At the hotel entrance, Erica, who had arranged a vehicle for travel, smiled at Aslan as he approached.
"Your Majesty, was last night's dinner to your liking?"
"It was decent, but if possible, Chinese cuisine next time."
Aslan looked her up and down. Erica seemed healthy.
(Fully recovered? The magic of this world is pretty impressive.)
"Not to your taste…" Erica responded with a smile.
"Fine."
Aslan nodded slightly, then glanced at Lilliana beside him, who seemed a bit off, before getting into the car.
Lilliana hesitated for a moment, exchanged a glance with Erica, gritted her teeth, and sat next to Aslan.
Before closing the door, Erica glanced back at the hotel and asked Aslan, "Is Her Majesty Athena not joining us?"
"She's tired and will rest at the hotel for a bit."
"Eh?"
Lilliana was startled, as if confused why a Heretic God could be tired.
Meanwhile, Erica snorted, sat in the car with a flushed face, and closed the door.
"Just say what you want to say. Why are you so hesitant?"
Aslan looked at Lilliana, puzzled, leaning back in his seat.
Lilliana's expression was odd, like she was grappling with teenage girl problems.
She seemed utterly lost.
In Aslan's eyes, Lilliana stared out the window for three out of every ten seconds, avoiding his gaze entirely. Whenever their eyes met, she quickly looked away.
"Is someone coming to find us?" Aslan teased.
"Or is there something you're hiding from us, Lilli?"
"Your Majesty, I'm not hiding anything from you." Lilliana said, clutching the hem of her skirt, her face red.
"It's just… just… I'm recalling the lessons Teacher Diana taught me last night…"
Her voice was soft, her blush spreading to her ears.
Last night, Diana's advice echoed in her mind:
"You need to be careful with that Erica. She's much smarter than you. Be cautious, or she'll steal the King's affection."
"I have some knowledge that can help you win the King's affection… blah, blah, blah…"
That night, Lilliana grew up.
Only Erica's expression shifted slightly, her heart growing more resentful toward Diana.
Really, how could that woman corrupt sweet Lilliana?
"It seems you really want to put it into practice~~" Aslan said loudly, as if he understood.
But Lilliana, hearing his words, waved her hands in panic and apologized.
"No, not at all! How could I dare do something like that to the King?!"
For three seconds, the car fell silent.
*SLAP!*
Erica smacked her forehead in frustration.
(You win, Lilli!!)
She hadn't expected that, even with such a clear straight ball, Lilliana could dodge it perfectly.
Even the corner of Aslan's mouth twitched.
He had just witnessed the prowess of a true "straight girl."
Lilliana froze, realizing what she'd just said.
She wanted to slap herself, strangle her past self.
(Why is my mouth so reckless?)
The golden opportunity was gone.
But then, Aslan suddenly said, "Arrange a meeting. I plan to meet Salvatore Doni."
Lilliana's face, still steeped in regret, changed drastically. She hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, could we reconsider this?"
"As Your Majesty wishes." Erica replied cheerfully.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
The panic on Lilliana's face vanished. She glared at Erica and said through gritted teeth, "Erica, what are you even saying?!"
Letting Aslan meet the Sword King—was that any different from Mars crashing into Earth?
"Lilli, you~" Erica gave a helpless expression.
"It's clearly a good thing. Why don't you get it?"
"A good thing?" Lilliana looked confused, then said with an odd expression, "Dueling a gorilla is a good thing?"
Realizing her mistake, she quickly covered her mouth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult His Majesty Salvatore."
Aslan and Erica exchanged glances and shrugged in unison.
"No, in a way, you're right." Erica said, scooting closer to Aslan and smiling. "Lilli, you should know, we're still Knights of Southern Europe."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
Erica raised an eyebrow, glancing at Aslan. He nodded slightly, and she sighed.
"So, nominally, we're still subordinates of the Sword King. If the King meets the Sword King, this subordinate relationship could…"
"You get it."
Erica winked at Lilliana.
"You mean!" Lilliana's face lit up with realization.
Was Aslan's goal in meeting the Sword King to seize their subordination rights?
