We locked eyes.
In the very next instant—the three of us and the clone charged simultaneously!
I made the first move, sending the Crimson Dragon Knights forward to swarm him. The Crimson Knights lacked conscious thought—meaning Walz's mind-reading ability would be entirely useless against them.
Working in perfect synchronization, the Crimson Knights unleashed a relentless flurry of strikes. One pressed the attack while another covered its defense, seamlessly blending offense and guard.
Yet, Walz's clone casually parried the assault, shattering a dragon knight with a single magic-infused slash.
"I see. You intend to use these constructs to force me to reveal my techniques first. Once destroyed, they regenerate with adaptative enhancements based on the data gathered from my attacks. How cautious."
"I've lost to you once before," I replied, standing my ground. "I have every reason to be cautious."
The moment he pulverized the regenerated knight, he closed the distance in a single bound, striking directly at me! I caught his overhead strike with my blade, engaging him in a blinding exchange of swordplay.
Guh… he's absurdly strong!
I had refined my swordsmanship immensely under Maurice's grueling instruction, yet he was still effortlessly overpowering me…! Furthermore—
"Yes, impressive. The fact that you can exchange blows with my blade proves how much you've grown. Though I suppose receiving real-time data from your dragon knights helps as well."
He was right. The tactical data gathered by the dragon knights fed directly into my own mind, allowing me to gauge an opponent's martial habits before crossing blades. But even with that advantage, the clone's sheer combat prowess was overwhelming—
"Guh…!"
A heavy blow from Walz sent me skidding backward across the dirt! Every single strike felt immensely heavy…!
"You overthink things far too much, Yuuto Kiba. You and I are fundamentally a terrible matchup."
"I'm well aware of that. The Sword Saint pointed out the exact same flaw. But… I'm not fighting alone!"
"You got that right!"
A voice thundered from above.
Looking up, I saw Xenovia descending like a meteor straight toward Walz's clone.
Her holy aura had stained both Durandal and Excalibur in a pitch-black sheen of destructive energy. Crossing the two Holy Swords, she brought down a terrifying double-slash directly onto her target!
Walz's clone leapt sideways to dodge the impact—yet the sheer shockwave of Xenovia's blow caught him mid-air, tearing through his defense! His clothes ripped open, and blood spurted violently from his shoulder!
The clone's eyes widened in genuine shock.
"The residual impact alone did this much…?! So simply dodging at hair's length isn't enough?!"
"Ha! How do you like that power?!" Xenovia boasted.
"And to think… I couldn't read your intent to close in until the absolute last second. You truly are my absolute worst match… A genuine, unadulterated muscle-brain…!"
"Are you saying I don't think at all?!" Xenovia snapped, her triumphant grin instantly turning into teary-eyed indignation.
Good grief… so she really wasn't thinking about anything at all…!
"I knew it! Xenovia really is a total airhead muscle-brain! Amen!"
"Irina! Stop saying 'Amen' at a time like this!"
Irina fired a barrage of purification-infused light arrows at the clone while Xenovia pouted in frustration.
▽
While the four of us sword-users engaged in our high-speed duel, the rest of our allies faced off against Razul nearby.
"Man, look at Walz, thoroughly enjoying his 1-on-1 with the Sword Saint and his brawl with those three sword-singers. I should've made a clone of myself, too… Oh wait, I can't use magic."
Razul sighed, his eyes sweeping over former President Rias and the others. From the sound of it, he hadn't created a duplicate like Walz had.
In terms of sheer numbers, Rias's team held a massive advantage. And yet…
"Even after taking a direct hit from Issei, he didn't fall. Even with Lisha here, we can't afford a single slip-up," Rias murmured, gathering power of destruction in her hands.
Lisha deployed all of her Rifle Bits and Shield Bits into a defensive-offensive grid.
"Please be careful. I exchanged blows with him once at Agreas, but he is still holding his true strength back. It is something I definitely cannot suppress alone."
"For Lisha to go that far…" Rias's expression hardened even further.
Their battle lines were drawn. In the vanguard stood Gaspar, transformed into a beast of darkness, Koneko in her Shirone Mode, and the Valkyrie. In the rearguard support stood Rayner, Ravel, and Lisha. And in the main artillery line were Rias, Akeno, Rossweisse, with Asia standing by as healer.
Once he confirmed their formation was complete, Razul cracked his knuckles.
"It's gonna take a while before Walz shows off his true trump card anyway. How about I show you guys something to really knock your socks off?"
BOOM!
A tremendous shockwave exploded outward, causing the very earth to violently tremble beneath our feet! It was all we could do just to remain standing! A colossal, suffocating aura billowed out from Razul, cracking the ground open in all directions with him at the epicenter!
"ROOOOOAAAAAAARGH!"
Razul let out a primal howl. The sheer volume of his roar vibrated through the air—even with my hands clamped over my ears, it felt like my eardrums were on the verge of rupturing.
Then, his body began to undergo a terrifying transformation.
Swathed in a dense layer of aura, his frame expanded dramatically. His clothes tore to shreds, exposing a mass of hyper-dense, sculpted muscle. From his bare skin, crimson fur sprouted rapidly, covering his entire body. His hair surged downward, cascading all the way to his waist.
"Huuu… huuu… Sorry to keep you waiting."
As the transformation settled, Razul raised his head. Crimson markings had formed around his eyes like demonic war paint. The moment his eyes snapped open and locked onto the battleground—
"What… is this…?"
Rayner broke into a cold sweat, taking an involuntary step back. She wasn't the only one—every single fighter facing Razul looked completely paralyzed by his overwhelming presence.
What is that…? What is this instinctual trembling in my gut…?!
As he crossed swords with Maurice, Walz spoke up in a calm voice.
"That is pure, unadulterated fear, Yuuto Kiba. It is the primal instinct that bubbles up when facing an absolute predator. The true form of 'Bregun' Razul instills terror in anyone who beholds it—no matter who they are. Though the degree of that fear varies from person to person, of course. It was the same back when you faced Losward, wasn't it?"
He was right. This suffocating sensation felt eerily similar to the first time we encountered Losward.
The transformed Razul opened his maw, his voice echoing like grinding tectonic plates:
"'All-Breaker'… Don't lose your focus, now. Drop your guard for even a fraction of a second—and you die."
In the very next instant, Razul vanished.
My eyes couldn't track his speed at all. The only one whose reflexes kept pace was Maurice—
"Dodge, Lisha!"
Before his warning could even finish echoing across the battlefield, it was already over.
What unfolded before my eyes was a nightmare none of us could have ever anticipated—
"Ah…"
Lisha's left arm flew cleanly into the air.
[Kiba's POV End]
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