"Do we really have to do this?" Harry asked flatly, his tone carrying both irritation and a deep-seated resignation as he stared at the ridiculously cheerful blonde man before him.
The sun seemed to catch only the glint in Salvatore Doni's eye, lending him the glamour of a playful, golden-haired devil.
Doni threw back his head and laughed, bright, boyish, and maddeningly carefree, the sound echoing across the field. The laugh annoyed Harry so much that he wanted to punch the bastard.
"Yes, we do! I want to see what you can do, fratellino! I want to fight you! This is what we live for, isn't it? The sheer, glorious challenge!"
"Well, I don't," Harry snapped back, trying to anchor himself in annoyance.
Doni's grin turned amused and slightly predatory. "Liar. You say that, but that smile on your face says otherwise."
Harry blinked, his hand instinctively shooting up to cover his mouth. Indeed, he was smiling. How odd. He wasn't in the mood for a fight, given his recent near-death experience, and wanted to relax and not be bothered, but he couldn't suppress the thrill bubbling inside.
That primal surge deep in his soul, the calling for trill and battle that all Campione had, the irresistible mandate to test themselves against powerful opponents.
He sighed, then dropped his hand, letting the smile curl wider. "Alright, maybe you're a little right." The chance to fight another campione, he'd at least want to see where he stood compared to the others. "So, how do we determine the winner?"
He was already running through every scrap of knowledge he had about the Italian King, planning how to use his own Authorities. He knew the basic plot from the anime, which painted Doni as a simple-minded brute, but he relied on the deeper lore from the light novels and wikis that confirmed Doni as a master swordsman and a divine powerhouse with seven Authorities.
He knew the entire anime and some of the light novel from memory, but everything else was wiki, and he was a little thankful because if he only had anime knowledge, then he didn't think he'd even have thought of taking this guy seriously despite his outward, reckless behavior. He needed to fight with the knowledge of all six Authorities he knew.
Doni's smile grew brighter, his eyes sparkling with dangerous amusement. "Oh, that's simple. Until one of us can't fight anymore. Until one of us is forced to yield to the sweet kiss of defeat."
Around the massive open field, several groups kept their distance, watching with varying degrees of awe and interest.
Anya Magnus stood off by the side with her arms crossed, her eyes unblinking, already completely focused on the fight before it even began. Nearby, Evelyn McAlister from the association and a few other high-ranking Magicians whispered amongst themselves, half scholarly, half reverent, noting the rare privilege of witnessing two Campione clash.
Andrea Rivera, the loyal knight Salvatore, of the Copper Black Cross, was also there by the side.
It seemed they were about ready to start.
The air itself trembled between the two divine kings.
"Are you ready?" Doni asked, his tone light but his posture sharp, a swordsman's stance honed by years of experience.
Harry nodded once.
The smirk on Doni's grew larger. "Let's see if you're as much fun as Godou."
Doni's grin turned feral, all pretense of boyish charm melting away into the look of a rapturous beast.
"Heh! Let's find out!"
The ground shattered beneath Doni's feet as he blurred forward, faster than they could follow, faster than sound. Harry's body reacted before his mind could process the speed, his own divine essence flaring. In the next heartbeat, the two Campiones collided.
The impact sent a shockwave ripping through the field, it felt like the very earth had been shaking just from their clash.
Each strike exchanged was heavy enough to crush mountains, each parry sent sparks of green (Harry's primary aura) and pink (Doni's aura) light scattering like magnificent, deadly fireworks. They clashed, separated, and clashed again, looking like an endless, divine rhythm.
Harry disengaged, breathing evenly despite the exertion. Two short daggers shimmered into existence in his hands, twin blades forged from a pure thought, allowing them to bypass physical defenses. He darted forward, swift, precise, his movements honed by his Mind's Eye and countless fights.
Doni drew his beloved sword, meeting him halfway. The two Kings blurred, vanishing and reappearing in rapid bursts of speed.
At first glance, they seemed evenly matched. But those watching closely could see the subtle truth, Harry had power, overwhelming, terrifying power, but Doni had superior skill on top of his overwhelming power..
Every movement of Doni's sword carried, showed grace, every swing perfect in timing and form. He wasn't relying solely on strength; he was a master swordsman who had used this technique to fell gods.
Harry's daggers scored a few shallow cuts, ichor gleaming from Doni's skin, of a Campione's resilience. But Doni's blade found its mark far more often, slicing clean lines through Harry's shirt and skin, each strike getting closer and closer.
Harry's eyes narrowed. He was losing in this war of attrition. He needed to shift the dynamic away from pure technique. The time for warm-ups was over.
He feinted, lunging aggressively for Doni's chest, daggers flashing, and when Doni moved to block, Harry suddenly released his weapons and slammed a fist into the ground beneath them.
BOOM! The entire battlefield erupted. The earth split apart as raw divine power detonated outward, an overwhelming force explosion that tore up the cracked plain, forcing Doni to jump back.
Harry stood amid the dust and ruin, his expression calm, his voice rising like rolling thunder.
*I am the Great Predator unchained, whose jaw knows no limit and fears no binding! I demand the weapon that cleaves the invisible and fractures the absolute! By the iron teeth of the World-Eater, let Law be broken, let Form be nullified, and let all Reality beneath my strike be Rend!"
