In the eyes of passersby, Raize simply did not exist. No one questioned why a living person suddenly disappeared.
Vali nodded to his teammates, and then Arthur's sister, Le Fay Pendragon, also cast cognition-obscuring magic on everyone.
Clang!
Seeing their actions, Raize directly drew the Yamato. Under the astonished gaze of Arthur, the wielder of Caliburn, Raize swung the blade horizontally once and vertically once, directly cutting open a spatial portal in front of them.
Sheathing the sword, Raize said nothing and stepped in first, his figure swallowed by the dark shadow of the spatial gate.
"Vali, it seems the person you're looking for really is special."
Arthur looked at the spatial gate, pushed his glasses, and spoke. The sword that had appeared in Raize's hand was clearly no ordinary weapon. It possessed the same ability to cut space as his Caliburn.
Yet Raize had cut space as easily as slicing tofu, even creating a spatial gate. The spatial power of that blade might even surpass his own sword.
"If he wasn't special, why would I look for him? Let's go!"
Vali entered the spatial gate first, unconcerned about any traps on the other side. His instincts told him Raize wasn't that kind of person, and as a strong fighter, he wasn't afraid of traps anyway.
Seeing Vali enter, the others followed closely behind.
Kuroka watched the spatial passage with interest. It was stable and smooth. The person Vali had taken interest in had this kind of ability too, which piqued her curiosity.
After two or three seconds, they passed through the spatial gate and arrived at their destination. Dense bushes, thick forest, chirping birds, and towering mountains lay before them.
They had arrived in an uninhabited forest, the very place where Raize had first encountered Tohru with Kobayashi.
The spatial gate behind them slowly closed. Facing the boy and holding Yamato, Raize looked at Vali and spoke first.
"So, why did you come looking for me? Let me guess—sparring?"
Hearing this, Vali smiled. A trace of battle lust appeared in his eyes, but he didn't immediately act. He looked at the calm Raize and introduced himself.
"That's right. I came to spar. Let me properly introduce myself. I'm Vali, a half-blood devil, and the current host of the Longinus Sacred Gear, the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings—Divine Dividing."
"Since you already know what I'm here for, unknown Sacred Gear holder, let me see your power."
As soon as he said that, the people behind Vali wisely retreated. They were also curious just how strong this human Vali had his eye on really was.
At Arthur's signal, Le Fay deployed a spatial barrier. A blue magic circle lit up, and an enormous magic array manifested on the ground, covering a full kilometer in radius.
Buzz!
After a flash of light, the scenery itself didn't change, but Raize could no longer sense any life outside those present.
This was an extradimensional barrier cast by Arthur's sister. Raize wasn't surprised. After all, Sei and Tohru could both do this.
He hadn't expected such a young girl to be capable of it as well.
The purpose of creating this space was to ensure that the battle between Vali and Raize wouldn't affect the outside world.
On the battlefield, a heavy sense of tension spread. One reason was the battle-hungry expression on Vali's face. The other was Raize, eyes slightly narrowed, already quietly excited.
He had just been wanting to vent his desire for battle, and now a strong opponent had come right to him.
Whether it was fate or destiny, just after Nep within him had devoured the Red Dragon Emperor's soul and he obtained that power, he encountered Vali. Fate truly was mysterious.
Buzz!
In an instant, magic power surged from Vali's back. A pair of dazzling wings burst forth in a brilliant flash of light.
They were white wings that looked exquisitely crafted, their surfaces shimmering like light membranes with a deep blue glow.
Because of the holy power Raize carried that had made him uneasy before, Vali didn't hold back. He immediately summoned his Sacred Gear, the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings.
"Oh, looks like Vali is serious. He's using the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings right from the start."
Watching from afar with an iron staff resting on his shoulder, Bikou raised an eyebrow. It seemed Vali truly valued his opponent.
Even without the Light Wings, Vali was not someone to underestimate.
Kuroka watched Raize with interest, her cat ears twitching cutely.
"I'm quite curious about that young guy. I'm looking forward to what kind of power he'll show."
Arthur and his sister remained silent, their eyes fixed on the battlefield as the atmosphere grew heavier.
When Vali called him an unknown Sacred Gear holder, Raize was momentarily confused, but quickly realized the misunderstanding.
Since Vali wanted to fight, Raize would oblige.
He knew the abilities of the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings well. Among the thirteen Longinus, it ranked in the upper-middle tier.
Its ability opposed the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet: every ten seconds, it halved the opponent's power once and added the halved amount to the user.
Both had limitations. Infinite amplification and absorption were impossible. If these effects were permanent, they would be absurdly broken.
Once the limits of the physical body were exceeded, further amplification was no longer possible.
"They look pretty nice, honestly."
Raize complimented the appearance of Vali's Sacred Gear. Chaos Energy surged from his body as ten phantom swords formed from holy energy, resembling the Force Edge. They manifested rapidly, five on each side, standing upright beside Raize.
[Summoned Swords: Assault]
The ten golden phantom swords were already primed the moment they appeared. As soon as Vali manifested his Divine Dividing, they locked onto him and—
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Breaking the sound barrier, the phantom swords turned into a storm, launching toward Vali with piercing sonic booms.
Buzz!
Facing the barrage, Vali smirked. The blue light of his Divine Dividing flashed.
He wasn't afraid of the speed. He wasn't an ordinary human. As a descendant of Lucifer, his base physical abilities far surpassed those of most extraordinary beings.
The phantom swords pierced through… Vali's afterimage.
With the Divine Dividing, he could fly, and his speed rivaled that of a supersonic fighter jet.
Hovering in the air, Vali spread one hand and condensed an offensive spell, ready to strike back at Raize below.
But when it came to speed, who was Raize afraid of?
