Grandmaster and a knight - chapter 4
The next day, in the neighborhoods between Skid Row and the surrounding districts - an area people called Central City - Knighthood was doing his usual hero work. Helping here, fixing there, stopping small crimes, talking to people. Just another normal day.
Until it wasn't.
Metal suddenly screeched across the street behind him.
Knighthood sighed before even turning around.
"Metallic Man... I really don't have time for this today."
But when he turned, his expression changed immediately.
Metallic Man's veins were purple, glowing faintly under his metallic skin. His eyes looked different - unstable, angry, and confident in a way they had never been before.
Knighthood narrowed his eyes.
"...Villainizer crystal."
Knighthood immediately jumped forward, launching himself into the air to strike him first - but Metallic Man dodged instantly, moving faster than before. He floated backward and smirked menacingly.
"It's time for you to see what it feels like..." Metallic Man said slowly.
"...to look small."
Suddenly, metal from buildings, cars, pipes, construction sites - everything metallic in Central City - began ripping out of the ground and buildings, flying into the sky. The metal twisted and fused together, forming a massive iron dome that sealed the entire area.
Then Metallic Man floated high into the air, forming a tall metallic tower beneath his feet so he could watch everything from above - like a king looking over his kingdom.
Knighthood looked around calmly.
He could break the dome easily.
He could reach Metallic Man easily.
But then-
Click. Click. Click.
Knighthood turned his head.
Police officers were pointing guns at him.
He froze in confusion.
"...What?"
They started shooting.
Knighthood moved quickly, knocking the bullets away and gently knocking the officers unconscious without hurting them.
"What is even happening...?" he muttered.
But it didn't stop there.
More people started approaching him. Civilians. Workers. Random people from the street. Slowly surrounding him. Walking strangely. Unbalanced. Arms stiff. Faces drooping slightly.
They suddenly rushed him all at once.
Knighthood jumped back, dodging them easily but refusing to hurt them.
"Guys, wait!" he said.
"I'm Knighthood! I'm the good guy here!"
No response.
They kept coming.
Knighthood stopped for a second and actually looked closely at their faces, their movement, their posture.
Then he sighed.
"Oh... they're paralyzed," he said quietly.
"I can see it from the facial drooping... and the way they walk..."
He dodged another attack carefully, not hurting anyone.
Then his expression suddenly dropped as he realized the truth.
"When did he get some sort of-" he stopped mid-sentence.
Then he looked up at Metallic Man on the tower.
"...Wait. You."
His eyes narrowed.
"He expanded the iron in their blood... and now he's moving it."
Knighthood looked around at the entire city trapped under the iron dome, surrounded by people being used like puppets.
For the first time in a while...
Knighthood looked serious
The city had turned against him.
Knighthood moved through a narrow alleyway, stepping carefully, avoiding the crowds that now hunted him. Every street was filled with people - civilians, officers, workers - all moving unnaturally, their bodies stiff, their movements delayed, like puppets dragged by invisible strings.
Metallic Man had taken the entire board.
Knighthood leaned against the wall for a moment, thinking.
"...This is bad," he muttered.
For once, he wasn't sure what the next move was.
Then-
Footsteps.
Light. Calm. Unbothered.
A girl stepped into the alley.
Shorter than him, with white hair, blue eyes, and a navy and gold academy uniform, gloves fitted neatly over her hands. She looked completely out of place in the middle of a controlled city.
Yet completely in control.
She looked up at him with a small smile.
"You need help, big guy?" she said casually.
"Your opponent has many pieces... and you're down to one."
She extended her hand.
"Let's change that."
Knighthood looked at her for a moment, analyzing.
"And you are... miss?"
She straightened slightly, almost theatrically.
"Cedra," she said.
"They call me the Grandmaster. I'm from the French Académie. I had a project nearby, but..." she glanced around at the chaos with mild amusement, "...you seem in distress."
Knighthood didn't hesitate long.
He took her hand.
"Alright," he said. "Let's play."
They stepped out of the alley together.
The moment Cedra moved her fingers slightly, something shifted.
A silent signal spread from her.
People nearby - those with weaker will - suddenly stopped moving like puppets... and instead froze completely.
Then-
They changed.
Not physically, but in presence.
"Pawns," Cedra said softly.
Some of them simply stayed in place, forming positions across the streets.
Others moved differently now - not like puppets, but like assigned roles.
"Knights... Bishops... Rooks..." she murmured, assigning them with subtle gestures.
