Black and Silver

If one were to describe the woman named Carla Raparba Uslan in a single phrase, it would be: a perfect human being.

First, there was her beautiful appearance. Beyond the striking combination of magnificent silver hair and blue eyes, there was her expression with its faint smile. Most people, upon meeting her for the first time, rubbed their eyes in disbelief at the existence before them.

From her slender neck to her shoulders, a chest that was neither modest nor abundant. And from her slim waist extended long, well-toned legs with graceful elegance. She didn't exude sex appeal by emphasizing her chest—she was an existence that lived in perfect harmony.

And if you thought that was just her looks, her inner qualities were equally remarkable.

Her swordsmanship was the finest in the knight order. As for magic, the Great Sage Azelford himself had declared her "superior to me." She possessed extensive knowledge and sound judgment, and regarding her character, it was said that she and the prince were the only ones capable of restraining the queen.

Now that she had slain a dragon, she was often called the Silver Holy Knight, but before that, many people had called her a saint.

The reason for that was simple: she could use resurrection magic.

In this world, only gods were said to be able to use resurrection magic.

In truth, divine dragons could use it as well, but most people didn't know that.

Though Carla needed certain conditions to be met, she was able to use that resurrection magic.

"So with that said, even if you die fighting Carla, just follow these requirements, okay?"

"Hold on, why are you assuming I'm going to lose?"

"I'm not saying that's a given, but Carla is a dragonslayer. I need you to be prepared for the worst case."

Guinevere said this while grinning. She was currently standing on the palm of a massive golem.

This was the wasteland on the outskirts of Manesh. The place where the dragonslayer had once slain a dragon. Its name was simply the "Dragonslayer's Wasteland."

Craters dotted the landscape here and there, with vitrified rocks scattered about. In such a wasteland, two women stood facing each other. And there was the golem.

Ria wore her usual black leather armor, Carla wore knight's garb made from processed mithril matching the color of her hair, and Guinevere was dressed in riding clothes.

Speaking of which, that golem had a body type that looked well-suited for underwater combat.

"First, don't damage more than half of the head. Specifically, the brain needs to remain intact."

Guinevere explained various things, but it all went in one ear and out the other for Ria.

"Basically, cutting and stabbing are fine, but being blown away without a trace by magic is bad!"

If that was all, she should have just said that from the start.

"By the way, if I accidentally kill her, is there anyone else who can use resurrection?"

Ria asked the reverse question.

"If the heart stops, I can bring her back right away."

Impressive indeed.

From what she could tell by checking Carla's Gifts, even if Ria cut off a few of her limbs, she'd be fine, so going all out should be acceptable.

"Incidentally, Carla won't die from just having her heart pierced, so you can rest easy about that."

Amazing, Dragon's Bloodline.

When facing her as an opponent, it was truly overwhelming.

However, thinking back on it, she was pretty sure she would die if her heart was pierced through, but perhaps she wouldn't die now?

The golem carrying Guinevere moved to the distant Carla and they spoke about something. If Ria strained her ears she could hear them, but if they were planning some kind of strategy, it would be more interesting not to listen.

Before long, the golem moved away from Carla as well, taking a sufficient distance. Its back opened and Guinevere climbed inside.

Surprisingly, this world had never had golems designed for humans to ride in. The reason was similar to why piloted robots were never made practical in her previous life. There was something called powered suit-type magic armor, but it wasn't a common weapon.

Guinevere's golem was something she herself had planned, designed, and manufactured. Despite being a busy queen, she apparently had quite a bit of free time.

"Alright, let's begin～"

Together with Guinevere's amplified voice, a fireball was launched into the sky. Its explosion served as the signal to start.

Trying to close the distance first, Ria kicked off the ground.

And Carla did the same.

She came flying, skimming just above the ground.

Unexpected. If she'd heard about things from Guinevere, she should know that ranged magic attacks would be more advantageous than close combat.

After countless feints, a single strike. Sword and katana locked in a contest of guards.

What clashed against Kotetsu was a blade once called a holy sword. Now it was known as the dragon-slaying sword Ekudra, a national treasure.

"Why close combat?"

Curious, Ria asked.

