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"The Authority of Steel Protection, huh?"
Seeing the glowing runes covering Tony's body, Minato's eyes flickered. "Looks like your defense really is insane. No wonder they call it the power of immortality."
"Nice eye. This is my second Authority."
Tony grinned and pointed his sword at Minato. "Come on, let's go again."
"You seriously want to keep fighting?"
"What was that?"
Tony froze for a second.
"You're no match for me."
Minato gently shook his head. "If we keep going, you're going to lose. You might even get hurt. Or die."
"Hah! If you think you can pull that off, be my guest."
Tony didn't get mad—instead, he burst out laughing. "Dying in battle? Not a bad way to go."
Yep, just as expected.
God Slayers always end up a bit nuts.
Minato's gaze flickered as he looked at him.
At least Tony didn't seem too far gone. That's a relief.
"Well, since you're so eager…"
Minato shook his head, raised one hand, and his eyes turned sharp. "I'll give you what you want."
The moment he said that—
The whole sky turned blinding white.
Because a majestic white horse had come galloping out of the sun, tearing through the heavens.
Divine White Horse!
One of the War God's most destructive Authorities.
They say that if your power's strong enough, it could even destroy an entire world.
Clop. Clop. Clop.
The white horse galloped through the air, golden flames burning all over its body.
The heat around them skyrocketed. Even the ocean far away started steaming, the haze rising visibly to the eye.
It hadn't even landed yet—
And the already shattered island was starting to melt.
Tony's eyes narrowed. He began chanting: "Rune of Protection—turn into a fortress of steel!"
In an instant, millions of giant rune symbols appeared, forming a massive dome that spread out in every direction, sealing off the battlefield.
At the same time—
The white horse came crashing down.
BOOM!
Like the sun and moon colliding.
A wave of golden flames, devastating enough to end the world, surged outward like a tidal wave, engulfing everything around the island.
Wherever it passed—
Trees, rocks, land—it all melted and vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Hiss—hiss—hiss—
Even the ocean around the island was erased, just like that, disappearing into thin air.
"…Did I kill him for real?"
Minato scratched his cheek and muttered, "He's got the Steel Protection Authority… there's no way he's that fragile, right?"
Though honestly, he didn't sound all that confident.
Oh well. If he's dead, guess that's just bad luck.
It's not like he hated the Sword King or anything…
But it's not like he's some cute girl either—so whatever.
As Minato watched—
The golden flames gradually faded away, and the entire island had completely vanished.
Then, a pitch-black figure, barely holding it together, wobbled up from the sea and floated into the air.
"Milord, are you okay?!"
Seeing this, André leapt up and rushed to Tony's side.
Cough, cough. "I'm not dead… but I definitely lost."
"You… lost?"
André stood there stunned, disbelief written all over his face.
Tony… actually lost?
It felt rude to say, but—
There are levels among God Slayers.
And usually, the longer you've existed, the more powerful you are.
Because the more gods you've slain, the more curses and Authorities you've stockpiled.
He never thought Tony would lose this fight.
But now, with the truth right in front of him, there was no denying it.
Minato chuckled. "Not bad. That Steel Protection of yours really is tough."
"Yeah, I almost died. You think that's something to brag about?"
Tony said, still rattled. "Your Authority literally broke through my Steel Protection."
"Well, at least you're not dead. That's what matters."
Minato's eyes gleamed. "Now, as the loser… don't you think you should pay a little price?"
"Sure. What do you want?"
Tony said casually, "As long as I can give it, it's yours."
They hadn't agreed on anything ahead of time, but in this world, losers listen to winners—that's just how it works.
Minato stroked his chin, then grinned. "Alright then. How about this—let me see all the supernatural books your faction has access to. The ones worth anything."
The Sword King might be new to the game, but plenty of factions had already flocked to him.
There's no way Minato was gonna let a loot drop like that go to waste.
"You want those books? What for?"
Tony looked genuinely confused as he stared at Minato.
To a God Slayer—
Aside from a few rare spells, most supernatural powers were basically worthless.
Minato just smiled like, Don't worry about it.
Tony sighed and shook his head. "Fine, whatever. I lost."
"André, I'm leaving this to you."
"Yes, my King!"
André nodded right away.
This kind of errand was perfect for him.
"When the books are ready, get in touch with Erica."
With that, Minato took off into the sky with Erica and Liliana in tow.
"Milord, you're amazing!"
Now that she'd recovered from the shock, Liliana said in awe:
"Even the Sword King lost to you…"
"Yeah, at this rate, you might really become the strongest God Slayer."
Erica's eyes sparkled as she looked at Minato.
And she meant every word.
He'd taken down two rogue gods all on his own.
He became a God Slayer as a devil, and now he'd beaten the Sword King like it was nothing.
None of this was normal.
Minato glanced over. "What, are you two falling for me or something?"
At that, Erica and Liliana both blushed.
But neither of them denied it.
Because they couldn't lie to themselves.
They really were starting to fall for him.
"…Why aren't you saying anything?"
Minato smiled. "Guess I was right, huh?"
"How about it? Wanna come find me tonight?"
"Ahh—M-My Lord… t-that's way too fast!"
"Respected King, could you please stop being so… indecent in front of beautiful ladies?!"
"....."