The Black Swan Commander

The Black Swan Knights moved with terrifying efficiency. The village of Hartman had already fallen silent under their shadow.

"Hey. You done over there?"

"Looks like we've searched every last corner. No more people in sight."

"Yeah? What about the commander?"

"How would I know what's going on in her head? Anyway, the suppression is complete. We wait until she arrives."

The royal guards whispered among themselves.

"Man... At this rate, I won't even get to warm up..."

At that moment, someone appeared from behind at lightning speed.

A single streak of light grazed the back of a royal guard who reacted a fraction too late, slicing across his back. His uniform tore open and a fountain of blood sprayed out.

"Gaaah!"

Next, Ray dodged the sword swing of another guard who had turned on him. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He didn't miss the tiny opening that followed and drove his elbow straight into the man's nose, shattering the bone.

"Aargh!"

Having subdued two royal guards in the blink of an eye, Ray kept his momentum and charged straight at the next target.

Clang!

One of the guards barely managed to block Ray's attack with his sword. The surrounding royal guards began to swarm in.

It had to be quick and decisive. Ray widened his eyes and gathered every ounce of strength in his body, pressing the guard back relentlessly. In the end, the man couldn't hold on. His sword clattered to the ground as his wrist was sliced open.

"Gaaah!"

Ray moved to cut the fallen guard's throat, but another enemy was already rushing him from behind. He rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding the strike.

One, two, three... In an instant, the number of royal guards had multiplied, and more kept pouring in.

"Huff... Huff..."

He had successfully taken down three, but the massive burst of power had already left him breathing hard.

Damn it. If only my right arm were still whole.

Before he could even catch his breath, four more attacked in coordinated assault. Ray dodged what he could and barely deflected the blades aimed at his vital points. Another wave of attacks came immediately after.

He kept retreating to create space, using every inch to weave through and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠block the sword strikes with exquisite precision. But the royal guards, now holding the advantage, showed no sign of letting up.

"Slow!"

Another guard who could use magic arrived and cast a slowing spell on his legs. Thanks to his high magic resistance, it didn't fully take hold, but it still managed to bind his feet for a single critical moment.

"Die!"

"You bastard!"

It was a flawless coordinated attack. These weren't amateurs. Four swords came at him simultaneously—throat, chest, waist, leg. Each strike perfectly aimed. There was no way to dodge or block them all.

Ray drew up the primal energy deep within his core. Blood vessels bulged in his eyes. Even one breath felt too slow. Half a breath. A quarter breath. An eighth of a breath... He split every fraction of time and focused with everything he had.

For a moment, time seemed to slow down. The entire landscape felt strangely distant. Even though his life hung in the balance, everything felt eerily calm.

And as he exhaled—

Thud. Clatter.

The four swords that had been inches from his body lost all strength and fell to the ground. The royal guards who had lunged forward with killing intent collapsed without understanding what had happened.

Only after they fell and began spilling massive amounts of blood did the pain finally register.

"Ugh!"

"Cough...!"

"Nngh...!"

"Guh...!"

I made a mistake.

He should have cut their throats immediately. But he had been so caught up in that momentary state of transcendence that he had shown them mercy.

When he turned after cutting them down, more than twenty royal guards had already arrived. They stared at him with stunned expressions.

"M-monster..."

"H-he's on par with the commander!!"

"Nobody attack recklessly!!"

The royal guards breathed heavily, clearly tense, and kept their distance as they watched him warily. The aggressive momentum they'd shown earlier was gone. Now they focused on his every tiny movement.

"......"

When Ray raised his left hand holding the sword, the guards flinched. But contrary to what they feared, the mana inside his body was already tangled beyond repair.

How long can I hold out?

He could already feel the backlash from using his primal energy. He clenched his teeth against the lump of blood threatening to surge up his throat. He couldn't show them even the slightest sign of weakness.

For the sake of the people he needed to protect, he would endure—even if it meant reaching a point where he could only use a handful of mana until reinforcements arrived.

It was right then, as he steeled his resolve, that a clear voice rang out.

"What is this? What's going on?"

The voice was far too light and cheerful for the tense standoff. It was somehow familiar. As the owner slowly walked closer and her silhouette grew clearer, Ray saw the curly red hair and bit his lip.

"One, two, three... Oh, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there's even one with a missing wrist. And those collapsed over there. Seven in total? What are you all doing?"

"C-Commander..."

The royal guards who had been watching Ray lowered their swords and stood at rigid attention as they greeted Viola Kalbern.

Her black boots stopped on the ground, and her black cloak fluttered lightly. Viola looked at him, then opened her mouth in clear disbelief.

"What? He's a one-armed man? You mean to tell me the Black Swan Knights got taken down by someone like this?"

"Commander..."

"Sigh. Has discipline completely fallen apart? I don't remember teaching you to be this pathetic... Hm? Wait. Doesn't he look familiar somehow...? Huh?"

The moment Viola took one step forward, she was suddenly right in front of him.

It was a speed Ray had never seen before. His sword couldn't even react. Only when she reached out and lifted his bangs did he manage to take one staggering step back.

When Viola saw his face clearly, her eyes widened in shock.

