Chapter 84

――――Strong.

That was the first impression Louis had when he faced Kojirou.

The thought of engaging in a life-or-death battle with such a person made his hand holding the sword tremble and sweat break out all over his body.

"Hehehe, it seems this is your first time in a fight for your life. Your hands are shaking."

"To be honest, I’d like to run away right now. But I can’t, because I have to protect the people behind me."

"Such a touching friendship. But was it really worth going to such lengths to expose my lies? It’s not like it matters to you if I deceive the king and enrich myself."

"……Indeed, what you do is none of my business. But……I couldn’t let you impersonate the ‘King.’ That name, the name of the ‘King,’ is not something you can take lightly."

Louis had heard many things about the country that Testarossa and Rio had ruled while they were in the Infinite Prison.

They had always been worried about leaving the country suddenly.

Whether the people were suffering from hunger.

Whether there were unnecessary battles.

Whether they were being attacked by other races.

Louis had grown up seeing the true form of a king.

That’s why he knew at first glance that Kojirou was not the king.

"You are indeed strong. But that’s all. The true king I know carries a much heavier burden in his eyes."

"Carrying a burden…… Is that so? Hehe, it’s certainly an inappropriate word for a despicable person like me, who pretends to be someone else to earn a living."

Kojirou, with a gentle smile, pointed his sword, filled with killing intent, at Louis.

"However, even a despicable person like me has a bit of pride. I can’t just let a child like you look down on me and run away."

Kojirou, with a graceful movement like a dance, raised his sword to the upper position and shifted his center of gravity forward, ready for battle.

"――――I shall take your life."

At that moment, Louis was assaulted by a genuine ‘killing intent’ he had never felt before.

The killing intent was so intense that he almost lost consciousness, but Louis bit his lip hard and held on to his senses.

In an instant, Louis gathered his magic power and constructed a spell, firing it at the approaching Kojirou.

"Superior Fireball!!"

The spell Louis chose was the fire magic he was most skilled at.

A fireball large enough to engulf a person flew towards Kojirou at a terrifying speed.

"Hmm, a well-crafted spell. But don’t think you can defeat me with something like this."

Kojirou repositioned his sword, which was held in the upper position, to the side and swung it as if fanning the air.

"Heavenly Rock Style, Swallow Tail Sweep."

Kojirou’s sword created a powerful whirlwind.

The wind, with the force of a small typhoon, collided head-on with the fireball and, incredibly, extinguished the Superior Fireball.

"What……!!"

Even Louis was surprised by how easily the superior magic was dispelled.

This was the power of someone who had transcended human limits. Louis recognized this power once again.