-- "The Greatest Knight", it took courage to call himself that.
It's not a bad thing to be called that by others, and there was a sense of pride in being praised. However, he has never called himself the "greatest" or the "best" .
He took pride in the fact that he had worked tirelessly and spent his days working hard. However, as an inexperienced person, he is surrounded by countless predecessors, esteemed colleagues, and astonishing younger generations. He always thought that this was both frustrating and a blessing.
To be recognized by someone should be the reward for hard work and dedication. It's not just a matter of time that you'll be able to get more than you think.
--I'm not sure if I've made an appropriate effort to do so.
I'm certainly proud of the efforts I've put forth and the days I've spent working hard. But have I gone beyond my limits? Have I always honed myself to the point of exhaustion? Have I been inspired by the encouragement of others and pledged to ideally work harder?
Let's answer the question ourselves.
Julius Juukulius has done just that. He has exceeded his limits, refined himself to the point of exhaustion, and pledged to work harder by following the example of others' encouragement.
--Therefore, he was able to stand proudly in front of the "Sword" .
Julius: [--I am the "Greatest Knight" , the Sword of the Kingdom, Julius Juukulius. I shall slash you down, Reid Astrea.]
Reid: [....]
The "Sword Saint" is silent in front of Julius as he grabs the hem of his cloak and bows.
He doesn't look at Julius as the opposite eye from the one covered by the eye patch is also closed. He just quietly crossed his thick, strong arms and pondered over something. But that pondering doesn't last long. It was obvious from their brief association so far that Reid was not suited to thinking. Therefore--.
Reid: [Ohhhhh!!]
Scratching his own head with a rustle, the "Sword Saint" Reid roared and forcefully stomped on the ground once. The two layers of white floor shook as if they had popped with that one shot. Echidna, who was watching the confrontation, shrugged, but Julius, who was standing up straight, didn't budge a bit. Taking a look at that, Reid clicked his tongue, [Tsk.]
Reid: [”Looking good, looking good, looking good”...... Oh, you're just showing off. You're acting like you’re one of my folk. I don't like you, you're a real pain in the ass.]
Julius: [I hate to say that I don't have any idea what it's like to be one of your folk, but I have to sympathize with the man in question.]
Reid: [Oh? Who said that they were a man? I mean- it's no fun to have bastards around. I'm talking about a girl. She's funny, but she's a stickler for logic.]
Julius: [A woman…… What do that woman and I have in common?]
Reid: [Oh? Don't make me say it again]
Wrinkling his nose, Reid smiles with the ferocity of a shark. Then he flattens his own cheek with his unfolded hand.
Reid: [It's your nice faces and your good principles.]
Julius: [....]
Reid: [Nah, she wasn't annoying. It was cute....... That's all I need to know.]
Snorting at Julius' scant response, Reid snaps his neck bones in a grand manner. Then he observes Julius with his blue eyes - no, not Julius, but his surroundings. The pale lights wavering around Julius, they were more radiant than before. Most importantly, this would be the first time they would be unveiled like this in front of Reid.
Julius: [My buds...... do you have any problems with my beautiful maidens?]
Reid: [There's nothing wrong with them. A good woman can be of any race, but I'm not interested in a girl I can't fuck. --Have you broken out of your shell?]
Julius: [If you say so, maybe I did.]
Advice to the younger generation was a freak of nature that was unthinkable in Reid's personality. The reason it happened was probably because Reid himself is a moody man and because of Julius' desperation to cling to the sword, which Reid thought was a waste of time. If he was going to put his trust in the sword anyway, he’d better show that he doesn’t care about who he is. --The only thing he wanted from Julius was that kind of attitude and determination, and that was also a path that could be taken. But--
Julius: [I've decided to go down this road. Or maybe you're right, that I'd be stronger if I came out of my shell and laid bare my true self.]
Julius himself is aware of the fact that if he is not strongly conscious of it, he will become so. At the critical moment, at the very last moment, at the point where a single piece of leather stood between his life or death, the true face of Julius will appear. But that's only if he was not strongly aware of it. --He couldn’t be shaken anymore.
Julius: [I assure you. I will find out who I am as a knight. And then I will be better in every way than the path you have tried to lead me down.]
Reid: [What kind of a logic do you have for this choice?]
Julius: [It's obvious. --The knight I believe in is the embodiment of an ideal. It is clean, right and strong. Then there is no reason to believe that I, who call myself a knight, should not be too.]
