"Lala, take care of Mikan."
On noticing Lala and Mikan maintaining proper distance, it began.
"Owaaaa!" With a roar, Zastin swung his sword in a powerful downward strike with one hand.
Kanon immediately moved to the side as the attack hit the ground where he previously stood, creating a fissure in the ground.
Kanon, seeing the chance, attacked, closing the distance in the blink of an eye and slashing, forcing Zastin to step back.
"You think you can catch me with just that?" Right then, Zastin observed a diagonal slash mark on the left eye of his demonic-looking armour.
"..."
Zastin traced his finger over the scratch. His gaze was keen; his assessment of the earthling, no Kanon, changed.
"You, did you hold back?" he spoke in an almost assured tone.
"This is a test, right? Why would I hold back? I aimed for the armour and struck the target," Kanon said, pointing his sword at Zastin.
"I see, it seems I have underestimated you, thinking of you as just a mere earthling." He took a serious stance.
This time, both of us moved at the same time, and our swords clashed. We both tried to push the other, trying to overpower one another. But it became obvious to Kanon that even with his enhanced status, Zastin was clearly stronger, as he kept getting pushed back.
"You have admirable strength, but not enough."
Zastin sent Kanon back, skidding through the ground.
We exchanged slashes, trying to gauge each other's skills, with smiles on our faces. Kanon utilised his abilities to adapt to and counter Zastin's sword techniques. While he dodged most of the strikes, a few harmless blows landed, causing burns on his flesh. The same was true for Zastin, but his armour absorbed the damage for him.
After a few more rounds of slashes, we clashed again as Zastin started to overpower him. By now, Kanon had gained a good understanding of Zastin's skills as a swordsman.
Kanon, seizing the opportunity, tilted the Omni sword and slashed, exploiting Zastin's momentum to land another cut on his armour.
Noting the second slash on his armour, Zastin burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha… It seems Princess Lala has chosen quite the man as her fiancé."
"See, I told you. Kanon is a wonderful person," Lala shouted at Zastin from afar.
"But still… the test is not over yet." Zastin moved a lot faster than he had shown till now and swung his energy blade.
Kanon, noticing the incoming attack, ducked the first swing and attempted to block the second slash, but Zastin's overwhelming strength flung him away.
"Kanon!" Mikan shouted and tried to run to him, seeing Kanon's condition, but Lala stopped her.
"He's hurt; we need to do something," Mikan said.
"I know, but…" Lala was a bit reluctant to interfere, but noticing his haggard state, she pulled out a cell phone-like device.
Kanon somehow landed on his feet, haggard.
[What in the world?] When the attack struck, he attempted to redirect its force with his body. Despite his efforts, the impact of the attack was far greater than anticipated; even though he diverted most of the force, the impact still caused him to be thrown back with numb and trembling hands. He could barely hold the Omni sword now.
Kanon looked up at Zastin as he approached him. "I understand now why you are called the strongest swordsman," he said, gasping for air.
"You're not bad yourself. You managed to fight me and put your marks on my armour. That is not something just anybody can do." Zastin walked closer to half-bent Kanon and pointed at the two slash marks.
"You have proven your strength, but do you truly understand what it means to marry Princess Lala? The one who marries her will become the next emperor of this universe. Do you have what it takes to be an emperor? Make your decision now." Zastin said, pointing his energy sword.
"..."
Zastin was right; why was he doing this again? He still wasn't sure; he didn't want to be an emperor, so why? Because he wanted to fight? That was only part of it…
Behind us, light flashed as a large, robotic Squid-like creature suddenly appeared beside Lala, surprising Mikan.
"Go," Lala ordered.
It then blitzed towards us and tackled the surprised Zastin, sending him flying back.
"Kanon!" Lala and Mikan ran to me, helping me.
"Oh, my god. You are hurt!" Mikan gasped, seeing the burned cuts.
"I am all right. Just tired." I stood up using the omni sword as a crutch.
"Zastin, you…" Lala was furious with Zastin after seeing Kanon's condition.
"Go suck him all." With her command, the mechanical squid started to suck, aimed at Zastin like a vacuum cleaner.
