"—Here we go, everyone."
I didn't plan on holding anything back. From the very first stage, I was going all-in.
First, Luxelion.
"『Great Fortress of Black Iron』"
As I invoked the Ancient Magic, heavy black armor enveloped my body. Not just me—Sylvia, Kaname, and Milia were also outfitted in similar gear. Though theirs looked more like light armor, it was undoubtedly a sturdy material.
Next, Shiunin.
"『Thunder Beast Shroud』"
At the same time, I manifested golden lightning to wrap around the black armor.
Next, Verdict—the very power granted by you.
"『Frenzy』"
My blood flow accelerated, and my heart gave a violent thud. Power surged through every fiber of my being.
Finally, Floria.
"『Tria Petal』"
Simultaneously, five flower-petal-like funnels deployed in the air around me.
"Incredible...!"
Sylvia breathed, her voice laced with awe.
I felt a torrent of power welling up with me at the epicenter. A quadruple-buff from four Ancient Magics—it was beyond anything I’d ever imagined. This was the strength I had built up.
Verdict narrowed his eyes.
"Ho...!"
For once, it wasn't his usual mocking sneer. His crimson eyes glowed with a feverish light. It was unmistakable excitement.
"So, you’ve elevated yourself to this degree, lowlife! Clad in Luxelion’s iron wall, wielding Shiunin’s thunder, and even commanding Florina’s petals! To think that before, you struggled just to leave a single scratch on my cheek...!"
However, that excitement curdled back into a sneer in an instant.
"And yet, how dull. It is all borrowed power. Every last bit of it was given to you by others. Where is your own power?"
I had some. Specifically, the 『Final Extreme Blade』 I had forged alongside Aristia.
I wasn't about to lose my cool and show it off just because he goaded me. I would keep it in reserve. I wasn't being stingy; I was being tactical. That move was a massive drain on my energy and had a short time limit. More importantly, Verdict didn't know about its existence. I was confident in its destructive force, but if I showed it even once, its potency would make him wary.
—I would save it for the decisive moment.
I would use every other bit of firepower I had to corner him. Lower your guard, Blood Star King, and assume you've already seen every trump card I have to offer.
"It doesn't matter," I said. "Borrowed or not, I'll use every tool at my disposal to take you down."
"Good grief. For a vessel capable of becoming a Demon King, your thinking is remarkably shallow."
Verdict sat leisurely upon his throne and thrust his sword into the floor at his feet. A magic circle deployed beneath him, pulsing with an eerie rhythm.
"Then, allow me to show you the King's Power."
At that moment, magic circles appeared across the floor around us, and humanoid masses of blood began to crawl out from them.
The reddish-black gore solidified into life-sized dolls. They were featureless—no eyes, no mouths—yet their hands firmly gripped swords and spears forged from blood.
One, two, three... they didn't stop.
Five, eight... they surged from the floor as if the room itself were vomiting up an army.
"First, defeat them and prove you are worthy of facing me, lowlife."
He prepared an opening act? He was mocking us!
"—Tch!"
I didn't have time to waste energy on these puppets. I’d wipe them out in one go!
"Spell: 『Thunder Emperor Summon: Chain Lightning of Divine Punishment』!"
I unleashed Shiunin’s lightning at maximum output. Using the Thunder Beast Shroud as a conduit, countless lightning bolts leapt out, incinerating the Blood Dolls.
"—Hm!?"
Despite taking devastating damage, the Blood Dolls began to regenerate their mangled bodies immediately. As expected of constructs made by Verdict's Ancient Magic. Not only did they possess high magic resistance, but they had regenerative abilities too.
Dammit, how annoying.
—But I had reliable comrades by my side.
"Break through these things and get to Verdict! If it gets dangerous, call for me!"
I lunged at a Blood Doll and lopped off its head. It didn't stop it; the body kept moving. Milia closed in, her twin blades mincing the decapitated doll.
"Aha! If they're in tiny pieces, they stop moving!"
"Leave it to me degozaru!"
Clad in the Thunder Beast Shroud, Kaname unleashed powerful slashes from her strong arms, cutting through the Blood Dolls one after another. Sylvia used 『Frenzy』 to keep pace and assist.
"—Whoa, wait, Albert-kun! These things just keep recovering no matter how much I cut them!"
Whether they were new entities or resurrected ones, the next wave appeared in an instant. The spawn rate was insane; if we slowed down for even a second, we'd be overwhelmed and annihilated. It was like a DPS check in a social game.
