Chapter  87

Duel

One thing that was truly impressive was the sight that caught Aiden’s eye the moment he entered the Central Spire.

Something he never would have expected was sitting there.

‘…A rocket?’

Aiden let out a hollow laugh as he stared at the object occupying the entire center of the spire.

No matter how you looked at it, it was shaped like a missile equipped with a propulsion system. Judging by its size, they had definitely hollowed out the entire building and remodeled it.

Preparations of this scale weren’t done in a day or two. This must have been in the works for quite a while.

While the prince lay smashed into the wall, kicking up dust, Aiden's eyes locked on the dead center of the rocket.

Something that looked like a chunk of pitch-black dirt sat inside. That’s how it appeared, at least on the surface.

But the moment he saw it—

-Item Info

[Ą̷̦̘͉̹͓̝́̾͂͂̂͂̅͡͝ø̵̧̡̜̲̗̳̟̀̒̽̊͆̃͒̎̚͟͟ͅ Fragment] [???]

[ ̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Ą̷̦̘͉̹͓̝́̾͂͂̂͂̅͡͝ø̵̧̡̜̲̗̳̟̀̒̽̊͆̃͒̎̚͟͟ͅ Ç̳͈̟̯̻̾̿̔͆̃̋́͌͘̕Ḁ̷͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻́͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·… (glitched text continues)]

“……”

…Just looking at it made his brain feel like it was frying.

It felt like his optic nerves were burning. As if someone had poured tar into his veins—an unbearable sensation crackled through every nerve in his body.

There was only one item Aiden could think of that could cause this feeling.

“Hey.”

And if they had actually prepared something like that, even calling them ‘Your Highness’ was far too generous. Aiden spoke with a wry chuckle.

“Isn’t that a fragment of the Demon God?”

“……”

The prince, coughing as he climbed down from the wall, nodded silently.

Watching him, Aiden ran a hand through his hair in disbelief.

A fragment of Wornil, the God of Devouring, sealed and vanished in the Celestial Pantheon.

If something like that had been strapped to a rocket, it became immediately clear why they didn’t care at all about the people inside the Capital.

“If you launch that into the air and scatter it, the entire area would turn into a Void Zone.”

“……”

“It’ll become a place where no one but demonkind or beasts can survive. Are you doing this knowingly?”

It was no different than declaring they were going to kill every single person in the Capital.

Even after that question—

Only silence returned as a response.

Then the prince silently stepped out from the wall and drew the sword from his waist.

A quick glance revealed he wasn’t seriously injured.

Previously, Aiden had crushed Young Lord Damian with a single punch, but this guy—he clearly had far superior martial prowess.

‘Not as strong as Noel or Katya, but…’

He was absolutely not someone Aiden could handle under normal circumstances.

—Normally, that is.

Aiden let out a deep sigh and raised his fist. The prince's expression contorted at the sight.

“…What are you trying to do?”

You're probably wondering why I haven’t drawn a weapon.

But I never needed a sword or a gun to begin with.

No—in fact, I shouldn’t use one.

That would end things way too fast.

“You grew up real sheltered, didn’t you?”

It was only natural. He was royalty. Raised in a position where everyone coddled him.

Which meant—

“You probably didn’t have anyone around to hit you when you messed up, huh?”

“……”

“Never been beaten until you confessed you were wrong without even realizing it?”

“……”

Aiden drew up his Aether.

The liquid metal, moving according to his will, wrapped around both his hands. As the Aether solidified into gauntlets, Aiden clashed his fists together and stared at the prince with a blank expression.

“Let’s fix that today.”

Whatever else might be said—

Judging by his actions, he needed a good, long beating.

▣

The emotion the prince felt whenever he looked at Aiden Kellermain was, almost always, the same.

He was truly a baffling human being.

That impression had hit him from their very first clash, and it had stuck ever since.

For example, something like this—

-!

The prince quickly pulled back his sword as it clashed against the gauntlets, made from some unidentified material, with a burst of sparks.

“……”

A sword forged in one of the continent’s finest forges was already getting shredded in the brief exchange.

He was considered one of the Empire’s top three when it came to the art of weapon handling via supernatural ability.

And yet, every time that man’s gauntlets—still devoid of any supernatural enhancement—collided with his weapon, the damage piled up.

As if the difference in quality between their gear was overwhelming.

‘…In such a short time.’

Up until recently, there had been no record of him wielding such equipment.

Which meant he’d obtained it within just the past few days.

This man had a ridiculous ability to walk the most efficient path to solving a problem in the shortest time possible.

You might call him the embodiment of efficiency.

‘…However!’

Even so, there were still walls of innate talent that couldn’t be overcome.

—Five Forms, Gate Open.

When it came to the gift of shaping Qi into actual weapons, the prince was among the finest on the continent.

He molded his Qi into five different weapons and launched them along five separate trajectories.

It was a feat that required thinking five different thoughts at once, yet he pulled it off effortlessly—living proof of his prodigious genius.

“-!”

Sure enough, Aiden’s expression twisted the moment he received the attack. He released the Aether from his fists and shaped it into a barrier. With Qi and Mana Arts interwoven into a shield of brilliant radiance, he barely managed to deflect it.

However, before he could even catch his breath, the attacks kept coming. It felt like the prince had anticipated his defense and laid out two, three more moves in advance.

‘…You’ve got to be kidding me.’

Aiden scowled as he somehow managed to block them.

Even with “Analysis,” Meyer’s skill, running in real-time to provide combat corrections, and despite his recent leaps in mastery of Combat Forms, the difference in pure combat technique was night and day.

