The Heavenly Demon's Test

Clusters of light wrapped around me, and I felt sacred energy seeping deep into my body. The holy power was on an entirely different scale from when I had contracted with Unicor. It was so overwhelming that I genuinely worried my body might burst apart.

Don't resist. Slowly surrender yourself to the power, hubby…♡

The affectionate voice blooming inside my mind helped me regain my senses. Only then did I realize Olga was gently gathering the holy power flooding through me, refining it, and making it mine. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it clearly. The sacred energy flowing through my veins according to its own will was slowly settling inside me, becoming part of me.

Of course, there was one small problem.

“Mmm… mwah… slurp… chu…♡”

It didn't feel like we needed to tangle our tongues, yet Olga was gripping both my cheeks and making a show of it, kissing me deeply as if to flaunt the moment to the world.

“Ooh… what a beautiful miracle this is…!”

“To think we would witness the Goddess's miracle descending upon a human!”

The ordinary believers had seen the angel's miracle during Cayen's turn earlier, so they didn't even suspect that the deep kiss Olga and I were sharing was anything lewd.

“...Tsk.”

But I saw it. Agnes, standing among the believers, grinding her teeth with a face twisted in pure rage.

I wanted to snap back that she should have at least warned me if she was going to do this, but there was nothing I could do. Besides, I really had no grounds to complain. Accepting this much holy power would dramatically increase my combat strength. If anything, I should be thanking Olga.

“...Mwah. There. The baptism is complete. From now on, you may wield miracles on par with the saints of the Church.”

When Olga finally pulled her lips away, the priestesses stepped forward and offered her a cloth that looked like a sacred veil. Olga wore a reluctant expression, as if she didn't want to stop, but she wiped my saliva from the corner of her mouth and resumed her usual holy saintess facade.

“Now, these two students have accepted the noble duty and responsibility of defeating the Demon King. Everyone, please rise and bless their future while praising the righteous light of justice.”

“Waaah!!”

“Long live the Hero! Long live the Hero's Companion!”

At the saintess's words, the crowd stood and erupted into thunderous applause.

“Ugh, hey. Let's get out of here, Cayen.”

“...I'm so jealous.”

“What?”

“N-nothing! Let's go, Artin!”

I had a feeling he'd just muttered something disgusting again, but since our part was over, it was time for a cool exit. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and walked beside Cayen, waving to the people applauding us.

“...Ah, Agnes?”

“...”

Our eyes met, but she didn't look happy at all. She seemed to say something, but the roaring applause drowned it out.

My head's a complete mess…

Well, Agnes wasn't the type to get genuinely angry with me, so I decided to keep a calm face. ...Right?

*

“Whoa… what is all this?”

I stared at the status windows that had popped up earlier and let out a sigh of admiration.

“It's like a complete gift set…? They only give me this now?”

Increased favorability with every faction? Considering my past life as the worthless third son of a pathetic baron's family, this was the ultimate honeyed reward. And on top of that, resistance to demonic energy? It was such a rare ability that I could barely contain my joy.

But the real jackpot is this one.

Sharing the title of Adversary of the Demon King. It had conditions, but the meaning behind this option went far beyond a single line of text.

...Fuck. If I'd had this in the fourth round, the backdoor plan would've succeeded without a hitch.

It was infuriating. To think I only obtained such an overpowered title now. What did all that suffering across my previous regressions even mean?

...No. Let's think positively. Thanks to all that, I was able to build such deep bonds with the girls.

Yeah. Looking back, none of the time spent across those four regressions had been wasted. Everything had piled up to create the present. In that sense, this was the result of my own efforts.

“Um, Artin. The ceremony's over, so maybe we could go to a café together…?”

“Oh, it's Claire and the others. Hey everyone!”

While Cayen was busy blurting out weird nonsense again, I waved at our acquaintances who had been waiting outside.

“Cayen! You really became the Hero! Congratulations!”

“Ah, hello, Claire. Th-thank you…”

While Cayen stood there flustered by Claire's excited squealing, I quietly slipped away and approached Violet.

“Artin! The appointment ceremony is finally over? How was it? We could hear incredible cheers coming from inside!”

“The young master's greatness has finally been revealed to the entire world!”

“Haha, it wasn't that big a deal. But… who is this?”

I recognized Violet, but I had no idea who the maid standing beside her was.

“Young master, it's me, Sion. If I came to greet you in my real form, it would cause problems, so I disguised myself.”

“Ah… I see. That bouncy skin definitely belongs to Sion.”

“Kyaa! Young master, really…♡”

When I playfully smacked her backside, Sion—who was disguised as an unfamiliar beauty—blushed bright red. In the past, doing something like this in front of Violet would have been incredibly awkward, but…

“Artin! No matter how excited you are, what will people think if they see you? You're an important person now, so you have to care about your reputation!”

Violet puffed out her cheeks without any real ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anger and linked her arm with mine. The soft sensation against my arm brought back memories of that night, and a warm smile unconsciously spread across my face.

Should I head straight back and satisfy the girls with a proper orgy? They've been apart from me for days, so they must be burning up… huh?

I had been happily imagining a heated group session when I suddenly realized someone crucial was missing.

“...Huh? Now that I think about it, where are the others?”

