The Reaper
Fortunately, after half a day had passed, Tiny was able to summon Wolrang again. He immediately released the horse that had been on the verge of collapsing in a froth and took off riding Wolrang just like he had on the way to Karina.
"You must still be hurting from the shock too. Sorry about this—can you hurry a bit?"
"Woof!"
As Tiny said, the shock of his manifested body being shattered and forcibly unsummoned was no small damage even for a spirit like Wolrang. His speed was noticeably slower than on the way there, but it was still far faster than a regular horse enhanced with mana sprint.
There's still plenty of time...
Even so, the anxiety wouldn't fade. So.
Minimize food intake and skip sleep altogether.
With that resolve, Tiny pushed on without stopping for even a moment, charging madly for two full days.
Two days later.
Papapapapak.
Wolrang's movements as he raced along the mountain path had gradually improved after two days. But the rider atop him was in rough shape.
With bloodshot eyes and gritted teeth, Tiny didn't look normal at all.
Over those two days of nonstop sprinting without rest for the spirit, the shocks had piled up on Tiny bit by bit. Even with his body possessing combat prowess beyond the Blader rank.
No—precisely because of that, there were unexpected side effects.
In his previous life, after reaching Blader rank, he'd often gone two or three days without sleep while fighting nonstop. So he'd assumed he could do the same now.
Grrrrumble.
The growl from his stomach drew a wry smile.
This is the one downside, huh.
He'd overlooked the obvious fact that his far stronger body now required much more upkeep(?).
Maybe a wild boar will pop out like last time?
He'd been extending his senses to scan for moving creatures in the mountains with that faint hope for a while now, but he wasn't stopping his journey to hunt because reaching the imperial palace quickly took priority over sating his hunger right away.
But then, in that moment, a chilling premonition swept over his entire body.
Tiny instinctively gathered the senses he'd extended around him forward.
Soon, he sensed a transparent wire strung at just the right height to graze over Wolrang's head.
A ghostly transparent line etched into the empty air, blending into the dark night. He didn't know what it was made of, but at this speed, it felt like it would cleave his upper body in two.
"Hup!"
Tang.
The mana blade he sharply formed sliced the transparent wire with a sharp sound.
At the same time, with a creaking crash, trees began toppling from the front, left and right, crashing toward him and Wolrang.
As if predicting Wolrang's superior speed over a normal horse, the trees felled dozens of meters back perfectly blocked their path.
"Woof!"
The moment Wolrang leaped into the air to dodge the trees.
Arrows rained down from all directions in the forest.
"Hmph!"
Tadadadang.
Tiny simply clad himself and Wolrang in ironclad armor of mana, deflecting the shower of arrows.
No mana infused in them?
He'd braced for some impact, but they bounced off harmlessly, leaving him baffled. In that brief gap.
A black something hurtled toward his face.
Urk!
Skak.
He jerked his head back in a hurry, but the black object grazed his right cheek, leaving a shallow cut.
A dagger...?
The moment he realized it was a dagger emerging stealthily shrouded in deep shadow, someone flashed in his mind.
No way!?
Meanwhile, as Wolrang tried to land, a pitch-black spear thrust out from the shadow beneath his feet.
"Hah!"
Paaaang!
The moment Tiny's senses picked it up first, Wolrang reflexively kicked off the air and leaped upward from that spot.
- Ah!?
As if caught off guard by the move, a small exclamation escaped as the black spear vanished into thin air.
At the same time, a slender masked figure appeared there.
The ghostly silhouette, as if the spear had transformed into a person, melted back into the darkness—but Tiny, mounted on the landed Wolrang, couldn't help shouting without thinking.
"Reaper!? What the hell are you doing here!?"
Reaper.
One of the top ten knights from his previous life, nicknamed the God of Death.
A colleague who felt even more distant than the Sword Emperor or God Hand, the ultimate assassin who had mastered the ancient mana circuit technique Shadow Law to its limits.
Due to his background, he wasn't much of a talker, but even among comrades, he'd kept an unusual distance from Tiny, so there was more he didn't know than did.
But after blurting it out, one fact hit him late.
I messed up.
The Reaper earned that fearsome moniker over ten years from now, after assassinating Geshtaf Clemens, the mage advocating war against the empire, right in his own bedroom.
So at this point, his identity was probably...
"Answer me! Why is the imperial shadow targeting me!?"
His voice boomed through the night sky as Tiny spun around and swung his Stamp.
Paaaaang.
The shadowy figure aiming a dagger at his nape vanished into thin air.
"Why you...!?"
Not getting the answer he wanted, Tiny bellowed again—but as if waiting for it, a dagger sprang up right before his throat.
Fuck!
Skak.
Tiny reflexively twisted his head, letting it nick his left cheek while slamming his left fist into the Reaper's gut.
Bam!
He felt the solid impact, but no sense of victory.
Wait—if this attacker really is the Reaper...
As if confirming his ominous hunch, his head suddenly spun.
