The Humiliated Knight, Sera Lexion
Sera Lexion, the humiliated female knight. As a member of the Twilight Knights—known as the Empire's greatest fighting force—she felt a strange sense of familiarity toward Ian.
'His skill is clearly several moves below mine, yet something feels off.'
He had reversed situations where he should have died at any moment, over and over. His ability to improvise had reached a theatrical extreme.
'Unless he's survived dozens of life-or-death battles... But from the look of him, that seems impossible.'
Ian's appearance was that of a green novice who had yet to reach adulthood. He looked far younger than her, so accumulating that kind of experience was out of the question. If so, there was only one conclusion.
'A genius...? Heh, damn it all.'
Sera normally loathed those called geniuses. She herself was a genius by ordinary standards, but not inside the imperial palace. Within the Twilight Knights, there was no one who wasn't a 'genius.' They had all been called prodigies from childhood and each possessed their own unique techniques.
Sera too had heard the word genius until she was sick of it, but after joining the order her thoughts had changed considerably.
'Compared to that guy... the rest of us must all seem like dullards.'
The deputy commander of the Twilight Knights. Theodora Aurelia. She was a monster among monsters who had been promoted to deputy commander the moment she came of age.
'If it were Theodora, maybe. But for me to feel inferior to some intruder like this...?'
Grind—
Sera's pride refused to accept it.
Ian, watching her suddenly lost in thought, spoke calmly.
"Chain Sword, Fifth Form."
"............"
Snapped from her reverie by Ian's nonsense, Sera reinforced her body with mana.
Vrrrr—
Mana seeped into every muscle. Her physical ability was on an entirely different level from before.
'In this state, I could probably hold my own against Theodora.'
The reason Sera had avoided body reinforcement until now was simple: the burden it placed on her body.
Mana-based physical enhancement had terrible synergy with the Chain Sword she used. The core of the Chain Sword was to attack 'in succession,' so the more the attacks repeated, the heavier the strain on her body became.
'If I reinforce my body with mana on top of that, my stamina will drain far too quickly.'
Therefore, Sera avoided using both at the same time unless it was a truly decisive moment.
'But right now...!'
Her opponent was already injured. If possible, Sera wanted to crush him with her full power.
'Of course, since I don't know what strange tricks he might pull next, I need to end this as fast as possible.'
This time she was determined to cut off his breath for good.
Sera asked him one last question.
"What is your name?"
"...John Doe."
Ian naturally gave a false name. Of course Sera saw through it immediately.
"Lying until the very end. Fine. I'll remember it for a day. My name is Sera Lexion. The one who will take your head."
With those words she charged straight at Ian.
'Fuck.'
The speed was terrifying. Ian fixed his eyes on the blade flying toward his head.
'This... I can't dodge it.'
Not only was it far faster than before, but he had no strength left to move. He had already exhausted everything with the earlier Void Illusion Sword. All he could do was stare at the incoming sword.
Whoosh—!
Just before Sera's blade could pierce Ian's skull.
"Ugh... W-what is this...?"
Sera's entire body froze solid in an instant.
"Noona...?"
Ian slowly opened his eyes and looked at the figure walking toward them from afar.
The First Princess of the Empire, Lumiela von Lebeus. She had come to the Full Moon Palace in person.
'Damn it, I was counting on you!'
While Ian looked at her with relief and joy, Lumiela spoke to Sera in a chilling voice.
"Eh...? W-wait—!"
Ian panicked.
Sera's body obeyed Lumiela's command and tried to kill itself 'with full force.' Her arm instantly raised the sword to stab her own throat.
Crunch—
Whoosh—
With no time to stop her, Ian squeezed out every last ounce of strength he didn't have and hurled his sword. The throw lacked power and couldn't fully block the attack, but it succeeded in twisting the blade's path.
Crunch—
The sword that had lost its aim slammed into the floor.
The fact that Sera 'could not move' ironically became her salvation. Had she been able to move normally, she would have kept trying to kill herself despite Ian's interference.
"...Ian, what are you doing?"
Lumiela kept her icy tone as she asked Ian with genuine puzzlement. Her expression said she truly could not understand.
"Huff... Huff..."
Sera stared at the sword that had grazed her neck and gasped for air. Without Ian's help a moment ago, she really would have died.
Drip—
Before she realized it, fear had left her lower body wet.
'So this is the Magic Eye, the power said to defy the heavens...'
Beneath the overwhelming authority of the Magic Eye, every bit of swordsmanship Sera had polished until now was useless. Faced with an insurmountable gap, she felt both defeat and utter helplessness at the same time.
