Teacher

Queen of the Land of Shadows, is this all you've got?

Watching the God Slayer he'd knocked down in a single round once he got serious, Leon sheathed his sword, his face expressionless. He didn't think much of it.

Thinking back over their earlier battles, Scathach had always relied on skill to deflect or dodge his attacks. She'd never once taken one head-on.

She'd talked a big game, but couldn't even withstand one of his blows. She seemed weaker than Vortigern. At least Vortigern had managed to run off with a hole through his chest.

Scathach, on the other hand, had only needed her throat pierced and her cervical vertebrae crushed to leave her helpless, unable to fight back. Only the eyes in her head still moved, while her mouth made a dry, rasping sound.

Even in that state, Scathach wasn't dead. She still showed signs of life.

"Merlin, go kill her."

Since the old woman wanted so badly to die, Leon would grant her wish. She'd kept him company in battle for a while, and she'd also committed the capital crime of trespassing in the military camp.

When Merlin and Lancelot hurried over, Leon pointed at the woman and voiced his concern to Merlin.

"I don't know Magecraft, so I can't kill her. You're a mage, more or less. Kill her."

"Me?" Merlin pointed at himself, looking astonished. "My king, is it possible that I can't kill her either?"

"Aren't you a mage?"

Leon furrowed his brow slightly. Merlin wouldn't lie to him about such a small thing. It seemed he really couldn't do it.

Merlin glanced at the queen, who was barely clinging to life on the ground, and sighed inwardly. What a beautiful woman. Why provoke the Lion King, a wild beast, for no reason? She'd gotten herself into this mess.

"Scathach is the queen of the Land of Shadows, a netherworld that welcomes the dead and their spirits. She has slain countless undead, humans, and gods. Though human, she entered the realm of the gods. Her existence is not that of a living being; she is more like a god. She has transcended life and death, and no longer has any concept of death."

Hearing Merlin's explanation, Leon nodded. No wonder Scathach wanted to die. She knew she couldn't.

Too bad she was so weak. With an immortal body, she was just a punching bag.

"So there's nothing we can do about her?"

"Nothing."

Leon thought for a moment before speaking. "Could we seal her away? Maybe put her in several iron boxes, lock them up, then throw them into the sea so she can never escape?"

Merlin still shook his head. That might keep her trapped for a while, but not forever. With Scathach's abilities, she'd eventually escape.

"Nothing works, no matter what we try. Merlin, to borrow the words of a certain doctor, you really are a useless good-for-nothing."

Merlin didn't argue. He only rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.

Leon knew he couldn't count on Merlin. He glanced at Lancelot, only to see him frowning, his face filled with reluctance.

"My king, trespassing in the camp is a capital offense. Why not kill her once, to uphold military law? If she survives, that will prove her ability. Then, my king, why not recruit her? Her skill is so superb; she is a rare talent."

Seeing Lancelot's expression, Leon knew the knight was noble in character and compassionate at heart. He felt pity for Scathach and wanted to spare her.

"If that is your wish, then we'll do as you say."

Leon nodded in agreement, giving Lancelot face.

He waved a hand, and a guard immediately stepped forward, pulled Scathach's body free, and beheaded her on the spot.

Her round head flew through the air, her eyes rolling from side to side. Beneath her body, magic flowed through the ground, carving a mysterious Rune Script.

Crimson magic flowed out from the severed neck like threads, connecting to her head. Before it could hit the ground, the head was pulled back by the magical threads and joined to her body.

"Ha."

Scathach abruptly sat up and rolled her neck, as if testing the weight of her head. Magical threads stitched her wounds closed, restoring her to perfect health.

"Lion King, you really are strong." Scathach rose to her feet, found her two spears, and picked them up. Then she looked at Lancelot. "Knight, thank you for your kindness."

Though she had no need of it.

Lancelot smiled faintly and replied with humility, "There's no need to thank me, my lady. I was only offering the counsel a retainer should. It was my king's generosity and appreciation of your talents that made him spare you."

As Scathach approached, Leon held out a hand in invitation. "You heard what I said. Will you serve under me? With your skill, earning merit on the battlefield would be easy."

"I have no interest in the affairs of the living, and I won't follow you."

Scathach glanced at the Holy Sword at Leon's waist. She'd recognized its extraordinary nature during their fight. It was likely the Holy Sword of the Stars, more powerful even than a Divine Construct.

