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The Mercenary King couldn’t believe his eyes. A knight had to be A-Class before he could form an Aura Blade; even then, those who could wield it like an extension of their own body were few and far between. The Nine Stars and Twelve Superhumans were prime examples of those talented few.
“You— How…? How did you learn that? …No, no.” The Mercenary King got his emotions under control. “Now that I think about it, it’s only natural, but…1” he mumbled. A certain face—one very similar to Joshua’s—came to mind. Right. Aiden von Agnus, of course; it made sense, the Mercenary King wasn’t crazy after all. But there was something he still couldn’t quite figure out.
“What is that Aura Blade? How can you use Aura Overlay after the weapon leaves your hand?”
Each Aura Blade differed based on its wielder’s mana and natural talent. Aura strengthens power, scope, and defense—it didn’t allow someone to use a knight’s mana hall and a wizard’s mana circle at the same time. They should have been mutually exclusive, along with every other mana-based skill.
Although perhaps the Mercenary King’s information was out of date.
“Hoho.” Someone snorted.
The Mercenary King turned toward the voice.
“One of the Twelve Superhumans—pfft. Our master is stronger than you.”
“What?”
“You laughed at us, claiming we wouldn’t understand, but now you’re just as dumbfounded as we are.”
The Mercenary King seemed to come to a sudden epiphany and heaved himself off his knees.
“You’re tricking me,” he asserted, stepping forward. “Right, you can’t use Aura Overlay on a weapon you’re not touching.” Barbarian hefted his ax once more with a bold smile, confident he’d seen through Joshua’s magic tricks.
His vigorous actions startled Leo and Cain.
“His Aura is… burning?”
Years and years of specialized training had turned his mana red. It danced over his weapon like a fiery mist, and then it changed again.
“This is the last form of Aura Overlay, where it all comes together. Come on, I’ll show you how it’s really done!” He shot a glance behind him, where Marquis Crombell and his bodyguard knights were watching. “Withdraw the knights.”
“You mean…”
“This is a fight between predator and prey.2”
The Marquis shivered.
“When I’m done cutting off the heads of their… totem, Peril Castle will surrender of its own will.” He then turned back to Joshua. “This is what you want too, isn’t it?”
“You’re as confident as the rumors say.” Joshua gave him a small smile and then looked back to the Wilhelm Knights. “Did you hear that?”
“I wish I hadn’t, but now it haunts me.” A middle-aged man pushed his way out of the knights with a sigh. His leonine mane of hair gave away his identity immediately.
“The Lion King?” The Mercenary King frowned.
“Long time no see.” The former ruler of Reinhardt bowed his head.
Barbarian’s expression cooled. “I was wondering why the Wilhelm Knights showed up. So you were backing the Pontiers. Should I take it that this is the collective will of the free knights?”
“Don’t get me wrong.” The Lion King shook his head. “I’m not involved in the fight, and I don’t plan to be. But the Battle of Superhumans requires a public notary, doesn’t it?”
“…You traveled a thousand miles just to be a notary?” The mercenary King frowned doubtfully. “You expect me to take that seriously?”
“You’ve seen what he can do too, haven’t you? I’m here because I’m interested in Joshua Sanders.3”
He got a blank stare in return.
The Lion King shrugged. “I don’t care if you believe it or not. But it is the will of the Wilhelm Knights. I can’t change that; I’m not their king anymore.”
Barbarian was a man of logic, and he believed that no one did anything without good reason. So why? What did the Lion King get out of this? All of the Mercenary King’s strategic experience could only make him shake his head. It doesn’t matter. The potential gains were small… but the losses were huge. The mad emperor, unlike himself, wouldn’t watch the Lion King from the sidelines.
With all that said, Barbarian wouldn’t be able to win the fight if the Lion King joined in. He needed security.
“Marquis Crombell.” The Mercenary King stood.
“You… Tell me what you need.”
“It looks like the war will have to be postponed.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“It will happen—but for now, we need to spread the news. Use the communication crystal to tell everyone that the Battle of Superhumans is happening, with the Lion King as their witness. Divide the army into three and send them home by different routes.”
Cain’s ears pricked up. He realized that this was what Icarus and his master were talking about the other day. They had the whole thing figured out already.
“Cain…”
“Yes?” Startled, Cain turned to the familiar voice.
“Did you notice anything about me?”
“You mean…?” Cain recalled what his master told him: “Look closely.” “It’s the first time I’ve seen Aura used as a physical boost or to increase morale.”
“There’s more yet to come.” Joshua left the confounded knight behind and turned his attention to the Mercenary King.
The morale-boosting sound wasn’t that amazing—it was a fraction of what the skill was capable of. This “sound attack” could reach all the way to the eastern continent to strike an enemy with the power of sonic waves. This power of sudden death—where will became words, and words became power4—was said to be something only the dragons had.
Now I’ll show you another way to use it.
“How about this? The war ends with our duel,” Joshua proposed.
“What? What?!” Marquis Crombell kicked up a fuss from behind his protective cordon of knights. “What kind of nonsense—!”
“Alright, fine.”
The Marquis gaped at him.
“You decided to let me handle this war, didn’t you?”
Gehor bit his lip. “That’s—”
“Trust me.” He turned back to Joshua. “But are you allowed to do this?”
Joshua revealed something in his hands. One day, many years ago, it had been given to him in front of Duke Agnus5: a pendant of solid gold, about the size of his palm. In the middle of it was a beautifully embossed owl, the insignia of the Pontier family.
“If you have the right to decide, then so do I.”
“Good. Mercenaries, back off!” he shouted with mana in his voice.
“H-Hey!” The sudden clamor of the mercenaries moving caught Marquis Crombell by surprise. “Crombell Knights, stand aside!”
“The Knights will abide.”
Cain, Leo, the Wilhelm Knights, and the Lion King backed away.
Joshua pointed his spear at the Mercenary King. “Anything else you want me to say?”
“Absolutely not.” Taorin, the Mercenary King’s best friend, was wrapped in his raging Aura.
As if in response, a thin cloud of white smoke wrapped around Joshua.
“You can still use Aura Force?”
Everything was ready. All that was left to end this stupid war was to cut off his head.
The Mercenary King pushed those thoughts out of his head and smashed the ground. Even from far away, the audience could feel the tremors running through the ground like Barbarian was standing right next to them.
Then the big ax came for Joshua.
After that, it was a blindingly fast storm of thunderbolts and fire.
Curls of white smoke once again surrounded Joshua’s mouth. He whistled a short note, but only the Mercenary King heard it.
Barbarian’s seemingly-unquenchable Aura flickered; his eyesight blurred and the world spun. Joshua’s sound attack went beyond what normal sound could do. It had the ability to directly interfere with people’s senses. Right and left were switched; the whole world was flipped upside down like Barbarian was being transported to a different dimension. At the same time, the shockwave picked him up and tossed him into the corner like a doll6.
After that, the battlefield was completely silent.
TL/N: he said this because he knew that this boy is Joshua Sanders, so it’s perfectly normal ↩️
ED/N: I’m starting to get some major neckbeard vibes from ol’ Barbie here. ↩️
ED/N: Thank god. We’ve been starved for gay innuendos lately. ↩️
ED/N: Yer a dovahkiin, Joshua. ↩️
ED/N: Raws said it was given to him by Duke Agnus, but we’re certain that’s not right. ↩️
ED/N: Fus roh dah ↩️