""Akumo!?""
"Ye're actually alive?!"
"Oh my."
Finn and Riveria, who were inside the room, were visibly shaken by Akumo's sudden reappearance. Loki, despite having harbored a firm belief in his return, couldn't hide her shock at the timing. Only Freya and Ottar remained composed, standing like statues in the face of the anomaly.
'It's shining even brighter now... 🖤'
"Lady Freya?"
"Hehe. We were just discussing your disappearance... your timing is impeccable."
The initial shock passed, and as Loki bombarded him with questions, Akumo filtered his responses, sharing only the necessary details.
"What in the world happened to ye?!"
"I held the line against the Black Dragon at the risk of my life. I barely managed to survive."
"Insane... First things first, we're doing an update!!"
"Huh? Wait—!"
Loki didn't give him a chance to protest, dragging him toward the inner chamber. Akumo's distressed voice leaked through the gap in the door.
—W-wait a second...!!
—There's no time, take it off already!
"My, my...."
'I might actually be a little jealous.'
"Ahem!"
Freya watched the door with an inscrutable gaze, while Finn and Riveria let out awkward coughs, trapped between embarrassment and absurdity.
"YES!!!!!!! SUPER LUCK!!!!!!!!"
Loki's triumphant roar echoed through the walls. The high-grade Excelia gathered from the feat of surviving the Black Dragon, combined with the experience accumulated over a month in the Valley of Dragons, was transcendental—far exceeding anyone's expectations.
Creak—
After being subjected to Loki's over-the-top reactions, Akumo finally emerged from the room, pulling his tunic back on.
"Phew...."
With the Status update complete, Akumo's aura surged, growing so heavy that everyone in the room could physically feel the pressure.
"...!"
"Do you wish to fight him, Ottar?"
"I do not."
Though Ottar's competitive spirit flared at the sight, he suppressed it in the presence of his goddess.
"How was it? The Black Dragon."
"....It is a monster."
"Yet you survived, didn't you?"
"...."
Akumo slowly began to recount the events. He spoke with pragmatic detachment about how the world's strongest forces were wiped out in an instant, losing their will and fleeing. He described how Maxim and The Empress could not land a single significant wound and were forced to focus entirely on retreat.
"I, too, merely managed to endure..."
He kept the fact that he had drawn a single drop of its blood to himself. Defeat was defeat. Akumo knew that being satisfied with one drop of blood was beneath him; he buried his frustration deep within.
"And I heard there's been a 'change of generations'?"
"Aye. I was ready to use force if needed, but most of 'em had their spirits broken already."
"Then Maxim and The Empress really are..."
Seeing Akumo lost in a complex web of thoughts, Ottar sought Freya's silent permission before stepping forward with a stony expression.
Thud!
"Step outside."
"....Very well."
Accepting the challenge, Akumo grabbed a serviceable sword from the storage rack and headed to the training grounds.
"Akumo! You only just returned—!"
Grip.
"It's fine. When yer mind's a mess, it's best to just act without thinkin'."
"Even so..."
Riveria tried to intervene out of concern, but Loki held her back. The group followed to the training grounds, partly to see exactly how much stronger the Pioneer had become.
**
CLANG—!!!!!!
"How was the Black Dragon?"
"I told you, it was a monster."
BOOM—!!!!
"And against me as I am now?"
"A single kick would likely tear your arm off."
CLASH—!!!
Ottar and Akumo traded words between the high-velocity meeting of steel. They didn't seek deep conversation; for them, the collision of their strength was the most honest dialogue possible.
CRACK—!!!
"An opening!"
Akumo's foot slammed into Ottar's blade, intercepting his trajectory. With a fluid rotation, Akumo struck Ottar's face with the flat of his blade, sending the massive man flying.
"...Powerful."
However, thanks to his skill [Stultus Ottar], Ottar's combat potential increased the longer the battle lasted. He charged with his greatsword, engaging in a frantic exchange of dozens of blows.
CRASH—!!!
K-KRACK—!!!
THUD—!!!!
The sequence of traded punches and parried strikes came to a temporary halt as Akumo's sword—an inferior weapon—finally shattered under the strain.
"...I suppose I lose?"
"Are you being serious?"
Dissatisfied with the conclusion forced by weapon quality, Ottar threw his own greatsword in front of Akumo and gripped another spare blade tightly.
"[O mercy of the Silver Moon, O Golden Plain. I shall be appointed as the King of War. Dash forth, bearing the Goddess's divine will.]"
Ottar activated his skill [Vana Arganture], shifting his stance into one of absolute offense. Simultaneously, he cast his strongest offensive magic, [Hildis Vini], enveloping the greatsword in a brilliant golden radiance.
"Is this really okay, Loki?"
"I don't know meself... even if it's Akumo, Ottar's full power ain't somethin' to take lightly."
Feeling the shift in momentum, Akumo decided to respond in kind. He pulled Ottar's discarded greatsword from the ground and began his chant.
"[My experiences, my adventures, bloom according to my will.]"
WHIRRRRR—!!!!!!
The space around Akumo began to vibrate, saturated with a heavy, surging power. But he didn't stop there. Akumo began an additional, deeper chant.
"[What I summon is the brilliant moonlight! Light of the divine, surge forth; illuminate the world with your radiance and annihilate my enemies!]"
As Akumo raised the greatsword, an image began to overlap his silhouette. It possessed an identical appearance, yet radiated an indescribable, kingly pressure that weighed down the entire training ground.
"Ah...!!!! That..."
'The soul I saw back then...!!!'
Freya's heart raced as she watched Akumo's soul break through its shell, revealing the same incandescent brilliance she had witnessed before. She watched every single movement, breathless with excitement.
Akumo's blade glowed with the cold, ethereal light of a full moon, trailing a violent pressure.
"Here I come."
"Come."
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!
This was no long-range shockwave. This was a short-chant magic designed to concentrate pure destructive power into a single physical strike. The two heroes kicked off the ground with enough force to shatter the stone flooring, charging at one another until they finally collided.
K-BOOM—!!!!!!!
The impact was potent enough to vaporize the greatswords, yet miraculously, not a single shockwave leaked to the surrounding spectators—the sign of perfect kinetic control.
Collapse—
A flash of light, as instantaneous as a lunar beam, left a massive laceration across Ottar's torso. The Boar-man fell to his knees.
"Satisfied? You bastard."
"Quite."
Despite his defeat, Ottar was content to have tested himself against such power and to have provided a spectacle for his Goddess. Watching him, Akumo felt the clutter in his own mind settle. He reaffirmed his core conviction.
'Power belongs to those who use it. This change of generations is simply the result sought and accepted by those involved...'
"I shouldn't complain just because it feels uncomfortable, should I?"
**
Freya caught a glimpse of someone within the brilliant light Akumo had emitted. She felt the essence of a soul that had once traversed the heavens with a moonlit blade, conquering worlds. That radiance was more than enough to drive her to the brink of euphoria.
"Loki..."
"I'm absolutely not givin' him to ye."
"He's more like a mercenary than a follower anyway, isn't he?"
"And ye think ye can just 'recruit' him? Think that'll work?"
"Ah... I want him so badly..."
"Take yer boy and go home already, ye lecher."
"Perhaps it's a blessing that our 'children' get along so well, at times like this?"
Loki couldn't stop smiling, equally mesmerized by Akumo's display. Even as she guarded him against Freya's advances, she knew the competition would only grow fiercer. She began to contemplate exactly what more she could offer to ensure Akumo remained anchored to her Familia.