"Hey, my friend! We meet again! I knew you'd come to save me!"
Despite his extreme weakness, Salvatore's eyes lit up at the sight of Roy, his pallid face flushing with color as if revitalized by sheer willpower.
"Save you? Why would I save you? I might be here to kill you!"
Roy crouched down, gazing at Salvatore, who lay motionless on the sand, unable to even twitch a finger, and asked with a smirk.
This was the coastline of Australia. Days earlier, Salvatore had been cleaved into the Pacific Ocean by the Last King's sword, drifting for days before Roy—having calculated the ocean currents—guessed that if Salvatore had survived, he would likely wash up here. That was why Roy had come searching.
"Uh... Why would you kill me? We don't have any grudges, do we?"
Salvatore panted a few times, blinking dumbfounded.
"Don't you know, Sir Salvatore? The Last King possesses an ability called the 'Oath of the Great Covenant.' Its effect is simple: the more Campiones there are in the world, the stronger the Last King becomes. So, to weaken him, the solution is straightforward—just eliminate all the other Campiones."
Roy pressed a finger lightly against the Sword King's chest, his smile eerie.
"...See? If I just push a little harder here, your life will fade. The Last King's power will diminish, giving the living a better chance at victory!"
Salvatore had a sword wound on his chest that nearly pierced him through, yet no blood flowed from the injury. Instead, it looked more like a crack split into steel.
This was one of Salvatore's authorities, Man of Steel, which functioned similarly to Roy's Body of the Holy Son—both granted their wielders bodies as tough as steel, making their physiology more akin to metal.
It was precisely this authority that had allowed Salvatore to cling to life. Had any other Campione been struck by the Sword of the Last King, they would undoubtedly have been decapitated, with no chance of survival.
The Sword King froze for a moment, clearly hearing of the Oath of the Great Covenant for the first time. His smile gradually stiffened before turning into a dry chuckle. "...Ahaha, now that you mention it, I suddenly think you killing me might actually be the best choice."
Even in the face of certain death, Salvatore remained carefree, his smile bright and foolish, as if he held no regard for his own life. He even empathized, believing Roy's decision to kill him wasn't wrong.
Roy thought this guy resembled the protagonist of a shounen anime more than anything.
"So you already knew about this Oath of the Great Covenant ability, which is why you killed that old man Voban and the Campione of England, huh? That's what they call preparing for a rainy day, right?"
Salvatore wore an expression of sudden realization, nodding sagely. Missing several teeth, his speech was slurred and unclear.
"That was only one reason. The main one was that Marquis Voban and Alexander Gascoigne provoked me. To avoid being pestered by flies, I had no choice but to swat them dead."
Roy spoke calmly, his tone utterly casual, as if the two Campiones were nothing more than flies buzzing by his ear—easily crushed with a single slap.
Roy's nonchalance still failed to instill fear in Salvatore. Instead, the Sword King felt his impending death was only natural. If Roy would kill even Marquis Voban and the Black Prince, his fellow Campiones, then there was no reason to spare him.
"My friend, I only hope you make it quick when the time comes. Don't let it hurt too much, and don't stab me in the heart—piercing there won't kill me instantly. Best to just puncture my skull. That way, I'll die in one go!"
Salvatore grinned widely, even earnestly pointing out his body's weak spots to Roy. Such fearlessness and boldness were rare in this world—no wonder the Sword King had become a Campione.
"You... really aren't afraid of death, are you?"
Roy couldn't help but feel exasperated by Salvatore. The man genuinely feared nothing, not even putting up a brave front. Roy could tell that much, and it left him deeply impressed. After all, even he feared death. If it truly loomed over him, Roy believed he would feel terror. Yet Salvatore harbored not a trace of fear—his mind was absurdly simple, likely only capable of holding two concepts: battle and the sword.
"Let me say this one last time—I am not your 'friend.' We've barely met twice, yet you keep calling me that so familiarly. It's unbearable."
