Ch.180180. Duel (2)

Bahamut could feel it too as he fought.

The opponent was strong.

While his personality certainly had issues, his power was real, and he was an opponent that could not be underestimated.

‘Our strength is evenly matched. It’s difficult to determine superiority.’

Bahamut assessed that Phoenix’s power was equal to his own.

Which was superior, who was stronger, who was weaker.

There was no need to debate such things.

Their power and output were equal, and if only considering raw power, the battle between Bahamut and Phoenix would always remain deadlocked.

‘However, in a fight between us, it seems what matters is the skill to fully utilize the power one possesses.’

Ultimately, in the battle between these two divine beasts, rather than the power they exerted, what mattered was the ability to distribute that power appropriately.

If their powers were equal, then whoever had the capacity to properly use their power, maintain composure, and continue fighting with experience would determine the outcome.

In this regard, Bahamut was quite blessed.

“Haah!”

“Kyaak!”

Unlike Phoenix, for whom this was essentially the first deployment and first battle, Bahamut had abundant combat experience from responding to summons from the Dragon Priestess and participating in battles.

He had become so accustomed to using magic to help the Balhut Cult that it was now second nature to him, and he had even conducted magical research, raising his understanding to a level where he could proudly claim to be the most knowledgeable about magic in this apocalypse.

In other words, Bahamut had the insight to analyze the magic used by his opponent and identify its weaknesses, and based on this, he found an opening in Phoenix and thrust his fist through it.

“Hmm.”

However, a single punch was not enough to bring down the immortal Phoenix.

In an instant, the damaged body regenerated, and Phoenix unleashed tremendous flames, demonstrating power comparable to Bahamut’s.

The intense red flames that regenerated Phoenix’s body began to cover the sky, and before long, the firmament started changing to the same color as Phoenix.

As if this place were Phoenix’s domain, the heat in the surrounding air gradually increased, and that scorching heat began to invade Bahamut’s body, heating up his interior.

“This is dangerous.”

Bahamut responded by deploying dozens, hundreds of magic circles.

He directed all those magic circles toward Phoenix, preparing to counter the phenomenon occurring, when suddenly…

‘Wait a moment.’

At that moment, Bahamut realized that all the eyes monitoring him had disappeared.

The drones that had been watching this spectacle were all destroyed and vanished due to their fierce clash.

Which meant…

“Let’s stop. There’s no need to fight anymore.”

“Eh? Really?”

There was no longer any reason to continue this WWE-style showdown, and when all the drones were destroyed, Bahamut canceled the magic circles he had deployed, dropping his combat stance first.

Then he told Phoenix there was no need to fight anymore, and Phoenix extinguished the flames that had been encroaching on the surroundings, looking at Bahamut with an expression that seemed to ask if he was serious.

In truth, Phoenix still had strength left, so there was reason to continue the fight, and as he was gradually gaining air superiority, the advantage might have shifted to Phoenix’s side.

‘W-wow, he’s incredibly strong! Can I really defeat an opponent like this?!’

But Phoenix also felt Bahamut’s strength during their fight and was reluctant to engage in a life-or-death battle with him.

Moreover, Phoenix himself hadn’t accumulated enough grudges against Bahamut to warrant a fight to the death, and since he had been forced to fight at the Saint’s insistence, he couldn’t help but welcome Bahamut’s suggestion to stop fighting.

“Right. We’re not in a position to fight to the death. And we’ve shown enough of a demonstration to the people.”

“W-wait a moment! Is this really okay? Stopping at the highlight? Won’t those watching protest…”

However, Phoenix seemed concerned about the Saint’s potential reaction, worrying that those on the other side might object if they stopped fighting.

“That’s their problem. We are in the position of power. We lend our strength for a price. Phoenix, did you receive adequate compensation from the Saint?”

Bahamut calmly dismissed it, saying that was their problem and that we were in the position of power.

But Phoenix’s expression became even stranger…

“Huh…? Wasn’t I supposed to help for free?”

“Eh.”

He had just openly confirmed that he was a pushover.

So, this foolish phoenix…

‘What? They’re not even receiving compensation? I demand the Dragon Priestess’s mana for the summoning itself, and I use her mana for magic casting too.’

If measured on a scale, while Bahamut’s compensation might be small, he still collected payment from the Dragon Priestess as part of their contract, unlike Phoenix who didn’t demand any compensation at all.

Seeing this naive behavior, Bahamut thought he had never expected to meet someone who was an even bigger pushover than himself.

‘Isn’t that dangerous?’

After all, it’s human nature to mistake continued kindness for entitlement.

That’s why Bahamut had made it clear that using his power always required compensation, and because that warning was heeded, the Balhut Cult recognized Bahamut’s manifestation not as their right but as something that required proper payment.

Bahamut realized that the Phoenix before him was an easy target for exploitation, but he thought stopping the fight was the priority, so…

“My power and Phoenix’s are equal. If we continue fighting, one of us will return in a damaged state. Even demonstrations should be done in moderation. A fight to the death would only drain both our powers.”

