Continuing with the fight, DANTE discovers that his enemy possesses a mythical sword that was mere fiction in his world, but here is a reality, leaving him wondering what on earth is going on.
DANTE HERALDI: Well, it seems I will have to get serious with you, Mr. SIRGUILLER.
SIRGUILLER: Sounds good to me, it's about time. Remember, it is not good manners to keep a great knight like myself waiting.
DANTE HERALDI: This time, I will give it everything I've got. (takes his Kusanagi katana out of his bag).
SIRGUILLER: It's about time, boy, hehe.
The battle begins. DANTE avoids clashing swords upon realizing that the longer he strikes that blade, the heavier it will become for his enemy. Because of this, he changes his tactics: he strikes and dodges without blocking, forcing SIRGUILLER back.
In one of the attacks, SIRGUILLER slams his sword firmly into the ground. Dante seizes the opportunity to strike him from behind, but Sirguiller, without letting go of the weapon, raises his entire body and propels himself backward, grabbing the hilt and leaving the sword embedded in the ground.
DANTE, believing he could seize it, runs quickly and tries to lift it. However, the sword is so firmly wedged in that he ends up falling to the ground, gripping the hilt, unable to move it even a single centimeter.
DANTE HERALDI: (in pain) Damn it, what is this made of? This sword is way too heavy.
SIRGUILLER: (walking closer) Don't be an idiot, I told you this sword chose me. (DANTE leaps backward) The sword does not allow itself to be touched by anyone but me. (Grabs the sword and lifts it as if it were nothing). This magnificent sword is mine alone.
The knight assumes a fighting stance, holding the sword with both hands at chest level, the blade in front of his face. Dante watches him with a certain impatience, waiting to see what he will do.
The knight points the sword toward him, pulls his elbows back, and concentrates. DANTE perceives a massive amount of energy gathering at the tip of the weapon, when suddenly, the knight thrusts it forward and a colossal beam of light shoots out. DANTE, shocked, barely manages to dodge it; the attack grazes his right hand, leaving a deep wound. However, his healing power acts immediately, and the wound begins to close.
The knight, astonished by such rapid regeneration, rushes in without hesitation to prevent him from recovering completely. DANTE retreats, dodging however he can, while the knight grips the sword with both hands and attempts to strike him with the cross guard, which is shaped like an axe. DANTE has no choice but to block, and upon doing so, he feels the weight of the weapon increase brutally.
DANTE HERALDI: (in his mind) At this rate, my sword is going to break; that sword is a nuisance, and the way he fights is a bit bizarre. I've never heard of a knight fighting with his sword like that.
SIRGUILLER: Scared, my friend? This is almost over; I believe my last attack caught you by surprise, hahaha. Did you not expect it?
DANTE HERALDI: I'm a bit confused, knight. Why did you attack me like that with your sword? Did you guys always fight like that in your era?
SIRGUILLER: What the hell are you talking about? Did our teachings never reach your era? What the hell have you read about us knights, since I see you know a lot about us?
DANTE HERALDI: Actually, no; in all the movies I've watched, I never saw a knight fight the way you do.
SIRGUILLER: What is a "movie"? Well, I won't ask any further, but all of us have always fought like this; it's awkward to just fight traditionally all the time. Do some more research in the future, boy.
DANTE HERALDI: (annoyed in his mind) Damn Hollywood, it lied to me this whole time.
SIRGUILLER: Well, boy, it's time to put an end to this.
DANTE HERALDI: You are absolutely right; I think I've had enough fun with you.
DANTE activates his "Wolf Speed" power and, in an instant, appears behind the knight.
The knight barely manages to block the strikes, growing increasingly serious as he counters. DANTE continues with a series of rapid slashes in all directions; although the knight manages to stop several of them, he cannot avoid taking damage, as his armor was not as resilient as Galahad's.
