Zain's Bewilderment
Zain was dazed by Pellelian of the Lamp.
"Hey, what's with that look on your face?"
"……Pardon?"
"This guy's totally out of it."
Saying that, the senior knight thumped Zain on the back. His words were rough, but his expression wasn't unkind. In the Iron Lion Knights, Zain was pretty much the baby of the group.
It was customary for the squires attending Gunter to be young probationary knights who had only recently joined the order. Zain was no different. Still green and inexperienced. But brimming with youthful vigor. No wonder his seniors doted on him.
"What? You really don't look good. Your face is pale as a ghost. You okay?"
Zain had been injured by the chimera. His senior figured that was the reason.
"Sir Kyle."
Zain's voice was dark.
"May I ask you one thing?"
"No, you may not."
It was said in a playful tone, but the senior knight's eyes were ice cold.
"Don't ask."
"……."
"Are you an Iron Lion Knight?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"Then don't forget the precepts."
Valor, obedience, diligence. The three precepts of the Iron Lions.
Zain couldn't ask his question.
Why has the entire Iron Lion Knights, who should be in the capital, gathered in Grayrim?
That was what he truly wanted to know.
Right before departing for the Akham Basin, Zain had learned that Gunter was bringing the whole order with him. This never happened unless there was a war. And it couldn't be for a monster hunt in the Great Forest.
What was his captain thinking? An ominous feeling gnawed at him.
And so they set out on the expedition.
At the edge of the Great Forest, no monster could halt the Iron Lion Knights' advance.
They finally reached the chimera and the fairy.
The once terrifying chimera lay pathetically dead.
And before it stood the fairy.
From the moment Gunter confronted the fairy, Zain's unease grew.
A knight's duty ended with slaying the chimera. Was there any need to secure its corpse? Especially against a Golden Leaf Investigator from the fairies—a status they couldn't lightly antagonize.
Yet Gunter chose to clash with the elf.
Why on earth?
"You're a villain."
The elf judged Gunter as such.
Only enemy soldiers would call Gunter a villain. But he wasn't offended—instead, he smiled.
And so the duel began.
Yes, it deserved to be called a duel.
Aura cloaking the shortsword clashed with aura on the halberd.
CLAAAAANG!
A deafening roar threatened to burst their eardrums.
The shockwave was visible. Grass around Gunter and the fairy flattened in unison.
The wind pressure was fierce.
The Iron Lion Knights knew Gunter's strength. So they were stunned by the elf's prowess.
Iris Selena was holding her own. Unable to fully withstand the halberd's power, she deflected it as best she could, then launched sharp counters.
The broadsword grazed the halberd's shaft, aiming for Gunter's throat.
Gunter didn't dodge. He raised his left shoulder instead.
The blade struck the lion engraving on his pauldron.
KAAAAAANG!
One clash, yet a chain of thunderous booms echoed.
Sparks flew fiercely from the armor.
The lion engraving was utterly ruined.
His shoulder must ache, but Gunter laughed.
"Will you dodge this too?"
He leveled the halberd horizontally. A posture full of openings.
Perhaps due to the fairy's keen senses, Iris hesitated to rush in.
Gunter's halberd swept sideways. It didn't seem particularly fast compared to before.
But that was an illusion.
The strike that had beheaded the Medusa Serpent unfolded.
A perfect arc traced by the halberd.
And space itself split beyond that trajectory.
Single Moon Slash.
Gunter the Steel's unique skill.
The sound followed after.
CLAAAAANG!
The elf-forged broadsword shattered to pieces.
Iris didn't die. But a line of red blood trickled from her mouth.
"Hoh. You endured."
But disarmed and internally wounded, Iris spread her hand wide. Earth surged up, binding Gunter's body in harmony with spirits.
Gunter shook it off.
Stamping the ground, a boom erupted, dust billowing.
Bursting through the cloud, Gunter swung his halberd again.
Iris could only evade desperately. She drew a dagger, but it was no match for the halberd.
She was completely on the defensive.
Her life hung like a leaf in a storm.
* * *
Damn, the dust is blocking the view.
I strained to check Gunter's status window. To use Borrowing Horn, I needed to see the target's window.
But those two were fighting at blinding speeds.
Gunter was insanely strong.
The fairy was no slouch either. Impressive that she was still standing after the blow that one-shotted Medusa Mom.
Maybe borrow the fairy's skills instead?
I couldn't even see the fairy's status window.
Gunter seemed stronger overall, but who knows why.
Borrowing Gunter's skills was the best bet. Synergy with Leaping Horn and Borrowing Horn might make it possible.
Focus once more……
……
-Nooo!
Fuck.
Pellelian was being a noisy pain in the ass beside me, ruining my focus.
-How dare a mere human attack a Golden Leaf Investigator!
True to his fairy supremacist ways, Pellelian couldn't stand Gunter striking the fairy.
She looked about to die any second, but so what? What was he gonna do about it?
-Snake! Save that fairy!
Pardon?
-Go save the fairy from that human!
Pellelian said it like it was the most obvious thing.
I was dumbfounded, nose nearly clogged with absurdity.
How the hell am I supposed to do that?
Me? Jump in between them and block?
