341. The Silver-Haired Witch - (3)
341. The Silver-Haired Witch - (3)
***
—Rin. What in the world are you thinking?
As the murderous voice rang out loudly, Cherry, who had been watching the stream, flinched for a moment.
"...What the?"
The eerie voice sounded as if it carried deep resentment. The knight's appearance, as though steeped in intense emotion, made the situation impossible to understand.
[What the?]
[??????]
[Is that Zernati? How does he know Rin?]
[So Rin's reputation has spread even among NPCs or what lol]
[What's with Rin's bewildered look lmaooo]
[Isn't it just event dialogue?]
[Isn't it because Rin slaughtered first? She did kill the most]
[Is Zernati some kind of hero too?]
[We don't know yet since his status window hasn't appeared]
[Am I the only one who doesn't get what's going on?]
Cherry glanced at the chat to see if the viewers knew, but there were only all sorts of speculation. The nearly 80,000 viewers were all just as curious.
When she looked back at the screen, the NPC called Zernati staring at Rin looked, to anyone watching, like he knew her. And it didn't seem like an ordinary relationship either—even from a viewer's perspective, the look in his eyes as he gazed at Rin felt chilling.
'But Rin said she didn't know him.'
Rin had clearly said she didn't know Zernati.
And then Rin answered calmly.
—I don't know what you're talking about. We're going to have to kill each other anyway, so do we really need to drag this out?
As Rin replied in a nonchalant tone and twisted the corner of her mouth, Cherry found herself admiring her, and for a moment thought it might be an Easter egg.
The one who had first revealed herself and slaughtered the rebels was definitely Rin. None other than her.
'There's no reason for Rin to hide it.'
Even if Rin did know the NPC called Zernati, there was no reason for her to hide it. Moreover, just moments ago in the safe zone, she had even asked about reward settlement like someone experiencing a raid for the first time.
After that, when the knight called Zernati slowly raised his sword, Cherry figured some condition had been met and that was why he had spoken Rin's name.
The countless NPCs in Another World often displayed realistic appearances and behavior that sometimes made you wonder if they were human, and now that she thought about it, saying a user's name wasn't really that special of a behavior.
"Right. It's probably nothing."
As she muttered that and looked at the screen, the knight called Zernati was nodding and speaking.
—Right. I suppose that's true.
Beneath the silver helmet, the knight smiled far too coldly. Even with half his face hidden by the helmet, his features were far from ordinary.
"Is he an NPC with a backstory?"
With looks that outstanding, he usually had some degree of importance. Curiosity stirred for no reason.
***
"Right. I suppose that's true."
As Zernati smiled coldly and nodded, Serin had to struggle to keep up a pretense of composure on the outside.
'He definitely... knows me.'
From the moment I saw Zernati's reaction, as if he knew me, it felt like someone had dropped a bomb inside my head. My thoughts suddenly cut off, as if my mind had completely stopped, and my vision swayed dizzily.
Without letting any of it show, I barely managed to steady myself.
I already knew Another World wasn't ordinary. But now I couldn't help being more surprised than that. No—it was even shocking.
The fact that an existence from Black Ark had recognized me was enough to shake my heart violently.
"..."
I tightened my grip on the Crescent-Moon Weight and sorted through my thoughts.
Still, there were few high-ranking knights who reacted as dramatically as Zernati.
Was it because they were right in front of Zernati that they were holding their tongues? Even the other knights, silent and watching me with heavy gazes, drew my attention for no reason.
Amid the vast stillness.
Questions swelled up inside my heart.
How could he recognize me? What state was the version of me they remembered in? What had become of Black Ark now? And so on.
If I had my way, I wanted to blurt it all out and hear the answers, but right now I couldn't bring myself to.
I was live. On top of that, I was doing a collaboration stream with someone else for a video to be uploaded to NewTube as part of the Five Million Project.
Even if I ended the stream right now, with Sua and Yujeong there, there was no situation in which I could speak freely.
Within a fleeting moment, while countless thoughts swirled through my head—
"...Serin. I don't really understand what's going on, but should we proceed as planned?"
Sua's extremely cautious voice reached my ears.
I nodded without thinking.
"Yeah. Let's go with the original plan. I'll handle the rest of the knights."
Even as I spoke, I concentrated intensely so my voice wouldn't tremble.
"Got it."
Maybe Sua also sensed that something was off, because she moved on without asking any questions. I was grateful for that alone.
...
"Everyone, prepare yourselves!"
As Zernati's cold voice rang out through the space, a massive pillar of blue light shot up around him as if his energy were exploding, and at the same time, the knights surrounding Serin also erupted with their own energy and exerted their power.
