In that instant, his wings glowed as Albion's power was released along with the voice of the Heavenly Dragon of Supremacy.
[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker]
In a white light that covered the entire sky, the world shone as the power of the White Dragon Emperor of Supremacy was unleashed.
In an instant, a white dragon armor with blue jewels formed around Vali's entire body, protecting him and enhancing his power and physical attributes.
This was the Balance Breaker of the Longinus [Divine Dividing]: the [Balance Breaker of Divine Dividing: Scale Mail].
In this form, Vali could use his [Divide!] to halve the power of his opponents whenever he wished after touching them, up to their limits, but at the cost of a large amount of stamina and magical power, and he didn't need to wait ten seconds to do so.
Gilgamesh admitted that Vali's power in his Balance Breaker was impressive.
In terms of raw power, he would have the ability to fight and defeat beings of the Ultimate class, perhaps even Satan if he used Albion's true power.
The true power of the [Divine Dividing] was the opposite of the [Boosted Gear]. If Gilgamesh's Longinus doubled the user's power, Vali's halved it and added it to his own.
This truly made Vali very dangerous, without a doubt, due to the [Divide!] of his Longinus.
"Aren't you going to use your Balance Breaker?" asked Vali in his white armor.
Gilgamesh smiled.
"If it's necessary," said Gilgamesh to Vali, who was smiling behind his helmet.
"Then I'll force you to," shouted Vali as he increased his power.
Vali quickly charged at Gilgamesh, becoming a white blur as he moved to strike the King of Heroes.
However, the moment Vali attacked, Gilgamesh blocked his attack, parrying the blows simultaneously, to Vali's surprise.
Gilgamesh didn't even show discomfort as he easily blocked the Hakuryuukou's attack.
In one movement, Gilgamesh delivered a powerful kick that sent Vali flying back. Vali smiled and quickly positioned himself in the air, creating dozens of demonic energy orbs and launching them at Gilgamesh.
The demonic energy orbs shot toward Gilgamesh at full speed, with enough force to take down even High-class demons.
Vali's demonic power was far superior to that of Rias or Sona. His lineage as a descendant of Lucifer granted him magical reserves vastly superior to those of ordinary demons, even Rias and Sona, who possess exceptional demonic powers, couldn't compare to him.
The demonic powers advanced toward Gilgamesh, who didn't even move and only smiled. In that instant, it seemed as though the demonic powers completely lost control as they veered off course and hit the ground instead of Gilgamesh, to everyone's astonishment.
They couldn't believe what had happened; it wasn't any kind of magic—they simply veered off.
At that moment, Gilgamesh used his Longinus [Telos Karma] to cancel causality, causing Vali's demonic powers to miss instead of hitting.
He created a fate where Vali's magical power didn't hit.
Seeing that his magical powers were useless, Vali charged at Gilgamesh at such high speed that he appeared as a white flash.
Gilgamesh wasn't intimidated and charged at Vali, becoming a golden flash.
Both began fighting in the air, moving at high speed. The impacts caused by them shook the entire barrier, making even those watching feel the tremors.
To an onlooker, it might seem like they were evenly matched, as they kept colliding.
But to the trained eyes of Azazel, Lavinia, Valerie, and Tobio, this wasn't true.
They could clearly see that Gilgamesh was winning and gradually dominating Vali, and if this continued, the Hakuryuukou would lose.
Vali was already getting frustrated. No matter what blow he landed, Gilgamesh would easily defend and counter with an even stronger blow.
Gilgamesh was stronger, more agile, faster, and had better reflexes than Vali. Each of Gilgamesh's blows caused cracks in Vali's armor, forcing Albion to repair it even more.
And on top of that, Gilgamesh hadn't even activated his Balance Breaker—hell, he hadn't even summoned the [Boosted Gear].
Vali quickly managed to distance himself from Gilgamesh and unleashed waves of his demonic power to buy some time.
However, this didn't happen as Gilgamesh, with a single shot of his divine energy, nullified everything.
Not wasting time, Gilgamesh raised his right hand toward Vali and unleashed a burst of his divine energy in the form of a beam of light.
Vali's eyes widened as he saw a wave of divine power so large that it filled his vision, and he quickly activated one of the powers of the [Divine Dividing], making his wings appear larger.
[Half-Dimension]
Extending his hand, Vali reduced the entire wave of energy to half its size, but it continued advancing, forcing Vali to resort to his power.
"Divide," said Vali.
[Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!]
Slowly, the entire wave of energy began to disappear as its power was divided multiple times, and Albion's voice came from Vali's wings.