The chaos of the city didn't disappear.
It reorganized.
Knighthood watched, slightly impressed.
Cedra glanced at him.
"So," she said, "where's your team?"
"At home," Knighthood replied. "And they probably can't hear about this. The interference here - electrical, metallic - it's blocking signals."
He paused for a second.
"...Though I think Road Ranger could still get here if he even suspects I'm in trouble. I told them I was going to get groceries."
Cedra grinned.
"Oh, I like him already."
She moved her hand again.
Several pawns scattered across rooftops and streets, acting as scouts. Others formed defensive lines, blocking incoming civilians still under Metallic Man's control.
"Find him," she whispered.
Her pieces moved instantly.
Knighthood stood beside her, looking at the city now divided between control and strategy.
"Interesting power," he said.
Cedra smirked.
"Of course it is."
Moments later, one of her pieces froze, then pointed in a direction.
Cedra's eyes lit up.
"Found him."
She looked at Knighthood, excitement in her voice.
"Ready to take your turn?"
Knighthood cracked his neck slightly.
"Always."
Together, they stepped forward - toward Metallic Man.
As the fight finally began, Cedra and Knighthood stepped into the open street where Metallic Man waited from above his iron tower. The entire city was still trapped under the iron dome, and controlled civilians stood like an army between them.
Metallic Man looked down and laughed.
"So you brought a friend? Good. More pieces to crush."
Cedra adjusted her gloves calmly.
"Oh, this one talks a lot," she said to Knighthood. "Can I keep him after we win?"
Knighthood ignored the comment and kept his eyes on Metallic Man.
"This won't be easy," Cedra said. "He controls the board, the pieces, and the terrain."
Knighthood nodded once.
"Then change my role."
Cedra looked at him.
"What?"
"Assign me a piece," Knighthood said. "Make me a rook."
Cedra raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly.
"Oh? You're sure you want to trust me? I could just use that advantage over you."
Knighthood started walking forward toward Metallic Man.
"I'll take the gamble," he said calmly. "I already thought about that."
Cedra smiled - she liked that answer.
She raised her hand and pointed toward Knighthood.
"Very well... Rook."
A faint glow surrounded Knighthood as Cedra's chess authority assigned him a role - the Rook: unstoppable in straight lines, the breaker of formations, the siege piece.
Knighthood immediately charged forward in a straight line, smashing through controlled civilians without hurting them, pushing them aside, breaking metal barriers, ignoring everything in his path.
Metallic Man attacked furiously.
Iron spikes.
Metal beams.
Chains.
Shrapnel.
Metal walls closing in from all directions.
Knighthood crushed everything that came toward him, moving forward relentlessly like a battering ram.
"STOP MOVING!" Metallic Man shouted, sending more metal flying at him.
Knighthood kept advancing.
Step.
Crash.
Step.
Break.
Step.
Shatter.
Then Knighthood suddenly spoke without looking back.
"Cedra," he said.
"Turn off your thing."
Cedra blinked.
"...What?"
"Turn off your chess authority."
She frowned slightly and tried to release her control over the pieces.
But then she paused.
"...It's already off."
She looked at her hands.
Then at Knighthood.
Then her eyes widened slightly.
Knighthood never had her power active on him.
He was never a rook.
He was just moving forward like one.
He was playing her game without even being on the board.
Cedra slowly smiled.
"Oh... you're interesting."
At that moment, Knighthood reached Metallic Man's tower. He jumped up, grabbed Metallic Man by the armor, and slammed him into the metal structure, then pinned him down.
Metallic Man tried to move the iron around them, but Knighthood activated Perseveration, locking the environment in place so the metal couldn't move properly.
Then Knighthood started punching.
One punch.
Two punches.
Three punches.
The metal armor cracked.
Another punch broke the helmet.
Another punch broke Metallic Man's jaw, and he spit out the Villainizer Crystal, which rolled across the metal floor.
Metallic Man lay there, defeated, breathing heavily.
But he started laughing weakly.
"...I lost," he said.
"...but I made you use Perseveration."
Knighthood stood up, looking down at him.
"Not directly," Knighthood said calmly.
"But you did better than last time."
Police soon arrived to take Metallic Man away. This time, not for robbery, not for destruction - but for enslaving an entire city.
As they took him away, Metallic Man didn't look completely broken anymore.
He looked... proud.
Because this time, he wasn't a joke villain.
This time, he was a real enemy.