Reid: [--Ha]
It was absurd logic, unreasonable rhetoric, and arrogance that deserved to be laughed at. However, Reid, who heard it, neither revealed his anger nor directed his dismay and disdain at it but simply showed his sharp teeth and laughed. And then--
Reid: [I'll make you cry.]
As he said it, Reid threw away the chopstick in his hand and jumped backwards in front of the staring Julius. Then he slowly extended his hand to his side. The large palm grabbed the sword of selection that stood out on the white floor-
Originally, Reid Astrea was only supposed to lend his existence as an examiner of the tower. For whatever reason, with an intense self-consciousness, he ripped off the mechanisms of the tower, and finally accomplished even a pseudo-resuscitation by overwriting the body of the Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" , Roy Aphard. In such a state, he was in a position where he no longer had to obey the "trial" of the tower, and that's where, for the first time, Reid drew the sword of selection according to its original function. In other words--.
Julius: [The fool who came to the Heavenly Sword, seek his forgiveness.]
Reid: [That's my line....... Well, it slipped my mind.]
Julius: [I thought you would, so I said it instead. --I will challenge you.]
Reid: [Don’t forgive me, dumbass. I’ll let you say it.]
In front of Julius with his knight's sword in front of him, Reid pulls out his sword and points it at him. There is no gap, no gap at all. The ultimate swordsman who has mastered his craft--.
--The summit of all sword-holders, the "Sword Saint" Reid Astrea.
Reid: [It’s time--]
Julius: [Appropriately.]
Reid: [Come on!]
Believing in the chivalry that shaped him, Julius Juukulius challenged The "Sword Saint" with all his might.
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His body and mind are light. Without a metaphor, that's the power of the exuberance that envelops Julius' entire body as he wields the knight's sword.
It goes without saying that mental stability plays a major role in battle. Come to think of it, ever since he came to this Pleiades Watchtower - or rather, ever since he had his "name" taken away from him in the Water Gate City, Julius had been in a state of instability.
Of course, Julius has been disciplining himself as much as possible, restraining himself and not showing it. If one were to ask him, his self-control would be described as "reason of steel" - but it's not something to be admired.
The result of the fact that he didn’t show his discomfort, and had deceived his friends and even himself, was his successive defeats since he arrived at the tower.
Julius should have trusted others first. He was so dismayed by the shock of being forgotten, and pitying himself for being missing from the world of his opponent, that he overlooked what he needed to believe in most.
Were Julius' precious people, the ones he believed in, pledged his loyalty to, and entrusted his back to, the ones who despised Julius Juukulius, who was chipped away from the selfless world?
--Absolutely not, I can say that.
Then there was only one thing for Julius to do. He should have appealed sincerely and shown his affection to them. --as he could have done with the buds.
Julius: [The ties that were severed should have been retied. I was a living witness to the fact that a nobody could be anything ...... other than myself!]
The son of a commoner, who was nothing, could even become the best looking knight in the world. Julius, who was no longer a nobody, could have become anything again. And--.
Julius: [No matter how many times I get the opportunity, I will admire the fiery boy that day, see the ideals in his knighthood, and challenge him to the top of the 'sword'--!]
Reid: [Quit screwing around, man!]
Julius slashed with determination on the tip of his sword and Reid, who matched the sword strike, howled. With his yellow eyes narrowed, Julius marveled at the sword’s wind and pressure which struck his whole body.
This is the fourth time he fought a Reid in this way, if you include the partition. The first challenge and the defeat immediately after. Then there was this fourth time, a time in which he was stranded after the entire watchtower was in compromise and which he had renewed the contract with his buds. Among them, this was the first time that the Reid wielded a weapon other than chopsticks - it was highly questionable whether chopsticks could be called a weapon, but this was the first time he wielded something other than chopsticks anyway. And so, now that the "Sword Saint" , the pinnacle of the "Sword" , has finally grasped his sword.
Julius: [Your sword power hasn't changed since you used those chopsticks......!]
Reid: [I've already told you. I'm not strong because I can wield a sword. The only reason I'm strong is because I'm strong.]
A sword shot swung down carelessly over his head, and just after his knees creaked, a follow-up strike came from directly below. He barely shrugged it off with his sword, and Julius flew backwards from the impact. Reid followed it, not by stepping into it, but by simply walking in a large gait.
It's tempting to suspect it was a special gait, but there's nothing special about it. It's just that when he catches up with a lowered opponent, he simply steps out of the way with that thought, and Reid is the one who easily achieves the kind of gait that schools have spent generations developing.
