"I've got you, half-hearted one!"
She had let him get too close. She had even let him take the first strike. Yet, Demon King Aristia’s thoughts and reflexes managed to mount a desperate resistance at the very last second.
Just before the blade landed, Aristia deployed a barrier.
It was by a hair’s breadth.
However, the strike from the Blood Star King did not end there.
A screeching, grinding sound like metal being torn apart filled the air. The Crimson Blade was shaving away the surface of the barrier. Aristia’s defenses were robust; they were the same barriers that had effortlessly withstood Galvan’s full power. Now, they were being shredded like paper.
Even Aristia’s usually unshakeable composure finally cracked.
(No way...?)
The blade reached the final layer of her multi-layered defense.
But that was also the limit of the momentum behind Verdict’s Blood Blade.
A deafening roar followed as the blade shattered, triggering a massive explosion. With her final barrier smashed, Aristia’s small frame was swallowed by the blast.
Scorching pain and impact surged through her.
She skipped across the ground several times before slamming into a tree trunk and finally coming to a halt.
"Ngh... gh...!"
Without a barrier to shield her, she had taken a direct hit from a technique of a Demon King who once dominated the world. The damage to her core was immense.
Still, among worst-case scenarios, this was the best she could hope for.
If she hadn't managed to deploy that barrier in time, her body would likely have been beyond repair by now.
Klaus—no, the red-eyed Verdict—looked down at her.
"Hmph. For a half-hearted one, you are remarkably stubborn. I thought that would have ended it."
Verdict tossed aside the half-broken sword and manifested a new Blood Sword.
"Tell me, do you have anything left?"
"...Why are you here?"
Verdict glanced at the collapsed Galvan nearby.
"That lowlife over there came to me begging for salvation."
"—You were too slow! Couldn't you have appeared sooner!?"
"Don't be so impatient. Your magic was incredibly dull, but this half-hearted one’s techniques were actually quite intriguing. I found myself captivated. Does it matter? The result is good enough."
"The two of you... joined forces?"
"I refused him once. But he begged, pressing his forehead into the dirt until I agreed. Besides, I decided I should teach a half-hearted one like you what it truly means to be a Demon King. Call it a whim."
Verdict leveled the tip of his Blood Sword at Aristia.
"Now then, shall you show me your spirit, half-hearted Demon King?"
"...I suppose I have no choice..."
Flickering purple mana began to rise from Aristia’s entire body.
Aristia, who only wanted to live a lazy, carefree life, almost never went all out. This was likely the first time in her life she had ever felt the need. That was how dangerous she considered the man before her.
Aristia unleashed her mana.
Space distorted. The atmosphere trembled. The ground beneath her feet spider-webbed and shattered into dust. The accumulated snow evaporated instantly, sending up plumes of white steam.
This was overwhelming, raw mana.
The simplest and most powerful authority granted to a Demon King.
(Even like this, I shouldn't be able to lose...)
The difference lay in their vessels.
The will known as Verdict certainly possessed immense power, but his vessel was a mere human, the Knight Klaus. In contrast, Aristia’s vessel was that of a true Demon King.
There was an absolute disparity in their capacities.
Verdict’s current power likely wasn't even half of what it had been in his prime.
Furthermore, his body was fragile. Even a grazing blow from Aristia’s serious mana should inflict lethal damage.
Essentially, they were both standing before each other with 1 HP remaining.
(If the match is decided in a single hit, then I, with the greater power, should have the advantage.)
Aristia thrust her hands forward, unleashing a rapid volley of Purple-Black Magic Bullets.
Each shot was a Magic Arrow with enough mana to leave a dragon on the verge of death. They rained down on Verdict in a relentless barrage.
"Hah! So you've finally found your motivation, half-hearted one!"
With a shout of excitement, Verdict charged.
He dove straight into a barrage where even a stray spark of mana meant death. He was reckless beyond belief.
