Kyle and Ray exchanged glances, eyes rolling as if to say, Go on then.
I looked at the massive one-eyed creature and said, “The eye beneath the garnet.”
Both Ray and Kyle nodded.
“Let’s go for that eye. It’s big enough that the three of us can hit it together. We’ll keep attacking until something happens—and if that doesn’t work, I’ll climb up and stab it myself.”
“Could we try absorbing it instead?” Ray muttered.
He was a child of the World Tree too, and he’d done absorption before.
But I didn’t like that idea.
I pressed my lips together, gauging the distance my sword strikes could reach, when Kyle replied beside me.
“At that size, absorption won’t be easy.”
A fair point.
“It’s still strong—its resistance’ll be high. Might be impossible altogether. Let’s stick to blades first.”
We sent our attacks flying.
While the creature closed the distance, we struck again and again.
Bang—BOOM!
Our hits landed but vanished like wind. We’d expected it wouldn’t do much, but not this little.
Its outer shell was far too tough.
Even the continuous strikes aimed straight at its eye’s membrane didn’t seem to make a dent.
Guess I’ll have to stab it up close.
“I’ll go for the eye—draw its attention for me.”
“Got it.”
“You sure about this?”
Kyle answered easily, but Ray looked at me.
Keeping my gaze on the hulking creature, I smiled faintly. “Can’t be worse than the dragon.”
Granted, I’d nearly died that time.
But I was stronger now—in skill and in stamina.
Narrowing my eyes, I tracked its movement.
“It’s turning left.”
I sprinted to the left.
Ray and Kyle moved right, striking immediately as soon as I darted away.
Thanks to that, I reached its left limb quickly.
Grabbing what seemed to be its front leg, I climbed upward hand over hand.
The creature thrashed, trying to shake me off, but I clung on until I reached the eye.
“Stabbing now!”
I drew my sword and shouted.
No reply, but I didn’t need one.
I thrust the blade into its eye—pushed the tip deep.
Oh?
I felt it touch—
KWHAAANG!
An immense shockwave slammed me off, sending me rolling across the wasteland.
For a second, I couldn’t even grasp what had happened.
Then the pain hit, and the hard ground beneath me made it clear. The eye had exploded.
I leapt to my feet and scanned for Ray and Kyle.
Thankfully, they’d managed to block part of the blast with their swords.
Spitting blood, I shouted toward them as they ran up.
“Keep it away from the village!”
The creature—its rocky body now molten, amber fluid streaming between cracks—was turning slowly.
Its eye had been amber too, and now that it had burst, something inside seemed to be leaking out.
Hitting its main body was useless.
So I opened my mouth to tell them to dig trenches and block its path, when Kyle’s blade flashed across the barren ground.
“Oh, nice.”
“You okay?!”
I was admiring the clean trench he’d carved when Ray shouted.
I grinned at my slightly pale friend. “For now.”
Ray started to say something, then closed his mouth again.
I didn’t push. Instead I ran straight for the creature.
Ray followed. We reached Kyle’s side, and from there it turned into chaos.
Still, our hits did nothing. Even when the three of us attacked the same spot at once, there was no effect. So we resorted to gouging the wasteland itself, trapping the thing in a huge pit.
It kept trying to climb out, though, and again our blows bounced off.
I looked down at the orange liquid staining the dark rock.
“I’ll try stabbing the eye again.”
Kyle and Ray turned toward me.
“It did something last time, at least.”
“Hey, it could explode again!”
“This time we know it’ll blow—we’ll block it right after stabbing.”
We’d tried striking from a distance, but since the last explosion, the creature had kept its eye shut tight.
Up close, though, I could still pierce between those lids.
Beside Ray, who protested, Kyle narrowed his eyes.
He studied me for a moment, then said, “Then I’ll do it this time.”
“You said you couldn’t climb.”
“I’ll just jump down.”
Well, the thing was trapped inside the pit we’d made.
“Brace yourselves for the shockwave.”
He didn’t wait for our answer.
Before his words were even gone, Kyle leapt down onto the creature.
Ray and I watched him land near the closed eye.
He couldn’t climb, maybe, but hanging on he managed fine, positioning himself beside the lid.
“Stabbing!”
Kyle adjusted his sword’s angle.
No response was needed.
The dark-haired man drove his blade in.
It sank deep—clean hit.
But... nothing happened.
“You stabbed it?”
“Try a few more times!”
At Ray’s shout, Kyle plunged the blade again and again.
