After I clashed swords with the Black Knight, we both got pushed away and stared at each other.

It also seemed like Leo and the others had taken care of things on their side.

So now was time for me to try out the plan that I had thought up on how to defeat the Black Knight… I raised my voice towards the monster, hidden within the darkness of a nearby building.

“Chimera!! GO!”

With its God Speed, Chimera dashed out and threw itself towards the Black Knight. I had summoned it way before the fight had started and had it wait in ambush until now, hoping it would be of help. However…

[Dimensional Slash!]

With just a single swing of his sword the Black Knight forced Chimera to turn into black smoke.

‘As expected, it doesn’t have its usual speed…’

It appeared that Chimera’s Unique Skill wouldn’t activate within the presence of the Black Knight.

Apart from Chimera I also had Phoenix standing in ambush as well, but now… I undid the summoning magic, forcing Phoenix to disappear.

After all its Unique Skill probably wouldn’t work as well. There was no point in just sending it to its death.

Having had my plan ruined, I once again stared at the Black Knight.

In the end I would have to be the one to bring him down. Both of us charged simultaneously, clashing swords once more.

[Dimensional Slash!]

“Dimensional Slash!”

The black grids clashed in mid-air, creating a shock wave that ran through the surrounding area.

‘We’re evenly matched… Even without Light Protection I’m still stronger and faster than him. But even so he’s still able to keep up with me. It’s not a matter of strength. Is it because of our experience?’

Before all of this I was only a normal citizen, while on the other hand I felt that the Black Knight was a professional when it came to fighting. Our swords danced through the air, performing ever changing moves, one after the other.

‘It seems like I really am no match for him when it comes to swordsmanship… But even so!’

Our blades clashed once more, letting out a grinding sound. Using this chance I covered my left leg with Aura and shot it towards the Black Knight’s stomach.

The Black Knight flew back and fell on his knees while holding his abdomen.

When it came to close quarter battles, I had three methods of fighting: swordsmanship, magic and martial arts. On the other hand the Black Knight only had two: swordsmanship and magic.

Even if he tried to use martial arts on me it probably wouldn’t work at all.

I finally realized where my strength lay. I charged forward once more in order to finish it. As I got close to the Black Knight, I raised my sword in order to slash down.

It was then that I suddenly felt a shiver run down my spine.

The Black Knight’s sword shone with light and a terrifying presence was released into the air. I kicked the ground with my left leg, somehow managing to stop myself in my tracks.The light around the Black Knight’s sword grew even stronger, forming a ray that shot towards heaven. That ray of light was undoubtedly aimed at me.

[RELEASE――Caletvwlch!!]

The light passed through my right hand that was holding my sword, severing it, and then continued further down burying itself in the ground.

“――rgh!!”

‘That was dangerous… If I had been even a second slower I would have been split in two.’

Not caring about my right hand I took the chance to push the Black Knight away. The moment my fist came into contact with his body, the Aura surrounding it exploded forth, making numerous cracks in the Black Knight’s armor.

While the Black Knight was being flung several tens of meters away I managed to use Healing Magic to restore the arm that I had lost just now… The power that he released just now, it was only for a brief instant however, it was power that rivalled that of Balmung.

‘If he had such a skill, why didn’t he use it up until now? He must have numerous opportunities to do so..’

The Black Knight stood up once more. However, this time it looked like he had suffered some damage…

Due to me having the Thief’s skill I was able to heal myself every time I damaged my opponents, however it didn’t seem like the Black Knight could even use Healing Magic.

It would become worse for him the longer this dragged on.

The Black Knight once again clenched his sword and charged at me. Having my right hand completely healed, I grabbed my sword that had fallen to the ground in the last exchange and raised it up in order to welcome him.

I stopped the Black Knight’s sword with mine. The clash of our blades created numerous sparks. I was so close to him that I could clearly see the front of his helmet, however due to the helmet covering his whole head, I couldn’t even get the slightest glimpse of his face.

There was also that sword of his… On top of boasting a tremendous hardness it also had unbelievable sharpness. It was a sword that was as good or maybe even better than Leo’s Durandal.

Using Aura I was somehow able to make the Dragon Embers’ Sword hold up until now, however it wouldn’t last very long.

If we continued these exchanges it would shatter eventually… I pulled back my sword and raised my left leg in order to kick the Black Knight in the head. However, he saw my attack and blocked it with his hand.

