The Player's POV

"I… lost?"

Dix, lying on the ground, muttered like a soulless person.

He couldn't believe what had just happened.

Meanwhile, Veyra was jumping up and down, immersed in the joy of defeating Dix for the first time.

"Yay! I won! I won! Finally, after 456 battles, I won!"

That meant Dix had won 455 battles against Veyra.

But, he still couldn't accept this result.

1 loss?

That was unacceptable!

But in fact, Dix felt more confused than unwilling.

He wanted to know why he lost.

So, Dix asked:

"Hey Veyra, how did you win?"

Veyra stopped her celebratory movements and turned towards Dix, nonetheless, she still couldn't stop smiling with satisfaction.

"Absolute power. Have you ever heard of that?"

"Absolute power? I've heard of it, but I'm not very interested in it."

He shook his head.

"What? Are you kidding me!?"

Veyra's mouth dropped open, unable to hide her surprise and shock.

"Dix, do you know you just missed a golden opportunity to become stronger?"

Dix was feeling just as stunned as Veyra.

"Um… I'm a person who uses techniques in battle. Is that… not good?"

Hearing such words, she could only sigh in exasperation.

"Technique is a good thing, but sometimes, it will still lose to a greater power."

Veyra pointed at Dix.

"The proof is that you lost to me in this battle."

"Is absolute power… really that wonderful?"

He rubbed his chin.

Dix had begun to think about it.

"Of course."

Smiling brightly, Veyra held out a hand to him.

"If you need anything, I am willing to help you achieve that so-called absolute power."

And Dix did not refuse her outstretched hand.

"Thank you, Veyra."

***

Alaric poured most of his aura into his two arms and his sword.

To destroy that armor, he would have to unleash a powerful slash.

If Veyra were here, she would probably be the one to take on this task.

But right now, The King had to do it.

He would have to do everything.

But it was fine.

In just a blink of an eye, Alaric had successfully approached the demon king, with his sword pointing upwards.

It was a downward strike.

A strike so powerful that it could even split a mountain in two.

Just like that, the sword was swung down at a terrifying speed.

Whoosh!

So fast that it didn't even leave an afterimage.

No one could see the blade.

Except for the demon king, of course.

"Is that all you have, Dix!?"

He spat.

"You're slower than a fucking snail!"

With that, the demon king also swung his sword, intending to block the strike.

Whoosh!

But, there was one thing he didn't know.

That Alaric's attack was just a trick.

A diversion.

A trap for the demon king.

And it seemed he had fallen into that trap.

Just waiting for this moment to happen, The King immediately stopped all his actions.

The next second, Alaric crouched down, lowering his center of gravity.

And then swung out a slash straight at the demon king's flank with an even stronger force than before.

Whoosh!

"Die!"

A fire appeared in his eyes. Burning more than ever.

Clang!

The blade successfully collided with the demon king's armor.

"...!"

It gave The King a feeling as if he had just slashed a rock.

A steel plate.

A piece of iron.

Something extremely sturdy.

In just a moment, Alaric's body had fallen into a state of complete paralysis.

A crazy pain ran from his two hands to his entire body.

The King immediately sucked in a cold breath.

This felt horrible.

However, this pain was worth it as…

Crack!

…Right after that, a crack appeared on the Demon King's sturdy obsidian armor.

Crack!

At a speed that was not too fast but not too slow either, the crack slowly spread.

And then, the moment it stopped, a hole appeared on the armor.

Revealing the Demon King's flank.

If Alaric repeated this action many times, the armor would be completely destroyed.

"Amazing…"

The corner of his lips curled up slightly.

It was the smile of someone slowly winning.

Boom!

And in response to that smirk, The King received a straight punch from the Demon King himself.

Alaric was sent flying, then slammed into a nearby wall.

Boom!

His body was in excruciating pain and extreme discomfort.

But, that smile was still present on The King's lips.

"I didn't expect to fall for your trap, Dix. And I thought I was smart."

The Demon King sighed, checking the hole in his armor.

"Hmm."

He then nodded.

The hole wasn't that big.

Everything was fine.

The Demon King just had to be more careful from now on.

"You're more stupid than you think, Demon King."

Alaric, walking out from the rising dust, scoffed.

He also unconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

To be honest, an indescribable anxiety was slowly rising in The King's heart.

It was only natural.

After all, he had just trapped the demon king once, which meant that the next time would definitely be more challenging.

But, Alaric was still very confident in himself.

This was not a game where the loser could revive.

This was a real fight.

Where the loser would never wake up again.

Failure was not allowed to exist here.

"I am not allowed to feel anxious anymore."

With that, The King stomped on the floor, using that force to approach the demon king in a flash.

Whoosh!

Once again, his sword was raised high.

The script was repeating.

But the actors were not.

The demon king was still standing there, meticulously observing Alaric's every move so as not to be fooled by him again.

Meanwhile, The King was at a loss for what to do next.

'Strike down?'

Or…

'Repeat the same action?'

He had many ideas in his head.

But, there was only one idea that could be put into action.

And then, unable to hold on any longer, Alaric closed his eyes.

"Forget it!"

He had decided to leave everything else to fate.

…

Time and reality seemed to have stopped.

Not a single sound could be heard.

Not even breathing.

It was a deathly silence.

Both of them were concentrating intensely.

Both of their brains were working at maximum capacity.

And then, that silence only ended when a sound rang out.

Clang!

It was the sound of a sword falling to the floor.

It was Alaric's sword.

"Die, Demon King!"

The King roared, and without giving the demon king a chance to react, he launched hundreds of punches at the obsidian armor.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The sound of destruction kept echoing.

More and more cracks appeared on the armor.

Alaric did not stop.

He knew that if he did, the next chance would never come again.

The King had to do his best.

At this moment, he had poured all his aura into his two arms.

Meaning that Alaric's defense had completely vanished.

But that didn't matter.

— Punch faster.

— Punch harder.

— Punch faster.

— Punch harder.

— Punch faster.

— Punch harder.

…

And then…

Boom!

The moment that explosion rang out, the moment The King pushed himself to the limit and threw the final punch, was also the moment that the obsidian armor shattered.

Completely.