Messiah 29 : Willed_Desperation

A firm stance. Cold, unwavering eyes. He was clearly no jester, for he stood with his grip tightened and his will stern.

Katachi broke off the tip of the dirk with a Kaba rune to make it a comfortable length. Though it was steel and he didn't feel very comfortable with the way the grip was made, against a knight every bit of protection he could muster counts. It was best to adjust the dirk to a length he was comfortable with - The length of the wooden dagger he had held onto for so long.

It was slightly heavier than he would have liked it, but the weight gave him security, as if the sluggish feel was related to its sturdiness that could help him stay alive and perhaps win, even if by a margin. The act seemed to surprise the others who stood at another side of the court, however.

Ian lifted the greatsword with a single arm, and approached him with solid steps. Careful not to let his guard down, Katachi crouched a little, preparing to dodge rather than clash head-on.

K : (... That sword doesn't look like it's meant for one hand alone... I can't even imagine the pain he's gone through to wield it with such control and calmness.)

He struck. Quick as lightning, the knight took no effort at all in closing their gap. A rotatory slash through a twirl of his wrist and solid grip that accompanied his body's turning and shifting to a side, always keeping his back away from Katachi, proved a dangerously swift slash that could sever him easily while keeping himself safe from the enemy and his weapon between the two combatants at all times.

He dodged to the side quickly, perpendicular to his swing. The blade simply scarred the ground, almost effortlessly, and he saw the cloud of marble dust that danced from the blade's almost-elegant tilling of the throne room's floor.

He slowly backed from the knight cautiously, while keeping low at all times. The closer a person's body was to the ground, the greater control he had over the possible movements he could perform - He had witnessed this from how a spider leapt about predictably in the corner of his bedroom, compared to the controlled and stable slithering of a snake that could easily weave and dodge the obstacles on the ground with grace.

*Cozy's Notes : Jumping Spiders are cool.*

To his surprise, however, the scar on the floor began to reform and heal.

K : "!!" (The scar is healing?)

As if the whole room he were in was alive right now, he gave a brief glance at the floor, to confirm his suspicions.

I : "!"

But the knight before him was on constant alert at all times. He gave no room for his opponents to strategize, hesitate or relax - He was an embodiment of everything exemplary and expected of a knight, a role model that surely many would look up on.

He gave a lunge, in the direction Katachi's body was slightly leaning toward, forcing the black-haired boy to dodge in an uncomfortable manner. He had to leap backwards, and carefully toss his body back upright so his opponent wouldn't close in and push further.

It may have been wiser to dodge to his side, to see how he would react in a different situation. But even then, Katachi could subconsciously tell - The knight deliberately poised his lunge to a precise point between his core and right side, encouraging Katachi to dodge to his left to minimize his movement and increase the amount of control he had remaining.

But dodging left would leave Katachi open for a powerful outward swing, easily achieved by him planting a bit of strength in his left foot and pivoting the soles and ball of his right foot onto the marble floor. In fact, dodging in any direction besides backward would mean being cut, because Ian had lunged in a position where he was in perfect control of his whole body. The footwork that achieved the feat probably took years of training to learn, let alone perfect.

Both in the attack and the potential follow-ups, Ian had positioned himself in a way that he could attack Katachi as long as he remained within the sword's range while dodging, which further showed how skilled he was at the essence of battle. He had the feeling that taking this opponent on through normally favorable methods would only spell demise.

Katachi caught his breath, and slowly walked horizontally, distancing himself from the knight carefully.

I : "You look surprised."

K : "... The crack on the floor resealed."

I : "Are you truly in the mood to worry about the destruction of the stage as we battle?"

With his grip still firm, the knight sought to cast away all doubts from his foe's mind for a satisfying battle.

I : "This throne room and everything in it is under the blessing of Ilpoh, the God of Battles - As long as the damage is inflicted during a battle, it will recover."

K : "... This is the first I have heard of such a strange magic."

I : "It is by no means a magic, but an Art - Ilpoh will not allow pitiable excuses like the unevenness of the ground or the debris of rubble; Excuses that affect the concentration of the combatants. Such is the gift and great blessing which the God of Battles bestows upon this sacred land of dueling. Cast aside your doubts and face me, Ohdean."

Katachi winced at the mention of his Ohdean descent.