"Wait?! Princess Lala. Calm down. The test is over." Zastin panicked, seeing that she pulled out one of her inventions.
Zastin tried to calm her down, but Lala was too angry to listen, and thus, he was mercilessly pulled inside the mechanical squid.
After Zastin was dealt with, she turned to Kanon. "Kanon, are you alright
"I am fine. But say, Lala, am I really worthy of you? As you can see, I am a nobody. I am not strong enough to protect anyone. You should find someone who can protect you," I said.
Lala frantically shook her head. "No, it has to be you. I fell for you. I don't care if you lose; I love you, Kanon." She looked at him with eyes full of warmth and love.
He realised that her gaze was filled with unconditional love for him, so he couldn't stay silent any longer. He had to respond to it.
'What is stopping you?' He remembers Mikan asking him that.
[Why?]
Kanon remembers a distant memory—the time when he was Abir… and realised a truth he was looking away from.
[I see… It was I who was holding myself back, but not anymore.]
In my haggard state, I grasp her hand. "Lala, from now on. I will become someone strong who can protect you. The one who will stand beside you, worthy of you. I promise this to you," Kanon declared.
Hearing that, Lala smiled the brightest smile he had seen. "Kanon, you don't know how happy it makes me to hear you say that." She hugged him.
As I felt her warmth enveloping me, a sense of relief washed over me. I found myself wanting to stay still, not move at all.
"Ahh, guys? It's good and all. I am happy for you two, too, but that thing isn't stopping…" Mikan said, pointing at the squid robot.
I reluctantly pulled away and watched the squid robot's suction power visibly increase as it started to suck everything around it.
"Lala, I think you should stop that thing." Kanon had a bad feeling seeing that thing.
"Yes, give me a second." She looked at the squid robot and tilted her head in confusion.
"I forgot how to stop it," she suddenly said.
"..."
"..."
We saw the suction power increasing further as it slowly turned towards us.
"Shit!"
I immediately put the Omni sword back in the item box and grabbed Lala and Mikan on each of my shoulders and ran.
"Lala, stop that robot!" I shouted as I carried both and ran, the squid robot hot on my tail.
"I am trying, but it's not working," Lala replied as she fiddled with her cell phone-like device.
"Kanon! Big brother! Run faster! IT'S GETTING NEEAAARRR!" Mikan was panicking, seeing the squid getting near us.
"I am already running, damn it," I shouted back.
"Why is it following us?" Mikan asked.
"It likely believes that we are the very thing it wants to draw inside of it."
"Is there any other way to stop that thing?" Kanon asked as he witnessed a metal park bench being sucked in by that thing.
"No, it's all out of control. The only way to stop it is to destroy the thing." Lala responded.
"Alright," Kanon then hurriedly put Mikan and Lala under a tree. "Grab on to the tree and stay here."
Kanon moved away; as he predicted, the squid robot followed him. He was successful in diverting its attention to him.
"Be careful!"
I heard Lala's and Mikan's voices as I dragged the squid back to the center of the park. Although at this point, this place could barely be called that.
From my item box, I pulled out the Absolute Spear and a bottle of healing juice. I quickly took a sip, which completely healed my wounds. Then, I grasped the Absolute Spear like a javelin and threw it with all the strength I could muster.
Booom!
The spear soared like a rocket, piercing through the squid's skull and creating a gaping hole in its head.
Just as the Absolute spear retired to my hands, the squid robot exploded.
"Booom!!
"..."
"..."
As the explosion settled down, something fell from the sky.
Thud!
I watched as Zastin fell headfirst to the ground and lost consciousness.
"..."
"Kanon! You were amazing." Lala jumped at me, seeing me one-shotting that squid robot.
Mikan squinted her eyes at me, then her attention went to the passed-out Zastin.
"Is he alive?" Mikan asked.
"He should be fine; he is the strongest swordsman after all. A fall like that won't kill him." Lala said, completely ignoring Zastin like he was a pebble on the roadside.
"Say, Kanon, we should get married right away." Lala suddenly said.
"..."
…
Chapter end
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==Insert IMG of your waifu==
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