"Ah, what the—! It's Kael! Ahahaha! How long has it been? And what happened to you? Who did this? Have you been well? Ah, maybe that's not the right thing to say in this situation?"

Viola rattled off her cheerful words like a machine gun, but Ray didn't respond. He immediately retreated, raising his sword and watching her with extreme caution.

He had faced countless powerful enemies before, but never had cold sweat run down his back like it did in this moment.

"Hm? Aww, you don't have to be that wary. I have no intention of hurting you, Kael."

"Viola..."

Ray suppressed his tension and spoke to her.

"What the hell is this?"

"Wow. What a coincidence. To think I'd run into Kael in this pathetic little village. Is this fate too?"

"I'm asking why you're here, Viola."

"Kael. You've changed, haven't you? You seem more mature than before. Well, a lot of time has passed..."

Ray gathered every last bit of strength he could muster and swung his sword. A flash of light burst forth. But Viola simply tilted her head slightly and avoided it completely.

Boom!

The shockwave from the sword strike echoed all the way to a distant mountain. Viola smiled as she spoke.

"Kael, you're struggling quite a bit right now, aren't you? Don't push yourself."

"......"

She had seen through his condition with a single glance. Once he started an attack, he had to maintain the momentum without stopping. But the recoil from his momentary mana exhaustion left him unable to move. That had been a truly desperate strike.

Ray barely kept his grip on his sword as he glared at her.

"......"

"Hmm. What was the question again? Oh, right. Why I'm here."

Viola gave a cold smile.

"Isn't it obvious? The complete annihilation of everyone in this village."

"!"

Unable to contain his rage, Ray charged at her. But his strength gave out and he dropped his sword. He threw a punch with the arm he'd already extended. Viola casually caught it with one hand and gripped his arm tightly.

Squeeze.

"You're still the same, Kael."

"Ugh!"

"I thought you'd changed. But you still care so terribly much about people? To fall for something like this so easily again."

"Vi-Viola...!!"

She released his arm and threw him to the ground. Having exhausted all his strength, Ray collapsed. Viola slowly approached and looked down at him.

"What should I do, Kael?"

"...What?"

"I'm going to kill every single villager right in front of your eyes. And of course, I won't make it quick. We have some very skilled torturers among our knights. It'll be excruciating. Even if they pass out, we'll keep waking them up, so they won't be able to escape. There will be pools of blood everywhere. Bodies will be strewn about, and the ones waiting their turn will be crying and screaming in terror. It should be quite the spectacle. What do you think?"

"...What do you want? Viola..."

Viola never spoke empty words. The hellish scene she described would absolutely come to pass. But there had to be a reason she was going this far with him.

Viola crouched down and smiled sweetly.

"It's you, Kael."

"...What?"

"If you come into my hands, I won't kill anyone here. All you have to do is quietly follow me. How about it? Simple, right?"

"What do you mean...?"

"Do you remember what I said before we parted ways?"

Memories flashed through Ray's mind in an instant.

"To be honest~ I've been waiting for you to come find me this whole time, you know? I felt like I said some pretty harsh things to you back then and wanted to apologize. Though I still don't feel particularly sorry about those dogs dying. Hahaha!"

Viola suddenly grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. Just like he had once grabbed her collar.

Close enough to feel each other's breath, they stared into one another's eyes. Viola's eyes sparkled.

"Hmm. I've never really been interested in people before. But strangely~ you, Kael, keep lingering in my heart. Now that I've finally got my hands on you, I don't want to let go. Oh, how about becoming the son-in-law of House Kalbern? My father has been hounding me to get married anyway. It's just that I needed to find a man who actually caught my eye."

Viola slowly brought her face closer. The girl who had always been playful now spoke with serious eyes.

"To be honest, I like you. I want to have you. But what I want isn't something forced. I know that if you want someone's heart, you can't do it that way. Well, if you don't listen to me, I'll take my anger out on this place! But then it'd be impossible to win your heart for the rest of our lives, wouldn't it? But... huh? Wait a second. Now that I think about it, living together while you hate me forever doesn't sound so bad? It gives me chills. Hehe. What do you think, Kael?"

Madness flickered in Viola's eyes.

"It all depends on your choice. Tell me right now what you'll do."

"......"

Viola seemed very skilled at manipulating people. Even though she knew he had no real choice, she wanted him to act as if he had chosen this himself.

The situation was over. The only way was to follow her will. It was humiliating, but this was the only path to saving everyone.

"......"

When Ray quietly closed his eyes, Viola smiled with satisfaction.

"We're pulling out."

Viola released Ray's collar and walked toward the royal guards, her cloak fluttering behind her.

"...Pardon?"

The royal guard asked in surprise, clearly not expecting those words.

"Didn't you hear? We're pulling out."

"B-but we haven't captured Katia yet..."

Viola shrugged as if it were a shame.

"I did want to fight her and take her alive, but a much more interesting treasure has rolled in. It's fine. The king will probably be furious that the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠plan was ruined. But what can he do to me? Right?"

"Y-yes, ma'am..."

"Erase all traces. Just stop the bleeding and give simple treatment to the injured. Once preparations are complete, we leave this place immediately. Execute."

"Yes!!"

The royal guards answered in unison.

A short while later, the Black Swan Knights vanished from Hartman village.

Taking one man with them.