It's just a substandard "existence" , as Reid himself said.
Reid: [Do you feel like crying?]
Julius: [--No, the realization that I'm taking on a legend is exciting!]
Julius replied as such, driven by the prevailing circumstances, not by any falsehoods. Yes, that is right. The one in front of him is Reid Astrea. How many times had Julius himself been thrilled by his lore, his eyes shining, and his admiration for the man? When he met the actual man, he was surprised by his personality, but his abilities were the very ideals he had longed for. So, how much has he wasted his time and effort in doing so?
While they had the opportunity to exchange words, swords, thoughts and beliefs-
Julius: [Ha.]
Julius exhales at the thought of being snatched up unexpectedly while crossing swords with the "real thing" . An idea that is so out of place, yet so exciting in its anticipation, it's really quite small.
Reid: [What are you laughing at?]
Julius: [Nothing, I was just thinking. --I just thought that when I've done with what I came here to do, I would challenge my friend Reinhardt.]
In response to Reid's question, Julius let the idea come out of his mouth. Not once before had Julius competed with Reinhardt in sword skills. On the contrary, he had never thought of competing in any way until he had to change camps in the king's election.
--That he regretted not trying to stand in line. That was one of the reasons Julius had served Anastasia and gone to the king's election. But even if he hadn't had those feelings, Julius would have been attracted to Anastasia's greatness and stood in the same place, hoping to dream the same dream as her.
If that was the case, there was no need for trivial excuses or bypassed constructions from the beginning. All he had to do was take two wooden swords and go to Reinhardt's side from the beginning.
Once in the past, Reinhardt and the strongest swordsmen of the Volakian Empire had crossed swords. On that day, when everyone in the training grounds had been enthused by the swordsmanship, Julius had also been excited by it. That was the answer--.
Reid: [I don't know the name. Which one of you is that horsebone?]
Julius: [He is your descendant and the "Sword Saint" of our time, my friend.]
Reid: [Kah! A kid's kid is already a stranger. I wouldn't even notice them if I met them on the street.]
Mixing swordplay with kicking techniques, Reid snorts and preaches irresponsibility. When that editorial is somewhat countered, Julius tries to open his mouth as he brings his swords together.
Ried: [I'm getting tired of talking about other people. You want to have a chat with me?]
Julius: [--I won't deny it, but let's deny it.]
Reid: [....]
Julius: [If the time were right, I would have words with you for two or three nights. But now is not the time for that. “Hurry," he said. Therefore--]
When the distance opened up, Reid lifted his cheeks as he looked at Julius. In Reid's blue eyes, Julius's figure grew in its brilliance. The swirling six-colored brilliance blends together, and eventually begins to gently draw a polar light, a rainbow. And then--.
Julius: [Al Clauzeria!]
--The rainbow glow that was released swept the white world towards Reid.
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As the power and range of the aurora was emitted, even Julius himself was amazed. It's no longer the same thing as before, so much so that it would be impolite to treat it as the same thing. It is the extreme spirit arts that has been turned into magic of a different scale.
???: [....]
Buds - or rather, they cannot be called buds as they literally blossomed with their remarkable talents. They grew beautifully, dainty, bravely, gallantly, glamorously, and even divinely, and they were not buds but maidens. Six of them, each of them showing their own charm. For someone to occupy the body of just one of them, perhaps they were even more guilty than a Sin Archbishop. But--.
Julius: [I love you guys, even if you forget about me.]
Julius stepped forward to catch up with the extreme light that was released. The rainbow light, clad in six attributes, breaks through all defenses and shatters the target. Therefore, in front of the rainbow brilliance, the opponent has two moves - stand or duck.
Reid: [--Ha]
And by nature, Reid Astrea would not duck the rainbow light. Against the rainbow light that surged from the front, Reid swung his strong arm and reaped the tip of the light with the Elector's sword he held. A "sword technique" in the name of pure violence, which doesn't rely on special magic or blessings - it drowned out the powerful magic released by Julius with a single swing.
But Julius, who steps forward, has that factored in as well. Jumping out from behind the drowned out extreme light, Julius borrows the sword and the strength of the maidens.
Julius: [Ia! Aro!]
A moment later, the red and green spirits answering the call boosted each other's strength, and a wind swirled around, taking in the burning flames, and a scorching tornado arose from beneath Reid's feet. The heat wave was felt behind the back of his zoris, and Reid escaped upwards faster than he could be burned. However, the spirit knight's, the linkage of the "Greatest Knight" was here to stay.
