Kevin's arrogance infuriated Arthur.
With so many eyes watching, Arthur, as the King, could not tolerate anyone more arrogant than him!
But, certain that a battle between them was unavoidable, Arthur raised his trident and, floating in the water, charged rapidly towards Kevin.
Kevin watched intently as the legendary trident carved a golden trail through the waves, instantly clashing with Arthur's silver trident!
Clang!
A different kind of impact sound echoed than what would be heard on land, sending ripples spreading outwards.
The trident in Kevin's hand remained still, but Arthur's hand felt a powerful recoil vibrating through his palm.
Yet, Arthur didn't stop.
He swung his weapon again, raising it high before bringing it down heavily on Kevin.
With another dull thud, the golden and silver tridents clashed once more.
Kevin blocked Arthur's attack with the shaft of his trident, then rotated it, thrusting the spearhead towards Arthur.
The sharp tip of the trident went straight for Arthur's face. Feeling threatened, Arthur recoiled slightly, and the tip of the trident passed by his eyes by a hair's breadth.
In the seawater, following the current, Arthur shifted his body, turning to swing his weapon at Kevin's waist and abdomen, but Kevin dodged the attack by rising upwards.
Their initial exchange was unremarkable, seemingly a probing of each other, yet every move was aimed at the opponent's vital points.
And as soon as they clashed, Arthur's heart sank.
Because he discovered that this 'traveler' who appeared out of nowhere was no less skilled in martial arts than he was.
In fact, due to the powerful strength augmenting his opponent, Arthur was actually at a disadvantage in the fight!
If the battle were prolonged into a war of attrition, the one who would ultimately lose would definitely be Arthur.
Arthur, who had been raised as a King from childhood and was proficient in underwater tactics, deeply understood this principle.
So Arthur began to use unconventional methods.
After a quick dodge and pass, Arthur swiftly descended to the bottom of the water, thrusting the tip of his trident into the soft seabed, then forcefully leveraged it, stirring up murky sand and soil from beneath the ground.
Arthur's strength was immense, and the seemingly soft seabed was actually compacted by the water pressure. When Arthur forcefully lifted it, an entire section of the ground instantly rose like a lifted pot lid, pressing down on Kevin from above!
"Tsk."
The ground obscured Kevin's vision, making him click his tongue in annoyance.
But he didn't dodge; with a swing of his golden trident, the broad side of the trident made intimate contact with the rising ground.
Bang!!
The hard ground, mixed with sand, was instantly shattered into dust by Kevin, mixing with the surrounding seawater and making this area of the sea even murkier.
The battlefield of their duel began to grow incredibly murky, obscuring everyone's vision, and also obscuring the vision of the two duelists in the center.
Kevin's voice came from the murky seawater:
"Is this the only kind of trick a King can use?"
"Hmph!"
Arthur's cold snort was Kevin's reply.
He shot out from the murky seawater like a swordfish piercing through waves, heading straight for Kevin, whose senses were obscured by the water.
Kevin sighed, gripping his trident with both hands, and softly said:
"You should know that I can control water, right?"
"…?! "
Arthur's golden pupils constricted slightly. He had just sensed something was wrong and prepared to retreat, but his reaction was ultimately a step too slow.
The murky seawater began to swirl, and blue magical patterns emerged around the swirling water.
They enveloped the center of the battlefield, churning the waves of the entire area, clearing out all the seawater in the center of the battlefield, instantly creating an entire vacuum zone!
The murky seawater was expelled, and Arthur fell out of the water, landing in the air-filled space.
Suddenly entering a land-like environment, Arthur, completely unprepared, failed to expel the water from his lungs and knelt on the ground, coughing dryly.
Kevin did not press his advantage. He stood afar, holding his golden trident, giving Arthur time to adapt. It wasn't until a minute later, when Arthur had adjusted to the environment without seawater, that he repositioned himself and said:
"No more petty tricks this time, Atlantean King."
Arthur knew Kevin was going easy on him, but he said nothing.
Gripping his weapon, Arthur regrouped and charged at Kevin once more.
Their weapons clashed again, but Arthur, who was already not proficient in land combat, was even less of a match for Kevin after leaving the sea.
There was no thrilling battle, no back-and-forth, evenly matched fight.
In just three moves, Arthur was defeated by Kevin.
In the first move, his weapon was parried by Kevin; in the second, his weapon was shattered by Kevin.
By the third move, Kevin's golden trident tip was already pressed against his neck, its sharp point just half a millimeter from his throat.
"You lost."
Kevin declared the result expressionlessly.
An unsurprising outcome.
He even held back during this time, hoping to have a more engaging fight with Arthur, but in the end, Arthur still easily succumbed to him.
Under a comprehensive suppression in strength, skill, and weaponry, Arthur had no chance of winning.
"…Yes, I lost."
Looking at the silver trident in his hand, shattered by Kevin, Arthur responded in a daze.
He had perhaps never imagined his fate would be like this.
