What appeared was a false blade god in human form, clad in darkness.
Tobio chanted the incantation and changed his appearance. He had a form resembling a humanoid dog, with six tails, and continued emanating a dark aura from his entire body.
Beside him, his dog, Jin, released darkness from its mouth.
"Balance Breaker: Night Celestial Slash Dogs."
(Author: The image of Tobio's Balance Breaker is the one at the beginning of the chapter.)
Tobio, who had become a hunter of darkness, drew a weapon longer than his own shadow.
A large black scythe filled with a dark aura.
The Longinus [Canis Lykaon] is an independent type even among Sacred Gears, an entity separate from the owner (Jin in Tobio's case) that has consciousness and can be operated remotely under the master's direction.
Additionally, it was possible to create blades of all shapes from shadows and darkness. The large scythe Tobio drew was this ability.
At the same time, Jin also made a sword appear from his own shadow and held it sideways in his mouth. A mysterious pattern glowed on the blade of the sword. Forbidden spells were engraved there.
Gilgamesh, faced with all the power demonstrated by Tobio, smiled.
"You're truly an interesting person, Ikuse Tobio, so I'll show you something," said Gilgamesh as he gripped the hilt of his sword.
A great divine aura enveloped Gilgamesh's body as he smiled.
"This is the first time I'll use this in battle and show it to someone. After all, your Longinus can cut anything, and I want to see which is stronger," said Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh's divine aura increased, and as he gripped his sword and his right arm, which held the sword, began to turn silver while glowing.
Gilgamesh raised his sword and recited:
"I make this oath now. I will not allow anything that cannot be cut to exist in this world. For this sword in my hand is the invincible blade that reduces everything without fail!"
The moment Gilgamesh recited his chant, his sword was enveloped in a silver aura that solidified with it.
It was Gilgamesh's Authority, the [Silver Arm], an Authority that allows Gilgamesh to transform anything he holds with his right hand into an invincible sword capable of cutting anything.
Capable of turning anything into a supreme sword that cuts everything, able to split the earth, the skies, and the seas, said to make the inseparable separable.
Tobio was surprised by the terrifying aura emanating from Gilgamesh's sword. Even from a distance, he could feel the danger of its blade.
"No way! A divine Authority?" shouted Azazel in shock, audible to everyone.
"Azazel-sama?" asked Lavinia curiously.
"Sorry, but this is incredible, him being capable of something like that," said Azazel, surprised.
"What's an Authority, Azazel-sama?" asked Lavinia.
"Authorities are the powers that belong to gods. They are laws that allow them to have their great powers. They are one of the reasons gods have so much power. Gods like Zeus and Indra have Authorities that command lightning, and Amaterasu has her Authority from the power of the Sun. Sometimes they gain Authorities from their legends and myths. The fact that Gilgamesh has one is surreal," said Azazel with surprise.
"Why?" asked Valerie as she finished healing Vali, who was still unconscious.
"Demigods can't have divine Authorities. At most, they can use a bit of their divine parents' power, but not Authorities, which is why this is incredible," said Azazel to the two, who were surprised. "And from what it seems, the chant he made was to activate the Authority."
Everyone listened attentively, including Tobio and Gilgamesh.
"I see, a divine Authority, impressive," said Tobio with his slightly beastly voice.
"Yes, I rarely use them, but against you, it'll be worth it," said Gilgamesh, smiling.
"From your chant and what you said: 'I will not allow anything that cannot be cut to exist,' your Authority has something to do with the sword and its power," said Tobio as he raised his scythe.
Gilgamesh smiled.
"Very good, but now let's begin," said Gilgamesh as he raised his sword.
Then they charged.
Jin was the first to lunge with his sword to cut Gilgamesh, who used his sword to parry Jin's and sent him flying far away.
Tobio, in a single instant, appeared in front of Gilgamesh through the shadows and swung his scythe at him.
Gilgamesh quickly swung his sword against Tobio's scythe, and they clashed.
The moment Tobio's scythe collided with Gilgamesh's sword, it gave way and was cut in two, and Gilgamesh advanced his sword toward Tobio, who dissolved into shadows to dodge.
Gilgamesh's sword struck the ground, causing it to split.
Tobio reformed from the shadows a few meters from Gilgamesh, holding only a piece of his scythe.
"What a surprise, you cut it," said Tobio, visibly surprised.
Gilgamesh smiled at him.
"It wasn't the only thing I cut," said Gilgamesh to Tobio, who smiled in confusion.