K : "... I'm Findeli. I was raised in Mielfeud."

I : "So be it then, child. Gender, heritage, beliefs or techniques; Nothing matters in the face of a fair fight!"

*** ***

Though he had been calm in the conversation, Katachi's confidence quaked. He saw, in that small instant, the possible many futures that could have happened had he chosen to react poorly then at that lunge.

How he would have been punched had he dodged right, how he would have been slashed had he dodged left, how ducking under his arm would have him cut apart by the same action the knight would perform as when he dodged left - A pulling back of his right arm that would accompany the left hook, creating a perfect barrier against any advances the enemy may attempt.

His only safe way out was dodging further back, putting distance between himself and the knight's effective range.

That alone, was scarier than actually being cut or sliced.

Not only did he foresee how skilled his opponent was, he also saw each of his deaths many times over. As useful as it may have been in keeping him alive, this uncanny ability cultivated by many magi face a great problem - This process that was meant to preserve life emboldens the opponent with great power through the magus respecting the knight's strength enough to retreat.

The image of their opponent, with every action and every swing, strengthened only by the possibilities that could have been... In every sense, a magus challenging a knight was unfavorable precisely because while magi mold image power into a corporeal form, the knights use image power passively to increase their own strength and war potential.

Their only advantage over the knights would be the ability to strike their opponents without the need to approach them - That was the only merit of the magi against them. Placing curses and effects that would weaken the knights, or blasting them from afar was the only means for these fragile practitioners to stand a chance against the physically built warriors.

Unfortunately, Katachi could cast none of those spells that would have come in handy here.

A magi's state of mind affects his ability to form the image of the spells in their heads. People who could see and image the destruction of something vividly were good at spells that caused destruction. People who were gentle, kind and passive were the ones who could image a person's serene demeanour, and by extension excelled at healing magic.

Though his affinity had been related to water and healing, Katachi was incapable of visualizing the serenity needed to cast healing spells. He was equally inept at cursing and resenting others, equally horrid at finding joy in the pain of others. He could not bring himself to hurt others willingly, and the image of others' misery a fleeting and transient picture in his head.

In this, he was severely outmatched in every aspect. He would face certain death with every attack from the opponent if he does not dodge, and yet it was not in his nature to retaliate.

Katachi was simply not a person who could imagine himself hurting or killing another person deliberately. He was simply not a magus who threatened to kill or murder willingly in a single, clean attack.

In that aspect, he was ironically closer to Dardicel than he was to Segus - Rather than resolving the conflict by nullifying all of the enemy's actions through faith alone, Katachi was more accustomed to leaving a myriad of problems, a difficult trial for his opponents to overcome with their own power; As if he were testing and gauging his opponents' strength constantly, rather than actually battling them.

As if he were more fascinated with seeing how strong his opponent actually was, rather than forcing his power onto others selfishly.

And yet, he could see the knight's caution from how he moved, from how he placed himself in an aggressive position while remaining in a stance that allowed him to intercept possible attacks. He was balanced in his acts; Though striking with lethal precision and taking every gap he could find with a savage and merciless advance, he did not have the relentless nature of fighting like the one Cillian had - Pushing an aggressive front against him, knowing and fully taking advantage of a magi's weakness.

It would be right to assume that Ian respected Katachi enough to raise his guard against him... Against every opponent he faced. A man who truly offered his life to a single cause, whom had once, and always fought not for honor or glory, but for survival. Even now, he had stopped taking the offensive as he just had, patiently waiting for Katachi to make his move as if to say he had decided that he had shown enough for now, expecting his opponent to fight him proper.

To wield that greatsword with a single hand, the desperation and will to strengthen his body such that he could survive and remain in control against the most dire of situations, and yet all the caution he oozed as they battled...

Even though a single hack could end his life.

... Even though a single hack could end his life.

He found it. The path that would allow his survival... Katachi found it.

The problem now, was making the plan work.

This plan... For it to work, Katachi must skirt around the very edge of Death, flirting with it ever so gently... But they must never touch.

A plan that would demand he demonstrate the same desperation the knight had shown to him.

*** ***

K : (... Magic Enhancing.)

