The Twilight Knight's First Academy Dawn
The unicorn was no ordinary horse.
It surpassed even the bells of a stallion in majesty, possessing an intellect that allowed it to engage in scholarly discourse and dispense wisdom on the meaning of life.
Though its size resembled that of a normal horse, its strength and durability far exceeded that of the combat steeds ever developed by man.
It could cast magic without chanting, and its short-range spatial displacement knew no restrictions.
A unicorn such as this was ridden by the Black Knight.
It was not a mere addition of the horse's abilities to the knight's own; it was the pinnacle of mounted combat, where abilities multiplied rather than simply combined.
Since arriving at the academy, the steed it had ridden was clearly inferior in power to the Black Horse.
This was proven by the fact that although the Black Knight possessed remarkable skill, it had not shown the overwhelming dominance it had yesterday.
That was the meaning of the proverb that the higher the horse's skill, the more exponentially the knight's prowess rose.
Rai shook his head with a look of amusement at his own analysis.
The aura radiating from the unicorn alone overwhelmed most of the people present.
There was no need to analyze just how dangerous the Black Knight was.
"Hehe."
While everyone tensed under the Black Knight's pressure, an inexplicably cheerful laugh echoed.
Whether it sounded like the innocent giggle of a child or the mocking cackle of a demon, the people turned their heads to look at Rai.
"Well then, let's play intensely with the competitors from now on."
As the people continued to watch with confused expressions, Rai's smile filled his face.
His eyes sparkled like fresh spring water as he surveyed the group.
"So... the people who can't keep up should leave. Like you."
Rai suddenly kicked Abigail in the rear, sending her flying.
"Hey! You bastard... Ah... ..."
Abigail spat curses as she was ejected beyond the barrier and tumbled to the ground, her eyes meeting Bright's.
She dared not unleash her profanity in front of the stern Bright, and the words died in her throat as she averted her gaze.
"Did Instructor Rai throw you out?"
Those who had fought on the battlefield knew all too well how war ignited the blood and how anyone in that frenzy would spew the foulest words.
Bright, with his vast experience, asked in a warm voice without concern for the profanity.
Abigail nodded, her posture now relaxed.
"Kyaa—"
Hana popped out in a puff of energy, followed immediately by a massive gauntlet being tossed aside like trash.
"Who in the world do you think I am?! I am the Rising Star of the Adventurer Guild, Victory-Leading Spear—"
"Whatever, get out."
Bamelion ranted loudly, but Rai simply tossed him out beyond the barrier.
Within the hazy barrier, a moment of chaos ensued before a pale Knight in Armor was unceremoniously discarded like garbage.
After dealing with the Knight and dusting his hands, Rai glanced at Captain Kali, who alternately watched the Black Knight and Rai before sheathing her sword and placing a fist to her chest in salute.
"As the captain of the guard, it is humiliating to entrust everything to the instructor, but I ask for the Death Knight."
"Yes, I shall entrust it to you."
At Rai's confident reply, Kali nodded vigorously and led the other guard knights away.
"But Captain—"
"Shut up and get out."
Kali cut off the soldier's objection and vanished beyond the barrier.
"Hoo... it would have been nice if we had met ten, no, twenty years earlier. Please take care of Instructor Rai and Instructor Leila. I must go."
"I'm still able to fight."
"You say that, but when it rains your knees ache and you force yourself to join the ranks? Where did Instructor Etila go after she was yelling at the students to stop showing off?"
Instructor Etila, one of the younger instructors, pouted at Paul’s words before sighing in resignation and bidding Rai and Leila farewell.
"I'm sorry. As an instructor, my strength is lacking, and I've caused you both trouble."
"It's because of the injury. There's nothing to be done about it. Leave the young ones to us."
"I'm still young."
At the mention of age, Etila glared and grumbled as she left with Paul.
"This old body is only an annoyance now. Aging is truly lamentable."
"I'm still young, though."
Paul watched Etila insist on her youth until the end with a sigh, and both vanished beyond the barrier.
With only the two remaining, Leila shot Rai a worried glance, wondering if she too would be thrown out.
"Are you going to fight too?"
"Is that what you mean by 'don't get in the way'?"
"No, you're not in the way. I just wanted to fight alone for the first time in a while."
After conquering the Keilen Kingdom and seeing the Devil of All Nations—the greatest enemy of the Empire and its allies—vanish, the Era of Strife had ended.
The Empire had seized the land of the Keilen Kingdom, which bordered the central continent and many nations, and stabilized the situation with cheaper transit fees and more favorable treaties than before.
