EPISODE 18: An Unusual Royal Summons (Part 2)

Inside the VIP room of the Silver Swan Inn, Zenoda stared at the ice-rose stamped letter with an expression of thorough exasperation. He refolded it and exhaled slowly.

"I genuinely don't know what game this pampered Princess is playing," Zenoda muttered, pressing two fingers to his temple. "But I suppose if I keep avoiding her indefinitely, this problem will only drag on longer. I'll play along with her little game tonight."

He reached for his katana, fastened it at his hip, and picked up his white cloak. His intention was to go alone and bring this to a conclusion. But the moment he stepped toward the door, three figures suddenly blocked his path.

Cedric, Valerius, and Agru stood in a row with expressions of firm resolve. They had already put on their grey cloaks.

"You can't go alone, Zenoda," Cedric said, his voice carrying a steadiness it hadn't possessed before. "Princess Elara is targeting you because of us. If she intends to punish or trap you, we have to be there to explain the truth."

"That's right," Valerius added, balling his hands into fists. "You saved our lives and what was left of our dignity. We won't let you face the anger of the palace by yourself."

Agru said nothing — he simply raised his solid fist as a silent declaration of loyalty.

Seeing the stubbornness in three young men who had once been insufferably arrogant, Zenoda could only manage a thin smile. "Do as you like. But if a fight breaks out, don't die in some undignified way."

Night descended over Koreson. A full moon shone brilliantly, casting silver light across the dirt road outside the city's main gate.

Zenoda and the three nobles walked past the outer boundary of the city, heading toward a quiet, rolling grassland. Cold night wind swept across the open ground. Several meters ahead of them, under the shadow of an enormous oak tree, a figure wrapped in a deep-blue cloak stood with their back to the moon, as though they had been waiting for a considerable time.

Zenoda slowed to a stop. He didn't need to see the face. The cold aura radiating from that silhouette was more than enough.

"So you came," said an elegant yet authoritative female voice from beneath the blue hood. Elara turned, pulling her hood back just enough to let the moonlight fall on her face.

Zenoda exhaled quietly and stepped forward. "Elara. What is the point of all of this? Wanted posters, harassment at the Academy, and now threatening letters in the middle of the night. What do you actually want?"

Elara folded both arms beneath her chest. "I want you to answer my father's summons at the palace. You owe him a direct explanation about what truly happened — and about those noble clowns currently hiding behind your back and following you around."

Cedric and Valerius both flinched slightly at the title "noble clowns" but restrained themselves from objecting.

Zenoda looked straight into Elara's sapphire eyes. "And if I refuse?"

A thin, lethal smile formed on the Princess's lips. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

Elara raised her right hand and snapped her fingers with a sharp CLICK.

In the fraction of a second after that sound rang out, a dense killing aura detonated from the shadows of the trees to Zenoda's right. A figure wrapped in pure black shot out like a bullet, swinging two gleaming daggers that caught the moonlight, aimed directly at Zenoda's throat.

The killing intent from the figure was powerful and genuine. But to Zenoda, there was something deeply familiar about the form and balance of those two daggers.

"Wait... those daggers? Ziryal?!" Zenoda thought, startled.

(Note: Because the adventurers were all wearing heavy full-coverage cloaks in the darkness of night, with their hoods pulled tight, neither party initially recognized the other.)

Zenoda pulled his body back quickly, avoiding the lethal crossed slash by a margin of millimeters.

The black-cloaked assassin — Ziryal — landed with fluid precision, but beneath his hood his eyes had gone wide with shock. "Impossible... This person in the white cloak is incredibly precise and fast. He dodged my strike as though he'd read it before I even moved!"

Zenoda fixed Elara with a furrowed look. "So you intend to kill me tonight?"

"No," Elara answered with characteristic arrogance. "Only to incapacitate you by force. I know that ordinary means or palace knights won't work on you. So I used my personal funds to hire several of the highest-ranked adventurers available at the Koreson Guild."

"Several?" Zenoda repeated.

The word had barely left his mouth when another shadow moved at tremendous speed from directly ahead. This figure wore a blue cloak. Without hesitation, Zenoda drew his katana and raised it to block the incoming strike.

CLAAANG.

The sound of metal meeting metal was nearly deafening. The blue-cloaked figure had used an enormous tower shield as a battering ram. The force of the charge was powerful enough that Zenoda — who was actively suppressing his divine strength to avoid killing anyone — was thrown considerably backward, separating him from his three noble companions.

Seeing Zenoda thrown back, Agru moved immediately. "Mister Blanco!" he shouted. The earth-element heir layered his fist with stone and lunged forward, intending to help Zenoda deal with the shield-user.

Cedric and Valerius, left behind, drew their swords and moved to follow Agru.

