The courtyard was bathed in gold as Eugene declared his presence to the world. Unlike the rest of the Spirit Riders, his armor was adorned with a dazzling white cape that flowed regally behind him, catching the sunlight in radiant waves.
His stance was dramatic, one hand thrust skyward as if summoning the heavens themselves, the blazing sun crowning him in a halo of light.
"If nothing else, he's got balls," Andrew chuckled, folding his arms as he watched the display.
"Challenging his superior?" Tetsu's frown deepened, his voice clipped. "Even in training, it's reckless. In our situation, it's doubly so."
"He's too proud for his own good," Alexa muttered, standing between the two boys. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Eugene. "I know his type well. Disgusting."
Rick blinked, confused. "I think it's cool, though. Show her how it's done!"
Alexa glanced at him briefly, then dismissed him with a single word. "Disgusting."
Rick gasped, clutching his chest in exaggerated pain. What did I say wrong? Damn it, Rick, you're screwing your chances here.
Kirara stood at the center of it all, visibly caught between irritation and bemusement. "You don't need to push this, Eugene. You're still adjusting to your powers, let alone the strength of the Automaras."
The golden helmet tilted, his voice dripping with arrogance. "What's the matter, Commander? Afraid? Besides, what better way to test my strength than against the strongest? Aim for the top. I always say."
"Just kick his ass and be done with it, Miss Kirara," Alexa said coldly, making no effort to lower her voice. She knew both of them could hear her. 'Just because he bonded with a superior Light Spirit, he thinks he's all that. Bastard's already forgotten that until a few days ago, we were all dead.'
Kirara sighed, then chuckled, her tone shifting. "Alright then. This should give me a chance to measure the difference… between a superior Automara and a Monarch."
Then her lips curled into a smile. "Eve."
Boom!
A pillar of silver light erupted, tearing into the heavens and scattering the clouds like smoke. The shockwave rippled through the courtyard, sending dust and debris tumbling.
When the light faded, a figure stood within a shallow crater, armor sleek and gleaming like polished moonlight, every plate etched with faint blue lines that pulsed like veins of energy. A neon-blue cape snapped sharply in the wind behind her, a striking contrast to Eugene's white.
The Silver Monarch had arrived.
"Now that's a presentation," Azeeza said with a low chuckle, crossing her arms as she watched from the sidelines.
Floyd and Fern nodded in unison, their voices overlapping. "Magnificent."
"Truly, nothing less than expected," Calen added, a proud grin tugging at his lips.
"This is going to be embarrassing, isn't it?" Shea laughed nervously, scratching her cheek.
"Good!" Tingle shouted, wings buzzing furiously as she zipped around in the air. "That jerk deserves it!"
Both Riders faced one another, white and blue capes lifting as if caught by an unseen updraft, stirred by the rising excitement of magicules in the air.
Kirara's silver-clad form shimmered as glowing lines of neon blue traced across her armor, bending the space around her. Threads of magicules coiled and fused, condensing until they solidified in her hands as a small round silver shield and a short sword.
Tetsu tilted his head, unimpressed. "That's a rather basic weapon. I expected something more eccentric, especially considering the armaments we gained as Riders."
"That's because Kirara trained under the Templar Knights of the Faith of Luminous," Calen explained, the elf's brow tightening at the memory of the infamous church.
"The Faith of Luminous?" Liu Fei asked, glancing at him. "That sounds like a religion."
"It is," Calen said with a grim nod. "The state religion of the Holy Empire of Lubelius, a human supremacist nation devoted to eradicating monsters. They are our natural enemies. I foresee a clash between our nations."
Azeeza regarded him with her usual unreadable calm. "That's… troubling. And you're certain the Commander studied under them?"
"According to the Empress, yes," Calen replied. "Lady Kirara, along with Lady Kaede, was summoned by Falmuth more than three years ago. Like the other otherworlders, they were bound with slavery curses and molded into weapons of war. Falmuth maintained close ties with Lubelius, so it was natural for them to receive support from the much larger nation, that support was in the form of an Archbishop and members of the Templar Knights themselves."
His gaze shifted back to Kirara, who now stood firmly in her stance, shield raised and sword poised. "Both she and Lady Kaede endured that doctrine… until Kaede shattered the curses and freed them from Falmuth's chains."
Liu Fei placed a hand under his chin. "I'm assuming that's different from what happened to us. The summoning, I mean."
"Definitely different. Trust me on that." The spirit riders turned as Glenda strolled toward them, her arms folded loosely. "Yo. I felt the Boss's power flaring and came to see what all the noise was about."
Her eyes shifted to the golden figure squaring off against Kirara. "What's Blondie trying to pull now?"
"That jerk challenged the Commander!" Tingle shouted, her tiny form buzzing with outrage. The effect was more comical than threatening.