To be defeated by someone, to have his throne taken by someone more qualified to be King, and he hadn't even achieved his ideals yet.
But the victor is King, the loser is bandit; it has always been so.
Arthur did not shamefully claim he hadn't lost, nor did he, in a fit of pique from losing the duel, order the surrounding army to attack Kevin.
He was not a sore loser; since he lost, he had to accept the current outcome.
However, Arthur was still unwilling.
He looked directly at Kevin and said:
"Humans… are a very cruel race, and now that they know of Atlantis's existence, even if we don't attack them, they will not live in peace with us."
"Perhaps, but that is a matter for the future."
The matters between Atlanteans and humans ultimately had little to do with Kevin.
Perhaps sensing Kevin's thoughts, Arthur closed his eyes, looking a bit weary, and suddenly asked:
"What is your name?"
"Didn't Mera tell you my name? Well, I'm Kevin."
It was only now that Kevin remembered he hadn't introduced himself.
However, he had initially thought Arthur knew his name, especially since Mera had already returned to Xebel Kingdom.
But clearly, Arthur didn't know his name.
Upon hearing Kevin's name, Arthur nodded slightly:
"Alright, Kevin, I remember your name… Then, do it."
"?"
"You defeated me, and according to tradition, you are the new King of Atlantis. As for me, having committed 'war crimes,' the best outcome after stepping down from the throne is to be imprisoned in the desert.
"Rather than live such a miserable existence, I'd rather die in battle here, so… do it! Kevin!"
Arthur shouted at Kevin and closed his eyes.
Different experiences and different family upbringings create different personalities.
Kevin didn't know the Aquaman from the original DC Universe films, nor was he clear about his personality.
But what was certain was that he would definitely not be like this, valuing his reputation as King and the traditions of Atlantis so highly.
That was more like something his brother Orm would do.
Yet, Aquaman Arthur, defeated by Kevin, held the underwater traditions in extremely high regard.
The loser would be stripped of the throne, and the fate of those stripped of the throne was never good.
The Arthur before him didn't want to die miserably like a rotting fish in the future; if he had a choice, he would rather die heroically in battle, just like now.
That would not be unworthy of a King's demeanor.
Arthur's life was now in Kevin's hands.
What to do was up to Kevin's mood.
But Kevin retracted his trident and instead said to Arthur:
"I told you not to be so extreme. You always say land-dwellers are bad this and bad that, but have you ever personally been to the surface to see for yourself?"
"What do you want to say…?"
"I won't kill you, Arthur, but in exchange, you need to accompany me to the surface."
Killing Arthur might be simple; a thrust of the trident could easily pierce his throat.
However, if Arthur were killed, whom would Kevin find to manage the underwater world of the DC Universe?
Himself?
Before this duel began, Kevin had already decided that if Arthur wasn't as tyrannical and hateful towards humans as he had imagined, then Kevin would give him a chance.
Moreover, leaving Arthur alive would ensure someone continued to manage the underwater races after Kevin left this world.
"I don't need your pity!"
"This isn't pity," Kevin said calmly, retracting the trident in his hand. "It's just an opportunity for you."
The Arthur in the Flashpoint World movie was, after all, different from the Arthur in the Flashpoint World animation.
Perhaps due to limitations in methods, or some other reason, but in any case, Arthur initially had no intention of immediately annihilating the surface world.
If Kevin hadn't taken Mera, Arthur might not have considered attacking the surface until Zod's arrival.
As for after Zod's arrival…
By then, the entire Earth would have been terraformed into Krypton, and those in the underwater world would also be unable to escape their fate of destruction; everyone would die, so whether or not to attack the surface would no longer matter.
Anyway, no matter what, half the responsibility for Arthur choosing to attack the surface now lay with Kevin.
Given this, Kevin had to take some responsibility and temporarily spare Arthur's life, as he shouldn't have died here.
Doing so might mean losing some skill points, but Kevin no longer valued the few skill points gained from killing Arthur.
Moreover, Kevin also understood one thing: keeping plot characters alive sometimes yields greater benefits than letting them die.
Arthur's life being spared by Kevin, though dissatisfying to many, was the 'New King's' command, and they had no choice but to obey.
Kevin, holding the golden trident, temporarily became the King of Atlantis.
This was their tradition, and Kevin could only follow local customs for now.
After all, it's not like he could really slaughter everyone.
"Me, becoming Aquaman in the DC Universe, I must have gotten something wrong…"
As he put on the battle armor personally crafted by the Atlanteans for Kevin, sat on the throne, and accepted the homage of leaders from various kingdoms, Kevin uttered a thought that sounded like a light novel title.
However, despite the complaints, Kevin remained very serious on the surface, doing what a King should do.
Kevin had always believed in the principle of doing what is appropriate for one's position.
Since he decided to be the King of the underwater kingdom during this period, he had to fulfill his duties.
For example… first representing the Atlantean kingdom to meet with human leaders.