The standoff between the Black Knight, Mace, and the Radiant Knight, Nearl, lasted only moments before Mace made the first move. Compared to her earlier bout with Sharp, both her strength and speed had noticeably increased.
Boom.
At the very instant Mace launched her strike, Nearl stepped forward. Her shield collided directly with Mace's twin maces. A thunderous roar, like lightning crashing, rang out, accompanied by a fleeting flash of sparks at the point of impact.
The powerful shockwave instantly swept the snow around them into the air in a radius of several meters. Both fighters were forced back a step simultaneously—it was a perfectly even exchange.
Mace's expression lit up with excitement. Spinning her twin maces in a flurry of phantom arcs beneath the falling snow, she charged again at Nearl.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the foot of the Holy Mountain, the fierce duel erupted. Both warriors displayed immense power, pushing each other to their limits.
As their battle expanded, the surrounding Snowy Ghost warriors and Brauntail family fighters were forced to retreat, lest they be caught in the escalating clash.
"She really is the Black Knight… to think she's actually overpowering Nearl. What a shame… what a shame."
Standing in a small grove with Ratatos, Daniel watched with a mix of surprise and admiration. For a Caprinae to suppress a golden-maned Kuranta in sheer power—one could only imagine what Mace had endured to reach that level.
Thanks to his interest in the Kazimierz Major Tournament, Daniel was familiar with Mace's background. Winning three consecutive championships in a place like Kazimierz was no small feat.
Normally, Kazimierz's tournament allowed champions to win at most twice in a row—this maximized profits for the Commercial Union. After all, if there were no surprises, gamblers would always bet on the favorite, cutting into profits.
Mace had been expected to lose in the finals to create an upset. But she defied that, refusing to throw the match. That year, the Commercial Union suffered heavy financial losses.
Daniel's regret was that SilverAsh had rescued her first. If it had been him, he'd have taken her to the pirate world and trained her in Haki.
"Radiant Knight, do you look down on me?"
After forcing Nearl back again, Mace paused. She didn't press her attack, instead staring at Nearl in displeasure.
Though Mace had the upper hand, she could tell Nearl wasn't using her full strength. It wasn't about Nearl using a shield instead of her iconic lance—Mace herself wasn't using her greatsword either.
What irked her was that Nearl hadn't used her Arts at all. Kazimierz's golden-maned Kuranta were famous for their Originium Arts.
"I don't mean that," Nearl quickly shook her head. She truly hadn't meant to disrespect Mace. Her intent had been to fight fairly, without relying on her Arts.
"You're being considerate of me." Mace seemed to understand, then added coldly, "Radiant Knight, as a fellow knight, do you think holding back in battle is respectful—or insulting?"
"…I apologize." Nearl realized her mistake. Holding back in battle was indeed disrespectful. But should she fight at full power? She hesitated.
At that moment, two beams of light descended from the sky, landing beside each of them. Both turned to look.
At Nearl's feet lay a black sword-lance. At Mace's feet—her massive black greatsword.
Both glanced at the direction the weapons had come from. Daniel and Ratatos stepped out of the trees.
"How interesting," Mace murmured, dropping her steel maces into the snow and lifting her greatsword. With it in hand, her aura instantly shifted—fierce and wild.
"Come then. Let me see the power of Kazimierz's golden Pegasus."
"Understood." After a brief hesitation, Nearl's expression hardened with resolve. She laid down her shield and warhammer, then picked up the sword-lance. Though it wasn't her original weapon, its design was identical, stirring a strong sense of familiarity in her.
Of course it was—Daniel had created both weapons based on precise data. Even if temporary, they were built to match the originals perfectly.
He had collected this data while researching the Kazimierz Major Tournament. Even today, Nearl's sword-lance remained the most expensive collectible figure in Kazimierz—by far.
Despite newer knights like Mace, Blood Knight, and Flamebringer, Nearl's legend was unmatched. There was a saying: "In Kazimierz, there are only Nearl fans and warped Nearl fans." Exaggerated, perhaps—but it said enough about her popularity.
In the original story, Nearl's sword-lance model fetched ridiculous prices. If Closure had known, she would've mass-produced them. When it came to money, no one could outdo her.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Shining frowned at Daniel's intervention—bringing weapons to Nearl and Mace changed everything. Originally, the plan had been just to stall the Black Knight. With Nearl's defense, her shield was more than enough. Now? They were clearly going all in.
If not for the fact Daniel had saved Nightingale and fully healed her body, Shining's reaction would've been much sharper.
"Relax. The Doctor approved this."
At the mention of the Doctor, Shining said no more. Her trust in the Doctor ran deep. As a former Penitent, she knew well of the Specter of Babel.
Daniel's desire to witness this duel had received the Doctor's blessing. Otherwise, she would've simply kept Sharp fighting the Black Knight.
While they spoke, Nearl and Mace had already resumed battle. This time, Nearl used her Originium Arts. Her black sword-lance now shimmered with golden light.
Unlike her earlier defensive stance with a shield, Nearl now went on the offensive. If she had once been immovable like a mountain, now she was swift like the wind.
As a Kuranta—one of the Pegasus bloodline—she possessed a natural speed advantage. Kuranta were ideal cavalry across Terra. Just look at Grani, who had startled herself with her own newly awakened Arts.
