Chapter 73: The Two Kings

On a hill a short distance from the city, high enough to overlook its walls, Julia and I stood in silence.

But it wasn't an awkward silence. We were simply calming our minds and waiting for the moment to arrive.

A lone great tree stood in the middle of the wide plateau. It would have been the perfect place to take a nap beneath its shade, but unfortunately, what we were about to do was the complete opposite of peaceful.

"Just to make sure one last time—you really want to do this?"

"......Yes, I do. Maybe it's because I've been doing this since I was young. When I truly want to convey something, this is the best way."

As she spoke, two spears appeared in her hands.

That meant she had released the disguise created by her magic, Heat Haze. The fact that she was constantly armed made her way of thinking a little easier to understand.

She was probably terrified of being powerless.

"Still, won't it be hard to fight in that outfit? You're wearing a skirt. And if I accidentally tear it, I have a feeling Laila-san will kill me."

"Now that's useful information. Then I should leave it on—... Just kidding. Don't make that face. I'll change properly."

With that, she started taking off her clothes right there on the spot.

I hurriedly turned around, but on the otherwise silent plain, the rustling of fabric sounded far louder than it should have.

Nobody else was around, but I'd really appreciate it if she didn't undress so casually in front of a guy.

Was this also part of the Spear King's teachings? If so, did that woman really change clothes anywhere without hesitation? What kind of life had she lived? Now I was genuinely curious.

"This outfit is a nuisance... I'll leave it near that big tree."

"That means you're changed, right?"

"Yes. What about you? Aren't you changing?"

"Nah. I paid for these clothes myself this time, and I specifically asked for something that wouldn't restrict my movement, so they're easy enough to fight in."

The clothes Hikari and the others had picked out for me as befitting a king had been ridiculously expensive, but I'd bought this outfit myself in preparation for situations like this.

As for all those other clothes, I'd wear them the next time I went somewhere with the two of them.

After being treated like a dress-up doll for hours, I had a pretty good grasp of their tastes.

Trusting Julia's claim that she was ready, I turned around.

Standing there was a warrior clad in battle gear.

A form-fitting bodysuit designed for mobility covered her body, while armor protected vital areas such as her chest, elbows, and knees. Much like my own combat attire, the suit probably increased its defensive capabilities by channeling mana through it.

The difference was that while I possessed enough mana to make such equipment truly effective, Julia did not.

That was why she supplemented it with physical armor that required no mana at all.

And it was obvious she would use that armor itself as a weapon if she found an opening.

That was why the armor had been placed around her joints and other highly mobile areas.

Overall, she was an extremely troublesome opponent.

"Come on. Hurry up and get ready yourself. You don't need to go fetch your sword, right?"

"Correct. Come to me, Holy Sword Ex."

Carol had once told me to give the Holy Sword a name as a way of establishing authority over it.

So, drawing from the faint fragments of memory I retained from my previous life, I gave it what I thought was the most fitting name possible.

Because of that, the sword—which used to fly to me automatically whenever it was separated by a certain distance—could now be summoned at will.

I caught Ex as it came streaking toward me at high speed from my bedroom and took my stance.

I always kept the window open for situations like this, and it had flown through the sky to avoid hitting anyone, so there was nothing to worry about.

There was nothing valuable in my room anyway, so I wasn't concerned about thieves.

A flawless decision, if I did say so myself.

"...Thank you again, Sword King. For indulging my selfish request."

"I wanted some exercise too, so it works out perfectly. Especially against someone strong like you."

"Strong, huh..."

She lowered her gaze.

"I wanted to become strong. I believed that if I became strong enough, nothing could ever be taken from me. That's why I kept moving forward. But maybe... maybe I was wrong."

The word strong brought a certain figure to mind.

The Spear King.

The parasite who stole bodies and lived for five hundred years.

I hated to admit it, but she had reached a kind of pinnacle.

Now that Julia and I had become kings, we would eventually have to aim for that level—and surpass it.

"That foolish king was strong. Undeniably strong. But she still died. You all killed her. Even though she was strong, she died and lost everything."

"You're right. If we're talking about how strength alone can't stop things from being taken away, then the Spear King is proof of that."

"Then was my goal meaningless? Was the thing I chased never real in the first place? Back then, after having something precious stolen from me, I never wanted to feel that pain again. So I kept training. My family was taken from me. My revenge was taken from me. And now, even my goal has been taken from me."

"......"

"That's why I want to know. Was everything I've done truly meaningless, or did it have value? And this is the only way I know how to find out."

She lowered her center of gravity and raised her twin spears.

She wasn't going to attack first.

She was waiting.

I also took my stance, leaning forward with my sword raised.

A posture devoted entirely to offense, with no thought given to defense.

"Julia, I don't know if you'll really find the answer you're looking for this way."

"You're right. If it were that easy, nobody would struggle."

"Then I'll stay with you until you do find it. Not just for this fight. If you want to try other ways, I'll help as many times as it takes. We both became kings so suddenly. In a way, we're alike."

"......Thank you. From the bottom of my heart."

The wind stirred.

No more words remained between us.

A single leaf drifted down from the great tree.

I steadied my breathing, tensed my legs, and prepared to sprint at any moment.

Straight toward Julia.

"Sword King Toma Swordria... coming in."

"Spear King Candidate Julia Deuce... No. That's not right."

She smiled.

"Spear King Julia Yaranli. Come."

The leaf touched the ground.

And in that instant, we moved.

I pushed the second ability of the Holy Sword Ex—Cres the Mighty—to its limit and exploded forward, reaching top speed in a single step.

"HAAAH!"

"Too slow!"

