The dining area went silent. Every servant and family member of the royal family looked at Arthur.

Each of them shared the same expression:

Shock.

Arnold rested his chin on his hand as he glanced at Arthur.

“What suddenly brought this on?” asked Arnold calmly.

‘Did I do something wrong? Well, I am a bit of a bastard with my mouth but everyone should know that. Nothing I’ve said so far should’ve offended him that much.’

Was speaking the truth the reason for Arthur asking for a duel?

“Are you going to accept it or not?” Arthur was looking down on Arnold.

‘This fucking bastard. Is he just trying to make himself look cool after what happened?’

The so-called “Greatest Warrior of Naridian Kingdom” was almost defeated by the chief despite killing the prince in one blow.

Shouldn’t Arthur be grateful that Arnold saved him?

“Lord Arthur, why are you challenging Lord Arnold…?” asked the king as he stood up.

“Shut up.” Arthur glared at the king which made him make a small “eek”.

“You’ve never said no to a challenge before, right? What’s a little duel with me?”

‘No, you bastard. Duels are meant to preserve the honor of both parties. My honor is still intact. What you’re looking for is a fight.’

A duel is based on a code of honor. Duels are fought not so much to kill the opponent as to gain "satisfaction", but to restore one's honor by demonstrating a willingness to risk one's life for it, and as such the tradition of dueling was originally reserved for the male members of nobility; however, in the modern era, it extended to those of the upper classes generally.

Duels are usually used as a last resort of honor between nobles. If one noble stole the land of the other then they put something valuable on the line to get their honor back.

It wasn’t rare to die in a duel. Killing in duels was outside the legislation of imperial law. No one will punish a noble for killing another if they fought in a duel. This was because kingdoms are built upon the saying of “give and take”.

Wars started this saying. Duels are the result of it.

The empire has many rules when it comes to duels though. One such rule was that no other party should become involved besides the two who agreed on the duel. Any foul play detected from either side will result in imprisonment if the foul play causes injury or possibly death.

Knowing Arthur, Arnold didn’t need to worry about foul play.

Arnold stood up.

Arthur was asking for a duel despite knowing the consequences.

“I won’t hold back. If you lose both your arms then it’ll be your own fault.” Arnold said calmly.

“Same goes for you. I won’t be able to control my power in this duel.”

‘Your divine aura has gone to your head, hero.’

“Fine, I accept.”

◇◇◇

30 minutes passed by to allow both combatants to get ready for their duel.

The announcement of a duel soon spread throughout the palace like wildfire. Everyone who was on the palace’s property gathered in the courtyard to witness the fight between two powerful warriors.

Arnold and Arthur were guided to the courtyard in their full gear. Well, Arnold only had his sword with wyvern-scale armor under his coat. Arthur donned full body armor.

It was still night so the people had to make large bonfires to be able to light up the surroundings.

There was a warm wind in the air that felt pleasant against Arnold’s cheek.

He looked around.

There were hundreds of nobles, commoners and servants watching them from the many towers and bridges of the palace and other residences.

Some were standing on the ground to be near the battleground. Others were watching on the walls, out their windows or even outside the gates.

Arnold looked at Arthur. Fecius was busy speaking to him about something.

Arthur smiled for some reason before Fecius left.

“What’s that grin for?” Arnold brandished his sword in a relaxed manner.

“It’s just… Fecius told me that the person I confessed to might get heartbroken if I died here. I can’t picture Shirley ever shedding tears for a man.” Arthur laughed softly, “But if she feels as strongly about me as I do about her then I can die happy.”

“Shirley, huh. She’s the daughter of the Lion King, right?”

“You know her?”

“Yeah.”

Shirley was a major character in the Hero Party. One could say she made up the core members due to her strength that rivaled Hero Luke.

Her racial skill, [Instinct Primal], allowed her to become several times stronger than her base form. She grows fur that’s even stronger than dragonscale armor and her claws become sharp enough to slash steel.

She was a descendant of an extinct Divine Beast called the Moon Wolf. It was an entity that could harness space in its claws and create vacuums that suck everything inside of it.

