“What the hell… happened?”

Xuanwu and the rest of the World Union’s members moved to a safe location, shielded by Reina and Kaguya.

Looking around, every KOG from the World Union that must have clashed in battle lay reduced to rubble.

The negotiation facility had collapsed, and over a hundred enemy KOGs were all glaring at a lone KOG.

The forces they had assembled numbered the same: one hundred machines.

Each one an elite force, rigorously trained—yet Earthguard operated on an entirely different plane.

Every year, thousands of Earthguard talents flooded their training academies, and only about a dozen at the very top could become Holy Knights.

And among those Holy Knights, the ones who raced across battlefields, honing their skills to the absolute limit, earning both dread and respect from the enemy.

Those were the Holy Knight Captains—existences who could single-handedly turn the tide of war.

Road had gathered all thirty of them here, the ones defending every Earthguard base across the globe.

“You sure about this, Road? The World Union will breach every border while you’re tied up here. They might even reach Valhalla.”

“I’m fully aware. Besides, no matter how much territory they seize, it doesn’t matter as long as I’m around. I’ll reclaim it in no time.”

“I see… Very well, then.”

Kenya raised his sword, pointing it straight at Road.

His physical condition was at its peak, his mind resolute, his technique unrivaled in the world.

With heart, skill, and body perfectly aligned, Kenya stepped into the pinnacle of concentration.

(Deeper… Recall the battle with Osiris-san…)

Deeper still, further in, to the core.

He flung open the door, and a surge of omnipotence enveloped his body.

The Holy Knight Captains, who had been holding relaxed stances, shivered as they sensed the wave of killing intent.

They braced themselves with full focus, steeling for death.

“If I take you down here, it’s all over, right?”

“No—defeating you here is just the beginning.”

With those words, Road vanished into the cluster of KOGs.

Kenya launched into the sky, pursued by the hundred KOGs.

He swung the swords in both hands with explosive force, birthing a domain of blades across the world.

The Holy Knight Captains felt it.

But they had no intention of backing down.

“Road… I’m ready too.”

And so began the clash to determine the world’s apex.

…

“Please flee—this is about to become a battlefield.”

Kaguya and Reina evacuated every non-combatant.

They guided Xuanwu and the others from the rubble of the collapsed facility to the transport ships.

“What about you two? There’s no way you can beat that supreme legion… A hundred of them could topple a nation in a single day.”

“True… but if it’s him.”

“If it’s Kenya.”

““He’ll definitely win!”“

Once the evacuation was complete, Reina and Kaguya rushed toward Kenya.

…

“Well, Sword-kun’s our opponent, huh? Never imagined it’d come to a real fight. Not exactly thrilled about it.”

One of the Holy Knight Captains—and one of the Three Elites—Orgu Obelisk had come to Japan as well.

And one more.

“We can’t afford to take him lightly. He’s the true strongest knight in the world, surpassing even Osiris-san.”

Lamia Silverna stared intently at the boy before her.

Right then, the wave of killing intent erupted, along with the sword domain.

Every Holy Knight Captain in range drew their blades.

Orgu was no exception.

That fighting spirit ignited Orgu’s own bloodlust.

“…This intense! Lamia! Sorry, I lied earlier—I’m claiming first blood!”

His battle lust provoked, Orgu charged ahead with his massive sword.

“Sigh, got it. I’ll back you up.”

Lamia followed suit, and in perfect coordination, the other Holy Knight Captains surrounded Kenya.

And the battle commenced.

“Ngh!”

Kenya took Orgu’s strike head-on.

Blocking that enormous sword with the blades in both his hands.

“You stop it just like that!”

“Says the guy wielding something this heavy for the first time in my life!”

“I’ve wanted to clash with you once since that day, Sword-kun! A sparring match would’ve been ideal!”

One-on-one, he had no intention of losing—but these were the Three Elites, after all.

No opponent he could fell while keeping an eye on the other Holy Knight Captains.

Even so, Kenya unleashed transcendent power.

Wielding the ultimate focus, he cut down the Holy Knights.

Moving freely in every direction, toying with them through peerless maneuvers.

However.

“Haa… haa… haa… This is leagues beyond back then…”

After mere minutes of exchanging blows, Kenya was already spent.

Around him lay a handful of KOGs—the Holy Knights he had defeated.

In other words, he’d only managed to take down a few so far.

“Damn!”

Without a moment to catch his breath, the Holy Knights swarmed Kenya.

“All at master level. Every single one’s proficiency rivals Zeke-san’s.”

Against regular troops, even outnumbered, he could whittle them down by exploiting gaps.

But these foes left almost no openings whatsoever.

“Still, a few have fallen. His strength is staggering, as expected.”

Lamia analyzed coolly.

The Holy Knights couldn’t slacken for an instant—Kenya was that razor-sharp.

The moment they showed a chink, they’d join their rubble-bound comrades below in a flash.

“Seriously! He always goes for the nastiest spots!”

“You block this one too? I thought I’d pegged your habits, but those reflexes are insane.”

Lamia jabbed at openings while Orgu bore down with brute force.

With those two as the core, the other Holy Knight Captains encircled Kenya, unleashing a tempest of clashing steel.

Kenya’s stamina drained rapidly; the specter of defeat loomed in his mind.

“Crap—!?”

A minuscule error—his finger slipped, nudging the lever a few millimeters off.

But it was a fatal slip, so trivial no one else would register it as a mistake.

It surfaced precisely because he was at his limit.

“Sorry, Sword-kun! War’s war!”

Orgu’s greatsword came crashing down—Kenya saw it clearly.

His life flashed before him; the world slowed to a crawl. Yet no matter how he struggled, his dual swords wouldn’t reach in time.

“Exactly—it’s war. So I’ll cut in too!”

But that greatsword was halted by a crimson blade.

“Hoh! You’re with the World Union—”

To Kenya’s right stood a blood-red KOG, wedged between him and Orgu, defending him.

“Kaguya!”

“Sorry I’m late.”

And to Kenya’s left, a stunning machine.

Lamia’s strike, poised to exploit his gap, was parried.

“You’re Zeke-senpai’s…”

“Everyone’s safe, Kenya-kun. And I’ll cover your blind spots.”

The silver-white flurry that absorbed Lamia’s blow fully, cherry blossoms dancing in its wake.

Silver Ice Princess Reina Silfield had arrived.

“You two—thank God!”

Kenya readied the swords in both hands.

The exquisite twin flowers did the same.

As if to shield Kenya.

Swords in both hands—and flowers in both hands.

“Kenya, this one’s mine!”

“Kenya-kun, I’ll handle this one!”

““We’ll take them down!”“

And arrayed before them: the world’s mightiest legion.