29 – Surprise Declaration
A rabbit-man in white ears and a white uniform.
The black rabbit recognized the white rabbit and swiftly approached.
“Scould? What are you doing here?”
The atmosphere was tense.
‘Scould?’
It was a name known to Lucian too.
The younger brother of the black rabbit Kanon.
【White Rabbit】Scould.
A genius entrusted with handling business for the Black Fang Guild.
Whether it was natural for rabbit-men or not, the siblings didn’t have a bad relationship. Rather, they got along so well that one might believe a single soul inhabited two bodies.
Black fur and white fur.
They were so identical in height that facing each other, one might mistake them for color-inverted twins.
Even down to wearing shorts and adorning watches, it was all the same. Just a color inversion.
“The news was taking too long, and they were worried, so they sent me personally.”
“They sent you? Who sent you?”
The White Rabbit avoided eye contact. They were a person who was hesitant to answer.
“…Master Matopju.”
“I see.”
The Black Rabbit broke out in a cold sweat. They were thinking about the scolding they would receive from Master Matopju. Matopju Dara, the master of the Black Matop, was the person the Black Rabbit, Kanan, feared the most in the village.
How many times had they been struck on the head by the cute and arrogant rabbit with the wooden cane they always carried around? Without realizing it, the Black Rabbit hunched over and raised their hand to protect their head.
The White Rabbit glanced at the Black Rabbit as if feeling sorry for them, then approached Lucion and Lucia.
Due to the height difference, the White Rabbit had to raise their head to look at them.
“Are these the people?”
“Uh? Uh….”
The White Rabbit nodded as if they had expected that.
They lowered their head in a rather gentlemanly pose.
“Welcome. The monsters that have come to Panachia.”
Monsters, huh.
The greeting was not ordinary.
Lucion did not take his eyes off the White Rabbit in front of him. He wouldn’t let his guard down until he figured out the nature of the uncomfortable atmosphere that had been present since a while ago.
It was probably not the discomfort that arose within this building.
It was the instinctive fear that came from encountering a formidable enemy. This sense of fear was the same as what he felt when facing demons at the border.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never met them in my past life either.”
The distinctive younger sibling of the Black Rabbit. The shadow of the jet-black claw, like a shadow itself. Within the Black Claw, the only one with white fur, Shield, also known as the “White Rabbit.”
Considered a ghostly figure within the Black Claw, he revealed himself directly. Lucion could easily understand the reason why he hadn’t seen Shield in his past life.
“You.”
‘I wasn’t running around for business.’
He was the one who had been involved in assassinations.
Shield placed one hand on his chest, assuming a posture of courtesy, while the other hand went behind his back, holding a dagger.
A face with a sinister grin in his bright, gleaming eyes. It looked cruel.
###
It was a customary event.
When a skilled individual sought to join the guild, there was no need for any formalities; they would directly face each other to assess their skills. A way to reduce unnecessary time wastage.
The White Rabbit, handling more information within the Black Claw than even the guild leader, the Black Rabbit, was a figure with a lot on his plate. The Black Rabbit was often busy managing guild members and participating in various events as the face of the guild.
Occasionally, he personally took on missions, but they were mostly long-term assignments. Moreover, most guild members, including the Black Rabbit, were nocturnal.
The White Rabbit operated during the day, and urgent matters indeed happened more frequently during the day. Thus, the one who swiftly handled more tasks was the White Rabbit.
What was intriguing was the presence of the White Rabbit.
Even with so many tasks at hand, there was no presence when he walked the streets. Even if the White Rabbit passed right in front of someone, people rarely knew if he had come and gone.
Thanks to this, Shield could move as an assassin in broad daylight.
‘It’s not just the power of magic; he truly has no presence… It’s as if he blends into the background.’
Shield, known as the assassin of broad daylight.
He appeared in person, right there in the guild hall, waiting for us.
Lucion interpreted the meaning in an unfavorable way.
“Could it be a request to assassinate us?”
The probability leaned towards assassination rather than a formal declaration.
The academy had a limited number of admission slots, and it happened to be the season for academy admissions.
If the Black Rabbit himself came to investigate, those who needed to know already knew.
Lucion felt that the situation wasn’t favorable.
Harold, nestled in Shia’s embrace, had his fur standing on end.
