-----
-----
Early next morning!
Erica's golden hair was a total mess, and she yawned groggily.
As she rubbed her eyes, her gaze landed on Minato standing right in front of her—and her whole body froze.
The King?
Wait a sec, why is the King here?
Didn't he book a separate room last night?
"You're awake," Minato said with a completely straight face. "I was just about to wake you up."
As he spoke, his eyes subtly drifted downwards.
Hmm!
Smooth…
Very nice!
Erica quickly crossed her arms in front of her chest, her face turning red with anger and embarrassment. "How'd you even get in here?! I locked the door!"
"You really think a lock can stop a God Slayer? Don't underestimate me like that."
"You know you're a king! Try to act like one!"
"Then don't sleep in next time. Liliana's been up for a while already."
At that, Minato rubbed his chin regretfully. "Guess I should've gotten up even earlier."
Erica: "..."
Yeah, I knew it. This has nothing to do with me oversleeping.
Whatever. With a king like this, I guess I just have to accept my fate.
A little while later—
The two of them regrouped with Liliana.
"Your Majesty, we just received an update. The location for your duel with the King of Swords has been finalized," Liliana reported. "To avoid damaging the city, the battle will take place on a remote island. Shall we head out now?"
"What's the rush? Let the Sword King wait—we're eating first."
The duel site:
It was thousands of nautical miles away from Sardinia.
After finishing breakfast, the group set off.
Along the way, all the travel arrangements were handled by Erica and Liliana.
Even Minato couldn't be bothered to use magic for transportation.
On the yacht—
Liliana curiously glanced at Erica's wings. "You really turned into a demon?"
"Yep. Don't worry, you'll be one too eventually."
"Huh?"
Liliana froze, her mind going blank for a second.
Becoming a demon? That was not something she'd ever imagined.
"But dating a demon… sounds kinda romantic."
"Inspiration! It's hitting me again!"
Minato shot her a weird look.
What the heck is this woman thinking about now?
Without realizing it, they finally arrived at their destination.
It was a small island, not very big.
As they stepped off the yacht, a man wearing glasses approached them.
He looked at Minato, then brought his right hand to his shoulder in a formal knight's salute. "You must be the Seventh King. I am Andrea Rivera, sent by the King to greet you."
"Lead the way."
"Yes, sir!"
Andrea nodded and gestured politely for them to follow.
But as they walked, his eyes kept darting to Minato, clearly sizing him up.
No surprise—he was the newest king on Earth, after all. Who wouldn't be curious?
Wait… have these two genius knights already pledged themselves to this new king?
Man, that was fast.
With those thoughts, they soon reached a clearing in the center of the island.
"Your Majesty, the other King is already here."
A man with golden hair suddenly leapt down from a giant boulder and came up to greet them.
"Haha! I'm Salvatore Doni. Most folks just call me the King of Swords!"
Doni looked Minato up and down and smiled. "And what should I call you?"
In his eyes, it was like nothing else in the world existed—except Minato.
"I'm Minato."
"Hahaha, good name!"
Doni laughed, but his eyes were sharp and intense. "I don't know why, but my gut tells me—you're gonna be a real opponent."
"Come on, let's fight already. I can barely hold back!"
His expression turned wild, and an intense, dangerous aura radiated from him.
There was no visible pressure—but somehow, the very air around the island began to grow heavy.
"Doni, we've barely said two sentences, and you already want to fight? That's way too rude!"
Andrea couldn't hold it in anymore and yelled, "At the very least, act like a proper king with some self-control!"
"Eh, don't sweat the small stuff. We're here to fight anyway, right?" Doni replied casually. "And hey, I didn't just show up at your door like I normally would, so how about a little credit?"
Watching all this, Erica and Liliana both had the same strange expression.
No doubt about it—
God Slayers were all a handful.
Their power went way beyond normal people, and it made them act totally unrestrained.
That's why everyone respected them… and feared them.
But this back-and-forth between Doni and Andrea was… kinda weird.
The girls glanced at Minato out of the corners of their eyes, cheeks blushing a little.
Now that they thought about it… their own King was pretty darn unique too.
"All right, enough chit-chat," Minato said at last. "If we're fighting, let's get it over with. I don't have time to waste."
"HAHA! Now that's what I like to hear!"
Doni's laughter got even wilder, the madness in his aura growing stronger by the second. "As expected of someone like me. Let's have a fight to remember!"
Minato didn't answer. He just gave Erica and Liliana a look.
They immediately got the message and quickly moved far away.
A battle between God Slayers was no joke—it was way too dangerous to be near.
"Oho! Sir Minato, you really do know how to treat the ladies," Doni chuckled when he noticed.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Minato said with a nod. "After all, I am a man planning to build a harem."
"HAHA! A noble ambition, indeed!"
Doni clapped in approval. "No wonder you've got two beautiful girls at your side."
Andrea: "..."
What part of that ambition is noble, exactly?
This new king… might be just as much of a headache as the others.
Meanwhile—
A sword had quietly appeared in Doni's hand.
"So that's the Sword King's blade?"
Erica and Liliana gave each other a weird look.
Because honestly… the sword looked super plain.
From the outside, it just seemed like a mass-produced standard knight's sword.
Forget divine weapons or demonic blades—
Even compared to their own weapons, it looked like junk.
Clang!
Just then, the blade slid a mere inch out of its sheath—
And a terrifying wave of razor-sharp energy instantly gripped their hearts.
This was the King of Swords.
For him, the weapon didn't matter at all.
"..."