*BANG!*
As the sound of shattering echoed, the translucent barrier surrounded by blazing flames and a flood of invisible attacks in the corridor finally reached the end of its durability and broke apart.
Riezel and Artoria, who had been protected inside, were immediately exposed before Gawain, who held a flaming sword, as well as under Tristan’s harp strings.
*Ting-ling-ling~*
As if completely forgetting Morgan’s orders, Tristan perked up the moment Force Sanctuary was breached and began strumming her harp violently, turning invisible slashes into a storm that swept toward Riezel.
Gawain also extended her hand, and the chains coiled around her arm shot out like a dancing dragon, slashing through the air like blades of steel in Riezel’s direction.
"Greater Teleportation."
Even when caught between Gawain and Tristan’s attacks, Riezel didn’t panic at all as he calmly picked up Artoria with one arm and activated teleportation magic, disappearing from where he stood.
*BOOM!*
Countless invisible slashes and steel chains instantly struck the place where Riezel had stood just a second ago, and the impact blew it apart, sending debris flying everywhere.
Only then did Riezel reappear a short distance away.
"Looks like this is as far as I can teleport."
He glanced at Gawain and Tristan, who were less than ten meters away, and narrowed his eyes.
With Morgan’s magecraft interference, Riezel had managed to cast the teleportation magic, but the distance he could travel was extremely limited.
He couldn’t teleport anywhere significant, let alone escape the royal palace entirely.
A mere ten-meter shift—this kind of teleportation didn’t even measure up to the 3rd-Tier Dimensional Move, and it definitely wasn’t enough to create any real distance between him and his opponents.
At the very least, with Gawain’s abilities, she could probably close that ten-meter gap in less than the blink of an eye.
And if it were Lancelot instead, who had even greater mobility and burst speed, ten meters would be nothing, since she could probably reach him just by stretching out her hand.
Regardless, even in such a situation, Gawain didn’t immediately chase after him but withdrew her flaming sword and turned her gaze onto Riezel.
"Draw your sword."
Gawain spoke up calmly, her tone extremely solemn.
"You’re not getting out of here unless you fight me."
It was clear from her words that Gawain had noticed how Riezel had been purely on the defensive from the start and hadn’t made a single offensive move, which was why she made such a declaration.
"Why are you even wasting time talking to him?" Tristan said with some irritation. "Just take him down already."
Gawain, however, completely ignored Tristan’s complaint.
She just kept staring at Riezel, the powerful warrior who had brought her down so many times before, as a blazing fighting intent slowly lit up in her eyes.
Seeing that fire, Riezel understood.
"So that’s what this is about... You were waiting for this moment, weren’t you?"
Ever since Riezel came to Camelot and entered the royal palace, Gawain had visited him countless times and made the same declaration over and over again, always saying "I hope I get the chance to fight you again" before leaving his room.
Because their battle had never reached a true conclusion, Gawain hadn’t given up on settling things between them, which was why she kept making her intention clear.
Unfortunately, Riezel had been chosen by Morgan as her husband, and Riezel’s room was also Morgan’s personal chamber. As a Fairy Knight, Gawain couldn’t just act recklessly there, much less make a move against her queen’s husband.
For that reason, she waited.
She waited for Riezel to rebel.
She waited for Riezel to try and escape.
Now, that moment had arrived.
"I just figured... a guy like you was never going to sit quietly by Her Majesty’s side and settle for being a prince consort."
Gawain stated her view plainly, and that meant one thing—there was no escaping this fight.
"What are you guys talking about?" Tristan frowned.
A violent-tempered Fairy Knight like her clearly wouldn’t get it, would she?
She wouldn’t understand the kind of connection that could exist between warrior and warrior.
Only Lancelot’s cold eyes flickered slightly when she heard Gawain’s words.
She might not have gone as far as Gawain, who had even considered such things just for a fight with Riezel, but she also had unfinished business with him—a matter of victory and defeat.
Simply put, she also really wanted to fight Riezel again.
With that thought, Lancelot, who had remained silent and taken the role of an observer, finally had a spark of fighting spirit flare up in her eyes.
In response, Riezel suddenly smiled—a soft, light smile, but the gleam in his eyes became strikingly bright, revealing the excitement welling up inside him.
"Step back."
Saying this, Riezel gently put down Artoria he had been holding, and shielded her behind him.
However, Artoria shook her head.
"No. This time, I’m not going to let you protect me all by yourself again."
As she spoke, Artoria raised the Staff of Selection in her hands.
*Zing—!*
In that instant, the Staff of Selection shone with a dazzling light—the glow resembled stardust, scattering as it flowed out, coating Riezel’s body.
"Hmm?"
Riezel looked at himself, now wrapped in starlight, and showed a surprised expression.
He could feel that his strength suddenly surged, growing much more powerful in an instant.
’Is this the so-called ’Reinforcement’?’
Realizing this, Riezel felt the strength flowing through his body and couldn’t help but glance at Artoria.
