The Banfield army launched a fierce assault on the Imperial fleet, which had begun to crumble.

Unable to coordinate, the Imperial forces were being destroyed one after another, but being elite troops, they did not show the disgrace of a disorderly retreat.

In fact, ships gathered to form a rearguard to support their allies' withdrawal, putting up fierce resistance.

"I'll praise you for not crumbling so easily, but we're not playing around here. Sorry, but I'll have to end this quickly."

My beloved disciple, Ellen, is on this battlefield, so I, her master, cannot afford to look pathetic.

I had Avid point its left palm straight ahead and deployed a magic circle around it.

What appeared were the upper torsos of mobile knights with weapons attached to both arms.

They were simply unmanned units that targeted and attacked nearby enemies.

However, the attached weapons were beam cannons with firepower comparable to a battleship's main battery.

But thousands of them were deployed in the direction of the enemy.

"Blow them away."

As I muttered quietly, a simultaneous volley from the drones caused the enemies before me to explode one after another, turning into space debris.

Mobile knights were blown to bits, and battleships, their defensive fields pierced, took hits and were engulfed in flames as explosions erupted from within.

It seemed Avid's attack had taken its toll on the chaotic enemy fleet.

I mercilessly crushed those who had stepped forward to serve as the rearguard.

Then came the bombardment from our allied fleet... the enemy numbers continued to dwindle.

"You were certainly strong. I'll guarantee that. But you picked the wrong opponent."

The troublesome Imperial fleet of one hundred thousand ships that had surrounded the Argos could no longer maintain formation and began to crumble and retreat.

Attacking them were Ellen's and Emma's fleets.

"Well, my work here is done. Time to head back..."

I thought my job was finished.

The Imperial army had been outflanked and lost a hundred thousand ships, so I assumed my allies would finish them off.

However, just as I was about to have Avid pull back... dozens of allied ships around me exploded.

I immediately searched for the enemy's position, but it seemed the attack came from quite a distance.

Amidst the crumbling and chaotic enemy fleet, there was one particularly powerful presence.

"You deliberately avoided targeting me."

I was annoyed by the enemy who had attacked only the area around Avid.

In fact, the enemy was likely provoking me, fully aware of who I was.

I stomped on the foot pedal, accelerating Avid towards the source of the powerful presence.

As I did, a red light in the shape of a sword came flying at me.

When Avid took evasive action, the sword turned its tip towards Avid.

"A homing type?"

I immediately had Avid intercept with its rifle, but for every one I shot down and obliterated, two, then three more would appear, their numbers increasing.

Before I knew it, the number of homing beams had grown to dozens, then hundreds, and I could no longer intercept them all.

"Tch!"

After having Avid wipe them out with a single Flash, an enemy unit appeared and opened a communication channel with me.

"So that's the rumored Flash... Truly magnificent. It's a sword style I'd never heard of in my time. Is it a recently established school?"

The enemy spoke with an air of confidence, not even knowing if I would answer.

I didn't like it, so I decided to answer.

"The One-Flash Style is an ancient school. It's just a sign of your own ignorance."

The enemy seemed pleased that I had answered and smiled.

The enemy on the monitor was a young man with a well-groomed goatee... no, looks are meaningless.

Even to me, the man was an eerie fellow.

"A pleasure to meet you, Liam Sera Banfield. I am Duke Cornelius Sera Clancy."

He introduced himself, but that name didn't exist in my memory.

'Sera' is a middle name given to royalty, and he's a duke, so that's not surprising.

However, among the family names I learned in the education capsule, there was no Duke Clancy.

"A self-proclaimed duke? Your name isn't in any records."

"What an audacious brat. But with your strength, such an insolent attitude is permissible. It is the prerogative of the strong."

Calling me a brat, he must be quite a bit older.

Cornelius brought his machine closer to Avid, revealing its form.

The mobile knight, which closely resembled Avid, had wings that looked like greatswords connected to its back.

Its shining white form, which should have looked divine, instead radiated a sinister aura.

...Ah, I see. My intuition, and my sense of duty as a swordsman of the One-Flash Style, filled me with hostility, telling me that this man was also my enemy.

"Did you bring out another fake Avid?"

When I called it a fake, Cornelius said,

"I'd rather you not misunderstand. Your Avid was derived and developed from the very machine I used to pilot. This one I'm in is simply the latest model in the same lineage."

"Huh?"

What was he talking about? Sensing my confusion, the enemy continued.

"Was the name not enough? I am the head of the Empire's Three Knights... Cornelius."

The Empire's Three Knights... I knew that Marie was once called that.

"Are you related to Marie?"

"Marie Sera Marian? I suppose she would be my senior. However, the Three Knights of her era and the Three Knights of today are different beings. After all, we are the strongest knights in the Empire's history."

"Strongest in history," he says. That's a bold claim.

"You talk big, don't you? From the way you speak, you must have been preserved somehow. Were you petrified like Marie?"

"Don't lump me in with those who betrayed His Majesty the Emperor. We were merely sleeping in cold sleep, to be awakened as a trump card to deal with crises like this..."

Sensing a change in Cornelius's atmosphere, I had Avid fall back and unleashed a Flash.

Immediately after, a massive explosion occurred right where Avid had been moments before.

"Tch!?"

I realized Avid must have been hit as well; its defensive field was deployed, and it was blown backwards.