Shirley inherited this power, although, she probably couldn’t use it yet just like she couldn’t control her beast form.

It was due to her power to rip open space that the Hero Party and major nations could invade the demon world without having to go through the Intermid Border.

Shirley once achieved a form called [Perfect Divine Beast Form] that allowed her to harness the full power of her ancestral bloodline. She became a walking disaster capable of destroying the entire human world.

Even Luke couldn’t stop her in that point in time since he didn’t have the Holy Sword of Song and Light.

But as it turned out, only Olivia was able to stop Shirley from destroying the continent.

Though not to point of taming Shirley as she could her Divine Beasts, she was able to calm Shirley down. The two of them became like sisters due to that bond they shared. If Shirley lost control then Olivia could stop her using her power.

That was why it was essential for the two to meet.

“Is Shirley in your class, right?”

“Yes, she is. We’ve been in the same class for seven years. Enough with the questions now, we’re here to fight.”

‘The two were originally married in the game by the time Shirley became Queen. It was around the final few months of their 7th year that Arthur confessed to her. Looks like that didn’t change despite the situation that they’re in.’

“….” Arthur silently unsheathed his sword.

A knight hurriedly stepped forward and stood in the middle of the two.

“I shall now announce the rules!” he spread his arms, “Both parties are to respect the customs of a duel. Meaning that you are not allowed to leave the duel without admitting defeat. You are allowed to injure your opponent but you can’t use cheap tricks like poking the eyes or kicking one another in the groin. This is specially forbidden amongst men. That will count as a foul! Lastly! Lord Arnold will not step foot outside the perimeter decided by the challenger!”

“Oh?” Arnold looked around and noticed white powder had been laid down around them in a circle. The area was large enough to move around so it won’t hinder him much.

‘Does he think this will make his fight with me easier?’

Arnold was an agile fighter, meaning he didn’t use physical strength alone to fight. He dodges with swift movements using his body and doesn’t just sidestep.

Arthur didn’t move around much like him except for the occasional dodging.

“Clever move. I guess you’re not as dumb as I thought.” Arnold smirked as he got into a stance, “I admit that this will make the fight troublesome for me. Oh well, I accepted the duel so I should just go along with your little game.”

“…..”

“Warriors! Get ready!”

The crowd grew excited. The men stomped their feet while the women clapped their hands. A cacophony of noises filled the night air.

Arthur put on his helmet and got into a stance as well.

The knight swung down his hand, “Begin!”

“AAAAAH!” White aura engulfed Arthur’s body.

It was far different than earlier today when he used it in small amounts. Even the surroundings was lid up by his power.

Arnold didn’t bother using his own aura. He used a skill.

[Dash].

He was propelled forwards by a force.

He clenched his fist that wasn’t holding the sword.

“!” Arthur seemed to notice at the last second that Arnold used a skill. He hurriedly sidestepped.

Arnold twisted his body to go for a kick instead of slowing down. If he stops to go for a punch again then the power from his punch would be weaker. Instead, he sent all that energy through his body into his right leg.

“Guh!”

It connected. Arthur was pushed back by incredible force but his legs managed to stay firmly on the ground.

‘This bastard is tough. If an ordinary knight took that head-on then they would’ve fallen down.’

Arnold didn’t need aura to fight. He could take down 4th star knights without a sweat. His physical strength might not match Flora’s but he could handle anyone below a 5th star knight’s level rather easily.

This wouldn’t have been possible if his body and aura didn’t have balance.

Arnold didn’t give Arthur the chance to recover. He swung his sword, aiming for Arthur’s chest to go for the kill.

This was a duel, he wouldn’t fight without the intent to kill.

A clank resounded as Arnold’s sword was parried by Arthur’s gauntlet.

Arnold lost power in his hands when his arms were thrown back. That gave Arthur the opportunity to counterattack.

He swung his sword vertically, aiming for Arnold’s shoulder but Arnold lightly jumped and tried to kick Arthur in the face.

Arthur retracted his sword just when it was about to hit Arnold's shoulder. He ducked and tried to grab Arnold from below, probably to push him down. Arnold responded by hitting Arthur’s wrists with the hilt of his sword.