Slash!
A blade cut through the air, trailing a dazzling arc like a racing laser, slashing precisely toward Vali above.
Clang!
The Yamato's sharp slash aimed at Vali's neck, but Vali folded his wings forward, forming a wing shield that blocked the fierce strike.
"That's fast!"
Feeling the tremendous force transmitted through the wings and recalling that terrifying speed, Vali looked at Raize through the translucent blue wings, excitement flashing in his eyes. This opponent really had some skill.
Boom!
Vali's vast magical power erupted, forming a shockwave that blasted Raize away.
Crackle…
Dense magic gathered in Vali's hands, releasing arcs of magical lightning. It wasn't real lightning, but rather a discharge caused by extremely concentrated magic affecting the surrounding space.
Terrifying magic surged outward in all directions. White lightning nets spread across the area, like a massive heavenly web covering the ground below.
Two one-meter-wide silver magic circles formed in Vali's palms. From them burst silver lightning that swept toward Raize.
Once struck, this high-density magical lightning would reduce targets to ash. And Vali could unleash attacks like this all day long. For him, it was as casual as a normal attack.
Having massive magical reserves was just that outrageous.
To be honest, this level of energy was something Raize was facing for the first time, but it wasn't particularly difficult to deal with.
[Royalguard Style]
A magic circle appeared beneath Raize's feet, stabilizing him midair. He suddenly assumed a grounded stance, his hands moving fluidly like flowing water.
Vali's silver lightning slammed into Raize head-on. A crisp sound rang out as crystalline streams of energy shattered and scattered in front of him.
Most of the overwhelming magical energy was absorbed by Raize. Because of the sheer scale of the lightning, Vali didn't see Raize's exact movements.
But the spectators below saw it clearly.
"Brother, do you know how he neutralized Vali's attack?"
Le Fay widened her eyes, watching Raize effortlessly handle the assault. She wasn't shocked, but she truly didn't understand how he did it.
Hearing his sister's question, Arthur pushed his glasses, equally unable to tell how Raize had done it.
"It seems to be some kind of special defensive technique."
The others rolled their eyes. As if anyone didn't know it was a special defense.
Clang clang clang clang—
A series of sword chimes suddenly rang out around Vali. His gaze sharpened as he saw the golden phantom swords that had previously pierced toward him now forming a circular encirclement.
Reacting swiftly, Vali blasted away the first phantom sword that lunged at him with a burst of demonic power, but the remaining blades had already taken up positions from the front, back, left, and right, fully primed.
[Storm Swords: Gale Phantom Swords]
"Heh, trivial tricks!"
After discovering during high-speed flight that he couldn't shake off the sword formation tightly surrounding him, the silver glow of Vali's light wings flashed.
"Divide— !!"
A steady voice rang out amid the flashing light, and threads of a strange power enveloped the phantom swords circling tightly around Vali.
In the next instant, the golden phantom swords surrounding him rapidly became transparent. Due to the loss of energy and inability to maintain cohesion, they immediately collapsed and dispersed.
This was the power of the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings, Divine Dividing. The reduced power could be turned into nourishment for the user.
But Vali wasn't foolish. Those phantom swords were filled entirely with Raize's holy energy. If he absorbed that power and tried to reinforce himself with it, he would definitely suffer severe injuries.
The excess power was expelled through both wings. Dense golden light particles were forced out beneath the blue wings.
"Oh? Looks like even if you absorb my power, you can't reinforce yourself with it."
Vali was slightly startled. Raize used the Trickster's power to teleport directly in front of him. Yamato vanished from his hand, and his arms and legs had already switched to Beowulf's gauntlets and greaves. The golden lightning jumping across them was impossible to ignore.
What was going on? Another sacred gear?
First there was that blade that could cut through space, and now it was fist-and-leg gear. Just what kind of power did his opponent possess?
Was it something like Jeanne's Holy Sword Creation from the Hero Faction?
Raize didn't bother caring about what Vali was thinking. He knew the condition for the Divine Dividing: contact with the opponent was required to apply targeted reduction. From start to finish, Raize had only allowed Yamato to make contact with Vali's wings, so he had no intention of giving him any further chances.
Raize intended to test his new techniques and power on Vali.
In The King of Fighters, Absolute Domain referred to a state where, when the human body endured a certain level of pain, the brain would secrete a special substance, allowing one's power to surge explosively in an instant.
Once entering that state, the Yagami Ancient Martial Arts and Iori Yagami's powers both had detailed records of it. Raize had also obtained that mysterious substance through Iori's inheritance.
Under his control, Raize actively stimulated his brain with his mental power. Light danced in his eyes as an aura ignited around his body, dense arcs of lightning erupting outward.
After all, the foundation of his martial arts was Eightfold Thunder Annihilation.
[Eight Thunder Annihilation: Swift Thunder Feral Fang!]
Solidified golden lightning energy blasted out toward Vali. Sharp and unstoppable, it lunged forward like thunderous fangs snapping at him.
[Absolute Domain 5%: Swift Thunder Feral Fang]
At point-blank range, the sudden eruption of lightning fangs gave Vali barely enough time to cross his arms defensively.
Zzzzz—!
A sound like meat sizzling in hot oil rang out.
Vali's arms were struck by the terrifying power Raize unleashed in that instant. The lightning seemed ready to melt his arms, blood and seared flesh spraying out in steaming bursts.
"Divide— !!"
The power of the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings immediately halved the burden on Vali.
"Gah—!"
Though sent flying, the physical damage inflicted by an attack of this level only made Vali let out a low groan before gritting his teeth and enduring it.
The lightning attack from Swift Thunder Feral Fang numbed Vali's body, and the massive electrical impact smashed him into the ground like a meteor.