Regardless of whether they had been allies or enemies, all nations received the same treatment, and logistics, the Empire's diplomatic power, and more pushed the continent into the Era of Peace.
Commanders and knights in the Era of Peace shared one common desire.
To be acknowledged by those who had fought in the Era of Strife.
War was now only minor skirmishes or territorial disputes, and victory brought no great glory.
To prove their skill in the Era of Peace, knights had no choice but to defeat or earn the recognition of those from the previous era.
And as a knight from the Era of Peace, Leila’s heart raced at Rai’s casual words.
Though she hid her emotions behind a mask, she was now extremely excited.
The seemingly meaningless words "don't get in the way" made her mood soar.
"Hey, why are you laughing all of a sudden?"
"When did I?"
Rai stared at Leila as she turned her wide smile back to normal and sent him a sharp glare before shrugging and turning to the Black Knight.
"You've been waiting a long time, haven't you? There were plenty of chances to attack, but you didn't. There doesn't seem to be any hostility, so what’s the purpose?"
The Black Knight, as expected, gave no answer.
Content with the silent Black Knight, Rai laughed again and asked Leila to fight alone.
Relieved in mood, Leila nodded without a word and retreated to the most secluded spot.
"Today is a very good day."
Rai spun his right arm in a circle as he approached the Black Knight.
"My condition is good, my combat sense has returned after fighting thoroughly yesterday, and my weapons are ready."
The unicorn emitted a cold white breath mixed with unease as Rai drew near.
"I don't even remember how long it’s been since I fought in earnest. Enjoy it while you can. Let’s talk after."
The Black Knight discarded its shield and gripped the spear with both hands.
Although the pressure was greater with the Black Knight, Rai’s momentum was overwhelming without any aura radiating.
"So... please hold out as long as possible."
Like a child receiving a toy, Rai grinned cheerfully and charged at the Black Knight.
Leila watched the battle of the strong from her special seat.
However, she was having trouble deciding whether this was combat or a magic show.
Whether Rai’s frequent self-introduction as a mage was true or not, he unleashed countless large-scale magic.
Giant arms thrust out from magic circles and countless pillars of fire erupted.
Chains of varying sizes and colors whipped like whips, and the unicorn continuously used spatial displacement to dodge with difficulty.
The unicorn knew where to move and black thorns burst from the spot it had vanished from before it used spatial displacement again.
"Why?! Hit harder! AHAHAHAHA!!!"
Rai, who had swept away a mounted charge with a frontal sword strike, laughed with delight.
The laughter alone was enough to confuse who was the enemy.
Even stepping on the ground sent out countless vines to grab the unicorn, and jumping caused lightning to strike from the sky.
A summoned being resembling a winged woman burst forth, shooting beams from its mouth, while invisible wind spears rained down from all directions.
Rai’s magic show, which knew no elemental restrictions, was more dazzling than even the mind could comprehend.
Both the Black Knight and the unicorn, targets of every magic, were now only tattered and broken, having lost the overwhelming pressure they had shown at the beginning.
"Gotcha."
Rai, who had predicted the unicorn’s spatial displacement and set up beforehand, shattered the sword one by one until only the last one remained.
Due to the reflection of light, the sword that emerged from its sheath shone dazzlingly, and a pure white crescent moon pierced through the Black Knight and the unicorn.
Ignoring the crescent moon that flew as if it would pierce the sky beyond the barrier, Leila looked at the Black Knight.
The unicorn on its knees, and the Black Knight slumped over the unicorn’s neck.
It was the moment the winner was decided.
Rai, whose sword shattered and who discarded the handle-only weapon, looked down at the limp Black Knight.
"Now you feel like talking?"
"... ..."
The Black Knight remained silent.
"If you don’t talk, I’ll go kill Sena?"
"... ...!"
At Rai’s words, the Black Knight jolted and tried to rise, but since she could not move her body with will alone, she collapsed to the ground.
"It was a joke."
Rai helped the miserable-looking Black Knight up and leaned her against the unicorn before glancing at Leila.
She gave an annoyed expression before sighing softly and exiting the barrier.
Not long after, Leila entered the barrier holding Sena’s hand.
"Knight-sister!"
Sena ran to the Black Knight and hugged her, then looked up at Rai.
"Uncle harassed Knight-sister? Why? Wasn’t he a kind person?"
"You misunderstood. I’m not an uncle."
Leila, who realized another misunderstanding needed to be cleared, approached, knelt on one knee, and spoke to the Black Knight.
"Agnes Selint, the Twilight Knight. I have long admired your martial prowess since you were young. Although the situation is not ideal, it is an honor to meet you here."
