Direct Confrontation

It was eleven at night. The forest outside Misaki City swayed gently in the wind, leaden clouds blanketed the sky, and snowflakes drifted leisurely down. Yet in this cold, gloomy night, the words of two people shattered the silence.

"You think changing locations will let you defeat me?"

Merlin looked fearlessly at Michael across from him. It was not arrogance, but confidence in his own strength. The King of the Sky swept across the night, leaving behind dreamlike colors.

"You won't know unless you try. It's better than sitting around waiting to die, isn't it?"

Michael reached out and gripped a cross-shaped two-handed broadsword nearly half his height. Its mottled blade bore the marks of time, while even the gemstone embedded within it was dull and gray, like an unremarkable stone.

"Surrendering without a fight would be too embarrassing."

He assumed a standard stance, aiming the rust-covered blade at Merlin. The clouds above parted, revealing dozens of shining stars moving along incomprehensible trajectories.

"An Inherent Domain?"

Merlin carefully examined the moving stars but did not sense much threat from them. At last, his gaze fell upon the rusted greatsword in Michael's hand. That was the weapon that could truly kill him.

"That demonic sword is your trump card? I didn't expect that, aside from Rizovore's True Ancestor, other Dead Apostles possessed demonic swords as well."

"More precisely, it is the Cursed Holy Sword Balmung once wielded by the legendary dragon slayer Siegfried. I got lucky and picked it up by the roadside."

"An Inherent Domain with some sound principles, combined with that demonic sword—you do indeed possess the strength of a 'Progenitor.' But the differences between Progenitors of Dead Apostles are vast."

Majestic magical energy surged from Merlin's body. Howling winds uprooted trees, and a massive claw slammed heavily into the ground. Savage cracks spread in every direction like a spiderweb, while a deep roar shook the air, reducing the swirling snowflakes to dust with invisible sound waves.

A demon over two hundred meters long appeared there: the King of the Continent, shaped like a long whale. Every gesture it made could unleash unpredictable disasters. Its whip-like tail swept through the forest, snapping trees within several kilometers cleanly in half.

Merlin stood atop the King of the Continent's head, looking down at Michael below. His figure had shrunk to an almost imperceptible black dot, as tiny as an ant.

Michael struggled to evade its attacks. Every movement of the King of the Continent stirred up fierce storms. A god-tier Phantasmal Species vastly surpassed the Mystery possessed by modern magecraft, and against such a massive creature, continuing to fight in close combat would be no different from seeking an early death.

"You go too."

Merlin spoke softly. At his words, a ten-meter-tall Machina Girl appeared beside him. An exquisite mask covered most of her face, and her steampunk design made her look more suited for firearms than anything else.

As Michael watched the newly arrived Machina Girl, his right eyelid twitched incessantly. He had not expected Merlin to summon the demon he cherished most. It seemed Merlin was determined to take him down today.

The Machina Girl fired continuously, sealing off the space Michael could use to evade. She wielded an old-fashioned rifle with the rapid-fire feel of a semiautomatic weapon while swiftly closing the distance between them. The long blade beneath her gun barrel tore through the night, leaving behind a streak of white light that lingered for a long time.

Clang—

The gunblade collided with the demonic sword, producing a crisp metallic ring. At the same time, the gunblade in her other hand aimed its muzzle at Michael.

Boom—

The gun-sword mounted on her arm fired—or more accurately, it was a cannon. Its caliber was so large that it could fit an entire adult inside.

A specially engraved shell shot toward Michael like a bolt of lightning. If it struck him head-on, even a Dead Apostle's resilient body would be blasted to pieces.

The stars above Michael's head suddenly spun a little faster. The shell, rushing forward like thunder, strangely veered around his body and struck empty space. At the same time, faced with the Machina Maiden right before him, he unhesitatingly unleashed the demonic sword's power.

The gemstone on the blade faintly lit up. Over thousands of years, the gemstone itself had suffered slight damage, and more than half of the True Ether from the Age of Gods stored within had leaked away. After a few full-power releases, the remaining True Ether would be completely exhausted.

But at a critical moment like this, anyone still thinking about conserving it had to have something wrong with their brain.

"Demonic Sword Release."

Michael twisted the hilt, and True Ether from the Age of Gods spread out. The rust on the blade vanished like thin snow beneath the sun, as though it had returned to its prime. Azure magical energy was bound within the surrounding space by the blade, making it resemble an azure sun.

He took a deep breath and swung Balmung in a level arc. Azure magical energy extended into a blade hundreds of meters long. The suddenly erupting torrent of power swallowed the Machina Maiden and struck heavily against the King of the Continent.

"Roar—!"

Amid a deafening explosion, the King of the Continent wailed. A savage slash mark stood out across its enormous body, but that was all. To completely kill the King of the Continent, it would take at least five strikes like that.

"It really is ridiculously tough. If I could release its Noble Phantasm, that blow just now probably would have been enough to kill it."

Michael clicked his tongue regretfully. Releasing a Noble Phantasm required knowing its true name. At present, he was merely releasing the True Ether stored within the gemstone directly.

The Machina Girl's battered body fell toward the ground. At the last possible instant, she had erupted with all the magical energy in her body to break free of the restraint, detonating one of her arms and using the blast to shove herself sideways.

She did not possess the King of the Continent's formidable defenses. If she had taken that blow head-on, she would have died without question. And if she died, even if Merlin recreated her, she would not be the same one—she would be an entirely new Machina Girl.

Merlin raised his head and watched the stars turning overhead, his brows knitting slightly.

With a thought from him, the damaged Machina Girl instantly returned to perfect condition. She stomped heavily on empty air, sweeping away all signs of her prior defeat as she launched another attack at Michael.

Michael cursed inwardly. This was one of the reasons Merlin was so troublesome. If he could not destroy the demons Merlin imagined in a single blow, the battle would continue without end.

The King of the Sky above could attack at any moment, while the King of the Continent at his side had recovered from its injuries in the blink of an eye and rejoined the battle. For a time, Michael's situation was exceedingly dire.

Yet whenever danger struck in rapid succession, Michael always managed to escape it, avoiding the powerful attacks that would have robbed him of his ability to fight. Merlin did not intervene. He merely watched the stars move overhead, seemingly calculating something and confirming the conjecture in his heart.

What an incredible theory.

Having confirmed his guess, Merlin withdrew his gaze and looked toward Michael, who was being besieged. His eyes held undisguised appreciation. Over his long life, he had seen countless magi, but only a handful could compare to him.

But the battle should end now.

With that thought, he issued a command to the King of the Sky circling overhead.