A soft, gentle yet looming feeling encompassed his legs. By observing the flexing and moving of the arm of a strong person such as a seafarer or a blacksmith, he could envision the power of his arms increasing by that the image of that action.

That was the nature of the spell called Resounding Strength - A very old spell that was almost never used nowadays. After all, combined with the well-known spell by Lotz, Layering, he could increase the effects of Resounding Strength to increase an arm's strength by multiple times - In which case, Ian's arms. That was the birth of the spell known as Magic Enhancing, where a person's strength was artificially increased through the repeated layering of Resounding Strength over a person.

Through the same process, he strengthened his legs, allowing him to dodge and escape with greater ease.

Ian the knight lunged for him, but Katachi's sudden increase in speed was unprecedented. He quickly dodged to a side, kicking off a pillar and back at Ian, threatening to attack him.

But the attack never came. Ian swung at Katachi expecting him to enter his range, but Katachi flipped himself on purpose, planting the dirk into the ground and vaulting over the knight. In response, the knight shuffled toward where the dirk once stabbed, always keeping the black-haired boy in his sights.

Katachi simply landed safely, and retreated further back, never truly attacking the opponent.

Ian was astute enough to notice.

I : "... So you're the type to observe his opponents and gauge what they can do in full, are you?"

With a clench of his right fist, the knight began a strange action. He curled his arm backward into a corkscrew motion, and with it...

I : "Or are you still doubting me and my power, believing this whole act to be a part of the Trial of Sin you fear so? I don't blame you, since it's only natural for you to be fearful of something from your own culture you're familiar with."

... Red spikes.

No... Crystallized spikes of blood formed on his right hand erratically, and on the broadsword elegantly encrusting the guard and core of the blade.

I : "But this is as far as your nonsense goes."

K : (That posture... I don't know what he's going to do, but I had better run-!)

Katachi quickly retreated from the knight as he unleashed his blood, in the form of crystals, raining forward in a deathly shrapnel storm that would taint the general area with both his own, and the opponent's blood if he had hit.

It was... Beautiful. As if a beautiful rose had blossomed, as if a gust carrying the easily scattered petals of Spring and the end of the Month of the Cane had arrived and made its presence known with the scattering and littering of the entire area.

Truly, it was an honor to witness such a beautiful magic derived from another country's true history. As Katachi was not a part of the Findel Magus Association, he knew none of the true history of Findel to equal something this brilliant.

Katachi ran up the wall behind him, dodging the barrage of crimson crystals that was aimed rather low to hit his lowered position. Admittedly the magic helped in the process, but he felt the power welling within him to have lived to see and survive that attack.

K : (Such a direct offense spell... It's just like the straightforward nature of the warriors of Rugnud to use something this simple.)

Landing back on the ground safely, Katachi never took his eyes off the knight - He could not allow himself to open any further gaps for the knight to abuse. The crystals came alive, reverting to puddles of blood that quickly crept toward the warrior, reabsorbed into his arm. Having the spokes of blood on his arm were one thing, but what about his sword? What did the blood-red crystals on the sword serve as?...

... Perhaps it was best if he never found out. He shouldn't wait around for it to occur. Casting Magic Enhancing over his whole body, Katachi sprang into action.

He jumped forward, finally taking the offense out of the blue. Having played defensive all this time, he threw off the knight slightly with his unexpected brash act of confronting his opponent head-on, a direct charge towards him.

The blade of the greatsword was swung. Katachi quickly shuffled his feet to adjust his trajectory to a side and steered clear, then planted the dirk into the ground once more, this time using it as a pivot as the powerful lady from Anik did with the pillar that chained the slaves.

He quickly circled around the knight, but Ian was truly experienced as a warrior whom had to fight for his life.

The knight had swung in a manner that allowed him to place his weapon between both combatants at all times, for use in both offense and defense. That proved his experiences with real battles, one that Katachi lacked.

Katachi had already committed himself to the attack. He couldn't back out this time, unlike before, and he charged in with his hands guarding his face.

The knight, however, seemed used to his moves.

The wealth of experience he had greatly overshadowed any cheap, fast tricks Katachi could muster.

With a spin of his body, he dodged Katachi easily while slicing his right arm with a simple graze of his elbow and bashing the rear of his head with his backhand.

