Chapter 82
[The Arena]
While Rex and the others were desperately pushing back the invading forces and attempting to regain control of the town, an altogether different kind of battle was raging back where everything started.
A man clad in golden armour, renowned for his proud nature and heroic feats, was swinging a shining greatword forged from his own will. So dense was the King of Soleo’s aura that this blade was said to be unusable by any other within the kingdom. The ground quaked with each heavy movement, and the walls of the building had already been torn apart from prior blows.
Leonidas Sol Proudmane struck at his foe with unprecedented speed, tearing straight through the conjured obstacles his mystical opponent was summoning to bar his path.
Unmatched in strength.
Unrivalled with the blade.
Undefeated in combat.
That was the reputation this King had upheld throughout his rule.
And yet, he was unable to land a single hit on the Emperor of the so-called greatest nation in Arden.
Emperor Albrecht Drachenskrone. A wizard who had never revealed the secrets of his long life or the magic he employed to build the Black Crown Empire into what it was. The man had a mediocre physique compared to Leonidas, but he carried himself with such effortless regality that he always appeared to be in control of the situation.
He did not clash blades or test his strength against Leonidas as a rival knight might have. He did not expend any physical effort in avoiding the strikes aimed at claiming his life.
Instead, he fought as any intelligent spellcaster should: with calculated finesse. He could tear apart the fabric of space as he pleased with but a thought in order to render the devastating strikes harmless. He could impress his will onto the laws of the universe and manipulate gravity, forcing the King to fight whilst being assaulted by an ever-shifting world of directions.
One second, he was being weighed down, having to rely on his unbelievable might to force his way forward, only to blink and find himself hurtling upwards into the ceiling.
The King of Soleo was no stranger to magic himself, but gravity manipulation was a school of magic thought to be stuck in the realm of theory. And yet, not only could Albrecht use it without issue, he himself appeared to remain unaffected by any of it.
Two opposing forces of gravity would hit Leonidas from either side, and Albrecht would float right through to escape the King of Knights’ next attack as if no crushing force was affecting his being in the slightest.
But it was not the futility of the battle that enraged Leonidas so…
“Do you not think we have played long enough? Do you truly think this low-level barrier has blocked awareness of what is occurring outside?”
Albrecht floated above Leonidas as he spoke with a mild frown.
This was the cause of Leonidas' rage. The fact that his foe was not taking him seriously.
“My subjects are being killed in cold blood out there. If not for our friendship, I would have already struck you down and left to set things right.”
He continued to talk in an attempt to elicit a response.
But Leonidas ignored him and called upon a holy blessing——in order to disregard all external factors that inhibited his movement, and burst free to impale the Emperor.
But his attack passed right through as Albrecht faded into shimmering stardust and reappeared behind the king.
“”
Albrecht sighed as he used a low-level spell and held his palm up to Leonidas’ back.
The resulting blast of force sent the king plummeting like a comet and left him cratered in a giant hand-shaped indentation.
“It has not escaped my notice that you are not utilising your Gift to its proper potential.”
Albrecht continued to speak down to his opponent in an attempt to open some kind of discourse.
“ is an admirable bloodline Gift. If the great spirit of Sol himself were to intervene here, I may be forced to take this seriously.”
Leonidas stood tall, though his armour had been damaged in the area that Albrecht had touched.
“Do not speak our honourable guardian’s name, traitor.”
He glared at the hovering Emperor and tightened his grip on the sword.
“Do not forget, Albrecht. I my position. Before I renewed my Father’s pact with Sol, I was The Golden Knight. I hold more than enough power alone to strike down a mere abomination.”
The King produced a metal loop adorned with various gems. Each was enchanted with a separate spell to empower a single individual. The Mythral Halo was a royal artifact with a limited number of uses and carried the following enchantments:
A halo of golden light forms above the user and strengthens all holy magic.
All equipment becomes resistant to all elements.
Speed and strength are doubled.
Wounds heal themselves, the user can fly, and all senses are heightened.
