What sort of being was this knight who could take such a hit to the head and come so quickly to his senses?
His opponent must be thinking the same thing.
A white gash ran vividly across the crown of his helmet. Having reseated himself in the saddle, he still swayed like bamboo grass in a stiff breeze. Needless to say, he could not be looking forward to a renewed attack. The nenpo of Kyoya Izayoi was a fearful thing indeed.
“What do you say?” Kyoya called out. “Shall we call it a day? I think the android’s had enough. It’s no skin off my nose, but I don’t care much for those who toy with people for the amusement of others. Keep this up, and somebody’s gonna get hurt for real.”
Kyoya let down his guard and turned to the horse and rider as nimbly as a skater gliding on ice.
Something burned through the air. Asura slashed sideways in a purely reflexively action. The blue flash of lightning bent almost at right angles and sank into the ground next to Kyoya’s feet. Only afterward came the sound of striking metal.
What Kyoya had deflected—sticking out of the earth was a bronze-blue arrow.
The air was filled with a succession of shrieks. Asura flashed. The earth shuddered. Two more arrows sprouted around him.
Nobody saw who was shooting them, just as nobody saw Kyoya deflecting the flying shafts—that was how fast the attacks came and were parried. Kyoya closed his eyes. In that state of non-being, his sixth sense came into play. The speed of the arrows was such that detecting them would have otherwise been impossible.
Then came the sound of hooves.
At some point, two men on horseback had lined up on the rim of the basin facing Kyoya. They’d undoubtedly emerged from a hidden passageway while the onlookers were caught up in the contest between Kyoya and the blue knight, appearing out of the nothing like ghosts. That alone was enough to send a collective shiver down their backs.
They both wore the same design of armor as the blue knight. Facing Kyoya, the one on the right was the color of the dusky setting sun, down to his eyes. The eyes of the one on the left, deep green. Kyoya didn’t need to note the enormous bow beneath his arm to know that he had fired those three arrows.
But what made all those watching quake was not merely the arrival of these new foes, with skills at archery that must equal those of the blue knight. It was their strange appearance.
The right arm of the green knight holding the bow jutted out from his waist. Beside it grew the left arm. And another pair of arms a bit above them in the center of the sternum. And finally the two normally expected at the shoulders, making six altogether.
There were no arrows in the left hands, but in tubes affixed to his back. In easy reach of the three arms awaited more fletched bronze shafts. With these three arms operating simultaneously on a single target, the inevitable outcome would be near impossible to avoid, even for Kyoya Izayoi.
The weirdness of the red knight was also in his arms. He didn’t have six. They were extraordinarily long. His head and torso were similar in size to the other two, but his arms were three times the usual length. They reached his thighs and angled forward, with his hands grasping the reins. The impression he gave was that of a human spider or praying mantis, that filled the hearts of the onlookers with an unpleasant horror.
This knight’s weapon was a long sword strapped to his back. A very long sword—ten feet long. The hilt and scabbard poked out from his back. A fencer would need arms that long to wield it. Or a fencer with arms that long would demand such a sword.
Together with the sword, his reach extended twenty feet. At that distance, he could best the greatest swordsman in the world with a single swipe. Including Kyoya Izayoi.
“Well done, boy.”
The voice came from the red knight’s helmet, the voice of a mighty man. Though there were unnatural resonances in it as well, as if electronically amplified.
“Men and women, old and young alike, you are the first to fight Valen even to a draw. Yours is an impressive and admirable will. I say this only to preserve Valen’s good name, but he went in unprepared. Seeing as you are but a child, he moderated his initial attack.”
“Yeah, I know,” Kyoya said brightly. The red knight’s words dissolved the anger like a spring breeze. “I figured the old guy had a whole lot more in him from the start. But that’s that and this is this. You a friend of his? You want a piece of me too?”
“You think highly of yourself, boy.” This dramatically different voice could freeze the air. It belonged to the archer with six arms. “I shot those three arrows at you using one arm, and with time to spare. Are you confident that you could escape unscathed taking three at the same time?”
“Hard to say,” Kyoya responded breezily. The ready answer was enough to make the green knight look quizzically at the red knight. “I may take one at best, two at worst. But I could probably return two to sender. So, green guy, could you duck two?”
The green knight fell silent. The high schooler’s impertinence aroused neither anger nor cold laughter. He didn’t doubt the nature of his powers.
“Not bad, boy.” The red knight shook with laughter. “Our loss. We shall withdraw gracefully. If you want a fight, it should be in an arena that gives us all much more room to move. We shall meet again.”
“Three against one?” Kyoya frowned.
“Nothing of the sort. We detest cowardly actions above all.”
“No problem, then. Anytime, anyplace.”
Everybody watching could feel the red knight smiling inside his helmet. He turned to the still shaky blue knight and said, “Can you proceed?”
He nodded. The three wheeled their horses around. There was a last flash of hatred from deep within the blue knight’s helmet as he turned his back to Kyoya, but that was all he had to say.
The red knight stopped and twisted back in the saddle and said, “We haven’t properly introduced ourselves. I am Vian. The green knight is called Mathias. We already know your name, Kyoya Izayoi.”
By the time Kyoya made it to the edge of the basin, the three had vanished, as if a screen had suddenly descended between them. Returning to the banquet hall, he was greeted by a round of applause. Slaps on the back, cries of praise came from all around for the splendid kid.
Kyoya only wanted to find Sayaka. It took him a good five minutes to determine that she had disappeared.