The impact of the attack was tremendous - Katachi had foreseen it, and placed a 定 on himself in just that one instant to defend against the monstrous attack - He had not been fast enough to block the elbow cut, but he survived the potential crushing of his skull, at least.

*Cozy's Notes : Who said elbows weren't sharp? Even without Magic Enhancing, in real life elbows were strong enough to cut foreheads, cheeks and wrists.*

A slight fountain of blood gushed from his right arm as his whole body was sent flying towards the other end of the court, where the other knights were watching their duel in silence. A knight wielding a mace helped the young black-haired boy up as he gazed at, and shuddered slightly at the amount of strength he had placed on his opponent's arms for his plan to work.

I : (... That's odd. I don't remember using that much strength to begin with. He might be using a spell that lightens his own body to allow himself to move so quickly... That could explain his faster movement and fragile body.)

He fastened the wound on his right arm with the sash attached to the female squire's armor, praying that it would stop soon. In order for his trick to remain concealed, Katachi deliberately released the Magic Enhancing on his arm so the blood forced through his body does not spurt from the movement of his right triceps by even a bit. As long as possible, he must conceal the act, until the enemy succeeds in activating his plan.

As Katachi walked back towards Ian, he heard the knight's opinion on the attack.

I : "That stance you used just now... I believe that was Nistier's Style, was it not?"

K : "!" (As expected of a knight, he recognized it right away... !) "... Yes."

I : "If you think imitating another man's form makes you stronger, you are sorely mistaken. You're not relying upon your own strength, but borrowing another man's accomplishments as a stepping stone. Surely this is not all there is to offer from my liege's spouse of choice?"

The way he said that implied that he was starting to grow tired of the tricks Katachi pulled. He was clearly a strong opponent, and the strong yearn to properly exert their power to the fullest, in a thirst and desire to fully understand where their powers have brought them.

There was no way he could have won against a person with so much experience.

And yet, and yet... Something within him was screaming at him.

He could do it. The conditions of victory were exceedingly difficult, but he could do it.

He simply had to envision the many images of his deaths once more, and ensure he does not die.

K : (... It would be great if I had healing magic now... But now is not the time to worry over something I can't do.)

With newfound confidence, he walked forward once more.

... 'Confidence' would be a lie.

He was clearly uncertain of whether the plan would succeed. The chances of failure were really high, and yet, he had made it this far by envisioning the image of his own death many, many times. He had the reflexes and sanity to ensure that he did not end up as any of them.

This was no 'confidence' he mustered.

A drastic measure to live and survive, the same way the knight once had, forcing himself to endure and push through... Reflected clearly in the way he fights and attacks, in that strangely balanced way of keeping himself safe yet hurting the opponent at the same time.

This, was willed desperation.

*** ***

Katachi ran towards Ian once more, with both forearms guarding his face once more.

But the knight's cleave reminded Katachi that the warrior was accustomed to Nistier's Style, familiar enough to have felled many before him.

Amending from his mistake quickly, Katachi knelt and slid himself under the diagonal slash and through the knight's legs, planting a bloodied and smudged handprint in the process. In reflex, the knight forced himself to fall, tumbling out of the way safely in the event Katachi were to attack from such an obscure angle.

K : (Two droplets of water merge to become one. Two bodies of liquid are attracted to each other!)

Sigurd's Water Linkage - Katachi had used it once more.

The same technique he had used to frighten Zirco and attack him before he could react.

The powerful pull yanked Katachi forward so quickly toward his own bloodied handprint that even he could only brace for the worst with his arms close to his chest, guarding his vitals out of reflex. But he had at least prepared for the powerful force pre-casting - Katachi performed a power slide towards Ian once more, baiting a proper counter measure from the knight.

There, he finally saw it.

The greatsword embedded with blood crystals, stabbed forcefully into the ground between his legs with the intent to maim and trap Katachi from escaping, before pinning him down and beating him furi-

*GAZPHKIM*

K : (Finally... He did it.)

-At long last, his plan had worked.

*** ***

Through Magic Enhancing, Katachi forcibly increased his opponent's strength in order to increase the quantity of the dust cloud emitted. If a simple graze on the ground was enough to kick up a dancing swirl, a plunge or smash attack of sorts that struck the ground solidly would surely kick up a massive cloud of dust.

