Shards of nearly indestructible spikes scattered to the sides and gradually dissipated into darkness. There wasn't even a scratch left on the roots, it seemed like it was as easy for them as breaking a rock.
Wain's eyes were wide open and his lips trembled slightly as he could not believe what he was seeing. It seemed to him as if the fight had suddenly become one level harder and it had happened in a heartbeat.
'That's what I was trying to tell you. If you had used my power earlier, we would have easily handled the previous artifacts, but then I wouldn't have had enough energy to help you with something this serious.' Abyss Artist uttered in an ice-cold voice while his eyes examined the roots.
'I see... That bastard left the strongest artifacts for the end. Fuck, if I didn't have you, maybe this would be the end...' Wain inwardly muttered as a shiver ran through his body and fear shackled his heart like heavy metal chains.
'Hey, relax. Maybe I can't see the future and because of that I couldn't assume he stole those artifacts from the main vault, but I was prepared for him to do something like that. Our forces will be enough to destroy all the artifacts he has left.' Abyss Artist said confidently as his aura intensified.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
At the same time, a tremendous amount of darkness erupted from the brush as Wain's mantle soared upward as well as his hair as if in a very powerful gust of wind. The darkness headed toward the knights, filling them with energy and making them stronger as several purple runes appeared on their armor.
'Wain, I thought I could help you in battle when it came to his last trump card, but it looks like I'll have to spend all my strength on the last artifacts.' Abyss Artist said with a deadly serious look.
'Don't worry, it's more than enough. Whatever his final trump card is, I'll be sure to deal with it.' Wain said inwardly with a slight nod before rushing forward.
He appeared like a dark flash at the two massive roots and swung his sword covered in a thick layer of darkness.
Not only was Gladius an indestructible sword, but he was also the sharpest, but only under certain circumstances since everything depended on Wain's energy.
Bam.
The sword struck the root and there was a loud sound as if two hammers collided. They could not hurt each other, but their weight created a powerful shockwave.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
Wain's body went through a wave of shuddering due to the very strong recoil as he was thrown back several meters. Wain was about to cut the roots, so he should have been shocked at how tough they were, but his look was calm and his gaze was icy.
'Hey, Gladius, how long has it been since I used all your power?" Wain asked as he took a few steps back, preparing for another attack.
'Well, well, looks like someone decided to get real serious. Your life was in critical danger last time too, just like now.' Gladius uttered with a slight smile on his face as his aura intensified.
Whoooooooosh.
The Abyss Brush in Wain's left hand soared upward as it transformed into dark particles. They headed toward Wain's palm, leaving a purple seal on it.
"Hmm? Did you really run out of energy so quickly...?" Virion muttered while in confusion as his gaze went to the knights standing behind Wain, "No... Looks like you decided to do something else."
"Yeah... You're damn right. Maybe I'm lucky I got this sword, but I'm not going to prove anything to anyone. I'm just going to use everything I've got to beat you!" Wain exclaimed as his eyes filled with blood.
At the same time, the runes shone brightly on Gladius as Wain's aura increased several times over. His veins swelled as his muscles grew tense as though he were at the peak of his powers and could move no further without surpassing a certain barrier.
'What the hell...? What with this creepy aura...?' Virion said to himself as he got goosebumps, 'Damn... I was too presumptuous. I had completely forgotten that none of my artifacts could compare to his. It's the sword of the Nameless King, so obviously it has some unique skill.'
It wasn't just Virion who was surprised as a slight shiver went through the bodies of all who watched the fight. The level of strength didn't matter as even Alucard felt it.
"Hahaha, Gael, can you feel it?! He may only be the heir of the Nameless King, but I will never forget the aura of that sword!" Alucard exclaimed with an excited look as a mad smile appeared on his face.
"Damn, this one is a true treasure of this world. Any swordsman would dream of having a weapon of this caliber." Gael uttered with raised eyebrows.
"Even you?" Alucard asked in a sly manner.
Gael grinned and shook his head, "Of course not. My sword and I are one, I'm not going to accept it as anything else. For a sword to be a true masterpiece, it must not just be a killing tool, it must become your partner and it looks like Wain is beginning to understand that."
"Mr. Gael... Does that mean it will become even stronger?" Krakos asked with a worried look.
"Sure. It looks like he was just going to use his weapon skill to get a temporary boost, but it went much further... Well, this guy is a real monster. The longer I watch them fight the more convinced I am that fate is never wrong. Maybe he was the best candidate to succeed the Nameless King." Gael said in a deadly serious voice as streams of ash involuntarily appeared beside him.
"You're damn right!" Alucard exclaimed as his gaze went to Wain, "But no matter how great his potential is, it will all be useless if he dies! No one can escape death!"