Before I could ask why, the how was the real issue.
Pellelian seemed to realize that.
-Hmm, slip in between them…… and, well, persuade them wisely, and even foolish humans might grasp their sins.
You madman.
-What did you say!
Old age must've fried his brain. Shameless too.
I decided to ignore Pellelian.
He threw a fit, but I pretended not to hear.
Then he switched tactics.
-I, Reverse Heaven Mage, swear on all my demonic essence and soul. Save that fairy, and I'll grant your wish.
……
From orders to persuasion.
-A mage's oath is unbreakable. And the wishes Reverse Heaven can grant are endless. A chance like this won't come again for a lowly beast like you!
Nope, can't hear you.
Reverse Heaven this, oath that, wish whatever—bottom line, I couldn't do shit anyway.
But why was he suddenly like this? He'd sacrificed elves for his experiments before. Now he wanted to save this one? Old acquaintance?
-Not one wish, but two. Final offer.
Whatever. None of my business.
Give up, old timer.
-Three! Three wishes!
That's my limit!
Mental Strength 20 really helped here. No matter how much he screamed, I braced myself and kept focusing.
【Traits】
[Hero]……
【Skills】
[Vallarian Halberd Art lv50], [Lead from the Front lv10], [???]……
Focus. Focus.
I'd picked my borrow target.
The names were weird, so I couldn't confirm effects, but they all looked insane. Way beyond my other skills.
First, Leaping Horn.
One horn heated up hot.
Leaping Horn lv1 surpasses the limit of skill Borrowing Horn lv4.
Borrowing Horn lv4 temporarily becomes Borrowing Horn lv10.
Borrowing Horn hit lv10.
Good. Now Borrowing Horn.
Heat gathered in the other horn.
Suck!
Borrowing Horn lv10 attempts to borrow skill Heavenly Thunder Command lv10.
Failed to borrow Heavenly Thunder Command lv10.
Failure. Mana drained in a flash.
Just two skills, and I was tapped out. Maybe one more try.
I focused harder. My head burned.
Drip. Nosebleed.
I licked the dripping blood with my tongue.
Gunter pressed the fairy relentlessly. Wounds appeared on her body.
One solid hit, and she'd be done.
Gunter's halberd glowed brightly. Clearly going for the kill.
I was determined to finish too.
Mana whooshed out.
Ah, got it!
Temporarily acquired Heavenly Thunder Command lv0.
Huh, lv0? Too high-grade maybe.
No time to check.
Gunter didn't finish the elf.
Instead, he turned toward me.
I realized later he'd drawn and thrown a short spear from his belt.
WHOOOSH!
It tore through the air over my head—at chest height for a standing human.
BOOOOM!
The spear pierced a massive tree behind me.
Gunter shouted something.
The spectating Iron Lion Knights charged my way in unison.
Crazy—did he sense me borrowing his skill? No other monster ever noticed.
Borrowing Gunter's skill led to unexpected results.
The elf, cornered by Gunter, seized the opening.
She pulled something from her bosom and tore it.
Vanishing like a ghost.
Teleport scroll maybe.
-Yesss! You did it! Saved her!
Pellelian cheered.
Eh, like that?
-Snake! What method did you use? Tell me!
I didn't want to answer, but since he thought I saved her, might as well play along.
And yeah, it kinda was me.
You'll really grant the wish, right?
-Mm……!
First, save my ass. Get me out safe!
Knights in heavy plate were charging like galloping horses.
A little snake like me would be trampled in seconds.
I hadn't expected much from Pellelian's wish anyway.
-Fine. First wish accepted.
Pellelian muttered complex words. Mana condensed around his translucent form.
Looked reliable, like a lamp genie.
-East okay?
Anywhere!
-Emergency Evasion!
POOF!
I was ejected into the air.
Like a fighter jet cockpit ejecting—ripping through the sky upward.
Scarier than borrowed flight.
The knights swarming my spot looked like ants.
I'd sworn off flying again!
* * *
"Hm."
Gunter grunted.
The elf had fled. Must've had a teleport magic tool. Rare even for mage towers. Fairies hid so much.
"Captain, you okay?"
Kyle, who'd stayed by his side, asked.
Attacking a Golden Leaf Investigator and letting her escape? Backlash coming.
"A declining race. No need to worry."
Gunter cut it short.
If he said so, it was so. Kyle shut up.
"And we secured the chimera."
Who'd have thought Pellelian's legacy lingered near Grayrim.
Back with the Iron Lion Knights, Gunter heard about the chimera from Zain.
Grayrim territory had apparently searched for Pellelian's traces multiple times. Kept it from the capital too. Perfect opportunity.
The chimera corpse would serve as 'justification' for what came next.
……A villain.
The fairy had called him that.
Yeah, maybe.
If ignoring means for goals made one a villain, Gunter might already be.
And.
That sensation just now.
Something had watched him.
And done something.
Magic, curse, hex—didn't know.
He'd instinctively thrown the spear.
The knights who'd rushed that way returned sheepishly. No traces found.
"Good. Pack the chimera and head back to Grayrim."
"Yes, sir!!"
Gunter turned.
Much to do. No time for trivia.