The battle between Egor and Algol was at a stalemate.
Egor unleashed his techniques, and Algol barely endured them.
However, Algol felt something was off.
Egor seemed to be enjoying the situation.
He was intentionally letting Algol learn his techniques, letting him experience them firsthand.
"Aren’t you considered to be abnormal?"
"I often hear that. I'm someone who has even abandoned his own race, after all."
Egor wasn't just randomly using techniques.
There are things you can't understand unless you experience them.
But the time for learning was over.
"This is the end. If you can remember it, then please do."
Saying so, Egor readied his sword with both hands.
The stance was Seigan.
Algol, who had learned several of Egor's techniques, felt an ominous premonition.
Something was different.
"I abandoned my own race because I had to be an SS-rank adventurer. A guardian of the continent should not favor one power over another. So I abandoned them. In exchange, I had to become strong. Strong enough that all races on the continent would recognize me as their guardian..."
Algol's vision lost sight of Egor.
He hadn't actually disappeared.
Egor was certainly there.
However, he was not visible to the eye.
Algol's consciousness was drawn to the sword that was accumulating immense energy.
He didn't have the luxury to recognize Egor.
The sword emitted an overwhelming presence.
That presence soon turned into intimidation, hindering Algol's movements.
"Is this the Sword Saint's trump card?"
"It's more like a secret technique within the secret technique... Not that it's anything special."
Saying so, Egor raised his sword.
"Sword Saint Secret Technique—Form of the Sky—Heaven's Extreme."
It looked like a simple overhead slash to Algol.
However, before he knew it, Egor was behind him.
Thinking so, Algol spoke.
"I never thought there would be a blade I couldn't see through... Impressive."
"You weren't bad yourself."
In an instant, the single slash was executed.
Egor had already finished his action.
A moment later, Algol was split in half vertically and burst apart.
Watching this, Egor took a deep breath.
"When was the last time I swung my sword with full force?"
It had been a while since he had gone all out.
There was some fatigue in his body.
However, it quickly recovered.
Thanks to the support of the Imperial Sword.
"It's just like Adrasia to work the continent's strongest like a horse."
To defeat the demons, the one-man armies had to keep defeating demons.
That's why the allied forces were protecting the Emperor.
Literally, a wall of flesh.
Soldiers were sacrificing themselves to buy even a second.
Egor cracked his neck.
At the same time, a pillar of light appeared in the royal capital.
It meant that reinforcements for the demons had arrived.
In response, Egor showed a ferocious smile.
"If they still want to come, let them come. I'm feeling good today."
The battle between Gremory and Linares was initially a clash of power against power.
However, it eventually turned into technique against power.
The one who switched to technique was Gremory.
She deflected Linares' fists and struck him with the palm of her hand.
Linares had been on the receiving end of one-sided attacks for a while now.
However, Linares continued to swing his fists without concern.
Gremory barely deflected the fist and struck Linares with a full-force blow.
However, Linares didn't stop.
He swung his fist at Gremory without a second thought.
That fist shaved off Gremory's left half.
Demons don't die from that alone.
However, Gremory's defensive power dropped significantly after losing one hand.
Unable to defend, Gremory realized and distanced herself from Linares.
Linares didn't chase after her.
Standing still, he quietly spoke.
"Your downfall was one thing. You couldn't stick to your guns. You relied on techniques when you couldn't win with power. You retreated after challenging me to close combat. All because you couldn't stick to your guns. That's the difference between you and me. I believe in my beautiful self more than anyone else. This beautiful body of mine is the strongest weapon in the world." ℟αɴȰВËs̈
Linares pulled back his fist with force.
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"Eat this. My Holy Fist."
Power filled his entire body, and Linares' body enlarged.
He unleashed a straight punch with all his might.
It was like a flash of light, swallowing Gremory who had distanced herself in an instant.
At that moment, Gremory acknowledged Linares' shining form.
"You're beautiful, aren't you..."
Gremory's final words.
Hearing them, Linares muttered.
"Beauty truly transcends race, doesn't it?"
Muttering so, Linares began to walk leisurely.
The consumption of magical power was replenished by the Imperial Sword.
However, it couldn't cover physical exhaustion.
If you take a hit from a demon, there's nothing you can do about that exhaustion or damage.
However, Linares was in perfect condition.
Gremory's attacks had no effect on Linares, who possessed the strongest body on the continent.
"It seems you had a hard time, Egor-san."
"You took your time as well."
"I just stuck to my own way."
They could have won easily if they wanted to.
However, Linares was fixated on making others acknowledge his beauty.
This was a decisive battle for the survival of humanity.
One should abandon such fixations.
Certainly, that's true.
However, it's precisely because they were fixated even in such situations that they could be called SS-rank adventurers.
"More guests are coming."
"The demon commander has been taken by Silver. We're just cleaning up."
"Are you sure? Shouldn't we all go after the demon commander?"
The other demons were different in rank.
Close to what they had heard about the Demon King.
Asmodeus was such an existence.
"First, we clean up. If the second wave reaches the Emperor, the front will collapse. We'll hold them off here."
"If that's the case, we have no choice. We can't burden them any further."
Because the Emperor continued to use the Imperial Sword, they could fight without any worries.
Supporting that were the sacrifices of the soldiers of the allied forces.
Sacrifices are inevitable in battle.
There are certainly lives that can't be saved.
While they felt sorry, the two were not foolish enough to be dragged down by that.
If they can't save them, at least they won't waste them.
That had been the answer for the two who had reigned as SS-rank adventurers on the continent for many years.
"Let's go... Linares!"
The moment the pillar of light disappeared.
Against the new demons that appeared, the two charged.