As a magus, Artoria didn’t know any high-grade grand magecraft, but specialized in minor magecraft that usually didn’t seem very impressive—like crafting magecraft bombs, unlocking things, or picking locks.
From a magus’s perspective, she was undoubtedly quite mediocre, but as a Fairy of Paradise, she did have one support magecraft that was genuinely worth praise.
When Artoria used Reinforcement on someone, they would receive a remarkable boost in strength, becoming significantly stronger than usual.
Right now, Riezel was experiencing that very magecraft—feeling his strength surge upward.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
Tristan, also a magus, seemed to have caught on and questioned Artoria sharply.
Artoria ignored Tristan and gave Riezel a wide, cheerful smile.
Seeing her smile, Riezel smiled as well.
Honestly, Artoria didn’t know this, but under normal circumstances, Riezel really couldn’t have accepted her Reinforcement.
With a powerful opponent like Gawain, someone who could force him to go all out, Riezel would normally rely on Sun Breathing in combat, but because of its evolved nature, Sun Breathing couldn’t be used alongside magic that directly enhanced his body.
Needless to say, that was exactly why Riezel never cast enchant-type magic like Ariel when using Sun Breathing, nor could he use support magic like Raumure that boosted his AGI and END.
Only some Tier Magic and Hell Finegas were exceptions.
Tier Magic included many enhancement magic spells, and a portion of those had unique effects that made them compatible with Sun Breathing and didn’t conflict with it.
For example, Paranormal Intuition, which enhanced his sensing and reaction abilities, seemed to affect the self, but it actually didn’t act on the physical body, so it could be used with Sun Breathing.
Meanwhile, Greater Full Potential, which enhanced attributes rather than physical abilities directly, didn’t involve the physical body, so it was also compatible with Sun Breathing.
Other magic, like Body of Effulgent Beryl, Body of Effulgent Heliodor, or Body of Effulgent Aquamarine, was defensive in nature and didn’t enhance the physical body but countered enemy attribute-based attacks, so even when cast on oneself, they didn’t conflict with Sun Breathing.
As for the berserk magic, Hell Finegas, it did affect Riezel directly and greatly boosted all his basic abilities, so logically, it should have conflicted with Sun Breathing. However, in a berserk state, he discovered that his body’s magical energy flowed instinctively, entirely focused on battle.
Surprisingly, while using Sun Breathing, the magical energy integrated into his bloodstream didn’t clash with that of Hell Finegas. Instead, they both seemed to synchronize, driven by the same fighting instinct, as if both were activated by the same survival urge—completely focused on the enemy, not on his inner condition.
Thanks to that, Riezel could selectively use certain enhancement magic from Tier Magic even while using Sun Breathing, and could also use the berserk magic Hell Finegas.
However, that was the limit.
When using Sun Breathing, the number of enhancement magic spells Riezel could safely cast on himself was extremely limited. Otherwise, he could’ve pulled Ainz’s move—buffing himself with dozens of magic spells before battle and overwhelming enemies with sheer layered magic.
Unfortunately, the buff provided by Artoria belonged to the type that couldn’t be used with Sun Breathing.
’Good thing is, I’m not planning to use Sun Breathing this time.’
Due to the loss of Hermit, even though Riezel’s Strong Attack Mode was not entirely unusable, without a weapon that suited him, Sun Breathing’s power would inevitably decline.
As a result, Riezel prepared to use another combat mode that he hadn’t used in a long while this time.
*Shua—*
A sword suddenly appeared in Riezel’s hand, tightly gripped by him, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.
They couldn’t help it, since the sword’s appearance was simply too extravagant.
It had a blade as thin as a cicada’s wing, with a semi-transparent body that looked as if it were forged from crystal. It didn’t resemble a weapon meant for killing, but more like a meticulously crafted piece of art.
Needless to say, it was none other than Fool.
After so long without being used, it once again made an appearance.
"Is that...?"
All the fairies present reacted in surprise, but Riezel remained unfazed and began to adjust his breathing.
"Huuu... Haaa..."
His breathing rhythm shifted.
From blazing heat to lightness.
From fierce to graceful.
In the next moment, Riezel murmured a chant.
"Tempest."
*Whoosh—*
Winds began to surge from all directions toward him.
"Tempest."
Ais’s overpowered magic, Ariel, was finally invoked once again after a long time, causing the winds rushing toward Riezel to turn into currents that spiraled around his body.
Riezel was literally clad in the armor of wind right now.
"Wind...?"
Lancelot was stunned as she stared at the scene.
"...Wasn’t it fire before?"
Gawain frowned deeply, locking her eyes onto Riezel as if trying to see through the changes happening to him.
"What are you even talking about? Wind? Fire? Can someone explain this in a way that actually makes sense?!"
Tristan, who had never seen Riezel fight using a breathing style, finally lost her patience and started shouting loudly.
"...Riezel?"
Standing behind Riezel, Artoria stared blankly at his back, feeling the gentle breeze blowing from him, and instinctively called his name.
