「Huh……I see. I was wondering how it would turn out and this is it. It’s quite unexpected.」

Noiz muttered with interest as he looked at Rei, clad in the same……no, a different Overlord’s Armour to his own.

Until a moment ago, Rei had indeed been using the same Overlord’s Armour as his own.

Magic power concentrated to the point it became visible as a white light that covered the body.

However, Rei’s Overlord’s Armour was now visibly different from Noiz’s.

The biggest difference was undoubtedly the colour.

Compared to the white light that covered Noiz, Rei’s was now a deep crimson, matching his title.

Noiz also felt a completely different pressure from Rei in his present form.

Of course, Rei had exerted some pressure on him prior to this.

That was only to be expected since he had also been using Overlord’s Armour.

But the pressure Noiz felt from Rei now was much greater.

Seeing Rei, who he could almost call the successor to his techniques……Noiz laughed.

He wasn’t intimidated, surprised, or sad. Rather, a fierce smile appeared on his face.

(I always believed he would be able to go further when cornered, but……I never thought he would advance to this level. It seems he’s managed to change my Overlord’s Armour to suit himself. So, how strong is he now?)

Holding his magic sword in his hands, he imagined a battle unlike anything he had ever seen before letting out a roar.

「AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!」

Set knew the skill King’s Awe.

It was a skill that allowed him to stop or slow down the movements and reactions of people weaker than him with a cry.

Noiz’s roar had a similar effect……or maybe an even stronger one.

Most of the soldiers in the punitive force, which had formed a wall around Noiz and Rei, froze at his shout.

Silence enveloped the surroundings, despite the fact that tens of thousands of soldiers were fighting each other just a short distance away.

The only sound that could be heard was from the clash between the punitive force and Mercurio’s army.

And, the only one able to move amidst the silence was, of course……Rei, clad in crimson Overlord’s Armour.

He walked forward, as if unaware of the immense pressure causing the silence around him.

(I understand now……this is the Overlord’s Armour I should be using.)

Because he was now using his magic power in a way that suited his main attribute, Rei no longer felt the drain on his magic power as he used Overlord’s Armour.

Of course, it still used enough magic power to require an ordinary mage to be risking their life to use it, but it was significantly more sustainable compared to his previous iteration of Overlord’s Armour.

This was the exact reason that Rei felt like the final piece of a puzzle had fallen into place.

Although he had yet to figure out the finer details of how his new Overlord’s Armour worked, he instinctively knew how to use it.

Silently clad in the crimson Overlord’s Armour, Rei made a wide sweep with his hand.

As he did that, a visible amount of compressed magic power flew out from his hand.

A fist sized beam of magic power shot out……before striking the soldiers surrounding Noiz and Rei.

Boom-! A huge pillar of fire rose from where it struck.

The pillar of fire reached a height of 5m and a diameter of 2m.

「Ugh-, uwaaaaaah-!」

「Damn it, Crimson you bastard! What the hell are you doing!」

「Put it out, put it out!」

Amidst the shouts and screams, Rei checked the feeling of shooting out that beam of compressed magic power.

(I only put a little magic power into that just now. Does that mean that the pillar of fire will grow if I put in more magic power? Or will the pillar of fire remain the same regardless of how much or how little magic power I use?)

Suddenly thinking of something, he sent the magic power from his Overlord’s Armour flying off in a different direction.

But, unlike before, he held the image of the fire spreading out in his mind, rather than forming a pillar. As soon as his attack struck the wall of punitive soldiers, the flames instantly spread out.

The fact that the flames reacted differently from before indicated that Rei’s attacks using Overlord’s Armour could be shaped by his intent.

And, at the same time……

(Once I use an attack using the magic power from Overlord’s Armour, it won’t automatically reform on its own. I need to actively supply more magic power to repair Overlord’s Armour.)

Coming to an understanding, he moved his Overlord’s Armour.

The crimson light that covered his body moved as he wished, causing flame flowers to bloom around him.

After confirming that he could control his Overlord’s Armour as he wanted, he turned to look at Noiz, who had a smile that couldn’t be contained on his face.

