Cloaked in Pure White Light
A pure white light enveloped Meia and Eve's bodies. It was a sacred law that enhanced their overall physical abilities and the durability of their armaments. Arcada's blessing.
Eve was no longer waiting regally in the rear as she once had. Trusting in her sacred law, she actively raised her shield, stepped forward, and swung her flail.
"Ha!"
Clang. A powerful shout echoed, followed by the rattling of chains as the flail hurtled toward Ashytara. The iron ball, infused with immense divine power, glowed entirely white, looking incredibly dangerous. It was retaliation for the sneer from moments before.
But Ashytara ignored the flail flying straight at her. She trusted that Ludenberg would block Eve anyway.
True to her unwavering faith, Ludenberg struck the iron ball aside with his sword. The hefty sensation lingering in his hand confirmed it—Eve Arcadia was no mere ill-tempered saintess. She clearly possessed genuine abilities as one.
As Ludenberg blocked Eve's assault, Ashytara gritted her teeth and swung her flame-wreathed greatsword at Meia. Meia swiftly raised her shield against the massive, rotating blade brimming with fire.
She couldn't parry that attack with her morningstar. Forcing it would likely snap her wrist.
Clang!
Without Arcada's blessing, that strike would have dealt serious damage to her shield. Meia had no choice but to think so. The impact was far greater than expected.
She's no opponent to underestimate. Lady Saintess, it looks like we can't take the initiative first.
With that thought, Meia endured Ashytara's fierce onslaught, trying to counter with her morningstar whenever possible. But Ashytara's greatsword, having seized the flow, allowed no such openings.
Damn. She's got the rhythm. That swordsmanship needs to be disrupted... but not in this situation. All I can do is hold out.
Meia, who always charged ahead to crush enemies, was instantly pinned down by Ashytara. Her desperate defense was a sight Eve hadn't seen in ages, leaving her visibly flustered.
She'd thought Ashytara was fragile. Even after witnessing her close fight with Mion last time, Eve had judged that Meia could win handily. But that was a hasty assessment.
I underestimated her... my mistake.
Facing her directly made it clear. Mion had already clashed with Ashytara before, so she could cope more adeptly. That greatsword style couldn't be allowed to build momentum. Mion had realized it too and struggled desperately to break free from Ashytara's rhythm—which was why she'd at least held her own, only to lose in the end.
Moreover, Ashytara's greatswordplay was far stronger against stubborn defenders who blocked and advanced steadily, rather than nimble foes like Mion. In other words, it had perfect matchup against someone like Meia.
But Eve had no time to dwell on her misjudgment.
Clang!
"What are you thinking about, Saintess?"
It was because Ludenberg was pouring sword strikes onto her shield with somewhat menacing words.
"......"
Eve didn't reply. Instead, she intensified her sacred law and glared at him.
He was strong. How could a sword devoid of divine power be this powerful and sturdy?
Confusion swirled in Eve's eyes. A faint trace of divine power might explain it, but the power dwelling in her weapon and shield now was enormous. There was no reason it should be pushed back by a sword without any.
Yet every time Eve blocked one of Ludenberg's strikes, her feet slid backward, and faint damage began accumulating on her armaments. Realizing this, she shoved her shield to disrupt his stance and create distance—but he gave her not even a single opening.
Nor could she recklessly swing her flail.
If I swing the flail, he'll probably grab the chain and lock down my movement.
She could already envision the outcome, so Eve invoked another sacred law. Spears of pure white light materialized in the air and rained down on Ludenberg.
But they had no effect. All the spears flying at him vanished without a trace under his sword strikes.
Still, that brief moment allowed Eve to widen the gap. She raised her shield again and drew up more divine power. Light gathered around her, forming a solid, spherical barrier.
She tried to cast the sacred law on Meia too, but lacking the capacity, she had to give up.
This should buy some time. I need to prepare a sacred law that can sweep both of them at once.
But the problem was that Ludenberg was no pushover. Not one to let her avert her eyes and prepare a powerful sacred law.
Infusing his convictions into his blade, Ludenberg slashed fiercely at Eve's barrier.
Clang!
With a resounding crash, the spherical barrier rippled from that single strike.
"......What!?"
It was an unprecedented experience for Eve. Her divinely empowered shield and flail being overwhelmed by a powerless sword was baffling enough, and now bewilderment bloomed on her face as she hurriedly poured more divine power into the barrier.