She was interested in the sword—and especially in its owner.

Looking at Leon's expressionless face, Scathach continued, "I won't become your retainer, but I can teach you, as I did with this."

She traced a symbol in the air with her finger. Magic lingered there, forming a mysterious Rune.

The Rune touched the ground, and magic surged. In an instant, it restored the ground the two of them had ravaged to its original state.

"This is a Rune. I can teach you Rune Script. Once you master it, you'll be able to perform simple manipulations of magic and unleash the full power of that Holy Sword."

Scathach's cool voice rang out. Leon felt a surge of joy, then his spirits sank. "I don't have Magic Circuits."

"That doesn't matter. Rune Script isn't so simple. You can learn it even without Magic Circuits; the process will just be more difficult."

Hearing Scathach say this, Leon drew the Holy Sword from his waist. He looked at the blade's gleaming edge, the corner of his mouth lifting in a slight smile.

The Holy Sword of the Stars. How tempting.

"But I have one condition."

"Go ahead."

An unusual light shone in Scathach's eyes, both feverish and eager. "If one day you can unleash the Holy Sword's full power, I want you to fight me with everything you've got."

The Holy Sword of the Stars was powerful enough to destroy her immortality.

When that day came, she wouldn't merely pit her martial skill against his as she had today. She would open the gates to the Land of Shadows and wield her divine authority, divine weapons, Rune Script, and Age of Gods Magecraft. She would use all her wisdom and strength to fight Leon to the death.

Just thinking about it was enough to thrill Scathach.

After Setanta, she'd found another genius to take on as a disciple.

Truly, the happiest thing in the world was to fight a disciple with all your might, then die by their hand.

"I look forward to the day you kill me."

"Agreed."

Leon readily accepted her condition. He might not be good at much else, but he was good at fighting.

Their martial skill was evenly matched. He'd won their battle just now purely because he'd overwhelmed her with superior stats.

If he learned Rune Script and unleashed the Holy Sword's power, there would be even less chance of him losing.

With the deal struck, Leon bowed respectfully to Scathach. "Teacher, I look forward to learning from you."

"Mm."

A hint of joy entered Scathach's voice as she officially accepted Leon as her disciple.

She immediately assumed the air of a teacher.

"Leon, battles are usually won by the strong against the weak. Martial skill is a trick for the weak to overcome the strong. Dodge whenever you can, evade whenever you can. But when you fought me just now, why did you take my causality-twisting killing blow head-on? You couldn't have failed to see how dangerous that thrust was."

"Teacher, I dared to take it head-on because I was confident I could withstand it."

Leon held out his left hand. The silver chain around his wrist glimmered.

"First, I had the enchanted item Morgan gave me. It bears a Fairy's blessing. Its greatest ability is to bring good luck—even to avert a fate that would otherwise be certain death."

Scathach glanced at the silver chain. It was a rare piece of Magecraft, exceptionally fine even by the standards of the Age of Gods.

Leon glanced at Merlin and patted the sword scabbard at his waist. Its surface was ornate, yet its divine power was restrained.

"Second, there's this scabbard. The sword and scabbard were gifts from my loyal retainers. You can probably tell what makes the Holy Sword special, Teacher, but in my opinion, the scabbard's power is in no way inferior to the Holy Sword's."

Hearing Leon call him reliable, Merlin immediately straightened up. He put one hand on his hip, looking entirely self-satisfied, and burst out laughing.

"You called me reliable! My king, you really do understand me! That's right—Merlin the great is just that outstanding!"

Ignoring Merlin's posturing, Leon explained the scabbard's abilities to Scathach.

"Whoever holds the scabbard can quickly recover from any injury, and even the aging of their body stops. If its true name is released, it can even block all physical effects, creating an absolute defense that not even magic can touch."

Scathach understood. The Holy Sword and its scabbard were the ultimate offense and the ultimate defense. Whoever wielded their true power would be invincible.

At the same time, another thought involuntarily came to mind: if the Holy Sword struck the scabbard, which would win?

A contradiction?

Leon raised his thumb and pointed to his chest, his voice full of nostalgia.

"Third, there's the blessing my mother gave me before she left. It makes me immune to all curses. Your thrust was meant to twist causality so that it would pierce my heart, so it was covered too."

"Hm?"

Scathach furrowed her brow, looking confused.