"The strongest Holy Sword on earth—Collbrande, also known as the Sword in the Stone. This man… is a descendant of King Arthur?"
At the sight of the man, Koneko's pupils contracted slightly. Unconsciously, she stepped closer to Yoru and gripped the hem of his clothes in worry.
"A descendant of King Arthur?"
Hearing Koneko say that, Yoru blinked in surprise. He studied the man in front of him, and when he heard the name King Arthur, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
But soon, he chuckled to himself and shook his head, tossing aside the unrealistic idea in his heart.
Impossible. Even if King Arthur existed in this world, it wouldn't be that Artoria. It was probably just someone with the same name.
"Nice to meet you. Yes, my name is Arthur Pendragon, wielder of the Holy King Sword."
The bespectacled descendant of King Arthur lowered his head slightly in greeting—a gesture that fit the title of "true holy knight" perfectly.
"So, it looks like you're planning to attack together?"
"If possible, I'd prefer to take the Monkey King and Kuroka away. Picking a fight with devils here wouldn't be a wise choice."
Arthur spoke with a gentlemanly smile.
"Arthur…" Kuroka's cat ears twitched upright. She was determined to take her little sister away. This man might be a minor concern, but if the three of them attacked together, killing him and abducting Koneko would be easy.
"Vali already gave the order—unless you want solitary confinement, behave yourselves!"
"Well, if that's the case, we'll just go back, Kuroka."
The Monkey King let out a relieved sigh and stepped behind Arthur, though he didn't put away his staff. Clearly, he didn't want to fight here either. Even with a barrier in place, he wasn't confident it could fool the Maou, who were just nearby.
"But… Shirone…"
Kuroka looked at her sister with reluctance, obviously displeased at the thought of retreating. She had disobeyed orders and come here solely to take her sister away—leaving now felt far too unsatisfying.
"I have to say… ignoring my presence like this is quite troubling. You come and go in devil territory as you please—don't you think you're being far too arrogant?"
Yoru's sudden words cut Kuroka off, drawing the attention of all three Khaos Brigade members toward him.
"Don't get cocky, Gremory soldier. Do you think you alone can do anything to us?"
"Do what? Nothing much… just keep all of you here."
His light, almost mocking words sounded like a bad joke—but before Kuroka could laugh, a terrifying aura exploded from Yoru.
It wasn't just the intense cold described in the intel—alongside the freezing air was a power they all found disturbingly familiar.
"This power… it's Ophis's…?!"
They quickly realized whose power it resembled—the kind wielded by the Infinite Dragon God herself. But what shook them even more was that this was even more overwhelming and terrifying than Ophis's power.
"Impossible! Ophis is already the strongest dragon in the world—how could there be a dragon's power greater than hers?!"
Ophis's energy was all too familiar to them, which was why Yoru's presence sent them into such panic.
Clearly unwilling to explain, Yoru moved first, targeting the nearest of the three—the wielder of the Holy King Sword, Arthur!
A jet-black greatsword came crashing down. Arthur instinctively raised his blade to meet it, the Holy King Sword erupting in dazzling holy light.
Normally, a devil wouldn't even be able to look directly at such brilliance—lesser devils could be annihilated instantly.
But Yoru, bathed in that holy radiance, felt nothing. His heavy sword smashed down, forcing a pained grunt from Arthur.
The sheer difference in power was crushing. Arthur instantly realized it, and to make matters worse, he felt his own energy slipping out of control.
Where… where did this dragon power come from? How could it overpower even Ophis's?!
"Careful—this devil isn't afraid of holy light!"
Kuroka and the Monkey King's warning rang from behind, but Arthur could only give a wry smile. The problem wasn't just that holy light had no effect—it was that everything about him was being suppressed.
"No helping it then. Since this guy doesn't know his place, let's show him our strength! Take him down quickly, then we'll take Shirone away."
Kuroka's eyes gleamed with excitement. She had been looking for an excuse to act, and Yoru had just handed her the perfect one.
"Ahh, I told you not to come here. Now it's gotten troublesome! Somersault Cloud—!"
Resigned, the Monkey King summoned a golden cloud beneath his feet.
"Nee-san, no!"
Seeing Kuroka and the Monkey King ready to attack Yoru, Koneko immediately stepped between them.
"This…" The Monkey King hesitated. She was Kuroka's sister, after all—he didn't really want to harm her.
"Sorry, Shirone. Just sleep for a while, nya~."
Mist began to gather in Kuroka's hand.
"…That's—"
Sensing the danger, Koneko tried to react, but it was too late. A sudden wave of dizziness hit her, and she collapsed limply to the ground.
"Doesn't work on you? Well, I suppose not, nya~. A being with Maou-class power… if you were taken out so easily by a bit of poison mist, I'd be disappointed."
"Poison mist, huh?"
Yoru narrowed his eyes. Whether or not it worked on him, he didn't intend to find out—before the mist could spread near him, he froze it solid.
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