Can It Even be called War? VIII

After a brief lull due to the attacks cancelling each other out, Artoria summoned her full armor to protect her entire body, looking like a smaller version of her Lancer self and, cladding herself in mana completely to boost her physical abilities to a ridiculous degree, the King of Knights charged.

The wave of Power of Destruction, the reddish black energy that threatened to destroy all of creation, could do little to hamper Artoria in her violent assault.

So much so that Sirzechs was wholly unready for her to leap so easily into close quarters but just because the King of Knights had gotten up close and personal, it did not mean she planned on not unleashing her devastating Mana Burst.

As powerful as it was due to Excalibur's amplification, its fearsomeness was still far greater when it was shot at point blank range.

By the time Sirzechs got his bearings, the terrifying holy sword was already inches away from his body and if the energy released was already so powerful, the crimson haired Satan was not keen on finding out how much "better" the actual blade tasted.

Thankfully, the close range also gave him a great advantage. Since at such a minor to the point of non existence, distance, he did not have any need to focus and direct his power of destruction. And that meant a huge boost in the speed with which he could produce a powerful attack.

With a mere thought, a massive blast of the reddish black energy occurred with Sirzechs himself as the epicenter.

If the normal waves he released when taking his true form were made up of the power he could not keep under control, then this was he simply relinquishing that control and letting his colossal power explode outwards without focus or direction.

Against an opponent fighting him from a distance? Worthless. The dispersion of the energy as it went further made it useless against any foe that would require him to use his true form to defeat in the first place. But against one so close to him? Certain kill.

Or so he thought . . .

Artoria did not even think of backing off or turning her power towards defense. If anything, the glow of her holy sword only multiplied in strength as the beautiful and petite King of Knights demonstrated the tyranny of her draconic might.

Sirzechs' explosion did not even have time to expand before it was swallowed by the holiest of golden lights.

Even as the full release of his power managed to keep the destructive light at bay, as it could not immediately eliminate it like before, it resulted in a huge amount of force that sent him hurtling through the air.

Inevitably though, as he was knocked sideways by a sweeping slash and not upwards, the crimson haired Satan quickly crashed into the ground, his destructive might ravaging the duel field's floor and digging a huge trench at his passing.

While it was quite comical, possibly even humiliating, Sirzechs was not even the slightest bit injured, something which Artoria had quickly noticed.

'That was my maximum power that can be released instantaneously . . . Without charging up or performing a true name release, I can't output more. If I had used Rhongomyniad, thank to its superior piercing power, I might have dealt some damage but regardless . . . He is strong.'

The King of Knights began to analyze the few exchanges she had with her opponent so far. There was already enough to draw many conclusion that, while far from certain, were still highly probably to be true.

'The power this Sirzechs Lucifer released ought to have been his maximum instantaneous output as well but mine was amplified by my holy sword which means that his raw power is definitely far far greater than mine currently is.' She began deducing but she quickly dismissed that thought.

'No, the difference is not that big, he might even have less but his current form allows him to release it instantly whilst I need to charge up in order to release my full power. It still does not change the fact he is considerably more powerful than me however.'

Even if that was the case, there was another important fact that the King of Knights had caught on.

'But that difference relates to raw power and raw power alone. I'm superior in every other aspect.' Artoria confidently concluded in her mind. In truth, it was not hard to figure out.

Perhaps if Sirzechs could fully control his unstable human shaped aura of destruction, then the situation might actually shift completely, might.

At the current stage however, not only were Artoria's attacks much sharper, more focused and faster, she herself was far faster than her opponent at least in burst speed.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to catch him that off guard with a dash. It had not even been her full speed but her attack had almost succeeded! Even if there was an element of surprise involved, it did not change that Artoria had the advantage in terms of speed and reflexes.

'The nature of his power is extremely destructive so no one he fought could probably even get close enough to him. His raw power is so great that even if his attacks are unfocused, it would definitely by more than his enemies could defend against.' Artoria considered.

'In the end, the reason for this weakness to be so blatant and ignored . . . Is probably because this Sirzechs Lucifer has never crossed paths with an enemy that could exploit it. All of his foes were simply overwhelmed by the pure raw might and destructive potential of this special energy.'

'He is suffering because he lacks opponents powerful enough to challenge him in any way.' The King of Knights came to her conclusion.

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P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!

The link is: https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/lusoba without the extra dots of course.

You'll get to read up to FOUR week ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.

There's also my other novel Archon of DanMachi, do check it out!

I would greatly appreciate any support since this is going to be my breadwinner.