POV: Sylphiette Greyrat
I could hardly believe what I was witnessing at that moment.
If someone, someday, told me about the events I was living through now, I would never believe them. No matter how detailed the story. It was too absurd to be described with words alone.
The Armored Dragon King, Perugius Dola.
Lauded worldwide as one of the Three God-Slayers, one of those responsible for the defeat of the Demon God Laplace.
Fighting with everything he had, side by side with his most powerful Spirits, and still being supported by a powerful mage like me.
Even so… he had been reduced to that state in battle.
And the one responsible for that was a swordsman who looked even younger than me.
The shock almost made me lose the rhythm of my breathing, but I couldn't relax for a single moment. If I made a mistake, if my concentration wavered, I could meet the exact same fate as Perugius's Spirits that had already fallen.
"Ice Shards!"
I shouted once more, gathering mana and aiming my magic directly at the elusive figure of the young swordsman.
Even with my considerable mana capacity, my reserves were already running out; I wouldn't sustain this battle for another five minutes.
Dozens of ice spears formed in the air and shot toward him. This was the spell I cast the fastest. It was also the most lethal in my offensive arsenal. An attack capable of wiping out an entire squadron of knights in seconds.
But, incredibly, he kept advancing without even slowing down.
The countless ice shards were cut in midair, shattered before they even neared his body.
It was as if there were an invisible dome around him, something that blocked and reflected any attack automatically.
Honestly… that didn't even look like swordsmanship.
To me, it looked more like the effect of some extraordinary magical item.
But, as Perugius had already confirmed, there were no tricks there.
It was, without a doubt, pure swordsmanship.
Jino Britz was a monster with a sword in his hands.
He moved like a wraith, as if teleporting across the battlefield. One moment he was far away, the next he was dangerously close.
His advance took him directly toward Yuruzu of Atonement.
But Perugius had already anticipated that action.
The Armored Dragon King advanced, brandishing his long sword with both hands. His strength was crushing. The air seemed to tremble with the force of his leap, and I braced for the familiar impact that always accompanied his devastating strikes.
The sword descended, charged with a golden light.
It was the magical effect of the legendary sword, the Armored Dragon King Hand Sword. Even if it was damaged, its power was extraordinary.
The blow accelerated even further in mid-motion, but Perugius's face was grim.
Then—
A crash resounded when the sword struck the rubble.
A massive shockwave spread from the point of impact, and my view of the battlefield was swallowed by dust and the impact once again.
The Armored Dragon's strength had always been his physical might. He manipulated the Dragon Touki — I didn't fully understand the difference, but it was obvious that that was far more powerful than the ordinary Touki used by normal people.
Therefore, that enormous sword was the ideal weapon for him.
But from the beginning of the fight…
He hadn't landed a single direct hit on the Martial Emperor.
Instead, he repeatedly suffered lethal counterattacks from the Water God Style, taking several wounds.
And, of course, this time he didn't land one either.
Even so… I felt relieved.
Maybe, at the start of the battle, some of us really believed we could defeat — maybe even kill — Jino Britz.
But as the fight unfolded, we all realized in the worst possible way that we weren't fighting to beat him.
We were fighting for our own survival.
Our objective had shifted from defeating him to surviving that deadly trial.
And Yuruzu of Atonement was very important, she was our healer… she could not die under any circumstances.
Perugius blocked Jino, and the young swordsman backed off quickly — only to reappear sitting on a part of the Palace roof that had not yet collapsed.
The other Spirits arrived one after another, positioning themselves around, watching Jino with extreme caution. His lack of movement was unsettling.
I was confused.
He was smiling.
He twirled the sword carelessly in his hand while resting his chin on the other, as if he were merely watching a boring scene.
Then he spoke, in an almost amused tone.
"It was more exciting when you were trying... you don't even want to kill me anymore… I can't even feel a strong murderous intent."
My stomach churned.
"Think about it, Perugius Dola," he continued. "How can you defeat an opponent if you're not even trying seriously?"