“But if those people say something…”

“That’s a problem for human society, not for me or Phoenix. There might be issues with the contractor, but isn’t that their own doing? Even I don’t resolve everything that happens due to someone’s own actions.”

He gave her a clear answer.

Phoenix then spoke with a bright expression.

“Um, then can I go home now?”

She looked like she wanted to return home right away, and Bahamut nodded and spoke.

“Sure. By all means. But before that, our fight showed our powers are evenly matched, and since we can’t settle it right now, let’s acknowledge each other’s strength and withdraw. How about ending it that way?”

“Ah. Yes. That works for me too.”

Officially, they decided to claim that because Bahamut and Phoenix’s powers were equal, they couldn’t determine a winner, so they acknowledged each other and withdrew.

The battle between the Dragon God Bahamut and the immortal Phoenix ended with that, and both divine beasts began returning to their respective bases.

“It seems this match ends in a draw.”

“Yes. It’s truly unfortunate.”

And this fact was soon made known to the European Union.

Alicia stated that this match ended in a draw, suggesting it was a different outcome than the Saint had expected, and the Saint expressed disappointment that Phoenix had not fought to the death with the Dragon God Bahamut.

“But this proves it, doesn’t it? That I am equal to the Dragon Priestess.”

“…I have to admit that.”

But the fact that the Saint of Orleans was equal to the Dragon Priestess could not be denied.

While this greatly enhanced the Saint’s prestige, well…

“It’s fortunate that it didn’t end with the Saint of Orleans dominating.”

In reality, the Saint’s plan was half successful and half failed.

If everything had gone according to the Saint’s plan, she alone would have emerged victorious and dominated the European Union, but Alicia’s prestige also rose, resulting in a dual leadership system.

From the perspective of the Saint who wanted to take control of the European Union, only half of her plan had succeeded.

Alicia thought it was fortunate that the European Union hadn’t fallen into the Saint’s hands as she returned to Paris.

[It’s been a while since I’ve had some exercise.]

“That was an incredible battle. People were very surprised, or rather, they expressed fear. I never imagined there would be a being equal to you, Dragon God.”

In the accommodation provided by Paris, she began conversing with Bahamut through the Scrying Mirror.

Alicia mentioned the battle between Bahamut and Phoenix, saying that everyone was talking about it.

[Well, it was a natural disaster.]

“Yes. It was no different from a natural disaster. Humans may complain about natural disasters but don’t express dissatisfaction, right? The battle between you two was exactly that. Rather, it was strange for the Saint to demand something from two divine beasts in a stalemate.”

In fact, some people had begun to think of Bahamut and Phoenix as natural disasters.

While human-caused disasters could be blamed on people, natural disasters were calamities that no one could blame, weren’t they?

From humanity’s perspective, the Dragon God and Phoenix were such beings, and no one dared to harbor resentment or complaints.

“It’s truly amazing! To think that person is the Dragon God contracted with the Queen! Such incredible power! Would modern technology even be capable of such attacks?”

“It might be possible? Nuclear bombs… things like that.”

Lord Arthur seemed impressed by the Dragon God’s performance and asked if modern technology could replicate the Dragon God’s power.

After all, just by snapping his fingers, the Dragon God who controlled elemental magic like numerous natural disasters was simply magnificent and impressive to behold.

And since its power was beyond imagination, it was not strange to praise it as an asymmetric force and more.

“Hmm. I think it’s beyond a nuclear bomb. The attack shown to us suggests that with just mana and no resources or technology, such strikes could be delivered infinitely. It’s essentially the most efficient ultimate weapon of war.”

[That’s not wrong.]

Lord Arthur, who knew that nuclear weapons were somewhat exaggerated in modern times, evaluated Bahamut’s power as greater than nuclear weapons.

After all, it had been concluded that while nuclear weapons might be effective against stationary cities, they couldn’t be very effective against constantly moving armies.

Bahamut nodded in agreement with Lord Arthur’s assessment, affirming that he wasn’t wrong.

“Neither of us was serious. If we had been serious, it might have been dangerous.”

While neither was serious in that fight, they acknowledged each other’s power and released a certain amount of it.

Phoenix could spread wide-area flames that burned everything just by flying, and Bahamut could easily wipe out an entire city by deploying numerous spells from where he stood.

Moreover, neither had used what could be called their ultimate techniques…

“What would have happened if you had really fought?”

[Well, besides our contractors, others might have been caught in our battle. They might have died.]

Bahamut admitted that if they had fought seriously, the expedition team near that uninhabited area could have been caught in the crossfire.

“What’s that supposed to mean? It’s essentially no different from a one-person war.”

[It is war. A fight between us is no different from war.]

“War…”

At those words, Alicia said it was no different from war, and Bahamut affirmed her statement.

Yes, the battle between these two was essentially war.

“I can only pray that such power isn’t misused and doesn’t turn against humanity.”

So Alicia prayed that the power would not be misused.