Julius: [ Ik! Kua!]
The yellow spirit created a ridge on the white floor, pushing Julius' body upward. Simultaneously, the glow of the blue spirit froze the moisture in the atmosphere, blocking Reid's ascent as it flew upwards. Reversing his posture with a cluck of his tongue and kicking in the air, Reid puts his feet upside down on the hollow ice ceiling and glares at Julius. Reid's knees got stronger, and his interception of the rising Julius came--
Julius: [In! Nes!]
A moment before the "Sword Saint" counterattack is imminent, the white and black spirits interfere with the world with their own power. The white light empowers Julius' entire body, while the black light diminishes the power of Julius' enemy, even if only slightly. The small difference created in that moment is the key to the immediate result.
Reid: [....]
The icy ceiling used as a foothold shatters, and the figure of the ejected Reid is blurred with speed. The careless stance of the sword of selection is an ultimate one preventing its movement and target from being read- instead of feeling threatened by it however, Julius relates to it with his chest up.
It is reasonable to match sword strike with sword strike and be played by a stronger force. Hence Julius opened his eyes. -- eyes that have always been looking upward and ahead.
Reid: [....]
A flash of Reid’s split the space, killing the concept of sound and light. Whether it was the sword of selection or chopsticks, everything that was in the path of that flash was cut down. This is because this is the manifestation of the concept of the "Sword" itself.
The "Sword" is created in order to cut things. Swordsmanship is the general term for the techniques used to slay things with the sword.
The flash of a sword that cuts through everything in this world is the pinnacle in both "sword" and
"swordsmanship" and is the true meaning of the word. Those who have been cut by it will never forget the fact that they have been cut for eternity.
That is why the scar that Julius Julius received under his left eye will never disappear. That was the price of dodging the flash of the "Sword Saint" at a distance that could be reached.
Julius: [....]
Abandoning his receiving stance, he assessed his opponent's sword utilizing the offense and defense of the moment. The bottom of his cut eye gushes blood. But his eyes do not close. With his eyes fixed on his opponent, Julius swings his arms. It was a flash which had abandoned defense but had one hundred percent poured into offense--
Julius: [--Al Clarista]
Julius Juukulius, in the best sword fight of his life, paints a rainbow of colors. It caught Reid Astrea's fierce, shark-like smile and--
--The eye patch that blocked the left eye of the "Sword Saint" was pierced by the knight's blow and was flying in the air.
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Julius: [....]
As he landed on his toes on the white floor, the sound of his echoing shoes felt awfully loud. As soon as he became aware of it, Julius' heart, which he had forgotten was beating deep in his chest, began to rush to work. The blood flow pushed him back and he exhaled deeply. Then he turned around behind him and looked at the strong back that was turned towards him.
Reid: [....]
His long red hair swayed and his back stood on end. The great man held the sword of selection in his right hand and placed his left hand on his face. That, the position where the left hand is probing, originally had an eye patch, but it is not there now. The eye patch blocking the left eye of the "Sword Saint" now fell under Julius' feet.
Julius: [......Have you received it?]
He looks down at the eye patch on the white floor and the knight's sword in his hand, and his voice trembles. He murmurs as if to confirm the events that have happened, but it is too real to be real. Like a bubbling dream, it slips through the cracks of his fingers and seems to disappear into nowhere. But--.
Spirits: [....]
There is no concept of words, and the six lights celebrate the feats that Julius has achieved. A warm flower called love tries to fill the void created in Julius' heart. And with the praise of such blossoming maidens--
Echidna: [--Julius.]
A faint voice was heard, and Julius's gaze turned to it. A great man with his back turned, maidens conveying praise, and a woman with light purple hair who looked over the battle from a different position than any of them, called Julius. She had the same face as his precious Lord, who had sworn to dedicate this sword to her, an artificial spirit living in eternity who had been unwittingly injuring each other - an artificial spirit who lived in eternity.
Whether her consideration for Julius was because she cared for Anastasia, or whether it was the result of the "Divine Protection of Gathering Spirits" working, she didn’t reveal the answer. However, she was grateful that someone else's presence to witness Julius Juukulius' resolve had lightened his heart to this extent and raised her knight's sword.
Julius: [....]
Wordlessly, he raised the knight's sword to the heavens. The residue that was tinged with extreme light shimmered, and the trail of the sword literally drew a rainbow. It was exactly as if to bless the knight named Julius Juukulius--
Reid: [--If this was the fucking "Trial" , you would have won here.]