The pressure he had been exerting on everyone around him had disappeared completely and he was just smiling happily at Rei.

「Fufu~……hahaha, hahahahaha! I was wondering what you would end up doing with my Overlord’s Armour……but to think you would change its effects to this extent. A pleasant surprise. Yes, that’s right. This truly is a pleasant surprise.」

Noiz gave a might swing with his magic sword, unable to hold back his joy.

He had been the only person able to use Overlord’s Armour in the world……even including the other three S rank adventurers that existed, he was still the only one who could use that skill.

But, Rei hadn’t just stolen Overlord’s Armour from him……although Noiz considered it more of an inheritance, he had also changed it, or rather evolved it.

Noiz already knew Rei’s sense for combat from when they had fought in the tournament.

But even so, he had never expected Rei to come this far in such a short amount of time.

No, it would be a lie to say that he hadn’t expected it at all.

That was why, at Kabajid’s request, he had returned to participate in this troublesome civil war, something he had absolutely no intention of being part of.

He had hoped that his contact with Rei would make him take the next step in his command over Overlord’s Armour.

……Although it would be a lie to say that he wasn’t seeking a thrilling fight as well.

(No way, no way, no way!

That was all that could be heard from Noiz.

Realising he was muttering out loud, he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

(Calm down. Rei’s Overlord’s Armour is a result of using magic power that has defaulted to its preferred attribute. So, does that mean if my Overlord’s Armour absorbed my magic attributes, it would have a similar effect? No, if that were the case, my Overlord’s Armour would have already changed. The fact that something like that hasn’t happened to me means that there must be something unique about Rei. But, before that……)

As Noiz thought about what he wanted to do and what he should do, he spoke to Rei.

「Rei, that skill can no longer be called Overlord’s Armour.」

「……I guess so.」

Noiz knew that the Overlord’s Armour Rei was using wasn’t really Overlord’s Armour anymore.

Its effects were so different that still calling it Overlord’s Armour would be wrong.

「In that case, I’ll give it a name. It’s a skill based on my Overlord’s Armour, so it’s fine for me to do that, right?」

「……Do what you want.」

Rei knew that without Noiz, he wouldn’t have been able to get to this point……or even learn Overlord’s Armour in the first place.

That was why he was willing to let Noiz name his new skill, as long as it wasn’t some strange name.

「Hmmm, right. How about Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour? As for the magic attack you released earlier, let’s call that Deep Flames.」

「Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour……Deep Flames?」

Noiz nodded as Rei asked about the names.

「Yes. Your specialty is fire magic. Your evolution of Overlord’s Armour also has the fire attribute. That’s why I named it Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour. It’s the perfect name for a magic warrior like you who specialises in fire magic, right? Also, your long range magical attack, I thought about calling Abyssal Flames, but decided on Deep Flames. It has a similar meaning, but considering your abilities, I felt that Deep Flames would be a better name.」

Rei thought about Noiz’s reasoning for a moment and, having no particular objections, nodded in response.

「That’s okay. In that case, from now on, I’ll call this skill Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour.」

「I’d be quite happy if you did that. ……Now then, since the skill has been named, are you ready?」

「Yes. Of course.」

The two of them, who had been smiling as they talked to each other just a few seconds ago, now faced each other with weapons at the ready.

It was a matter of course. They had originally met here as enemies.

In fact, it was stranger that they had been talking amicably before.

One was displaying their gratitude for showing them the potential of the skill they had created.

The other was giving his thanks for providing the opportunity to grow even stronger.

As they expressed their thoughts to the other……the peaceful times came to an end.

As they returned to the present moment, screams were still ringing out from where Rei had tested the effects of Deep Flames before.

Amidst the screams and shouts, Rei, Noiz, and Set, who was standing beside Rei, stared down their opponents intensely……and the next moment, Rei and Noiz sprang forward as they swung their weapons.

Set took a run up of a few steps before flying into the sky, once again targeting Noiz with his long range skills……

「Guru~」

Set gave a cry of dismay.

Noiz’s movements, which he had been able to track previously without any issues, were now significantly harder to follow.

It meant that Noiz had been holding back before.

