Black Wolf. An assassin after Rei's life.
Yet despite that, he never seemed to make any genuine attempt on it.
He had attacked Rei a handful of times, sure, but none of those had felt like serious efforts. They were closer to feeling him out.
Now, that same Black Wolf was watching Rei from atop a roof far in the distance—over three hundred meters away.
The fact that Rei could make out the figure as a person, and further identify it as Black Wolf, was likely thanks to the sharp senses of the body Zephyle had created for him. However...
(Black Wolf? Is it really Black Wolf?)
The Black Wolf who had crossed paths with Rei several times of late—whom he had essentially been taming with Nikuman—had silver hair.
But the Black Wolf currently in his line of sight had black hair.
The same shade as the Drug Addiction attackers who had struck right after the grand mock battle—the same color as that first encounter.
Since Rei had dealt with Black Wolf directly, his mental image strongly associated him with silver hair. Yet the figure before him now undeniably bore a hair color befitting the name "Black Wolf."
(Well, come to think of it, if he had silver hair, he wouldn't be called Black Wolf. He'd be called Silver Wolf.)
Reflecting on this, Rei recalled his past encounters with Black Wolf, and a thought struck him.
(Maybe his hair turns silver at night? And black during the day? ...I suppose it's possible. This is a world with magic and all.)
Maybe he'd come wanting Nikuman again.
With the half-intention of taming him further, Rei directed his gaze toward Black Wolf... and their eyes met.
"—!?"
In that instant, Rei felt a surge of killing intent so intense it was staggering.
As though every shred of rapport they had built up until now had simply ceased to exist.
No—it was killing intent so overwhelming there wasn't even room to think such things.
And what made it truly terrifying was that Black Wolf's killing intent was directed at Rei and Rei alone, pinpointed with such precision that no one else in the vicinity showed the slightest sign of noticing it.
Even someone who didn't live by the sword would, upon sensing killing intent like Black Wolf's—whether or not they could recognize it as such—wouldn't find it strange to suffer some kind of physical reaction.
Yet everyone around Rei was going about their business as usual.
Which meant the killing intent was being directed exclusively, surgically, at him.
However... that only applied to an ordinary person...
"Hoh. This killing intent... seems we're dealing with quite the veteran."
For someone of Elena's caliber standing right beside Rei, it was another matter entirely.
And since the killing intent was pinpointed at Rei, the fact that Elena was right next to him likely made all the difference.
Whatever tipsiness had lingered from moments ago vanished the instant she sensed the killing intent aimed at Rei.
Whether the alcohol had truly worn off, or her body shifting into combat mode had simply pushed the intoxication aside for the time being, Rei couldn't say.
He couldn't say—but even so, there was only one choice before him.
"Sorry, Elena. That guy... Black Wolf is my enemy. Please don't intervene."
"What?"
Black Wolf.
The moment that name left his mouth, Elena's gaze followed Rei's.
Having inherited the Ancient Dragon's Magic Stone, Elena's physical abilities had grown extraordinarily high compared to before—enough to rival, perhaps even surpass, Rei's own.
Naturally, her gaze found Black Wolf at the end of Rei's line of sight: a figure with black hair, not silver, bearing an appearance that truly befitted the name Black Wolf.
"So that's... Black Wolf."
As a resident of Anesis, Elena of course knew the name.
But she had never actually seen Black Wolf with her own eyes, and in that sense, she could count herself lucky to catch a direct glimpse like this.
Not the kind of luck that came from spotting something rare—far more valuable was the chance to learn the face of a skilled assassin beforehand.
"But why? The opponent is an assassin. And not an ordinary one. I see no issue with lending you a hand."
Elena kept her voice at a perfectly calibrated volume—inaudible to the passersby around them, yet reaching Rei's ears alone.
Given that they were having a conversation about assassins, she must have judged it too risky to speak at a normal volume.
Rei, clad in his Dragon Robe with the hood drawn up, was one thing. Elena, however, wasn't doing anything in particular to conceal her identity.
The new year had only just begun, and many residents of Anesis were still in a festive mood.
Rei himself was partly responsible for that, having turned the year-end mock battle into something of a carnival.
At any rate, if word of assassins reached other pedestrians in this situation, things would get extremely troublesome.
There was also a concern gnawing at Elena—that depending on the circumstances, Black Wolf might attack indiscriminately, bystanders and all.
Unlike Rei, who had met Black Wolf multiple times and essentially tamed him, today was Elena's first direct encounter—though given the distance, "sighting" would be more accurate.
Which meant the only basis she had for judging Black Wolf was rumor.
And rumor alone said he was an assassin of extraordinary skill.
That was precisely why she feared Black Wolf might behave unpredictably.
That was the reasoning behind her caution.
Rei was about to tell Elena she was overthinking it... but in the next moment, another wave of killing intent from Black Wolf crashed into him, stealing the words from his throat.
The Black Wolf before him was clearly different from the one he had interacted with before.
If anything, it was closer to that first encounter—during the Drug Addiction attackers' assault.
At any rate, the Black Wolf currently in his line of sight was unmistakably a different creature from the one he had been dealing with... the one he'd tried to tame with Nikuman.
"I've had some dealings with that Black Wolf, even if only a little. I'd like to handle this myself if I can."