Wait, wasn't this a scenario of rescuing imprisoned female knights from a dim-witted Devil King?
Seeing Lilliana's increasingly flushed face, Aslan couldn't help but chuckle.
Then he glanced at Erica, who was now clinging to his arm.
(The address has changed from "Your Majesty" to "King." huh. This Milanese Lioness, after her pride was shattered, is more tactful than expected.)
At that moment, Aslan looked up, sensing a pack of wolves around them emitting greedy green light. He laughed and said, "I didn't expect the most impatient one to be Marquis Voban."
The clear sky was suddenly struck by lightning and thunder.
A bolt of lightning shot from the sky, targeting the car on the highway.
A golden lightning lion appeared in the air, blocking the attack.
Then came a dull roar of thunder.
The car screeched to a halt.
Aslan, sitting inside, looked up slightly, his gaze piercing the car's roof, toward the sky.
There, a tall, elderly figure looked down at them.
Noticing Aslan's gaze, the figure showed a cruel smile.
"Wind, rage."
"Rain, come, turn to hail, summon snow."
"I can call the wind, summon the rain, and gather thunder. I know the hot winds and icy gales are my subjects. Bring the madness of a ferocious storm to this earth—!"
Instantly, winds howled, torrential rain mixed with hail, and thunder struck down.
The once-dark sky grew blacker, lightless except for occasional lightning flashes.
Voban didn't care that this was Sardinia, a city of hundreds of thousands. He unleashed his Divine Authority without hesitation!
He attacked Aslan, still in the car.
Screams erupted around them, adding to the cruelty of this "black night."
"Your Majesty!" Erica and Lilliana looked at him in unison. Aslan understood their intent.
They had been trained as orthodox knights since childhood, inheriting the spirit and virtues of King Arthur's knights.
Moreover, staying here would only burden him, forcing Aslan to split his focus to protect them.
It was better to leave the battlefield and disperse the crowd.
"Prote, go, protect them."
Aslan waved his hand, and a massive horned ram made of impenetrable diamond appeared in the air.
The ram controlled shields formed from countless gemstone crystals, blocking the hail from the sky and emitting a beautiful light that illuminated the dark night.
Then, Aslan casually stepped out of the car, one hand in his pocket, looking at Voban with slight exasperation.
"I told you, I was trying hard to drive to an unpopulated area. Couldn't you wait a bit?"
"Sorry, this old man couldn't wait to fight the legendary Last King!"
Wild laughter echoed from the sky. God Slayer were arrogant existences.
When they heard of a Last King destined to purge God Slayer, how many could resist coming to fight?
They were curious about what Divine Authority they'd gain by killing King of the End!
Especially Sasha Dejanstahl Voban, a Godslayer who'd lived for nearly three hundred years.
In his three centuries, aside from battling Heretic Gods, nothing else could ignite his long-dormant blood.
Years ago, he even held a ritual to summon a Heretic God just to kill it for amusement.
Sadly, its head was taken by that foolish Sword King.
"Hahaha, come on, old man doesn't care if you're King of the End or a god. Your head, Marquis Voban will take it!"
Amid wild laughter, a massive black dragon poked its head from the dark clouds, roaring loudly.
Aslan scratched his ear in frustration and said with disdain, "Old man, your voice is too loud. It's annoying me!"
As expected, negotiating with these battle maniacs was tough.
The Black Prince was the most reasonable, not causing strange trouble.
In contrast, God Slayer like Anton and Voban were the most bothersome for Aslan.
Lightning struck, dark clouds roared, and the black dragon bellowed.
Aslan casually clenched his fist, silver-blue armor and a magnificent holy sword appearing on his body and in his hand.
"Rooaar!!"
The giant dragon's deathly breath shot from the sky toward Aslan.
Aslan gripped his holy sword with both hands, pointing it at the black dragon in the sky.
He shouted loudly!
"Ex—calibur!"
Golden light, like a flood, shattered the dragon's breath and sent the black dragon flying.
Honestly, though it was like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken, it felt pretty fun.
Turns out, firing a Light Cannon is the most fun.