Jenas
"He's gone!"
"The demon worshipper leader has fled! Pursue him!"
Even amid the toxic fumes spewed by the Kraken, the Expert-level knights and above who had kept their wits about them shouted one after another.
But that was all they could do.
The Kraken's poison hadn't fully dissipated yet. Their vision was obscured, and they couldn't even use detection magic.
The mages who had belatedly rushed to join the battlefield had all collapsed unconscious the moment they were engulfed by the black mist.
And so, at this moment, only two people could vaguely guess the direction in which the black sorcerer had vanished.
"The inner palace!"
"He's heading for the inner palace! After him!"
Jenas and Liam locked eyes as they bellowed and prepared to dash off in unison. Both flinched simultaneously.
They knew each other to be no ordinary foes, making it hard to turn their backs.
They recognized each other as allies in this situation, but a knight's instincts couldn't be ignored.
But soon enough.
'Not the time for this...'
Liam realized his mistake and shouted first as he turned.
"Whoever you are, lend us a hand just a bit longer!"
Watching Liam's retreating back as he sprinted away, Jenas's eyes gleamed.
"Of course."
With his reply, a silver gale surged past Liam and vanished ahead.
Watching that figure, Liam could only wear a complicated expression.
As captain of Carun's royal knights, it didn't sit well with him to ask for help from someone hiding their identity behind a mask.
But he had no choice.
He had just returned from destroying one corner of the black magic circle on the western island near Ortus.
Chaos gripped Ortus, the royal castle in shambles.
Ignoring the terrifying legendary beast visible in the eastern sky, he had charged into the castle—only to witness that horrific scene moments ago.
He had jumped straight into the fray, and in doing so, painfully realized how far short his power fell.
And moreover.
'Challenger-grade at such a young age, dual attributes of wind and ice... The hair color must be a disguise.'
He could roughly guess the identity of the man whose lower face was concealed.
In normal times, someone of that stature meddling in Carun's affairs would spell big trouble, but right now, Liam was grateful.
Then, in that instant.
A faint silver breeze slipped into his ear, leaving a fragmented message as if part of it had been cut off. Even so, it was astonishing.
No matter that it came from a Challenger wielding wind attributes—a mage he was not. It was an incredible feat.
But that amazement was soon overshadowed by a greater shock.
"Enemies!"
"Block them!"
"Kill them!"
His subordinates, eyes bloodshot and glaring wildly, blocked his path. It was bewildering that their blades were aimed at him.
Especially since...
"Damn it!"
Liam wasn't a speed-specialized knight like the advance group ahead. He couldn't simply ignore and blow past them.
In the end, his best option was...
Bam.
Thud.
"Snap out of it, you fools!"
Pushing and batting away his men with all his might, he pressed toward the inner palace, albeit slower than he'd like.
* * *
"B-block him!"
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Arghhh!"
A black sorcerer who suddenly smashed through a window and burst in.
The knight who reflexively moved to intercept was engulfed in black flames and plummeted. The grand hall of the inner palace plunged into chaos.
"A black sorcerer!"
"Kill him!"
The silver lining was that most high nobles, loath to mingle with commoners, had remained in the hall with their guards.
"Kill the bastard!"
"Slay the demon worshipper!"
— Hah, how bold, daring to...
Kraka-ka-ka-boom!
"Arghhh!"
One sacrifice wasn't enough to gauge the intruder's power, so the knights charging boldly were struck by black lightning and burst into flames.
And then.
— Do you fools even know who you're attacking?
As a grating metallic voice echoed and black winds swept the hall, nearly half the people inside began to see red gleams in their eyes.
— Snap to it and kill the enemy.
With those words, those with reddened eyes turned their weapons on the unaffected ones.
Those without grabbed candelabras or dining knives, radiating murderous intent.
"Enemies!"
"Kill them!"
"W-what? Have you all gone mad!?"
"You lunatics...!"
"Magic! Black magic!"
The hall descended into pandemonium in an instant.
— Pathetic vermin...
The intruder's gaze swept past them and fixed on the king.
— Hah, so you're saying you're a cut above, at least...?
The dozen or so royal knights guarding the king—Carun's elite, all Experts or higher—had resisted the mass hypnosis.
"Protect His Majesty!"
"Raaah!"
Tilran and the royal knights roared as they charged the foe.
But.
— Pointless.
Rumble rumble rumble.
With an unwelcome voice came a barrage of black lightning.
"Arghhh!"
"Grrr."
Their earlier ferocity faded; the royal knights crumpled like puppets amid screams.
"Urgh."
Tilran, who had reached Blader level, was flung far away but clung to his shield and barely stood.
"Cough, cough. Y-Your Majesty. Evacuat—"
Melted skin peeking from his armor and blood trickling from his mouth made it clear he'd lost his combat ability in that instant.
He couldn't even properly respond as the black sorcerer shot past him like an arrow.
— Not bad for vermin.