Boom.
Their renewed clash was nothing like before. Both now fought at full strength. Their speed was so great that ordinary onlookers could only see flashes of black and gold colliding.
Wind howled, the ground cracked. The shockwaves forced both Brauntail fighters and Snowy Ghosts to retreat again.
Before, Nearl's raw strength couldn't match Mace's. But now, empowered by her Arts, she had closed the gap.
Mace was powerful. Had this been the old Nearl, she might not have stood a chance. But things had changed since her exile from Kazimierz. She had met Shining, Nightingale, become a Disciple, and later joined Rhodes Island. There, she found her purpose and belief—becoming the true Radiant Knight.
The golden Pegasus's creed was protection. That was why her grandfather, the Old Knight, had once charged into Ursus enemy lines with six others and become one of Kazimierz's Seven Heroes.
Nearl had won the Major Tournament, but hadn't understood what true protection meant. Her grandfather likely saw that—and had her expelled deliberately.
"Doctor… was that side also just a decoy?"
Meanwhile, on the slopes of the Holy Mountain, SilverAsh personally led the Snowy Ghosts to block Arctos of the Perrocci family, who was attempting to sneak into the Mandragon Monastery. To his surprise, he spotted the Doctor disguised among the Perrocci fighters.
It was hard not to notice—a black-robed figure among Ursus warriors stood out like a sore thumb.
"Doctor, I must admit I admire you. But unfortunately… you've lost."
Seeing her among the Perrocci soldiers gave SilverAsh a moment of surprise—but also relief. At present, he held the advantage. Even without the Black Knight, his well-trained Snowy Ghosts, equipped with superior gear, would overwhelm the Perrocci warriors.
"Is that so?" the Doctor replied calmly, no trace of defeat in her voice.
"So you're the Doctor," said Nosis, studying her curiously. At first, he hadn't thought much of her. But repeated setbacks had forced him to reevaluate her completely.
Ding… ding… ding…
Just as Nosis was about to speak again, a strange sound filled the air. The chime of bells—quiet, yet clearly heard by all.
Everyone turned toward the source. On the mountainside above, a figure slowly approached.
"What… is that?"
Gasps rose—then fell silent. For what happened next defied description.
As the figure walked, the thick clouds above the Holy Mountain began to part, as if invisible hands were pulling them aside.
Through the gap, a beam of golden light descended from the heavens, illuminating the figure—making her seem as though she were descending from the sky itself.
It wasn't until she stood before them that the crowd saw her clearly—Saint Enya.
And behind her walked another—Cliffheart. Likely because she had remained so close to Enya, no one had noticed her until now.
As the Saintess appeared, the clouds above disappeared completely. The golden sunlight bathed all of Shereg in warmth.
A miracle. That's what every Shereg native thought in that moment.
"Arctos of the Perrocci family pays his respects to Her Holiness."
After a moment of stunned silence, Arctos dropped his weapon and knelt reverently before Enya.
With him, all the Perrocci soldiers fell to their knees, chanting the Saintess's name.
Moments later, even the Snowy Ghosts behind SilverAsh knelt.
SilverAsh had named them "Snowy Ghosts" because, in Shereg legend, they were the monsters who defied Yelagun—symbolizing his disbelief in divine power.
But having studied in Victoria, he had long dismissed the idea of gods.
What he didn't realize was that faith doesn't vanish with technology. Even in the Marvel universe, with its advanced science, religious faith was alive—and many believers were scientists themselves.
Now the same was true. Faced with a miracle, even SilverAsh's elite bowed.
In the blink of an eye, only three people remained standing: SilverAsh, Nosis, and the black-robed Doctor among the kneeling Perrocci.
"Enciodes, do you regret it now?"
Nosis's expression was strange. Like SilverAsh, he had studied in Victoria and rejected Yelagun's existence. And now—this.
"Regret? Perhaps once. Not anymore."
SilverAsh quickly regained his composure, stepped up beside Arctos—and knelt before Enya.
No matter what he thought in his heart, to remain standing now would've made him an enemy of all Shereg.
"Yelagun has revealed herself!"
And not just here. Across Shereg, people everywhere dropped to their knees. Even those who once doubted—seeing everyone else kneeling—followed suit.
"…What is this?"
The sudden flood of golden light interrupted the battle between Nearl and Mace. After a moment's hesitation, Mace put away her weapon.
She had seen enough to gauge Nearl's strength. To continue would risk escalation—and neither would be able to pull back easily.
Nearl wasn't like Sharp. Against Sharp, Mace could hold back. Against Nearl—she couldn't. And if the fight went on, she would most likely lose.
"Even among elite operators, the gap in strength is massive."
Daniel had watched the entire battle. He knew full well—if they had kept fighting, Mace would've lost. Nearl had undergone a complete transformation.
In his past life, many people had underestimated Nearl—mainly because she was injured by Faust's arrow during the Chernobog incident.
But that view was flawed. It underestimated Reunion's strength.
Because Talulah was so overwhelmingly powerful, many assumed all of Reunion's commanders were weak. But the truth was—they were no less formidable than Deepcolor's elite.
And using Talulah as the standard was never fair. Among her generation, she was the undisputed peak—far beyond what even the Radiant or Black Knights could match.
Not just among her peers—even most of the older generation couldn't stand against Talulah.
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