"He actually shattered a Reality Marble…"
Trhvmn Ortenrosse murmured the words, the imperious, bedrock certainty in his crimson eyes finally cracking. He stared at the masked boy, deep wariness instantly swallowed by a sudden, irrepressible surge of battle lust.
High above, the suffocating black void dissolved like burnt paper. The golden hues of the setting sun bled back into the sky, chasing away the graveyard. The surviving ravens shrieked in panic, scattering in all directions.
Blackmore plummeted back to the earth, reverting to his humanoid, raven-headed form. His boots hit the mud heavily. He fell completely silent.
The destruction was mutual. When Nevermoreshattered, Rimuru's own Ghost Ship domain collapsed with it. It was a risky, double-edged play. Without the environmental buffs of his aquatic Workshop, Rimuru had fundamentally handicapped his own Magecraft. And as every magus knew, fighting outside your Workshop meant your combat specs plummeted off a cliff. A top-tier caster fully prepped was a demigod; stripped of their territory, the gap was like a max-level player suddenly losing all their raid gear.
But the Black Wing Lord wasn't exactly celebrating.
Because while Rimuru had lost his terrain advantage, he was still an apex-level Executor in close-quarters combat.
Standing perfectly upright, Blackmore pressed his feet together, adopting an eerily elegant, gentlemanly posture despite his monstrous appearance. He lifted his beak.
"If I were still the human magus I once was, I would likely be trembling in terror right now," the Black Wing Lord admitted. "By the old metrics of our kind, I should surrender here and now. But… I still have my pride."
"Then keep fighting."
Rimuru couldn't care less about the bird-man's nostalgic monologue. He swiped a hand down the length of Boundless. The liquid metal instantly solidified into a massive, two-handed greatsword, demonic flames roaring to life along the edge.
"I want the monster you are now! Not the ghost of who you used to be!"
BOOM!
Rimuru vanished. Leaving a long, blazing contrail in his wake, he materialized directly above Blackmore, bringing the heavy blade down in a vicious, vertical cleave.
The shift was jarring. He had gone from an elegant, backline caster to a relentless, unga-bunga berserker in a fraction of a second. His golden eyes were gone, replaced by the mechanical, glowing crimson of the Great Sage taking the wheel.
Blackmore's avian eyes narrowed, a sharp, terrible grin crossing his beak. "Is that how it is?!"
Clang!
Blackmore's wings snapped forward. The feathers condensed, hardening into twin blades reeking of death, intercepting the falling greatsword.
The two blurs collided violently, metal shrieking against hardened feathers. The shockwaves blew the lingering mist away, leaving the spectating Ancestors in utter silence.
"The rumors explicitly stated the new White Knight was a traditional magus…" Rita Rozay-en, the Fifteenth Ancestor, murmured. She leaned closer to the Water Demon Sumire, her eyes narrowing with predatory interest.
Nearby, Merem Solomon just watched, his jaw tight, refusing to say a word.
Up on the second floor, the plump financial demon, Van-Fem, drained the last of his champagne. He set the crystal flute down, leaning heavily against the windowsill, utterly captivated.
Smash!
The Great Sage calculated an opening in a millisecond. Rimuru's greatsword crashed down. Blackmore was forced to cross his wings, taking the full brunt of the blow.
Reinforcement!
Mana flooded Rimuru's synthetic muscles. Blackmore simultaneously channeled a layer of silver mana over his wings, turning them into absolute steel. The impact rang like a massive church bell. But while the hardening spell protected Blackmore's wings from snapping, it did absolutely nothing to negate the kinetic transfer.
Blackmore grunted, blood welling in his throat. Using the recoil, he violently launched himself backward, tearing open the distance between them.
He absorbed a blow that should have liquefied his internal organs through sheer, monstrous constitution. The moment his feet touched the ground, his mana reserves exploded.
A hurricane of black feathers erupted from his body, tearing the courtyard to shreds. At the exact same time, the raven's eyes glowed with blinding, radioactive red light.
Mystic Eyes of Binding!
Rimuru, caught mid-pursuit, froze instantly. His body locked up, completely paralyzed by the optical curse, and the storm of black feathers swallowed him whole.
Watching from the sidelines, Altrouge's eyes darkened for a fraction of a second. Then, she let out a bored sigh and literally turned her back on the fight.
She knew Rimuru was going to win. She just didn't expect him to make it look this effortless.
As the feather storm subsided, Blackmore staggered, a bitter, self-deprecating smile crossing his beak.
Because the "Rimuru" caught in the vortex didn't bleed. He was shredded into a million droplets of clear water, splashing uselessly onto the cobblestones.
A shadow materialized directly behind the Black Wing Lord.
The mechanical red glow in Rimuru's eyes faded back to a calm, calculating gold. He wasn't holding a demonic greatsword anymore. Nestled between his fingers were six glowing, razor-sharp Black Keys, absolutely saturated in the holy mana of the Baptism Rite.
The suffocating, anti-vampire energy radiating from those blades made Blackmore's skin crawl. If the White Knight drove those into his back, immortal or not, it would cripple him. He'd be bedridden for decades.
He was a master of grand Magecraft, an apex Executor in melee, and he casually tossed around True Ancestor blood-arts on the fly. Blackmore looked past Rimuru, staring at Altrouge's back.
Where in the hell did you find this freak of nature?
But a spark of manic joy flickered in the raven's chest. The stagnant, rotting swamp of the Dead Apostle underworld was about to get very, very chaotic. And the Bird of Death loved a good riot.
"I concede."
Blackmore slowly lowered his wings. He turned his head slightly, looking at the petite, masked boy holding six holy blades to his spine. "I have lost."
"So. What is your decision?" Rimuru didn't lower the Black Keys. His voice was utterly impassive beneath the Oni mask, though he let out a quiet sigh of relief internally. "Are you going to submit, exactly as you did to Crimson Moon?"
"Perhaps." Blackmore nodded slowly. He placed a hand over his chest. "The ancient etiquette of the vanquished demands only one thing: death."
"However. By some miracle, I survived Lord Brunestud's wrath. He acknowledged my strength, and allowed me to be reborn into what I am today. I swore my absolute fealty to him precisely because of that profound acknowledgment."
Rimuru frowned. "So? Is that a yes or a no?"
"I am a creature of my word. You have defeated me. Though you spared my life, it is perfectly acceptable for you to claim ownership over it."
Blackmore turned fully, looking down at the masked boy. "But White Knight. Your desire for my strength… your 'acknowledgment' of me… is entirely utilitarian. You simply need a tool to execute your grand ideals. I am willing to stand by your side. But I will not swear my soul to you."
"Tch. You really like making things complicated." Rimuru lowered the Black Keys, letting them dissolve into mist. "Bottom line: I can treat you as an ally, but not as a subordinate. Right?"
"No. You may command me and deploy me exactly as you would a subordinate." Blackmore corrected him, entirely deadpan. "I simply refuse to be called your loyal follower."
"…?"
Rimuru tilted his head, a massive, glaring question mark practically hovering over his skull. He opened his mouth to ask what kind of pedantic, semantic bullshit that was, but a booming laugh cut him off.
"Hahahaha! Blackmore, you are as delightfully ridiculous as ever!"
Ortenrosse was clapping slowly from the top of the stairs, utterly amused.
Merem Solomon stepped out of the shadows, shooting Rimuru a look of profound exhaustion. "Give it up, Leviathan. Trying to get a straight answer out of a guy who treats philosophy like a religion is a complete waste of breath."
….
20+ chapters on patreon: patreon. com/ Kazuma_trash
&
Discord: discord.gg/5Y7uZ2kN2Y