The battle on the ground had also reached its conclusion.
Iskandar pulled back on the reins, and his beloved steed beneath him, Bucephalus, let out an exhausted whinny.
Even as a Heroic Spirit's warhorse, it was now covered in wounds after enduring continuous gnawing attacks from the Crest Worms.
"Phew... It seems my magical energy has truly hit rock bottom."
Feeling the nearly dried-up Magic Circuits within his body, Iskandar let out a helpless, bitter chuckle.
His armor was littered with the remains of dead bugs, and black fluid still clung to the blade of the Sword of the Kupriotes.
The Gordius Wheel had long been swallowed by the sea of insects, reduced to a pile of twisted metal wreckage lying not far away.
The boy on the riverbank, pale and trembling all over from magical energy depletion, could no longer provide him with even the slightest shred of support.
Now, only he and his warhorse remained to make their final struggle.
Opposite him, Zouken Matou stood calmly amidst the swarm of bugs, leaning on his cane.
"What is the matter, King of Conquerors? Where did your imposing aura go?" Zouken let out a piercing, eerie cackle. "If you are short on magical energy, this old man has plenty of 'emergency rations' to spare."
"Haha, there is no need for that."
Iskandar gave his shortsword a sharp flick. Though his fierce eyes revealed his exhaustion, they still burned with the unyielding, domineering spirit of a king.
"Old man, I have seen enough of your parlor tricks!"
"I am the King of Conquerors! In this life, I only know how to forge ahead, never how to retreat! Even at the end of the line, I shall meet my end in a charge!"
He couldn't drag this out any longer!
His only chance of victory was close combat!
As long as he could break through that disgusting wall of bugs, as long as he could plunge the sword in his hand into that withered old man's chest, it would all be over!
"Boy! Watch closely! This is—the back of your King!"
Iskandar did not look back at Waver; he simply let out an earth-shattering roar.
"ALALALALALAI!!!!"
The warhorse reared up on its hind legs. His cape fluttered in the wind, transforming into a streak of crimson lightning!
Like a rampaging lion, he launched a desperate, suicidal charge toward Zouken.
But this was destined to be a tragic, final strike.
Without the lightning protection of the Gordius Wheel, without the thousands of troops and horses of Ionioi Hetairoi, the Iskandar of this moment was merely a military commander riding a horse.
"Die." Zouken coldly spat out the single word.
He did not move an inch, merely raising his cane slightly.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—!
The swarm of bugs beneath the ground instantly erupted, forming black spikes that blocked the warhorse's path like a forest of thorns.
Countless flying insects lunged at Iskandar's face, attempting to obscure his vision and gnaw at his flesh.
"Get lost!!"
Iskandar swung his shortsword, slashing apart the incoming swarm.
Bucephalus also displayed astonishing majesty.
It leapt high into the air, crushing the obstructing insect spikes beneath its hooves, forcibly tearing open a gap in that impenetrable defensive line.
Closer!
Ten meters, five meters, three meters!
His charge grew increasingly fierce. His momentum kicked up waves in the river water, and Waver on the bank could even feel the earth trembling.
Zouken's face, covered in age spots, was close at hand. He could even see the mocking smile in the old man's eyes.
"Now is the time!!"
Iskandar clamped his legs hard against the horse's belly. Using the final burst of momentum from his steed, he launched himself into the air from horseback.
He poured every last drop of his remaining magical energy into the shortsword in his hand.
This strike gathered his lifelong martial prowess and conviction.
"Take your—exit!!!"
Boom—!!!
The sword light fell, and the earth fractured.
The power of this strike was so immense that it even cleaved a rift several meters long into the waters of the Mion River. The river water flowed backward, kicking up a sky full of mist.
Amidst that water mist, the sound of flesh being torn apart echoed clearly.
Squelch!
Under this sword strike, Zouken Matou's hunched body was cleanly cleaved in half from the shoulder down without any suspense!
"He did it?!"
Waver abruptly stood up on the riverbank, the light of hope bursting from his eyes.
Iskandar landed, panting heavily. The shortsword in his hand shattered inch by inch, unable to withstand the explosive force from just now.
He looked at Zouken, who had been cut into two pieces, but there was not the slightest joy of victory on his face.
"...Was it still not enough?" he clicked his tongue in frustration.
"My, my... That was truly a close call, a close call indeed."
The two halves of the corpse, which should have been dead, suddenly spoke.
A spine-chilling scene unfolded.
Zouken's severed body did not bleed; instead, countless black bugs poured out.
The bugs quickly dispersed, then rapidly gathered and stacked together, reforming into the shape of Zouken Matou several meters away.
In his original spot, only a shriveled human skin and a pile of chopped-up insect corpses remained.
"Old man..." Iskandar's hand, gripping the hilt of his sword, trembled slightly. "Just what kind of monster are you?"
Zouken adjusted his collar, a teasing smile on his face. "Just a trivial price paid on the path to pursuing immortality."
"My true body hasn't been this bag of skin for a long time... That all-out strike of yours merely crushed a few bugs."
Despair.
Absolute, utter despair.
Facing such an unkillable enemy, now that his magical energy was depleted, Iskandar had no possibility of turning the tables.
His body began to feel heavy; he couldn't muster even a fraction of his strength.
His Saint Graph had already begun to collapse under the attacks of the Crest Worms. He would soon fade from this world.
"...I see."
Iskandar let out a long sigh and released the remaining hilt of his weapon.
He had lost.
Not in martial prowess or spirit, but in his lack of understanding of the bizarre methods of this world of magecraft.
He lost because, despite being a Heroic Spirit, he lacked the self-awareness of one, wasting his magical energy on others in vain.
But he had no regrets.
"Old man, I have lost."
Iskandar straightened his spine. Even in the face of death, he maintained the dignity of a king.
"Do with me what you will, but..."
He turned his head and looked at the frail boy in the distance, who had already burst into tears.
"Let that boy go."
"He is just a hopeless student. He has no ability to threaten you."
Zouken followed his gaze and glanced at Waver, a trace of disdain flashing in his cloudy eyes.
"Hehehe... Naturally. After all, this old man is no devil."
"Haha... Then you have my thanks." Iskandar smiled in relief.
He turned around and, with heavy steps, walked toward Waver step by step.
With every step he took, his body became a fraction more transparent, and golden particles of light continuously dissipated from him.
"Don't go... Iskandar..."
Waver stumbled over, wanting to grab him, but his hands passed right through Iskandar's body.
"Don't cry, boy. Just say goodbye like a man."
Iskandar reached out his large hand and rested it ethereally on top of Waver's head.
"Although I couldn't see the ocean at the end of the world during this expedition, it was still a rather pleasant dream."
"You must live on, Waver Velvet."
"Carry my path of conquest, carry the sights I have seen, and in my stead... go witness the vastness of this world."
"Waaah... I will remember!"
"Thank you! My King... Iskandar!" Waver knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Farewell, boy."
Accompanied by a final, hearty laugh, the towering figure of the King of Conquerors completely transformed into a sky full of golden light, dissipating into the night wind of the Mion River.
Rider, Iskandar, eliminated.