Azrael had a conflicted look. He was very familiar with those stones at the pillars, after all, he and his grandfather was the one who made them. “Our family is already under so much pressure, now this.”

If the royal family set their eyes on them, they would be finished. The clan was already in decline, if they were found out to be involved in this, it would be a simple matter for the royal family to bury them completely.

This was one of the major reasons why Azrael assisted the first chance he got.

________________________

Demetrius moved in front of the princess and flashed his palm sideways indicating a retreating request.

“Princess, please stand back and let me take it from here. By the looks of it, that barrier has a duration until it goes down.”

“I won't be able to protect you if you steer too far.”

Demetrius had a bad feeling regarding Harken, it was similar to how animals' instincts could tell if there was danger.

On the opposite side, Harken displayed a scowl on his face as if he was ruminating the situation, after a few seconds he sighed.

“I was hoping I wouldn't have to face you. I expected you would be here but seeing you in the flesh makes a difference.”

Harken then tilted his head diagonally so he could get a glance at Princess Hildegard who was at the back of Demetrius.

“Wait a bit princess, I’ll deal with this guy first and I’ll be with you shortly”

Princess Hildegard whispered at Demetrius. “We need to catch that man alive, these terrorist have some way of nullifying the ‘Sovereign’”

This was a serious matter, as the royal bloodline’s ability was the reason why they have been the rulers for over a millennium. This was the first instance Princess Hildegard ever experienced her ability getting nullified just like that.

To her, this was a blow to her confidence. She was not a fighter, her strength mainly stems from her bloodline and her political influence.

Demetrius has rarely ever presented himself in the public. For the longest time, Demetrius was a Knight serving the Empire. After the war, King Cyrus appointed Demetrius as a King’s guard, from then on Demetrius seldom appeared.

There was much speculation why this happened, the rumors however point at the coup de ta.

The princess then turned to Azrael and Phaeton. “Thank you both for your assistance. If possible please stay by my side.”

Phaeton patted his chest then tugged at Azrael’s clothes lightly to signal him. “Your highness, don't worry we can protect ourselves. With that said we can't just leave anyway, we’re all trapped here.”

“Right, we’re here to help Princess.” Azrael nodded then whispered at Phaeton.

“What the hell are you doing, we cant be a part of this, we’ve already done what we can.”

Demetrius then spoke while drawing his sword. “Don't get ahead of yourselves, you’re almost half dead as it is, and the other one is barely at peak condition. You don't stand a chance. If you want to help then be aware of the surroundings and stick close to her highness.”

________________________

There was a pause. Demetrius went into a standard greatsword stance where the blade rested on his shoulders.

Harken started sweating. The pressure emanated by Demetrius was no joke, it was like facing an insurmountable mountain, however, he quickly calmed himself.

“COME!”

Demetrius moved. He made a slow wind-up of his sword. There was still a considerable distance between the two of them.

“He’s still so far, why is he starting his attack from there?” Azrael questioned.

Slash!

It was a simple slashing motion, at first glance it would seem that there was not any power behind it, but experts knew better. A blast of wind exploded from the force and impact of the slash.

A long deep slash mark was left on the ground. There was no debris or any cracks at the point of impact.

It was as if the slash grounded everything to dust in its wake.

“Such destruction for a basic attack.” Azrael observed the fight closely while clenching and rubbing his hands. He felt in awe and excitement. This was the level that he needed to strive for.

Seeing its destructive power, Harken moved in at close range. He made a flurry of punches before Demetrius could make another attack.

“That won't even leave a dent”. Demetrius simply ignored the attacks and made another windup. At this range, it was no longer possible to dodge as Demetrius’ attack had a wide coverage.

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Harken lifted his arm in a defensive position and prepared to receive it. Contrary to everyone’s expectation Harken was able to block the attack.

“He blocked it with his bare arms.” The princess was shocked.

It was unnatural. Even if it was unlikely, people would still believe it as a stretch that a person could receive such an attack barehanded. The weird thing was there wasn't even a sound and force of impact.

It was as if Harken’s arm was hit by a thin stick. No feedback at all.

Before anyone could react Harken made a palm strike motion.

Boom!

Demetrius was pushed back a few yards. “What is this.”

Demetrius knew full well that his attack connected, however on the moment of impact, he felt that as if all the energy, weight, and momentum of the attack was all lost. He couldn't figure out how this happened.

“Interesting”. He moved back to an attacking position ready to engage once more.

He observed Harken’s demeanor, it would seem that he did not take any damage from his strike. There wasn't any visible strain in his body nor was their signs of exhaustion. It was apparent that he was in tip-top shape.

He had his suspicions but he wanted to confirm it further.

Demetrius fought as normal, occasionally Harken would receive his attack and would immediately counter.

This went on for a few more exchanges

Demetrius winded up another attack using a different stance. It was a grip that was much closer to the blade.