Arthur groaned and fell back.

Arnold landed on the ground. He rotated his right arm when he felt a sting in his shoulder.

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‘That white aura managed to graze my shoulder even though I dodged.’

Even a small amount of divinity seemed to hurt. What if he was actually cut by that sword?

He suddenly remembered his fight with Luke. Just being surrounded in divine aura was enough to make him lose 90% of his HP. That caused him to lose consciousness.

If Arthur uses the same tactic after catching Arnold by surprise then Arnold will lose.

‘Why am I worrying about such a thing? Arthur doesn’t even know about my high negative karma.’

Arthur was also slower than him. Arnold didn’t even have to use his aura to fight(not yet anyway) since Arthur’s balance of power was off.

His body was receiving more white aura than his sword. This was a good strategy but only if you aren’t wearing full body armor.

Divine aura was the perfect offense and defense but this idiot of a hero was using it the wrong way.

Arthur was getting his priorities wrong. His armor was good enough for protection so he needed to invest more power in his sword.

“You’re surprisingly strong. But you need to work on controlling your power better.” Arnold held his sword with both hands, “Hey, you’ll let me fuck Shirley when I win, right? It’s the least you can do since you challenged me to a duel.”

“Let’s stop with the talking,” Arthur bent his body and burst forward, “I won’t fall victim to your taunts!”

‘Finally getting serious, huh?’

Arnold burst forward as well.

The ground rumbled when the two of them connected swords.

“Ugh!” Arthur groaned.

“Put more aura into your sword.” Arnold didn’t expect white aura to be this weak. He barely felt anything.

Arthur was the only one being pushed back.

“Shut up! Haaaaah!” Arthur listened to Arnold’s advice despite telling him to shut up.

‘There it is.’

Arnold could feel the weight behind Arthur’s sword becoming several times heavier.

Arnold decided to use his own aura since things were heating up.

He head-butted Arthur’s helmeted head.

“Ugh!?” Arthur's footing lost their balance.

His helmet caved in. Blood spurted out of his forehead.

Arnold took that opportunity seeing that Arthur lost his balance. He punched Arthur in the stomach.

“!!” Arnold jumped and kicked Arthur’s helmeted head again.

Blood flew out of his nose and mouth as he was knocked back on his knees.

“Haaah!” the white aura surrounding his sword became bigger.

Arthur burst forward, this time even faster.

“Shit!” Arnold just landed so he couldn’t dodge or defend in time.

Arthur swung his sword at Arnold’s neck. Arnold ducked and grabbed Arthur by the waist to throw him down.

He suddenly felt a force hit his back.

He was also kicked in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of his lungs.

‘This guy became this strong in just a few minutes?’

The weight behind his punches felt much heavier than before.

Arnold was caught by surprise at this sudden increase of power but he adapted to the situation. He dodged Arthur’s swings and caught his punches or kicks.

Still, the weight behind Arthur’s attacks was very heavy despite the fact that it was so easy to counter them or dodge them.

Was the difference between dark blue aura and white aura this significant? Arnold was using the exact amount that Arthur was using but he was barely holding on.

‘That fucking god. His blessing didn’t just give Arthur an insane amount of aura, it increased all his stats as well.’

That was only apparent once Arthur used more aura.

White Aura was divinity aura, much like Golden aura(although slightly weaker in overall output but very much the same). If Arthur knew about Arnold’s weakness against divinity then he’d stick to throwing aura blasts instead of engaging in close combat.

Punches infused with white aura didn’t do as much damage as a projectile of divinity. Projectiles are meant to pierce the opponent’s body just like swords. Since that was the case, Arnold would be vulnerable if Arthur figured out his weakness.

There was also now way he could stop a fully powered divine aura blast. If he blocks then he’ll get hurt, if he tries to tank it, then he’ll get hurt. There was no way to defend against it.

‘I’ll need to hide my pain even if he manages to graze me with his sword.’

Arnold activated one of his trump card skills when he avoided another one of Arthur’s blows.

Speed Of Sound.

