Salvatore Doni’s lighthearted declaration wasn't just a warning; by the time the words left his lips, he was already vaulting off the pavement. With a sonic crack that shredded the air, his massive frame blurred from sight, reappearing a heartbeat later directly in Kusanagi Godo's personal space.
“Alright then, shall we begin? Round two!”
“Wha—?!”
Godo couldn't even manage a reflex. The speed was incomparable to their first encounter. Doni had no intention of a warm-up; he meant to unleash the swordsmanship that had reached the domain of the gods from the very start. His massive claymore, catching the morning sun, descended toward Godo’s neck like a bolt of lightning.
In that instant, a crimson shadow lunged from behind Godo, moving faster than the flash of steel.
Claaaaaang—!
It was Erica Brandelli. She had intercepted Doni’s heavy blade head-on with her own cherished sword, Cuore di Leone. Accompanied by a screeching metallic groan that threatened to rupture eardrums, her slender frame was hurled back several meters by the sheer momentum. The asphalt where she had stood shattered into a spiderweb of cracks.
“Ugh...!”
Erica coughed up a spray of blood as she dropped to one knee, but she refused to collapse. She glared at Doni with eyes burning with indignation and resolve.
“Sir Doni! This is intolerable! Our King is still in the process of recovery. If you desire a fair duel, show at least a modicum of etiquette!”
Doni looked down at Erica, intrigued that she had actually parried his blow, before pouting like a disappointed child.
“Aww, come on. Way to kill the mood. That was just a greeting, a simple hello.”
His 'simple hello' had just severely wounded one of the finest mages in Europe. It was a terrifying reminder of the absolute chasm between a King and a mortal. Godo stood frozen at the sight. Before his very eyes, Erica was bleeding just to protect him. More than anger, a sickening sense of self-loathing over his own powerlessness flooded his body.
I watched the scene unfold silently with my arms crossed. Beside me, Alessandro’s brow twitched briefly at the sight of the bleeding Erica, but he quickly suppressed his emotions, remaining a stoic knight at his King's side. Alice Louise of Navarre simply wore a serene smile, like a spectator waiting for the next act of an entertaining play.
“Erica...!”
Godo rushed toward her in a panic, but Erica held up a hand to stop him. Wiping the blood from her mouth, she actually pushed Godo back.
“Don’t retreat, Godo. The moment you back down here, you’ll spend the rest of your life as that man's plaything. If you are a King... then show him a King’s pride.”
Her words caused Godo’s pupils to tremble violently. Pride? Did he even have such a thing? Yet, he couldn't turn away from the eyes of a girl who believed in him even while bleeding. He slowly turned his body to face the King of Swords, Salvatore Doni, who was still wearing that carefree grin.
I’m terrified... but... I can’t run away here!
Taking a deep breath, he summoned the Authorities of Verethragna. This wasn't a simple manifestation of power; it was the best tactical application he could muster at the moment.
“I am the strongest, the one who grasps all victories! I am the one who crushes all enemies and all hostility, be they man or demon! Thus, I shall smite every foe that stands in my way!”
The Authority of the Bull settled into his body. But he didn't charge. Instead, he channeled the surging strength of his swollen muscles directly into the earth.
Rumblllllle—!
The asphalt and the very foundation around him were ripped upward like massive slabs of slate. With a roar, Godo hurled a chunk of road the size of a small house at Doni like a ballistic missile.
“Oho, a stone-throwing contest this time?”
Doni laughed delightedly as he swung his blade. With every silver flash, the massive chunks of asphalt were cleaved cleanly in two like ripe fruit, crumbling uselessly into dust. Godo didn't stop, continuing to tear up the ground and launch projectiles.
It’s not working...! But!
Godo feigned throwing the final, largest slab of earth while concealing another Authority behind it.
“Thus didst thou break thy covenant and bring evil into the world... By the word of the Lord, I shall bring destruction upon thee!”
The moment the massive slab obscured Doni’s vision, a steel boar erupted from the shadows with a thunderous roar!
“What?!”
Doni, focused on slicing through the debris, failed to evade the charge of the hidden Boar.
Boom—!