At that moment, a large cut appeared across Tobio's body, slicing through his shadows.
"How?" said Tobio, surprised.
"Your Longinus is impressive. In your Balance Breaker, you're almost intangible since you can turn into darkness. However, you have a limit. It seems that if it's an attack of Maou-class, you can't nullify it, but my sword can cut anything, even your darkness," said Gilgamesh to Tobio.
The Slash Dog quickly used his darkness to cover his wound.
Tobio analyzed and quickly realized he was at a disadvantage, even in his Balance Breaker.
Any sword Tobio could think of would be cut by Gilgamesh, and any attack from him would pierce his body. Tobio couldn't make close-range attacks without risking serious injury.
Tobio quickly extended his darkness across the entire battlefield, tinting the sky and earth in darkness.
Slowly, tens of thousands of swords emerged from the darkness. The swords had the most varied forms—some were disproportionate, others impossible to wield by normal people, some had such bizarre shapes they didn't even seem like swords, and others were twisted swords.
However, each one had a unique aura of power. By altering their auras, Tobio could find a weapon that could harm his enemy.
Slowly, all the swords pointed at Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes.
Everyone was throwing waves of weapons at him.
First Ares, now Tobio. Who would be next, huh?
That was his trick.
Seeing all the weapons shooting toward him, Gilgamesh assumed a relaxed stance that seemed to have no skill but had no openings and could unleash a multitude of attacks in combat.
All the weapons began to fall on Gilgamesh, who activated his [Kenbunshoku Haki] to anticipate all movements.
All the weapons fell on Gilgamesh, who wielded his sword to defend against them all. Each of Tobio's weapons that fell on Gilgamesh was instantly cut without resistance by the [Silver Arm].
The weapons fell like raindrops in a storm. A normal person couldn't even react to all of them, but Gilgamesh was cutting them all at divine speeds.
His instincts, honed over years, gave Gilgamesh a surreal perception of space, along with his reflexes that predicted every sword coming at him. Combined with his [Kenbunshoku Haki], which allowed Gilgamesh to glimpse the future, they were all at their peak, enabling him to anticipate and react to each weapon.
Gilgamesh didn't even blink as his body reacted automatically. For every sword of Tobio's that he cut, his sword became sharper, a characteristic of his [Silver Arm] that increased the sword's sharpness with each strike.
Gilgamesh further increased his reaction speed by pushing his body to the limit.
Everyone was stunned by Gilgamesh's mastery of the sword, especially Tobio.
Tobio couldn't believe that Gilgamesh was cutting all his swords. This wasn't just the power of an Authority but the true power of Gilgamesh in wielding a sword.
Seeing this, Tobio stopped throwing his swords and summoned two scythes in his hands.
Gilgamesh sighed as he relaxed his muscles and looked at Tobio. That had truly been very intense and surprising.
Then Tobio charged, and Gilgamesh did the same.
They clashed again, and as before, Gilgamesh's sword easily cut Tobio's scythes. In less than a second, using his shadows, Tobio created more swords and wielded them.
Tobio basically filled the space around him with swords, and each time he clashed with Gilgamesh and had his weapon cut, he instantly created another.
Tobio charged at Gilgamesh at high speed while blending into the shadows, and Gilgamesh matched him at divine speed.
They exchanged blows across the entire battlefield. Each time they met, Gilgamesh cut Tobio's weapons, and the Slash Dog instantly created others and continued advancing.
When they separated, their conditions were revealed.
Gilgamesh had his divine aura emanating from his body, keeping him protected, and his [Silver Arm] was activated.
Tobio was still enveloped in darkness in the form of a humanoid dog but had several cuts on his body where blood was leaking.
Gilgamesh had imbued divine power in each cut to keep it painful and hinder Tobio.
"You're very good, Tobio, but you're still lacking something," said Gilgamesh to him. "You have great skills, but you still lack power," said Gilgamesh.
"Skill must contain power. No matter how divine a skill is, without matching 'power,' someone would simply fail and be slaughtered in the end," said Gilgamesh to Tobio, who created an enormous scythe with an extremely dense and powerful aura in his hand.
"Then I'll have to show you 'power,'" said Tobio, smiling sinisterly due to his beastly form.
Gilgamesh simply smiled, making his sword glow.
Both charged at each other, preparing to deliver the final blow.
However, something stopped them.
An enormous ice wall appeared in front of them, separating them, surprising both Gilgamesh and Tobio.
