Unicorn

"Ah, before we get started — how about a little chat?"

The black knight answered Rai's suggestion by raising her lance.

"Figured as much."

Watching her settle into a Mounted Charge stance, Rai brushed off his rear and crooked his fingers in a lazy come-at-me. It barely even counted as a taunt, but the black knight drove her horse forward at once and launched the charge.

Whether from fury over Sena being taken from her, a blue-white radiance coiled around knight and steed until it looked as though a colossal round shield were hurtling straight at him. Meeting a mounted charge head-on was the height of stupidity — but Rai didn't even consider dodging. He simply stared it down.

"Yeah, no. That's not happening."

Faced with that terrifying aura, he backed off. The black knight felt something off about him turning his whole body to flee while she was already committed to the charge, but she trusted the power of her technique, drove in the spurs, and thrust even deeper.

Seeing Rai duck into the academy, she guessed he meant to use its magical barrier to stop her. The gates stood wide open, yet an invisible force barred anyone who had not been granted entry. Bracing for impact, she shifted her target from Rai to the barrier itself, intending to smash straight through it.

She poured everything into the thrust — and stabbed empty air. The lance met no resistance at all as she plunged onto the academy grounds. Her stance broke; she'd been so certain the wall would be there. Then Rai filled her vision.

"Welcome to Legandia Academy."

His knee smashed into her chin. Stars bloomed across a night sky in the black knight's sight, and then he was already inside her guard. A complex magic circle unfurled from the hand he held high overhead. He clenched his fist and brought it crashing down.

She snapped back to her senses and twisted to dodge, but Rai's magic caught her. A brutal shock sent her flying.

"Wow — I was going to split you and the horse in two. You actually dodged that. Figured I'd at least take the horse."

The black knight looked damaged, but the horse was unharmed; she had taken the full force herself. Rai clicked his tongue in amazement. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Her horsemanship was so complete she even knew how to protect her mount — he had no idea how she'd done it.

"Whatever. I'm not the main event anyway. Time for a Legandia-style welcome, yeah?"

Rai grinned and looked back over his shoulder.

Since when was that a welcome?

Headmistress Celenas, watching from a distance so as not to be caught in the fighting, gave a wry smile. The wryness melted into a seductive one as she lifted her hand. On the back of it, turned outward as if for display, a geometric pattern was inscribed.

"It's an absurd proposal, but I'll trust you."

Celenas locked eyes with Rai across the distance and closed her fist. In the same instant, Rai and the black knight were spatially transferred to the Forest of the Antipode.

Even under mental domination she was supposed to remain composed at all times, but the first-time teleportation seemed to have frightened her horse. The black knight soothed the agitated animal as she surveyed her surroundings: a massive barrier that screamed trap, and several people already waiting. She immediately drew a long kite shield from her back and prepared herself.

"O nameless and formidable knight, I pay my respects to the martial arts you have endlessly cultivated. My name is Paul. A humble instructor at the academy, nothing more."

Paul drew a longsword that looked mismatched to his bulk as he spoke.

"Spirit of the past, I know not why you threaten the peace of Legandia, but as Captain of the Guard, I will stop you. City Guard — draw swords!"

Guard Captain Kali and her direct subordinates drew their blades.

A paladin of the Ketel Order laid a hand upon his sword and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠offered a prayer.

Then he drew the blade that had been driven into the earth.

"I am the Rising Star of the Adventurer Guild's Legandia Branch! A-rank adventurer, the Victory-Leading Spear! Bamelion! Death Knight! Now that I have arrived, I shall tolerate no further evil!"

The slender man calling himself Bamelion flourished his spear through the air.

What a load of shit.

Abigail, who had been watching everything from the side, cursed the people spouting nonsense under her breath and drew her sword without a word.

"Hah— wait, am I supposed to introduce myself? Hana! I'm Hana! Nice to meet you!"

"You don't have to."

Instructor Etila, unswayed by the atmosphere of those who'd gone before, stood with sword and shield. Hana, nervous, bobbed a bow toward the black knight, then floated a massive gauntlet in the air — it looked as though she'd torn it off a golem. Leila, who had already drawn her sword, walked forward without a word.

