Bitan and the Black Knights (3)
The situation was relayed to us through Margaret. An ambush by unidentified undead knights. The death of Chief Professor Lucas, who had gone missing. Our scattered party members. And finally… the death of Raiden Lisite.
After hearing the full story from Margaret, both Lucy and Aaron were struck speechless, as if someone had slammed the back of their heads.
Each of them uttered a single hollow word. The quiet murmurs rode the autumn wind and scattered into nothingness. Those fragments drifted through the air before returning to their mouths, where they were chewed over again and again.
"Th-that can't be... There's no way..."
"......"
Lucy denied Margaret's words in a trembling voice, while Aaron remained in dark silence. Margaret simply stared at the two of them with dazed eyes.
In the midst of that chaotic situation, the first to regain his composure was none other than Aaron. After taking several deep breaths, he roughly wiped his face, erasing all traces of agitation.
"Let's organize the information first. Chief Professor Lucas's death has been confirmed."
The way he calmly accepted the news of his longtime comrade’s death was nothing short of professional. Aaron kept his gaze fixed on Margaret as he continued verifying the facts.
"The remaining party members, Gold Tae-yang and Violet, are missing… and Raiden is presumed dead. Is that correct?"
"...Yes."
"Hmm..."
Aaron stroked his chin and let out a low hum. Countless thoughts raced through his mind.
The strongest professor in the academy after the headmaster had lost his life. And in that same situation, three students had gone missing. Aaron had to make a decision.
Should he go search for the missing students? Or abandon them and return safely to the base camp?
If he considered the safety of Lucy and Margaret standing beside him, the latter was the correct choice. It would be far safer to escort the two students back, then request support from the academy for a proper search operation.
But… that would take too much time.
In a situation like this, time was directly tied to life and death. A single misstep in timing could mean the difference between rescue and a corpse.
There was also the option of sending the two students back with the escort knights while he searched alone, but the risk was far too great. Judging from the fact that Lucas had been killed, the enemy was at least a high-level expert. Even if Aaron managed to find the students, if he couldn’t protect them on the way back, it would all be for nothing.
In the end, he had to choose between two paths.
The certain safety of the students beside me… or the uncertain safety of the students in danger…
Aaron weighed the two options for a moment before letting out a sigh, his head throbbing. He decided to leave the choice to the people involved.
"Your Highness, Miss Margaret. Please focus for a moment."
Aaron spoke in a heavy voice, drawing both girls’ attention. Facing their red and blue eyes, he explained what he had been thinking.
"......"
"......"
Lucy and Margaret listened to Aaron’s words in a daze. Seeing their unfocused gazes, he briefly wondered, Are they even listening properly…? but quickly shook the thought away.
Fortunately, when he finished speaking—
"I think… we should look for the others..."
Margaret spoke first, her eyes brimming with tears. Lucy followed right after, expressing her agreement.
"Because… Raiden might still be alive… We have to search the area..."
Aaron nodded at the two girls’ answers.
"Understood. Then let’s set out immediately."
Lucy and Margaret had made their choice. Even if that choice had been driven by momentary guilt or fleeting hope, Aaron decided to respect their wishes.
—Fweeeeeeet!
Aaron blew a loud whistle, calling over the horses resting in the distance. He explained a rough search route while grabbing the reins of the approaching mounts.
At that moment—
"We’ll move along the canyon first. Then follow the downstream of the river and—"
The entire forest shook with a deafening roar.
The three of them flinched and whipped their heads toward the source of the sound. Their eyes landed on the far edge of the forest, at the downstream of the Mutan River.
—Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions did not stop after a single blast; they continued relentlessly. It sounded like something was violently colliding.
"...It looks like we’ll have to change our route."
Aaron muttered to himself as he mounted his horse.
—Clang! Creeeeak…! Thud!!
I roughly shoved away the sword locked against mine in a contest of strength. Because of the violent motion, my center of gravity shifted backward and my footwork lagged by half a beat.
In that instant, two separate sword strikes came rushing in with perfect timing. And from behind, several arrows were flying toward my blind spot.
—Shweeeeeeek!!
Realizing there was no gap to escape through, I had no choice but to spend one of the Blink stocks I had been saving.
"Blink."
