Who Is the Strongest?
It was invisible.
It could not even be felt.
When exactly had Sancha's neck been severed?
What was certain was that someone of Sancha's caliber could not even draw that Knight King's gaze.
But who was Sancha?
"The former Champion..."
"That monster—in a single stroke...!"
For anyone who had experienced Sancha, this was a moment of pure shock. His movements and techniques had all been near-perfect. Even those who had transcended by devouring stars had struggled to keep up with him. And yet Sancha—who had stood as an insurmountable wall to everyone—now lay sprawled on the floor, his head severed with almost pathetic ease.
Near-perfect, yet not complete.
Raiga assessed Sancha briefly. Sancha, who had long reigned over the Tower of the War God. Raiga had heard countless rumors about him—that he used numerous techniques in forms close to the originals. The creature was certainly strong, but he was nothing more than a frog in a well. Even if he claimed to be the strongest while bound to the Tower of the War God, there were limits. And from what Raiga could see, he was clearly unaccustomed to fighting those stronger than himself.
Then what of Raiga himself? If it had been Raiga instead of Sancha?
The moment he swung his sword, space itself was seized.
Time within a certain space flowed more slowly. Wilhelm's swordsmanship had naturally seized control of the space. And that was not all.
He reflected Sancha's power right back at him.
The golden dragon Sancha had created. Its destructive force had been considerable—enough power to easily obliterate an entire castle. Yet Wilhelm had gently wrapped around Sancha's power, deflected it, and turned the blow back upon him. Like creating massive ripples on a lake's surface with a single finger. It was martial arts of supreme efficiency—the absolute pinnacle—and Raiga recognized it at once.
...So the Knight King's renown was no empty boast.
Two Knight Kings existed in Pangenia. Wilhelm, and Raiga. But the two had never met. Occasionally their strength was compared, yet a precise contrast was impossible. How could one reliably compare the living and the dead? With no meetings and no crossed blades between them, determining superiority through mere speculation had its limits.
And yet.
The dead man has returned to life.
The one everyone had been certain was dead. Even his relics were circulating through the world. The Empire itself currently held two of Wilhelm's relics—the Path of Light and the Sacred Path, offered as the grand prizes for this tournament.
Something beyond common sense. But seeing him sever Sancha's neck left no doubt—that man was the Knight King Wilhelm.
Hooo...
His breath quickened, and sweat formed on his palms of its own accord. He wanted to cross blades right now. He wanted to exchange swords!
"Would you... receive my sword?"
But the one who stepped forward was someone else.
...... The Pure White Knight, Serengeti.
With eyes full of passion, she leveled her sword at the Knight King she had once followed. Then Wilhelm spoke in a manner completely different from how he had treated Sancha.
"Your sword? Anytime."
Serengeti's eyes wavered even more for an instant. He was kind. Just like back then. It felt as if she were looking at the Wilhelm of those days, who had always accepted her sword. Countless questions and doubts remained, but she did not bother voicing them. A knight speaks with the sword.
"...... Then, here I come."
The moment the words ended—
Shiiing!
Serengeti bent her body like a bow, then used that instantaneous elasticity to launch herself forward.
Clang!
Sword met sword. At extreme close range, Serengeti swung with every ounce of her strength.
Clang! Clang! Claaang!
For a long while. She swung her sword endlessly—again, and again, and again.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
Serengeti gasped for breath. She could not reach him. Of course she could not.
"I told you time and again not to put emotion into your sword, didn't I?"
"......"
"You're still a troublemaker, aren't you?"
"......"
Ah. Serengeti fought back the tears that threatened to spill. Facing his sword, she was now certain. This man... this man was...
The great tree who had always supported them steadfastly and given them shade—the Knight King Wilhelm, to whom she had sworn unwavering loyalty!
Moreover, no one else called Serengeti a "troublemaker."
And she learned one more thing.
"That body..."
She had wondered if it might be a body claimed by the Demon King, but no. This body was not Wilhelm's. It possessed Wilhelm's stature and appearance, yet there were subtle differences—as if he had borrowed someone else's body. Differences only Serengeti, who had watched him countless times and sparred with him over long years, could detect.
"I made a wager with a 'god.'"
...... A wager with a god?
Wilhelm hated the gods. Though he was revered as the Goddess's Knight, Wilhelm had been a thorough unbeliever. This, too, was a fact known only to the knights who had been his closest confidants. Thus Serengeti could not help but ask.
"What kind of wager, exactly...?"
"Whether or not I can conquer this tower within ten hours."
"......!"
"And this is the body of the one who was once my 'god.'"
"Pardon...?"
She still could not understand. A wager with a god, and the body of the one who had been his "god." Did it mean he had been temporarily summoned by borrowing a god's flesh? She wanted to ask more. There was so much she wanted to say.
But—
"Get some rest. You look quite exhausted."
Thud!
Like a puppet with its strings cut, Serengeti's body crumpled to the floor.
Ah, no...!
Serengeti hurriedly looked up at Wilhelm, but her consciousness was already fading. Wilhelm gazed at her, formed a smile so faint it was barely there, then hardened his expression as if nothing had happened and shifted his gaze.
"...... I have long wanted to cross blades with you, just once."
