Chapter 298 34

The battle between Ziel and the Archaic Knights grew fiercer, and the impact of their attacks extended to the surrounding area. Azalia and Aghares had to keep a greater distance from them to avoid being dragged into the fight.

Azalia was both afraid and worried for Ziel's safety when she saw the attacks from the Archaic Knights. She saw millions of aura blades being created in the sky. Fortunately, Ziel was able to handle it easily. But Azalia's face changed as the sky in front of her turned into a sword grave.

Aghares and Azalia were shocked after seeing the scene in front of them. They were curious as to why the Archaic Knights had suddenly changed the battlefield. But Azalia and Aghares quickly understood that the Archaic Knights not only changed the terrain but also ruled it as his domain.

"Amazing! He can even create his world in battle." Aghares said in admiration. His words made Azalia feel even more restless because the stronger Ziel's opponent was, the more afraid Azalia would be. Not because she was scared of the Archaic Knights but because she feared that Ziel would be injured.

"I'm sure Ken will beat him. He will definitely win!" Azalia clenched her tiny fist and tried to reassure herself.

Even though Azalia tried not to worry, she couldn't do it. Her heart was squeezed tightly every time she saw Ziel hurt. Her eyes were teary, and she looked like she could cry any moment.

Aghares glanced at Azalia and was shocked to see her expression. Azalia never showed such a face, even when she heard that Azael had died. She usually gives the impression of a woman with an aloof temperament to others. Aghares did not expect that she could react like a fragile woman at this time.

"Miss, is it possible that you..." Aghares wanted to ask about Azalia's feelings. But he stopped his sentence because he realized now wasn't the right time to talk about it.

Aghares would confirm Azalia's feelings for Ziel if they could survive the current situation. If Azalia fell in love with Ziel, he would try to convince her to forget her feelings because their relationship would not go well.

Apart from the fact that Azalia would leave this world after they obtained all the world altar fragments, Ziel was the one who had killed the people of her race and even her older brother, Azael.

The people of the divine race would hate Ziel if they knew about it and might show hostility when they saw him. Aghares is also one of them. But since Ziel had saved Azalia twice, his hatred had lessened. But still, he didn't like him.

Although Aghares does not have the right to control Azalia's private life, he has been assigned by Azael to take care of her. So he had to ensure the best for Azalia. Aghares didn't want to see Azalia fall into a dilemma when choosing between her race and Ziel. Aghares also didn't want her to suffer from missing Ziel after they parted because the divine race had to go to another world. Aghares, in his reverie, came back to his senses after hearing the voice of the woman next to him.

"Ah, he managed to land an attack on the Archaic Knight!" Azalia said excitedly when she saw Ziel block the attack from the Archaic Knight and slash at his opponent's back.

Aghares turned his eyes in the direction Azalia was looking. He was once again amazed by the power that Ziel displayed. When Ziel defeated the Sacred Demonel in the Beast Kingdom, Aghares knew he was powerful. He was grateful that Ziel didn't show any hostility towards them for what had recently happened on the Clorius continent because of the divine race. At first, Aghares was unsure of Ziel because the guardian of the continent he was currently facing was much stronger than the Sacred Demonel.

Aghares realized that the difference in strength between them and the continent guardians was huge. He, Fornius, and Azalia had fought to the death against the Archaic Knights, but they couldn't land a single hit on him, let alone scratch his armor. Even Fornius, who blew himself up, didn't manage to injure their opponent.

But Ziel not only broke through his absolute defense but also scratched his armor. That made Aghares have to re-evaluate Ziel's strength. Aghares hoped that Ziel could defeat the Archaic Knights. That way, Azalia and the divine race would be safe for a while before the last guardian appeared.

"He can beat the Archaic Knight!" Azalia said confidently. She looked at Ziel unblinkingly and didn't want to miss any small details in the fight. But then Azalia's hopes collapsed when she saw the Archaic Knights suddenly become stronger and attack Ziel fiercely. She was even more surprised when she saw an arm holding a white sword floating in the air.

"Eh!?" Azalia and Aghares were dumbfounded when they saw what happened. A few minutes ago, they were relieved when Ziel managed to land an attack on his opponent. But not long after that, the Archaic Knight counterattacked and cut Ziel's arm from behind.

"Ken!!!" Azalia unhesitatingly flew towards Ziel with all her might.

"Wait, Miss! You can't go!" Aghares shouted in panic and intended to stop Azalia. But he was one step slower and failed to prevent it. Azalia flew at high speed, leaving him behind. Aghares could only grit his teeth and chase after her.

On the other hand, Azalia didn't care about what Aghares said anymore. The most important to her right now was Ziel. Azalia didn't want anything bad to happen to Ziel. What's more, he came here for her. Because of that, Azalia couldn't stay still any longer.

Azalia had made up her mind to fight together with Ziel. Even though she knew he wouldn't be able to help him much in that battle, she was sure she could do something for Ziel, or so she thought. Azalia had already decided to dedicate herself to the man she loved.

***

Ziel gritted his teeth when his left hand was cut off from behind. The Archaic Knight seized the opportunity as he focused on the attack before him and lowered his guard to his opponent.

The Archaic Knight quietly moved behind Ziel at terrifying speed, making the other party oblivious to it. Ziel only found out when his left arm was severed and floated in the air.

,m "I was careless." Ziel didn't panic and just sighed after realizing his mistake. He tried to keep his distance from the Archaic Knight to treat his wounds and stabilize himself after losing his left arm. But his opponent didn't let that happen. The Archaic Knight continued to chase Ziel wherever he went without giving him the slightest chance to breathe.