Time slowed down, no, he moved so fast that it appeared as though everything slowed down heavily.

His sweat fell down slowly.

Arthur’s sword that was aiming for his head was slower than before.

The cheering of the crowd faded away.

Arnold released more aura.

If he couldn’t overwhelm Arthur with the same output of aura then why not multiply his aura ten-fold?

‘This fight is seriously unnecessary. My aura will probably take a while to replenish. Whatever.’

Arnold and his father were the only dark blue aura users currently alive. Dark blue aura was known to give its user a significant aura pool at birth and allow them to control their aura much better. This was why Arnold could find balance between his physical body and aura-enhanced strength to establish an equilibrium.

Dark blue aura users have the potential to fight tens or hundreds of enemies at once. Users on Marcus’ level could fight against entire armies of 3rd to 9th star aura users.

Red aura was the complete opposite of blue. It gave its user a tiny or limited aura pool that grows very slowly. Despite this minor setback their aura was slightly stronger than dark blue aura.

If one were to rank all aura types:

White Aura and Golden Aura were the strongest. Golden aura was better in power consumption since it burned slower than white aura did during battle. It also absorbed more divine power. For example, if white aura could absorb 50% of pure divine power from a blessing then golden aura could absorb 70% from that same blessing. This puts golden aura at the top while white aura is the second. The difference isn’t so significant unless both fighters are the same level.

Below White and Golden aura was Red aura with its destructive power.

Third was Dark blue aura users who could harness an entire lake’s worth of aura to fight endlessly. Their large pool of aura and inexhaustible stamina makes them the worst opponents for red aura users who had limited aura in their reserves. There are only three known divine aura users(Promethius, Luke and Arthur) so it’s difficult to compare dark blue aura to divine aura.

Fourth was all the other aura variants which aren’t that important to mention.

It’s important to mention that divine aura users get their divine power from their blessings. It wasn’t produced naturally like aura itself. This was how a hero’s power was determined. It also depended on which god gave the blessing since that determines the amount of golden or white aura a hero uses.

Luke was blessed by Melis since birth. That was why his aura pool was so significantly larger than Arthur who had the same variant. Now that he was blessed by a minor god—the Wind God—Luke had a slightly bigger aura pool compared to before.

In theory, it was believed that a hero could be blessed by any number of gods, regardless of who they are. However, that was a wrong assumption to make.

Like most things in this world, the amount of blessings a person can have is determined by their potential. The sword was only the one to choose the right person to bless. That was what Arthur told Arnold.

Looking at Arthur now, Arnold could say for sure that he doesn’t come close to Luke.

The Sky God was probably very high up in the divine hierarchy given how strong the blessing was that he gave Arthur. Arthur could control more aura from his blessing than Luke could. Luke’s power was very limited at the moment so he needs a weapon to absorb the aura from his body. Which means that Arthur was technically ahead of Luke.

The question that lingered in Arnold’s mind was: ‘Why was Arthur given a blessing even though Luke is already blessed?’

Arnold swung his sword. However, he wasn’t holding it by the hilt.

He was holding it by the blade just like the prince did.

It was aiming right for Arthur’s head. The amount of blue aura he was using was no joke. If it hit Arthur then he will pass out due to a concussion.

The noises of the people’s cheering and shouting returned as time slowed down.

Arnold’s sword was mere inches away from Arthur’s head.

A sound of steel hitting each other echoed.

Arthur parried Arnold’s surprise attack.

“!?”

Arnold couldn’t believe the superhuman reflexes that Arthur just showed. Even the person himself seemed surprised by what just happened.

However, he quickly counterattacked.

‘Tch, is this the instincts of a hero?’

While Arnold doesn’t consider Arthur a hero by any means, that kind of reflex was nothing to laugh at. It was a godly ability that only a hero can possess. Arthur could move even faster than the speed of sound, Arnold’s strongest skill.

“Aaaaah!” Arthur swung his sword diagonally which Arnold met with his own sword.

The sound of steel hitting steel echoed again.

They didn’t stop. They kept attacking each other, one hoping to hit the other.

Sparks flew.