「Guru~, Gurururu~」

Still, he couldn’t just do nothing, so Set focused even more as he tried to track the movements of both Rei and Noiz as they continued their fight on the ground.

「HAAAAAH-!」

「What’s wrong, what’s wrong? I was the one who came up with the name Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour, so I shouldn’t say this, but is that all you got?」

In response to Noiz’s provocations, Rei manipulated his Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour into a tentacle as he swung it out wildly.

A Deep Flame, the size of his finger tip, flew out from the very tip of the tentacle. Seeing that, Noiz forcefully halted his attempted attack as he dashed to the side.

The Deep Flame exploded the instant it hit the ground.

This caused the place where Noiz had been a moment before to turn to a bright and fiery inferno.

Rei chased after Noiz as he released a series of Deep Flames.

Noiz leaped backwards to avoid each attack.

(I see, while Overlord’s Armour focuses on strengthening physical abilities, Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour enhances both my physical strength and magical skills. In other words, if Overlord’s Armour is a skill for warriors, then Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour is a superior version for magic warriors……?)

Rei organised his findings in his head as he made repeated attacks.

Even if he instinctively knew how to use Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour, he was still feeling it out.

There were many aspects that only became clear to him after actually trying it.

「Fuu-!」

Noiz dashed forward with a sharp breath.

It was fair to say that with Overlord’s Armour, his speed was imperceptible to ordinary soldiers.

However, Rei didn’t have as much trouble following his movements.

Noiz used his speed to swing his magic sword at Rei’s body.

Rei used the Death Scythe to block.

Loud metallic sounds echoed out in rapid succession, causing the soldiers of the punitive force, who were still working to put out the fires that Rei had started, to turn to watch what was happening.

Not caring for the stares they received, Rei and Noiz continued their clashes without stopping.

As they fought, Rei extended tentacles from Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour to slam into Noiz, even finding opening to attack with Deep Flames.

If Noiz hadn’t been using Overlord’s Armour, he would likely have suffered burns from the heat coming off Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour.

Even Noiz could tell how bad it would be to be hit by Deep Flames without actually getting hit, so he avoided them wherever possible.

With the defensive power of Overlord’s Armour, while direct hits from Deep Flames wouldn’t be fatal……he would still take heavy injuries.

He didn’t attempt to cut apart the Deep Flames flying towards him either.

If he did, they would just blow up in his face.

It could be said that Noiz was already incredibly lucky that he could block the tentacles that extended from Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour with his magic sword.

(Troublesome.)

Noiz muttered to himself with a mixture of admiration and bother as he saw the Deep Flames he avoided cause significant damage to the punitive force soldiers behind him.

To be honest, Noiz couldn’t care less for the punitive force soldiers.

The reason he had joined the civil war was to fight Rei.

(Though Kabajid probably knew that before calling for me.)

Noiz continued to mutter to himself as he dodged more Deep Flames flying towards him before closing the distance to Rei.

He swung his magic sword, but it was naturally blocked by the Death Scythe.

When the two of them were both using the same Overlord’s Armour, Noiz had the advantage, but that advantage was now disappearing.

But despite that……or because of that, a smile appeared on Noiz’s lips.

【Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour.】

The skill, created by Rei’s addition of the fire attribute to Noiz’s Overlord’s Armour, was a skill that reflected Rei’s title.

While Overlord’s Armour shrouded Noiz in a white light, Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour was a deep crimson, matching Rei’s title.

Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour not only provided the same physical enhancement as Overlord’s Armour, but also provided magical enhancements, making it the superior skill when combined with Deep Flames.

The magical flames that formed Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour, could be freely controlled, allowing them to be turned into tentacles or whips to attack the enemy.

Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour was also very hot. While Rei could control the heat to some extent, his current lack of training with the skill meant that his current control over the heat was minimal.

He also had the option to attack with Deep Flames, which consumed parts of the Fire Emperor’s Crimson Armour to use.

When Deep Flames hit a target, it would then transform into a pillar of fire, quickly spread out, or continue to burn in a viscous blob, depending on what Rei wanted.

And while it still used enough magic power to make an ordinary mage have to risk their life to sustain, it still consumed much less magic power than what Overlord’s Armour had used before.

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