It made no difference how powerful Ian Bloodcrust was with his sword - Whether his strength was one, ten or a hundred fold, if the blade had cut Katachi, he would be dead either way. From the start, he had no need to fuss over the strength of his opponent - He was clearly powerful enough to end the boy's life, whether he intended to or not.

He just had to ensure that he did not get cut or hit - Thus the extremely defensive play, until the opponent resorted to using magic out of impatience.

The one window of opening Ian had for figuring out his ploy was when the elbow grazing caused such a wide wound on his right arm. Fortunately, Katachi gave him no time to capitalize on that information at all by taking offense straight away, forcing the knight's cautious personality to work in his favor.

Had the knight guessed at the outcome, he would have won by not striking the ground and creating the cloud of dust.

But, now that the 'mist' has been established...

K : (Let the real magic commence.)

*** ***

The cloud of dust surprised even Ian himself as he was left disoriented for just a mere moment, a window enough for Katachi to shift his legs and kick the female squire's greaves against one of the crystals on the sword. Katachi safely slid a safe distance away from Ian, and grinned briefly.

K : "... Do not say that I have neglected to warn you - The guardian of the mist resides within the fog."

Hidden in the safety of the dust, Katachi quickly stripped the female armor from his body and used the dirk to slit his right palm. With his fingers dabbed in blood, he began scribbling and drawing on the ground with precision where his left bloodied hand could not.

I : (!! The Man who sought the Eternal Wind!) "Show yourself!"

K : "Oh, forgo the thought. What good is advice over a man's ambition? Do as you deem fit."

With the cover of mist, Katachi was able to safely draw his blood on the ground, without Ian attacking him carelessly. He could finally see a path to victory.

I : "Accursed magus! Is this your idea of a fair fight, to have a monster of legends old to fight in your stead?! Show yourself!!"

Katachi paid no heed to Ian's taunts. In fact, Katachi was actually afraid of making any more noise from that point on.

I : "..."

His opponent, too, recognized the spell - Disturbing the peace of the mist with unnecessary talking and vulgar shouts only serves to enrage the guardian.

If both of them remained silent, at the very least, there would be a chance that Katachi would encounter the tiger first. It was a gamble, but unfortunately for Ian, Katachi was not going to let Ian remain quiet.

The rubble on the ground was basically inexistent - The cracks heal themselves as long as they were inflicted during a battle, as Ian had cited.

K : (... If that's true, then surely they wouldn't mind if I use Aleksei's spell?... Though, I can't really see Ian right now, so using it the way Zirco did wouldn't be possible...)

Zirco's variant of the spell made it unique - As long as he could see Katachi's black hair through the thick green fumes, the flames would continuously erupt under the fool's feet. In that sense, if Katachi kept Ian in his sights, the erupting pillars of flame would make a lot of noise and lure the guardian of the mist to his enemy.

But in a dense fog, where visibility is incredibly poor and nothing could be seen, Zirco's technique would not work at all. After all, if the wiseman could not see Aleksei, how could he claim that the ground beneath the fool spewed flames?

The solution was simple, then - Use a spell derived from the same story in a way such that seeing the opponent was unnecessary.

K : (He felt the rumbling of the earth and the gush of flames ahead, desperately escaping the volatile earth.)

From somewhere in front of him, a powerful blast of fire vented forth from the ground.

I : ( That was somewhere to my left... He's trying to attack me even in this fog?! Otemiygnan curse him!! Such unsightly cowardice, even now!!!)

The knight clenched his fist once more, and blood spikes encrusted themselves unto his forearm. A wild punch in the general direction of the flame pillar sent many blood crystals flying to somewhere to Katachi's left. Not only did it have the chance to maim Katachi or the guardian itself, the crystals crashing against the walls would redirect the guardian away from Ian should the possibility occur.

K : (... He has the advantage here. That spell is so direct that it does not need to be aimed or primed... I need to hurry.)

His opponent was now doing his work for him - He was the one attacking and producing noise to lure the guardian towards specific directions. Katachi threw the leather vambrace of the armor to his right this time, and another shower of blood crystals rained on the general vicinity to his immediate right. He felt the blood crystal barely missing his right ear with a flicking sound, and the dome of his head felt something brush past instantly.

K : (... That was too close for comfort. He almost got me that time... But I know his position now.)

