Shaking his head, he decided to proceed with the vows he had previously determined.

"I vow that I will fight for those who love me, and for those I love."

Seemingly plain words encapsulated the resolute determination to fulfill them for a lifetime.

Having uttered his vow, he stepped forward step by step, heading toward Talia, who lay back in a pool of blood and was completely immobilized.

Leon was not a "saint" like Su'er; he could not make a vow to fight for all the weak in the world.

However, for the people around him, for his family, for those he loved and those who loved him, Leon was fully capable of putting everything on the line.

The vow was established. He felt that he had indeed grown somewhat lighter; his path was the correct one.

"Don't worry, I'm here..." Lifting the woman up, Leon tried to carry her out.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the pressure increased once more, causing Talia to cough up a mouthful of blood.

Leon glared fiercely at Maria behind him, gritted his teeth, picked up his companion to retreat, and used his own body to shield her from the pressure...

"I vow..." The second vow was activated as well. Leon needed even higher resistance.

In Leon's previous considerations, this vow needed to align with his morals and bottom line as an Earthling, and perhaps even offer him some practical utility.

"...I will keep my promises and fulfill my own words and vows."

To Leon, integrity was the foundation of human character. He utterly despised those who lacked integrity, making this a vow he could wholeheartedly accept.

Looking at the long term, "keeping one's word" was also an excellent personal label.

In future interpersonal interactions, it could serve as a displayed signboard to earn the trust of others more quickly.

Moreover, taking a step back, keeping one's word did not mean one could not deceive.

On the contrary, if one truly wished to deceive someone, "keeping one's promise" actually acted as a positive buff—depending entirely on the skill of the deceiver. Deception did not require breaking oaths; making people trust you made it all the easier to lead opponents into the abyss.

"Boom!"

Leon dropped to one knee. This time, the vow succeeded, but the pressure he bore grew even heavier.

Among knightly vows, this second vow was far too fragile, and its enhancement was clearly insufficient.

A third vow? Leon held even less hope, but he could no longer stop.

There was an unwritten rule among knightly vows: two choices for oneself, and one used to "make a grand aspiration."

Fighting for justice, fighting for the kingdom, fighting for the law, fighting for fairness, and so on.

Broad and enduring righteousness made for a lasting path in life, as well as an evolving vow that grew and fed back based on individual achievements.

Naturally weak in the early stages, it might or might not become powerful later depending on personal accomplishment.

Many knights treated it merely as a filler vow, picking one they were confident they would never break.

"For justice..." Leon shook his head. He could not guarantee that all heroic souls were just.

In fact, he was certain that among them were quite a few scoundrels, and breaking an oath inexplicably when that happened would not be funny at all.

The third vow he had prepared beforehand was actually a rather subtle thing.

"Fight for humanity." This was a vow derived from the final page of the Heroic Soul Compendium [Ultimate Quest: Find Humanity].

Since this was the ultimate goal of the Heroic Soul Compendium, using it as a vow should be correct, right? In a world without true humans, fighting for humanity—could there be any vow more broad and impossible to break than this?

Though it would most likely grant zero bonus, as long as it imposed no restrictions, it was acceptable to Leon, who had no intention of specializing in the Paladin path.

Pondering for a moment, Leon still could not think of a better vow at this juncture, and he could no longer turn back from this path.

"Clack!"

Clutching the unconscious Talia, Leon drew closer to the cave entrance.

"I vow, for humanity..." Halfway through his words, the gravity, suddenly intensifying once more, made every step an agonizing struggle.

He snapped his head back, glaring at that entity that had completely lost its humanity.

If it was a creature like this, no matter which version of himself he was, as long as he remained "Li Ensu," a normal person hailing from Earth, he would draw his sword without a single hesitation.

"...I vow, to fight to the death for humanity, and for the moral baseline of human nature!"

His calm words were a vow to himself, an aspiration longing for change, a commitment to the world and its history.

Originally, he had thought that once this vow was established, nothing would change.

It was simply too broad. Even with the addition of the declaration to fight "for the moral baseline of human nature," it could not compare to something practical like "punishing evil-doers"... Many extreme criminals could not even be said to possess a human moral baseline.

Perhaps in his view, this was far too light an oath.

Yet vows originated from the heart and could not be faked.

These were the limits of the lifelong commitments he was capable of making and bound to uphold.

"Huh?!"

When the light of the vow finally descended, however, he was dumbfounded.

The light overflowed directly from his physical body, filling him with a seemingly inexhaustible well of power.

Not only had this vow been recognized by his own heart, it had been recognized by the world itself!

It seemed that, quite unintentionally, he had made a rather extraordinary vow?!

Perhaps a long time from now, he would come to understand what "fighting for humanity" and "fighting for human nature" truly meant.

He did not even realize that his second vow—"I will definitely keep my word"—had once again reinforced the vast origin of the third vow, completing a so-called dual vow.

That meant even greater feedback, but also stricter constraints, and a far more brutal price for oath-breakers!

Right now, however, he simply rejoiced that his resistance had once more vastly increased. The power welling from his heart allowed him to successfully rescue his companion.

Finally, carrying Talia in one arm and dragging Diemon with the other, he walked out of that gravity-inverted cavern.

Then, Leon stepped back into that hellish scene once more.

Paladin Leon drew his sword once again to strike down evil.

This time, he was a true Paladin.

"Die, soulless corpse!"

Enduring the bone-crushing pressure, Leon stepped forward, stride by stride. This time, both sides stood once again upon the same stage.

No fancy tricks, no clever maneuvers. Facing the World Authority, only the strong could endure, and only the victor could survive.

"This evil deserves to end right here."

The swung holy sword tore through the restrictions of the gravitational field and slashed fiercely toward Maria.