—Crackle!
The moment my vision flickered, arrows rained down and embedded themselves where I had just been standing.
Fuck, what kind of shotgun is this? How the hell does one draw of the string fire seven arrows?
While I was clicking my tongue at the archer’s insane skill, I heard the sound of wind behind me. Thanks to Super Sensory, I immediately recognized it as the noise of a descending sword strike and quickly rolled forward.
—Kwaaaaaang!!!
The greatsword that missed its target slammed into the ground, shattering the once-solid earth.
"You crazy bastards…!"
No matter how much the Steel Body effect was reinforcing me, getting hit by that would be instant death. I spat out a mouthful of blood while creating distance from the greatsword wielder.
"Khaak, ptooie…"
These bastards had suddenly changed their attitude. To be precise, it started from the moment I cut down the seventh one. They must have begun recognizing me as a real threat, because they were now fighting with deadly seriousness.
Thanks to that, I feel like I’m going to die…
I clicked my tongue again as I deflected the slashes pouring in from all directions. Their clean, disciplined formation. Sharp attacks piercing through solid defenses. Followed by heavy, crushing combos. They really weren’t easy opponents.
I should have taken out as many as possible while they were still letting their guard down…
Swallowing a fleeting regret, I increased the speed of my footwork. Every time my feet kicked off the ground, the air screamed and my body accelerated further. I became a black gale slicing through the atmosphere, leaving behind trails of blue aura like afterimages.
Exploding with momentum, I swung Bitan at the two knights charging from the front.
—Clang…!!
Swords met swords, and a deafening roar erupted. Sparks flew from the point of impact between the metals. My ears, numbed by the intense shockwave, rang with a high-pitched whine.
"Get the hell away!!"
I violently knocked aside the annoying attacks clinging to me. Then I relentlessly pressed one of them, driving him back. I could see his stance gradually collapsing.
The moment I seized the flow, the knights who had been hanging back joined the fray.
—Clunk. Clunk…!
The sound of the greatsword wielder’s footsteps came from behind. A chilling intuition that a brutal slash was about to strike ran down my spine. I grabbed the knight I was clashing with by his armor and threw him down, then immediately hurled myself to the side.
—Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!
The greatsword crashed down on the head of the knight I had thrown. The undead was instantly turned into a pulpy mess. Chunks of flesh and bone fragments splattered and rained down at my feet.
I furrowed my brow, breathing heavily.
…That one, I really can’t get hit by.
I leaped again, continuing my deadly dance with the corpses.
—Crunch. Creeeak…! Clang! Thud!!
Against a backdrop of fluttering red maple leaves. My refined sword path became a storm, and the scattering petals sliced through the enemy. Dense blue-black lines rose into the sky. The sharp blue slashes delivered a second death to those who had already died once.
"Hup…!"
I drove a low kick into the thigh of the greatsword wielder who was forcing his way in. My leg whipped like a lash, caving in his armor with a sickening crunch of shattering bone. The greatsword wielder lost his balance and collapsed. Bitan didn’t miss the opening and severed his head in one clean stroke.
—Slice!
With a short cutting sound, the massive body toppled. It crushed the other knights behind it as it slammed into the ground. I drove my sword into the chests of the struggling undead pinned beneath the heavy lump of meat.
"Haa… Haa…"
My breath had climbed all the way to my throat. Even with the Steel Body effect, it seemed I had pushed my exhausted body too far. I wanted nothing more than to collapse right where I stood, but three more enemies still remained before me.
"Tsk…"
I clicked my tongue and spat. Mixed in with the dark red blood were fragments of broken teeth.
"This is… fucking exhausting…"
I muttered a curse and forced my blurring vision back into focus. The disgusting sight of those corpse bastards filled my eyes.
"What are you looking at?"
"......"
"Yeah, guess it’s just my fate… The moment things feel even a little peaceful, shit like this happens."
I took a deep breath. According to the status window I had glanced at earlier, Super Sensory had about two minutes left. It was time to end this.
"…Let’s finish it. Quickly."
In a voice drained of strength, I raised the tip of my sword. The direction it pointed was toward the knight who seemed to be their leader.
"I’ll send you all back to hell."
With those words, I chanted,
"Blink (Blink) ×4."