Suddenly, the knight unleashes a powerful thrust forward, shattering everything in his path, and quickly retreats... only to collide with DANTE, who was already waiting for him. More determined than ever, the knight pronounces:
< Sword Excalibur, let me wield your full power! >
The sword begins to glow with such intensity that it momentarily blinds DANTE, forcing him to back away. When he recovers his vision, a direct impact to his chest leaves a deep gash and knocks him down. Without losing any time, DANTE gets back up as his body begins to heal, and in front of him, he sees the knight enveloped in a radiant light: the sword has taken on a new form, resembling a weapon descended from the heavens.
The knight charges at him with astonishing speed, almost matching DANTE's. Instantly, a rain of high-speed strikes breaks out; the way the knight fights is so unusual that DANTE can barely keep up with his rhythm. At times, the knight grabs the sword by the blade to use the crossguard like an axe, and then grips the hilt again to continue the onslaught. This technique bewilders him so much that he begins to sustain constant wounds.
Although DANTE feels almost no pain, the continuous loss of blood begins to weaken him. In a clash of swords, he seizes the moment and activates his technique "Shadow Slash," slamming the knight forcefully against the ground.
SIRGUILLER: (shocked, standing up from the ground) What the hell was that?
DANTE HERALDI: (levitating in the air) Well, I'm afraid this truly ends here. Knight, you have proven to be a great opponent, but I have to finish this now.
DANTE raises his sword and unleashes a barrage of "Shadow Slash," one after another. The knight watches in awe, but immediately smirks and counters: he also begins to launch flying slashes, clashing with DANTE's one by one.
The battle turns into a long-range confrontation. DANTE notices this and, understanding that he must end this as soon as possible, activates his trump card: "Shadow Mantle."
A sinister black aura envelops his body while the knight watches him intently. But, in the blink of an eye, he loses sight of him… and immediately feels his presence behind. DANTE strikes him; the knight manages to block, but is launched through the air. Before he can react, he receives another impact that sends him flying in the opposite direction, crashing against the ground and bouncing. A third strike hits him from behind, elevating him once again.
By this point, DANTE is so fast that the knight can no longer keep up with his pace. Wounded and suspended in mid-air, he opens his eyes only to discover that there are five blurry DANTEs around him.
He was moving so fast that he had left behind residual clones, and suddenly all of them launch "Shadow Slash" toward the knight. Overwhelmed, the knight can only think that DANTE is a demon.
Covered in wounds, the knight falls toward the ground. But before he can touch it, DANTE appears beneath him and delivers a devastating punch, sending him crashing forcefully in MAMMON's direction. The surprising thing is that, even in that state, the knight never let go of his sword.
Now, we rewind five minutes in time, toward the battle between MALEKIN and SIEGFRIED.
MALEKIN: Hmm, it seems DANTE has already activated his mantle power. Well, that fight is already over.
SIEGFRIED: (kneeling on the ground, wounded) Damn it, you won't get away with this.
MALEKIN: You've been saying that for a while now, and I think it's about time to finish this, don't you think?
SIEGFRIED: (in his mind) Damn it, he is way too strong.
MALEKIN: If you have nothing else to show me, I will defeat you right now.
SIEGFRIED: Fine, you asked for it, you damn demon.
The knight SIEGFRIED retreats quickly and draws his two swords. An intense red aura envelops him, transforming into flames that cover his entire body. His silhouette begins to mutate: a dragon's tail emerges from his back, his body grows, his armor cracks, and his skin becomes covered in scales. His face takes on the form of a humanoid dragon, and he now stands a few centimeters taller than MALEKIN.
MALEKIN watches him and smiles with enthusiasm, seeing that his enemy is finally fighting seriously. Immediately, he coats his body with a white barrier and charges into combat. Both clash with immense force, strike after strike, and it becomes obvious that MALEKIN is having fun, while the knight gives it his all, attacking relentlessly. However, the sword strikes barely manage to harm him: MALEKIN blocks with his bare arms, receiving only superficial wounds.
Suddenly, the knight exhales a gigantic fireball that strikes MALEKIN head-on, launching him a great distance away. A massive explosion of flames illuminates the entire field, resembling an atomic blast. Convinced he has won, the knight lets out a deranged laugh… but from amidst the fire, imposing, MALEKIN emerges completely untouched.