Still nothing.
What’s wrong—
Just then, we all felt it: a sudden shift in air pressure.
We flinched as one.
It’s going to blow.
“Get back!”
At my cry, Kyle sprang out of the pit.
The next instant—
KWHAAAAANG!
Our eardrums tore.
We blocked the shockwave with our bodies and swords, but not all of it. What our blades couldn’t neutralize slammed into us, throwing us backward.
And the rest—the portion we couldn’t stop—ripped across the wasteland toward the village.
Shit.
At that speed and force, it’d hit.
Heart dropping, I spun around. The wave stretched toward the village—
And someone was standing between them.
“Kishis?”
What the hell is he doing here—
Before the thought finished, Kishis drew his sword.
KWAANG!
The wave vanished.
The force surging toward the village scattered into the air. A single, simple motion. Anyone slow of eye would’ve thought he’d merely unsheathed his blade.
But no wave that strong could vanish just from that.
The Swordmaster had attacked in the same instant as he drew.
Is that even possible...
Speechless, I watched the imperial bastard close the distance.
He smiled at our stunned faces.
“Good work getting the gem.”
He passed us and stopped at the pit’s edge.
“And you even dug this thing up in the meantime.”
Then his sword moved again.
A quiet strike—nothing like our noisy swings. Clean, measured, elegant. The opposite of his reputation for chaos and indulgence.
But beautiful nonetheless.
So much so that there was no room even for envy.
I saw his blade slice the air.
Shhk—
The rock creature split cleanly in half.
The hide that not even our combined attacks had scratched fell away like paper.
“Chicks,” he said, and the Swordmaster smirked as his eyes swept over us.
“You’ve got a long way to go.”
We stood there in silence for a long time, staring down at the dead creature, until the beautiful woman who’d come to fetch him finished drawing a teleportation circle on the ground.
***
“Keep the sixth day open.”
“You already saw my skill isn’t worth much.”
We had used the court magician’s power to return to the Empire.
As soon as I handed him the garnet, Kishis looked straight into my eyes and said that.
With his lips curled, Kishis studied me while Kyle and Ray watched quietly.
Taking the garnet, he tilted his head.
“True, you’re lacking. Still, it wasn’t coincidence that you cut my hair.”
“Yes. As you can see, I’m nothing special. Please, withdraw your excessive attention.”
“Excessive attention?”
“Compared to the two knights behind me, I’ve got nothing exceptional.”
“Nothing?”
His answer was strange.
I blinked several times, not understanding.
What does he mean, nothing? It’s true. Ray, Kyle, and I were practically even. I wasn’t foolish enough to deny that. Each of us had strengths and weaknesses, but overall, our skill was about the same.
All three of us were children of the World Tree, too.
He, of all people, should see that clearly. So why—
Suddenly Kishis’s sword was at my throat.
Kyle and Ray reacted instantly.
“Sir Kishis!”
“You’re the only one here with that look—like you’ve got nothing left to lose.”
Ray’s voice rose, and Kyle’s brow furrowed as his hand gripped his hilt.
I raised a palm, telling them to stay still.
The Emperor’s bastard smiled at me.
“Like a conquered man who survived alone.”
His violet eyes narrowed.
“You don’t really have a reason to live, do you?”
Ah.
Couldn’t deny that. My face stayed still; only my eyes blinked.
Then I answered slowly, “Yes.”
“You didn’t even want to be a knight, did you?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You just drifted into it.”
The sword tip lifted my chin.
I didn’t resist.
Silence filled the tent. Kishis studied my blank face, then his smile deepened.
A laugh that made the back of my neck prickle.
“A stray hound with no master belongs to whoever puts the leash on first.”
Nobles always did love these bizarre metaphors.
“If you’ve got nothing to lose, then find something to lose.”
It sounded like an order.
“In the capital.”
Could that even happen?
And even if it could, somehow I doubted he meant himself.
Not stupid enough to let that thought show.
Instead, I lowered my eyes and °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° stayed silent. Kishis didn’t scold me for holding my tongue. He merely withdrew his sword from beneath my chin, brushed the dust from his clothes, and left the tent without another word.
His presence faded.
We didn’t move until it was completely gone.
Swallowing the bitter taste of defeat that followed.
***
“Money?”
“Tell me if you need any.”
One month after the garnet mission.
I was finally bringing up something I’d hesitated to say to Kyle.
“I’ve got nothing to spend mine on. You’ve been sending your entire pay to the poor, haven’t you?”
