King Arthur widened his stance, grasping his sword with both hands. His blond hair billowed beneath the falling rain. Even in this environment, he seemed completely untouched, a holy golden aura keeping him completely dry.
Leonel charged forward, his black spear resonating with the clapping thunder. His every step was entirely enveloped by a golden light, accelerating his speed several times over. At the same time, Bronze Runes etched themselves across his body, drawing a crown on his forehead and hovering a halo above his head.
Raging violet lights emitted from his body, directly suppressing Arthur's kingly might. It felt as though this was the true arrival of a King. A man who could hold his head even higher than the legendary King Arthur.
Such a feeling made the rage in Arthur's heart deepen.
This brat? Above him? It seemed that since his sword hadn't tasted blood in so long, his legend had been forgotten.
At that moment, spear and sword met.
The clash caused a violent wind to spread out with them as the center. Sword Force sliced the wind apart to one side and Spear Force billowed into the sky from the other.
The land around Leonel and Arthur shook and quaked, their gazes meeting across their weapons.
Leonel could see the unconcealed rage within Arthur's eyes.
Arthur could see the cold indifference in Leonel's.
At that moment, the completely forgot and were uncaring about Coyote. It seemed that the actions of the zombie Demon Lord was meaningless.
The five remaining Knights of the Round Table including Gawain watched on, hands on their weapons. There were certain battles they knew they shouldn't interfere in.
In the past, these battles were the ones Arthur fought to build his legend. And now, they felt that this battle was no less important.
Somewhere a long distance away, Queen Guinevere stepped out onto a terrace, looking up toward the rumbling skies. A deep sadness and complexity reflected within her eyes. Somehow, she felt that this battle would be important as well even without being present.
It wasn't a matter of winning or losing. It was deeper than that.
Leonel and Arthur separated, their weapons vibrating wildly.
Arthur's aura surged, Force climbing around his body to impossible heights. It had been too long since the King of Camelot had gone all out. Many had forgotten just how powerful he had once been, it seemed impossible that a child of not even 20 years old could face him.
But, the Leonel of now wasn't the Leonel of the past.
After receiving so many rewards, his Force had been crystallized to an elite degree. Even the Lamorak of the past couldn't match him and he was even faintly approaching Arthur's level.
If he could already hold his own to a certain extent before… What about now?
"[Holy Judgment]!"
"[Holy Judgment]."
Not caring for the thoughts of others, Leonel immediately cast the very same spell Arthur had. Today, he would prove a point. This arrogant King… He needed to learn that he couldn't be arrogant just before anyone.
Brilliant swords formed in the skies, however Leonel's formed several times faster. Before Arthur's spell was even complete, Leonel's golden swords had descended, shattering their Arts to nothing.
"[Saintly Light]!"
"[Saintly Light]." Leonel responded coldly.
A pillar of light descended toward Arthur before his spell completed, forcing him to dodge out of the way and cancel his own cast.
The ground shook and groaned, leaving a pit in the spot he had just once been.
"[Sacrificial Cross]!"
Arthur raised his sword, a blinding light forming at its tip. However, just when he was about to slash downward, a cold voice floated to his ears, tearing at his eardrums.
"[Sacrificial Cross]."
Leonel's spear slashed downward with a powerful momentum then across with an arrogant burst.
A cross of blinding golden light shot forward, tearing toward King Arthur. The King brandished his sword, hurriedly blocking, but he couldn't stop himself from sliding backward tens of meters, the web of his fingers tearing apart.
Leonel brandished his spear, taking a step forward. His hair billowed, seemingly untouched by the heavy rain. His halo hung above his head and his piercing violet eyes peered toward Arthur as though to question him.
Is this the product of your arrogance? Is this what you were so proud of?
"[Light Domain]!"
"[Light Domain]."
A sphere of light appeared before Leonel, quickly expanding until it became a dome that shrouded over 20 meters. It completely crushed Arthur's own spell, shattering his sphere before it even expanded outside of his body.
Leonel held his spear in his right, raising his left.
He pointed a finger forward, causing beams of light to form all around him under the influence of [Light Domain]. In this world of darkness, he seemed like the only source of light, willing the Light Element to manifest itself to his beck and call.