Even so, their weapons were already in motion and couldn't be stopped.
Both the scythe and the sword easily cut through the ice before clashing.
In the next instant, Tobio's scythe fell to the ground, split in half, and a massive cut appeared on Tobio's shoulder, causing his Balance Breaker to deactivate.
Gilgamesh turned his gaze to Tobio and saw that he also had a small cut on his arm.
"I guess I lost," said Tobio, spitting out a bit of blood.
Gilgamesh approached as he deactivated his [Silver Arm] and dispersed his sword.
Then he touched Tobio's shoulder, which began to heal due to Gilgamesh's ability as the son of the Goddess of Healing.
"It seems so," said Gilgamesh to Tobio, who laughed.
Their attention was drawn to a menacing aura in the area.
Looking there, they saw Lavinia with a very displeased expression.
The two Longinus users could only sweat and tremble as the Ice Princess approached them, freezing everything around her.
"I told you not to overdo it," said Lavinia sternly.
The two could only tremble and listen as they received a lecture from Lavinia while the others watched, laughing.
**Some Time Later**
After the battle with Tobio, everyone returned to the bar and talked for the rest of the night. Gilgamesh caught up with Lavinia while discussing sword techniques with Tobio. Valerie also joined in the conversation, while Vali was quieter.
Currently, all six were outside the bar as Gilgamesh and Valerie were heading home.
"Will you come back, Gil-kun?" asked Lavinia curiously.
Gilgamesh smiled.
"Yes, don't worry. Besides, you can visit me whenever you want," said Gilgamesh to Lavinia, who nodded.
Gilgamesh turned his attention to Tobio.
"Next time, I'll win," said Tobio, receiving an approving bark from Jin.
"I'm looking forward to it," said Gilgamesh to him.
Then the King of Heroes turned to Vali, who was somewhat downcast from the defeat.
"Defeats are part of it, Vali. I acknowledge you as my rival, Vali. Train… train to master your power. I'll continue my training too… Don't let anyone defeat you… One day will come when we'll fight with all our strength and show the world the power of the Heavenly Dragons," said Gilgamesh, smiling.
Vali returned the smile and nodded.
"Very well, next time I'll defeat you, Sekiryuutei," said Vali.
"I say the same, Hakuryuukou," said Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh and Valerie turned and prepared to leave.
"Hey, aren't you going to say goodbye?" shouted Azazel.
"No," shouted Gilgamesh before leaving with Valerie, leaving Azazel crying anime-style tears.
Gilgamesh and Valerie decided to walk the entire way. When they were far from the bar, a barrier surrounded them.
"It seems they took the bait," said Valerie to Gilgamesh, who nodded.
Then they appeared.
In the sky, Walburga appeared riding her magical broom, with Arthur and dozens of rogue magicians by her side on the ground.
"Finally out of your hideout," said Walburga sarcastically.
"You have some nerve showing up after last time," said Gilgamesh to her.
Walburga seemed increasingly irritated.
"But this time, I'll win, and I won't return to Leader-sama empty-handed like last time," she shouted angrily.
"We'll win again, Walburga of the Purple Flames," said Gilgamesh, making Walburga smile and Valerie's eyes widen as she realized who she was.
It was Walburga, the wielder of one of the thirteen Longinus, the [Incinerate Anthem].
[Incinerate Anthem] is considered one of the Three Holy Relics, alongside Cao Cao's [True Longinus] and Valerie's [Sephiroth Graal]. It is the "Holy Cross" on which Christ was crucified.
[Incinerate Anthem] has the ability to generate large quantities of powerful purple holy flames that can incinerate demons with ease.
Its divine ability to control Holy Flames also grants its user the capability to kill Satans and Supreme-class demons with ease, similar to the [True Longinus].
"You know my identity, but it doesn't matter. This time, with the power of my Longinus, I will win," said Walburga as purple flames began to appear around her.
Before Gilgamesh could charge, Valerie spoke.
"I'll take care of her," said Valerie seriously to Gilgamesh, who nodded.
Gilgamesh headed toward Arthur.
"I'll stop you, Arthur. I promise I won't hurt you, at least not too much," said Gilgamesh as his golden aura appeared.
Walburga stared at Valerie before speaking.
"Very well, let's see who's stronger, my Cross or your Grail," said Walburga with a wide smile as Valerie stared at her seriously.
The battle between the Holy Grail and the Holy Cross was about to begin.
And only one could emerge victorious.
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