But before either of them could take a step, extraordinary heat and blinding flashes erupted from above. Fire element spells and light element spells, both shaped into raining spear formations, came screaming down and bombarded the positions of Cedric and Valerius.

BOOM. BOOM.

Both nobles were forced to leap apart in different directions, rolling across grass that was already scorched black.

"My, my... where do you two think you're going? You're fighting us now," came a woman's voice from within the rising smoke.

"We'll both be your opponents. I do hope you're prepared, because we won't be holding back," added a second woman's voice — softer in tone, but firm and unhesitating.

The smoke thinned, revealing two female figures descending through the air on magic currents. One woman wore a deep-red cloak covering her entirely, with wild fire element spirals dancing around her body — Annesia. Beside her stood a woman in a pristine white cloak, surrounded by a brilliantly bright blue-white holy aura — Linaya.

Cedric and Valerius scrambled back to their feet and stood back-to-back, confusion and panic flooding their minds.

"How did it come to this?!" Cedric snarled, crackling lightning across his sword through labored breathing. "Who are these insane adventurers?!"

"No idea!" Valerius ground his teeth, narrowing his eyes to assess the threat level. "But the two in front of us are not ordinary, Cedric. The speed of their incantations, the destructive force of the spells they just launched... they are genuinely terrifying. And the mana I can feel from them both... it's overwhelming. Inexhaustible, like looking at the surface of a vast lake!"

"So we're in serious danger?!"

Valerius was quiet for a moment. He looked at the flames and holy aura before him. He remembered how feeble he was without his noble title behind him. He swallowed, then turned his head slightly toward Cedric.

"Cedric... I'll buy time," Valerius said, in a tone of seriousness that he rarely showed anyone.

"Ehhhh?" Cedric turned with disbelief.

"Run. Get back to the city and find palace guards or Academy instructors. I'll hold these two magic monsters for as long as I can!" Valerius commanded, preparing to sacrifice himself.

Cedric heard those words and went completely still. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. In the past, when danger arrived, they would both have elbowed each other out of the way to save themselves first. But tonight, Valerius was offering his life.

Cedric lowered his head. A moment of silence passed. The night wind lifted his blonde hair.

Then, slowly, he stepped forward — not to run, but to stand squarely beside Valerius.

"Huhhhh?" Valerius stared at him in bewilderment. "What are you doing, idiot? Run!"

Cedric raised his left hand and clapped it hard against Valerius's shoulder. He showed a smile of genuine, uncomplicated pride that no one had ever seen from him before.

"You're my friend, Valerius," Cedric said steadily, his eyes carrying a resolve that belonged to a very different person from the one who had entered the forest weeks ago. "Not just you. Zenoda and Agru are our friends now too. I refuse to leave all of you to die here alone. Besides... running away in fear is a pathetic thing. I'd rather die fighting beside all of you tonight!"

Hearing that declaration, Valerius's eyes widened slightly. The fire-element noble then exhaled long and slowly, and a small laugh escaped him.

"Well... I honestly didn't expect those embarrassingly sincere words to come out of your mouth, Cedric," Valerius chuckled. He raised his fire sword. "But that's alright. Sometimes dying with your friends really is the best option available. Fine then — let's go!"

"YES!"

Cedric and Valerius launched themselves forward into the rain of fire and holy light. "YAAAAHHHHH!"

On the other side of the battlefield, Agru was locked in a fierce close-quarters struggle with the blue-cloaked shield-user. His stone-wrapped blows were deflected with precise shield angles, each collision sending shockwaves through the earth.

Meanwhile, Zenoda was locked in a sword exchange with the black-cloaked assassin. Their battle moved at extraordinary speed.

CLANG. SWISH. CLANG.

Ziryal leaped high into the air, swinging both daggers downward from above in an attempt to pin Zenoda's movement. But Zenoda, with completely unhurried footwork, jumped up to match Ziryal's altitude.

Under the light of the full moon, exchanging blows high in the night sky, the hood of Ziryal's cloak was blown back by a particularly fierce gust of wind. Moonlight fell across his face. At the same moment, Zenoda — only a few inches away — had stopped concealing his fighting style.

Ziryal stared into his opponent's black eyes. His heart hammered. The angle of the deflection, the absolute composure in those eyes, the way his opponent breathed—

"G-Guru...?!" Ziryal thought, stunned beyond measure. The white-cloaked target he had been hired to capture was Zenoda Blanco.

Zenoda — who had recognized Ziryal from the very beginning — gave the young assassin a thin, knowing smile. A smile that could only pass between those who shared the bond of instructor and student.

Through that look and that smile, Zenoda communicated a wordless message clearly: Don't hold back. Be serious. I'll match you.

Ziryal understood immediately. His shock transformed in an instant into fierce, joyful anticipation. If this was a surprise sparring session from his instructor, he would not disappoint him.