Size is increased by 50% and aura density is doubled.
The Mythral Halo was, by all accounts, a one-of-a-kind artifact of immense power that could temporarily turn any competent fighter into a one-man army.
And its last charge had just been used. It shattered into prismatic light and scattered into the air as the last of the magic was expelled.
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“To use such a thing here…”
Albrecht shook his head at the sight.
“Very well then. ”
Albrecht responded with a spell so complex that the resulting spell circle formed a globe around both parties, and the shining runes that made up the formula were akin to a thousand-word script best surmised with one word: Doom.
Leonidas flew forward with a burst of golden light, his sword swelling up to triple its previous size, and he swung with enough force to level the entire building.
At the same time, Albrecht’s spell activated, and countless black and blue spears formed within the globe. Each one shot forward with perfect accuracy, colliding with the King’s golden form.
Yet such was the power of his defensive enchantments that no spear could pierce his flesh. Those that did not dissipate completely instead glanced off his armour and turned to strike again.
Leonidas knew he was impervious in his current state and did not halt his offensive charge for even a moment.
A shining light consumed everything in a horizontal arc before him, and both the walls and the roof of the arena were blown away. Albrecht faded from view as his form was similarly eroded beneath the cleansing light.
Leonidas exhaled, his muscles screaming under the strain he had been putting them through.
But he felt no relief. No satisfaction from the apparent victory.
The reason was apparent just by looking at the state of the building.
The destruction of the arena should have revealed the exterior of the IMA campus, but instead, only the empty void of space could be seen. Though the people of Arden lacked the modern knowledge of the universe beyond their own planet, Leonidas felt instinctively that he drifted within infinity itself.
“”
The Emperor’s voice spoke from all around Leonidas.
“A simple enchantment. I’m sure you’re familiar with pocket spaces used to expand storage spaces? This is essentially the same concept applied on a larger scale. I cast it upon the arena last night, but made some tweaks once it was just the two of us.”
The familiar form of the Emperor materialised, as if the stars were but threads to weave his being back into the world.
“That barrier of yours merely blocked out sound. But within my space, there can be no interference. Nothing enters. Nothing leaves. We are as isolated from the world as is possible right now…”
Albrecht formed another globe of spell circles. This one was far larger and contained within it innumerable additional spells. Each one was beyond the King’s understanding.
Leonidas chose to drive his sword into the ground and take a knee.
“”
He cast a holy spell that conjured a protective barrier of radiant shields, interlocking together so not even the smallest projectile could cross their formation.
Then, Albrecht announced his attack.
“
The remaining floor of the arena immediately crumbled as gravity intensified from all angles, centred on the King within his barrier. Great beams of silver light burst forth one after another. The first cracked the barrier, the second broke through and left a sizable hole in the defence, the third shattered it completely, and the rest chased Leonidas as he tried to outpace them.
A small golden light travelling at the speed of sound arced through space, but try as it might, the pursuing beams were endless, and seemingly predicted whatever path he took.
His body was ragdolled and tossed in all directions while the ever-shifting gravitational pull yanked him back into the path of any attack he was lucky enough to avoid. His armour bent and groaned as it made every effort to protect its long-time partner’s life. But even the Golden Lion’s Aegis could not withstand the raw magical might of Albrecht Drachenskrone.
Leonidas grit his teeth, tasting blood for the first time in a decade. He had only one response to the situation, but he was loath to call upon it after already wasting the Mythral Halo.
And then, the second phase of Albrecht’s spell began.
The beams persisted, and the chaotic gravity manipulation only intensified to even more devastating levels. But on top of that, holes in space were opening up to grant entry to all manner of bizarre monstrosities.
They each appeared to be made from the very space they emerged from, like living constellations that sought to bring judgment upon their master’s enemy. One that resembled an octopus descended through the beams of light, totally unaffected by their devastating nature, and wrapped a tentacle around Leonidas’ waist.
The next moment, he was thrown up into the yawning maw of a whale and carried back into the frantic fray of destruction that loomed overhead.
