The Saintess and Kwonseong
After Lize literally shattered the sky in her Kwonseong form, Lord handled the cleanup. He poked and prodded at the heavens with his sword a few times, and before long, everything returned to normal. According to him, it would have been fine to leave it alone, but he fixed it to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
"This muscle human—who the hell is she? I rushed back because the sky looked weird, and now there's some strange person here."
I was wondering if it was really right to leave it to Lize when Porori returned to the residence. It looked like he'd bolted back the moment he saw the sky get wrecked. As someone sensitive to the heavens, it was a natural reaction.
"Hm? A talking squirrel. A spirit beast?"
Lize was only mildly surprised by Porori's presence and didn't make a fuss. Having traveled the world for decades like Lord, she brushed off seeing a spirit beast without much reaction.
"I sense Lord Gulrak's aura strongly from you. Did you receive a blessing from him?"
"Uh... sort of? I can use lightning like that redhead over there."
Porori pointed at Kara as he answered. Come to think of it, that reminded me of when Kara first learned about Porori. She'd been dumbfounded that he'd saved Hector—not to mention how much better he handled lightning than she did.
I'd felt outmatched by Porori in various ways myself, and I knew Kara had similar feelings.
"But what the heck are you? You look like a total male, but you're giving off a female scent like crazy. Is my nose broken or something?"
Porori circled around Lize, trying to figure out her deal. Like me, he had exceptional instincts. He'd have noticed right away that she was biologically female. But her appearance was pure macho— a body even most men couldn't dream of.
"Biologically speaking, yes, I'm a woman. However, this body has received Lord Chaos's blessing. When it comes to physical prowess, I dare say I'm superior to anyone."
"Ah, that explains it. Now it makes sense. Chaos— isn't that the same god as this guy?"
Porori pointed at me lounging on the sofa. I was sitting there with Ellie right beside me, gently stroking my hair with affectionate hands. Normally, with people watching and my conscience nagging, I wouldn't act spoiled like this. But after witnessing Lize's overwhelming power just now, my mindset had shifted.
I had to go through physical hypnosis multiple times ahead, and my worries were mounting. Ellie knew that and was comforting me.
"Yes. Brother Sivar has also been chosen by Lord Chaos. That's why I'm here to help him."
"Help with what?"
"To let you control Rampage freely and grant you the ability to master your instincts."
"Hm. That makes sense."
Porori crossed his arms and nodded at Lize's explanation, clearly convinced. He had the most experience fighting me when Rampage kicked in. He'd definitely felt the need for control. Hadn't he even told me before how to handle my red eyes? Wild instincts were fine in the wilderness, but in civilized lands, control was essential.
"If that's the case, then why'd you smash the sky earlier? It gave me chills—scared the crap out of me."
"Oh, that was for the hypnosis. I was planning to start helping Brother Sivar this weekend."
"...You call shattering the sky hypnosis? Are my eyes going bad?"
Porori, still clueless about what physical hypnosis meant, muttered in a dazed voice.
I didn't want to go through it either, but there were no better options.
No direct hits, she said—but what does that even mean?
Above all, Lize had emphasized it: Breaking the sky was just an example. There wouldn't be any direct impacts. Fair enough—if it was shattering space and hitting with the shockwave, that technically wasn't direct contact.
But it was gonna hurt like hell. Attacks tied to space basically ignored defense. In the Soul World, it was one of those special abilities called true damage or armor-piercing—bypassing Steel King, shields, body hardening, everything. The damage just slammed right through.
Decomposing my bones and flesh from the inside out?
Pain was familiar, but I still hated it. And it was starting tomorrow—the weekend. Already dreading it.
"You sure you can handle it? She seems stronger than that old man, but you're no pushover either."
As I sighed inwardly, Porori asked Lize with a tone of concern. He'd barely taken me down teaming up with Hector, and even then, Lord had to land the finishing blow. Before I learned all my techniques, we'd been evenly matched, but as I kept growing, even he was starting to struggle.
"No need to worry. We don't even need to trigger Rampage fully. We just awaken that sensation right before it activates."
"Hm. Hard to picture from words alone. Weekend, you said? Guess I'll swing by to watch."
Lize and Porori were hitting it off already. She spoke to him like he was just another person. Porori seemed to notice late, asking her in a puzzled voice.
"By the way, you seem pretty used to chatting with spirit beasts? That redhead over there wouldn't even talk to me."
"Huh? Me?"
Porori pointed at Kara. Suddenly called out, she looked flustered. Yeah, Kara did avoid talking to Porori. Or more like, it felt awkward for her. Actually, her reaction was the normal one—ours were the weird ones. Chatting with a talking squirrel would feel off, fantasy world or not. Especially since spirit beasts were rare.
"I'm used to it. I've met a deer spirit protecting a forest, a pure white tiger guarding a region, and even spirit beasts taking human form."
"Human form? You saying I could become human like those guys?"
"I thought it was just legend."
