A monkey, a pair of siblings, and a wolfhound. Without a doubt, the ones standing before Cid now were among the very best of the younger generation. Even the weakest of them had S-rank strength.
Cid lightly licked his lips. Pure-white Slime Suit liquid once again seeped from his body, forming silver-white armor. The blue jewel set into his chest gave off a deep blue glow, and a terrifying surge of powerful Magical Power poured out, pressing down on the people before him.
Since Vali, the genuine White Dragon Emperor, had already been beaten down, there was no need for him to deliberately use the crimson armor to distinguish himself. If he was going to chase excitement, he might as well see it through to the end.
"Please calm down, Holy Son-sama. This was our captain's fault, and we will apologize. We'll also compensate the people nearby for the losses our captain caused. I can guarantee that in the name of the Royal Pendragon family, so please, don't continue fighting."
Seeing the atmosphere grow heavier and heavier, Le Fay, who had been standing behind the blond young man, hurriedly stepped forward to stop the fight that was about to break out.
"Brother…"
Knowing that her own words carried little weight, Le Fay looked at her brother and called softly, her eyes filled with pleading.
As if persuaded by Le Fay, her brother Arthur glanced at his sister, then lowered the sword he had been pointing at Cid slightly, moving it away from him. Even so, he kept his grip tight around the hilt, his gaze fixed firmly on Cid.
In their group of three people and one dog, one teammate did not want to fight, and another had been persuaded and had little will to fight. Bikou had no choice but to shift the staff in his hand slightly, indicating that he agreed with Le Fay's proposal.
Seeing that her brother and teammates had not lost their minds and rushed forward, Le Fay's face brightened with relief. She had truly been afraid that she would fail to stop her teammates and ruin what little room for negotiation they still had.
Le Fay seriously suspected that her brother had spent too much time with Vali and Delta and gotten infected by them. Roy might not appear to be connected to the Church on the surface, but two days ago he had just saved hundreds of millions of people, and his identity as the Child of God had practically been tacitly acknowledged by the Church. Was that really someone the two siblings could afford to fight?
Leaving their family to become terrorists was already outrageous enough. If they fought someone who seemed deeply connected to their family's sphere of influence, they really would have no way back.
More importantly, based on Le Fay's brief observation of Cid, even if they all attacked together, they might still fail to beat him. So what was the point?
If they could win, then fine. Even if they completely fell out with their family, at worst they could be more careful afterward and see whether there was room to smooth things over once enough time passed.
But if they could not win… then they would have just fallen out with their family, offended the Church, and immediately been captured and brought in. Running headfirst into trouble still had limits.
"Holy Son-sama, would this be acceptable?"
Le Fay's attention remained on her teammates, and her heart was full of unease and tension. On the surface, however, she still smiled as she asked.
"You really don't fit in with your teammates…"
Cid made a cold comment. In a team made up of people who were either battle maniacs or idiots with simple minds and strong bodies, it was truly rare to find someone who actually thought with her brain.
"Hehe. Then, Holy Son-sama, can we take our captain away?"
Le Fay fully agreed with Cid's comment in her heart, but she did not show it. She laughed lightly and tested the waters while looking at Vali, who lay on the ground with his eyes open.
"You may, as long as you can restore everything around us to how it was right now. If you do that, I'll heal your captain immediately and let you take him away."
Watching the girl before him go from relieved to completely baffled, the corner of Cid's mouth curled uncontrollably beneath his white helmet.
"Um… Holy Son-sama, do you mean you want us to repair everything around us right now?"
Le Fay blinked and looked around at the street that Vali's wide-ranging battle had reduced to ruins, then spoke in disbelief.
"Correct. With your abilities, that shouldn't be difficult, should it?"
Cid tried to sound as certain as possible to keep them from realizing he was just looking for trouble. That was right. He had stepped forward to stop Vali and the others because he could not stand watching Vali's team destroy the street. How could it possibly be because his wallet had been destroyed, and he wanted to vent his anger on Vali?
"But how could we possibly…"
"Whoosh!"
Le Fay was about to say something more, but the sharp whistle of something cutting through the air interrupted her. By the time she came back to herself, Bikou had already vanished from where he stood and appeared in front of Cid, sweeping his long staff toward the silver-white armor.
"Thud!"