Without further hesitation, Ziryal began fighting at full capacity — activating every skill he had developed since Kaigan. His movement became genuinely fast, shifting into a blurred shadow that even sharp eyes could barely track. He launched off one tree branch to another, striking at Zenoda from every conceivable blind angle.

Zenoda answered with a satisfied smile, raising his physical speed slightly to match Ziryal's. CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. Sparks filled the night air. Their combined speed was such that the onlookers below could only hear the constant ring of metal without being able to follow their bodies.

Everyone in the vicinity — including Elara's shadow guards — stood transfixed by the battle above them.

Even Elara herself, watching from a distance, could only frown with a mixture of confusion and growing awe.

"I knew Zenoda was fast when fighting monsters," Elara murmured, squinting as she tried to track the white and black flickers moving through the night sky. "But I didn't expect him to be this fast in a fight between humans. The adventurer I hired is one of the fastest assassins in the Guild... Is what I'm watching right now the true ability of the instructor who trained those four terrifying adventurers?"

While Zenoda and Ziryal were thoroughly enjoying their airborne sparring session, conditions on the ground had become genuinely desperate for two noblemen of Koreson.

Cedric and Valerius were completely overwhelmed. For all their courage, the gap in mana reserves and combat experience between them and their opponents was the distance between a shallow pond and a vast ocean.

The red-cloaked woman — Annesia — deflected Cedric's lightning strike with an almost bored swing of her staff. "Hmm... is this really all that an Academy noble student of Koreson can do?" she remarked.

Beside her, the white-cloaked woman — Linaya — blocked Valerius's fire attack with a thick shield of light, not even troubling herself to dodge. "Do you not train very often? Is that why your muscles and magic are this weak?" she added, in a voice that sounded innocent but landed like a precisely aimed blade.

Valerius staggered backward, gripping his numbed arm. This is hopeless. They're both absolute monsters. Is this really where we end? he thought desperately.

Cedric, despite having portions of his uniform and cloak burned away, forced himself to stay upright, positioning himself to shield Valerius. His breathing was ragged, and his vision was beginning to blur from exhaustion.

Seeing her opponents at their limit, the red-cloaked woman raised her staff high. She began incanting a high-tier spell. The temperature in the air around the battlefield surged immediately. An enormous glowing red magic circle blazed to life in the sky above.

From within that circle, a colossal Phoenix of pure plasma fire materialized. The summoned creature let out a piercing screech and began its dive, clearly intent on reducing Cedric and Valerius to ash.

High in the air, Zenoda felt the massive mana surge from Annesia's direction.

He clicked his tongue quietly. "That girl truly has no concept of restraint," he thought.

If the Phoenix was allowed to land, Cedric and Valerius would genuinely die. He couldn't allow it.

With instant reflexes, Zenoda used his ebony sheath to strike Ziryal's blade with sufficient force to send the assassin spinning far back toward the treeline. He then seated his katana in its sheath with a sharp click.

In the next instant, Zenoda moved, splitting through gravity itself.

He released a very pure, very dense killing aura — the aura of Ursilium, pressing directly against the soul of anyone who felt it. The wave of energy swept across the entire battlefield.

That aura struck Annesia's concentration without mercy. The red-cloaked girl lost her focus entirely in an instant. Her incantation chain broke, and the fire Phoenix dissolving into dust before it could touch Cedric or Valerius. Annesia herself sank down to sitting on the ground, her legs shaking violently from the terror of having felt that killing pressure so close to her.

Without pausing, Zenoda changed direction. He feigned a charge toward Ziryal, who had just landed, directing his right hand toward the katana handle as though about to draw it with genuine lethal intent.

"ZIRYAL!" the blue-cloaked figure shouted from across the field.

Seeing his companion in mortal danger, the shield-user activated his ultimate technique without hesitation: "Cover!"

WHOOOOSH.

As though teleporting, the blue-cloaked figure flickered and materialized directly in front of Ziryal, hoisting his tower shield to intercept Zenoda's incoming strike.

Zenoda used only his scabbard to strike the shield.

BOOOOM.

The impact sounded like a cannon discharge. Although Zenoda's strike was blocked, the pressure behind it was so immense that the blue-cloaked man's hands shook violently, the bones of his arms nearly fracturing under the force of his instructor's blow.

At that exact second, Agru Droman — who had been pressing the shield-user relentlessly — saw his opening. Agru layered his fist with diamond-hard stone, leaped from behind, and struck the blue-cloaked man hard on the back of the head.

THUD.

The strike wasn't fatal thanks to the magical helm beneath the hood, but the impact was enough to tear and pull back the hood covering the man's head.

The man's face was revealed clearly under the moonlight. A firm jaw, short black hair, and an expression of absolute shock.

It was Karham.

Agru — who had strong knowledge of the adventuring world and guild records — stared with wide, unblinking eyes at that face.

"A-aren't you... Karham?! The party leader of the famous God Wings?!" Agru exclaimed in disbelief.

