"...I thought you weren't going to force me?

　They rejected my offer, so they're going to decide in a fight.

　The thing?
　I'm the guy who tells you to do whatever you want when you win?

　There's nothing fun about doing that with a man.

"I'm not here to brutalize you. It's not like I'm gonna beat you, is it?
Do you think you know what you're doing?
"It is my intention to show you my resolve, my resolve, through battle. There is no more effective way to convey a person's true feelings that cannot be faked than to fight for your life.

　It was a highly combative ethnic logic for the goal of reconciliation.

''Well I once fought with the Zebiantes and Bashbursa as well.

　These are the four Heavenly Kings who dominated for a period of time, including Bezelia, who is now in front of me.

"I've beaten them all. You are their equal, and even if you challenge me, you won't stand a chance against them.
''You don't have to quote me every time!

　Zebiantes himself protested from above.
　She's a woman who can't keep quiet at any time.

Of course we know that. ─ Of course I know that, and I can't express my determination in a battle that I deserve to win. The hardest obstacle comes true.

　And I don't want to back down either.
　It's good to burn with passion, but it's unbearable for an old man to have to go along with it.

It's a good thing, but when you're an old man going along with it, you can't help it.

　Even from the people around me, I can hear the sound of contempt, or rather ridicule.

''Challenging the village chief.......are you serious, that ugly guy?''
'Even General Rizzeto was completely out of his depth...'
''Even if it's the Fourth Heavenly King, he's no match for Bezalia's style, right?　After all, he's Arantziel's son!
Dariel is no longer in our realm of understanding. He's the closest thing to a demon king you'll ever have.

　I was already in an overwhelming mood.

　Where is the past when people used to scorn me as a lowly soldier or an old village chief?
　No one ever dreamed that Bezeria would defeat me.
　They don't think you'll even fight the good fight.

　........Well, actually I think so myself.

　The fighting style of the Four Heavenly Kings Bezalia has already been cracked.
The power of water, which is mainly based on steadfastness and tenacity, befitting the title of "Muddy Water".

　It's not a matter of attacking your opponent by yourself, but rather scooping up their feet as they come at you from the other side and setting them up in a bottomless swamp.
　This is a so-called "trap-and-frame-up" style of fighting.

　The fearsomeness of this technique was taught to me just a few minutes ago by the chairman of the board of directors, Litges, with his life.

　It's a fearsome strategy that, once framed, can be used to finish a superior fighter, but on the other hand, it's not a threat if you can deal with it properly.

　It's not suitable for a fair fight, but right now, as Bezalia and I are facing each other head-on, that's the only way it can be done.

　It's a good thing that I'm not the only one with a big advantage in terms of strength, but also in terms of affinity.

　Is it right to have such an advantageous fight?　I feel sorry for him, but I have to accept the challenge, so I have to take it.
　If he's satisfied with the fight, it's the gentleness of an elder to accept it.

　By the way, is Bezzeria younger than me?
　I'm sure he was the oldest among the Four Heavenly Kings right after Granbaza-sama's retirement.......

　

　By the time I noticed, they had closed the distance to the front of me.
　Right in front of me was Bezelia's hot and cold face.

''You wouldn't call me a coward by surprise, would you?
Huh?

　A hand is swung down.

　Bezzeria's five fingers make a hook, and she tries to slash me like a rake, but I jump back and dodge as fast as I can.

　It didn't hurt my body, but just in the nick of time, a piece of cloth was cut off from my clothing.

　That finger...or is it a fingernail?
　You've got magic in you.

It's a serious business in every sense of the word. This is a serious business, and if there's a chance to take advantage of it, it's always better to attack immediately. You don't think you are going to start off by saying, "Yeeeeeeeeaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, do you?
Yeah, you're right.

　But what's the speed at which they're stepping in now?
　

　A mage who isn't good at hand-to-hand combat is able to move this far?

In that case, it's this way!

　I also deployed my Hermes Sword and slashed at it.

　The aura special that is effective against these water mages is the slash.
　It's a surefire way to slash through irregularly shaped water with instantaneous speed and sharpness.

　No matter what kind of water magic Bezzeria uses to oppose it, I will slash through them all!

　I swung down with the intention of doing so....