A bad premonition ran through my whole body.
I immediately looked toward Yuruzu.
And then… my worst thoughts became reality.
A short black sword pierced her brain.
Her body fell lifeless to the ground, unraveling into threads of blue light as it dissipated.
A single thought crossed my mind.
How?!
The other Spirits also stared at the scene, completely perplexed.
This was very bad news.
Only Furiousful remained calm, with a somber expression on his face. From the start of the fight, only he and Perugius were able to keep up with Jino Britz's movements.
Maybe Arumanfi would also be able… if he were here.
Observing the scene more closely, I finally understood what had happened.
A chill ran down my spine when I thought that the whole scene had been part of his plan.
Being attacked by Perugius had been merely the cover necessary to kill Yuruzu with a hidden weapon of the North God Style.
I looked again at the young swordsman, feeling even more fear. This was the terror of a swordsman who mastered all the Styles of swordsmanship.
His body was covered in wounds and blood. Perugius had broken his ribs, and one of the Spirits had struck him with ice magic.
His brown hair was disheveled, and it was obvious he wasn't at his peak either.
Seen from a certain angle… his appearance was ordinary.
Nothing particularly intimidating.
But after fighting him up to that point…
I couldn't help trembling as I stared into his eyes.
The young Martial Emperor who, alone, had exterminated six of the Armored Dragon King's Spirits while fighting all of them simultaneously.
---
POV: Jino Britz
I'm so fucked.
That was, without exaggeration, the only thought passing through my mind as I met Perugius Dola's gaze.
Outwardly, I smiled. Kept a relaxed posture, the sword resting carelessly, as if everything was exactly as I had planned. As if I were in complete control of the situation.
But inside?
I was slightly panicking.
I had made a small… but considerable mistake.
I killed Sylvaril of the Void.
Right. At first glance, that woman of the Celestial Race was just another servant of Perugius. Just one of the Twelve Spirits that accompanied him.
But… no.
Sylvaril was not a Summoned Spirit like the others.
She was flesh and blood, the only one among the Twelve who couldn't simply be resurrected. She had accompanied Perugius for over four hundred years, since the day he saved her during the Laplace War.
That meant she was actually dead.
Irrevocably.
When I said I couldn't feel a strong murderous intent from them… that couldn't have been more wrong. The hostility of Perugius and the three remaining Spirits was overwhelming.
Clearnight of Thunder, Furiousful of Fury and Dotbath of Destruction seemed to want to tear me to pieces with their gazes.
The only one who still didn't seem to have fully understood what I had done was Sylphiette.
But what terrified me the most wasn't even the enemies in front of me.
It was Rygar's voice, echoing in my head.
"Even if you're stronger than them, don't kill Perugius. And not Sylvaril either."
But what could I do?!
That woman was much stronger than the report indicated! That attack nearly went through my forehead. I simply reacted instinctively — and used the Flow.
Instant decapitation.
Damnation!
I'm as good as dead when I return to the Kingdom.
Actually… part of me almost wanted to stay here. I'd die faster and suffer less. It felt more comfortable than going back and getting beaten by everyone.
This shouldn't be that big of a problem, right?
It was just a random woman who served Perugius.
…Right.
I was just trying to convince myself.
I'm really fucked.
As I kept the outward smile and desperately tried to think of a solution, I heard Perugius's deep voice echo across the battlefield.
"Martial Emperor… may I assume your attitude reflects the will of the Kingdom of Gaia? Does the Beast God intend to initiate another war against humanity?"
I looked at him, my expression growing uglier.
How do I fix this shit?!
And there was another problem. That malicious and seductive woman… Sylphiette.
Her Affection Eye was far too dangerous.
I'm absolutely certain I would have been enchanted if not for the Magic Ring protecting my mind. I would've been caught easily.
What would Nina say about this?
…Well, no one else saw besides me, right?
So no one needed to know.