Cid easily caught the staff coming at him. With a slight exertion of strength, Bikou, apparently not expecting his sudden attack to be answered so quickly, was pulled along and crashed toward the silver-white armor.
Dispelling the force, seizing the staff, turning it over. With that fluid sequence, Cid took Bikou's long staff from him, then drove the end of it backhanded into the chest of Bikou's battle armor.
The tremendous force instantly sent Bikou flying backward, but Cid showed no intention of stopping. Taking aim at Bikou as he flew through the air, Cid released the long staff from his hand. It actually caught up from behind and slammed into Bikou before he could hit the ground. If Bikou had only stopped after hitting the ground, the staff would have pierced straight through him.
"Excalibur Ruler!"
Fortunately, someone saved Bikou before the wooden staff could run him through.
Arthur swung one of the swords on his back. An orange wave of light emerged from the blade, controlling the long staff that was driving against Bikou's armor.
"Guh. Thanks, Arthur… Thanks, Le Fay."
Bikou climbed up from the ground in a sorry state. Although the fall had been miserable, as long as he was not directly hit by Cid's attack, his Victorious Fighting Buddha bloodline and Senjutsu cultivation would let him recover quickly.
"Don't look at me like that. No matter how you think about it, he provoked us first. He clearly never intended to let us leave."
Holding the wooden staff again, Bikou cautiously watched the silver-white armor ahead. Still, when he saw Le Fay staring at him with that indignant look, he felt compelled to explain.
"Hah. How pitiful it is to possess power without understanding it. Those who only know how to destroy and cannot create will gain nothing but destruction in the end."
Even from far away, Cid could hear Bikou's voice. He immediately let out a mocking laugh. He admitted that he was looking for trouble, but he was not spouting nonsense.
"I don't understand what you mean, but all I need to do is beat down you, knockoff White Dragon Emperor."
Shouting, Bikou approached Cid again. The long staff in his hands spun, growing larger like the legendary Pillar that Stabilizes the Sea. Before long, it had become so huge that Bikou had to wrap both arms around it just to lift it, and he swung it toward Cid.
"Brother…"
Seeing Arthur draw the Holy King Sword of Stone, Caliburn, from his waist and charge toward Cid, Le Fay called out softly, trying to persuade him. But Arthur only shook his head and followed Bikou.
Facing that pillar reaching toward the sky, Cid did not react much. He simply stood where he was, the blue jewel on his chest glowing.
"Divide! Divide! Divide…"
When it was swung, it had been a pillar that seemed to prop up the heavens. But the instant it struck the ground, it turned back into an ordinary staff. Bikou, who had misjudged the distance and smashed it into the ground, was left completely dumbfounded.
"Clang!"
Bikou froze, but Cid did not. Slime Suit liquid flowed from his hand and turned into a long sword, blocking Arthur's attack.
"Your sword is quite good."
The clear ring of blade striking blade echoed through the area. Cid had predicted every path of Arthur's attacks and caught them all, then offered his opponent a compliment.
"You flatter me. If you could take that into consideration and stop making such unreasonable demands, I think we could become very good friends."
Arthur kept increasing his strength and speed, but no matter what he did, he could not break through Cid's defense. Anxiety began to rise in his heart.
"That is not an unreasonable demand. Love can destroy everything, and it can create everything."
Cid slashed at Arthur and Bikou, who were fighting him, forcing the two of them to put distance between themselves and him. Then he raised his right hand, bringing his index and middle fingers together and pointing them toward the sky. A wave of white light covered the entire battlefield.
"Since you can't understand, I'll repair it for you. White Dragon Emperor's Domain!"
"Divide!"
The mechanical voice once again came from the blue jewel on the chest of the silver-white armor. As the voice rang out, half of the street that had been reduced to ruins lit up with white light. When the white light faded, the collapsed buildings rose back from the ground.
Yet this miraculous sight did not draw Arthur and the others' attention. Everyone's gaze was drawn to the white light gathered in Cid's right palm.
Danger! Danger! Danger!
Just looking at it was enough for everyone to understand. That white light was truly dangerous, a terrifying thing that made them uneasy simply by existing.
"Whoosh!"
Cid's arm began to move. Like a sparkler, the white light followed the motion of his fingertip until it finally pointed at the wary-looking… Bikou.
