The Sultan herself, who had stepped forward for the third trial, sat atop the golden nine-tailed fox with a dignified expression as she looked down at Zeke.
At her feet, the black lion and white tiger glared at Zeke with sharp eyes.
Though they had once shown affection toward Zeke as fellow spirit beasts, they radiated fierce hostility in accordance with their master's will.
Zeke addressed Serazade, who had entered the duel accompanied by her three spirit beasts.
"Will it truly be all right for me to swing my sword at Your Majesty?"
"Are you afraid that I might end up struck down and killed by your blade? If you can defeat me, I shall yield the throne of this empire to you." Her voice brimmed with overweening confidence.
The golden nine-tailed fox landed on the ground, and Serazade slid down its tail to the arena floor.
She looked at Saladin, who still gripped his greatsword, and said,
"Duke of Butchery, I have seen your loyalty well. You have paid for your sins sufficiently, so how about returning to your position as commander?"
Even at Serazade's words of pardon, Saladin remained silent, head bowed.
Serazade gazed at him quietly for a moment before speaking.
"How shall I break that stubbornness of yours? Very well, withdraw for now. And keep your eyes wide open to watch this duel between me and that knight." At Serazade's command, Saladin left the arena.
He set his greatsword on the ground and knelt, staring intently at the proceedings.
His posture was the very picture of a resolute soldier.
Of course, the nobles seated near Saladin were breaking out in cold sweats and trembling, but Serazade paid them no mind.
Instead of the nobles, she surveyed the damaged arena floor, then shook her head.
"Hmm, this won't do for a proper match."
With those words, she extended her hand, and the bracelet on her wrist emitted a brilliant light.
To everyone's astonishment, the broken sections of the arena floor mended themselves, restoring it to its original state.
Zeke realized that the bracelet on Serazade's wrist was a powerful artifact with a sealed magical spirit.
'If all those ornaments were artifacts containing magical spirits...'
Assuming each artifact held a different magical spirit with unique abilities, it meant Serazade could wield a variety of powers comparable to Zeke's skills.
'And with the strength of her spirit beasts on top of that, this wouldn't be easy.'
In the central continent, knights were ranked by color and mages by circle to gauge their prowess, but the warriors of the eastern continent possessed abilities outside those metrics, making it hard to predict the scope and intensity of their attacks.
As Zeke stood motionless with his sword drawn, Serazade smiled and said,
"You cannot form the oath of sincerity without defeating me."
At her provocative words, as if urging him to attack, Zeke shifted his stance. As she had said, to forge the oath of sincerity, he had to fulfill the condition.
Adopting the rider form of the dragon slaying technique, he stepped forward and unleashed a half moon slash.
Whoosh—
The half-moon-shaped aura blade shot from Zeke's sword toward Serazade.
Seeing this, Serazade wore a bored expression.
"Kaplan."
At her command, the white tiger bared its fangs and charged ahead.
Raaargh!
A fierce wind erupted from the white tiger's body, enveloping Zeke's half moon aura blade completely.
Then, with its sharp claws and fangs, it tore the aura blade to shreds. Grrr—
This was possible only because it was no ordinary tiger, but a spirit beast.
Serazade looked at Zeke and said,
"Probing attacks hold no meaning against me. I want to see your true strength." Zeke nodded, gripping his sword tighter at her words. "Understood, Your Majesty. Then I'll come at you for real."
His stance changed.
He raised one hand toward the white tiger.
Crackle—
In an instant, lightning hell unfolded, and the linked spell engulfed the white tiger.
Grrr!
Startled by the sudden magic, the white tiger recoiled.
Zeke seized the opening and activated gale technique to dash forward.
He leaped onto the white tiger's back and charged toward Serazade behind it.
"Kara!"
At Serazade's shout, the waiting black lion lunged at Zeke.
Rooaaar!
The black lion roared, spewing fierce flames from its maw.
Fwoosh!
Zeke raised Laevatein to block the black lion's flames.
Sizzle—
Surprisingly, Laevatein absorbed the black lion's flames into its blade.
Soon, with all the flames absorbed, Laevatein's blade shimmered, and white flame erupted.
Boom boom boom!
The white flame bursting from the sword wrapped around the black lion.
Raaargh!
black lion countered the returning flames by spewing black flame once more.
Zeke bypassed the black lion and rushed toward Serazade atop the golden ninetailed fox.
Even as she watched Zeke approach, Serazade maintained her composed expression.
But then, Zeke leaped into the air and shouted,
"Bucephalus!"
The king of draconic horses, Bucephalus, was summoned into the sky and bore Zeke on its back.
The nobles of the Murk Empire, seeing Bucephalus, reacted with surprise and murmurs.
"That's a spirit beast I've never seen before."
"It doesn't look ordinary. As expected of a guide of the divine beast."
Serazade, too, realized that the Bucephalus Zeke had summoned was no ordinary spirit beast, and her expression shifted.
"Tilki, take to the air."
At Serazade's order, the golden nine-tailed fox flew up to meet Bucephalus.
And at that moment, electricity crackled from Bucephalus's two horns.
Zeke pointed at Serazade atop the golden nine-tailed fox and shouted,
"Bucephalus! Now!" Crackle crackle!
The lightning from Bucephalus's horns surged toward Serazade and the golden ninetailed fox.
ascending golden nine-tailed fox puffed up its nine tails, wrapping them around itself
and Serazade in a defensive barrier.
Crackle—
Bucephalus's lightning failed to pierce the tail-formed shield and dissipated.
Then, through the gaps in the tails, Serazade extended her arm.
One of the rings on her finger emitted a brilliant glow.
Whoosh—
Orange smoke flowed from the ring, coalescing into a muscular spirit with orange skin.
