41 Prove to Me that You're the Strongest

"Rodnir!" Another voice that shouldn't be there made Sir Heinz's ear buzz. It was Vulcan, and he was even huffing as if he used up his strength in dealing with some jellyfish… and climbing the eastern wall. The royal adviser looked up at the floating pair. "Rodnir! Return to the palace at once! You can't be—"

"Vulcan!" Rodnir and Sir Heinz dashed to catch the adviser when another whip of water slapped at the wall. Not only did Vulcan get hugged by a stinging jellyfish, but it also sent him straight to the ground. The captain managed to rescue the falling adviser, but Rodnir jumped out of their way. He just stood on another invisible disc in mid-air.

The leviathan decided to hurl itself toward the wall, crushing the top side for a bite. Its short arms also reached out to sink its claws into the wall, hoping to get inside the country. It didn't forget to glare at Rodnir as if it had not yet forgotten about him. After all, that face was the same face it last saw before a light beam punched through its left eye.

The unicorn only turned up his nose at this preposterous monster. He then held onto the chest of his clothes. "Forgive me, Rodnir. I might have to damage your body again."

Shine! The long hair of the king's ward shot out longer, soon covering all of him. It even glowed so brightly as if drawing attention from everyone. Those who had seen it before gasped at its second emergence. Vulcan only feared the illness the transformation could have brought.

"I'm seeing the last of you." Fenris huffed, his voice resounding without the horse's face moving. Just like the tales of their race, Rodnir's full unicorn form was of a white unicorn with a golden mane. It stood two meters at the shoulder, and the horn on its head was a meter long. The tip also glowed like a little sun as Fenris used Rodnir's body to channel his own magic.

Swoosh! Hundreds of light streaks came from the glow and rained down on the leviathan crawling up the wall. Kaboom! Kaboom! Explosions echoed along with the leviathan's screams. Flesh and blood misted along the body, but the leviathan continued its ascent. The segmented body then started to shift as if the leviathan was building up its defenses.

Another rain of light streaks chipped on the leviathan's body. Even with the segmented body growing its exoskeleton, chunks of its flesh still went at each hit. However, the leviathan had the will as strong as the wall it was climbing. When half of its body got over the wall, Fenris galloped closer to the head. Barrage after barrage of light streaks came, but the leviathan charged through.

"It's evolving…" Fenris whispered to himself as he figured the brute force attack was not effective. Now that the head was within the country proper, he couldn't keep on bombarding it. Else, he might destroy a part of his own home.

"The palace has been breached!" Fenris caught a stray report passed back toward Sir Heinz through subvocal frequencies. He concentrated on an attack, only for him to catch another report. "The central keep locked out the outer court. We need to redivert soldiers to protect them now! The other concubines are also engaged in battle!"

"Kanaru!" Fenris turned toward the palace that didn't even look under attack. The buildings and the floors were strong enough to survive bombardments, but the enemies decided to just look for victims. He didn't know why the outer court was locked out, but he couldn't leave Kanaru out there.

When the unicorn decided to run back to the palace, the leviathan struck him down with the armored tail. Kaboom! The impact reflected on the speed of his descent, and his crash created a hole that could swallow a small house. Blood even dripped from the horse's nose. 

Fenris opted to rise, but the leviathan used its tail to swat the unicorn down again. Luckily, Fenris evaded that hit and sent a strong beam to the armored tail. Bang! 

The top part of the shell shattered, and a big portion flew off. The leviathan roared in pain, causing it to want to pull its entire body inside. Right now, half of it was inside the country, but the other half was still folding to give it more power to drop from the wall.

The blood oozing from the white unicorn's nose never stopped dripping. Fenris realized that Rodnir's body was still worn from the travels. It might not survive if he wrung the strength out of it. In the end, Fenris changed back into being a human, his long golden hair returning to its usual length.

"I'll just heal you over time again if I end up breaking you further than the last time," Fenris swore to the body he was borrowing as light converged on his palm. He even stood unmoving under the gaze of the leviathan that rushed its head toward him. After all, he was just one small bite for the monster.

"His Majesty, get down!" A voice made Fenris's eyes widen, his heart skipping a beat. He automatically ducked when something flew from behind and toward the leviathan's face. Without hitting the face, the person swerved and flew along the spines on the leviathan's back.

When the leviathan sought his figure, Kanaru lit up the sky again, rivaling the glow of the unicorn's horn just earlier. However, instead of a cold light that froze people in fear, Kanaru's body was warm and enticing. He even stayed in one spot as if teasing the leviathan staring at him.

Swoosh! The leviathan forgot about the king and the palace when it saw Kanaru. It crunched its abdomen to stand up from the wall to reach the glowing figure. It was even so fast that Kanaru feared for his timing. Then again, if that would help buy Fenris some time, Kanaru would do it. This glow was only good for a show and driving enemies insane, and he was not afraid to use that.

"Why do you talk like you're not the bravest?" Fenris laughed and appeared next to Kanaru in his unicorn form again. However, both dashed up to the sky to evade the long leviathan. The walls broke at its weight, but Fenris cared too little for now.

"Prove to me that you're the strongest." Kanaru flapped his wings to get to a full stop, getting way out of reach because the leviathan fell short. He even flew at a skewed angle, making the leviathan reach outside the walls it was trying to breach.

Fenris then laughed again, the red eyes blazing in power. The white unicorn horn glowed brighter than earlier, the bone soon turning black. Wheeze! From the sky they flew into was a bright light that drove through the upper half of the stretched leviathan. Because it was reaching Kanaru with an open mouth, the light beam pierced through the monster's insides without difficulty.

The leviathan couldn't even roar in pain anymore as it burned from the intense light. The armored head was the last to turn into ashes, which was even carried away by the wind. The monster vanished right before their eyes, and the soldiers and knights cheered at the display of the unicorn race's power.

It was just that Rodnir's body suddenly felt limp. The transformation dispersed again, and Fenris couldn't even do anything but watch Kanaru try to catch his poor body. If he hit the water, he was so sure every bone in Rodnir's body would shatter. It might even void the body swap, leaving Rodnir to die from the degree of damage.

"Fenris, close your eyes!" Kanaru screamed, but the king only stared at him. This was the second time Kanaru dared to call Fenris by his name. It somehow meant to take his full attention.

In an instant, Kanaru folded his wings inside his back, lessening his body's resistance to the fall. He shot his arms out and hugged the falling body tightly. His wings, however, shot out again and wrapped around them as Kanaru spun to put Fenris on top of him.

Bang! Only one figure hit the surface, but the water exploded from the impact.