Arthur's gaze had turned a furious shade of red. It seemed as though his pupils might drip with blood at any moment. As he brandished his sword, blocking Leonel's furious assault of light, he felt as though something deep within his chest was being chipped away at.
He knew he wasn't this weak. Leonel knew he wasn't this weak either. But, his pride wouldn't let him stop casting spells. His pride wouldn't allow him to accept that Leonel was his better in this aspect.
No matter what spell he cast, Leonel could do it faster and form it with greater strength.
Leonel's barrage became faster and faster. Beneath the effect of Light Domain, it was as though a tiger had grown wings. His Light Elemental Arts formed even faster than they had before. He felt as though he could take control of the whole world.
'Domain…'
This was the feeling of a Domain. An absolute control. An undeniable Sovereignty.
The spear within Leonel's hand began to shake and rattle wildly. It felt as though it wanted to break free and soar into the skies, looking over all from above.
A certain enlightenment shook Leonel's heart. For the first time, he felt the call of the spear in his hands.
At that very moment, Coyote had appeared before the Legendary Skill Art, his rotting lips curled into a smirk.
What no one expected was for the situation to change once again the instant Coyote grasped the Legendary Skill in his hands.
The sound of shattering glass resounded once more, but this was several times louder than when the treasures appeared. It was as though a massive glass statue had fallen from the skies and crashed onto the ground below.
Within any explanation, Leonel felt a surging sense of crisis. The primitive man's instincts had already sunk deep into his bones. After being stacked with several other primitive consciousnesses, his instincts had already reached another level, helping his battle sense greatly. In fact, if it wasn't for this, maybe his Dreamscape Battle Sense wouldn't have manifested so easily or so quickly.
Without hesitation, he ducked down. As though sensing the same thing, Arthur did the same.
Those who were lucky followed the crowd even if they didn't sense it themselves. However, those who were unlucky found themselves riddled with holes from an attack they couldn't even see with their own two eyes.
Leonel watched as several elites fell, dead, not daring to get up on his own just yet. Even three of the Knights of the Round Table fell beneath this inexplicable barrage.
At that moment, Leonel's Dreamscape flashed with a violent arc of lightning centering around a particular book… 'The Legend of Affinities: The Epic of Magi'.
According to the book, there were two affinities that were rarer than the Light Element, two affinities that had only appeared within the Legendary Magus of an Era… Merlin.
The Time and Space Affinity.
That attack, that was most definitely a spatial ripple. However, it wasn't caused by a person. It was caused by the appearance of something.
Leonel craned his neck from the ground, looking back toward the massive sinkhole he had distanced himself from originally.
When he set his senses forward, a massive Force Art reflected in his mind. It was so large and unfathomable that he felt his mind swim just after glancing at it for but a moment.
However, what was more surprising was that it reminded him of something he had forgotten about.
Memories flashed within Leonel's mind. He finally remembered.
His Healing Branch… He had already awakened it. And the Fourth Dimensional Art hanging within his Dream World… It was the reason he had been able to. Not only was it the reason, but it was eerily similar to the Force Art before him now.
Leonel's heart palpitated. He knew for a fact that this Force Art was the core that made up Merlin's trial grounds.
All this time, the Fourth Dimensional Art within Leonel's world was at 99% complete, but no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to get over the edge and reach 100%. Yet, simply glimpsing at that 99% complete Art in a dazed state was enough for him to instantly comprehend his Healing Branch. Just what kind of affect would it have on other things? Just what kind of affect would it have at 100%?!
1% might sound like a small distance away, but Leonel knew that this final percent was more difficult to complete than even the first 99% as a whole. If he managed to finish it, the effect wouldn't be as small as double or even triple, it might even be tens of folds!
Leonel realized in that instant that the most valuable thing here wasn't the Legendary Treasures or even the Legendary Skills. It was the Force Art right before him.
However, Leonel didn't seem to be the only one who realized this.. The moment this Art appeared, the eyes of Pope Margrave and the dual sword wielding Peirce -- who had both maintained a low profile to this point -- lit up.