Vali prepared to charge at Gilgamesh but stopped when he felt his entire armor become overloaded.
[Vali, the armor's overloaded,] warned Albion.
"He overloaded my armor with just one wave of energy?!" thought Vali, shocked. He felt that Gilgamesh hadn't even used his true power in that attack.
[Vali, behind you,] warned Albion.
Vali snapped out of his thoughts while looking ahead and saw that Gilgamesh had disappeared. When he received Albion's warning and turned around, he only saw Gilgamesh behind him with a punch ready.
Vali couldn't even react as Gilgamesh delivered a punch so powerful to his face that it broke his helmet and sent him flying into a nearby mountain.
Gilgamesh landed calmly on the ground while observing the spot where Vali had crashed.
Vali quickly emerged from the mountain he had been thrown into before falling to his knees. His helmet was destroyed, and his armor seemed to be crumbling.
Vali was stunned.
"The power gap is that big?!" questioned Vali, surprised and frightened.
He never imagined the Sekiryuutei would be this strong.
[It pains me to say this, but it seems Ddraig's host is a monster to have this power and be so young. Ddraig outdid himself this time. I don't even want to imagine how strong he'll be if he uses the Balance Breaker,] commented Albion in pure surprise.
"Yes, he really is a monster. I thought I'd be better than the Sekiryuutei because of my lineage, but he surpassed me," said Vali bitterly.
[Now's not the time for that, Vali. The battle isn't over yet,] said Albion to his partner.
"And what can I do? He's stronger," said Vali apprehensively.
Albion fell silent, surprised. Gilgamesh hadn't just broken his armor and made Vali retreat, but he also seemed to be breaking Vali's spirit and will to fight.
And that only happened when you faced an unshakable power.
Or when Gilgamesh used his [Haoushoku Haki] to subdue Vali's will.
[It's not time for that, Vali! You still have one more option—use it! You mustn't give up before the battle is over,] said Albion, trying to motivate his partner.
"You're right, Albion," said Vali with a smile.
The Hakuryuukou stood up, and his armor began to restore itself, but Vali staggered a bit and fell again.
"How?!" asked Vali to himself, stunned.
Vali felt his entire body heavy, and his stamina was draining as if he had been fighting for days.
[I don't know, Vali, but your stamina is being drained quickly. You need to use the Juggernaut Drive soon,] said Albion, knowing Vali wouldn't last much longer.
The fact that Vali was losing stamina was entirely due to Gilgamesh.
The King of Heroes was using his [Snatch] to steal Vali's physical attributes, including his stamina.
[Snatch] is an ability that allows its user to steal the physical attributes of their opponents, such as strength, speed, agility, and stamina, and add them to themselves.
Vali, who had the ability to divide and steal his enemies' power, was having his own power stolen.
Vali quickly adjusted and rose into the air under Gilgamesh's gaze.
"So, are you giving up, Vali?" asked Gilgamesh.
Vali laughed.
"No, but even if I have to give it my all, I'll force you to use your true power," said Vali, increasing his power even more.
Gilgamesh was surprised that Vali had so much power stored.
Vali suddenly crossed his arms as a menacing aura began to emanate from his body.
[He's going to activate the Juggernaut Drive, partner. You must stop him. His power is well below normal; he'll be consumed by Albion's power,] said Ddraig in alarm.
Gilgamesh quickly increased his power.
"I'm about to awaken…" Vali began to recite as his power started to rise.
Azazel and the others were about to prepare to intervene, but it wasn't necessary.
Gilgamesh unleashed a massive amount of his divine power, suppressing Vali's power, and charged.
Before Vali could complete his transformation, Gilgamesh advanced and appeared in front of Vali in an instant, who couldn't react.
Gilgamesh raised his fist, imbued with powerful divine energy, and unleashed it point-blank against Vali.
The moment Gilgamesh's fist collided with Vali, a massive explosion shook the entire battlefield, sending Vali crashing into the ground, which exploded with the Hakuryuukou's fall.
With one blow, Vali fell unconscious on the ground.
Gilgamesh quickly landed in front of the unconscious Vali, noticing the approach of Azazel, Tobio, Valerie, and Lavinia.
"You overdid it, Gil-kun," said Lavinia seriously as she approached Vali.
Gilgamesh gave an apologetic look.
"Don't worry, Lavinia, Vali is fine," said Tobio to her, who nodded.
Valerie quickly approached Vali and looked at him.
"He'll be fine. I can heal him," said Valerie, to Lavinia's relieved sigh.