Arnold’s hair was sticking to his face due to the excess amount of sweat that built up.

The fight continued. The two was still going at the same pace.

Arthur’s eyes were red and his breathing was labored but he held on.

‘There’s no sign that his power is weakening. He’s still attacking with the same amount of force as me.’

Arnold could always use more aura but that will take the fun out of crushing this brat in front of him.

How dare he stop Arnold from getting into bed with the king’s daughters and wife? Arnold could’ve enjoyed the night any other way instead of fighting like this.

‘I guess I won’t be sleeping tonight, huh.’

Arnold increased his speed while attacking. Arthur gritted his teeth as he was pushed back.

Their exchange of blows was so intense that their swords were beginning to noticeably crack. If Arnold used his aura sword then this wouldn’t have happened. Still, he had to honor the duel that states that both fighters must choose a weapon from a bench instead of using their own weapons.

“Focus on the fight, damn you!” Arthur yelled as he did a two-handed vertical slash. Arnold deflected the strike and jumped lightly to the side.

“It’s important to analyze your opponent’s moves. Once you get a grasp of their abilities and see through all their moves, then you can crush them. Didn’t I teach you this when we were children?”

“I only have memories of you beating me to a pulp with a poker face.”

“Ahaha, right. I never actually taught you anything using words. I guess I’m just like Sebas, huh?”

“You’re nothing like him. He’s an honorable warrior who respects every adversary he faces. You’re scum who mocks your opponents to get them to act recklessly in the fight in order for you gain the upper hand. That’s not how an honorable warrior fights.”

“I could care less about honor. Unlike you who started this duel to preserve yours.”

“This has nothing to do with my honor!!!”

More white aura burst out of Arthur.

‘This seems like more aura that he used to kill the prince. This bastard grows while fighting.’

Arnold was sure that Arthur wasn’t like this without his blessing. If he could get stronger with every fight then he should’ve been much stronger before he got the blessing.

“!!” Arthur shot at lightning speeds towards Arnold.

Arnold dodged just in time. He span around and connected his fist with Arthur’s right upper body. He was aiming straight for Arthur’s ribs.

The armor was dented heavily by Arnold’s punch.

“Haaaaaaah!”

Arthur’s eyes were completely white with no signs of his pupils. He roared in pain but didn’t stop in his pursuit to end Arnold.

‘Shit.’ Arnold saw a fist flying his way just when he thought that Arthur was already done for.

A punch to the liver was a deadly move. The pain is astronomical. How would it feel to be punched by a guy using aura?

Arnold thought that the punch would’ve ended Arthur.

What a dilemma.

Arthur’s gauntleted fist connected with Arnold’s face.

The crowd went silent.

Arnold was… still standing!?

Arnold’s head was only shot back due to Arthur’s punch but it didn’t send him flying like one would expect.

If Arthur’s hand was covered in white aura then that punch would’ve done some hefty damage.

However…

“Huh…?” Arthur looked down at his body. The white aura he had before vanished.

Arnold felt like he was hit by a toddler.

This fight was already over.

‘So that’s the extend of his full power. I guess he can’t maintain that much aura just yet. Anyway, time to make use of this power I missed out on.’

The current Arnold now had the knowledge of original Arnold, thanks to the Arnold he met in the abyss. Of course, with this knowledge came the skills that Arnold learned during his childhood.

Arnold threw his sword to the side.

Arthur tried to swing his sword to take advantage of the distance between the two but Arnold hit Arthur’s wrist that was holding the sword, causing his swing to lose power.

Arnold struck Arthur against the chest with his palm.

The blow wasn’t fatal at all but it caused Arthur to be sent flying.

“So this is the extend of white aura,” Arnold smirked, “It definitely caught me by surprise but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.”

He unleashed all his power and focused it on his fist.

Arthur hurriedly jumped back in an attempt to escape when he got up. The palm strike from earlier must’ve done significant damage. Arnold sent his aura through Arthur’s body so the damage wasn’t external but rather internal.

Arnold used [Speed Of Sound] again and appeared behind the fleeing Arthur.

“What!?” Arthur noticed too late to be able to do anything.

