Chapter 187

At any rate, the Jelsroin cult was also extremely bewildered by Roan’s appearance.

Fidellto, with a troubled face, approached Tirmy and Espard and asked.

“Professor, and Saint. It is a bit rude of me to say, but… the caliber of the students is quite extraordinary.”

Although he said it in a very roundabout way, everyone could tell he meant, ‘Wasn’t it a rather dishonorable act to speak of a fair duel with students of that caliber?’

Of course, this was also something Roan had anticipated beforehand.

Tirmy casually threatened in a cold expression.

“Battle?”

It was a bloodcurdling threat asking if they wanted to settle the winner by battle if they didn’t like a duel.

“Are you splitting hairs about a duel bound in the name of the gods now?”

Moreover, Espard supported her with pressure that was not inferior to Tirmy’s.

Since it was none other than Tirmy, who made a living from duels in Akerandir, and Espard, famous for executing heretics in the Empire, Fidellto had no choice but to tuck his tail.

Retracting a duel for which even the overseers of both sides had already been selected was a deed only performed by the most petty and despicable cowards on the continent.

For reference, similar levels of behavior included declaring a holy war on a small spirit beast with a large spirit beast, giving food to a spirit beast and then taking it back, and so on.

Even if he was a heretic, Fidellto served a deity, so he couldn’t act like black mages and say, ‘Let’s just pretend nothing happened and fight!’

Fidellto instead examined the three novice priests who stepped forward to represent them with worried eyes.

‘If we can just hold out until the Saintess Yusina… we might still have a chance.’

As in typical duels, the Jelsroin cult placed their strongest person in the last order.

They hadn’t expected giants like Sion and Yusina to come out first and second, but if they could somehow reach the end,

‘Pan, I’ll trust only you.’

Fidellto’s eyes flashed.

***

Although there was a bit of protest (?), the duel between Akerandir and Jelsroin proceeded smoothly.

“First duel, prepare.”

First was the match between Saintess Candidate Sion and novice priest Els.

‘Looking closely, she’s a girl?’

Only after standing close did Sion realize that Els was a girl, and was slightly surprised.

She hadn’t known because she had a shaved head, heavy makeup, and wore a baggy robe.

There were rounded lines felt in her features and faintly visible curves of her body.

Els bowed slightly and spoke in a low voice.

“Please treat me well. I am Els, a novice priest of Jelsroin. The Jelsroin cult mainly uses Divine Blood holy magic and Confusion holy magic.”

Since the duel did not aim to kill, they sometimes told the opponent their general skills.

Divine Blood holy magic corresponded to the blood magic of black magic, and Confusion holy magic to charm or curse magic.

— Els! Good luck!

— It’s okay to lose! A duel is training!

Els maintained a cold expression without even blinking at the warm cheers of the Jelsroin followers.

Sion spoke, feeling even more tensed up.

“Please treat me well. I am Sion Beatrice, a Saintess Candidate. I… use healing holy magic, basic holy magic, and such.”

Having not yet learned any proper combat holy magic, Sion was already filled with worry.

Absolute skill aside, could she really defeat that rugged-looking novice priest?

Sion reflexively looked back at Roan behind her.

Roan wore a cold and gloomy expression as always.

Yet for some reason, that unchanging appearance made Sion feel a bit more relaxed.

‘Even if I lose, I have the Saintess Yusina and Darc behind me. I’ll try my best!’

Ordinarily, Sion’s resolve, which would have had to be roughly forged amidst the envy and jealousy of the other students,

began to blossom stably amidst her friends’ cheers and expectations.

— Saintess Candidate! Debone that heretic’s bones!

— Well, it’s a duel, but whatever happens, we will keep the secret forever!

‘Are those people really former holy knights?’

…The holy knights’ cheers weren’t very helpful, but…

At any rate, when Sion’s gaze became quite convincing,

Tirmy declared the start of the duel.

“First duel, start.”

Rumble—

At the same time, holy power began to gush out of Els’s body.

It was clearly holy power, but a force that felt somewhat thick and unpleasant.

It was a characteristic of heretical holy power.

The Jelsroin followers made a fuss upon seeing that.

— As expected of Els!

— To think she has such a powerful energy despite being a novice priest!

— She can well afford a match with the Saintess Candidate!

It was because that kind of energy with a body that had just awakened holy power not long ago was enough to place her in the ranks of talents.

However, Sion, who was actually facing that energy,

‘…Is she strong? Ah, is she hiding her power?’

was slightly bewildered.

Well, she could tell that the flow of holy power was reaching her.

But it didn’t seem like something to make such a fuss about.

This was because Sion had been consciously targeting and trying to catch up to Roan, an unmeasurable monster, as a rival.

‘Compared to Darc, that level is… is it rude to think like this?’

Els’s energy felt like it didn’t even properly reach average.

Just by looking at Sion’s back as she observed Els with strange eyes, Roan could guess what she was thinking.

‘She must be a bit flustered. Having confirmed that the heretics she had only heard rumors about were not only nothing compared to me… but also fell far short of her, whom she had thought was nothing special.’

Flashhhhh—

A warm and holy power erupted from Sion’s body, pushing back Els’s and starting to control the space as if saturating it.

Roan’s thoughts were accurate.

In fact, because of Roan who was pulling ahead with unrivaled skill in the current first year, Sion’s standards were raised high.

Even if she was far better than the other students, as long as Roan was there, the standard did not change.

But in reality, the current Sion was growing much better than in a normal playthrough.