"To ensure I don't kill you."

"That's underestimating me too much."

After just that brief exchange, Ria had seen through her.

Carla's Swordsmanship skill level was 8—looking at that alone, they should be evenly matched. Considering her stats and Gifts too, she should have been able to fight on equal footing or better.

But that was only when looking at each element separately. When combined, the gap became clear.

She delivered precise, sharp attacks mixed with advanced feints.

But they were overwhelmingly light.

A lightness that showed she didn't understand what it meant to cut someone down.

"You haven't cut down many people, have you?"

"I have reasonable experience in combat against people, though."

Both had the composure to talk while fighting.

"Not a fight to the death, but one-sided battles, right?"

"… That's correct."

There was a slight pause before that answer.

For Carla, fighting meant suppression. The only thing she could truly call a fight was the one against that dragon. All her other combat experience had been cultivated through training. It came from the talent called Gifts.

For Ria too, most of her power had been given to her, but the amount of blood she'd coughed up in her previous life was on another level. She'd been surprised to learn that bloody urine was actually a real thing.

The trial-and-error effort accumulated by an ordinary person, combined with the physical abilities only a genius could possess. That was the source of Ria's strength.

"White Prison Flames."

The spell Carla cast without chanting assaulted Ria.

And not just one—they came from all directions.

Ria either dodged them or cut through them with her katana. Even so, she couldn't evade all of them and took some direct hits.

But there was no damage. Mere heat attacks couldn't affect Ria.

From there, Ria continued defending against countless magical attacks of various attributes.

"My, my, how impressive."

"Yes, truly."

In a mountainous region far from the battlefield.

Two figures stood there.

At a distance where the two combatants looked like grains of rice, Haruto and Ferna were watching the battle.

Both wore sand-colored cloaks. Items with anti-magic properties that Haruto had prepared just in case.

While Ferna could use far-sight magic, Haruto—as one might expect—pulled out a pair of binoculars from his pocket.

Responding to Ferna's gaze with a smile, Haruto said:

"These are the latest model binoculars developed by my company."

They used no magic—a product of pure technology.

When watching magical battles, far-sight magic was often disrupted.

He put them to his eyes, but immediately smiled wryly and put them away again.

"They're moving too fast to see. Ferna-san, please provide commentary."

"Very well."

Ferna explained every move Carla made as she repeatedly activated tremendously advanced magic.

The fact that she could provide such accurate commentary was revealing a glimpse of her own abilities, but she hadn't yet realized that.

Another pair was also watching: a man and a woman.

Standing next to the robo-golem were Irina and Serge.

To fulfill everyone's wish to watch the fight between Ria and Carla, Serge was transmitting images using space-time magic, but his spirit was already on the verge of breaking.

Magic that Lulu or Serge would have had to put their all into using, Carla was firing off casually as if they were minor spells.

And Ria was either nullifying them, slicing through them, or overpowering them head-on.

Super scary.

What was this, a kaiju battle?

"Irina, please really protect me. If something flies this way, I'll seriously die."

Even a single stray shot was easily creating small craters.

Serge's magical barriers would quickly reach their limit.

"I knoooow～"

Irina said with her wide eyes turned toward him, but she appeared to be working diligently.

Clad in orichalcum armor, radiating golden dragon fighting spirit from her body, Irina was protecting Serge.

Even so, Serge thought as he glanced to the side. His gaze landed on the queen who had turned the golem's face in one direction.

Even though she was protected by the golem's armor, how did her retainers allow the queen to be in such a place?

It would be a little while longer before Serge truly understood that trying to stop her was futile.

Carla was at a loss.

She was at a loss over how to deal with this person called Ria, who was far too strong.

None of her anti-personnel combat spells worked on her. Even trying to cut her with a sword, Ria's close combat skills were superior.

Then should she use magic at full power?

Would she really have to use her full magical power against just one person?

But her hesitation quickly vanished.

Ria would be able to take everything she had.

Without any basis, Carla believed that.

Carla took distance and soared into the sky.

Ria remained on the ground, taking a stance. It wasn't that she couldn't use flight magic, but hers was still unskilled.

Then, Carla's voice echoed.

