Silver hair, gold eyes, naturally giving off a terrifying killing aura that suppresses the entire area.
This is the impression the Dragon God Orsted gives everyone.
When he appeared, the entire ruined execution ground fell into absolute silence.
The nobles of the Asura Kingdom showed expressions of terror and fear, not daring to meet his gaze even for a moment. Many people, upon seeing the man's true face, had their legs weakened by extreme fear and were unable to stand.
Even Isolte, the Water King, who had taken the initiative to save the Water God Reida and drive back Orsted, showed a stunned expression when she saw the Dragon God Orsted's true face. Her whole body trembled from extreme fear, and cold sweat poured down.
This further confirmed the fact that he was indeed the Dragon God Orsted.
Because the Dragon God Orsted carries a curse that is hated by the world, anyone who sees him will tremble with fear because of that curse, unable to suppress it.
"It's actually... the Dragon God, why? Why are you killing Master?"
Orsted's expression was cold in response to Isolte's incomprehension.
He seemed to not care about the mortals present from the start, always staring coldly at the Water God Reida, who was lying on the ground, and said to Isolte, "You don't need to know why I'm doing this. If you don't want to die here, give up the Water God and obediently step back."
Although Orsted said this, his attitude clearly didn't think Isolte would be easily swayed.
In fact, even in the face of the Dragon God's threat, Isolte was still unwilling to give up the Water God, and she gripped her sword tightly, standing in front of the Dragon God.
"I refuse. Even if it costs me my life, I will never allow you to kill Master!"
Isolte had already made up her mind.
Earlier, when Shirou was fighting the Water God Reida, Isolte had been wavering, wanting to intervene in the battle to stop it.
After all, she didn't want to see the Water God killed by Shirou, nor did she want Shirou to be killed by the Water God.
For her, the best outcome would undoubtedly be if both sides stopped fighting and survived.
But Isolte quickly realized that she didn't have the strength to intervene in that battle, so she could only watch the battle unfold.
Until the final battle between Shirou and the Water God came to an end, Isolte realized with resignation that she had accomplished nothing in the end.
But she also decided that she would protect the Water God's life no matter what.
After all, the Water God was not only an important teacher to her, but also her grandmother, her most important relative. Isolte couldn't possibly watch Reida die.
Isolte never expected that the person she would ultimately have to fight was not Shirou and the Ariel faction, but the suddenly appearing Dragon God Orsted.
Faced with such an exaggeratedly strong enemy, Isolte felt despair almost instantly.
But no matter how desperate and powerless she felt, she would never give up, even if it meant sacrificing her life, to save the person she wanted to save.
"Sacrificing your life, huh... Yeah, that's the kind of person you are, Isolte Kroueur."
Orsted seemed to know Isolte very well, and he quietly raised his right hand. "Well, anyway, when I killed Darius and prepared to come here to kill the Water God, I had already prepared for the possibility of having to kill you along with her. I'm sorry, Isolte, you and this Water God can die together."
"Killed Darius? Darius is dead?"
Orsted's words caused Ariel, who was not far away, to exclaim in surprise.
Orsted responded casually, "Yeah, I killed him. Don't worry, I didn't touch your people. You can smoothly become the queen of this country and inherit the throne, Ariel Anemoi Asura."
"This..."
Ariel fell silent at Orsted's words, and she showed a puzzled expression.
After all, judging from Orsted's words, he seemed to be assisting her in ascending the throne, clearing away the obstacles in her path to becoming king.
But why would he do that?
What reason would the majestic Dragon God, ranked second among the world powers, have to assist an ordinary princess in becoming king?
What benefits would that bring him?
Various thoughts flashed through Ariel's mind, and she couldn't help but suspect Orsted's true intentions.
Compared to Ariel's wavering, the nobles present no longer dared to resist Ariel in any way because of the Dragon God's words.
Because they all regarded the Dragon God Orsted as Ariel's ally, they never expected that Ariel not only had Shirou, a world power-level companion who could defeat the Water God head-on, but also had ties to the Dragon God Orsted, who could be said to be the strongest person in the world today.
Such an exaggerated power made the nobles no longer dare to have any extra thoughts about stopping Ariel from becoming king, and their hearts were filled with fear of Ariel.
Although there were some who thought that Orsted might not be connected to Ariel herself, the fact that Orsted was willing to kill Darius in order to help Ariel become king already made it difficult to doubt the fact that the two were connected.
It could be said that with things having developed to this point, there was no longer any hindrance to Ariel becoming the queen of the Asura Kingdom. What lay before her was only a broad and smooth road.
In a sense, becoming king had already broken away from Ariel's own will.
Now, no matter what kind of thoughts Ariel held, her becoming queen was a foregone conclusion.
While the nobles were each harboring their own thoughts, Orsted quietly looked at Isolte and slowly said, "I'll give you one last chance. Leave the Water God Reida's side, and I won't harm you in the slightest."
"I will never abandon Master!"
"Is that so? Then I have nothing more to say. You and your grandmother can die together."
The moment Orsted's words fell, his figure disappeared from the spot as if teleporting. When he reappeared, he was already behind Isolte.
"!!!"
Isolte, as the Water King, couldn't even catch a glimpse of Orsted's movements. Even though she tried her best to dodge, she was still pierced through the shoulder by the Dragon God's arm.
"You actually dodged?"
But Orsted seemed dissatisfied with this result, and he looked surprised at Isolte's movements. "You shouldn't have this much strength at this time... Is it a change in your state of mind, or have you been influenced by someone? Well, but that's all. Your talent doesn't support you in going further. It ends here."
"Damn it!!!"