Trying to buy time, I said:
"Ah… no? What attitude? Wait, war against humanity?! Dude, I'm human too, you know?!"
It was only after speaking that the implication of his words hit me fully.
My head started to hurt.
Who was the idiot who decided I should negotiate?!
I can't even read properly!
I only know how to fight with a sword!
What I meant to say was simple:
"Hey, man, stop talking and let's fight!"
But, unlike Sylvaril, Rygar had been much clearer about this. Perugius could not die.
Even if I had to retreat, even if the mission failed, I couldn't kill the Armored Dragon King under any circumstances.
Perugius's expression grew even darker.
"How else should I interpret that?" he continued.
"The Beast God subjugated much of the Demon Continent, toppled the Holy Kingdom and founded his own Realm."
He tightened his grip on the sword as he looked at the place where Sylvaril lay dead.
"Until then, I could accept that it was only retaliation against Milis's corruption… and a prevention against the Demon Continent."
His voice turned colder.
"But then you invaded Chaos Breaker. You invaded the Silver Palace. Started an indiscriminate massacre. Also, you attacked me and killed my long-time subordinate. How am I to understand this? As a gesture of goodwill?"
I shuddered without realizing it.
This guy… he really had an aura.
I might be stronger than him in direct combat, but why did he seem so… imposing? Damn, I have to train that when I get back, I can't be here looking like a clown.
Also, I had to admit, his composure was admirable. I clearly felt his rage, but he still managed to remain calm.
I breathed deeply.
Outwardly, I remained calm.
I decided to just tell the truth. I wasn't clever enough to make up something better anyway.
"Ah… actually, I killed Sylvaril by accident, sorry about that."
I paused for a moment.
"But you're still wrong…"
Right, Jino. You've already messed up, but theoretically you're still right.
"The Kingdom of Gaia doesn't discriminate races or anything. You should know that, since you were spying. We have demons, beastmen, elves, humans… a bit of everything. And we don't want any war against humanity or anything like that..."
I looked him directly in the eyes before continuing.
"We only saw a chance to exterminate those filthy worms that control Asura... and we did it. Your hypocrisy in hating all demons while protecting those filthy nobles… that's not our problem."
Perugius stared at me in silence.
Before he could answer, Sylphiette spoke, uneasy:
"And who gives you the right to decide the fate of all of them?! This is not the right way to do things! This is just disguised genocide!"
I looked at her with disdain.
"So the right way is to choose a Princess a bit better than the others and let her rule? Well… who knows? Maybe."
I shrugged.
"But it so happens that my boss is a bit more direct than that."
I turned my gaze to Perugius.
"As for Chaos Breaker… that's another matter, it turns out Aisha really likes Barrier Magic, and you're the best at that. So I just regret your bad luck of being robbed until your pockets were empty!"
Of course that wasn't the real reason, but they didn't tell me what it was. Also, that was very much Aisha's style.
Perugius seemed surprised for a brief moment.
But soon the surprise was once again replaced by coldness.
"I must say the same to you, then. I don't care about your conflicts with the Dragon God or the Man God. Nor about your racial impartiality."
He raised the sword slowly.
"I, Perugius Dola, Armored Dragon King, chose to support Ariel Anemoi Asura to lead this Realm, because I believe she is worthy... you initiated this conflict against me and my allies, and you killed my long-time subordinate..."
He pointed the sword at me.
"I will not forget this grudge, Martial Emperor."
He was ready to attack again.
"Wait, wait, wait a second!"
I interrupted quickly.
Perugius, the three Spirits and Sylphiette looked at me cautiously.
And then—
Beep—beep—beep!
I nearly jumped for joy.
There it is!
"That was a good fight, Armored Dragon! I really improved a lot from it…"
I looked for a moment longer at Sylphiette.
She's really cute…
And then I used the Supreme Secret Technique of the North God Style:
Running Away Is a Battle Tactic!
My body became a blur as I left the battlefield toward the predetermined meeting point.
Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Well… let's leave these political things for others to handle!
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