Julia thrust her spear straight at my face.

I tilted my head to evade—

Then an overwhelming sense of danger washed over me, and I instantly threw myself to the ground.

The enhanced senses granted by Cres the Mighty screamed a warning through pure instinct.

"Stop dodging!"

"That's asking a bit much!"

Several strands of hair were sliced away as I ducked.

She had likely turned the thrust directly into a sweeping strike.

Changing directions that quickly with a spear moving at that speed was no easy feat, but she was still a king, even if a newly crowned one.

Pulling off something like that wasn't surprising.

"RAAAH!"

Realizing I couldn't swing my sword from my current position, I rolled with the momentum of my fall and launched a spinning back kick.

It grazed past Julia's nose, but she had already retreated.

Still, I wasn't letting her escape.

The kick had missed, but my momentum remained.

Using the spin, I leapt upward and brought my sword crashing down from above.

"Tch!"

"I don't think you can beat me in a contest of strength!"

She crossed her twin spears and caught the Holy Sword.

A thunderous crash echoed across the plateau, sending flocks of birds fleeing into the sky.

She redirected the force skillfully, but there was no way she could completely stop my enhanced strength.

I'd already traded blows evenly with Laila, the strongest person in the Yaranli Kingdom in terms of pure physical power.

The ground beneath Julia shattered, forming a small crater.

I judged that I could simply overpower her—

Then my instincts sounded another alarm.

I immediately stepped back.

"How are you dodging all of these...?!"

Julia had completely relaxed her body during the clash, abandoning the contest of strength altogether, and launched a kick upward toward my chin.

If I hadn't listened to my instincts, the strike would have come from a complete blind spot and knocked me unconscious.

Without question, Julia Yaranli was both a powerful and difficult opponent.

Her claim that she could defeat Shion through pure skill wasn't empty boasting.

Nor was it bravado.

If she'd used that attack against Shion, she might not have won immediately, but she could have seized the initiative.

Yet against me, she had gone even further and launched a counterattack.

More than anything, her courage in battle was extraordinary.

Even actions that risked severe injury if they failed never caused her the slightest hesitation.

The way she disregarded her own wounds in pursuit of victory was something I genuinely respected.

I stepped back and raised the Holy Sword once more.

This time, my stance prioritized defense.

In response, Julia leaned forward.

Would she charge directly? Use a feint?

Compared to me, with my limited combat experience, she was a seasoned fighter.

That difference showed in the sheer number of options available to her in any given moment.

(Her illusion magic, Heat Haze, is a nightmare to deal with... but my instincts can barely keep up with it.)

More importantly, whenever she used it extensively, the air around her grew noticeably hotter.

Normally, when she merely concealed her spears, it wasn't obvious. But when she used it to create independent images, the heat intensified dramatically.

With my enhanced senses, I should be able to distinguish the illusions.

(Here she comes!)

The moment that thought crossed my mind, Julia burst into motion.

Her speed itself wasn't exceptional.

The real problem was her rhythm and trajectory.

Three Julias raced toward me, moving unpredictably from different angles.

Two of them had to be illusions.

"But Heat Haze can't cause physical damage!"

The illusions were hot to the touch and could probably cause minor burns.

But I'd trained in environments far harsher than that.

I immediately slashed through the first Julia to reach me.

She vanished.

A spear thrust came from behind.

I dodged and drove a backfist into her.

She vanished too.

"Then the third one!"

The remaining Julia swung her spear at the opening I'd created.

My body was already off balance from the backfist, so I used the momentum to spin like a top and evade the attack.

(Another fake?!)

The spear carried no real force.

Only heat.

I rolled away instantly.

A heartbeat later, the real Julia came plunging down from above, driving her spear into the ground.

"You dodged that too...?!"

"That was close!"

The deep scar left in the earth proved it hadn't been an illusion.

Those three Heat Haze clones had only been there to blind me—and to keep me from noticing her leap into the sky.

Never stopping at a single action.

Always linking one move into the next.

That skill was the foundation of what made her such a terrifying warrior.

"Thinking in the middle of a fight?"

The moment I heard her voice, my instincts screamed louder than ever.

I abandoned any thought of standing and rolled desperately across the ground.

A spear stabbed into the exact spot I'd occupied a moment before.

Using both spears with incredible dexterity, Julia launched herself at me upside down.

It looked like someone performing a handstand atop a pair of stilts while balancing on their tips.

"That's allowed?!"

As I rolled, I desperately searched for a response.

If I tried grabbing one spear, the other instantly targeted my hands.

If I aimed to disrupt her landing, she immediately vaulted back into the air before I could catch or kick her.

At this rate, I would be cornered sooner rather than later.

So I gathered mana.

Dark-attribute mana leaked faintly from my body.

It practically announced to Julia that I was about to use magic, but I didn't have the luxury of controlling it more carefully.

"Dark Star."

I activated the spell.

Then, while maximizing the Holy Sword's abilities, I hurled the blade from my awkward position.

The magic embedded within it activated instantly.

The sword glowed black and began pulling me toward it.

A powerful gravitational force dragged my body through the air.

"So that's how you're escaping."

"It was the only thing I could think of."

My clothes were covered in dust now, but they should still be wearable after a wash.

Julia landed lightly on the ground, as though resetting the battle, and looked at me with exasperation.

I brushed the dirt from my clothes while keeping my eyes fixed on her.

The uncertainty she'd shown before the battle was gone.

Only the sharp gaze of a warrior remained.

I smiled faintly and lowered my stance once more.

Certain now that all of Julia's efforts had undeniably become her strength, I kicked off the ground and charged.