Isolte couldn't accept being looked down upon like this. Although she knew that the difference between her and the Dragon God was like that between an ant and an elephant, she, as a fragile ant, would never retreat even half a step, even if she was destined to die!
To that end, Isolte forcibly dragged her pierced body and suddenly activated a Water God Style secret technique, briefly driving back the Dragon God.
"Isolte..."
The Water God looked at her granddaughter's persistence and couldn't help but show a pained expression, saying, "This isn't an opponent you can handle. You don't need to go to such lengths for me. I don't have much longer to live anyway."
"I don't want to. How could I possibly watch you die in front of me! I absolutely can't accept that!"
Isolte gritted her teeth. Although her vision was gradually blurring from the bleeding and her body was gradually unable to stand firm, she still didn't fall, nor was she willing to fall here.
Orsted looked at Isolte, who was already at the end of her rope but was still unwilling to give up, and a fleeting moment of sympathy flashed in his eyes.
But that sympathy disappeared almost instantly, turning into absolute killing intent.
"There are many things in this world that cannot be accepted. No matter how strong you are, there are bound to be things you can't do anything about. If you insist on forcing it, then pay the price with your life."
The moment Orsted's words fell, he once again appeared in front of Isolte as if teleporting, his straight palm turning into a sharp blade that was about to pierce Isolte's heart.
Faced with the fact that the Water King Isolte was about to die, everyone present couldn't help but close their eyes, unable to bear to watch that cruel scene unfold.
"Clang,"
However, what emerged in the next second was not the scene of Isolte's death, but the clear sound of sharp objects colliding.
The Dragon God's hand blade was directly blocked by a sharp long sword at the moment it was about to pierce Isolte.
Although Shirou had gone through the battle with the Water God Reida and could be said to be greatly exhausted, he still stood between Isolte and the Dragon God at the critical moment, blocking this fatal attack.
"Shi, Shirou...?!"
Isolte showed a surprised expression, seemingly not expecting Shirou to help her.
Shirou quietly said, "I heard that Isolte, you saved Ariel's life before. In that case, I will repay that favor."
"How do you know?"
Isolte was stunned after hearing this, not understanding why Shirou knew about this, but she quickly realized the reason.
Because she found Eris in the distance winking at her, it was obvious that Eris had told Shirou this news, leading Shirou to make up his mind to come and save people.
Now, Shirou used his sword to block the Dragon God's movements. The two looked at each other at a very close distance, their pupils each reflecting the other's figure.
"Should I say long time no see, Shirou Greyrat."
The Dragon God Orsted quietly said, "I have already heard about your recent active performance. Not only did you defeat the Third North God, but you also defeated the Water God Reida. Such a rapid growth rate is rare even among the entire human race."
Shirou was undoubtedly quite surprised to hear Orsted's blatant praise.
He couldn't understand the other party's attitude at all, and didn't understand why the other party didn't start fighting without saying a word, as they had when they met at the Red Dragon's Lower Jaw.
"Why is the Dragon God here? Why do you want to kill the Water God?"
"Because this Water God is an apostle of Hitogami."
When Hitogami was mentioned, Orsted's words instantly became serious, even angry. "All Hitogami's apostles should die. To that end, I first killed the first apostle Darius, and the Water God I'm going to kill next is the second apostle."
"Hitogami's apostle? Did you attack me in the first place because you thought I was an apostle of Hitogami?"
"Yes, I mistakenly thought you were an apostle of Hitogami at the time and wanted to make you disappear, but later I realized that I had misunderstood you."
"Why do you think I'm not an apostle of Hitogami?"
"Hitogami's apostles wouldn't help Ariel ascend the throne. Only those who prevent Ariel from ascending the throne could be Hitogami's apostles. So, when I learned that you had fought the Water God in order to help Ariel become king, I had already determined that you were not an apostle."
"Why does helping Ariel necessarily mean you're not an apostle of Hitogami?"
"I can't say that."
"This..."
Orsted clearly had no intention of revealing everything to Shirou, and he said frankly, "In short, Ariel was able to ascend the throne thanks to Shirou, which counts as me owing you a favor. I also apologize to you for the Red Dragon's Lower Jaw incident. I misunderstood you."
Never would he have thought that Orsted would show such a sincere attitude toward him, even taking the initiative to apologize to him.
Shirou even showed a slight feeling of unreality for a moment.
But he quickly cleared his head, not letting the other party's simple words easily deceive him, and said seriously, "You said you owe me a favor, so if I say I hope you don't kill the Water God, can you do that?"
"Of course."
Orsted nodded without the slightest hesitation, "Although the Water God is an apostle of Hitogami, now that Darius is dead, it will be difficult for her to be manipulated by Hitogami again. Moreover, with you here, Ariel's ascension to the throne will hardly be shaken anymore. If you actively make a request, I can spare her life."
"..."
Shirou was completely confused by Orsted's attitude.
The impression he gave him was as if he had undergone a complete turnaround compared to the last time.
After learning that he was not an apostle of Hitogami, Orsted not only completely lost his hostility toward him, but also showed himself to be quite friendly and amiable, his favorability soaring, and he suddenly became very human-like.
This made Shirou not know how to vent all his original emotions, and he even felt like he had let his breath out.
But he still held some tension, suspecting that Orsted was only saying this to make him lower his guard, and in reality would still kill the Water God Reida.
But Orsted really didn't do anything. He just glanced at the people of the Asura Kingdom and left without looking back.
It wasn't until Orsted had truly disappeared from view that everyone belatedly realized that this battle for the throne of the Asura Kingdom seemed to be completely over!