"How is this different from what Falmuth did to them?" Liu Fei pressed.
Before anyone could answer, Eugene surged forward. He crossed the distance to Kirara in an instant, launching a sharp uppercut. Kirara tilted aside effortlessly, letting the strike whip through empty air.
Undeterred, Eugene twisted his body mid-leap and drove a back kick straight at her. The blow slammed into her silver shield with a resounding clang. Kirara didn't even shift her stance; the recoil sent Eugene skidding backward instead, forcing him to land in a crouch.
He straightened smoothly, lips curling into a smirk. "You really need a weapon to beat me, Commander? I'm flattered."
"Oh, the fool," Glenda muttered, shaking her head. Then she glanced at Liu Fei, her tone shifting back to casual. "As for your question," Glenda continued, "what happened to you guys wasn't the same thing at all. You guys were given a second chance at life. And after your four year service to Maple Tree, you're free to leave if you want to. You have a choice. Other nations won't allow that courtesy. Falmuth is no difference."
"That's… worrying," Liu Fei muttered.
"That's putting it lightly." Glenda's lips quirked in a crooked smile. "Imagine waking up one day in chains, branded with a curse that makes your heart explode if you even think of saying no. That's what they lived through."
The ground cracked under Eugene's heel as he pushed forward again, light blazing off his armor. His cape snapped like a banner in the wind as he swung his fist with enough force to ripple the air.
Kirara didn't move at first. She waited until the last second, her sword flashing up in a short, efficient arc. Metal met flesh with a burst of sparks, Eugene's knuckles scraping against the silver edge, before she twisted her shield and sent him stumbling sideways.
"She's not even trying yet," Shea asked. "She's barely left her spot."
"Ah. I believe that's because Lady Kirara isn't a front line fighter at all. Master Shifu spoke of her unique skill, and its horrors." Calen said, his gaze fixed on the duel. "He claims that unless he were to get her off guard, she would defeat him in an instant."
(Author Note: This is actually true. In cannon, before Rimuru became a demon lord, the only people in all of Tempest capable of actually beating Kirara, is Rimuru, and Shuna. She was just unlucky enough to run into Shuna before her skill could take effect.)
Eugene growled low in his throat, golden light burning hotter across his armor. "Don't look down on me, Commander! I was chosen by the Superior Spirit of Light. Come to me [Imperion Sol]"
The courtyard was swallowed in blinding white as a searing star burst into existence above Eugene's upraised hand. The brilliance forced several of the Riders to shield their eyes, the air itself trembling beneath the radiance.
Then, with a pulse, the newborn star collapsed inward, folding and reshaping until it solidified into the form of a straight-edged blade. Light particles drifted off its surface like falling embers, each one humming with power.
This was Eugene's armament, [Imperion Sol], a shapeshifting star forged into a sword of pure light.
Kirara did not flinch. She merely shifted her stance, silver shield raised and short sword steady, bracing herself like an immovable wall.
Eugene vanished.
Gasps rippled through the Riders.
"Teleportation?" Andrew muttered, his brows rising.
"He turned invisible!" Tingle squeaked, wings fluttering in agitation.
"I doubt that's it…" Azeeza narrowed her eyes, her tone thoughtful. "Maybe high-speed movement?"
But Liu Fei's eyes widened with recognition. "No… that's..."
Clang!
Kirara shifted a single step to her right, shield snapping up just in time to catch the first strike. Sparks of silver and gold scattered as Eugene reappeared, blade pressed against her guard, only to vanish again in a blink.
Another flash of motion. Another strike from behind.
Yet Kirara had already turned, her shield intercepting the blow with unnerving precision.
Again and again, Eugene flickered across the battlefield like a living sunbeam, his blade carving arcs of gold light from every angle. And each time, without fail, Kirara's silver shield was there, anticipating, and blocking his strikes.
The clash became a rhythm, vanish, reappear, strike, block. A storm of light and steel where Eugene pressed with the speed of a tempest, only to find himself stonewalled at every turn.
Kirara finally shifted her rhythm. She stepped forward with a heavy [Stomp], the ground trembling under her heel.
Eugene appeared at her left in that same burst of golden speed, but the tremor made his leg falter for the briefest fraction of a second. It was all the opening she needed.
Her sword came down in a clean, decisive arc.
"...Tch!"
Eugene grunted as he caught the blow, sparks bursting where steel met light-forged steel. The impact forced him sliding backward, his boots scraping the stone. But unwilling to yield momentum, he kicked forward again, aura blazing.
Kirara matched him, charging with a low stance. Their swords clashed once more, yet this time Eugene deflected, slipping under her swing with practiced precision.
In one fluid motion, he vaulted upward, flipping over her head in a brilliant flash of gold.
But he forgot.
Kirara was never a one-weapon fighter.