His body glowed faintly green, his teeth sharpened into long, white fangs, and his nails instantly extended and gleamed with light. His Authority of Fenririan Rend, his senses sharpening. Power surged through him.
He launched forward, faster than before, spinning midair as he came down claws-first, streaks of white light trailing his claws descent. The air itself seemed to tear where his claws passed.
Doni barely raised his silver-tinged sword in time. The impact drove him backward across the cracked plain, his boots digging deep trenches into the dirt. Even with his blade, the sheer force of the blow had nearly broken his arm. He felt the terrifying vibration crawl up his bones. Had he not infused his sword with his own divine power, it would have shattered.
He grinned through the shock, a bead of blood tracing a path from his temple. "Oh, this is getting good."
Doni stopped his backward slide and raised his weapon, his body shimmering with a radiant, pinkish aura. The light intensified, focused on his right arm as he called forth his own Authority.
"I hereby swear, I forbid the existence of things I cannot cut!"
The air around him rippled, and his right arm transformed, turning into gleaming, liquid silver. A metallic hum filled the battlefield as the molten silver dripped from his fingers, hardening into a new, impossibly sharp blade.
Harry's eyes narrowed in recognition. "The Ripping Silver Arm…"
This was the Authority Doni was most famous for, his favorite ability. It granted him a silver arm that could make any object, from a sword to a stray piece of earth, into an invincible blade capable of cutting through anything.
It wasn't limited to a sword-like object, and he could add several special properties like a cursed sword that negates healing or an exploding sword that detonates on contact.
Doni swung his new weapon. The air split like silk, a sharp hiss following the blade.
"Try not to die too quickly, Little Brother!"
They clashed again at high speeds. The fight shifted immediately. Doni's skill was now amplified by his authority. Harry was forced into defense, blocking the silver arm with his powerful Fenririan claws. Doni was monstrous, his strikes leaving wounds on Harry from not being able to dodge or block most of them.
Harry gritted his teeth. Skill issue again. Fenririan Rend wasn't enough if his target could evade and counter with an Authority that had greater versatility.
In an instant, Harry changed tactics. He spun away, dropping his claws, and in a burst of gold and white light, a long, elegant lance materialized, the Authority of Resonance.
Doni's eyes widened slightly in appreciation. "Oh-ho? Changing weapons? How interesting!"
Harry grinned. "Let's see how you handle this."
He lunged, and the world blurred. he launched what appeared to be four strikes at once, each from a slightly different angle.
Doni blocked instinctively, parrying and twisting his silver arm with dazzling speed, sparks exploding around them.
"Ha! A spear-user now, are we?" Doni laughed, the sheer thrill overriding any danger. "You really are full of surprises!"
Their blades clashed again, divine energy crackling, and then Doni whispered, "Boom."
Harry's instincts screamed. He jumped back just as Doni's sword exploded into a swirling cloud of silver shards, forcing Harry to cover his eyes. He managed to dodge the larger pieces, but as he rushed in to get Doni before the cloud could fully disperse, a sharp pain erupted in his back.
He grunted in pain and turned his head to see the pieces embedded in his flesh. How? He thought he dodged them. Just then, he noticed the other pieces he had dodged hovering in the air as they spun around before they shot at him again, like controlled, metallic projectiles. He forced himself to move and dodged the barrage, but some managed to hit him in the left leg.
He jumped back, gaining space and forcing his divine power to expel the shards in him.
"Of course," he thought, when Doni used the Ripping Silver Arm, he had conceptual control over the pieces he shaped, even after they left his hand, as long as he focused on them. Luckily, Doni hadn't infused this attack with the negate healing property, so Harry could feel his wounds stitching themselves closed almost instantly.
"Hahahaha! This is fun, isn't it?" Doni's laughter rang out, bright and annoying. The shards floating around came back to him before they seamlessly merged, reforming his perfect, silver blade.
On the sidelines, Anya's eyes were wide, breath caught in her throat. She gripped the hilt of her sword, but knew she was powerless to intervene. Every swing shook the air; every clash birthed shockwaves that could level fortresses. She realized that even her powerful divine artifact, Gram, would likely shatter if she attempted to directly parry one of Doni's Silver Arm strikes.
Beside her, Sigurd remained silent. "They… they're not even serious yet. They are only testing the waters," he mumbled.
"Campiones truly are beyond mortal men," someone whispered reverently.
Sigurd turned slightly. The speaker was a beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair and fierce blue eyes. Erica Blandelli, the Great Knight of the Copper Black Cross, had arrived. She wore the familiar scarlet uniform, and her gaze was fixed on the battle, a faint, proprietary smile on her lips.
"I came to see the new campione," Erica commented to Sigurd, her voice smooth and knowing. "I want to see what type of person he is, whether he'll be in my King's way."
On the field, the two Campiones circled each other again, one laughing, one smirking, both alight with divine energy. Harry's regeneration was working, but his expression was now locked in intense focus.
Doni lifted his sword, silver aura blazing, fully energized by the exchange. Harry spun his lance, golden light flaring in response.
And then, they charged, ready to unleash their true power.
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