The cold night wind swept through the ruins of the once-majestic Belgravia Mansion. The building was now nothing more than rubble, with flames flickering in some corners, illuminating the area filled with dust and shattered stones.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The starry night sky was obscured by dark clouds formed by the clash of the warriors' powers, occasionally lit up by flashes of light and deafening explosions.
In the dark sky, a white horse flew slowly, carrying a woman with an elegant face and golden hair that reflected the moonlight. The Divine Ancestor Guinevere watched the battle between the Seventh Campione, Rokuhara Ren, and the Heretic God Lancelot.
"This Seventh Campione isn't as strong as they say. It seems the information exaggerated his power, or perhaps the Eighth Campione was careless in their duel. Maybe he didn't take his opponent seriously and didn't use his full strength, right?"
Guinevere smiled faintly. She was relieved to see Ren being pushed back, gradually losing control of the battlefield.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
On the battlefield, the fierce battle continued. Ren, with his speed and agility, moved incessantly, dodging every deadly attack from Lancelot, who charged like a storm.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
Despite her immense power, Lancelot also began to realize that her attacks only hit empty air or the surrounding rubble.
*SHUA!*
With incredible speed, Lancelot dashed towards him. Only a white shadow and a flash of light were visible, and Ren barely managed to dodge.
*BOOM!*
The Divine Spear struck the ground where Ren had stood, creating a massive crater that destroyed even more of the ruins.
*WHOOSH!*
However, Ren had already moved further away, utilizing Meteoric Ascent to counter.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
He drew his bow, firing a solar arrow that shot like a meteor, piercing through the air and exploding right in front of Lancelot.
*BOOM!* *BANG!*
The explosion created a shockwave that destroyed everything within a several-meter radius.
But Lancelot emerged from the blast, her body now in the form of mist with the Authority of Mist, completely unharmed.
"It's useless. Once I'm prepared, physical attacks no longer affect me."
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Ren kept his distance, his sharp eyes observing the mist surrounding Lancelot's body. Inside, he felt frustrated.
'Damn, this compatibility is really bad. Lancelot not only has a Steel Body, but now she's immune to physical attacks. It's like fighting a Logia user from One Piece. Well, I know mist has a weakness—wind. If I could create a storm, the problem would be solved. But the reality is, I don't even have any powers besides archery!'
'I have to admit, Heretic Gods serving King of the End are truly different. They're stronger than ordinary Heretic Gods. It seems I don't stand a chance if I only rely on my Divine Authority.'
'This isn't even as exciting as dueling Godou. He might be naive, but at least fighting him is fun.'
After a few seconds of contemplation, Ren suddenly loosened his grip on the bow in his hand. A golden light enveloped the weapon, and the bow disappeared completely.
Seeing this, Lancelot was surprised. "Huh? What are you doing? Don't tell me you're giving up because you know you can't win. If so, I must admit, you're truly disappointing."
Ren looked at her flatly, then shrugged. "Who said I'm giving up? I'm just switching weapons."
"Switching weapons? As far as I know, you only have one Divine Authority from Hou Yi. Could it be that you've gained a new Divine Authority without anyone knowing?" Lancelot speculated.
"..."
Ren smiled faintly but didn't answer. He reached out into the air, and a sword appeared from the void.
Seeing this, Lancelot recognized the type of magic.
"Storage magic? I didn't know you had a talent for such magic, Campione."
Storage magic is a supplementary type of magic that allows the user to store and summon items at any time. Although considered a support magic, only those with rare spatial talents can learn it.
What surprised Lancelot was the fact that Ren had learned magic. After all, it's widely known that almost all Campione look down on magic because it's not as powerful as their Divine Authorities.
"Well, I'm the type who likes change. I'm not like the other Campione who are stuck in their old ways."
Before causing trouble, Ren had asked Alice to test if he had any talent for magic. Surprisingly, the results were quite impressive—he was a genius in the aspect of magic. So, he asked Alice to teach him something simple yet useful. Storage magic was his choice.
The proof of his genius was that he learned storage magic in less than two hours!
"Hm? That sword..." Lancelot observed more closely.
The sword had a gleaming silver blade that radiated a divine aura, with ancient symbols engraved on its surface, as if affirming its status as a legendary weapon. Its hilt was bright red, adorned with elegant gold patterns, while the crossguard was shaped like a cross with additional curved ornaments that exuded majesty and power.
"The Holy Sword Excalibur." Ren answered with a faint smile.
"That's just a replica." Lancelot immediately corrected. As part of the Celtic myth of King Arthur, she clearly recognized the legendary sword in its true form.
"Yeah, you're right. It is a replica." Ren admitted.
"What are you doing with a replica of the Holy Sword? Replacing your Divine Authority with a fake? This is... foolish."
Responding to Lancelot's sarcasm, Ren merely chuckled.
It's worth noting that the Witenagemot was formed by people deeply involved in magic: Mage, Sorcerers, Fairy Doctors, and others. Naturally, some of them were creators of magical items. With King Arthur being one of the most famous figures in England, it's no surprise that they attempted to create replicas of Excalibur. And the Holy Sword Ren borrowed was the highest quality among all the replicas ever made.
"Relying on a replica to fight me? That's a joke." Lancelot was speechless. The other side was throwing away his advantage and opting for an uncertain method.
Pointing the red Excalibur towards her, Ren smiled carefreely. "Basically, Campione are foolish people, aren't we? We only know the result after trying. And I'm quite curious how far this 'fake' can hold up against you."
Lancelot raised her divine spear, ready to fight again. "Very well. Let's see if your replica can match true power!"
And so, the battle between the reckless Campione with his replica weapon and the Lake Knight from the legend of King Arthur resumed, this time with even greater intensity.