At that name, Zenoda stopped his attack. He straightened up and tilted his head with an expression of manufactured confusion, despite having known everything from the very beginning.

"Ehhhh? Karham?" Zenoda said, in a thoroughly unconvincing tone of innocent surprise.

He had no choice but to play along and let the scene reach its natural conclusion.

On the other side of the field, the people still recovering from Zenoda's killing aura hadn't fully steadied themselves. They stood trembling, the most severely affected being the red-cloaked woman who was still sitting on the ground crying.

Valerius, pushed by curiosity and a few scraps of remaining courage, walked over to the red-cloaked woman. Carefully, he pulled back and removed the hood covering her head.

Reddish-brown hair cascaded free. The crying face beneath it was Annesia.

Beside her, the white-cloaked woman let out a long exhale and realized the performance was finished. She removed her own hood voluntarily, revealing pale blonde hair and a gentle face. Linaya.

Ziryal finally pulled back his black hood as well, wincing as he rubbed his arm that had gone numb from Zenoda's blow.

The four elite adventurers that Elara had paid handsomely to capture Zenoda were his own students.

Looking at his former charges with faces flushed deep red in mortification, Zenoda could only shake his head slowly and press a hand to his forehead. "These children... when will they ever learn to ask questions before accepting a mission?"

Setting his four students aside for the moment, Zenoda walked at an easy pace toward Elara Rosecold, who was still standing frozen near the oak tree. The Princess's face was pale, her eyes moving back and forth between Zenoda and the exposed adventurers. Her plan had collapsed completely.

Zenoda came to a stop directly before her.

"Initially," Zenoda said in a low voice that demanded full attention, "I intended to simply let you do whatever you wanted. The harassment at school, the bullying... none of it concerned me."

He pointed toward Karham and the others. "But because your arrogance dragged innocent people — my own people — into a problem that was never theirs to carry... are you satisfied with how this has all turned out, Your Highness?"

Reprimanded with words that precise by someone who had just proven his strength without any ambiguity, Elara lost every word she had. Her pride crumbled inward. She could only lower her head and bite the inside of her lower lip — unable to produce a single syllable in her own defense.

Watching the Ice Princess fall finally silent, Zenoda sighed with exhaustion.

"Enough. Just leave it," he said, shifting his gaze toward the city gate. "As it happens, I do have a matter of some importance I want to bring before the King of Koreson. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the palace in person... with these three clownish nobles beside me."

Hearing themselves referred to again as "clownish nobles," Cedric, Valerius, and Agru could only offer awkward smiles and say absolutely nothing, having been saved by Zenoda for what felt like the hundredth time.

But on Elara's side — hearing Zenoda's promise that he would finally come to the palace — her face transformed instantly. The shame was swept aside by relief and a genuine, undisguised happiness.

"Ehhhh... you're really going to meet my father?!" Elara raised her face, smiling broadly. "Wonderful! Alright, I'll inform him immediately and prepare everything!"

The genuinely childlike side of Elara's personality surfaced for just a moment, making Zenoda raise one eyebrow.

"By the way," Elara added with a note of renewed suspicion, "should I send the royal carriage to collect you tomorrow? Or... what if you're just planning to deceive me again and run off outside the city?!"

Zenoda rolled his eyes. "No. This time I'm serious. I'll come on my own."

"Good then! I'm holding you to that promise, Blanco!"

With a heart considerably lighter despite her plan falling apart entirely, Elara waved her hand and turned to leave, heading back into the city with the palace guards who had been waiting at a careful distance throughout the evening.

Once the royal party disappeared from sight, Zenoda walked toward Ziryal, Karham, Annesia, and Linaya, who were still standing somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the grassland.

"You four," Zenoda addressed them in a tone that was warm but unmistakably fatherly. "Are you alright?"

Ziryal scratched his head with a sheepish grin. "Yes, Instructor. We're fine — just a little shocked that the target turned out to be you."

Annesia, still trembling faintly, grabbed the hem of Zenoda's cloak. "Instructor... please, please don't release an aura like that ever again. I honestly thought my heart was going to stop when you broke my spell!"

At the sight of Annesia's nearly-tearful face, Zenoda laughed softly and patted the top of her head. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I had no choice — otherwise you all would have killed each other."

After some brief exchanges — catching up on news about the God Wings party, which was apparently gaining considerable recognition in the city — the group decided to head back toward the gate.

The night ended with the party splitting in two. Zenoda and his three "clownish nobles" slipped back through the side entrance of the Silver Swan Inn, settling in for a night's rest before facing whatever storm was waiting for them at the palace the next morning.

Meanwhile, Karham, Ziryal, Linaya, and Annesia returned to the Adventurers' Guild main hall to cancel their mission and formally report that their assigned target had turned out to be far too terrifying to apprehend.