Clad in ancient eastern warrior garb, the spirit wielded a massive club studded with iron spikes.
"Attack that knight."
At Serazade's command, the spirit flew toward Zeke, club raised.
The iron-spiked club, laden with immense power, hurtled toward Zeke's head.
Whoosh—
Zeke swiftly donned the Hercion of the Goddess Theia.
With all seals unlocked through authentication, the Hercion—linked to the system— detected the incoming external attack and automatically activated a defensive spell.
Hummm—
A plasma barrier, boasting defensive power far surpassing shield magic, unfolded before Zeke, clashing with the spirit's club.
Crackle!
barrier repelled the spirit's attack, countering with a plasma wave.
Urgh!
Exposed to the plasma wave, the spirit cried out in agony, unable to maintain form, and scattered back into orange smoke.
Serazade's expression turned intrigued as Zeke not only blocked the spirit's assault but dispelled the summon with a counterattack.
'So he wasn't just some knight swinging a sword blindly.'
In her view, the knights of the central continent were strong but rigid and lacking flexibility.
Stubborn types who insisted on aura training methods despite access to magicinfused artifacts.
Yet they were undeniably powerful.
Blue knights could be matched by eastern warriors, but once they reached red or black rank, the situation changed.
Monstrous transcendents who wielded power far beyond magical spirits with just a single sword.
The invasion war had ended in the Murk Empire's defeat due partly to noble commanders' errors, but largely because of the red knights who struck at vulnerabilities and, above all, the black knights who were beyond what magical spirit artifacts could handle.
After the invasion, Serazade had grown intrigued by the central continent's knights, especially the black knights with their transcendent might.
She had even established a research lab in the imperial palace to study aura training methods and provided support for that reason.
But no amount of research could unravel the secret of the black knights' transcendent strength.
It was a method entirely different from the eastern technique of enhancing abilities with magical spirit artifacts.
Serazade sought to experience the black knight's power firsthand through Zeke, who faced her, and discern the difference.
She looked at Zeke and said,
"Guide of the divine beast, show me more of your strength." With those words, Serazade's eyes turned golden.
Humm!
At the same time, golden energy flowed from the golden nine-tailed fox's body, enveloping Serazade.
As she raised both hands, the golden energy concentrated on the bracelets adorning her arms.
Sizzle—
An ominous aura emanated from the bracelets.
At that moment, Hades, watching from the VIP seats, jolted in surprise and shot to his feet.
"This aura is...?"
Zeke, too, felt the energy from Serazade's bracelets and his eyes widened.
'This was dragon aura?'
Though slightly different from the dragon aura he knew, its essence was the same.
Serazade's eyes began to change.
And soon, they had transformed into dragon eyes gleaming with golden light. Crunch—
Not only her eyes but her skin began to sprout scales like a dragon's.
Zeke watched in disbelief as Serazade shifted into dragonkin form.
'Was it possible to become dragonkin without a contract with a dragon?'
Dazed for a moment, he was caught off guard as Serazade raised her sharp claws and slashed at him.
Slash—
The dragon's claw flew toward Zeke, seizing the opening.
Zeke raised Laevatein to block the dragon's claw from Serazade.
Clang!
Though the dragon's claw was halted by Laevatein, its force was so immense that the shockwave pierced through the Hercion.
'Ugh.'
He hadn't realized it when using dragon race skills himself, but facing it directly proved quite tricky.
Serazade, in dragonkin form, looked at Zeke and said,
"How does it feel, heir of the dragon slayer? The dragon your ancestors loathed is here." Zeke dismounted Bucephalus and hovered in the air, sword aimed at Serazade.
He admitted to himself that he had underestimated the Sultan's prowess.
And in that instant, Zeke's presence shifted dramatically.
Humm—
As he unleashed the rank of the black knight and invoked astral sword.
Rumble—
A completely different aura swept through not just the arena but the entire banquet hall.
Serazade smiled in satisfaction as Zeke's aura pierced the dragon scales covering her skin.
'Yes, this was it. Transcendent strength beyond human limits. This was what had intrigued me.'
Serazade amplified the dragon aura even further.
Crunch—
Her hands fully transformed into those of a dragon, with claws protruding even sharper.
Zeke sensed the spiritual power concentrating in Serazade's body and charged forward, sword raised.
At the same time, Serazade shot toward Zeke like a spring.
Boom boom boom!
Zeke's astral sword clashed with Serazade's dragon's claw, unleashing a powerful shockwave.
Boom boom boom boom!
The collision of these transcendents beyond human limits produced a massive explosion.
Rumble—
The shockwave centered on Zeke and Serazade in midair spread across the entire banquet hall.
"Urk!"
The spectator stands of the nobles watching the duel shattered under the shockwave, and the people were flung back like leaves in a storm.
Humm—
The VIP seats escaped the shockwave's reach thanks to the barrier Hades had erected.
Yellin, witnessing the clash between Zeke and Serazade, gaped in shock. Regaining her composure, she turned to Hades, who maintained the barrier, and said,
"Lord Hades... Is Sir Zeke truly human?"
At Yellin's words, Hades shook his head.
"I'm not sure anymore myself. Zeke's always been like that, so I can accept it, but the Sultan's power is truly astonishing. To draw forth dragon power by borrowing the strength of spirit beasts. Is this part of a bloodline ability? Hmm, a perfect subject for study."
Rumble—
As Hades spoke, the shockwave subsided, revealing the arena once more.
The two airborne figures had landed in the arena, facing each other.
Zeke with Laevatein drawn, and Serazade returned to human form.
She suddenly shook her head and stepped toward Zeke.
"This won't do."
Serazade looked at Zeke and said,
"Sir Zeke Draker, I propose marriage to you once more." Her eyes burned with intense desire.
"It seems I've fallen for you after all."