— Hieeeek—!

— Is, is this really the holy power of a sixteen-year-old?

— Is she indeed a S-Saintess Candidate?

Looking only at the reactions of the Jelsroin followers, it was obvious who succeeded in dominating the initiative.

Even Els, who looked like she would have a rigid face for her entire life, had to twitch one eyebrow at this moment.

‘To think she has such an outrageous power despite growing up sheltered…’

Although she behaved politely on the outside, Els, whose entire village was slaughtered in the kingdom’s invasion and who had grown up in the Jelsroin cult, harbored hatred for the Empire.

A Saintess Candidate was soon the Empire itself.

Els ground her teeth.

Though she might be pushed back in the quality of holy power, she was someone who had trained centering on attack holy magic.

In actual combat, she would be able to defeat the Saintess Candidate.

‘Faint Arrow of Divine Blood!’

Els immediately went on the attack.

Three blurry red arrows appeared around Els.

The Faint Arrow of Divine Blood was a holy magic focused on speed and stealthy attack rather than destructive power.

‘Not bad.’

Roan looked at the level and nodded.

To achieve that level at that age without formal education was a sufficient talent.

Swish—

The three arrows flew toward Sion without a single gap.

Sion panicked and thought of a countermeasure.

‘A-As expected, she had a hidden trump card! How do I block it?’

However, just as Roan said, even the time speaking and thinking could act fatally in a duel.

Sion almost instinctively used the most powerful defensive holy magic she knew.

‘Oh Defrua, the God of the Earth!’

Rumble—

Borrowing Defrua’s name in name-borrowing holy magic to erect a firm earth wall.

Yet a sliver of anxiety remained.

‘This wall couldn’t even block Demona’s lightning!’

It was a wall that was almost pierced even by Demona’s clumsy lightning during Belek’s class.

Could it really block even that sinister heresy’s holy magic?

While trying to prepare a backup holy magic with such anxious thoughts,

Plop, plop, plop—

“?????”

Three faint sounds, close to a needle hitting a rock, resounded from the wall in succession.

‘What? Is the attack over? Or is even this a smokescreen?’

Sion diligently scanned her surroundings, but no holy magic could be felt anymore.

Under the circumstances, it was certain she had blocked the heretic’s attack.

Rumble—

As Sion carefully brought down the wall,

Els’s face filled with grievance and anger caught her eyes.

‘Why is she acting like that?’

Sion could not understand the reason at all.

If it was blocked by a wall of this caliber, it shouldn’t have been a very strong attack, so why is she so aggrieved?

Honestly speaking, wasn’t it a technique inferior to Demona’s ridiculous lightning?

It should have been just a probe, at most.

“U-Uh, now I will attack!”

Sion spoke as if asking for permission without realizing it because Els’s atmosphere was too serious.

As Els’s expression distorted even further, Sion hurriedly used her holy magic.

‘Eek! I-I have to do it quickly! Fragment of Brilliance!’

She had found a holy magic in the library that was roughly similar to the blood fragments Roan used, yet could be easily utilized.

As if brilliant light gathered all around Sion, soon a little under ten sharply forged fragments were created.

‘Since Darc uses at least dozens of them… this level might get blocked, but…’

Sion had not expected the attack to work in the first place.

However, she wanted to prove to Roan, Yusina, and Espard that she was also a person who could pull her own weight.

Swish, swish—

As Sion moved her holy power, the fragments rushed toward Els all at once.

A speed faster than the Divine Blood arrows from earlier, and an operation that advanced, taking up space from all sides.

This was also a movement studied by following Roan’s usage of the Blood Spear of the Abyss and blood fragments.

‘Wh-What?’

Els opened her eyes wide, looking at the fragments flocking toward her.

In ‘God and Devil,’ each projectile of holy magic and magic is similar to a body part.

That meant, to move a large number of projectiles, one had to be able to move that many unfamiliar body parts.

Therefore, Els using three arrows simultaneously was already a great feat, yet

didn’t Sion’s current attack transcend that level by far!

To move over five fragments with faster speed and more flamboyantly.

‘This will be difficult with my defensive holy magic!’

Els deployed a small defensive holy magic on one side and rolled her body underneath it.

Clang—! Pat, pat—!

The defensive holy magic broke without even holding out against three fragments, and the remaining fragments struck the spot where Els had been with fierce momentum.

“Ugh!”

As soon as Els got up, she clutched the place with her other hand at the sharp pain felt in her arm.

Fresh blood was flowing from a fairly large cut that she had failed to dodge.

‘So Saintess Candidates… are monsters of this level.’

Els felt the grievance more painfully than the pain.

If kneeling to the difference in talent after trying so hard was the way of the world,

why does God exist.

“Els!”

Watching the duel, Fidellto called out to Els in surprise.

“I haven’t lost yet, Priest!”

Els shouted with a voice full of spite.

Tirmy also spoke in a low voice.

“Growth.”

“Pardon?”

As Fidellto tilted his head, unable to properly understand, Espard explained.

“Talent grows by overcoming wounds, is what she means. Correct, Professor?”

Tirmy nodded briefly without replying.

The two who spoke thus were filled with the resolve that they wouldn’t stop the duel even if the one bleeding had been Sion.

‘Akerandir students… are taught harshly all the same.’

Fidellto also began watching Els with eyes similar to those two.

On the other hand, Roan, who heard their conversation,

‘Is it right to wait for a heretic’s growth?’

was slightly dumbfounded.