'It's sweet,'

　Bezelia, who thought she had slashed into a kesa, suddenly lost her outline and collapsed into mush.

An alter ego made of water........?
''It means a highly viscous liquid can be used like this.

　The real one comes at him from the side.

　He dodges the claw attack again.

You dodged it again?　Being cautious, well, that's the right thing to do.

　I understood what he was trying to say.

　I'm dodging his claw attack with a paper-thin line of defense. Thanks to that, the clothes I'm wearing are only slightly torn....

　The torn clothes are rotting away from the cross section little by little...?

''Turning magic power into rotten poison......... Is this also a type of water's magic power........?
''Turbid water is a source of corrosion that returns everything to the ground. It's even more effective when it's a living being.

　If you scratch your enemy's body, you can slowly corrode them from there, gaining an advantage with every passing moment.
　That's exactly what I'm doing, and that's what's helping me so far.

But.........the clothes that Marika sewed for me........

　I want to kill this bastard.

　He was an even more difficult enemy than I had imagined, to the point where I wanted to think so.

　The Bezalia of the Four Heavenly Kings 'Muddy Water'.

　The conventional image of the enemy slowly eroding like water seeping into the body of water is still intact, but I didn't expect him to show this level of bravery in a head-to-head battle.

　I want to beat myself up for thinking it would end so easily.
　Has my crisis instincts been dulled by my long absence from actual combat as a village chief?

If it were true, it would have been over in an instant. You're the human race that uses aura, and your physical abilities far exceed mine. But even so, I've managed to bite back, thanks to the fact that you're already in the midst of your 'prison bondage'.

　.....
　I see.

　The water that covers the entire flatland area that has been a battlefield since just a moment ago.
　Although it's only shallow enough to soak your ankles, but even so, the water that was spread out over a wide area that could accommodate everyone gathered in this place where there were thousands of people, was a very nasty spell that Bezzeria had set up.

　This water seems to be clear and pure, but in fact it is a magical liquid that contains a terrifying effect.
　If you move it violently, its viscosity will increase and it will cling to the rampaging opponent.
　In the end, it will deprive you of the freedom of your limbs, and if it's too much, it will block your mouth and nose, block your breathing and make you die of suffocation.

　It was Litges who was taken up to heaven after going that far.

　The more I move, the more the viscosity of the water that soaks my feet rises and the more I move, the more I am prevented from moving.
　On the other hand, there's no way Bezelia, the master of magic, would be restricted by her own magic.

　It bounces as if it were sliding on the thinly stretched water, rather than the subtlety of movement is increased than normal!

''The 'Prisoner's Prison Viscosity' inhibits my movement, and the 'Rotting Poison Claws' won't allow me to graze. How long do you think you can sustain this situation?

　Bezzeria continues its onslaught without giving you a moment to breathe.

　This guy understands.
　I've been in a position to say that there is an absolute difference in power between the enemy and myself that is impossible to fill.

　That's why he continues to attack without letting up for even a moment, and doesn't give his opponents an opening to go on the offensive.
　This man knows that once the offense and defense are reversed, he will never be able to recover, this man knows that.

"The 'Prison Viscosity' and the 'Rotting Claws' only serve to keep you at the edge of your seat. One moment of slackness can lead to instant death. I will not let my guard down!

　Yes, this man was not careless.
　He was the type of person who was completely absent from the four heavenly kings I had fought so far.

　Bashbarza and Zebiantes both thought I was a helpless lowest-ranking soldier and completely licked it off.
　That's why I was able to conquer them in one fell swoop and win over them.

　The only reason it's not possible to do that against Bezzeria is because he's the one who calmly analyzes the difference in strength between his own and others and has figured out the only path to victory that can be entrusted to him.

　Who was ever this unflappable and insatiable for victory?

　The four heavenly kings during the period when I was expelled from the Demon King's army.......
　Bashbarza, Zebiantes, Droyer, and this guy......Bezelia.

　He alone is different from the others in the first class.
　It's as if they are a different kind of creature.

　I didn't even notice it until I actually met with him.
　This 'muddy water' bezeria is the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings!

''Hey!　What are you bothering with, Dariel?　If you don't win easily, it's as if Bezalia is stronger than I am!

　Shut up, Zebiantes!
　In fact, it is!

　At least Bezelia is much stronger than you!