*Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!*
Six refracted strikes.
Six changes in direction.
Six slashes.
As the sound of metal clashing echoed wildly, Riezel, in the form of a lightning bolt, repeatedly flashed around the platinum knight, striking him with one lightning slash after another, causing him to completely lose the ability to resist.
However, the fact that the metal armor on the platinum knight was still unbroken meant that it was clearly not ordinary armor. Even though each strike cut through him, it didn't completely shatter, only leaving slash marks.
Nevertheless, Riezel's lightning slashes, landing one after another on the platinum knight, were powerful enough to cause shockwaves, even if they didn't pierce his armor.
Under these relentless strikes, the platinum knight was finally forced to kneel on one knee before Riezel's voice sounded again.
As Riezel's words fell, the lightning bolt stopped before his figure appeared in front of the platinum knight.
In that instant, the platinum knight lifted his head.
"Cloak of Light."
A faint light, different from ordinary magical energy, appeared and enveloped the platinum knight as he chanted his magic.
"World Teleportation."
Immediately after, the platinum knight activated the teleportation magic and appeared behind Riezel in a single breath.
Among the four weapons floating around the platinum knight, the massive platinum greatsword moved as if an invisible hand were controlling it, slashing toward Riezel's back with a swift motion.
"Dimensional Move."
Riezel instantly vanished from his position, causing the greatsword's slash to miss.
"Heh, you talk so grandly, but your actions are pretty sneaky."
Riezel remarked calmly, not teleporting behind the platinum knight but instead reappearing at a distance.
"Thunder Breathing - Fifth Form - Heat Lightning."
From a distance, Riezel suddenly released a lightning-shaped slash imbued with intense heat toward the platinum knight.
*BOOM!*
*Psss—*
With a loud crash, the lightning-shaped slash knocked the platinum knight back, causing his armor to release steam from the high heat.
However, this time, the platinum knight didn't get sent flying, and his armor didn't suffer any new damage—surprisingly withstanding Riezel's attack directly.
Clearly, this was thanks to the defensive magic called 'Cloak of Light' that the platinum knight had just cast, absorbing much of the damage.
Already expecting this result, Riezel used Dimensional Move again as soon as he unleashed the lightning-shaped slash, appearing directly behind the platinum knight.
"Thunder Breathing - Third Form - Thunder Swarm."
In the next moment, Riezel transformed into a wave of lightning, swirling around the platinum knight at high speed as he unleashed lightning bolt-shaped slashes one after another.
As Riezel's slashes rained down on the platinum knight, though they couldn't pierce Cloak of Light, they made the platinum knight's entire body tremble, leaving him unable to respond in time.
'Fast!'
While enduring Riezel's slashes, the platinum knight watched as Riezel, now moving like a wave of lightning, quickly flew back and forth around him—his mind was filled with both shock and confusion.
What shocked him was Riezel's strength.
Even though the platinum knight wasn't using his 'main body' right now, meaning his strength was limited, dealing with an ordinary player was still no problem. In the original work, his strength was evaluated by the higher-ups of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and unanimously considered to be around Level 85.
In other words, even against a max-level player, the platinum knight could still hold his own with this level of power.
If his opponents didn't understand his true abilities and underestimated him, they could be caught off guard by his unexpectedly powerful strength and might even be outsmarted, regardless of their level.
However, not only did Riezel seem completely indifferent to the two magic spells he had just used, which were clearly not Tier Magic, but he also decisively launched relentless attacks, knocking him into a defenseless state.
Such a fact made the platinum knight realize that he had probably underestimated Riezel.
As for what confused him, it came from Riezel's swordsmanship.
'What is this?'
'What he used is clearly not Martial Arts, nor special skills from YGGDRASIL...'
'What kind of power is this?'
Such a question truly troubled the platinum knight.
He could see that Riezel didn't seem to be wearing any items from YGGDRASIL, the only exception being the pendant hanging around his neck, though even that didn't look like anything from YGGDRASIL either.
Meanwhile, the sword Riezel wielded seemed to have been created by magic. It might have looked impressive to others, but in his eyes, it didn't even qualify as proper equipment.
Lastly, there was the ring on Riezel's right hand.
'Wait?'
Upon seeing the ring, the platinum knight froze.
His gaze was immediately glued to the ring Riezel was wearing, his heart filling with overwhelming shock.
No choice.
He recognized the ring.
However, thanks to this, his movements slowed by a mere 0.01 seconds—0.01 seconds which turned out to be a fatal opening.
"Got you!"