After Porori's shocked reaction, Lord chimed in skeptically. Even a lifelong wanderer like him was surprised, so it must be extremely rare. Spirit beasts like Porori were already uncommon—ones evolving to human? The closest things to violet rank.
"I met one by chance. A fox spirit with eight tails."
Lize crossed her massive arms, reminiscing as she spoke. In terms of age and experience, she outdid even Lord. She'd visited everywhere—not just the world, but demon territories too.
"Aside from the ears, she looked no different from a human. But she'd been on the verge of a dark path."
"Dark path?"
"She was considering sucking people's essence like a succubus. I set her straight on the right path. By now, she's probably fully human."
I think I know who that is. Only one spirit beast tied closely to Lize fit—a kumiho. She was probably wandering the East by now, deeply grateful to Lize.
'Guided' her, my ass—she beat the crap out of her.
Of course, the kumiho struck first, so Lize just responded. And in doing so, her words must've gotten through. Quite the entertaining story, from what I knew.
"So you can absolutely become a spirit beast too. Legends from the Hwan Empire say one became human eating only mugwort and garlic in a cave."
"...You telling me to live on mugwort and garlic?"
"Just an example. It's about emphasizing patience. Don't you already know what that is?"
"True. Offering up those hard-earned acorns to the heavens every day is tough. Guess I start by practicing thumbs first."
Porori stuck out both hands, wiggling his fingers. Still couldn't bend his thumbs properly. Wonder what he'd look like as a human. The kumiho had been a stunning beauty, I heard.
"By the way... er, Kwonseong— I mean, Lady Kwonseong. Will you be staying at the academy for a while?"
While Porori fiddled with his thumbs, Luna spoke up. Asking if she'd stick around the academy. Lize turned to face her, and Luna flinched. Just turning around exuded massive pressure.
"Probably. But I can't be away too long. After helping Brother Sivar, I'll head back to Byzantine."
"Mm..."
Luna glanced at Lord upon hearing that. Wondering if it was okay to mention the demons' involvement now. Lord caught her look and shook his head. Meaning no—not yet. He wasn't even certain himself, so better to avoid confusion. The demons might notice too.
The one demons fear most is Lize.
She had the nickname Anti-Demon Final Weapon for a reason—her matchup against them was overwhelmingly dominant. Kwonseong and Saintess together made her their natural predator. From holy power that demons were weak to, to space-shattering that ignored all defenses.
Just her showing up at the academy would put them on high alert.
If we time it right, we could breeze through the academy collapse arc...
But the odds were near zero—practically impossible. Demons tracked her every move. If she was still here on execution day? They'd scrap the whole plan and postpone. Her influence was that huge; better to sideline her.
"Got it. So you'll be here for a bit... Where will you handle lodging and meals?"
"I've arranged a place for that. My aide worked hard on it. But..."
Pfbt!
Lize trailed off, and a faint explosion rang out—like popcorn popping. Puffs of thick smoke billowed up. From within emerged Lize in saintess mode. Instead of massive pecs, she boasted a bountiful chest rivaling Ellie's. Unlike her pure-macho Kwonseong form, this was heavenly femininity incarnate.
Lize gave a slightly dissatisfied smile and grumbled.
"Guess I'll stay like this. I came as the saintess, not Kwonseong."
"...Is there a difference?"
"Of course. Showing up as Kwonseong would be like announcing an inquisition."
Lord answered Luna's question. Declaring Kwonseong's arrival was as good as saying she was here to throw down power. The academy would panic not knowing where, so saintess mode was perfect.
"...What the? Where'd that guy go? Why's there a real female now?"
"Same person."
"You're kidding... Nah, forget it. World's full of weirdos like that guy."
Even Porori gave up thinking about it. She was perfect chaos incarnate.
"...So which is your true form? This one, or the one from before?"
Kara, having seen both, asked hesitantly. Everyone else who met her looked equally baffled. What was Lize's real appearance? The question dominated their minds.
Lize, aware of it, flashed her signature bright smile.
"Both are my true forms. Put strength into this state, and I shift to the other. Truth be told, I prefer the Kwonseong look, but my aide nags me so much I stick with this."
"What's the principle?"
"Nothing special. Just tense up, and it changes."
Nothing special, my ass. Everyone wore the same skeptical expression as me.
Feeling her explanation fell short, Lize placed a hand on her ample bosom and elaborated.
"More precisely, this form is ideal for storing power. The other is the opposite."
"...I don't get it at all."
"Hm. If I say it's for preventing muscle loss, does that help? It converts chest muscle into this fat form. Plus, it's great for holding holy power."
She emphasized her particularly voluptuous chest while explaining. Naturally, no one bought it.
"...So, could I become like you too, Saintess?"
Everyone except Ellie. Her own impressive size probably prompted the question.
Lize eyed Ellie's chest thoughtfully, then shook her head. No dice.
"Sorry, Ellie, but no."
"Wh-why not?"
"It's natural. It can only hold holy power."
What does that even have to do with anything?
"Besides, it could get even bigger. You okay with that?"
"...As long as Sivar's fine with it?"
"?"
Why me?