"I gathered some people to celebrate your arrival at the academy, so enjoy yourself."

Rai flashed a wicked smile ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the black knight, then stretched a hand toward one side. A coffin-like box in the corner sprang open, and a bundle of swords flew toward him. As if it were second nature, he snatched them in a single motion and strapped them on. Five swords now hung at his waist.

"The instructor certainly knows how to make an entrance. Can't say I like being outshone, though."

Bamelion laughed from behind. Anyone could see the equipment was excessive, but Leila, who knew the Devil of All Nations well, understood exactly what it meant.

Sword Breaker.

A man's skill had surpassed the strength of steel. Every time the Devil of All Nations swung at full power, the weapon shattered. Whatever he held — a village blacksmith's blade or a legendary named sword — it was destroyed all the same. There was even a joke that even the wealthy Keilen Kingdom could barely afford his upkeep.

Selma, the Lizard of Viridian, had passed along some of her collection, calling them swords she didn't use. Rai claimed it was because he was unskilled with blades, but Leila had read every record of the power he unleashed with each full-force swing. Now that she had a chance to see that full power, she felt a strange thrill.

"Hey, why's that guy here?"

Rai whispered to Leila, who'd come forward first. She glanced at Bamelion and answered so quietly no one else could hear.

"The Adventurer Guild had to be given a seat for the credit of slaying a Death Knight."

"Ah."

There were organizations everywhere that tried to grab a piece of the pie. The Empire was superior in every way, or so they claimed, but it wasn't without its flaws — and one of them was that imperial adventurers were weaker than those of other nations. In a culture that prized honor, anyone with real talent applied to become a knight or join the military. The ones who washed out, or who weren't skilled enough to begin with, became adventurers. The quality was inevitably low. There was even a saying that if you came to the Empire from another country, your adventurer rank went up a whole tier. That was how pathetic they were.

Which was why plenty of foreign adventurers came here hoping to be treated better. Even Bamelion, who called himself A-rank, might drop to B-rank by continental standards. At that level, they'd have been better off bringing an academy student. Whether he died from lack of skill or not, Rai didn't care. As long as he didn't get in the way, that was enough.

"Oh, the Vice Principal wants to see you after this."

At Leila's words, Rai's eyes went round.

"Why? I genuinely didn't do anything this time."

"He saw Abigail and flew into a rage."

"Ah... did you explain that she has Divine Power?"

Given Bright's nature — how much he cared for the students — of course he'd be furious that Abigail had been brought along.

"Yeah. He praised her as an outstanding student."

"Then we're fine."

"And then he said he'd kill the instructor who brought a student here."

"..."

Faced with Leila's matter-of-fact explanation, Rai shut his mouth. But that was a problem for later. Right now, he had a fight to focus on.

Without anyone giving a signal, the assembled fighters charged the black knight as one. Paul closed in with a nimbleness that belied his bulk and swung his sword; she flicked her lance upward and sent him flying.

"Iyaaaaah!! Thousand Spear!"

Bellowing that grandiose technique name, Bamelion launched a flurry of consecutive thrusts from the opposite side. The black knight spun the lance she'd just raised, thrusting backward with the butt, and met his assault with identical thrusts of her own. Bamelion was being overwhelmed. Etila slipped into the gap and caught the strikes on her shield.

"Divine Retribution!"

The Ketel paladin gathered his sword to his chest and began concentrating Divine Power. The black knight immediately unleashed a shockwave. The blast, fired without any wind-up, grazed over his head, and the Divine Power gathering in the sword he'd raised toward the sky scattered.

His stance broken, she moved to strike again — and then she saw Abigail, who'd been hiding behind him. A faint Divine Power wreathed the girl's body. She moved her sword with a dancer's grace, then stopped. In that instant, a lightning-fast thrust shot toward the horse's brow. The black knight knocked it aside with her shield and retreated.

A massive gauntlet came crashing down on her with a thunderous boom, but she slipped away in time. Leila followed right behind, bringing her sword down. Steel rang against steel. The black knight raised her lance to block, then tried to shove Leila back with her shield — but Leila, airborne, stomped the shield in place and swung a mana-charged fist with her free hand.

