BOOM!

A massive shockwave and a blinding white light erupted from the Giant Sword. The fire and impact from the unprecedented explosion annihilated all the surrounding trees, blasting the Undead Knight and sending him staggering back several dozen meters.

When the smoke cleared, the Undead Knight’s already "tattered" body looked even more of a mess. The Giant Sword, of unknown origin, had been reduced to a heap of scrap metal in the blast.

For the first time, a change flickered across Carmen’s expression, which had remained as still as a deep pool.

Baron stared in astonishment at the Little Flame Demons circling the Undead Knight. He clearly hadn’t expected them to be so destructive. Their power was several times greater than his old Dragon Flame, comparable to one of Master Bagins’s Alchemy High-Explosive Bombs, which cost two hundred British Pounds apiece.

However... His gaze fell upon the Undead Knight. The knight was getting back to its feet. Despite the massive explosion from the Little Flame Demons, it ultimately hadn’t sustained much damage.

Its quicksilver eyes were still bright, and they were rapidly shifting toward a deep amber.

Promise: Lion’s Eye!

Baron was suddenly overcome with dizziness. He ordered the Little Flame Demons to continue their assault and keep the knight occupied, but even though the Undead Knight was dead, its combat instincts remained.

It took full advantage of its undead nature; the Little Flame Demons phased right through its body, unable to harm it at all.

Unless it attacked, just as it had a moment ago.

An undead could only be harmed while in the act of attacking—a lesson Baron had learned from the last Lion-eyed Knight he’d faced.

But Baron had only just woken from a coma. Although his Spiritual Power recovered faster now that he was at the Bronze Tier, this wasn’t a video game. There was no such thing as a buff that completely refreshed your body after a breakthrough.

After such a grueling ordeal for both mind and body, all he wanted to do upon waking was sleep.

After the Flame Demons shattered its Giant Sword, the Undead Knight began to Assimilate... But its Assimilation was twisted and bizarre, possessing a deranged, frenzied quality.

Lion claws burst from its chest, while its hands twisted into the shape of lion heads...

Baron watched, horrified. Carmen waved a hand, using her Spiritual Power to levitate the unconscious Sun Knight, Gawain, out from the undergrowth.

"An Undead Knight’s power is mostly self-reliant," she said. "They are already dead. Even if their spirit remains, without a soul to communicate with their Contractor, their use of Promise and Assimilation will always be incomplete."

Baron glanced from the Undead Knight, which was still mutating like some monster out of Resident Evil, to Gawain lying at the Witch’s feet. His expression was puzzled. "How did he get here?"

’And by the looks of it, someone beat him half to death.’

Looking at the flowers wrapped around Gawain, constantly chewing at his armor, Baron had a pretty good idea who was responsible for this.

"I used the Red Dragon Aura to command him to fall unconscious. This ritual requires him."

The Witch used her Spiritual Power to slice open Gawain’s wrist, carefully avoiding the parts of the Sun Knight’s arm that were covered in Dragon Scales.

Blood immediately began to flow.

"Help me hold off the Undead Knight. I need time to prepare an Alchemy Array."

As she spoke, Carmen dipped her hand in Gawain’s blood and began to draw runes on the ground.

Baron glanced at the elegantly spaced runes. Following his gut, he chose to trust the Witch.

He used his Spiritual Vision to gauge the Spiritual Power remaining in his body, then weighed the difference between himself and the Undead Knight. "Three minutes."

Baron said, "I can only hold it off for three minutes, tops."

With that, he brandished his Spear Sword and charged, stumbling, toward the Undead Knight.

And was promptly kicked and sent flying right back.

Feeling like he’d just been hit by a semi-truck, Baron coughed up a mouthful of blood. He clutched his chest and looked at the Witch with a sheepish expression. "On second thought, even three seconds might be tough."

’The gap between the Bronze and Silver Tiers really is huge.’

’Although, only lasting three seconds is a bit of a blow to a man’s pride.’

’Good thing Carmen doesn’t have a Little Demon personality like KK. She probably won’t tease me about this.’

But Carmen replied as if she had expected this all along. "Three seconds is enough. The Array is ready."

She uttered a string of ancient, solemn words. The words pierced the blood-carved runes on the ground like needles. After a moment of silence, an awesome presence descended from overhead.

Baron was barely able to keep his eyes open against the gale. "What did you do? What is this Array?"

The Witch didn’t answer. A moment later, a dragon’s roar from deep within the clouds responded for her.

A silver-red Dragon tore across the sky. With wings spread wide, it descended from above, looking like an Angel with a Demon’s wings in the light of the setting sun.

Even though he had never seen this Dragon before, information about it surfaced in Baron’s mind instantly.

The Contractor of the Sun Knight, Gawain: the Azure Fire Dragon, Orelliga.

It had arrived, a monarch descending with unrivaled majesty. Even the monstrously transformed Undead Knight involuntarily halted its charge, its eyes—flickering between amber and quicksilver—fixed upon the sovereign arrival.

The Azure Fire Dragon held its head high, seemingly searching for the one who had summoned it. A storm of wind, thunder, fire, and lightning seemed to brew with its every breath.

But what happened next was not what Baron expected.

When the Azure Fire Dragon’s ferocious, wild Golden Eyes noticed Gawain lying in the Array on the ground, they took on an uncannily human-like expression of contempt and disdain.

But when it turned and saw Carmen standing nearby with her arms crossed, her red dress billowing in the wind like the evening clouds, that contempt and disdain instantly transformed into fear and awe.

Especially when it saw the Dragon Knight, Baron, standing off to the side surrounded by Flame Demons, his Golden Eye glowing as bright as a lightbulb, its wings faltered, and it actually came crashing down from the sky.