"— She was imprisoned —"

This was the first time Ria had heard Carla chant.

At the same time, her body suddenly grew heavy. She couldn't move from that spot.

"— In the depths of the dark earth, she was imprisoned —"

Magic that manipulated gravity, with something layered on top of it. She could feel magical power being compressed.

This is bad, Ria thought.

Carla probably thought Ria would be fine even with this. That trust felt heavy right now.

Multi-layered barriers were erected with Ria at the center.

These were to trap Ria, but that wasn't all.

They would bring destruction to this limited space.

This is very bad, Ria thought.

Then Carla's chant was complete.

"— Thermonuclear Darkness Detonation Hell —"

The multi-layered barrier spanning several hundred meters in radius with Ria at its center. It was something that could block even a dragon's breath.

And within it, nuclear explosions were being compressed and unleashed multiple times over.

Normally, this was a forbidden spell that required dozens of mages to perform through ritual.

It was humanity's last resort, capable of destroying even a dragon.

Yet even so, Carla could still sense Ria's presence.

A massive crater with a molten surface had been born there.

Though heat escaped upward, the rocks were still boiling like magma.

From that pool of magma, Ria burst out.

When she knew escape was impossible, she had chosen to plunge into the earth. Using the earth-digging magic she'd honed through bath-making, she had dove as deep underground as possible.

The massive bedrock had shielded her from the nuclear explosion's force. Her heat resistance had somehow managed to protect her from the thermal energy.

"That was… hot…"

She brushed away the solidified matter clinging to her armor with her hand. Her other hand firmly gripped her katana.

"That was hooooot!!!"

Laughing, Ria soared toward Carla.

On her back were translucent black wings.

This was her newly awakened Gift: [Flight].

Carla blocked Ria's slash.

But the exchange had become completely one-sided.

Even with all her Gifts released and enhanced by magic.

Even so, Carla couldn't beat Ria in close combat.

And Ria was smiling.

With each sword stroke, she could feel herself growing stronger.

When she was with Carla, she felt like she could climb to any height.

Ah, so this was what she had been seeking.

Carla landed a particularly sharp strike and created distance from Ria.

Then she sheathed her sword and raised both hands toward the heavens.

"Eh? Don't tell me you're surrendering?"

Even after using that spell, Carla still had magical power remaining.

Wasn't the real battle about to begin from here?

"No. But this will be the last."

Carla gathered her magical power.

The strongest spell, composed within her mind.

At this point, it was questionable whether it could even be called magic. It was the power of a god.

"— Spirits of earth and sky, in accordance with fate, fulfill your duty —"

"— Collapse of Heaven and Earth —"

There, light was born.

That light became a pillar, swallowing everything.

The earth crumbled and vanished.

The atmosphere broke down and scattered into space.

It was truly a power to collapse heaven and earth.

Enveloped in light, Ria was wrapped in darkness within it.

The dark dragon fighting spirit. It was a dragon's power, opposing the power of a god.

"Uaaaaaaah!"

A roar. Defying the power of a god, Ria burst from the light. Carla was ahead of her.

She crashed into her with that momentum, and the two fell to the earth.

Beneath Ria's arms was Carla.

As if cradled in Ria's arms, there was Carla.

That perfect beauty had crumbled.

Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks flushed, her forehead beaded with sweat.

She had brought an angel down to earth. There was that sense of transgression.

"I lose."

Carla said only that, her breathing ragged.

Her eyes were clear. Even defeat, it seemed, could not bring her humiliation.

"Don't you actually still have a trump card?"

"No, that was the last. I could still fight, but the damage to the surroundings would be too severe."

"Ah, that's true."

This newly born super-massive crater. If the battlefield hadn't been restricted, how much destruction would have occurred?

"The victor's right. You did stake your life, after all."

Come to think of it, there was such a thing in these kinds of duels.

Beneath Ria's body, Carla stirred slightly.

What a soft body. Where in this body was such power hidden?

"Then, a kiss from you…"

Without showing surprise at the request, Carla closed her eyes.

Looking at those pale pink lips, Ria became intensely flustered—

In the end, she could only manage to kiss her cheek.