"Show me what else you have. But if your strength is only that much, then you'd better die." The Archaic Knight said coldly. Ziel didn't care about those words and focused on healing his wound. He had to take his left arm and quickly reattach it. But the Archaic Knight seemed to know what Ziel was thinking and purposely led him further away from where his arm had fallen.

Ziel suddenly raised his eyebrows after recalling one of the skills of the nine-headed imperial dragon. Then his eyes shone with aurora-like color.

[Ultra Regeneration]

Ziel's body was covered with aurora light, and his severed left arm grew back in the blink of an eye. He stretched out his left hand, and the white sword flew back by itself into his grasp. Then Ziel's right eye shone with silver, and his left shone with gold.

[Time and Space Prison]

Ziel used the nine-headed imperial dragon's time and space power to resist his opponent's movements. The Archaic Knight did not expect Ziel to stop the space and time around him suddenly. Ziel's eyes shone with the color of the aurora, and he opened his mouth at the Archaic Knight.

[Ultimate Dragon Breath]

Ziel released the dragon's breath from his mouth. Even though it looks smaller than the nine-headed imperial dragon, the compressed energy density is much higher, and the damage is terrifying.

The space along the dragon's breath trajectory cracked, and the air violently shook. The Archaic Knight narrowed his eyes when he saw the attack. He was currently locked in by the space and time skills of the nine-headed imperial dragon, but he didn't show any signs of panic at all. Instead, he felt extremely excited and grinned under his metal helmet.

"Good! Good! You finally showed another skill from another guardian. But this is still not enough to beat me!!" The Archaic Knight moved his sword slightly, and the space-time prison restraining his movement was split open. After that, he compressed his power in the blade and swung it at the dragon's breath that came at him.

[Invincible Blade]

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmm!

The aura blade and dragon's breath collided, creating a massive explosion with a terrifying impact. But Ziel's attack wasn't finished yet. Eight spheres of black light appeared around the Archaic Knight and enclosed him in a jet-black cube.

[Eternal Nothingness]

The jet-black cube shrunk rapidly and finally disappeared into tiny particles. Even though Ziel saw that the Archaic Knight was trapped in the cube with his own eyes, his instincts told him that his opponent wasn't dead yet. Ziel scanned the surroundings with his senses for the whereabouts of the Archaic Knights. But no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find it.

Just when Ziel wanted to repeat the search for his opponent to confirm his death, an armored figure suddenly appeared behind him and stabbed his sword into Ziel's heart.

[Invincible Blade]

The Archaic Knight used his deadly attack at a very close range from Ziel, leaving the other party unable to react. If Ziel was hit by that stab directly in the heart, he would definitely die.

When the sword of the Archaic Knight approached, Ziel looked back, and blood splashed on his face. Ziel widened his eyes when he saw someone suddenly appear between them with a sword pierced through her chest.

The Archaic Knight was also surprised because he didn't feel Azalia's presence. But then, he smiled after thinking about something. A blue light flowed from her sword and entered Azalia's body.

"Azalia, why are you..." Ziel quickly grabbed Azalia's shoulder and teleported away from that place. Before he disappeared, Ziel threw dozens of spheres of black light to prevent the Archaic Knights from chasing him.

After being far from the Archaic Knight's location and making sure he didn't chase after them, Ziel laid Azalia down on the ground and checked her condition. Aghares also appeared there, but he didn't dare to say a word. He could only grit his teeth and watch Azalia's condition anxiously. On the other hand, Azalia smiled happily when she saw Ziel's worried face.

"Why did you do that?" Ziel looked at Azalia's pale face and asked.

"Didn't you come for me? Then why can't I do the same for you?" Azalia smiled and said weakly. Blood dripped from his mouth as she forced herself to speak. Ziel's face became gloomy after learning that Azalia's condition was severe because her vital organs were injured. Then a giant spirit circle appeared behind Ziel and rotated.

[Time Rewind]

Gray light enveloped Azalia's body, but Ziel's expression became serious when he discovered that the skill did not affect him. A pool of blue light appeared in the wound on Azalia's chest, preventing his power from working. Before Ziel could examine it further, a voice suddenly rang out and distracted him.

"You don't have to bother figuring out why your powers aren't working on her. I did it." The Archaic Knight said indifferently.

"What have you done to her?" Ziel asked coldly. His anger overflowed after hearing the Archaic Knight's words.

"I only infused the essence of the Invincible Blade into her body. It can shred her body into mincemeat if I activate it. But I won't do it. However, she may only last for half an hour if she is not healed soon." The Archaic Knight saw Azalia in Ziel's arms.

N0 v el Next. CoM

"What do you want?" Ziel narrowed his eyes. He knew that the duty of the continent guardian was to eliminate irregulars. But strangely, the Archaic Knight didn't do it even though he could.

"What I want is very simple. My power in that woman's body will disappear after I die. So your only option to save her is to defeat me." The Archaic Knight raised his sword and pointed it at Ziel.

"I understand." Ziel answered quickly. He knew it was the only option he had right now, so he didn't have to think about it.

"Ken..." Azalia was worried about Ziel and tried to stop him. But Ziel smiled at her, and that made Azalia stop her words.

Novel Top1.OR G

"Take care of her for me." Ziel looked at Aghares and then laid Azalia on the ground. Aghares just nodded and quickly walked towards Azalia. Then Ziel and the Archaic Knight flew into the sky and faced each other.

"Come on!" The Archaic Knight said, and his figure disappeared from where he was. Ziel also did the same, and they clashed in the sky with full force.

Clank!!!

The loud sound of clashing swords echoed in the sky of the Rubelia Kingdom and signaled the final stage of their battle.