Valin felt he was dreaming. No, he had to be.
How else would he explain the appearance of a man who people knew all too well in Lexon.
It was Andrew Miller, the Emperor himself.
A sense of crisis came about the Avillian king.
'Why, no, how is he here?!'
It was baffling as he had arrived not even two minutes ago. Surely, even for the Emperor, such a time was too short for him to travel from the capital all the way here.
Cavarl on the other hand gave an audible sigh of relief.
It seemed fate had not forsaken him just yet.
Meanwhile, the Emperor's mind was also whirring as he tried to piece the current scene together.
He opened up his grip and his weapon, which had been knocked aside by Valin after being thrown at him, promptly returned to him.
Only then did those standing at side make out the visage of the Emperor and hope bloomed from their gazes alone.
Hope that they might survive to see the dawn of the next day.
His visage was terrifying with lightning discharging from all over and his eyes having an entirely white hue.
The weapon was equally terrifying. It was a double sword with the blade at both ends. The space in the middle was long enough for three palms to hold at the same time. Each blade was the size of a greatsword and deeply serrated.
The blades were like his armor, clear white in color, while the handle was black.
It was a weapon that had taken many lives, for it had legends behind it as the Emperor's weapon and it was even given a name in light of it.
Shredder.
As the Emperor looked upon the strewn flesh spread across the ground without a change in expression, he could only say…
"Well, I guess that's the end to all and any negotiations"
The eyes of both men met, and without words, they understood what would happen next.
Valin spoke out the Emperor's moniker, "Lightning Emperor".
So did the Emperor, "Ravenous Sand Beast".
Then, in the next instant…*SOOM*
Like Valin, he turned into a blur none could follow, except Valin that is.
Narrowing his gaze, he pinpointed the Emperor's figure almost in front of him.
'He's coming!'
Even as a king, he knew where his limits lay.
And because of that…he decided to run away!
Quickly, he turned around and ran with all his might.
But a voice rang out beside him not long after.
"It seems the years of peace have given even the likes of you the delusion that you could get away from me"
Valin's hair rose up in tension as his instincts rang out.
'I have to dodge this'
An attack was incoming.
Immediately, he reacted by rolling on the ground like a snail tucked in its shell.
At the exact same time, the Emperor's weapon made itself known as it slashed where Valin's head formerly was.
The wind generated by the slash alone created a mark in the soil.
The Emperor expressed genuine surprise thereafter.
"Hoo? You dodged that?"
'Just maybe, this fight might actually be worthwhile' the Emperor thought.
At the time the Emperor finished his thought, Valin was back on his feet, his face grave.
'I can't outrun him'
Simply put, running wasn't the answer.
But then…
'He's not someone I can easily kill either. That is, if I can even kill him'
For a king, he was also a warrior, and reckless bravado would do him no good in the face of an enemy.
With no guarantee that he would be able to escape, he could only face his opponent.
So now, he was evaluating his chances at defeating the enemy in front of him.
And with all his calculations, his face only turned stiffer.
The results were utterly grim.
Hasn't anyone wondered why an Empire, with so much land, riches and, more importantly, so many powers, was able to live in relative peace within such a world?
The answer was the man standing in front of Valin.
The greatest knight of their era, Andrew Miller.
With no hope in sight, Valin was forced to feel the despair and hopelessness those he slaughtered had felt.
But of course, the Emperor wasn't one to dilly dally.
So Valin could only release his complete form in the next instant when the Emperor arrived in front of him with his weapon slashing downwards.
"What are you thinking so much about while I stand before you?!"
Unlike before, he was now enraged.
'To dare to look away from the opponent! I must have been going easy on you'
Only then did he begin to show his true might.
*Shing!*Shing!*Clang!*Clang!*Kreee!*
But of course, Valin was no slouch either as his claws and the Emperor's weapon grazed each other more than ten times in ten seconds.
No soul was around to see such a spectacular but deadly display.
That is, if their eyes could even follow their movements.
But of course, most weren't stupid enough to hang around when Grandmasters were about to do a showdown.
The moment they began, Cavarl had himself, along with all those still alive, scurrying into the mountain like never before.
Back to the ongoing battle…
The Emperor closed in and, before Valin could step back, landed a punch covered in lightning right in Valin's abdomen, blasting the man backwards.
At this point, Valin realized one fact.
'I can't beat him if I play it safe'
If he stayed on the defensive, he would still be worn out and eventually die.
If so…
'I'll have to make every strike count'
His face, which was still human, morphed into that of a beast with his teeth growing grotesque and his entire body turned scaly with silver scales.
His aura erupted with more fervor than before, causing even the Emperor to pause and judge the situation.
Valin's golden eyes became red, and his already tall figure became even taller.
As if that wasn't enough, sand began to move from the ground as if it was alive before coating his body all over.
None of this caused a reaction from the Emperor as he gazed at it all with utter clarity.
After all, just like Valin knew him, he knew Valin.
So the sand affinity wasn't at all surprising since he had known of it beforehand.
But the Emperor wasn't just going to stand there and wait for him to finish his preparations, now was he?
What he was going to do was this…
He spun his weapon very fast in between his fingers while imbuing it with lightning.
And just as Valin's sand armor was taking shape…he released it!
*CRACKLE!*
A wave of lightning advanced vertically and struck Valin right in the chest-
*BOOM*
-blasting him afar.
The path the slash passed had its soil turn to glass because of how hot it was.
And Valin felt it firsthand with his armor turning into glass while touching his skin, allowing the hit to reach every part of his body.
And then-
*BREAK!*
-the slash had the glass shatter immediately after.
But that was the least of his problems.
"Don't tell me that's all"
The Emperor was right in front of him once more.
Truly, this battle was going to be anything but easy.
