The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“…Formidable.”

Leon’s words were calm, yet exceptionally cold.

Lylia, wielding her own sword and Giorno’s, assumed a grand stance before Leon.

“This is my line! Hah!”

As Lylia rushed, she slashed at Leon. The crossing of her blades created a powerful shockwave, slicing through the monsters in the vicinity. However, Leon effortlessly evaded it.

Lylia tried thrusting at Leon while he was airborne, but only got her blade seized by him, who used the momentum to change his stance and stand on the sword’s edge.

“…!”

Lylia kicked up the sword’s tip, attempting to disrupt Leon’s balance. However, Leon glided down softly, landing again on the sword’s edge.

Then, Lylia decided to let go of her sword.

“Hmm?”

As Leon lost his footing, Lylia went at him with her other sword.

Holding it two-handed, the power and speed of the swing were nearly doubled.

“Earth Block!”

Judging evasion to be difficult, Leon concentrated arcane energy in his right hand, invoking a partial defensive spell. Leon’s right hand was solidified with a sturdy fortification of rock, deflecting Lylia’s powerful slash.

“…!?”

The impact had enough force to send Leon flying.

Lylia followed up with a pursuit, attacking the rolling Leon.

In a flash, she recovered her sword and unleashed a cross of shockwaves similar to before.

Leon, caught off guard, had no choice but to withstand the attack — and withstand it he did, grabbing them with his hands right before they hit him.

“Tch! You’re way too good at this…!”

Lylia’s attacks were so powerful that one wrong move could spell his doom — but despite being cornered, Leon had intercepted them without sustaining any damage.

Leon’s expression was undaunted by his opponent’s strength — and in response to this, Lylia was at least a little bit frightened by the rightful Holy Emperor’s extraordinary talent.

“My turn now.”

Although told to switch roles, Lylia could not easily concede.

However, Leon had enough strength left to make it happen.

“…!”

Leon, instantaneously releasing his arcane energy, was surrounded by a storm-like aura. The intimidating special move, the Ultimate Limit, left Lylia with a momentary opening. Naturally, her opponent’s ability to invoke all learned spells and magecraft effortlessly put Lylia on guard against magical attacks.

Therefore, Leon’s action was designed to surprise.

What Leon displayed was… strength. The physical feat of seizing Lylia’s swords.

“What the…!?”

Having both her weapons taken away, Lylia chose to step back, creating distance.

In the meantime, Leon skillfully rotated the swords around and held them by their hilts.

“A warrior losing their weapons… Surely you know what it symbolizes.”

Lylia, former Fighter of the Holy Warriors, had had her lifeline — her swords — taken away. Leon, the one who had made it so, wore a faint smile. However, Lylia did not retreat. Clashing her fists together, she took a deep breath, lowered her stance, and glared at Leon.

“…Are you that scared of my swords? Think a warrior can’t fight without weapons?”

“Well, can you? Show me.”

Leon readied the swords in his hands as Lylia charged at him.

His powerful sword swings, narrowly missing Lylia, prompted the latter to throw her fist at Leon. The force of her blow, powerful enough to snuff out a monster’s life from a distance, tensed Leon’s face.

In the myriad of feints, there were hints of actual punches — and it was the same for Leon’s slashes. There was a definite difference between them, however.

And that was Leon’s experience as a warrior.

As that difference began to manifest, Lylia, who had been able to evade Leon’s attack thus far, leaped backward and lowered her stance.

Quietly, yet with a penetrating voice, she muttered,

“I bring down judgment in the name of God. To my mind, my skill, my power, my life, my determined soul, my dearest comrades, I offer all the determination of my soul–“

A chilling sensation ran down Leon’s spine.

The attack Lylia unleashed in the split second she appeared before Leon, intercepting his intent to launch an offensive, was a strike from her soul itself.

“–Smiting Blast!”

Leon gave up the attempt to parry with the swords in his hands, opting to evade backward as Lylia’s strike split the earth.

The impact raced through the ground with the force of a lightning strike, the immensely powerful shockwave devouring the lives of countless monsters.

Leon avoided it and landed on the ground, but that was actually what Lylia had been aiming for.

Despite Leon having gone a fair distance away, the shockwave still reached him.

Though its power was low, it momentarily deprived Leon of his freedom of movement. Lylia was not one to overlook this opening. She swiftly pursued, seizing the blades of her swords and pulling them back with all her might.

With only the strength of his upper body, Leon could not compete with Lylia. Pulled by Lylia, he then received a powerful blow to his vulnerable abdomen.

“Ngh…!?”

Lylia, who had made Leon fall to his knees, reclaimed her swords.

Placing their blades at Leon’s neck, Lylia spoke,

“You tried to decide the fight with my swords — that was your mistake. If you’d prioritized magic, the outcome might have been different.”

