His spiritual power reached out, and what it perceived was an utterly cold and opposing concept.
It was not the Second Princess who, born of the Royal Family, had sworn to purge the rebels and restore the greatness of the Fresta Empire.
Nor was it the Knight King, who, commanding respect on the battlefield, unexpectedly revealed a compassionate side off the field, earning the admiration and worship of thousands.
As Silvia had guessed, the figure standing before her was a stranger, their original features no longer discernible.
It was the lofty King of the Imaginary Zone, like a god.
Therefore— Shiayar spoke softly, "King. I have come to escort you to your death."
...
BOOM—
The golden sword flared with sudden brilliance, piercing the magnificent metal wall.
The throne room wall, fashioned from the hardest steel and designed to withstand the full-force assault of a Titled Rank powerful pro, was now as frail as tofu before the fierce sword light.
And this was merely the aftershock.
The pitch-black Mecha, targeted by the Golden Sword, was almost instantly flung from the throne room, left drifting in the distant sky above the ashes and debris.
There was no further dialogue.
The moment Shiayar drew his sword, the battle erupted.
This was perhaps the most spectacular battle ever to erupt across the lands of Escarnia.
Even the recent battle of succession between Vortigern and the Knight King paled in comparison.
If one were to observe from the ground, this decisive battle appeared as a series of thunderclaps in the sky. Lightnings of steel flashed continuously, illuminating the gaps in the dark clouds.
It was as if the ancient dragons from the First Era darted through the clouds, spewing lightning.
Pity, then, that in this Imaginary Zone, a space independent of history, the last two spectators had departed not long ago.
And even the Fabled Creatures above the Astral Realm could only peer through the river of time at the radiant and restless Imaginary Zone. However, they could not see its entirety.
On one side was the King of the Imaginary Zone, wielding the Sacred Sword. On the other was an individual who had obtained power beyond his current Rank, having crossed the limit by sacrificing a complete Stars Chalice to a True God.
Each clash between them was an annihilation of countless Magic Powers and mass. High-speed airflows cut through the nuclear fallout blanketing Escarnia, alternating between extreme heat and cold.
The domain of Camelot was too narrow for a King and Shiayar, who had temporarily stepped into that realm.
Thus, their battlefield shifted from the skies above Camelot, sweeping across the entire territory of Escarnia: from the towns and villages surrounding Camelot, to the small village where Isadella once drew the Sword in the Stone that selected the king, and even to the now desolate and empty site of the former Dawn Church Cathedral, evacuated during negotiations.
Ultimately, their battlefield landed in the Valley of the End, thousands of miles from Camelot.
The dense dark clouds suddenly shattered, and two figures, one black and one gold, collided like meteors and then sprang apart.
Shiayar descended into the depths of the vast, hauntingly familiar canyon.
In his hand, the pitch-black greatsword formed of invincible metal disintegrated. It shattered into countless metal fragments, less than fingernail-sized, showering down like a dark meteor shower under the bleak sky.
Shiayar barely managed to control the Black Knight Mecha, struggling to lift himself from the huge crater formed by his landing.
But this single action exhausted his remaining strength, forcing him to his knees.
Around him, the Black Knight Mecha, once pristine, now showed numerous large breaks. Blood seeped from them, spilling onto the ground. As a Mecha crafted from the invincible metal "Dragon Serpent Mercury," the Black Knight should have possessed an infinite self-repair capability.
However, a faint golden brilliance now clung to these gaps, preventing the flowing invincible metal from repairing them.
The higher mystery possessed by the Sacred Sword overpowered that of the invincible metal "Dragon Serpent Mercury." Therefore, every Slash from the Sacred Sword inflicted irreparable wounds upon the Black Knight Mecha.
Even the magictech furnace core, the "Pseudo-Star - Sun Furnace," which spewed brilliant stellar flares, now bore several deep scratches. The light, once as bright as daylight, had dulled considerably and was no longer as powerful as before.
COUGH—
Shiayar coughed lightly, swallowing the blood and fragments of shattered organs in his mouth.
This was a naturally expected outcome. His own body was merely that of a Titled Rank Beastmaster who had yet to step into the Legendary tier. Even relying on a Mecha powered by controllable nuclear fusion technology, and with the temporary boost from sacrificing the Stars Chalice and a berserker attribute, he had barely managed to compete with his opponent. After all, the strength wasn't truly his. Bullying the weak was one thing. But when facing an opponent who had truly made such mighty power their own, it was only a matter of time before this cobbled-together, power-boosted strength would fail.