Cornelius's eyes widened, and he looked on with great interest.

"Astonishing. Not only did you evade my last attack, but you also managed to land a blow on me... I'm even moved."

What happened? My body moved before I could understand, but it seemed the same was true for my opponent.

The enemy machine, struck by my Flash, only had a slight scratch on its chest.

It was shallow... no, he dodged it.

"What did you do?"

I didn't expect an answer, but I couldn't help but ask.

Cornelius, radiating a sense of superiority... without a shred of doubt that he was the stronger one, taught me, his enemy.

"Just as you have mastered swordsmanship, I have simply mastered a certain magic. Blast... it's a magic that creates explosions, and it's extremely effective. For example, even a small explosion inside a person's body can be a fatal wound, can't it?"

As he said that, he launched an attack on Avid.

He fired beam swords from the wings on his back, which came rushing at Avid.

But while I was focused on those...

"So fast!?"

Avid raised its katana and blocked the enemy's downward sword strike.

Cornelius called himself a mage, but his swordsmanship was also top-tier.

"I'm fairly decent with a sword, you see. Though, this is what I'm best at..."

I immediately had Avid fall back, and another explosion occurred.

The magic-induced explosion transmitted a shockwave, even in the vacuum of space.

The Cornelius on my monitor wore an ugly smile, as if he was enjoying cornering Avid.

He was even emitting a sinister aura.

"For someone who calls himself the Empire's strongest, your fighting style is quite cowardly, isn't it?"

"Aren't you the same, unleashing an invisible slash in an instant? As fellow masters of our respective arts, we should have some common ground, don't you think?"

He can create an explosion anywhere within his range of perception... that's all it is, but the problem is its speed.

There's no preparation time; Cornelius can likely cause an explosion just by thinking it.

If I keep my distance and take evasive action to guard against his magic, the beam swords come flying at me.

What a troublesome guy.

As I was fighting Cornelius, an allied mobile knight unit was heading my way to rescue me.

"Lord Liam, we're here to support you!"

"Stay back!"

I shouted at them, but by then it was too late.

The allied mobile knights all exploded from within, and dozens of units vanished.

Cornelius looked annoyed.

"I understand we're in the middle of a war, but don't interrupt my fight with the strongest of this generation. This is the most fun I've had in a long time."

As he spoke, Cornelius unleashed a barrage of magic to blow up Avid, and I had to keep moving, constantly taking evasive action.

◇

Every time a massive explosion, large enough to swallow a mobile knight, erupted, the Guide would cheer for Cornelius.

"Go! Right there! Ah, so close!"

The sight of Avid fleeing for its life made the Guide feel that a great opportunity had arrived.

That Liam was being cornered.

Liam was being cornered by the strongest knight in the Empire's history, a master of explosion magic!

It seemed Liam was using his Flash, but Cornelius's swordsmanship was also considerable.

He was sensing the attack's presence and taking evasive action beforehand, thus avoiding a fatal blow.

"Liam, it takes you time to unleash a serious Flash, doesn't it? There's no way my dear Cornelius would miss such an opening! In other words, this is the end for youuuu!!"

If Liam got serious, Cornelius would be in danger, but he wouldn't allow that.

If Liam showed an opening, Cornelius would simply blow him to bits.

The Guide continuously sent the negative energy he had stored up to Cornelius.

Cornelius now had more magical power than usual, and the power of his explosions was also enhanced.

In other words, the Guide had been reduced to being Cornelius's battery.

While he found this situation humiliating, he had cast aside his pride, thinking, "If it means I can beat that Liam, then it's no problem!"

"It's coming! It's coming! A chance for me to win! The moment I can finally reach Liam's life! How long have I waited for this moment!!"

The Guide was fully committed to being Cornelius's external battery.

But his stored negative emotions were running low.

"Tch! Not enough negative energy! ...That's it, I'll absorb the negative emotions swirling on the battlefield! It'll be a great burden on me, but I can't let this moment slip away!"

The Guide absorbed the negative emotions swirling on the battlefield, and since the capital planet was nearby, he absorbed negative emotions from there as well, stockpiling negative energy.

At the same time, he didn't forget to supply Cornelius.

Performing both of these tasks simultaneously was a great strain on the Guide, but he pushed himself, thinking it was all to corner that Liam.

The Guide's body began to crumble...

"Kuh... my right arm... but I can't lose here..."

As his right arm crumbled, it turned to ash and scattered into space.

Even in this state, the Guide didn't stop supplying negative energy.

Cornelius's voice could be heard.

"This is fun, Liam! It seems I can't contain this excitement. I've been worked up for a while now!"

Immediately after, the explosion Cornelius unleashed was even larger than before.

The massive explosion, large enough to swallow even a super-dreadnought battleship, brightly illuminated the Guide.

"Fantastic..."

As the Guide muttered this, Avid shot out from within the great explosion.

That last blow had caught Avid in its blast.

The damage was only enough to lightly scorch its surface armor, but if this continued, it would be the end for both Avid and Liam.

The Guide clenched his left fist and raised it high.

"Today, this very day, will be the day Liam dies! And I will be freed, and I will reclaim the days of my past!"

He could return to the time before he met Liam's previous life, the time when he was most proud of himself.

At this moment, the Guide had reached his climax.