"You know..."
Weissmann began talking and Kyoka began analysing him as he did.
(He does not seem to have any intention of attacking...)
She thought.
"In 1993, when I woke up in this body, I thought those bright lights were fires burning brightly. Of course, when I was originally alive, I had seen lots of views similar to this but not quite like this."
He said, staring at the city.
"In my time, war was the only thing that Emperors had to prevent themselves from being bored. Well, not for Altair though."
Kyoka got ready. Just in case Weissmann would launch a surprise attack, she put her hand on the handle of Durandal.
"He was what I wanted to be. I knew that everyone was a vile beast, including myself, but when looking at Altair, I would always pale in comparison."
Weissmann tightened his fist.
"I became an Emperor before him. Yet, he cheered me on and wanted to support me instead of becoming one himself. How could one person be so innocent-minded and not greedy, even in the slightest? I know every Emperor was greedy even if a little..."
He turned to Kyoka and gave a pale smile.
"That's why, when I found out about his Singularity, Black Exodia, I wanted to kill him. I worked hard to achieve the position of an Emperor and yet he gets gifts and coincidences which eventually led him to the seat of an Emperor. He was so fucking annoying!"
The girl flinched slightly.
"That's why, when the Paladin War occurred, I was disgusted with myself when I helped Altair kill Solomon. I wanted to kill myself. I knew I could never be as great as him."
Kyoka was confused.
She did not know about this 'Paladin War,' or about the fact that the Black and White Emperors fought against King Solomon.
That was when she realised.
He is telling her the story but it seems to also be a reminder of himself.
"When we killed King Solomon, that was when I got the gift. My Singularity. One that could beat even Black Exodia if used correctly."
(Black Exodia? What's he talking about? He mentioned it earlier. The Singularity of the Black Emperor?)
"White Exodia. As you probably already know, I can steal the Singularity of others."
He smirked at her while brandishing his palm.
The man then looked at it with a twisted expression.
"When I gained White Exodia, I knew I could steal his Singularity but then I thought back to the Emperors' War we had between each other..."
Suddenly, his smile began shaking.
"Altair killed most of the Green Emperor's faction without even using his Singularity. He was a monster. That's why I wanted to somehow get to him secretively. No matter how underhanded it is. In the end, I would be the winner."
He clenched his fist and grimaced.
"But that bitch, the Purple Emperor, just had to see through my plan! She made the others kill Altair so that I wouldn't get to him! And so, their fear for Altair also disappeared when he agreed to the idea. Even to the end, probably even to this day, in the body of Shoya Sasaki, he's still smiling."
The man calmed down.
"That's why, when heard about the boy who negated blue flames in a public park. I was overjoyed. And so, since then, I've let him grow. I was going to let him grow even more until you interfered."
"How?"
"You visiting Astoria ruined my plans to steal his Singularity. Sure, I could've done it at any time but I wanted to wait until Black Exodia grew more."
Kyoka stayed silent. Then, she spoke.
"I am quite happy about that."
"I'm sure you are."
"The Black Emperor, despite his betrayal, is my hero. From the story you told me, I now know that his betrayal is a simple ruse made up by the other Emperors so that there would be no questioning if they killed the Black Emperor in another incarnation. I am grateful to you since I now know the truth."
"Shut up. I don't need the gratitude of someone who's about to die."
Without a single word, a sword of ice appeared in his hand and Kyoka unsheathed Durandal.
(Incantationless casting? No. Though he is an Emperor, I doubt that he can do that.)
The girl thought.
(In other words, it is a Singularity. Singularities still need a set amount of mana to activate. How much depends on what the Singularity is and what type it is. So, I can still absorb the mana of the ice sword into my sword. However, instead of being absorbed as ice mana, it would be absorbed as neutral mana since it is a Singularity. I still have the shadow mana in my sword. I need to get a good hit on him with Durandal's 'Expel' function.)
Kyoka moved first.
She charged toward Weissmann. He also went forward and swung his sword at her. When it made connection with Durandal, it broke.
"!"
Weissmann barely ducked under Durandal. The sword clipped his hair. Swiftly, he turned and formed another ice sword. Kyoka was able to put Durandal up to block; the ice sword broke.
Then it was simply a repeated fight.
Weissmann would form another sword of ice and it would be broken by Durandal as soon as it touched.
The man was confused.
The Ice Sword Singularity was not as brittle as ice but even harder than any normal sword. That was what made it so special.
So, why did it break so easily against a katana?
Then after Kyoka backed away, he noticed his mistake.
It looked like it was being broken, however, in fact, it was not being shattered. It was being absorbed into the sword.
"Is that--"
"Expel."
Kyoka said aiming the point of the katana toward Weissmann.
Mana burst, like a laser, at Weissmann. It flashed into Weissmann's shoulder. Before any more damage could be done, a blue sphere formed around Weissmann, reflecting the mana burst.
After 10 seconds, the sphere disappeared and Weissmann could be seen, holding his left shoulder. There was a hole in it.
"You may be an Emperor but you are not at full power. You are similar to the Black Emperor. Strong but not at full power. I can still kill you."
Kyoka said.
Weissmann chuckled.
"So, you were using one of the sword's abilities to change its physical appearance. No wonder I didn't recognise it."
The katana in Kyoka's hand was gone. There was an elegant sword in its place. It was different from the katana. It had a pure white blade and its handle was golden and blue. A truly beautiful sword.
"Durandal, also known as the Erasure Sword. You clever bastard."
Abruptly, the sword form of Durandal changed back into a katana with a white blade.
"Next time that happens, do not think that a hole in the shoulder will be the only thing you will be afflicted by."
"Looking forward to it, Empress."