With a cataclysmic roar of steel clashing against steel, Doni took the full force of the Boar's charge and was sent flying dozens of meters like a cannonball. However, he corrected his posture in mid-air and landed perfectly. There wasn't a single scratch on him. The Man of Steel—the divine protection usurped from Siegfried—perfectly neutralized any physical impact.
“Khahaha! Not bad, rookie! To actually blow me away!”
Even as Doni laughed, Godo was already behind him. While the Boar was manifest, Godo’s body retained its charging momentum. Utilizing that force, he closed the distance at near-sonic speeds, grabbed Doni by the waist, and slammed him into the dirt. It was a perfect takedown that gave the King of Swords no room to use his blade.
“Caught you!”
Godo pinned Doni and, gathering the residual power of the Bull, rained merciless punches down on his face.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The dull sound of meat hitting metal echoed repeatedly. But instead of being bloodied, Doni just laughed as if he were having the time of his life.
“Wrestling is fine and all, but it’s not really my hobby!”
With a simple flick of his hips, Doni sent Godo flying off him like a piece of paper. The moment he was free, Doni spun his body and delivered a powerful kick into the airborne Godo’s midsection.
“Gah...!”
Godo coughed up more blood as he was sent tumbling away. The pain of twisting organs was excruciating. Paradoxically, however, that intense shock unlocked the usage requirements for another of his Authorities. He righted himself in the air, reciting the holy incantation with eyes burning with vengeful fire.
“All enemies, fear me. All evildoers, tremble before my power. Now do I obtain the strength of ten mountains, the strength of a hundred great rivers, and the strength of a thousand camels! That which I establish is the mark of the valiant Camel!”
An immense explosive power surged through Godo’s legs. He kicked off the empty air, spinning his body to deliver a crushing Rider Kick toward Doni’s torso.
“Wonder if this will be any different!”
Doni casually raised his blade, catching Godo’s flying foot with the flat of the sword. Then, like a tennis player returning a serve, he swung the blade lightly.
Boom!
“Aaaaaaagh!”
Godo screamed as he was launched so high he risked becoming a mere dot in the sky. Yet, even as he plummeted, he didn't lose consciousness. Instead, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment, solar fire ignited in his eyes.
“Come to my side, for the sake of victory! O immortal Sun, grant me the shining steed that glows for my sake!”
The moment he barely managed to touch the ground, the morning sun in the eastern sky behind him revealed its true majesty. A light so intense it defied belief surged forth, creating the illusion of two suns hanging in the sky. And from the center of that burning star, a massive white horse of pure flame erupted with a roar! It was no mere summon; it was an arrow of divine punishment carrying the very wrath of the sun.
The White Horse streaked toward Doni at the speed of light.
“Now this... this is a bit hot!”
For the first time, the joviality vanished from Doni’s face, replaced by a battle-lust thick with genuine intent. He adjusted his grip on his claymore and roared his incantation with everything he had.
“I swear here! I shall not permit the existence of that which I cannot cut! My sword shall cleave through all, even the sun!”
The silver blade drank in the solar light, transforming into a gargantuan blade of magical energy that vibrated the very fabric of space. He swung his sword against the charging White Horse.
CRASH—!
Blinding light and deafening thunder. The silver blade and the solar stallion collided head-on. It wasn't sliced apart instantly like before. The White Horse shrieked as it was blocked by Doni’s edge, and Doni was driven back several meters, his feet digging deep trenches into the ground under the horse's fierce heat and pressure. The muscles of his iron-hard arms could be seen screaming under the strain. The power of the White Horse, a strike equivalent to a sun god's wrath, was the natural antithesis to his invulnerability.
“Ngggh...! Not bad at all, you brat!”
As Doni gritted his teeth and forced out more power, his blade finally began to cleave through the Horse's form.
Godo did not miss this moment of deadlock. Dragging his bloodied body and gasping for breath, he began to mutter the final incantation that would change the very stage of this battle.
...Now, this is all I have left.
He reached out with a trembling hand. It was the final piece of knowledge Erica had bestowed upon him—the sword that slays gods.
“O all ye wicked, tremble in fear! I shall manifest justice upon the world through the power of my words. These incantations shall be mighty and eloquent!”
With Godo’s shout, a dazzling golden light erupted from his fingertips. That radiance began to pull everyone—Doni, who had just barely cut down the Horse, as well as Alessandro, Alice, and myself—into one massive bounded field.
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