MALEKIN: You stupid animal, I am a demon, fire is my home, hahaha. Hmm, or poor you, my companions' fights are already over; I will put an end to this.
MALEKIN gets serious, removes the handkerchief from his mouth, and the knight grows terrified upon seeing that diabolical face, stepping backward. MALEKIN concentrates his energy, surrounding his body with the "shadow mantle" while also placing a purple barrier around himself.
Suddenly, MALEKIN moves at a speed so immense that the knight doesn't even notice. The knight is impaled by MALEKIN's hand, who lifts him up and hurls him toward the sky.
The knight spits out a massive amount of blood; as he dies, he only sees MALEKIN right in front of him in the air, who proceeds to strike him with such force that it sends him flying straight toward MAMMON, shattering every bone in his body in the process.
All three knights had now been defeated, and all three fall simultaneously right in front of MAMMON, who looks at them defeated and flies into a fury.
MAMMON: (furious) ACHAM, vanish those scumbags with the ring of CRONOS that I gave you!
ACHAM: Yes, lord.
ACHAM stands in front of the knights, of whom only two were barely alive; the one who fought MALEKIN was completely dead. Then ACHAM raises his hand and a portal begins to appear, making the knights levitate. In their minds, they think that they should have never accepted a deal with a demon, reflecting on what a terrible idea it was and how they now deserved everything that was happening to them.
While they think all of this, the portal that ACHAM invoked sucks the knights in and closes. Inside the void, we see that the knights are disintegrating, but their grand items remain intact: GALAHAD's armor remains untouched and we see his armor get lost into a portal; the sword Excalibur also gets lost into a portal, and SIEGFRIED's body turns completely into a dragon and enters a portal.
We step away from the original story to see something interesting. In another ancient world, we see how the black armor crashes into a mountain, causing a massive explosion, attracting some men who were passing through the area.
VILLAGER 1: SIR PERCY, over here, look! It seems something fell from the sky.
SIR PERCY: Hmm, a black armor. What a brilliant color, I think I will keep it for myself; I believe it will benefit me greatly in my encounters.
VILLAGER 2: I think so too, sir, it looks to be just your size. What luck, something that came from the heavens; I believe it is a sign from God.
VILLAGER 1: Yes, sir, it is a gift from heaven.
SIR PERCY: (His eyes gleam) I will not waste this great gift.
Meanwhile, in another universe, on the balcony of a castle, an old man is watching the sky when suddenly he sees something fall from the heavens and crash in the distance. Immediately, he leaps from the balcony and, strangely, flies toward the impact site. Upon arriving, he looks at the bizarre scene.
OLD MAN: What the hell is this? A sword. (He attempts to lift it).
Upon grabbing the sword, it flashes visions inside his head, revealing its name and its legend.
OLD MAN: Excalibur? Him? I couldn't even move it a single centimeter; I will try with magic.
The old man attempts to lift it with levitation magic, but it doesn't budge; he hurls fireballs at it, and nothing happens either. After spending some time casting magic, he sees that it does absolutely nothing to the sword and stops. Out of nowhere, a boy comes running toward him.
CHILD: MERLYN, what are you doing? They told me you left in a huge hurry; today was supposed to be our training, umm... and what is that, MERLYN?
MERLYN: It is nothing, just a sword, and I believe you will be able to pull it out later on. Let's go to the castle; I will train you so that sword becomes yours. Let's go home, ARTURO.
In another part of the multiverse, we see how SIEGFRIED's body, transformed into a dragon, crashes onto an immense mountain, and his blood begins to spill across the entire mountain. We see many animals drinking it, among them small lizards that inhabited that place, and we watch as they begin to grow and transform into dragons, giving rise to the age of dragons in this world. Loud roars echo, shaking this entire continent, while some humans at the foot of the mountain listen to all of this.
For the moment, this entire fight has ended; we will return to our protagonists later on.