Being on guard meant nothing. So what if he knew that white light was dangerous? So what if he tried to dodge the instant he realized he was the target? In a single moment, the white light pierced through Bikou's body.
And then… Bikou collapsed.
There was no noise, no exaggerated movement. Bikou simply fell. Apart from the dozens, perhaps hundreds, of wounds all over his body, nothing seemed to have happened. If not for his Victorious Fighting Buddha bloodline and Senjutsu training, he would likely have been in Hell by now.
"Brother, this is… Vali's Magical Power!"
After carefully examining Bikou's injuries, Le Fay discovered that all the Magical Power in those wounds came from Vali. Connecting that to the buildings Vali had destroyed and then restored, Le Fay arrived at a terrifying possibility.
"The strongest healing-type Longinus, Divine Dividing, makes its entrance."
Cid said it lightly, directly confirming Le Fay's guess. He had halved the damage to the surrounding buildings and made Bikou absorb it all. As for whether Bikou wanted to absorb it… this was his domain. Whoever he wanted to absorb it would absorb it.
Without the slightest hesitation, Arthur swung the sword in his hand and charged in. Compared to Bikou, who had the Victorious Fighting Buddha bloodline, Arthur, as a pure human, did not have especially outstanding physical ability. Even Bikou had nearly died from a single hit. If Arthur took one, he would be sent straight to the Underworld.
Cid shifted, dodged, and avoided Arthur's tricky sword strikes, but he no longer swung his sword to clash with Arthur head-on. How should he put it? Cid was getting a little…
"Bored!"
"Divide! Divide! Divide…"
As the sound of Divide rang out, Cid's kick slipped past Arthur's defense and struck his chest. Then he raised his right hand toward the sky once more.
"Here comes the second one!"
He spoke flippantly as white light once again covered the remaining ruins in the area, with thin strands of light gathering into Cid's hand.
The sight made Arthur's hair stand on end. By instinct, he reached behind his back, intending to draw an even stronger weapon.
"Ah!"
"Clang!"
Arthur cried out, and the sword he had just drawn from his back fell to the ground. Two sword wounds appeared across the center of his palm. Staring blankly at the bloodstained blade on the ground, Arthur's lips moved slightly.
"What weapon was this again?"
Le Fay, behind him, heard the question. Her eyes filled with disbelief, but as if realizing something, she turned to look at Cid.
"What did you do to my brother?!"
Cid held back the wolfhound's attack with his left hand, the white light still gathered in his palm. Hearing Le Fay's question, he shrugged and answered in an indifferent tone.
"Combat technique, logical thinking, mental fortitude. Don't worry, it's not permanent. It'll wear off in half a day."
In theory, if Cid wanted to, he could halve even more abstract things, such as memories, common sense, or courage. That was the true worth of Divine Dividing, the strongest illusion-type Longinus.
"Hum!"
The white light dispersed with a ringing vibration, and the entire street returned to how it had been at the start. Cid's fingertip, carrying that terrifying white light, aimed at Arthur, who had already sunk into his own world.
Actually, there was one thing Cid had never quite understood. Why did Divine Dividing's continuous halving always halve the remaining half? Wasn't that just Zeno's tortoise, forever unable to reach the finish line?
Divide meant cutting something by half, not dividing the remaining half again and again. Under that premise, as long as one broke free from habitual thinking, it became clear that Divide was an extremely versatile ability.
With two direct Divides, by setting the target as the opponent's peak state, he could easily drain the other person dry.
"Boom!"
The white light at his fingertip kept flickering, and an aura of destruction was gathering. But a fireball dropped from the sky, breaking the atmosphere.
A steady stream of magical attacks came from one side. Cid broke them, defended against them, or used Divide to neutralize them one by one. Finally, he turned toward the source of the attacks.
Dozens, even hundreds, of fireballs formed from high-level magic floated behind the petite magical girl. Gathered together, the heatwave they stirred up was so intense that even from dozens of meters away, its terrifying temperature could be felt.
"I apologize for my companions' actions, but we have no intention of becoming your enemies, Holy Son-sama. Please allow us to leave this place."
"Interesting. Is that a threat?"
Although she had been timid up to now, once her brother and companions were facing a threat to their lives, Le Fay had still prepared herself to fight to the death.
"Then go ahead. Let me see what gives you the confidence to threaten me."
With an interested expression, Cid extended his palm and made a provocative gesture.
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