“Hmph!”

Leon attempted to rise and launch a counterattack, but Lylia revealed no opening.

She skillfully evaded Leon’s attack with half of her body, and delivered a forceful blow to Leon’s neck with the hilt of one of her swords.

In the next moment, consciousness slipped away from Leon as he leaned against Lylia’s shoulder, his strength fading from his knees.

“…If you had gotten to live a normal life, I might have been the one who lost,” Lylia remarked.

She lifted Leon up and headed toward towards the center of the Resistance’s formation where Tūs awaited.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Billy sensed the movements of Lylia and Leon. He grinned maliciously as he haced Haiko, Viola, and Jeanne.

“That is quite a creepy smile you have… Hmph!”

“”Earth Javelin Rain!””

Billy effortlessly dodged Haiko’s attack by leaping, and even avoided the landing point targeted by Viola and Jeanne’s magic.

The three, puzzled by Billy’s lack of aggression since earlier, wondered what he was thinking.

[Is he planning something…?]

Jeanne felt it perplexing.

[He’s even creepier than that time…!]

Viola felt uneasy.

[For now, we have no choice but to keep pinning down this formidable opponent here…!]

Haiko considered what needed to be done to maintain the current situation.

To ensure Asley’s victory, this might be enough — such was the unanimous decision of the three.

However, dealing with Billy was never going to be that simple.

Billy raised his hand to the sky.

“Meteorain Bullets.”

“”…!?””

The three looked up.

Meteorain was originally a wide-range magic spell that showered massive rocks like rain. However, the three knew nothing about the magic Billy unleashed.

What they saw falling from the sky were undoubtedly enormous rocks.

However, the force of them was beyond what they knew.

The rocks fell at a speed surpassing the speed of sound, resembling meteorites, causing extensive damage over a vast area.

Naturally, it rained down on both the Resistance and the monsters.

Witnessing Billy’s ruthlessness and disregard for his allies, the expressions of the trio became stern.

“KAHHHHHH!”

Dodging the falling meteorites, Haiko rushed toward Billy.

“”Rise! Earth Control!””

Jeanne and Viola created a roof of earth to stop the falling meteorites, making an effort to assist Haiko in any way they could. The two then invoked Swift Magic.

“Venom Fire!”

“Heaven’s Vermilion!”

Jeanne unleashed an intoxicating flame, while Viola chose a wide-ranging scorching spell, directing them towards Billy.

They had meticulously calculated the positions from which they unleashed their spells. That did not mean they were totally undodgeable, of course, but in the only path Billy could dodge, Haiko was there, waiting.

As such, without hesitation, Billy made his choice — The choice to not dodge.

His face, bathed in the magical flames, was filled with delight.

“Hahahaha! Pathetic! Absolutely pathetic! I almost want to ask if you were truly following in the footsteps of THE Gaston!”

“Oh c’mon…!”

“Damn you…!”

The damage dealt was next to nothing. Jeanne and Viola were astounded by Billy’s armor-like exterior.

At this point, Haiko, the Heavenly Beast, distanced himself from Billy. He had no choice but to do that.

[…Strange. Those were direct hits from large-scale spells cast by the two who performed the Limit Breakthrough. It should have made an impact. This man named Billy… WHAT is he, really? He’s not just an ordinary Devil!]

Haiko’s vigilance naturally got through to Jeanne and Viola.

This caution led to a passive approach to their attack, giving Billy significant leeway on the battlefield.

Billy’s significant confidence was synonymous with his ability to sense arcane energy on the battlefield.

[Hmph, Cleath is retreating. Hmm? Idïa’s arcane energy is rapidly decreasing… And what is this…!?]

Billy, sensing the arcane energy of Idïa, whom Irene and Warren were fighting, looked toward the south.

Taking advantage of Billy’s momentary lapse, Haiko moved to attack, but Billy stepped on Haiko’s head and distanced himself from the battlefield.

Chasing Billy, who had once again turned to flee, was impossible unless it was Tūs or Asley.

“…Why’d he run away…?”

In response to Jeanne’s question, Viola replied,

“It would be more correct to say that he let us go…!”

Perhaps out of frustration, Viola clenched her fist strongly. Seeing this, Haiko glanced at the southern sky.

(That calm mind and strength… He is a formidable opponent!)

However, Haiko’s concerns were short-lived, as the northern sky turned red.

It was not at the battlefield where Asley and Lucifer were having their decisive battle. Rather, it was due to the intense fight that occurred in the area right past it.

“…! Miss Pochi!”

Indeed, it was the fierce battle between Asley’s Familiar, Pochi, and Lucifer’s Familiar, Hell Emperor.