The voice seemed leisurely, but an inexplicable haste colored the black sorcerer's movements.
And soon.
"You're the culprit behind all this!"
Facing the king's fury, he flashed a chilling smile beneath his black hood and raised his hand again.
— Today is Carun's last day.
As black lightning surged from his hand with those words.
Bam.
A sudden silver mana blade slammed down on it.
Crackle crackle.
— Grk. Y-you!
Even the inhumanly powerful black sorcerer proved mortal; bright red blood spurted from his half-severed wrist as a scream-like bellow erupted.
The blade's owner smirked at the black sorcerer crackling with dark lightning across his body.
"All show and no substance. Lucky you bought us time!"
Unlike his casual tone, Jenas gritted his teeth and poured maximum strength into his sword arm, trying to press the enemy.
But.
Hummm.
Crackle crackle crackle.
He held the advantage only for that initial clash.
— You...
As the black sorcerer tucked his hand back into his sleeve with those words, Jenas began to be pushed back.
Crackle crackle.
Rumble rumble rumble.
'Damn it!'
Grit.
He ground his teeth again at the encroaching black lightning, but the situation was dire.
He'd jumped in hastily, but direct power clashes weren't his specialty.
Against a higher-realm mage, he'd created a hopeless standoff.
And worse.
— I don't know where it all went wrong, but one thing's clear now. Who you are!
The voice from within the black robe made his heart sink.
'As expected...'
But he hadn't expected to hide his identity long anyway.
His dual attributes were rare, and he couldn't conceal his swordsmanship against a foe of this caliber.
Still.
— Then it's obvious who the real culprit sabotaging my grand plan is.
He flinched.
— Duke Valentia... Yes, that makes sense! We'd been wasting effort on some mongrel half-breed. Heh heh heh.
Grit.
"I'll kill you here, you chatty trash leader."
He had no choice but to risk it.
The moment resolve hardened, the aura radiating outward converged into his body in an instant.
— Hah, planning to off yourself?
Black lightning engulfed Jenas without missing the opening.
A savage smile spread across the lower face revealed beneath the hood.
Flash.
A brilliant, icy silver light erupted from his sword.
Valentia swordsmanship, Jenas-style ultimate technique, First Form.
Frozen Blade's Song.
Boom!
The explosion was brief.
Silver light from his sword pierced the black sorcerer, and almost simultaneously, black lightning struck Jenas's body.
"Th-this..."
Hummm.
The black lightning, potent enough to make his body tremble, soon scattered into the air.
Yet Jenas collapsed unconscious, unable to rise.
And.
— Kh, heh heh. What a mad bastard...
Cough.
The black sorcerer clutched his chest, staggering and vomiting blood.
The old king exhaled in momentary relief at the sight.
— Now, truly...
But as the foe steadied himself, despair was inevitable.
— ...it's over.
As black light flickered at his fingertips.
Kwaaaaang!
With a roar, the black-robed figure was flung sideways.
And in his place, an old knight wielding a greatsword swirling with grayish mana saluted curtly, sword still aimed forward.
"Forgive my tardiness, Your Majesty."
"Sir Liam!!!"
The king cried out in delight.
"Once the enemy is dealt with, I shall apologize properly."
Thud.
With a heavy sound, his greatsword swung to bisect the black sorcerer.
Kwaaaaang.
But.
— The worst of the worst...
How did it come to this...!
The black robe had already evaded the arc, soaring to the hall's ceiling beyond the sword's reach.
"You bastard!"
Liam bellowed fiercely, but with the enemy out of range and the king behind him to guard, he couldn't move rashly.
— Still, our goal will be achieved.
Crackle crackle.
Black lightning spread to blanket the entire ceiling of the hall.
— No matter the cost!
Cough.
Blood poured from beneath the robe in quantity, suggesting strain, but no room for complacency.
The enemy's aura, stronger despite grave wounds, loomed oppressively.
"You think I'll let you?!"
Kwang!
Liam snatched a scattered stone chunk and hurled it with all his might, to no effect.
If anything, the chilling gaze—unseen yet palpable—intensified.
— Then die.
Flash.
Kwaaaaang!
Darker lightning than ever poured toward the king on his throne.
In that moment.
"No!!"
Liam dashed forward, blocking the aged king and taking the bolt full on his body.
Somehow, the unconscious Jenas was wedged between them.
'Forgive me, Sword of Valentia.'
A measure to soften the impact on the king even slightly.
It was akin to repaying kindness with enmity, but he had no choice.
A Challenger's body boasted the highest mana affinity below Aura User—better than any immediate option for blocking magic.
He had to protect the king.
That lifelong priority drowned out all else.
'No matter what, I...!!'
Kwaaaaang.
Crackle crackle crackle.
"...will protect you!!!"
The old knight's cry, gray stone mana cloaking his body, pierced the black lightning to echo through the hall.
Crackle.
Unwittingly, Jenas's fingers twitched in the aftermath of the black thunder behind him.