Not barking when you should, not declaring danger when you sense it—that’s because Lucion is stronger.
The danger alert was trembling.
Lucion had understood the meaning long before.
“We’re going to fight.”
The one to be targeted first would undoubtedly be the priestess Lucia.
Lucion subtly stepped forward, indicating Lucia.
Sculd still bowed, and the sword on his back was not visible.
The trigger had to be moved. It’s easier to react when you proactively lure the opponent into attacking.
From Noble mtl dot com
You need to change the board the opponent has set to the one you’ve laid out.
So, Lucion provoked. He had faced quite a few battles against assassins before.
“Welcome ceremony.”
It was a fleeting moment.
The White Rabbit’s reaction was immediate.
Lucion drew his sword from his waist and deflected the dagger that the White Rabbit was charging at him.
Clang!
The surprise attack was successfully blocked.
“This is not the end.”
The White Myo, who was being pushed back, had prepared a spell in case he stumbled. As he bounced away, he extended his palm towards Lucion.
Three spells were cast.
A technique that deflects with a red light, [Flaming Serpent Waves].
A spinning sphere of blue light, [Whirling Thorn Tornado].
A straight line of green light, permeating with archery skills, [Assaulting Stone Eyes].
All of them were coated with holy power, making it difficult for Lucion to easily deflect them with just his sword.
Lucion clenched his lips and prepared his counterattack.
He anticipated the left leg being exposed to [Flaming Serpent Waves]. He just needed to predict the trajectory of the bending magic used to assassinate the enemy behind the wall.
[Whirling Thorn Tornado] appeared to be a fireball-type spell, but Lucion had seen that technique in his past life. In reality, it was a formation of numerous sword blades rotating to form a tornado-like shape.
If blocked head-on, it would explode and release countless thorn-shaped sword blades. Lucion remembered the pitiful sight of those who had died from being hit by that technique.
The power seems to have been reduced, but a wrong move would result in instant death.
Therefore, Lucion coated his sword widely and parried the sword blades. The sphere flew towards the ceiling and got stuck.
And finally, the last one. He was running out of time to block it.
【Rampaging Eyes of Stone】
Originally, it was an unblockable sniper. A debuff-type sniper where the struck area turns to stone.
Avoiding the shot was the answer since it was a straight-line technique, but Lucia behind couldn’t evade.
Lucion ignored physics and imposed a force on his left hand. With a hand reinforced by sacred power, he could catch the arrows flying towards him.
Originally, it wasn’t a spell shot with powerful firepower.
“Did he master it to the point of surpassing high-level archery?”
Lucion doubted the true identity of White Rabbit.
Everything was sophisticated magic.
Magics that led to death if hit in a vital spot, or ended in serious injury if hit elsewhere.
However, if one didn’t die, it was a technique that could be healed by the priest’s sacred power.
White Rabbit seemed to be an assassin with complex designs and the ability to implement them.
“As far as I remember, they said his record against Black Rabbit is 99 to 1.”
Lucion furrowed his brows.
A bit contrary.
“A fierce skirmish, it seems.”
He lost to his sister.
It was clear that Black Rabbit did not understand the realm of White Rabbit.
Only Lucion, who reached the extreme of a paladin, understood. No one present here understood the realm of White Rabbit.
Their gazes met in the air.
They were both equally surprised.
Lucion and White Rabbit shared the same thoughts.
“Fortunately, only we know the intricacies of what happened here.”
White Rabbit’s skills were intricate, and Lucion defended perfectly, even better than White Rabbit had anticipated. He covered every aspect, considering their future strategies.
After executing a flawless attack and defense, they locked eyes and exchanged unspoken promises.
“Let’s not get carried away. Is that what you’re thinking?”
It seemed like they would need to have a separate conversation someday.
Only after White Rabbit landed on the ground did Black Rabbit yell.
“What’s going on?”
Truly.
All of this happened in a fleeting moment.
“What the hell is going on?”
Black Rabbit hadn’t heard any rumors.
Meeting White Rabbit was surprising enough, but to be ambushed instead of exchanging greetings.
Trying to assess the situation, they racked their brains, but they couldn’t understand it at all. It felt like their heads were spinning.
What was even more incomprehensible was that, within these few seconds, a strange bond seemed to have formed between White Rabbit and Lucion.