As he says this, the great man slowly stomps on the floor with his sandal. Reid's face is unscathed as he turns around. The only thing Julius' sword tip had correctly reached was his eye patch. But Reid is not shameless enough to boast that it didn't reach him. Above all, his earlier statement was made not as a sore loser, but it was the truth.
If this was a continuation of the "trial" of the Pleiades Watchtower, the second floor "Electra" , then Julius would have passed and been qualified to challenge the upper levels when the blow arrived. However, the battle between Julius and Reid is no longer a matter of the tower’s "trial" .
--It's one knight and one swordsman, man to man, fighting to settle the score.
Reid: [....]
Reid, who lost his eye patch and opened both eyes, gripped the sword of selection with both hands. He grasped the hilt of the sword in his forward hand and held the sword in front of his right eye. --Yes, the "Sword Saint" held it up. Instead of waving his stick carelessly, correctly, he held his sword to slay his enemy.
Reid: [Don't complain about it when you get whipped off the face of the world.]
Julius: [I want to complain, but I can't do it when there's no mouth to complain with.]
Reid: [Huh! I thought you couldn’'t laugh at a joke. What's your name again?]
Julius raised an eyebrow when the legend asked him his name. He would have said his name in front of him many times already, but he couldn't remember it. But it didn't matter that he couldn't remember it. Because it was only with that question that he knew Reid had correctly recognized Julius.
Julius: [Julius Juukulius. It's an easy name to forget and I hope you remember it.]
Spouting a redundancy that wouldn't have been funny not long ago, Julius also pointed the tip of his knight's sword at Reid. And so, he asked the six spirits who had just done a little work for him to help him again. His current self and them will be able to reach even greater heights of the rainbow's extreme light.
Al Clauzeria and Al Clarista. A rainbow polar light that borrows the power of the six spirits and combines the power of the six attributes. --It is the Clauzeria that releases its extreme magic and the Clarista that inhabits the knight's sword. Beyond that, there was a secret that has never been successful because of his inexperience--
Julius: [--Conqueror.]
Reid: [--Come on.]
Instantly, the extreme light fills the white space, and the rainbow band challenges the great man of red.
The rainbow spirit art, the secret of the rainbow spirit art that Julius Juukulius had uniquely created. He does not release the rainbow light that combines the six attributes of the rainbow, nor does he make it reside in his sword, but he wears it on himself, and he becomes the extreme light itself to defeat his opponent.
Julius: [--Al Clanvel.]
That, the ultimate blow of the spirit knight was met head-on by a flash of white.
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From the beginning to the end, it was too high a level of offense and defense to be followed with a layman's eye.
Let alone the clashing sword fights, the dizzying switching of standing positions and footwork, and even the question of which one was superior and which one was inferior could not be captured by the bluish green colored eyes. It had nothing to do with the fact that this body was not her original possession. It was just that there were things that competed with each other to live and die in such a dimension, and compared to them, the world she lived in was too slow.
If the value of living things lies in their strength and weakness as living things, then she was so weak that she was worthless. It was also proof that she had spent hundreds of years in idleness and had turned her back on the path of self-improvement.
From the time she first became aware of her ego, Echidna had a hunch. She knew from the moment she was born that the purpose of her unnatural existence had been exhausted. If she had to say so, the very act of being born was its purpose, and at that point the purpose was fulfilled. Hence, it was neglected, wandering the world aimlessly, forced to sit in a void for hundreds of years.
She could have died. But she had no reason to die. So she lazily postponed her own endgame and indulged herself in laziness for a long, long time. And so, in a lifetime of procrastination, she met a girl.
Fascinated by the girl's vivid way of life, the cold life gained heat. she was impatient to see what the girl, who had been a diminutive body and spouted impossible big words, would or could not become.
Somewhere along the line, such interests didn't matter and--
Echidna: [I can't afford to lose you and all the children you care about.]
She knows that time can be both gentle and cruel as it passes. Time can heal wounds, but it can also make our thoughts old-fashioned. After living a long, long time, for the first time, she thought. --she didn't want to make this a thing of the past.
Echidna: [It's an impossible wish, too.]
Time shifts without stopping, even though it begs us to stop. Lives that should be tiny and feeble in nature show all kinds of changes in the course of time.
It's the same way that the nameless knight, deprived of his "name" and left behind from everyone's memory, proves that he is a person named Julius Juukulius.
--A knight clad in rainbow light dives straight into the white light.