Up became down. Left became right. The King’s heightened senses meant nothing in this space, and the endless lightshow that struck at him was undeterred by the walls of the whale’s stomach.
Crustaceous forms appeared from the otherwise empty interior of the flying monstrosity, and they flung themselves with reckless abandon to slash at Leonidas’ body.
His sword danced, singing the tale of his last stand as it cut apart their bodies and split the whale in two.
Golden flames emerged as if by instinct to cover his blade and body, burning away those who came too close.
All the while, Albrecht watched from afar, sat upon a conjured throne of starlight with his cheek resting on one hand.
“So you’re finally using it. It seems to have been done by reflex, however.”
The Emperor pondered the King’s approach to this battle. Many aspects made no sense with the current information available, and Albrecht was hesitant to end things as they were. Conflict between their nations would cause numerous internal issues for the Black Crown Empire, even if victory were ultimately guaranteed. Killing the King would not end the nation, but rather legitimise the war they would wage in retaliation.
“Perhaps striking you down would not be the smart thing here.”
He continued to think as Leonidas was caught between a stampede of alien six-legged creatures and a school of manta ray-looking beings. His flames flared out and consumed them all before coalescing into a spear that he threw at the troubled Emperor.
A shard of black stone flew out from behind Albrecht and opened a miniature black hole to consume the flames in their entirety, eliciting a frustrated curse from the slowly dying King.
“The third phase will begin soon. I should deactivate this before he really dies.”
Albrecht cut the supply of mana with a slash of his hand, and the entire series of spell circles collapsed.
“Still… I cannot let him believe he ever had a chance at victory here. One last parting gift should get my point across.”
Albrecht stood from the throne and hovered slowly forward.
Leonidas, conversely, flew forward with enough intensity to strike fear into the heart of any lesser man.
Moments before impact, Albrecht raised one arm.
The shards of the Black Crown interlocked, forming a curved sword that crackled with violet energy.
Their blades met, but only for a moment.
The sword Leonidas wielded was made entirely from his own aura. And that aura was torn through as if it were no more than melted butter.
Another slash against his torso, and Leonidas’ enchantments all dissipated, leaving only the flames from his Gift to protect him.
His face was frozen in shock as Albrecht held the blade against his throat and spoke calmly.
“Soleo will fall because of your pride. Your people will die because of your idiocy. The offer of diplomacy will remain open, but you should expect to lose some land.”
Albrecht offered his warning, caring not whether the stunned Leonidas heard or understood. After all, the real meaning of his actions had been communicated perfectly with his last attack, the King of Soleo knew that before the Emperor of the Black Crown Empire, he was never considered a real threat.
Albrecht clicked his fingers, and the space around them crumbled to reveal the curious—and concerned—looks of various Imperial soldiers that had formed around them.
Leonidas came back to reality and prepared to fight his way out if needed, but Albrecht simply pushed the King back with one palm, and he fell into a portal before he could voice his surprise.
“Your highness! What happened?”
Draven Pancia hurried forward, making no move to kneel before his monarch—as was permitted for the therian subject.
“King Leonidas Sol Proudmane has been defeated and returned to the capital. Spread the word.”
Albrecht spoke simply and surveyed the state of the campus before settling on the numerous students who were watching from the windows of the academy building.
A slight bemused smirk formed as he saw the Imperial soldiers forming around the perimeter and redirecting students back into the building as some came outside.
“Draven, why are so many of our men here instead of manning the gates?”
“These were the orders given by the Umbral Arm, your highness. I believe the intention was to dissuade further attacks by containing Solean students here… should I have them stand down?”
“No. It is a sound plan… Oh?”
The Emperor turned his attention to a distant part of the campus, where a familiar surge of mana was originating.
“Your highness?”
“It’s nothing. You have your orders.”
“Yes, sir!”
Draven left, loudly declaring an Imperial victory and emphasising Leonidas’ defeat in single combat for all to hear.
Meanwhile, Albrecht took a stroll towards town, eager to find his trusted right-hand man.