As the rippling barrier stabilized, Ludenberg slightly furrowed his brow.
It's a bit sturdy. But... not for long.
Divine power had its limits, of course. His stamina did too. But Eve's divine power and stamina would deplete faster than his.
As expected, her barrier visibly shook under Ludenberg's relentless strikes.
Shatter!
Eve kept infusing divine power, but the barrier ultimately broke. Light scattered wildly, fully exposing her body to Ludenberg's sword.
The shock of the sacred law's collapse drew a thin trickle of blood from Eve's mouth. She gritted her teeth.
She couldn't fall like this. Not without accomplishing anything.
That resolve began gleaming in her eyes. Eve, who had lived her life with noble pride, could not tolerate such a pathetic defeat.
She lowered her shield and swung her flail in a frenzy. Even with her internals shaken from the broken sacred law, the flail—laden with vast divine power—hurtled toward Ludenberg again.
The chains rattled, and the sharp iron ball at the end, wrapped in pure white light, scattered a heavy whoosh through the air. It was tremendously powerful—enough to leave no part of an ordinary person unscathed from a single hit.
Dodging would be the obvious choice, yet Ludenberg didn't. Instead, he smacked the oncoming iron ball aside with his gauntlet-bearing hand, sword still undrawn.
Clang!
The fierce clang of metal on metal reverberated around them.
Clang!
Then, Ludenberg severed the flail's chain with his sword, stripping it of its function as a weapon.
Staring at the now-useless flail, Eve lost her will to fight and laughed incredulously at Ludenberg.
"......Haha."
There was no path to victory. Realizing this, strength drained from her hands, and even the shield she gripped tightly clattered to the ground.
Ludenberg swiftly closed in and leveled his sword at her throat.
With Eve neutralized, Meia naturally couldn't withstand Ashytara's onslaught any longer. Her shield was badly dented, her morningstar on the verge of breaking, and her armor beginning to melt from the flames. The ends of her neatly tied brown hair smoldered. She looked like she could collapse at any moment.
Before long, Meia too knelt just like Eve.
The victor was declared, and the arena fell into silence. Eve and Meia hadn't shown even a shred of their usual overwhelming dominance.
Meia, who had toyed with Denetim and Tradiaan like children, couldn't land a single proper counter before kneeling under Ashytara's barrage.
Eve, who had casually dominated the exhibition matches with sacred laws, had all her spells dismantled by Ludenberg before kneeling as well.
A truly humiliating defeat. Eve and Meia could only walk out of the arena with dazed expressions.
"......We lost."
A subdued voice slipped through Eve's teeth. Meia flinched slightly. When Eve acted like this, it meant she was furious. Meia kept her mouth shut, swallowing any words. She knew speaking up now might redirect that boundless anger toward her.
"Humiliating."
Every move she'd made had been utterly blocked. Chased without time to deploy sacred laws, her barrier torn like paper, her flail bounced off by a mere gauntlet. How could anyone be such a monster?
Separate from the surging humiliation, Eve had no choice but to acknowledge Ludenberg. He was the first to persistently reject her temptations and trample her like this.
Amid her rage at his overwhelming strength, Eve felt a powerful pull.
"Right. No fun in conquering something easy."
With humiliation and anger as kindling, Eve began igniting her desires. The desire to steal Ludenberg from Ashytara's grasp and make him hers.
Recalling Ashytara's mocking smile, she twisted her lips into a grin.
That smile won't last long.
She would have that man, no matter what.
Meia simply watched Eve's burning desire, relieved that her anger wasn't directed at her.
"The finals at last."
"Yeah."
"Who do you think it'll be?"
"Dunno. I was thinking maybe Dalia senior and Seia senior... but Gail and Illiana aren't weak either, so I can't be sure."
Ludenberg nodded at Ashytara's words. He felt the same uncertainty.
"Anyway, we'll know tomorrow."
"True. Oh, and Rud."
"Yeah?"
"This might get tricky from here on."
"Why?"
"Because of what Eve did."
"Ah."
Ludenberg suddenly realized Eve had taken an interest in him.
"Not interested. I never planned to get involved with her anyway. The fuss from others... it'll die down soon enough."
"......Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Guess so."
Ashytara smiled happily at Ludenberg's nonchalant attitude, utterly indifferent. Somehow, that smile resembled one of a victor.