The next day begins as usual. While his clothes are being washed, Vektor decides to wear some of Hayato's clothes for the rest of the day, these being slightly larger than his own clothes, and intentionally quite similar to his clothes that are being washed. Obviously, there is no way for him to get another one of his custom shirts at the moment, so he is forced to choose a plain black shirt.

Even though Vektor said he would leave at 10:30 in the morning, he decides to set aside 15 minutes for breakfast, eating all the snacks left in his backpack. After eating, he hurries to reach the royal mini-airship in the next 15 minutes...

It's 11 AM. The strategy for the last day finally begins. Sych sets out to find Yuko and Mitsuko, while Kder, who was camping at the Great Noogard Hill, heads to the Valley of Music's trail, walking towards Haidora Peak. Vektor uses the royal mini-airship to calmly fly to Drettonus Castle.

As he walks, Kder sees the Villain of Evil's flying fortress rise into the air and take off with precise movements. He then runs to Mount Sorang, and climbs it by jumping between the steps of the spiral staircase. While the airship is making its maneuver, Kder reaches the electrical distribution area, located at the same altitude as the airship. In his last opportunity to invade, Kder reaches his maximum speed, which surpasses that of human vision, and uses it as momentum to make a great leap towards the rear entrance of the airship, a distance of approximately 20 meters. Even after landing practically unharmed, the swordsman remains alert...

Vektor finally arrives at Drettonus Castle, where he returns the mini-airship, parking it at the royal airship station. A guard waiting there guides him to the castle arena...

Inside the Villain of Evil's flying fortress, Kder easily finds the control room. Meanwhile, Hayato Noogard remains focused on regularizing the functioning of his airship and his robots, until being surprised by the sound of footsteps:

"Who's there?!"

"...Don't be afraid."

"...!"

Kder appears before Hayato as he says:

"I'm not here to cause you any harm, I just wish for your cooperation."

"Those clothes...! You're the swordsman Kder?! What happened to your appearance? It can't be... Did you rejuvenate like the old man?!"

"No, I'm another person."

"Ah, another person... Anyway, I haven't finished preparing my attack for today, so could you please leave? I'm not in a very good mood right now, so I don't want anyone disturbing me."

"Unfortunately, that can't be done. I need to take you as soon as possible."

"Listen here, I'm not kidding when I say I'm not in the mood for this. You can keep playing the hero all you want, I can't judge you, but leave me alone! A true villain like me doesn't have time to waste on a fake hero like you."

"You're making a mistake if you think this is a game... apprentice of wind, Hayato Noogard!"

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Hayato is taken by surprise, remaining silent for a few moments, before speaking again:

"You know my name...?! I see... So the old man told you everything, didn't he? But what do you plan to do with this information? Know that I'm not afraid of being exposed!"

"All I'm going to do now is control your airship. If you excuse me..."

"Hey, do you really think I'm just going to make it easy for you just because you know my identity? The fortress is on autopilot right now, so know that there's no problem with me taking control of the airship for a while."

"(Just as Vektor has predicted...)

Will you resort to violence?"

"I'm a really well-prepared villain. I always need to have a Plan B in case someone catches me off guard. Even though I always fight with my robots, I'm much stronger than you might expect, so you better not underestimate me."

"I came prepared for this. I'll have to end this soon, apprentice Noogard!"

As the showdown between Kder and Hayato begins, Vektor finally arrives at the arena of Drettonus Castle, located at the top of the castle's tallest tower, where he comes across a royal throne on a level floor 5 meters above the ground he is standing on. On this throne sits the princess of Netern Island and apprentice of light, Reiko Sorang, dressed in an elegant and luxurious royal attire. Vektor starts his conversation with Reiko:

"...I'm back."

"So... did you defeat that evildoer?"

"Yeah... twice."

"How about the other 3 Etykiran apprentices? Did you find them?"

"I did, they'll get here at any moment."

"I see... You have indeed fulfilled my wishes... As expected of the apprentice of flames. So, the time has come for our destined final showdown. An adventurer who wishes to energize the Burning Silver and break a curse, and a princess with her pride threatened. These seem like good reasons for a duel like this. Now, prepare yourself, Vektor Drenn!"

"(I- Is it really fine...? Won't punching a princess get me sued or anything? Well, I guess this is my punishment for not learning to control my powers like I should...)

I'm ready for the battle. Let's begin!"

Even if hesitating, Vektor prepares himself for the promised duel. But suddenly, a known voice appears behind him, saying:

"Vektor, get out of the way!"

When Vektor turns around, he sees that it is Mitsuko Kageki, who says:

"Her opponent will be me!"

Reiko asks Mitsuko:

"What are you doing, invading the arena in the middle of a duel?"

"You just heard it. The duel will be between you and me."

Interrupting the confrontation, Vektor starts a conversation with Mitsuko:

"How did you get here so fast?!"

"After I heard from your friend that you were going to face her, I came here as fast as I could using my teleportation. I brought Yuko and your friend here too, but they're being blocked at the castle gate. They told me to go ahead while they sorted things out downstairs."

"So everyone's finally gathered... Cool, that means all that's left now is to conclude the duel, am I right? But why do you want to fight in my place?"

"Remember when I told you that her power is to create light clones? That means that in a physical duel, she is at an absolute advantage, you wouldn't stand a chance. On the other hand, I, with my teleportation power, would be the perfect opponent for her! It would be a truly balanced duel, in which the deciding factor will be skill."

"You seem really excited about this... You've been waiting for a chance like this, haven't you?"

"Of course I also want to help you, but I don't want to pretend this is all altruism. My priority here is to finally settle the score with her, and if it will help you on your journey, I consider that a bonus. Have a problem with that?"

"...No, not at all. Go ahead."

Reiko then takes off her big princess dress and reveals her combat outfit, made of the same materials, but with greater freedom of movement. Reiko and Mitsuko confront each other. The princess, however, does not show much interest:

"So, you'll be the one to face me..."

"That's right... Let's settle this once and for all!"

"Is this what you wanted so much? To face me in battle?"

"For a long time! And finally I got to fulfill my wish!"

"...I see. In that case, rejoice. I accept your challenge!"

And thus begin, simultaneously, two battles: in Drettonus Castle, the apprentices of shadow and light, Mitsuko Vs. Reiko; inside the giant airship, the hero and the villain, Kder Vs. Hayato. These two battles will decide the end of Vektor's journey!