Aiden had the advantage in supernatural ability. His gear was superior, too. And yet—

The prince overcame all of those deficits with nothing but innate talent. With his natural “eyes,” he seized every second, every flow of battle, as his own.

And the pressure didn’t let up. The uniquely shaped Qi, carved in bizarre and intricate forms, continued pouring toward Aiden without pause.

His defenses were breached. Wounds piled up across his body. It didn’t take long before Aiden was covered in blood.

“……”

But despite being the one applying all that pressure, the prince’s eyes were deeply subdued.

‘This man—’

He was a bundle of unpredictability.

No one could ever guess what he’d pull next. That’s why, now that he had the upper hand, he had to press the advantage hard and finish it decisively.

‘A clean finish is the answer.’

Having reached that conclusion, the prince gripped his sword again.

He’d just keep wearing him down, stacking wounds, and then land a clean critical hit to end it—

“…Huh.”

—Or so he thought.

But the moment their eyes met—Aiden’s, now soaked in blood—an icy chill crept down the prince’s spine.

“This is a problem.”

“Are you considering a surrender, Mr. Aiden?”

“No, just… feels like I may have over-prepared for this.”

“…Excuse me?”

The prince asked again in disbelief, but Aiden was being completely sincere.

After all, hadn’t he prepared meticulously up to now? No one knew how warped the original storyline’s difficulty might get, so he’d brought everything he possibly could.

And yet—

Honestly speaking, the prince’s level right now was surprisingly impressive.

It’s just that, compared to what he had brought to the table…

-System Message-

▶ Activating skill: Primal Power.

▶ Activating skill: Beastification.

▶ Activating skill: The Purifier.

▶ Activating skill: Guardian’s Flame.

▶ Activating skill: Brilliant Radiance.

▶ Supernatural power imbued in [Equipment: Aether]. Weapon power increased.

▶ Supernatural power enhanced by [Equipment: Aether]'s effect.

▶ Supernatural power released by [Equipment: Aether] further amplified—

…It wasn’t just bringing a butcher’s knife to a chicken fight.

It was more like rolling in with a cannon.

▣

“Just one favor.”

His opponent responded in a calm tone. He clenched and unclenched his fists, his face tightening slightly.

He moved like someone unfamiliar with his own body, as if he had never once drawn out his full power before.

“Try not to die right away. I’ve got a lot of questions for you.”

And at that moment, the prince instinctively realized something.

This man—he had changed.

Compared to a moment ago, the pressure Aiden exuded made him feel like a completely different person. It was as though he hadn’t even been using half his strength until now.

‘…Impossible.’

That kind of power alone had already been enough to fight him on equal footing. It made no sense. It had to be just his imagination—

“Alright then.”

“……!”

The prince’s eyes widened as Aiden appeared before him in an instant. He hadn’t even seen him move…!

Then, with a casual motion, Aiden’s fist tapped lightly against the prince’s jaw.

If anything, it barely looked like a punch. A half-hearted swing, lacking all intent.

And yet—

“……!”

The prince didn’t even have time to gasp as his overlapping layers of defensive energy shattered like paper. He stumbled backward, gasping for breath as the air was ripped from his lungs.

The concussion made it hard to stay upright—but another attack was already coming.

Another half-hearted kick. He could almost feel that his opponent was deliberately holding back.

However—

“Guh—!”

A sickening crack rang out—too brutal to be the sound of flesh meeting flesh. The prince’s body was flung away like a rag doll. As he rolled across the floor, a long smear of blood trailed after him.

Even with such a ridiculous motion, every protective blessing was smashed through again, and his ribs shattered. The broken bones pierced his lungs, mixing blood into every breath.

‘…What the…!’

Even while coughing up dark blood, the prince’s instincts as a warrior remained sharp. He immediately activated his abilities—forcing his bones back into place, realigning his twisted organs, and numbing the pain enough to move again. Vital energy began to circulate through his body.

Then, he condensed every ability he had into a single, unified form.

Hundreds of swirling, razor-sharp blades of energy burst forth, all tearing through the air toward Aiden.

It was an attack Aiden himself had used before—one that pierced all defenses, a true nightmare to block.

At least, that’s what he thought—

—until Aiden charged straight through it with nothing but his bare body.

With “Beastification” and “Primal Power” active, Aiden was carrying the physical specs of a top-tier beast. Against defenses capable of shrugging off Katya’s divine power head-on, this kind of attack barely even itched.

“What in the world are you—!”

The prince shouted, his voice cracking in disbelief at how casually Aiden stood before him—but before he could finish the sentence, another fist slammed into his jaw.

Once again, all his defenses were obliterated. His vision blurred as consciousness began to slip away.

“Guh…!”

More attacks followed in midair.

A strike to the gut—his body bent like a broken hinge. A knee slammed into his face as he folded over. Then, a straight punch crashed down like a hammer onto his recoiling head.

“Ka—ghh…!”

All he could do was scream in agony, taking every hit helplessly.

He couldn’t respond. He couldn’t even react.

He had diverted all his power to regeneration, allowing him to heal even from lethal injuries—but the damage was coming faster than he could recover.

Even though Aiden’s attacks looked casual, almost lazy, the difference in power was overwhelming.

“Let me repeat myself.”

With the staggering prince before him, Aiden cracked his neck and spoke.

“Try not to die right away. I’ve got a lot to ask.”

-!

-!!

Then—

His fist crashed into the prince’s jaw once again, splitting it open.