With eyes flashing with a transparent gleam, Riezel, with the Transparent World fully activated, seized the 0.01-second opening with pinpoint accuracy.
"Reality Slash!"
Riezel, now directly in front of the platinum knight, unleashed an invisible slash powerful enough to cut through the fabric of space itself.
10th-Tier Magic, Reality Slash.
For the natives of this world, this magic was clearly the highest-tier offensive magic.
"What?!"
Hearing Riezel's voice and feeling the incoming invisible slash, capable of severing space, the platinum knight finally reacted—his voice, distorted and mechanical, held a hint of panic for the first time.
"World Teleportation!"
In a desperate move, the platinum knight used his teleportation magic, disappearing into space, his form becoming blurry.
Unfortunately for him, teleportation magic was useless against magic that could cut through space.
*Swish!*
With a sharp sound, the invisible slash sliced through the part of space where the blurry platinum knight had been, leaving a smooth, clean cut.
"Ugh!"
*Thud!*
With a grunt, the platinum knight fell from the broken space, crashing to the ground with his exquisite platinum armor sliced cleanly in two, his upper and lower body now separated.
"HA—!"
In the face of a result that could decide victory or defeat, the platinum knight suddenly launched an attack, causing the four weapons floating around him to spin at the same time.
They spun at high speed and released a wave of terrifying power, a power strong enough to shake the very world, one that would soon explode right before Riezel.
"!!!"
Seeing this, Riezel's pupils shrank, and without a second thought, he immediately used the highest-tier teleportation magic he mastered.
"Greater Teleportation!"
Needless to say, this magic was one Riezel had just learned from Shalltear when she used it in front of his eyes.
Having already known how this magic worked, Riezel, as soon as he saw someone use it once, could naturally learn it instantly with Almighty.
As a result, Riezel instantly vanished from the spot.
*BOOOOOOM—!!!*
In the northern forest of E-Rantel, a world-shaking explosion suddenly erupted, destroying everything in the surrounding area.
===
*Pa—Pa-Pa—*
After a while, the sound of rolling debris echoed as rocks tumbled across the ground.
Amidst the thick smoke and dust, the sudden explosion gradually settled, leaving behind a huge crater where lush trees and grass once were, looking as if a meteor had struck the spot.
Inside the crater, there was nothing but rubble, stones, and the remnants of trees.
As for whether anyone had been there or not, that was unknown.
Given the intensity of the explosion, even if someone had been there, they would probably be nothing but dust by now.
*Swish!*
Above the massive crater, Riezel's figure suddenly appeared, looking down at the completely destroyed surroundings, feeling speechless.
"Seriously, isn't he way too aggressive?"
Riezel used the word 'aggressive' to describe the platinum knight's final, self-destructive attack.
"No, whether it was really a self-destruct remains to be seen."
Since the platinum knight could also use teleportation magic, he should have been able to teleport away, just like Riezel had before the explosion happened.
Of course, even if the platinum knight hadn't managed to teleport, that wouldn't have mattered either.
Why?
Simply because even if this so-called 'platinum knight' had been reduced to ashes in the explosion, the one who controlled this platinum knight would remain unharmed.
In the very next second, this fact was confirmed.
"Where did you get the ring on your finger?"
A distorted voice, clearly the platinum knight's, suddenly echoed in Riezel's mind.
Upon hearing the voice, Riezel raised his eyebrows.
'Message?'
Riezel paused for a moment, then quickly regained his composure.
"What? Does this ring have anything to do with you?" Riezel asked calmly.
"Have anything to do with me, you say? I know that ring—it should be in my friend's possession."
As the platinum knight replied, his distorted voice began to carry a cold, angry tone.
"Did you do something to her?"
Evidently, the platinum knight suspected that his friend's ring had been taken forcefully by Riezel.
If Riezel didn't answer carefully, perhaps what would come next would be a true, ultimate showdown, where both sides showed their true abilities—a battle of life and death.
Understanding this, Riezel still had no intention of answering honestly to the platinum knight's accusations.
"If you had won just now, maybe you'd have the right to question me, but the result is clear—you lost."
"So, what makes you think you have the right to question me like this?"
"Platinum Dragon Lord."
Upon hearing this name, the platinum knight—or rather, the Platinum Dragon Lord, fell silent.
After a long pause, the Platinum Dragon Lord finally spoke again.
"I'll investigate... I hope you won't become the enemy of this world, strong human warrior."
Leaving these words behind, the voice of the Platinum Dragon Lord faded away.
"Enemy of this world?"
Riezel stood still, blinked his eyes speechlessly, then chuckled.
"Seriously, you should say that to that Overlord, not me."