Against Julius, who has opened the secret, Reid Astrea's actions are terribly simple. He swings his sword down, the behavior of swordsmanship that would have been most repeated in this world - it becomes the light that cuts both sides of the world diagonally and destroys all things in the way.
There is no special magic, no special technique. It's just a sword swing, and the world will be burned with light. She doesn't know what that means. Is Reid Astrea beyond the standard, or are all of the "Sword Saint" ’s like this? One thing for sure is--.
Echidna: [--Julius.]
The desire to do everything in one's power to prevent Polar Light from being overwhelmed by the unreasonable White Light. It was an unmistakable true feeling, but she couldn't complain about the mimicry of directly spearing this fight, or even having her soul crushed by the charge of tactlessness before this suicidal act. And she - Echidna was already aware that she could do nothing, she - Echidna was already aware that she couldn't do anything.
There was nothing she could do about it. If she could do anything to Julius Juukulius, who had turned into a polar light here.
Echidna: [....]
She puts her hand on her thin chest and becomes aware of the being sleeping inside of it. The original owner of this body, the reason why she never woke up from her deep sleep, was the reason for Echidna who came to this tower of the sandy sea in search of it. -- but it was a deception. Already, Echidna knew why she would not awaken.
The girl who talked about herself as greedy and wanted everything she could get. Once she had it in her bosom, she wouldn't let go of it at all costs, and she was more willing to lose it or let it be lost than anything else, so there was only one possible reason.
Echidna: [Having ceded your body to me and temporarily hiding inside your own Od, you are free from interference from the outside world. --Od is a world of its own, of its own kind.]
And she has locked herself in that place. The reason for this is obvious. --If she goes outside of her Od, she will be affected. The horrible authority of the Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" , she will be affected by it.
He can make you forget what you don't want to forget, and he can make you let go of what you don't want to let go of. Anastasia Hossin would forget Julius Juukulius. But--
Echidna: [Apparently, they're all the people who came to this tower are pretty stubborn..]
She had tried to mimic Anastasia’s ways in her own way for nearly two months now, but it's time to get on with it. Besides, she had watched him flounder around as a nameless knight, both the good and the bad, so Echidna can tell Anastasia, even if she forgets Julius.
Echidna: [Oh, I see.]
An artificial spirit that has no purpose and whose role ended when it was created. Echidna thought it was such a role, but unexpectedly, this was not the end of it.
A precious girl, a precious knight and a bridge between the two missing people. What a great role with great responsibility.
It's such a great responsibility that you can laugh at the fact that you were born for it. So…
Echidna: [It would be such a waste of time not to see the coolest part of your knight, it's not like you to be a cheapskate.]
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--The white light attacks, trying to paint an extreme light.
With the help of its own full spirit and the strength of the six re-contracted spirits, Julius pushed on. This one opened the secret of the secret, while the other just wielded his sword seriously.
If Reid wields a sword, the world will crack open. That's the immense skill of the "Sword Saint" that would also happen if Reinhardt wielded a sword. Suddenly, in the middle of the fight for life and life, Julius thought.
Julius is not sure who would be stronger in a fight, Reid or Reinhardt? Legend and legend, the "First Sword Saint" and the "Current Sword Saint" , he wondered which one would be stronger in that unrealized battle. Unfortunately, he'll never have the chance to find out.
Julius: [In that case, I'll have no choice but to find out for myself.]
If he had the opportunity to cross swords with Reinhardt Van Astrea and Reid Astrea, it would only be with the faces who had reached this tower. Only Julius and the woman named Emilia who went to the upper levels are possible on that basis. --He had no intention of handing over that role to others. So all that's left is to win.
He will push aside this white light and defeat Reid Astrea with the light of the rainbow. For that, Julius will use all his spirits, and one step further, his sword power--
With a little pride and power at the tip of the sword belonging to the "Greatest Knight" .
???: [--Julius.]
It was a call that was not meant to be delivered. In the midst of a shock that obscured the passage of time, however, there was less than a second of time required for a single sword and a pair of swords to intersect. This is the attack and defense of such a momentary world. There is no way someone's voice can reach that place, much less in the middle of a fight for their lives.
Julius: [....]
But the voice did indeed strike Julius. Or maybe it didn't reach the eardrums, but deeper, to the very back of the chest. If Julius had made up his mind to continue wearing the shell of a knight, there is no way that he would not respond to it.
So when Julius heard the voice that he couldn't possibly hear, he turned to the one he couldn't see and exchanged a glance with those bluish green colored eyes. The light in those big, round eyes was clearly different from the one just before--
???: [--Hello, my knight.]