Arnold’s fist connected with his back. It sunk into his armor, shattering it completely. A snapping sound echoed.

That was the sound of a rib being broken.

“!!!” A scream of agony came out of Arthur’s mouth.

Arthur flew a few meters and crashed into a wall, almost collapsing it entirely.

…

Silence.

The crowd didn’t cheer or clap their hands for Arnold.

Arnold looked around.

A few even looked scared.

He overwhelmed their greatest warrior, after all. It must’ve looked like the two of them were on par with each other at first.

But that wasn’t the case at all. Arnold only took the opportunity to see how strong the supposed hero was.

He wasn’t strong at all. If you go by level then he was leagues below Arnold, probably equivalent to level 60 of a person with any warrior class.

Dark blue aura might’ve been the third ranked aura due to its low attack power compared to the others, however, when it was wielded by someone who mastered it, it was considered even more dangerous than golden aura.

Arnold had a constant supply of his aura while Arthur had to be careful with how much of his aura he uses. It took years to be able to use your aura effectively against an opponent with more aura.

The rubble that fell on top of Arthur suddenly moved.

And lo and behold, Arthur was still standing, although he was a mess.

His face was covered in blood.

The tip of his sword was trembling as if he couldn’t hold its weight any longer.

In the end he fell on his knees.

Arnold turned around. The knight didn’t need to declare it his victory since he obviously won.

“….Why…”

Arnold stopped when he heard Arthur speak. He glanced back.

"Why can’t I…. AAAAH! Dammit!” Arthur yelled, “Why can't I win!? I tried so hard! I trained every single day until my body ached! You were born special! I know for a fact that you would've been stronger than me even if you didn't train when you were young! I trained as hard as you did! I sought advice from Master Sebas and did everything you did! Yet why!?”

“….”

“You flaunt your power so much that it’s sickening… You disrespect those who worked truly hard to get where they are! Why!? Do you like seeing the weak humiliate themselves to entertain you!? You toy with every single one of your opponents… Just like you just did with me… I hate that… I put my all into my attacks but you just looked at me like I was an ant during our exchange of blows… I… I fucking hate you, Arnold!”

Arnold turned around and walked towards Arthur. The pathetic sight of him groveling beneath Arnold’s feet was a fascinating sight to see.

“….” Arnold was now standing above Arthur, looking down at him with cold eyes.

Envy.

That seemed to be the reason for this duel.

Arthur sought Arnold’s power and his incredible talent. The talent of a Transcendent. He wanted to be like Arnold. No, maybe he wanted to dethrone Arnold by training just as hard?

Arthur Tivurgian was no Transcendent. He was just a normal human.

How many times had he been saved by Arnold? How many times had he been beaten down? How many times had Arnold surpassed him in everything?

Why did Arthur Tivurgian—despite his struggles—not become a villain? His backstory was tragic and he had a rivalry with one of the strongest characters in the game.

People with such motivations usually did whatever was necessary to obtain their goals.

That ultimately leads to them becoming villains, just like all the others that appeared throughout the story.

But Arthur remained pure-hearted despite his hate for Arnold and motivations to become strong.

Arthur continued, “You even won Olivia's heart! The woman I fell for! Even after all these years… she still won’t accept me… Dammit, why can't I win in anything!?”

He proceeded to scream “dammit” at the top of his lungs.

The surroundings were still silent.

“I… I thought I could at least win in something! I thought with this power—! But I… I still can’t win…” he punched the ground.

‘This is who the people are supposed to call their hero?’

“B-But it isn’t over… I swear I’ll get stronger and crush you one day! I didn’t get this far only to give up!” Arthur glared at Arnold.

‘What a pathetic and small person.’

Arnold knelt down.

He looked into Arthur’s glaring eyes for a few seconds.

He scoffed which intensified the rage within Arthur’s eyes.

His face became stoic as he looked into Arthur’s eyes again.

“You’re a fucking disappointment.”

Then he walked away.

“….D-Disappointment…?”

Arnold didn’t bother turning back to repeat his words or elaborate on them. He just kept walking until he was out of sight.