Agnes Selint, the Twilight Knight.
Originally called the Virgin Knight for riding a unicorn, her weak-sounding name was changed to Twilight Knight by the king in a legend.
She was a knight who had ridden a unicorn into battle, the only one in history to do so, and whose personal skill could determine the direction of war.
Many said her tale was too short, but Rai had wanted to see her strength from when she was young.
"May I speak with you for a moment?"
"... ..."
"I would like to hear your purpose even after becoming a Death Knight."
"Perhaps... do you seek revenge against the Empire?"
The Kingdom of Vulburg, where Agnes had lived, had been absorbed by the Empire over a hundred years ago.
As the name of a country that no longer had Vulburg citizens but only Empire citizens appeared in history books, Agnes looked up at Leila from the heavy armor.
"... ... No."
The voice was far too clear and girlish to come from within heavy armor.
"What a nice voice. You should have said that sooner."
"... ..."
Agnes gave no reply to Rai’s words.
Ignoring Rai’s fury at discrimination, Leila asked Agnes again about her purpose.
After a moment of silence, Agnes cautiously spoke.
"I don’t know why I was reborn. When I woke after being executed, the kingdom had already become the Empire, and I wandered the continent with Tora ever since."
Agnes stroked the fallen unicorn as she said the unicorn’s name was Tora.
Thanks to Leila’s gentle encouragement and Sena’s warmth while holding her, Agnes quietly told of the events that had passed.
Ten years after her death, Agnes opened her eyes and saw the land that had become the Empire.
For some reason, Tora had become an undead and followed her, so Agnes, fearing the undead, wandered the continent, evading those who attacked her.
There was no strong desire or purpose to travel, but Agnes was happy to see Tora again.
She had wandered battlefields since childhood and found the sight of the world entertaining.
"Ah, I know that feeling."
At Rai’s nod of empathy, Agnes closed her mouth again, worried he might fear her, and Leila sent a look to stop interrupting before stroking her gently.
Traveling with Tora had been fun.
The things she wanted to see, the things she wanted to eat...
"You’re undead, can you eat? Ah, sorry. I’ll keep my mouth shut."
Rai, who had suppressed Agnes with overwhelming power, crouched and stayed quiet with his mouth shut.
Learning how warriors accepted mana and fought like mages was enjoyable, and experiencing other cultures was enjoyable.
Although she had to avoid human eyes, the thrill of secretly roaming was there too, and after nearly a hundred years of wandering the world, she had wandered into Legandia.
The academy’s magic wall was easily bypassed with Tora’s spatial displacement, but the problem was the academy’s barrier.
Agnes, who had used spatial displacement on Tora while wanting to see the academy, was bounced back from the barrier and fell alone on the street.
Though startled since it was the first time, Agnes had waited days for Tora to return, but it never came.
"Was there a problem?"
"I’m not a mage, so I couldn’t understand everything Tora said. During the first spatial displacement, it said the ancient ruins had blocked it by analyzing patterns, so Tora couldn’t return either."
"Whoa— the ruins here are amazing."
Remarkable ruins that could judge after only one breach and block by analyzing patterns.
While admiring alone, Leila listened to the rest of her story as she pondered how the ruins worked.
Having lost Tora, Agnes needed to find a way to enter the academy herself.
But the barrier was too strong to break through, so the only method was to find those who could enter.
"So you went to look for an alchemist."
Alchemists could enter the Forest of the Antipode for collection purposes with the academy’s permission.
Leila already knew the rest, even without Agnes explaining.
Agnes had gone to request help from an alchemist, but when she learned of his terrible experiment, she killed him in anger and rescued Sena.
"Then what about the kidnapped person?"
The second person was a merchant who supplied goods to the academy's trading house.
But he had also gotten involved in illegal activities and was threatened, and although Agnes had rescued him, the merchant fainted upon seeing her.
Leila already knew the rest from talking to Sena.
Unable to release her black aura from her body, Agnes had left the place, and when the man woke, he fled and hid his body.
Since he had done something illegal, the merchant had either left the city or was still hiding.
Leila already knew the merchant was missing and the reason she had killed the alchemist.
Having reunited with Tora, Agnes’ purpose had already been achieved.
There was no more danger, but Leila still felt uneasy about the existence of a Death Knight named Agnes.
Leila considered it seriously before glancing at the laid-back Rai.
At Leila’s eyes filled with the question of whether he was really going to do it, Rai laughed and spoke to Agnes.
"Hey, you don’t have anywhere to go? Do you want to work at the academy?"
"Eh?"
Agnes was flustered by Rai’s sudden recruitment pitch.