The punch to the head nearly unhorsed her. Facing the City Guard charging in formation, she swept her lance and threw up a wall of shockwaves, trying to break free.

At that bone-chilling voice, the black knight turned her head — and found Rai in a drawing stance. The sensation of a sword being drawn and the swing itself were simultaneous. Her arm moved on reflex, raising the shield — and the blade sent both shield and knight flying all the way to the barrier.

She flew like a ball struck by a club, slammed her back into the wall, and barely managed to recover her stance. She had blocked a single sword stroke, and the shield was nearly destroyed. The hand holding it was bent at a grotesque angle. As if to prove she was no human, she grabbed the twisted hand and forced it back into place.

"That old hag palmed a cheap one off on me."

Rai stared at the bent sword, tossed it to the ground, caught a new weapon flying from the box, and strapped it to his waist.

"Whoa — do you even need us?"

Hana's eyes went wide at the staggering power of that sword strike. She asked, but no one answered. Etila had known he was skilled, but not to this degree; she watched in silence. Paul praised Rai with a booming, hearty laugh.

Before Paul had even finished speaking, Leila charged the black knight who was still recovering. The others followed her in. Whether she could no longer generate another shield, the black knight struggled on with the ruined one — but the tide had already turned.

Outside the perimeter, Bright maintained the barrier, watching the blurred silhouettes fighting through the translucent membrane. He couldn't see clearly enough to be certain of details, but he could tell the waiting fighters were overwhelming the black knight. Abigail, too, was cleverly scattering Divine Power around her and limiting herself to supporting the others. She looked safe.

Thanks to the red hair and the Divine Power wrapping her body, Bright recognized her easily and nodded. Simply saturating ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the area with Divine Power would have been enough to fulfill her role. That she also coordinated support — pulling people out of danger, making the fight easier — that skillfulness drew his admiration. Rai really does know how to teach, he thought, taking his hands off the barrier and weaving a spell formula.

"Yes. I thought you'd show yourself soon."

He turned toward the far side of the dark forest, looking at the creature beyond the shadows, and drew up his mana. The staff assisting with the barrier raised their weapons in alarm, but the creature paid them no mind, quietly approaching. Bright had already completed several spell formulas. When it suddenly lunged, he activated his magic.

Dozens of flames bloomed in the air, lighting the surroundings — and the identity of the presumed undead creature was revealed.

"...!"

The unexpected identity startled him, but even in his shock Bright sent the dozens of flames flying at it. Before they could even touch it, the creature vanished in an instant. The flames swept through empty space, lost their target, and drifted in the air. Bright turned back toward the barrier as if he already knew where it had gone.

His grave expression was fixed on the people fighting inside. He wanted to go in that very instant, but he had to maintain the barrier. Bright furrowed his wrinkled brow and spoke quietly.

"I'm placing far too much of a burden on you. I'm counting on you, Instructor Rai, Instructor Leila..."

A sudden attack came from behind, but Rai easily backflipped through the air, evading the ambush. He didn't know what had appeared, but still airborne, head pointed toward the ground, he swung his sword. The creature vanished in an instant, slipping past the blade.

Short-range teleportation?

Teleportation wasn't an easy spell. He hadn't even felt the flow of mana as it activated. Landing with that question still in his mind, Rai looked at the black knight — and couldn't help but laugh.

A sacred animal. A unicorn.

The rumors he'd dismissed as nonsense had been real. Except the unicorn that should have been sacred had appeared as an undead. Its once-pure-white hide revealed rotting flesh. Grotesquely protruding ribs and a dilapidated horn on its brow could not, by any stretch, be called sacred.

Whether it had always followed the black knight, the unicorn came toward her while attacking the others, then nuzzled its head against her. The bond between Death Knight and undead unicorn was a deeply alien sight. She stroked its head, shook out its mane, and transferred onto its back.

Her horsemanship had already been extraordinary — and now her mount had become a unicorn, the horse among horses. Etila couldn't even begin to guess what terrifying power the two of them would produce together. She gripped her weapons tight, as if to hide her tension.

"So that's your complete form, huh? This should be fun."

Through the people shuffling backward, Rai walked forward with a grin.