Violent winds swirled around the broadswords, further heightening their might past the destructive potential of their already devastating size. Bahamut Dominion brought the blades slamming down into the ground, shattering the earth and sending up a cloud of dust.
Lord Gryphon flew back out of the way, escaping the path of the destruction.
“Dammit, do all his attacks have to be stupid powerful?!”
“It’s time you learned the might of a Diviner! Take this, and this, and this!”
Bahamut Dominion didn’t stop. It swung its massive broadswords, slammed them down, and brought them sweeping from the side. Even being grazed by any of the attacks would’ve been fatal, but Lord Gryphon dodged each and every one.
“You throwin’ a tantrum or something? But I gotta say—that gave me a pretty good idea of your attack range. I think it’s about time I got a turn!”
Tidal Severance was tremendously powerful, and because of that same power, it left significant openings after the attack. Dodging an unrestrained blow swinging down from above, Lord Gryphon moved forward, twin blades in hand. It brought its swords down toward Bahamut Dominion’s fully extended arms, only for the violent winds surrounding the Diviner’s broadswords to suddenly fall silent that very same moment.
“Hee hee! I’ve caught you now! You’ve plunged right into the fire, you witless worm! Activate, Hyper Magi-skill: Feather Sphere!”
Bahamut Dominion let out a burst of steam, increasing its power output. At the very same time, feathers from the remaining pair of wings on its back flew into the air. The feathers fluttered down over Bahamut Dominion, leaving a trail of faint light in their wake. The very next moment, they surged forward all at once, rushing toward Lord Gryphon.
“There’s still more?! This is startin’ to piss me off!”
Lord Gryphon sliced through the feathers one after the other with its dual blades, but they just kept coming. Bahamut Dominion brought its massive broadswords into the air, aiming for Lord Gryphon, which was now stuck in place to intercept the attack.
“I’ll squash you like the filthy worm you are! This ends here!”
The fluttering feathers began to return to the Mechsteel’s wings, only for Bahamut Dominion to bring its broadswords down, surrounded by storm winds once more. After being torn through in the face of the overwhelming force of the attack, the ground folded outward, summoning a cloud of dust in its wake that enveloped Lord Gryphon.
The nobles who had been watching the battle held their breath. Even with all the strength that came from being the Top Knight of the Kingdom, was he truly powerless to fight back against the overwhelming might of a Diviner? Even with resignation beginning to float in the air, however, there were still those who hadn’t lost hope.
“Watt! You’re not the type to give up this easily! You’re her father—and no father can look bad in front of his daughter!”
“You’ve won harder battles than this more times than I can count! You’re not allowed to lose to the likes of him!”
Otto, Carome, and those that knew Watt all made their appeals.
“Man, you sure do know how to make some noise ’n’ cheer a guy on. I’m so happy I could just about cry!” Watt said.
No sooner had he spoken than Lord Gryphon leaped through the cloud of smoke. It bore countless scratches on its armor, but there wasn’t a hint of decline to be found in its movements.
“That was a damn good attack, Lezamer,” Watt said. “If I hadn’t seen the timing on your Tidal Severance first, that coulda gotten pretty nasty.”
“You just don’t know when to quit!” Lezamer replied. “You’ve embarrassed yourself enough, knave!”
Watt, however, gave no indication that he’d lost any of his will to fight, instead readying his twin blades once more. “What a shame, though,” he said. “That was your first—and last—chance to finish the job.”
“Hmph! You don’t know when to shut that incessant mouth of yours, so I’ll just close it for you! My Bahamut Dominion is invincible! It’s equipped with overwhelming offensive capabilities and impenetrable defenses! With both, it’s nothing short of the strongest being in existence!”
Lezamer’s laugh rang through the air. Having the mightiest offense and the mightiest defense was plenty of reason to call it the strongest. The very idea was outrageous, but the fact that they were the realizations of such outrageous ideas was precisely what set Diviners apart.
“Father, do you really think we can win?” Anna asked. She found herself overwhelmed by Bahamut Dominion’s astounding force. Each and every one of its attacks were enough to destroy Lord Gryphon, while it was difficult for Lord Gryphon to even get in striking distance with its blades. Anna couldn’t imagine a single way to defeat their foe.
“Sure can,” Watt answered. “It’ll be a bit of a chore, but we’ll be just fine. And after all that ragin’ around, I’ve started to get a decent idea about where his weakness is.”
He nodded, looking completely unbothered. Anna’s eyes opened wide. A weakness? Could a Diviner even have something like that?
“Bahamut Dominion is Lezamer himself—a repulsive monster bloated with a lust for power. In terms of sheer destructive capability, it’s unequaled, but he’s not trained anywhere near well enough. Power like that’s easy to break.”
Watt narrowed his gaze. “All righty, then, pal—let’s dance!” Watt pointed the tip of his blade straight at Bahamut Dominion. “No doubt about it, that’s an impressive Mechsteel you’ve got, but even an impressive Mechsteel like yours is just a vehicle for its pilot—and I’ve got nothin’ to worry about with a pilot like you. Hell, one of our new freight haulers would probably put up a better fight.”
“You insolent worm! How dare you group me in with the likes of those insignificant freight haulers!”
“Oh yeah—guess you’ve got a point,” Watt replied. “Kinda insulting to the newbies to compare ’em with a rookie like you, huh?”
“Die, you knave!”
With Lezamer growing even more furious, Bahamut Dominion recklessly charged forward. It raised its massive broadswords into the air, summoning the destructive gale-force winds around its blades. It was an attack that shattered anything and everything in its wake. Unable to stop the attack, it was all Lord Gryphon could do to frantically dodge it. But—
“I was waitin’ for that!”
Watt didn’t choose to evade the attack, instead opting to move in beneath Bahamut Dominion’s blades. Quicker than its foe could bring down its swords, Lord Gryphon slid within striking distance. It was now Lezamer who frantically rushed to react.