Picking up the cuisse of the armor, Katachi threw it in Ian's estimated direction.

Needless to say, the resounding clank and clash of metal striking steel was a much better indicator of a person's positioning in such a thick cloud of dust.

He heard the guardian's roar as it viciously mauled at Ian. But, anticipating it beforehand, Ian blocked the vicious gnaw and rend with his sword, holding it off briefly before it retreated back to the fog.

I : (Shit. Shit! That conniving magus!! I will see to his demise!!!) "You have been felled once, foul beast, and I see no reason why you cannot be felled again!"

K : (Perfect. He's fighting the guardian, so I can draw safely without worries as long as I steer clear of them.)

*** ***

Was it an exciting match? Was it an intense battle?

Only the shouts of the knight in the cloud of dust could be heard.

The other knights rustled with unease, and Roberia briefly glanced at the two.

She didn't know who she would root for.

One, a knight whom had sworn fealty to her, whom had guided her since he was 11 and she was but a mere baby, a loyal sparring partner and mentor, a man who had sworn to be her right hand that would greatly help her in the cause to lead Rugnud to even greater glory, and beyond.

The other, a child whom allowed her to relax feel at ease, who helped broaden her perspectives of the world and identify the means other countries have employed to solve their own problems; Problems that Rugnud may come to face with the changing economy.

She wished that both would come out safely, without any injuries.

... But the odds are incredibly slim - Especially when Roberia had witnessed Ian's magic first-hand.

It would be very unlikely for both sides to emerge without casualties.

... Though, she silently prayed that Katachi would surprise her once more.

*** ***

Clash. Clang. It was no easy feat to have survived thus far against a monster known for devouring adventurers who trespassed on its territory, but Ian fared pretty well against the guardian.

A normal nomad would shriek in terror, and simply give in, letting the tiger bite them and end the fright that accompanied their lives.

But for the man who had endured much, who had peregrinated alone in the jungles of Western Anik, where every moment was filled with some form of life threatening to take his - Be it the swamp and muck beneath his sabaton, the innumerable amounts of parasitic insects, the rampant and over-abundant carnivorous plants and the numerous fauna that resided within...

A tiger where he had only the need to defend one side at a time was nothing.

The many legends and tales that arose from the brave who dared to venture into Western Anik proved exactly how much a trial it was to come back alive, forget unscathed.

To him, this was not a battle of tactics, but reflexes - How fast he can sense the tiger's angle of attack, how quickly he can block the blow in time and how swiftly he delivered the counterblow would determine the victory.

When it came to parrying and defending, the man who had to fight for his dear life was unrivalled. The many foes which threatened to swarm at him from every angle had forced him to evolve the conventional tactics of planting one's feet solidly to stand his ground.

He was, through much pain and practice and difficulty, finally proficient at the techniques of the Anikans who seemed to prance and shuffle around the battlefield, never remaining in a singular, firm stance but assuming many different ones that worked for each and every individual surface.

But...

As he prepared to receive another blow from the tiger, everything stopped.

I : "!?" (What sorcery is it this time?!)

The cloud of dust was slowly thinning out. And to his far left...

I : "!!!" (He... He did all this? All the while I was fighting...)

... was Katachi, placing his palm on a gigantic magic circle on the ground, drawn in blood.

K : "... I take it that you're familiar with this spell."

I : "... Sovereign... !"

He had planned all of this out.

He had, from the start, not chosen a coward's path out by relying on the guardian to fight his battle. The confident, bright light in his eyes that showed the euphoria of a successful plan told the knight everything he needed to know.

The boy had trusted in Ian's ability to go along with his plan, albeit unknowingly and unwillingly.

The boy had faith in Ian's skills, for him to fend off the monster long enough for a peaceful resolution to be reached.

The spell that could raid the authority of everything within the magic circle, a second Territory spell over the first.

I : "... I understand. This... Is my loss."

With his grip loosened, Ian's greatsword fell onto the floor, with a satisfied answer.

He was willing to accept the loss against the Ohdean magus, a child who held the wisdom and strength to stand by his liege's side.

It would have been ugly had he struggled any further.

R : (Thank the Gods... They're both alright.)

... However.

K : "Segus bless you."

R : (... What?... WHAT?! SEGUS?!!)