“Hm? Sirca and Al-Miraj couldn't enter the church so they're waiting elsewhere, and Unicor said the northern church feels uncomfortable so she didn't come…”

“...What about Shao Mei? Where's Shao Mei?”

The others had reasons for not being here, but the most important one—Shao Mei—was nowhere to be seen. After not seeing me for days, her personality should have had her using her movement technique to sprint over and leap into my arms.

“Ah, well, Shao Mei is…”

“Young master, perhaps we should head back first and talk about it slowly…”

“...What is it? Why are you both hesitating?”

The fact that both Sion and Violet were avoiding the topic made my curiosity turn into genuine displeasure. The letter had already been bothering me, and now their strange reactions made me feel uneasy.

“It's fine. What happened? Did something bad occur? Did the demons kidnap her or something?”

“N-no! It's nothing like that! It's just…”

“...Young master, do you remember when Shao Mei said she invited a trainer from her family home last time?”

When Violet began stuttering, Sion let out a sigh, her expression showing she'd made up her mind, and began to speak.

“Trainer? Of course I remember. I asked the family to send someone to help with my martial training, right? I even said we should go greet them together, but I completely forgot about it.”

“Yes, that's the problem. The person the family sent is…”

At that exact moment, both Cayen and I snapped our heads upward. From the clear blue ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sky without a single cloud, we felt a killing intent so sharp it sent chills down our spines.

The window appeared a beat too late. Cayen and I had already begun constructing defensive barriers using holy rites and magic.

The ritual holy law was incomparably stronger than the one I'd used at the Rose Pavilion, and the triple-layered mana shield was so solid it looked like it could withstand any attack. If I fought Sirca again now, I'd confidently bet on at least a seventy percent—no, eighty percent—chance of victory.

But…

Compared to the killing intent we were feeling, it still seemed as flimsy as a sheet of paper.

The telepathic message rang simultaneously in both our heads. The one who sent it was… definitely above us.

──────!!!!

A beam of light shot down from the sky toward us. It was more powerful than the breath attack of the current Dragon Lord, sharper than the full-powered magic of Lich Hamon—the Demon King's right hand—and as precise as the final strike the previous Sword Saint had unleashed alone against a black dragon. It felt like heavenly punishment itself.

*

“What the hell was that sound just now?”

“I don't know. Could the Demon King's army have appeared?”

The church, protected by dozens of defensive spells and hundreds of holy rites, shook violently. The first to burst out of their seats were Agnes and Marianne. It hadn't even been ten minutes since Cayen and Artin had been appointed as the Goddess's Hero and his Companion. For such a massive shock to occur, it clearly wasn't normal.

“Artin!”

After what felt like an eternity running down the corridor, Agnes flung open the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠door and froze at the sight before her.

“Ugh…”

“...Huff, huff.”

A massive crater had been carved right in front of the church. In its center stood Cayen and Artin, their bodies ragged from blocking the attack.

“C-Cayen…!!!”

“How dare you injure the young master, you damned woman…!”

“Stop, Sion! We're no match for her!”

The silver lining was that Artin had instantly evacuated them, so Sion, Violet, and Claire remained unharmed.

“Truly disappointing. To think the current Hero and his Companion are only this strong. At this rate, how could you possibly defeat a legion commander?”

Above the crater, in the dust-filled area, someone waved their hand. The cloud of dirt that had blocked their vision vanished in an instant as if blown away by a storm.

“Well, at least you have the basics. If I take you back to the family home and train you harshly for about three years, you'll become somewhat useful.”

“...You, what the hell do you think you're—!”

Agnes glared at the figure who emerged from the dust storm, her voice filled with fury. However, knowing exactly whose killing intent this was, she couldn't draw her sword and could only stare.

“To dare touch my little brother and disciple in front of me… you must be prepared for the consequences, yes?”

The only one in this place who could still show fighting spirit against that overwhelming aura was Marianne. Even she, however, couldn't guarantee victory. She was confident she could slaughter a dragon, but the woman before her emanated power so vast that dragons seemed trivial by comparison.

“Hehe, young blood is nice to see. But don't scold her too harshly. I was simply giving a light test to the man who will become my great-granddaughter's husband.”

“...Great-granddaughter? Husband? Test? What kind of nonsense is that!”

The moment Marianne reached for her sword, Agnes stopped her and shook her head.

“Marianne, stop. That person is…”

“Hmm, you don't know me? I suppose that's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠understandable. Many years have passed since my time.”

Her short navy-blue hair fluttering, the woman laughed loudly as if Marianne's reaction amused her. In her youth, the number of people—whether human or demon—who had shown her such fighting spirit could be counted on one hand.

“My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Lin Xiangfei, young giant slayer.”

Her name was Lin Xiangfei.

“I am the great-grandmother of our adorable Shao Mei… and if I explain it this way, it should be easy to understand.”

She was the previous generation's leader of the Taishan Dojo, Shao Mei's great-grandmother, and the first seat of the former Five Sacred Commanders.

“This lady is the one once called the Heavenly Demon.”

In an era now only recorded in history books, she had been the strongest martial artist in the Republican Federation.

“So, do you still wish to fight? If so, this lady shall respect the young ones' spirit and entertain you.”

The Heavenly Demon looked at the young women with a bold, arrogant smile exactly as described in the history books.