Holding his Blood Sword aloft and accelerating with Frenzy, he wove through the rain of Purple-Black Magic Bullets. He sliced through some and dodged others, closing the distance in a straight line.
(...!?)
Anxiety bled into Aristia’s eyes.
He wasn't being hit.
Every single shot was fatal, yet none landed. Even a grazing blow should have won her the fight, yet he evaded them all.
Verdict’s movements far exceeded human limits. His battle instincts combined with the Physical Enhancement of Frenzy to push Knight Klaus’s talented body to its absolute peak. He was breaking through the barrage with preternatural reflexes.
And he was doing it in a situation where one mistake meant instant death.
(Does the Blood Star King feel no fear at all...!?)
If anything, he was grinning.
His expression held not a single trace of terror.
"Kh...!"
Having reached point-blank range, Verdict swung. Aristia barely managed to evade the slash and immediately invoked her next spell.
(If you're going to dodge everything, I'll just use an attack you can't escape!)
She had just seen a perfect example of such a technique, after all.
Aristia slammed her hand against the ground, engraving a mana pattern into the earth. Instantly, the same pattern appeared beneath Verdict’s feet. A heartbeat later, an Offensive Barrier erupted, swallowing him whole.
Her speed from activation to deployment was several times faster than Galvan’s had been. Naturally, the power was on a different level as well.
However...
The sound of metal on metal rang out as countless slashes tore through the barrier from the inside.
He had cut it. He had cut the barrier from within.
It was an impossible feat, but Aristia understood the logic behind it instantly.
(He cut the magic... along with space itself!?)
How high did the Blood Star King’s swordsmanship reach?
The barrier exploded immediately afterward.
"Ghuuuu!?"
The blast forced Aristia back. Once the smoke cleared, she locked eyes with Verdict, who had also been knocked back.
"That was close. But you won't get a second chance."
Verdict took his stance once more.
His words were the truth. If she let him get close again, she didn't believe she could survive his next attack.
—Then she had to show him.
If Demon King Aristia were ever sealed away as Ancient Magic, this was the ultimate spell that would define her existence.
She began to burn every drop of mana in her body.
She held out her hands and spoke the words that would trigger the end.
She would unleash the strike of a Demon King.
The full-power blow of a lazy girl who finally had a reason to try.
"Purple Flame of Void!"
A Purple-Black Destructive Light surged toward Verdict, incinerating space as it moved.
The ground was gouged out, cracks split the air, and only a vacuum remained in the wake of the purple radiance.
The Flame of Void that devoured the world—that was the true power of Demon King Aristia.
"Kwahaha! Finally lit a fire under your tail, have I, half-hearted one!?"
Verdict did not retreat.
He prepared to meet it with his own ultimate technique. The thickness and length of his Crimson Sword doubled instantly. Gripping the massive greatsword with both hands, he slammed it into the encroaching Purple Void.
"Blood Star King's Condemnation!"
It was a devastating strike that sent a massive shockwave forward, severing everything in its path.
The Purple-Black Destructive Light and the Blade of Condemnation collided head-on. The shockwave hammered against the inner walls of the barrier, making space itself scream.
"Uuuuu... uuuuuuuu...!"
It was a raw contest of mana.
Aristia desperately poured everything she had into her magic as it threatened to be pushed back.
She couldn't hide her shock at this stalemate. To think he could offer this much resistance with the limited mana inside him!
It was the difference in their refinement. It was the gap between Aristia—an unmotivated, immature Demon King—and Verdict, who had clawed through countless wars, destroyed a world, and continued to hone himself even after becoming a mere will of Ancient Magic.
(But I can still win...!)
She was certain of it. That was the difference in their vessels. No matter how much Verdict polished his skills, he was still limited by a human frame. In a direct contest of raw mana, there was no way he could defeat her.
The arrogant Blood Star King had made a fatal mistake in his choice of tactics.
This battle belonged to Demon King Aristia.