*Cozy's Notes : Anyone else feel the chill in their blood, as if those three words were spoken in slow-mo?*

Segus.
Bless.
You.

That was more than enough reason for Ian, and just about everyone else in the room to revolt in an uproar.

I : "MY LIEGE!!! A FOLLOWER OF SEGUS AS YOUR SPOUSE?! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?!"
"MY QUEEN!!! SURELY YOU CANNOT EXPECT A SEGUS FOLLOWER TO GUIDE US!!!"

F : "WHAT IS THIS, ROBERIA?! THIS OHDEAN IS A SEGUS FOLLOWER!?"
"YOUR HIGHNESS!!! PLEASE EXPLAIN YOURSELF ON THIS!!!"

"YOUR HIGHNESS, OF ALL PEOPLE TO DECEIVE AS YOUR CONSORT, WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN A SEGUS FOLLOWER!?!?"
"WHY HAS EMPRESS ROBERIA CHOSEN THIS FILTHY SEGUS-FOLLOWING WATERMONGER AS HER CONSORT!?!"

H : (... Oh dear. This turned ugly real fast.)

*** ***

The many glares of contempt and hatred and confusion of the knights pierced Katachi.

He... Honestly felt a bit uncomfortable.

How could a single sentence stir the knights in such an uproar?

What... What crimes had he committed? Never in his life had he imagined that merely saying 'Segus bless you' could incite such wrath and anger that was equal to, if not even greater than the peril before the battle.

As the many warriors pelted the red-haired slender girl with even more questions, a thundering clap blasted the mob into silence.

Everyone turned to look at the bare-handed and aged knight bashing the head of Ian Bloodcrust with a powerful blow, knocking out the man in an instant.

"... You... You are the one they call 'Kozuba Katachi', right?"

*Cozy's Notes : How they pronounce Katachi's name is Col-zoo-bar Katachi, but how Katachi pronounces his own name is Co-twu-ba. It's like saying 'two' except you say -wu instead of -wo.*

K : (He knows me?) "... It's Kotsuba, actually."

"A-ha! I knew the news printed it wrongly!"

The aged knight held out a piece of papyrus with pride.

"It says 'Kozuba' here. See? Can you imagine how humiliating it must be for the one who made that mistake? Hahahahah!"

His hearty laughter betrayed the overwhelming power from that one attack just now.

K : "..."

"I bet they're glad that these people chose not to label themselves at all, or these news-delivering vigilantes would have lost face. Hahahahahah!"

Katachi felt a strange, dangerous aura from him all of a sudden.

N : "... Ah, forgive me. I am Nazkova, Milos Nazkova. I wish to apologize to you in full, Kotsuba Katachi."

Strangely enough, the aged knight got down before Katachi on a high kneel, which felt extremely uncomfortable.

N : "You see, my student there was consumed with blind rage, and he was about to release an extremely dangerous spell that could threaten the lives of everyone here. Please forgive Ian for his unruliness and incompetence."

For such an aged man to apologize for his student who was likely more than twice, and perhaps thrice Katachi's own age felt awkward, all in all.

K : "It... It's fine, really!"

N : "... No, no, I insist, young one. I should give you the gratification of a fight that digs at your weaknesses, such that you can improve on your own fighting techniques further. Consider it as my token of sincerity in regard to how sorry I am."

With a quiet and swift turn, he raised the man named Ian Bloodcrust from the ground and patted him awake.

N : "Ian, wake up. You have much to learn."

The aged knight removed his boot, and pulled his sock from his foot, raising it to the man's face.

I : "... ! I'm awake! I'm awake!"

N : "Good. Now listen, Ian - You may be an exemplary fighter, but muscling your way through is not the right way to defeat a magus. I want you to observe this match with your full attention, and note down everything that happens. Is that clear?"

I : "... I understand. Duly noted."

N : "Good. Watch a bit, kid - You're gonna learn something good."
K : (... It's kind of awkward seeing someone older than me called 'kid'.)

With that, the aged knight put the sock back on, and properly secured his boot onto his foot, making sure that it was tight.

N : "Young man! I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

With both hands raised to his chest, Milos Nazkova prepared to fight his opponent.

K : (Bare hands... ! This is a first...)
N : "Allow me to educate you on your weaknesses."