Before Demetrius could finish his motion, Harken dashed right at the receiving end, it was as if he wanted to take the attack head-on in the first place.

Tap!

Harken immediately countered, surprisingly Demetrius had executed another attack at the same time.

BOOM!

The clash reverberated the barrier.

“That's more like it” No one could see it, but underneath Demetrius’ helmet, he was smiling.

For the past exchanges, Demetrius was observing carefully how Harken was blocking his attacks. Moreover, after every successful block, Harken would do a counter with considerable strength which rivals his own. He had confirmed his suspicions from the last attack.

“How is Lord Demetrius getting pushed back?” Phaeton asked in disbelief.

“That man is most likely Knight-level, but even still pushing back Lord Demetrius is not a small feat. His defenses are built like a fortress.” Princess Hildegard found the whole situation weird, she had never heard of anyone capable of just taking hits directly from the ‘Titanic Sword’

For the longest time, Demetrius was a Knight serving the Empire. After the ‘War of Avandier’, Demetrius has rarely ever presented himself in the public. There was much speculation why this happened, the common folk presumes that it was due to King Cyrus appointing Demetrius as a King’s guard as a reward for his contribution to the war.

After all, a King’s guard stays at the capital with the royal family. Rumors among the noble clans however point at the ‘Anguis coup de ta’. They say Demetrius was not what he once was.

Azrael on the other hand was hyper-focused in observing the battle. From the start of the battle, Azrael was using ‘Combustion’ to take notes on how High-level fights are.

“Harken’s mana circulation behaves abnormally every time he receives an attack. Maybe that has something to do with him blocking everything perfectly.” Azrael mused.

“Lord Demetrius’ attacking direction changed!”

________________________

Demetrius increased his mana output and suddenly jumped vertically from the ground. He then swung his sword like a pendulum gathering momentum and directed the attack in Harken’s general direction.

Seeing the incoming attack, Harken shifted his body and lunged forward with the thought of receiving the attack.

“Predictable.” Red sparks of plasma and lightning exploded from Demetrius and his body abruptly twisted into a different angle of attack.

The attack brushed off Harken. “What?!”

He tried to compose himself, when he looked back, he discovered that the slash itself extended to the outer rim of the barrier. There was a crack.

“Shit! You were after the barrier huh? It's no use. We already took into account how strong you were. This barrier can withstand multiple knight-level attacks!”

A raspy voice sounded from Demetrius helm. “We’ll see how strong your barrier is then.”

Harken circulated his mana and pounced at Demetrius. He couldn't allow him to continue attacking the barrier. The barrier was indeed capable of taking multiple hits but it's only as strong as the magic reserves on the Mana stones. Once it depletes, Harken had no way of capturing the Princess, she would be able to escape easily.

“Ahhgg. I really don't want to fight you anymore.”

Demetrius swung his sword at the incoming Harken. It was another slow slash.

Harken then made a sidestep, easily dodging the slash, he then capitalized on the opening and proceeded to attack.

Demetrius did not even flinch.

The successive punching strikes landed however it simply bounced off the armor, leaving a few scratches. The armor dispersed Harken’s attacks with ease including his strong counter-attacks. It was as durable as it appeared to be. Even if Demetrius was slow, the armor negated any notion that his speed was a weakness.

“What the hell is up with that armor, its too thick.”

Boom!

The impact of the missed slash exploded again. The barrier shook mildly and another crack formed at the barrier.

“Looks like you can't shift your attack as easily as you did earlier hah!” Harken laughed.

A calm raspy voice sounded from the armor.

“I'm aiming for you and the barrier. Your dodging is inconsequential, your attacks can barely scratch me. I don’t know how long you can keep your ability up, but I win as long as the barrier breaks.”

Harken’s eyes twitched the moment he heard this and thought to himself. “Ah, fuck did he figure it out? I’m going to need backup”

Demetrius spoke once more, however, this time Harken felt a much greater pressure from before. “If I were you, I would surrender right now.”

Azrael and company observed the battle.

“So that's the power of King’s guard, he’s easily able to control the flow of the battle”.

________________________

In the Right-wing of the Stadium

Harken was using his mental communicator to contact his subordinates. These were small metallic films etched with runes that had a mental spell. As long as the runes were made from the same pattern, communication can be done back and forth without issues.

“Right-wing, respond! What's going on, I need backup here” Harken called out in a frustrated voice.

There was no response at the time however the noises indicated that there was fighting in the background.

“Boss, help! This guy is too strong, most of us have already been slaughtered.”

“Aggghhh”

“No, no, ughh.”

“What's happening!” Harken shouted at his communicator.

It was static for a while until a bright voice sounded.

“All your cohorts are dead, they won't be able to answer you.”

Suddenly the loud voice resounded from the Right-wing “Old man, I just need you to keep damaging the barrier, I’ll also do so on my end.”

CYGNUS!