"He'll be okay. But I'm surprised by the power gap between you two, though I already expected the Sekiryuutei's victory," said Azazel, to everyone's surprise.
"You expected it?" asked Tobio, surprised.
"Yes, I've felt Gilgamesh's power before, so I knew he would win, but I didn't imagine it would be so easily," commented Azazel.
He already knew of Gilgamesh's power, so he knew victory would go to the King of Heroes, but he didn't imagine Gilgamesh would dominate Vali so easily.
"So, I guess that's it," said Gilgamesh, but Tobio intervened.
"Actually, I'd like a battle against you," said Tobio with a smile.
Everyone was surprised by this.
"Even you, Tobi-kun?" asked Lavinia, surprised.
"I'm surprised, Tobio. Why's that?" asked Azazel, surprised.
"Well, I'd like to test my power against you. After all, you're considered the World's Greatest Swordsman," said Tobio, surprising Gilgamesh.
"World's Greatest Swordsman? That's a new one," said Gilgamesh, visibly surprised.
This time, Azazel spoke.
"Well, you're pretty famous. After all, you defeated Vasco Strada in a sword fight, and that man is someone even the Top 10 members fear," said Azazel to everyone, who were surprised. "That, combined with your title as Paladin or Holy Knight and all your feats, earned you that title," said Azazel to Gilgamesh, who nodded.
"Well, I don't mind fighting you, Slash Dog," said Gilgamesh, smiling.
Tobio and Gilgamesh went to the center of the battlefield again while Azazel took Vali's unconscious body, and he, Lavinia, and Valerie went to a safe place to watch the battle.
"Go all out, Tobio," said Azazel to the Slash Dog, who nodded while smiling.
Both Tobio and Gilgamesh positioned themselves on the battlefield.
Jin, the dog that is the avatar of the Longinus [Canis Lykaon], stood by Tobio's side, and a black mist enveloped him. When it dissipated, a large black dog with red eyes, the size of a human, was revealed.
Tobio extended his hand, and from his shadow emerged a long black sword, which he grabbed.
This is the primary power of the Longinus [Canis Lykaon]: it allows its user to produce blades from their shadows, in addition to Jin, who has his own instincts and can move through shadows and create blades from his body.
Gilgamesh extended his hand and summoned a sword.
It was a broad sword with a normal hilt and sharpness superior to regular swords.
Although it was stronger than a normal sword, it was still just a sword and not a Noble Phantasm, so its power was inferior to Tobio's.
After all, the [Canis Lykaon] is a Longinus that manifests in the form of a sword capable of cutting anything, even gods.
In an instant, Tobio positioned himself and charged at Gilgamesh with Jin by his side.
Gilgamesh, at the same time, charged at Tobio with his sword in hand.
Both clashed, sending sparks flying, and began a duel with phenomenal swordsmanship skills.
Gilgamesh blocked any of Tobio's attacks, and the Slash Dog did the same.
Gilgamesh quickly leaped and dodged when he noticed Jin trying to attack with a sword in its mouth.
In a swift movement, Gilgamesh sent Jin flying, and Tobio took advantage of this opportunity to attack.
Tobio was fast, very fast, even by supernatural standards. Tobio had surreal skills.
For any attack, Tobio and Jin moved in perfect sync, covering each other's weaknesses, but even so, they weren't winning.
Gilgamesh quickly dominated Tobio in swordsmanship and nullified any of the man's attacks while easily dodging Jin's attacks.
Tobio retreated when Gilgamesh sent him flying.
Jin quickly went to his master's side.
"It seems I won't be able to win like this. I'll have to go beyond," said Tobio to himself.
He wasn't surprised. After all, Gilgamesh had neutralized Vali in his Balance Breaker, so Tobio would go further.
"You know, Gilgamesh, I rarely get to let loose, since my power covers a wide range," said Tobio as his aura seemed to increase.
Immediately, Tobio began a chant.
"Behold the slaughter of a thousand mortals."
A mist like darkness enveloped Tobio and Jin's bodies, spreading throughout the area.
"Beyond the slaughter of ten thousand goblins."
His arms and legs were caught by the darkness and transformed into a supernatural form.
"My name, immersed in the deepest darkness, is the Imitation God traversing the Polar Night."
The darkness adhered to Tobio's entire body and assimilated him.
"O ye, perish by my own black blade."
While his body took the form of a person, it became something different from humans.
"O fool, Creator God of the deformed."
When Tobio uttered the final passage of the chant, the black dog, Jin, let out a clear and long howl.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooon…
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