--that one word held the last push of sword power that was needed.
Julius: [Ia! Kua! Aro! Ik! In! Nes!]
Calling for the final push itself, calling to the spirits who have become part of the extreme light together. In front of him, the enemy to be defeated is beyond the white light, and he needs to get beyond it.
To reach beyond the light, to reach the tip of the sword--
Julius: [Oh, ohhhhhh!!]
He opened his mouth so uncharacteristically and screamed so loudly that he coughed up blood. Julius stepped in with a desperate look on his face, abandoning grace and simply dedicating himself to it to the utmost to keep it from cracking the bare bones of his beliefs that held him up.
Julius: [....]
The rainbow's extreme light increased in brilliance, and the white light that greeted them also gained momentum. The rainbow light and the white light continued to grow stronger and stronger, and the rainbow light and the white light clashed violently.
Julius: [--Yeah.]
It seemed to last forever, but it came to an unexpected end.
△▼△▼△▼△
Julius: [--Yeah.]
Julius listened dumbfounded as a faint sound escaped from his own throat. The clash of their maximum power against each other, its sudden end. But the momentum didn't stop, and the sword, tinged with extreme light, was stabbing straight through the opponent's vital points.
Julius: [Why ......?]
Reid: [Oh, man, this is gonna be a shitty ending to a shitty show.]
Julius, the one who had stabbed, was upset, while Reid, the one who was pierced, was in a state of peace. Even though he was given a poke in the chest, he didn't even frown at the pain. Is this due to his strong mental strength, or is it because of the alterations that have occurred to the great man's body?
Reid Astrea's strong chest plate had a different wound - no, a crack - than the one that Julius' sword had pierced. And it wasn't just limited to the chest. Wounds like cracked glass were spreading to various parts of his body, such as his arms, legs, neck and cheeks.
Julius intuitively understood what it was. Distortions that were normally impossible to correct were corrected. This was a phenomenon in the process.
Reid: [That's what it all boils down to. I've got to admit, I'm a human being who doesn't fit into any other vessel.]
While looking at his cracked palm, Reid's eyesight is correct. The fact remains that the body belongs to the original Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" , Roy Alphard, who was taken in by the Authority of "Gluttony" and acquired substance by plundering control over his body - but the fact remains the same.
In other words, the soul's work of the substandard Reid Astrea could not be endured by the receptacle called Roy Alphard. That was what had broken down in the final phase of the battle with Julius.
Julius: [Well you are!]
Reid: [If I hadn't been eaten by this guy, I might have been able to finish the job. In that case, the moment you droped the eye patch was when it was over]
Julius: [Ku......]
Reid: [You're a weak man, aren't you? Nothing happens to you if you're weak. Do you need to cry?]
Throwing away the sword of selection, Reid smiled nastily, showing his teeth. Why could he laugh like that? As it is, his disappearance is now a definite future. Or maybe by overthrowing Julius, he could have started a life again that had once ended. And now that possibility has slipped away.
Reid: [You're a fool, my dear. I'm not going to live again or do anything else that bothers me. Besides, what if you run into me?]
Julius: [......Unfortunately, you have already died of old age hundreds of years ago. If you walked out now, you would not be the same person you were.]
Reid: [Huh! And I'm supposed to see that kid's face like a stranger? Blah, blah, blah, blah.]
He treated his own descendants as strangers, and his earlier statement seemed to be his very intentions. It seems to be he is seriously uninterested in being alive a second time, and Reid snapped his neck.
Reid: [I'm not sure what I was going to do if I came back to life, man. I don't mind playing with that frzzlin’ lady that I just let you through, or the woman that's over there. Also, a woman dressed in an erotic outfit can be .......]
Julius: [Ho, are you sure you don't want to come back to ......?]
Reid: [Hey, man. That's what I do. I do what I want when I feel like it. It would have been much easier for you to do the same thing.]
Julius: [I appreciate the ...... advice. But that's a much thornier issue for me.]
It is a shell that Julius had chosen to wear willingly. Pretending to be something he is, or pretending to be something else at his core. He can't choose, even if he dazzles Reid's bravado, because he knows that it's better to be himself and be what he wants to be, so Julius can't choose.
Hearing Julius' answer, Reid snorted abominably. Then he pointed to the wound on his chest - a crack that was the result of pushing the limits, the only wound that was different from it.
Reid: [Don't get your fucking panties in a twist. It was a fluke that your sword arrived. If this was my original body, you wouldn’t even graze me.]
