Dhurke pushed himself up with his cane. Noticing the strange look in Nolan's eyes, he thumped his chest with a big hand, only to break into a couple of coughs.
Several soldiers held back their laughter, thinking the old captain was trying to act tough again. Never mind that he was the one who complained about his back hurting every day and still refused to let anyone help him.
Melina swung lightly down from her horse and stood off to the side, watching Nolan and the others chat and laugh with easy familiarity.
For some reason, as she looked at the warm, harmonious scene before her, a strange feeling rose in her chest.
At this moment, Nolan was neither a lord nor a hero. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary young man.
"This old man won't be accompanying you any further. Her Highness the Princess gave special instructions. She's waiting for you in the Mage's Tower."
Smiling, Dhurke gently patted the young man on the shoulder and spoke slowly.
Nothing pleased him more than watching the younger generation grow.
Dhurke looked toward the girl riding the wolf, his face full of delight.
"Latenna, take good care of His Highness."
"I understand," Latenna replied with a slight nod.
With that, the two waved farewell to the group, then turned and left, soon disappearing from sight.
As their figures receded, the soldiers who had been spread out nearby gathered around. One young soldier, unable to contain his curiosity, asked,
"Old man, who was that? I've never heard of that knight before."
Carian Knights were exceptionally rare, so few that one hand was enough to count them.
Leaning on his cane, the hale old Albinauric wore a kindly smile and replied with a question of his own.
"Aren't the stories of the Dark Moon Knight your favorites?"
The moment he said that, the soldiers all froze. Then someone blurted out in shock,
"That gentleman is the Dark Moon Knight!?"
…
Beyond the towering gates, the outer city came into view, filled with rows of newly built homes standing in neat, orderly clusters.
Most of those houses belonged to the soldiers' families. As for the Fingercreepers that once terrified everyone, they had already been rounded up and moved into a more central area.
If Tarnished came to assault the stronghold in the future, they would first have to face thousands of soldiers, then an even denser swarm of Fingercreepers. Just thinking about it was miserable.
Latenna remained in the city. After exchanging a friendly greeting with the Troll knight guarding the gate, Nolan brought Melina through the royal moon-viewing grounds and headed for the back mountain.
Neither of them spoke on the way. The breeze brushed across their faces, carrying a faint chill.
Nolan straightened his slightly rumpled clothes and rode his little ox-horse toward the Mage's Tower.
"When you see Ranni later, don't say anything out of line," Nolan said, more on instinct than anything else.
"Why? I don't think there's any conflict between us," Melina replied, frowning in confusion as she looked up at him with wide, puzzled eyes.
Nolan thought it over for a moment and decided she had a point, so he simply nodded and said nothing more.
After a long while, Nolan suddenly pulled on the reins, bringing Torrent to a stop.
Melina lurched forward with the motion, her forehead bumping against his hard armor.
A strange silence fell over the surroundings.
A few seconds later, Melina finally asked, "What is it? Did something happen? Did you notice something?"
Nolan narrowed his eyes and stared ahead, his voice low.
"Someone's coming. They're full of malice. Doesn't look like they're here for anything good."
"Oh? Not here for anything good? Where?"
As she spoke, Melina wrapped her arms tightly around Nolan's waist and freed one hand to draw the dagger at her side.
"Aren't they right there?"
The wind roared, as though trying to swallow every other sound.
Nolan stared into the distance, his sharp gaze cutting through the gale and settling beneath the towering Mage's Tower ahead.
Several dark shapes flickered there, half hidden and half revealed, as though they were part of the darkness itself.
The people hiding in the shadows had concealed their presence extremely well. If Nolan had not spoken up, even Melina would not have noticed them.
"Ranni's enemies. I've finally laid eyes on you after all this time," Nolan said with a soft sigh.
Melina was just about to ask more when her ears twitched slightly.
A strange sensation suddenly rose within her.
Someone was approaching.
She snapped her head around, her eyes locking onto a patch of shadow nearby.
In the next instant, a dark figure burst out of it.
It moved so fast that she could not make out its face at first, but the greatsword in its hand stood out immediately.
Black-red flames blazed across the blade.
"Who's there?!"
Melina shouted as she raised her dagger and took a defensive stance.
But before she could fully prepare herself, a fierce gust slammed into her face.
So fast.
Melina's heart jolted. Before she could think, the attacker was already in front of her.
She slashed out with her dagger, driving it hard toward the assailant.
Then came a sharp clang. The falling greatsword was stopped by an even greater force, and the dark figure was violently knocked back.
The attacker's pupils contracted slightly. Disbelief appeared on his already hideous face.
As if he could not believe what he was seeing, he stared fixedly at the slight, delicate figure before him.
He could not understand how such a small body could contain such terrifying strength.
"It's Destined Death!"
Melina had clearly recognized the power for what it was.
But at a time like this, it no longer mattered what it was called.
Flames raced up her robes, and at the same time the sound of a blade cutting through the air came from behind her.
Nolan grabbed Melina by the arm, and the pitch-black fire went out in an instant.
Another dark figure closed in, lifting a blackflame greatsword high before bringing it down with crushing force.
Boom!
Nolan did not meet the blade directly. Understanding his intent at once, Torrent dissolved into countless spirit particles and vanished into the air at extreme speed.
Holding Melina, Nolan disappeared in the same instant. All that remained was the thunderous crash echoing over and over, lingering in the air.
The attacker frowned. The target had vanished.
Or rather, it had disappeared at the exact instant the blade came down. The speed was too great for the naked eye to follow.
Bloodhound's Step?
Half crouching on the ground, it glanced at the huge crater left by the greatsword. After a moment of silence, it rose to its feet.
As the dust slowly cleared, a savage wolf's head was finally revealed in full.
Pure killing intent surged forward like a tidal wave, crashing down on the wolf-headed figure from all sides.
The werewolf instantly tensed every muscle in its body and reflexively swung the Blackflame Greatsword across itself to block.
Bang!
A tremendous force burst through its arms without warning and sent it flying.
Its body traced an arc through the air before slamming heavily into the ground, then it skidded backward under the force of the impact, gouging a long trail across the earth.