The Boy in White

"Gringolet, jump over it!"

Gawain urged the Fairy Horse galloping beneath him to leap over the giant claw.

Good, he'd made it...

Or had he?

No. Just as the Fairy Horse passed directly overhead, the giant claw reached up and caught him. But rather than re~fin~ing him on the spot, it hurled him back toward the giant bear.

Gawain and the Fairy Horse crashed to the ground. The owner of the giant claw burst out of the earth-a Giant Field Mouse corrupted by magical energy!

Roar!

The giant bear charged with a roar. Gawain was already too exhausted to move. Its paw swung down, and his death seemed imminent.

On the city wall, light blazed in Morgan's hands as she prepared to cast Magecraft to forcibly bring Gawain back. Then the light dimmed.

A powerful storm had erupted in the middle of the battlefield, blowing away the surrounding Demon Beasts. Even the giant bear was forced half a step back by the fierce wind, withdrawing its impending blow.

Gawain looked up and saw a sight he would remember for the rest of his life, even if he fell into hell.

A boy around his own age, dressed in black beneath a white robe, stood facing the giant bear, shielding Gawain behind him.

The boy looked back and said to Gawain:

"Your name's Gawain, right? I've locked that rat down. Take your mount and get out of here. Leave this to me."

Silver... eyes?

Before Gawain could ponder the white-robed boy's strange eye color, the boy slapped his chest. Gawain flew backward and landed beside Gringolet.

Gringolet raised a forehoof and shook Gawain, who had just come flying over.

Get up, you gorilla. You're not dead, are you?

If Gringolet could speak, that was probably what he would have said.

Gawain opened his eyes and clutched his chest, which was sending vehement protests to his cerebral cortex. He struggled to his feet, only to discover that, for some reason, a little strength had returned to his body-though seemingly only enough to mount his horse and return to the city.

The magical energy I gave him should be enough for him to mount up and get back to the city. Hopefully he won't use that little bit of strength to do something stupid.

That was what the white-robed boy confronting the giant bear in the distance thought.

Behind the boy, more than a dozen chains of solidified wind bound the Demon Rat, leaving it completely immobilized.

Yes, the boy was Sovell, who had only recently left Avalon.

Half a day before rescuing Gawain, Sovell had reversed the teleportation through the Magic Circuits the fairies used to move Avalon, returning to the outside world-only to find himself in a dense forest.

Although it was winter and Christmas was approaching, the Age of Gods had not yet fully ended on the Island of Britain, so the forest's foliage remained lush.

Not a ray of sunlight penetrated the canopy. Unable to get his bearings, Sovell commanded the wind to lift him above the treetops.

He discovered that the coast lay behind him, while the sun in the sky ahead generously spread its light and warmth.

Damn, talk about bad luck.

Sovell could not help grumbling inwardly. The reason was simple: he had apparently landed somewhere along Britain's northernmost coast, while Wales lay hundreds of kilometers to the south.

But the wind carried the sounds of battle from somewhere to the east, so Sovell flew eastward to investigate.

Naturally, those sounds came from the Demon Beast horde attacking Orkney City that day.

Sovell reached the edge of the battlefield sometime that afternoon. Rather than intervene immediately, he watched the battle unfold.

When he noticed Gawain's army gradually moving farther from the city gates, he already sensed something was wrong.

The king beast of this forest had to be highly intelligent.

The Demon Beasts fought as they retreated, suffering relatively few casualties and preparing to form an encirclement.

The king beast intends to swallow this entire force in one go!

Unfortunately for the giant bear, events did not end as it had intended. A pseudo-sun was sealed within the hilt of Carnwennan in Gawain's hand. Gawain and his guards covered the troops breaking out, ultimately allowing most of the soldiers to escape the encirclement.

The king beast's hidden asset-the Demon Rat-intercepted Gawain and trapped him within the encirclement, prompting Sovell to intervene and rescue him.

In Sovell's eyes, Gawain had a promising future. A Holy Sword, a blessing under the sun, outstanding perseverance, and a willingness to sacrifice himself for others were enough to make him one of Britain's finest knights in the years to come.

Back in the present, the giant bear before Sovell roared at the clearly hostile newcomer, as though warning him.

Unimpressed, Sovell glanced back at the Demon Rat imprisoned by his Wind Lock, summoned Rhongomyniad in the form of a sword, and cut off the rat's head with a single stroke.

"You're just a bunch of animals with a little Demon Beast blood, turned into monsters by magical corruption, yet you actually think you're Phantasmal Species.

I'll give you two choices:

Either you get lost now.

Or I'll send your head rolling in a moment.

There's your example."

As he spoke, Sovell used the wind to drag the enormous rat's head over and tossed it toward the giant bear.

The head tumbled across the ground. With the wind's enthusiastic assistance, it soon rolled up beside the giant bear's right paw.

The giant bear stared fixedly into Sovell's silver eyes. Then it actually began to stand upright on its hind legs.

The Demon Rat's head, already cold in the winter night, was no bigger than a wicker ball beneath its feet.

Suddenly, the giant bear stamped down on the head, splattering red and white matter everywhere.

Both it and the Demon Beasts around it were covered in filth.

Sovell blocked the filth flying toward him with a Wind Wall.

The giant bear spread its arms, trying to make its body look even larger. It roared at the white-robed boy before it, dropped onto all fours, and charged at Sovell.

Sovell shook his head helplessly at the sight.

"Forget it. No amount of good advice can save someone bent on dying. Fine, then. I'll give this city a few peaceful years while I'm at it."

Sovell raised the "Storm Holy Sword" in his hand. With a wave into the wind, it transformed into a golden staff, while Invisible Air became a blue-green crystal at its tip.

"Gale,

Architecture.

Chain,

Coin!"

Dozens of wind chains glowing blue-green instantly appeared around the giant bear. They wound around its limbs and torso, forcibly pinning it to the ground.

Amplified by the four-part incantation, the Fairy Wind Lock was many times stronger than the Wind Lock he had casually summoned earlier to bind the Demon Rat.

The bound giant bear struggled violently, making the dozens of chains creak.

Sovell drew on the magical energy stored within his body to transform his heart and right arm into those of a dragon, deliberately radiating the aura of Dragon Kind into his surroundings.

The surrounding Demon Beasts, which had been itching to move, began slowly backing away as though they had witnessed some great terror.

The strength in the giant bear's limbs visibly waned. Now all it could do was roar incessantly.

"I told you. You wouldn't get lost when you had the chance.

Now I'll send your head rolling."