And on top of everything else, there was also his armor. The armor which wouldn’t break no matter how many times I hit.

‘Its defense is really mind-boggling…’

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Gojo and the Black Knight continued their exchange at tremendous speeds.

“Leo! Shouldn’t we go and help him!?” said Freya with a worried expression…

“We cannot possibly keep up with them. If we go in we’ll at most be a hindrance to Gojo.”

Gojo has already lost to the Black Knight once. I didn’t think that there would be a second time, however I understood why Freya was feeling the way she was. Looking around the kids I could see that they were all watching Gojo fight with a serious look in their eyes.

‘It seems like there’s not the slightest doubt in their minds that Gojo will lose… I should try to be a bit more like them and just trust him as well.’

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Every time I clashed swords with the Black Knight I could feel that I was slowly beginning to close the gap between our swordsmanship. I suppose that I was getting better due to Imitation’s effect.

During our usual clash I managed to see a slight gap with the help of Assassination.Without missing the chance I spun around and hit the Black Knight’s helmet with the back of fist. I couldn’t see his face, however every time I hit his head he would puke out blood.

After the hit the Black Knight’s legs shook, but even despite that he still swung his sword at me. However, his sword lacked its previous strength.

“Black Knight… It’s time to finish this!”

I gathered Aura, Lightning and Fire within my sword. The three combined into one, creating a golden fire that enveloped the sword.

Without backing down the Black Knight clenched his sword, and a spectacular light covered the whole blade.

We both took a single step forward and let off our most powerful attacks.

“Combination Magic: ――Lævateinn!!!――”

[――Caletvwlch――!!!]

The swords clashed. The impact of the clash forced the ground beneath us to open up.

Without being able to hold up to the pressure my Dragon Embers’ Sword shattered into pieces. While at the same time the Black Knight’s sword was thrown off into the distance.

I immediately dashed forward, charging towards the Black Knight.

“Without your sword it’s all over!”

I buried my left fist deep into the Black Knight’s solar plexus. His body bent in two and he spit out an enormous amount of blood.

Without falling back I stepped forward once more, grabbing the Black Knight’s hands and at the same time raising my right leg to kick him. My leg collided with his jaw, sending the Black Knight flying into the air.

Following him, I jumped up, put my hands together into a hammer and slammed them down onto the Black Knight’s chest, sending down towards the ground once more. Even after crashing the Black Knight once again struggled to get up.

Without allowing him that chance I once again got closer to him. Just as I got close the Black Knight pulled out a short sword from his hip.

‘…He still had weapons.’

However, it was too late to stop now.

Dodging my fist, he thrust the short sword into my arm. The sword buried itself into my arm and blood flowed out.

However, without batting it an eye I tried pulling out my left hand, however the Black Knight wouldn’t let go of the sword. Seeing that my first plan had failed I clenched my right fist and shot it towards the Black Knight’s face.

After being hit, the Black Knight let go of the short sword and fell to the ground.

I pulled out the short sword stuck in my left arm, and threw it to the side. Following which I began walking towards the collapsed Black Knight.

Looking at him, it seemed like he was once more trying to get up.

I kicked the ground and in an instant I was right in front of him. He tried to fool me with Fire Magic and kick me afterwards, however those simple tricks would work on me at all.

I woke up the Aura sleeping within my body. Aura began flowing through all of my limbs, and my whole body burst out with power.

I threw out a fist which destroyed a part of the Black Knight’s helmet and it even looked like his head was about to detach from his neck.

Immediately after that I began a bombardment of fist strikes which landed on various parts of the Black Knight’s body, shattering his armor.

With a final fist to his helmet, one more part of it was destroyed and I was able to get a glimpse of a part of the Black Knight’s face.

Following that I grabbed his arm and with a judo throw I slammed him into the ground. Upon impact the Black Knight once again puked out a mouthful of blood and stopped moving.

I gathered all of my Aura around my right fist.

I was planning on finishing this. Just before my fist collided, activated allowing me to get a peak at the Black Knight’s thoughts.

[…Thank…you…]

My fist hit his abdomen, sending a shock that even split the ground beneath us.

After the attack the Black Knight didn’t move any more. A curtain of dust rose, and silence covered the surrounding area.

“It’s over…”