Suddenly, Vandel lunged forward, rushing straight toward Leon.
His sword flashed in the sunlight, slicing through the air with a deafening whistle.
But Leon easily dodged — the movements of his Arroganz armor were fluid, fast, and almost impossible for the human eye to follow. Thanks to the additional modifications made by Legion, his suit had become more than just a protective exoskeleton — it was the very embodiment of speed and maneuverability.
Vandel, however, had no intention of backing down. He kept attacking, closing the distance with each strike, his blade swinging relentlessly, over and over again.
In any other fight, Leon might have gone for a head-on clash — that was his usual style — but not this time. The sword of the Dark Knight of the Principality was no toy. Its power could pierce through any armor, and even Arroganz might not survive a direct hit. So Leon relied solely on speed and reflexes, evading every blow with the bare minimum of movement.
"Stop dodging, boy!" roared Vandel, swinging his blade so hard that the air itself erupted in a shockwave. "If that's all you planned to do from the start, you might as well surrender right now!"
Leon only smirked.
"Surrender? To an old man who can't even hit the air properly? Don't make me laugh."
And then, suddenly, dozens of small objects burst out from the massive metal pack on Arroganz's back — tiny but deadly FPV kamikaze drones.
They shot forward in a swarm, surrounding Vandel from all sides like a cloud of metallic hornets.
"What the—?" Vandel barely managed to react, instantly switching to defense. His sword swept through the air in wide arcs, cutting down several drones, but there were too many. A few slipped through his guard, and moments later, a massive explosion engulfed the battlefield in blinding light.
A deafening boom tore through the sky.
Thick smoke rose everywhere, cloaking the combat zone in chaos.
"Vandel!" cried Hertrude, clasping her hands over her mouth. Her eyes widened in fear as she stared from the deck of Partner.
But when the smoke finally began to clear, a dark silhouette burst forth from the flames and ash.
Vandel was still alive. His armor, though scorched, remained mostly intact.
With a guttural growl, he rocketed upward, charging straight toward Leon — but Leon, anticipating the move, dodged effortlessly. Then, without warning, he changed trajectory, diving sharply before pulling up and flying straight at Vandel.
Caught off guard, Vandel tried to counter by increasing his speed. The two knights met in a blinding aerial clash, the air between them crackling with the energy of their armors.
As the distance shrank to mere meters, Leon suddenly disappeared from Vandel's sight.
"What…?"
A split second later, Vandel felt a tremendous impact from behind — Leon had used his thrusters to propel himself past and slam into him from the rear.
With a thunderous crash, Leon grappled Vandel with incredible force, the two armored figures spiraling downward together.
"Ghh!" Vandel gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain control. The strain was unbearable, but he managed to shove Leon off and stabilize his flight.
He was breathing heavily now, staring up at his opponent hovering above him.
"Damn… that kid's stronger than I thought," Vandel muttered. "His armor definitely outclasses mine. But even the finest weapon means nothing without a true master to wield it."
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Leon suddenly spread his arms wide — as if showing that he was completely open to attack.
At first glance, it looked like an obvious trap… but the provocation struck directly at Vandel's pride.
Analyzing the situation in an instant, he came to a conclusion: even if Leon had something planned, a direct clash with his sword would leave the boy little chance of survival.
Vandel wasn't going to hesitate.
Accelerating sharply, he shot forward, his blade leveled straight ahead.
Leon didn't move. He waited calmly until the very last moment. When Vandel's sword was just inches away, Leon suddenly caught the blade with both hands, stopping it mere centimeters from the head of his Arroganz armor.
"Hmph… so that was your plan?" Vandel said with mild surprise, eyeing his opponent. "I'll admit — no one's ever stopped my sword before. But it seems you forgot one little thing… you're holding it with both hands — and I'm only using one."
He was already preparing his counterattack when, from under Arroganz's massive steel backpack, two additional mechanical arms burst forth.
One instantly grabbed Vandel's free arm, squeezing it with such force that the metal itself began to creak in protest. The other shot forward, pulling out a massive handgun and pointing it directly at the Dark Knight's cockpit.
At that moment, inside Leon's armor, two silhouettes could be seen.
In the cramped cockpit of Arroganz, there weren't one, but two pilots — Leon himself and his Clone, both moving in perfect sync as they controlled the war machine together.