BAM!
Her shield cracked against his helmet mid-air.
"Gah!" Eugene gasped as the strike rang in his skull, hurling him out of his acrobatic spin. He tumbled hard across the courtyard, his sword tearing from his grip and stabbing into the earth several feet away.
By the time he pushed himself onto his elbows, Kirara was already upon him. Her blade rose high, descending like a guillotine toward his head.
In desperation, Eugene crossed his arms. His body flared gold, then unraveled into radiant motes.
He dissolved into light itself.
Kirara's sword carved through the brilliance, but the golden current split and swirled around her strike like water dodging a rock. She slashed again, but the light only rippled, flowing past her in a stream of searing glow.
As it passed by [Imperion Sol] where it lay, a radiant arm burst from the flowing light, snatching the star-forged weapon from the ground. The sword vanished into the brilliance, claimed once more by its master.
Only then did the glow surge outward, condensing several paces away.
With a flare like a star collapsing, Eugene reformed standing tall once more in his golden armor, [Imperion Sol] back in hand.
Eugene's breath came heavy and ragged, mist curling from the edges of his visor as he tightened his grip on Imperion Sol.
"What do you say, Commander?" he asked, voice strained but defiant. "Let's finish this. Show me what makes you so special."
In a blinding surge, six radiant wings burst from his back, each row exploding outward in waves of golden brilliance. The entire courtyard was once again drowned in light, brighter than midday. His armor thickened and reshaped itself, new plates layering across his chest until he resembled a knight sculpted of pure sunlight. A white halo burned above his helm, sealing his transformation into a figure both divine and terrible.
The Spirit Riders shielded their eyes from the radiance.
Across from him, Kirara straightened her posture. Her sword and shield dissolved into motes of silver-blue light, leaving her standing bare-handed, calm and unshaken.
Eugene laughed, arrogance echoing in the glow of his power. "I pray you can dodge this."
Imperion Sol trembled in his hand, then unraveled, its blade losing all substance until it became nothing but a beam of pure white energy. He leaned forward, wings flaring like a sun about to collapse.
"[Nova...]"
His words cut off.
"On your knees, Eugene."
Kirara's voice rolled out like a commandment. And for the first time since her awakening, [Bewilder] activated.
BOOM!
The courtyard quaked as Eugene was slammed into the earth with bone-crushing force. The ground caved beneath him, leaving a smoking crater. His body was pinned, armor screeching against stone as if the very weight of the world had doubled. Imperion Sol flickered, its light extinguished, collapsing back into a tiny star before vanishing altogether.
"Ugh..!" Eugene grunted, straining against the invisible pressure. His arms trembled as he tried to lift himself, only to be crushed further into the rubble. "What… is this?"
Kirara walked toward him unhurried, her steps echoing in the stunned silence. Her silver form glimmered faintly as she spoke, voice cold but steady. "You're a cocky one, aren't you? If Shogo were here, he'd laugh himself sick. The two of you… painfully similar."
"Damn it…" Eugene snarled, golden light sputtering around his armor as he pushed with all his might. "I… can still… fight...!"
Kirara's tone sharpened. "Do you yield?"
"Never!" Eugene roared, muscles straining as his aura flared violently. "I never give up! I...won't...!"
Her eyes narrowed. Her next words fell like ice.
"Snap your own neck, Eugene."
A hush fell over the Riders.
Gasps broke the silence.
"Did she just…?" Azeeza whispered, stepping back.
Andrew stared, wide-eyed. "What the hell..?"
"Holy shit." Alexa's lips curled into an incredulous smile.
"Hey, wait... she's not actually serious, right?!" Rick's voice cracked, panic creeping in.
Shea let out a low whistle, crossing her arms with an amused grin. "Yeesh. And here I thought this was a fair spar. The Commander didn't even need to fight him. She could've ended this from the start."
In the crater, Eugene's gauntleted hands clawed at his own helmet. His arms trembled violently as his head twisted against his will.
"What… kind of power… is this?!" His voice cracked in horror. His fingers dug into the sides of his helm, twisting, twisting, his neck beginning to contort with every passing second.
"I… I yield!" he choked out, terror finally breaking through his pride. "I yield..!"
Kirara stopped in her tracks, her eyes softening only slightly. "Then you can stop now, Eugene." Her silver armor dissolved in a shimmer as she detransformed, her calm expression returning. "You're strong. But strength means nothing if you underestimate your opponent."
Eugene collapsed, gasping as the crushing force lifted. His body unraveled into motes of light before returning to his normal form. His hands clutched the earth, his breath ragged.
"What the hell was that supposed to be?" Rick complained, voice still trembling. "How was he supposed to prepare for something like that?"
"Damn…" Azeeza exhaled, forcing a nervous laugh. "The Commander's terrifying."