Of course, I couldn't afford to play along with this nonsense forever. Catching a gap in the melee, I launched an attack at Verdict, who was content to just watch from his throne.
"『Thunder Emperor's Flash』!"
The lightning bolt I fired surged toward him.
When Verdict raised his left arm, a deployed barrier blocked the strike.
"You have no manners, lowlife. A meal has a specific order of service. First, you must enjoy the hors d'oeuvres."
I wasn't in the mood for his games.
"『Tria Petal』!"
The five petals swarmed Verdict. In response, five blood daggers appeared around him, clashing with the funnels in a flurry of sparks.
"Fuhahaha! This is an amusing diversion! But can you afford to be meddling over here? Haven't you left your own back wide open?"
Right on cue, a Blood Doll lunged at me. Sylvia sliced it in half from behind.
"We're fine here! Albert-kun, do what you have to do!"
"Yeah. Thanks."
...I was truly glad I had brought them. All three were reliable comrades. If I had tried to act tough and challenge him alone, I would have been completely trapped by this tide of blood.
—But it was undoubtedly a war of attrition.
The armor Luxelion provided the others was taking hits and starting to suffer. Minor wounds were beginning to pile up on the areas not protected by the armor. Fatigue was also becoming a factor that couldn't be ignored.
If this continued, we’d be crushed by the weight of numbers. I had to do something.
What was the play—?
"Albert-dono!"
Kaname's voice cut through the air.
I looked back to see her wreathed in the Thunder Beast Shroud, staring straight at me. Her light armor was already half-shattered, and the armor on her left shoulder was completely gone. Blood seeped from various parts of her body.
But the light dwelling in her eyes had not dimmed.
"Sessha will carve a path! So—"
"I’ve got it. 『Thunder Emperor's Flash』!"
Without a second thought, I unleashed a blinding white bolt of the Thunder Emperor’s power at her.
"Nhooooooooooooooo!"
The perverted woman regained her strength as she absorbed the lightning. Her Thunder Beast Shroud flared with an even greater intensity.
In that moment, the lightning exploded, completely blowing away the remains of the Luxelion light armor. Kaname’s body was wreathed in a brilliant golden radiance, and the smell of ozone filled the room.
The sheer amount of power she was channeling was staggering. To think she could control a direct lightning strike like this...
The power of the Thunder Beast, which had once driven her into a rampage, was now hers to command—!
"—Just this once, for a single heartbeat, Sessha shall offer her all to vanish the enemies before us."
Kaname exhaled slowly, her hand gripping the hilt of her sheathed Katana as she dropped into a low stance.
"I shall open a path for Albert-dono. Witness a strike that will not bring shame to the name of Shiunin—!"
She vanished.
She didn't just move; she was so fast the eye couldn't register her. An instant later, the Blood Doll in front of me was sliced in two, and Kaname’s silhouette appeared for a fraction of a second before vanishing again. The overwhelming lightning dwelling in her blade incinerated the bisected remains.
She vanished and reappeared, cutting down the second, third, fourth, and fifth dolls.
Moving at speeds that transcended human limits, Kaname’s slashes delivered a whirlwind of destruction, bisecting and burning the dolls before they could even begin to regenerate. Just as she had promised, she was carving a road to Verdict.
"『Swift Thunder Single Blade, Hundred Flashes』!"
With a soul-piercing shout from Kaname, the final doll was bisected.
The space around us was cleared. They had been utterly evaporated.
But there was no time to dawdle. New Blood Dolls were already trying to form at our feet.
"Albert-dono! Victory is yours!"
With a final cry, Kaname poured her remaining lightning into the beloved Katana she had never once let go and hurled it straight at Verdict.
It was a strike like a thunderclap.
Verdict stood, pulling his sword from the floor just in time to parry the projectile.
"Ha! Truly magnificent!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaname collapse, having given everything she had. Sylvia yelled, "Albert-kun, leave the rest to us!"
I wasn't going to waste this opening.
I closed the distance that had felt like miles in a single heartbeat. Leaping up the dais, I swung my sword with everything I had.
"Verdict!"
Verdict caught the blow with his Red Sword. We glared at each other over the clashing steel.
"You've finally arrived, lowlife. Now then, I wonder if a man who can do nothing without the help of women has the stomach to finish the main course?"