At the end of his gaze stood Raiga. The Imperial First Sword. The monster who had overwhelmed everyone on the twenty-fifth floor! The pinnacle of humanity, the one called the strongest in Pangenia. He raised his sword and pointed it at Wilhelm.
She's grown stronger. Still upright and true.
Wilhelm recalled the exchange of blades he had just shared with Serengeti and smiled inwardly with quiet satisfaction. Serengeti. That troublemaker was still alive, carrying on his will. When they had been together in the knight order, she had always been causing trouble. As the only woman and the youngest in the order, she had talked so much—especially to him—that it had been a headache more than once or twice. When she got going about the sword, a whole day would not have been enough.
He would have liked to play with her a little longer, but there was no time.
Wilhelm looked down at his own body.
—You damn god! I'll burn every world you created to ash!
That damn god. The wretched god who had occupied and moved his body at will! That god's flesh was now his current body. Through the Throne of the Sun God and vast amounts of Golden Rule, Wilhelm's soul had temporarily settled into this body.
Fina. So you were cradling my soul.
The twin goddesses Rhea and Fina. Rhea had been defeated in the battle against Ruin and split into thirty-two stars. And Fina had thrown herself to protect Wilhelm's soul from the Demon King. Thanks to that, Wilhelm's soul had been able to remain within Fina's will. Thus he could descend for a short while—yet he was not particularly willing. Why should he have to take on that damn god's trials in his place?
—You cannot defeat Randolph. I poured my heart and soul into raising him, after all.
...... If he had not fallen for such an obvious provocation, he never would have done this. Park Hyunmyung. The god who had once moved his body. The fact that the one he had poured the most effort into was not him, but Randolph—somehow that had made irritation surge up.
But it was not enough. Park Hyunmyung's body was still incomplete, and it was pathetic for Wilhelm to move in. Even with the Golden Rule compensating for it, the same held true.
—If it's you... I can trust and entrust this to you. Please, help us, Wilhelm.
Karas. That foolish crow had offered up everything he possessed. Even though Wilhelm had never once asked him to. He entrusted things on his own and expected things on his own.
—These bastards, caw!
—The goddesses... interfering again, caw!
The God of Calamity and the God of Ashes. The two crow gods did not welcome Wilhelm's appearance. And Wilhelm himself was not entirely pleased with the situation either. Even so, he had accepted the wager. Ten hours in which he could move freely. Within that time, he would break through the tower. And so, using the goddesses' will, Wilhelm had slipped through the "gap" and arrived here.
Not as bad as I expected.
Thanks to that, he had been able to reunite with the troublemaker. The man named Hudson, whom troublemaker Serengeti had missed so dearly, was also here.
Is that the one you chose, Serengeti?
Honestly, he did not look particularly reliable. A man ought to be strong, yet Hudson seemed extremely frail. Still, he was the man Serengeti had chosen. He might be strong in other ways, might he not?
...Seia. Still beautiful.
Saintess Seia was the same as ever. Still dazzlingly beautiful. A woman whose inner beauty surpassed even her outer beauty. Much had changed. But some things had not. The values he had protected, the ones he had sought to protect.
...... You damn god.
Was this what you wanted to show me? So we should make peace or something? Forget it. Wilhelm simply wanted to make that damn god share the same experience. Having one's own body moved at will by someone else would never be a pleasant experience.
Watch. You will have no choice but to simply watch. How your body is used, and how your will is crushed.
It would be a truly vicious experience. And I will show you. Wilhelm. Himself.
Raiga closed his eyes. Countless mental images flashed through his mind. From among the innumerable images, he grasped a single sword that existed in the realm of the unconscious. That was the Domain of the Mind Sword he had recently realized. Soon his mental image dominated everything around him.
Clang!
But it was blocked. Wilhelm struck down the Mind Sword that should have been invisible and imperceptible. Yet Raiga had already anticipated as much. With pure intent to kill, he expanded the Mind Sword further. The very will to kill the opponent became a sword and cut toward the heart.
Shrrrk!
...... Even so, it was repelled. No—not repelled. Like flowing water, the Mind Sword melted away and vanished naturally. Before it could even reach the heart.
Circulation.
Circulation is nature itself. Wilhelm possessed the power to exclude everything that was unnatural. Even if that something was a Mind Sword. Without direct contact, piercing that barrier of circulation was impossible. If he had fallen for a mental image he had only just realized, Raiga would have been disappointed instead.
1st Gate.
Raiga resolved to go all out. Using the secret arts of the Eight Houses against a human was originally taboo. He had not even used them when facing the Golden Goat in the Empire. But Wilhelm, already a dead man, was an exception.
Hwaaaaah!
Raiga's entire body flushed red as the first sealed gate opened.
Kwaaang!
When he stepped forward, the ground caved in. Then Raiga's sword, shooting forth like lightning, cut toward Wilhelm's shoulder.
Slash!
Yet what was severed was his own right arm. Even though he had prepared in advance, he had been counterattacked. It was not that Wilhelm had parried the sword and counterattacked—he had gently circulated the sword strike as if absorbing it, then reversed the attack.
"...Huh."
It was absurd. He had never encountered a sword this soft. The power of Raiga with the 1st Gate open was overwhelming. Even giants could not withstand it. That powerful, solid force had been subdued by softness.
But thanks to that, one thing became certain. A smile spread across Raiga's lips.
I have won.
...... This fight—I absolutely cannot lose.