Roy's hand slowly came to rest on Salvatore's forehead. The Sword King thought Roy was about to kill him, so he closed his eyes with a laugh: "...Isn't meeting and getting to know each other what makes friends? I've never had many friends, and after becoming a Campione, I had even fewer. To meet someone of equal standing like you, and have you tell me where the world's strongest Heretic God is—that makes you my friend!"
Salvatore seemed either unaware that Roy had tricked him or had known the truth all along. Since "finding Heretic Gods to fight" was his goal anyway, he might have pretended not to realize Roy's deception. At this moment, the Sword King didn't dwell on it, simply closing his eyes and awaiting death.
But after a long wait, Roy's killing blow never came. Instead, a surge of magical energy flowed from Roy's fingertips where they touched his forehead. Far from destroying his body and killing him, this energy healed him, pulling him back from the brink of death.
He opened his eyes in astonishment, his gaze questioning as if to say, "Why didn't you kill me?"
"So, why can't any of you think things through properly...?" Roy sighed, wondering why he had ever wanted to become a Campione. These Campiones truly lived up to their title as "Children of Fools"—they never thought things through, acting purely on instinct.
A Campione's instincts were indeed powerful, often leading them to correct judgments. But when those instincts failed, the consequences could be disastrous.
"Sir Salvatore, since you've fought the Last King when he activated the Oath of the Great Covenant, you must have also seen his power when it wasn't active. Did you find him strong?" Roy asked, seeing Salvatore's confusion and kindly explaining.
Salvatore shook his head firmly. "...He wasn't strong at all. If not for that so-called Oath of the Great Covenant, I could have killed him alone."
"Exactly. Throughout history, the Last King has slain countless Campiones. He couldn't possibly kill them all at once—he had to do it one by one. This means the last Campione to die in each era faced the Last King in his ordinary state. If you think the Last King isn't strong, then ancient Campiones had no reason to lose to him in that state."
"...In truth, the Last King was never invincible. In the past, he was defeated countless times, even killed by many Campiones. Yet the final outcome was always the Campiones' demise. The main reason is that the Last King cannot truly die. No matter how you kill him, he revives instantly. A Campione's magical energy is finite—it will eventually run out. And a Campione without magical energy is as helpless as a baby before the Last King."
"...Therefore, killing you holds no meaning. The Oath of the Great Covenant merely grants the Last King a portion of power, but it isn't the reason he has continuously vanquished Demon Kings. The most crucial factor behind his perpetual eradication of demon kings is his immortality. As long as his undying power from the covenant with the gods remains unbroken, even without the Oath of the Great Covenant, he could still grind the Campiones down through attrition."
Salvatore froze for a moment. Upon careful consideration, he realized Roy was absolutely right. If the Oath of the Great Covenant grew stronger based on the number of Campiones, then its flaw was obvious—it would become useless when facing a single Campione. So how did the supposedly not-that-powerful Last King manage to kill those Campiones who had slain multiple gods and possessed numerous authorities? The answer was simple: his undying nature!
"So, my wise brother, have you discovered a method to break the Last King's immortality?"
Just then, Roy and Salvatore heard a melodious voice like the strings of a zither. Luo Hao, hands clasped behind her back, strode across the waves as she approached from afar. Upon seeing Roy and Salvatore, the self-important sect leader gave them a reserved nod—the greatest respect she could offer.
When her gaze lingered on Roy, Luo Hao's eyes paused briefly. Then, whether it was an illusion or not, a faint blush flashed across her jade-like cheeks.
Following Luo Hao's arrival, several other presences emerged: North America's Campione Annie Charlton, India's Campione Lady Aisha, and even Athena, the Goddess of War and Wisdom who had become Roy's subordinate deity. In essence, all the warriors in this world capable of fighting the Last King had gathered here!
----------
For advance chapters join my Patreon.
[email protected]/Aarvan