"Rei... this is not a game. If the opponent is Black Wolf, then he deliberately revealed himself. We should strike him down together, here and now."
Elena wasn't wrong.
A highly skilled assassin was, by definition, an extremely troublesome opponent.
Precisely for that reason, Elena's insistence that they eliminate him while the opportunity allowed was the correct call.
But even so... for Rei, who had crossed paths with Black Wolf time and again, he wanted to see for himself what had become of him.
"I've given Black Wolf food several times now. He seemed to have warmed up to me at least a little. Maybe I could get him to surrender without a fight."
"Impossible."
Elena stated it flatly, because she too could feel the killing intent Black Wolf was radiating.
Killing intent that made it impossible to believe he had any intention of surrendering.
Killing intent so intense that if someone told her he was about to launch an attack, she'd believe it without question.
"...Even so, please."
Under normal circumstances, Elena would be right.
He knew that. And yet, having tangled with Black Wolf in all sorts of ways, Rei made the request anyway.
The actual time he had spent with Black Wolf wasn't much. It wouldn't have been strange for someone to ask why he was so fixated on the man.
Even so, the fact remained—Rei, facing Black Wolf, couldn't help but feel that way.
Whether Elena understood his feelings, or simply judged from his demeanor that further argument would be futile... eventually she let out a sigh and spoke.
"If Black Wolf tries to harm anyone around us... the residents of Anesis, I will step in. As a member of Duke Kerebel's House, that is one thing I will not yield. Is that acceptable?"
Her words carried an absolute resolve—on that one point, she would not compromise.
Rei offered no objection. He simply nodded.
"Understood. If you'll stand by and watch, that's fine with me."
"Mm. Then go. From the looks of it, he's waiting for you to come to him."
Elena's gaze shifted to Black Wolf, who was staring intently at Rei from the rooftop.
But even knowing Elena's eyes were on him, Black Wolf gave no reaction.
He simply, unwaveringly, kept his gaze locked on his prey—Rei.
"...He's certainly fixated on you. It's a bit unusual for me to be ignored."
Elena laughed as she said it, and Rei thought he could still detect a faint trace of intoxication in her.
Of course, he could also predict that once actual combat began, the Ancient Dragon's power within her would burn away any lingering haze.
(Well, that aside...)
Right now, thinking about Black Wolf took priority over thinking about Elena.
Making that call, Rei set off down the street, eyes fixed on the distant figure.
Fortunately, he had his Misty Ring, and his regular weapons—the Death Scythe and Twilight Spear—were stored inside.
Which meant no return trip to the Duke Kerebel Mansion for gear.
(Though honestly, if I told him I was going back to grab weapons, I get the feeling Black Wolf would actually wait for me. ...Of course, that'd be the silver-haired Black Wolf, not the black-haired one standing there now.)
Mind on the battle ahead, Rei walked on.
He'd been through Anesis enough times to have a general sense of where he was.
Of course, in a city as vast as Anesis, the labyrinthine districts were genuinely labyrinthine.
A first-time visitor would inevitably get lost... but Rei, strangely, navigated the streets without the slightest hesitation.
When he was flying overhead with Set, he'd occasionally take a wrong turn—but on foot, he showed none of that.
Elena, trailing behind him, wondered how he could move through a place like this so unerringly. But she kept the question to herself, not expecting an answer even if she asked.
They walked in silence for about ten minutes.
Then, without warning, the space ahead opened up.
It opened up so abruptly it was almost uncanny—a clearing roughly the size of a small park.
And at its center stood Black Wolf, who until moments ago had been perched on a rooftop.
"What?"
Elena blinked at the sight, then glanced back toward the building where Black Wolf had been standing.
But of course, if he was here, he couldn't be up there.
Rei understood her confusion.
He'd been through the same thing himself.
"It's one of Black Wolf's skills, apparently. ...I don't know the specifics."
Murmuring just loudly enough for Elena to hear, Rei took another step toward Black Wolf.
"Well now, it's been a while. Though something tells me you didn't come for Nikuman today."
Even now, killing intent poured off Black Wolf toward him.
So powerful that an ordinary person wouldn't come away unscathed.
But Rei, seemingly unbothered, pulled a Nikuman from his Misty Ring.
Last time he'd produced one, Black Wolf had locked onto it in an instant. Now—nothing. The killing intent didn't so much as falter.
Meeting that emotionless gaze head-on—so different from before—Rei slipped the Nikuman back into his Misty Ring.
"Looks like there's no talking to you. ...Though I'm pretty sure we were having a perfectly normal conversation last time. What happened?"
He asked with empty hands, but Black Wolf offered no response.
Well, Rei had never actually seen Black Wolf speak, so it wasn't as if that was particularly strange.
Even so, he tried.
"If Nikuman doesn't appeal, how about some other meat? A stew with Orc meat, maybe?"
Perhaps it was the taming talking, but Rei would rather not fight Black Wolf if he could help it.
The man had been so innocent for an assassin before—why the sudden killing intent now?
With so little history between them, demanding Rei fully grasp his motives would have been unreasonable.
One step. Two steps closer—
And in the next moment, the killing intent thickened to a visceral density, and Rei threw himself sideways almost on pure reflex.
Black Wolf's form materialized right where Rei had been standing a split second before, razor-sharp claws—like daggers—slicing through the empty air where Rei's body had been.