Lumiela frowned and prepared to command Sera to commit 'suicide' again, but Ian stepped in front of her.
"Um... Noona? That knight was only doing her job... Do we really have to kill her?"
"Even though she tried to kill you, Ian?"
"T-that's..."
Lumiela looked at Ian with worried eyes. He was in no decent shape at all.
'Bloodstains around his neck. His legs are swollen to the point of bursting... and the rest of his body isn't much better.'
Lumiela decided that once this was over she would treat Ian first. And before that, she naturally had to kill the filth that had wounded him.
"Ian, step aside."
She had no confidence she could persuade him here. It wasn't that he wasn't important. On the contrary, because he was so precious she could never leave anyone who had hurt him alive.
"...I can't step aside."
Ian was not kind enough to show mercy to someone who had aimed for his life. Even so...
'Dying in such a pathetic way is just too unsightly.'
Perhaps it was respect between swordsmen. Having learned the Chain Sword—a style that pursued extreme effort—he did not want to see her die so meaninglessly.
Ian hurriedly explained to Lumiela.
"This is all a misunderstanding. From the beginning the one at fault isn't this person..."
Before Ian could finish speaking, Lumiela commanded him.
"Ugh, w-wait!"
'What? Why can't I resist...?'
Ian was inwardly shocked when his resistance failed. All of this stemmed from the 'suggestion' Lumiela had planted last night, but of course he had no way of knowing that.
"A misunderstanding? You call this a misunderstanding...?"
Seeming furious at Ian's reaction, Lumiela stomped on the fallen Sera's face.
Crack—
"Uuuugh...!"
An overwhelming force that even a knight like Sera could not endure. The impact felt strong enough to crush her skull, bones, and brain.
Watching the groaning woman, Lumiela warned her.
"Shut up. If even the slightest sound leaks out, I'll kill you."
"Mmph..."
Sera desperately wanted to nod, but with her body frozen it was useless. She could only keep enduring the pain that felt like her head would explode.
Fortunately, unlike other geniuses, Sera excelled in 'patience.' Yet while she was used to enduring tedious pain, the agony she felt now was different. It was the sight of literally begging an opponent for mercy. Her pride had already been shattered long ago.
'H-how did it come to this? W-was that guy really Lady Lumiela's escort?'
The current situation was incredibly confusing for Sera. From the earlier reactions, Ian seemed far closer to Lumiela than a mere guard...
Crack—
"Uuuup...!"
An even stronger pressure than before. Sera nearly let a sound slip.
Lumiela looked down at Sera with utter contempt.
"...Ha. I was going to give you a slim chance at life because Ian asked me to spare you, but it seems that's impossible."
"Uup!"
'Why, why...!'
At Sera's rebellious gaze, Lumiela spoke as if astounded.
"You still don't understand the situation? You don't even realize who saved your life...?"
Lumiela glanced at Ian nestled in her arms.
"The Ian you tried to kill is doing everything he can to save a bug like you, yet instead of gratitude you hold a grudge? How dare you, not knowing your place."
"Mmph...!"
Sera tried her best to show obedient eyes, but Lumiela did not believe her.
First, to reduce Ian's mental shock, Lumiela decided to put him to sleep.
"Ian, it's time to sleep now, okay...?"
"N-Noona... w-wait!"
"Sweet dreams."
Thud—
Ian's body, already exhausted to its limit, collapsed immediately under Lumiela's power.
Once he was asleep, Lumiela gently lifted him and commanded Sera.
"Tell me the behavior, personality, and speech that you find the most humiliating—the things you would rather die a thousand or ten thousand times than do. Quickly."
Shudder—
At Lumiela's command, Sera's mouth opened.
"Bianca. Bianca."
"S-Serena... P-please go play with the other colleagues...!"
"No, I don't want to."
"......"
Bianca was at a loss for words at Serena's brazen attitude.
"Anyway, you're the only one I can talk to 'comfortably' with now, right? Brother Ian is too busy right now."
"I-is that so...? I wouldn't know..."
"You either read books all day or do that stuff with Brother Ian."
"......Hey!"
When Bianca rarely raised her voice in anger, Serena cleared her throat.
"Ahem, it's not like I lied. Anyway, I had more questions about the Magic Eye."
"W-what is it...? I-I don't know the details either... Ask Olivia or Chun."
"Chun hasn't shown her face lately, and Olivia is... busy 'playing' at the top right now."
Serena smiled bitterly and continued.
"What I'm curious about is, with the Magic Eye..."
At this point Serena's expression turned unusually serious.
"...Is it possible to transplant it as well?"