"Z, Zeke Draker and Duke Crevan are meeting? Why?"
The adjutant broke into a cold sweat as he replied to Carlito.
"I donʼt know the details either..."
Carlito waved him off, as if he understood.
Once the adjutant had left, Carus wore an "I-told-you-so" expression as he spoke to Carlito and Leo.
"I told you. Even Duke Crevan is getting cold feet."
Neither Leo nor Carlito could respond to Carusʼs words.
After a long silence, Leo spoke in a serious tone.
"Whatever the reason, we should go meet Duke Crevan ourselves first." At Leoʼs words, Carlitoʼs face grew tense.
"What if heʼs using Zeke Draker as an excuse to capture me or Consul Julius?" Carus clicked his tongue at that.
"Do you really think Duke Crevan would openly drive a spear into the acting consulʼs heart? Stop worrying so much and letʼs hurry."
Even after hearing Carus, Carlito couldnʼt hide his unease.
'Of all people, Duke Crevan. If Iʼd known this would happen, I should have built more rapport with him back then.ʼ
During the mad emperorʼs reign, when Carlito had been vice captain of the Celestial
Scorpion Palace Knight Order, he had tried to curry favor with various prominent figures.
But he had always been too intimidated by the stern and upright Duke Crevan to approach him.
It had been natural to avoid him back then, but now Carlito only regretted his past actions.
'Damn it. Looks like weʼll have to face him head-on no matter what.ʼ
Carlito stood from his seat and followed Leo and Carus out of the office to meet Duke Crevan. *
Daria Calvi, standing beside Duke Crevan, felt utterly awkward about the whole situation.
Upon arriving at the imperial palace, Duke Crevan had stated that he had come to test his skills against Zeke Draker.
As a result, Andrei, Aul, Klone, Farel, and other elite members of the Black Sword Knight Order had gathered in the reception room, facing Duke Crevan with tense expressions.
Daria and the Black Sword Knights were on edge as they watched the duke, but he remained utterly composed, calmly sipping his tea.
"Hmm."
Duke Crevan set down his teacup and looked up.
"What regionʼs leaves are these from?"
His question left Daria flustered, her eyes darting around.
"Th-that is..."
Daria, who knew little about tea, panicked and glanced toward the Black Sword Knights.
But they werenʼt particularly knowledgeable about tea either.
Felix, standing behind her, hesitated before whispering to Klone.
"Should I quickly go find out?"
Klone elbowed him hard in the ribs to shut him up.
At that moment—
"Those leaves were sent directly from the Ishtar Main Palace."
The door opened, and someone answered Duke Crevanʼs question.
It was none other than Zeke Draker, who made his entrance.
He sat across from Duke Crevan and spoke.
"Does the tea suit your taste?"
Zekeʼs words prompted Duke Crevan to nod slowly.
"The aroma is to my liking. Itʼs refined and subtle, yet it has a definite presence.
Quite intriguing."
Duke Crevan looked up at the young knight seated across from him.
'I can see why Daria spoke so highly of him.ʼ
When he had first heard of Zeke Draker, Crevan had suspected the Draker family was exaggerating his abilities to promote the title of Savior Knight.
As rumors of the Savior Knight continued to circulate, Duke Crevan had grown convinced of his suspicions.
But now, facing Zeke directly, Duke Crevan had no choice but to admit he had been wrong.
'Heʼs strong.ʼ
Not just strong in a simple sense, but unfathomably so—the depths were impossible to gauge.
Crevan couldnʼt even remember the last time he, one of the continentʼs strongest, had reserved judgment upon seeing an opponent.
Duke Crevan stared silently at Zeke.
This left not only Daria but the entire Black Sword Knight Order on edge, awaiting his reaction.
Zeke spoke first.
"Would you like another cup?"
At Zekeʼs offer, Duke Crevan nodded slowly.
He pulled out tea and utensils from his inventory and brewed more.
Crevan watched silently as Zeke brewed the tea with natural ease.
Zeke placed the freshly brewed cup before Duke Crevan.
The duke savored the aroma before sipping.
Zeke poured himself a cup as well and enjoyed the tea alongside the duke.
The two focused on their tea in silence for a long while.
When their cups were empty, Duke Crevan stood first, and Zeke followed suit.
Without a word, they headed toward the central garden in front of the imperial palace.
Daria and the Black Sword Knights, watching this, were left utterly bewildered.
Felix spoke up first.
"Sh-should we follow them?"
As if responding to his words, Daria and the Black Sword Knights snapped out of it and hurried toward the central garden where Zeke and Crevan had gone.
In the central garden, Zeke and Crevan faced each other empty-handed.
They simply stood there, still saying nothing.
Leo, Carus, and Carlito, arriving late to the garden, watched the silent standoff between Zeke and Crevan with tense expressions.
Carlito approached Daria and asked her.
"G-General, whatʼs going on here?"
At his question, Prince Leo shook his head gravely.
"Acting consul, itʼs best to stay quiet. It seems... a duel only Black Knights can comprehend is unfolding."
Carlito fell silent at Prince Leoʼs words.
Indeed, though Zeke and Crevan hadnʼt moved or spoken, an intense confrontation raged between them.
Both had reached the realm of the Black Knight and were gazing toward the Grandmaster level.
For them, direct attacks werenʼt the priority.
'Dominion over the domain.ʼ
What mattered was who could first claim the sphere of influence with their will.
Pachik!
A falling leaf caught between their domains disintegrated into dust and scattered.
It was proof of the fierce, invisible battle over their spheres.
At that moment, someone appeared among the Black Sword Knights.
"The Bright King himself. For such a heavyweight to come in person. Impressive." It was none other than Duke Draker.