Riezel did not respond and focused on chanting his magic.
"Follow blindly the sun in the sky, so that all will flee from thee."
"Blossom, Armor of Laurel."
"Raumure."
A green light membrane shimmered on Riezel’s body.
"Haste."
"High Agility Boost."
"High Wind Attribute Boost."
Waves of magical energy continued to flicker across Riezel’s body.
Needless to say, every magic he chanted was related to speed.
Because he wasn’t using Sun Breathing, he no longer needed to worry about conflicts between energy in his body, allowing him to freely chant one enhancement magic after another, which caused a magical glow to illuminate his body with dazzling brilliance, creating a radiant, magnificent aura.
Soon after, the Origin Ring on Riezel’s hand also activated, boosting his power and enhancing his close-combat basic abilities such as STR, END, DEX, and AGI.
As the magical energy glowing around Riezel increased and the aura radiating from him grew more dangerous, Gawain could no longer stay still.
"Riezel Brynhart!"
Gawain shouted loudly, raising the blazing sword in her hand before slashing it down toward Riezel.
*BOOM!*
With a thunderous roar, a torrent of scorching flames surged forward like a tsunami, rushing toward Riezel.
Wherever the flames passed, the ground either shattered or was burned into a field of charred black, causing the temperature in the air to soar rapidly and distorting the atmosphere with shimmering waves of heat, making everything look a bit unreal.
Riezel, however, was still chanting magic.
"Gather now, breath of the earth - my name is Alf."
It was a supportive defensive magic taught directly by Riveria, capable of boosting resistance to both physical and magical attributes, and even slightly healing physical injuries—Liv Ilusio.
"O Word Spirits - Fulfill my wish."
"Veil of the woods - my name is Alf."
Now was a defensive magic that could block all enemy attacks—Veil Breath.
Riezel didn’t just cast these two magic spells on himself, but also cast them on Artoria beside him.
Once the twin layers of magical armor appeared on both of them, Riezel stomped the ground hard and shot forward like a missile.
*BANG!*
With a deafening sonic boom, Riezel not only shattered the ground beneath his feet but also kicked up a powerful shockwave, rushing forward like a launched rocket through the howling air!
Even though the wave of Gawain’s flames engulfed him, it was quickly dispersed by the windstorm stirred up by Riezel’s body.
He seemed to transform into an arrow of wind, piercing through the fire, cutting the blazing tide apart as he raced toward her!
*Clang!*
Gawain didn’t even have time to react before a sharp metallic clash rang out from her armor.
Riezel’s sword, thin as a cicada’s wing, unknowingly had already struck Gawain, scraping violently against her armor and sending off a spray of sparks—knocking her flying.
’So fast!’
Gawain’s pupils shrank sharply as her body crashed into the corridor wall, smashing it to pieces.
"Wind Breathing - Second Form - Claws-Purifying Wind!"
Just then, Riezel appeared in front of Gawain, sweeping his sword in an arc and slashing out four claw-shaped wind blades in her direction that tore through the ground and ripped apart the air, like a cleansing wind meant to scatter all sin and falsehood—even Gawain’s field of vision was neatly sliced apart.
"!!!"
Gawain’s expression changed drastically, and, with no time to counter, she could only roll to the side, barely dodging the incoming wind blades.
*BOOOM!*
An explosion followed as the already shattered wall was struck by the wind blades, bursting apart like crushed rock.
"HAAAAAAHHH—!!!"
Rolling aside and narrowly avoiding the blow, Gawain instantly raised both arms, launching chains that twisted and spun as they shot toward Riezel.
"Wind Breathing - Third Form - Clear Storm Wind Tree!"
Riezel swung his cicada-wing-thin sword once more, unleashing three spiraling wind blades that formed around him in an instant.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
Riezel’s spiral wind blades clashed violently with Gawain’s incoming chain storm, producing a continuous chorus of harsh, metallic crashes.
*BANG!*
Blocking the chain attack, Riezel stomped the ground again and burst forward amid the explosive air pressure.
"Wind Breathing - First Form - Dust Whirlwind Cutter!"
Riezel’s high-speed charge whipped up spiraling wind blades behind him, wrapping around him like a tornado. He tore through the ground and broke the sound barrier, his sword slashing forward with a pressure wave-like force aimed straight at Gawain.
*Pu-chi!*
Riezel’s wind-powered sword broke through Gawain’s defense, carving a deep wound into her body.
*Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!*
Before Gawain could react, Riezel turned into a whirlwind, spiraling around her, disturbing the air and disrupting the flow as one slash after another struck her, ripping her flesh and splattering blood everywhere.
"Ugh—AAAAAARGHHH—!!!"
Only then did Gawain feel the intense pain and let out a fierce, agonized scream on the spot.
In the next moment, Gawain, her eyes blazing with fire and blood, looking like a wounded beast that had gone berserk, swung her sword wildly at Riezel without care.
*DING—!!!*
In that instant, the sound of the clash shot straight into the sky, echoing throughout the entire royal palace.