"Damn it! Shadow Poison!!"
Tiny hurriedly circulated his Nian Ti to expel the shadow mana that had seeped in and was disrupting his nerves.
"Kyaak, ptui."
If there was any relief, it was that no follow-up attack came despite his momentary dizziness throwing off his balance.
Tiny let out a small sigh, eyeing the faint bloodstains scattered where they'd clashed moments ago.
That small leaked voice earlier confirmed it too.
...He's still green.
It was only natural, really.
This old comrade, bearer of the terrifying title Reaper, was just four years younger than Tiny. Probably only eighteen now.
And as if proving his guess.
- How... do you know?
From the unseen figure, a eerie voice with a ghostly echo reverberated from all directions.
The Reaper from his previous life wouldn't have uttered a word before killing his prey, no matter what it said.
Tiny couldn't miss this chance.
Worst-case scenario.
He couldn't die here, nor could he kill the Reaper here.
Once the war with the demonkin began, there would be problems only the Reaper—exhibiting top-tier combat power among the ten knights in certain situations—could solve.
Challenger rank now? No, not quite yet. Superior-rank assassin... Still, simple subjugation's impossible.
But in this forest under the dark night sky, the Reaper's unique techniques would be even stronger.
So he aimed for talk, not fight.
"That much? I even know the mana circuit art you've learned is Shadow Law."
True enough.
In the late years of his previous life, the continent's top ten knights had shared all info openly in desperate unity.
Even on this western continent, mana cultivation methods were pushing the mana circuit arts toward obscurity.
Among those specialized over versatile ones, the bizarre Shadow Law—the Reaper had admitted learning it himself.
- H-how?
Now only I should know that...?!
The indifferent voice now clearly trembled.
Him wavering was good, but there was a problem.
Only I...? Wasn't it taught by the imperial shadow leader?
He knew the traits, utility, and derivatives of Shadow Law.
Hell, maybe even more than the current Reaper.
But its origin? No clue.
I thought it was the leader of the imperial shadows who learned it...
The Reaper never shared his past in the previous life, so unavoidable—but he couldn't show ignorance now.
Nor could he persuade with truth like with the Weapon Master.
The Reaper was an assassin-type, obedient to orders by nature.
Even joining as a comrade before was on orders from then-acting Empress Cloy.
Unless circumstances change later...
For now, he was top priority among old comrades to watch out for.
So for the moment.
"...How could I not? I've learned a bit of the same art myself."
He had to bluff.
But.
- Bullshit!!!
Backfire—the presence, even faintly felt, vanished with a killing-intent-filled roar.
What a fucking annoying trick.
Disrupting senses in this darkness was the worst for the victim.
At least.
"Grrr."
After a few contacts, Wolrang had imprinted the soul scent and was tracking the vanished Reaper perfectly.
An unexpected gain.
In that case...
He could keep up the act a bit longer.
If he could predict moves—without wasting time on vigilance—he could mimic a technique he'd never used in this life.
Now...!
Pretending not to notice the Reaper diving under Wolrang's shadow again.
He deliberately circulated mana in an unnatural pattern inside his body, making Wolrang move irregularly too.
"Grrr."
With a light tap of footsteps, Tiny and Wolrang split into three illusions in an instant.
At that moment, the long shadow spear thrusting from the darkness pierced the center illusion and shot into empty air.
Then.
"Illusion Step!?"
A sharp voice cried out.
Unable to hide his shock, unbefitting an assassin.
This time, he didn't even hide in the dark, revealing himself right in Tiny's front.
A height like an average man, slender build, masked face trembling faintly.
It worked perfectly.
Instantly manifesting a never-before-used technique was something only he, with his absurd mana sensitivity, could pull off.
Though it took prep time unlike its original purpose, and without engraving the base mana circuit, it guzzled mana and stamina inefficiently relative to effect.
But for confusing the enemy now, it was a perfect success.
"R-real...?"
He felt a slight pang at the excessive panic, but Tiny's reply was nonchalant.
"Of course. Didn't I say from the start? I'm from the same place as you."
...Though I don't even know where you're from.
He feigned a brazen, relaxed smile.
"...Dyed your hair?"
The finger pointing at his hair trembled, and a voice even shakier than before leaked from the mask.
Huh?
Tiny, baffled instead, touched his own head.
"Yeah, kinda..."
It had been a while since dyeing it brown, so black roots showing through wasn't odd.
Why's he this shocked?
He was just puzzled.
"Warhammer, black hair, black eyes, extraordinary, wolf... Yeah, spirit. Warhammer, swinging, black hair, spirit knight!"
Incoherent words about himself spilled from the Reaper's mouth.
No way—he attacked without even knowing who I am?
Hard to grasp the situation, he furrowed his brow.
"Knight of Radiance, Tiny...!"
"Yeah, that's me..."
"...Tiny Morse."
"Huh?"
"Thought it was a rumor...!? You really are, from that family?!"
...What?