Just as she was calmly watching and bracing herself—
—Ding!
A small notification chimed, and all the color drained from the world.
The world, dyed entirely in gray, stopped in place, and within it, Sua and Serin found their movements restricted as they faced a single hologram.
*
————
【Zernati the Flash】
【Title: Return of Radiance】
【Grade: S】
【Class: Knight】
【Category: ???】
*Owned Traits.
- ???
(An undisclosed trait; cannot be known at this time)
- Noble Knight
(An existence that has transcended the realm of an ordinary knight and reached a level of its own. Possesses a kind of standing, and negates the effects of debuffs that reduce stats)
- Return of Radiance
(Uses the swordsmanship unique to House Lear. All techniques are imbued with the Light Element, and gains 60% damage reduction against the Light Element only)
- Legendary Knight House
(House Lear: Members of House Lear gain resistance to any technique that has damaged them once, and if they take damage from the same technique again, that damage is reduced by 50%)
- Boundary of Death
(As a knight who has crossed countless lines of death, this one has awakened a new sense. Displays irregular and incomprehensible movements)
『Due to the special nature of appearing within a raid, the number of owned traits is limited to 5.』
————
*
—After 10 seconds, time will return to normal.
Of the two women who quickly checked the hologram, Sua spoke first.
"The category is... blank?"
At her dumbfounded tone, Serin slowly calmed herself.
'Everything is exactly as I remember.'
Zernati's traits were perfectly identical to what I knew, so they didn't surprise me.
However, seeing the category covered in ??? and the veiled trait troubled me.
At the line about the number of owned traits being limited, the other traits Zernati had possessed instantly came to mind.
'World-Opening Momentum, Deep Trust, Unity of Body and Sword...'
Even as I thought of the various traits that surfaced, my brow furrowed on its own.
Even Daji, who belonged to the Great Heroes, had all her traits revealed, so why did Zernati have a trait shrouded in secrecy? And when my gaze landed on his grade, I realized the situation was more dangerous than I'd thought.
'If he's S-grade, that means he's stronger than in my memory.'
And I began to worry whether I had placed too heavy a burden on Sua.
As time flowed quickly by, I opened my mouth.
"Sua, have you ever seen a trait veiled like that before?"
"No... This is my first time seeing it too. This raid seems really strange."
Just as expected, Sua's awkward voice came through, and the countdown had only one second left.
Immediately after, time passed and the world regained its original color. As if they had been waiting, the knights surrounding them thrust their swords fiercely.
—Swift.
As I deployed Swift and swung the Crescent-Moon Weight quickly to deflect the other knights' swords, I saw Sua launch herself forward as our gazes crossed.
***
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
The swords of the knights who had surged in all at once. As the sound of them all being deflected rang out right behind her, Sua felt her heart ease.
'Just what I'd expect from Serin.'
I didn't feel the slightest worry about leaving my back to Serin.
Because it was Serin, of all people.
Because I knew Serin would hold out just fine.
If anything, the problem was—
The knight in front of me, who kept glancing toward Serin even while facing me.
Clang!
When Zernati casually knocked aside the rapier I'd thrust at his heart, I used the recoil to spin and instantly activated my Awakening Skill.
—Counteroffensive (後發先制).
As a faint golden light shimmered over my form, I thrust the rapier out once more.
Clang!
He didn't just block it casually—he showed a Parry, and I exposed a large opening, as if defenseless. Then I saw the knight's sword thrust in at once.
My body reacted on its own.
As if it were only natural, the rapier, carrying golden light, chased after the sword along its blue trajectory, and from a broken stance, struck the sword away.
"...!"
And only then did Zernati turn his gaze to me instead of Serin.
His eyes looked as if he couldn't understand how his attack had been blocked. Staring at that, I quickly thrust the rapier forward.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
As the evenly matched exchange continued like mad, a laugh slipped out of me without thinking.
The paths of the incoming swords were all peculiar, and even the speed of his thrusts varied wildly with every exchange.
'So this is S-grade.'
Even as I met every strike, I could feel the power of an S-grade knight.
It would be impossible to settle this in one go, and I didn't expect it to take long for him to notice Counteroffensive.
Before that, I had to make my decisive move.
Boom! Boom!
Hearing explosions erupt in quick succession not far away, I thrust the rapier out harder and stronger.
Clang! Clang!
"You are... difficult to understand."
I kept my expression blank at the knight's inability to comprehend the situation.
No small agitation, no change in emotion—I just coldly calmed my heart. As if wearing a mask, I showed no emotion and kept thrusting the rapier.
'I can do this without borrowing Serin's help.'
Unless it was Jeanne d'Arc.
Against another knight, I had never once thought about losing.