Julius: [I wouldn't be the first to do that, but ......]
Reid: [Huh! This ain't funny!]
He spat out and slapped Julius on the shoulder with the hand that Reid had pointed to his own chest. Julius let out a long breath as he stiffened at the impact.
He hadn't yet convinced himself of anything, nor was he able to take it all in. But it was more unbearable to be upset and upset by what was happening in front of him, to miss this moment. The cracks are widening and the end is already in sight. So Julius held his knight's sword in front of his face
Julius: [I admire your swordsmanship with all my heart.]
Reid: [I don't give a shit about a bastard. --I am the winner, Julius.]
Julius: [....]
Julius was blindsided by the last word, the call of his name. But as he had decided not to be upset, he hid his surprise behind a smile and bowed.
As he proudly named this, the legendary being, as the most outstanding knight. May the ideals of Julius Juukulius be unashamed of their admiration.
Julius: [Yes, to the end. --You win, Reid Astrea.]
Reid: [You fucking loser.]
With those last words, the cracks in Reid Astrea widened and--
△▼△▼△▼△
???: [....]
Unlike what it looked like, no sound accompanied the crack that led to the end.
The red-haired great man disappeared as the light frayed without it, like shattering glass - instead, it was a dwarf boy with white eyes, lying on the white floor.
He is the evil Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" who eats other people's "memories" and "names" and does as he pleases.
Roy Alphard, the Great Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" , had collapsed and sank
Roy: [....]
Whether alive or dead, "Gluttony" didn't twitch. However, there was a deep wound in his left chest, the same as Reid, and there was no doubt that it was a fatal wound. Seeing that alone, Julius lowered the knight's sword he had raised as a show of respect, placed it in his own scabbard, and turned around.
The polar light unwound and the six spirits around Julius increased in light. If it wasn't for their power, which had blossomed from buds to maidens, it would have been him who was lying on the white floor like this, not his opponent. Julius must express his gratitude and appreciation for that. But He is sorry for the girls, but He'll postpone that expression of gratitude.
Slowly, Julius moves forward. In his way, the one staring at Julius is a slender, petite woman with shallow green eyes. A figure with long, light purple hair in waves, dressed in a white outfit that does not match the dunes. At her feet is a white fox with its dark-eyed eyes wavering uneasily.
All along, she was supposed to be mimicking the collar, and that's what it meant to be there. With a renewed awareness of this, Julius closed his eyes. And then--.
Julius: [--It's a pleasure to meet you.]
He reiterated the speech he had given to the "Sword Saint" as a challenger just a short time ago. However, the feeling I had in my chest at that time was different from the elation I felt as I challenged him to battle. However, some things never change.
It's like opening the pages of a new adventure story, the adventurous spirit of a boy who yearns to be a knight.
???: [Ours is]
The other responds to Julius, who kneels on the spot and releases his first words. Staying low, Julius waited for the words to follow. He thought he could wait as long as he wanted. How fortunate it was to believe that if he waited, he could hear the other person's words.
Anastasia: [-- Ours is Anastasia Hossin.]
Julius: [....]
Anastasia: [We want everything in the world. You're a cool guy ......, what's your name?]
Halfway through, he could see how she smiled and tilted her head in her hand. On his knees, face down, Julius responded with a short breath, [Ha.]
Julius: [I am Julius Juukulius. --your one and only knight.]
Anastasia: [....]
Julius: [You may have forgotten. But I have given my sword to you. I will do everything in my power to support your cause.]
The most respectful salute with the knight's sword on the floor, on which Julius finally looked up. Beyond that, no matter what the Lord's gaze was on him, he would not regret it.
It was not like a knight to be dismayed, confused, and looking down. Because the existence that continues to look and dress better than anyone else is what Julius yearns for. And then, looking down at Julius, she narrowed her round eyes at him.
Anastasia: [Really? I don't remember you, but.......]
Julius: [....]
Anastasia: [The moment I laid eyes on you-- my first thought was to make you mine.]
In the near distance, there was the Lord's blazing eyes that kept seeking and refusing to let go of everything.
To "Greed" that gets everything, Julius Juukulius once again offered his sword. Just like the king and knight of the story, it was a divine act-
The rebirth of the bond of "Master and Servant" that was taken away from them is accomplished in the second layer of "Electra" . It is the achievement of the elimination of one of the five obstacles presented by Natsuki Subaru.
In the Great Library Pleiades, the "Second Trial" has ended.