After recovering his sealed memories through Zekeʼs power and his body, he had come from Heli to the Rom imperial palace.
Having regained his memories, Duke Draker was gradually overcoming his trauma as Zeke had anticipated, reclaiming the power of the Black Knight.
He spoke to Aul and Andrei.
"Open your eyes wide and fully attune your qi sense. Feel it with every fiber of your being. This is a place you must one day reach."
Aul and Andrei, following Duke Drakerʼs advice, heightened their qi sense to the maximum and watched Zeke and Duke Crevan.
Then, at some point, a rift began to form between Zeke and Duke Crevan.
Kugugugugu—
The marble tiles on the garden floor finally couldnʼt withstand their auras and cracked, bursting apart bit by bit.
Kwadududuk!
The shattered marble turned to powder, kicking up a stone wind that scattered.
Suddenly, a fierce gale enveloped Zeke and Duke Crevan.
"Urk!"
Those watching were forced to retreat from the sudden stone-laden wind.
Kwakwakwakwa!
Soon, a massive dust cloud swallowed Zeke and Duke Crevan, making it impossible to see inside from outside.
Kugugugugu—
Inside the dust cloud, Zeke and Duke Crevan had changed their stances from before.
Zeke held his hand blade raised before his chest, while Duke Crevan extended his right index finger toward Zeke.
Duke Crevan looked at Zeke and spoke.
"Thanks to you, youʼve surprised me several times today."
It was shocking enough that Zeke was a true Black Knight, but that he was on a similar level came as an even greater surprise.
Crevan truly hadnʼt imagined this.
'An opponent of this caliber... itʼs been since Sword King Bernas.ʼ Sword King Bernas.
Excluding the overlord Arthur Draker, he was the strongest knight who wielded a sword.
As Duke Crevan faced Zeke, he recalled his youth when he had clashed with Sword King Bernas.
It had been a pure era, pitting their martial prowess as knights and setting aside affiliations like the Rom Empire and the Draker family.
Facing Zeke now, Duke Crevan felt as if he had returned to that time.
Zeke slowly advanced toward Duke Crevan with his hand blade raised.
His domain moved with him.
Silent yet ferocious, like a beast baring its eyes to tear into a throat, Zekeʼs domain keenly sought any opening in Duke Crevanʼs defenses.
Thud!
Duke Crevan stepped forward once more, index finger extended.
Zeke saw him as an unyielding fortress, standing tall.
With each movement, Duke Crevanʼs finger followed, pointing at Zeke.
Before long, his finger had transformed into a spear.
The sharp spear tip tracked Zekeʼs motions, ready at any moment to pierce his heart.
In their standoff, Zeke broke the balance first.
Chwaaak!
Zeke unleashed the Gale Technique and charged toward Duke Crevan.
Whoooong!
He leaped into the air, aiming his hand blade—infused with the power of the Astral Sword —at the dukeʼs crown.
Duke Crevan, watching Zeke swing, felt as if a greatsword was crashing down on him.
Rooting his legs to the ground, he twisted only his waist and thrust his finger skyward.
Kugugugugu—
From his pointing finger, the form of a sharp spear extended toward Zeke.
The greatsword and the keen spear clashed in midair.
Kwachiiing!
Though formless, the clash of sword and spear rang out like metal on metal.
The intangible forms of the Astral Sword canceled each other out, sending waves rippling outward.
Kwadududuk!
The resulting gale intensified around them.
At this rate, the entire central garden of the imperial palace would be upended.
But neither had time to care.
Zeke rode the spreading waves and charged at Duke Crevan again.
This time, he infused qi into both hands and rushed forward.
The Infinite Linked Rings Technique, the foundation of the Infinite Sword Art, unfolded from Zekeʼs hands as taught by Sir Pab.
The rotational strikes of the Infinite Linked Rings poured forth, with the Astral Sword flying toward Duke Crevan from all directions.
Kwakwakwakwa!
Facing the storm-like barrage of rotational strikes, Duke Crevan extended his palm this time, forming a hand seal.
His entire arm transformed into a spear.
Duke Crevan swung his spear-arm widely, deflecting the rotational strikes aside.
Like the Chamber of Water Power in the Elemental Sword, he used deflection to divert Zekeʼs attack.
Whoooong!
After deflecting, Duke Crevan reversed the flow of qi, sending the attack back at Zeke with even greater force.
Kwakwakwakwa!
The strikes that had flown toward Duke Crevan now hurtled back at Zeke with amplified power.
Zeke, seeing the powerful sword strikes coming his way, charged straight into them.
"Haaah!"
Zeke extended his arm and swung his hand blade down at the strikes.
Jjeojeok!
What Zeke cleaved wasnʼt just the strikes.
He severed the very space they occupied.
It was a higher-dimensional attack that wedged the sword into the rift of space, slicing the dimension containing the strikes.
It was the technique Sword King Bernas had once demonstrated, now reproduced by Zeke.
Moreover, what Zeke cleaved wasnʼt limited to the space of the strikes.
The attack affected the space beyond, reaching Duke Crevan.
Jjeojeok—
The space around Duke Crevan was rent by Zekeʼs hand blade, and with the cracking space, Duke Crevan himself split apart.
But then—
Tzutzutzu—
Duke Crevanʼs form, split along with the space, vanished like a mirage.
Immediately after, he appeared right in front of Zeke.
It was a movement swift enough to evade Zekeʼs space-severing attack.
Duke Crevan, now before Zeke, clenched his hand seal tightly and took another step forward.
From his arm, a spear that pierced essence exploded forth.
Bright King Spear, True
Final Movement
Annihilating One-Flash