The Enemy's Pentagon (4)
When word came down that they'd be facing Blue, Red flew into a rage like no one else had.
—Holy crap, we hit the jackpot. The JACKPOT!
—Blue as an opponent? That's just free food on a plate!
Red specialized in combat against people — but then, everyone here was still a trainee. Compare them to the other faiths, each with their own nightmarish holy arts, and what about Blue?
—They're the ones who hunt demons, not people. That's not their job!
—Pfff! Their whole doctrine is protecting humans!
—You think they can even attack? Those idiots!
Blue undoubtedly wielded tremendous power, but that power was never aimed at small, frail humans — it was meant for bigger, more wicked monsters. Think of them as the faction with the most devout knightly creed among the Five Faiths.
—They'll probably grab our captain and politely beg him to teach them, won't they?
—Heh. These are the guys who pin down the captain and whine with actual words, 'please, teach us.' Why would anyone honor that request?
—As long as you don't render someone combat-incapable, staying silent isn't against the rules!
—Exactly! It's the Red Pentagon, so we're SUPPOSED to torture! Torture them!
—Morons, all of you!
It had been the same at the academy. Shuri of Blue and his little circle of friends? No matter how much they were tormented, they would only endure — never, ever fight back.
If you hate it that much, show it through action, you know?
'Weaklings!'
And so, no matter how Blue came at them, Red had nothing to fear—
"Puhet! You priest bastards are all DEAD!"
"...!"
—nothing to fear... wait, what is that FACE?!
Team Red froze in terror at the face of the Demon King who had charged out — no, at Isaac's face. Isaac, who had burst from the ranks using High-Speed Stride, was laughing with an unhinged, ghastly cackle.
"Puhetehupuhetpuhet! (A test where I get to legally beat the snot out of filthy priests? What a beautiful day for science!)"
Eyes rolled back, grin stretched to his ears — he looked less like a boy and more like some maw-mouthed demon.
Honestly, it was terrifying. Terrifying as hell.
Viscerally repulsive!
Even they, heresy-inquisitor trainees, flinched at the sight.
But soon Team Red shook their heads as if it were nothing.
Blue! Right, that's exactly what Blue was like!
When facing humans, they were stubborn blockheads of knightly virtue — stone-faced statues who wouldn't even draw their blades against a person. Every Red trainee knew this well, and that was precisely why they could relax and smirk even as they stared at Isaac.
And if he was Blue's direct line, all the better!
That guy will never attack a person!
Red welcomed it with open arms.
"Fine! So Blue's strategy this year is that, is it?"
"Can't attack us, so you'll unsettle our guard with that face? Pfft!"
Red set up their formation with easy confidence. They were startled when Isaac charged their lines alone, sure — but—
'The worst he can do is a barrier art or a sealing art.'
The absolute ceiling of Blue's "attacks" against a human was isolation at that level!
'Well, if Kina Berith had come out, I'd be on guard!'
'Looks like he wanted the first strike for himself, huh?'
'He's the decoy, and Kina's covering the rear. Obviously.'
It was as plain as day! Underestimating the strongest anti-personnel fighters — the nerve! But because Red could see right through the scheme, they actually intended to respond in full force.
To crush Blue's spirit! To prove that even if you fell for their pathetic little trick, Red would win by overwhelming force!
Blue and their brain-rotting, idiocy-inducing knightly creed. Yes, that creed of theirs would be their—
But the Red priests soon turned ghost-pale.
"...Hey. What the hell is he pulling out?"
"...Huh? Wha—"
"GET OVER HERE! You vermin!! Unless you all want to be cooked alive, GET OVER HEEERE!!"
What Isaac had produced was a blazing, vicious chain-mounted morningstar flail!
Holy—
Blue! What is wrong with you?! Are you INSANE?!
"...B-Blue is supposed to be about knightly honor......"
...Something is VERY wrong with your definition of honor?!
"Bring me your captain and I might just spare your miserable lives!!!"
...And isn't that the single most honor-less thing you could possibly do?!/
"C'mon, HURRY UP! I've got the patience of a f—ing toddler!"
Weren't you guys the faith of PATIENCE?!
At that spectacle, Shuri clutched the back of his neck.
"I told you not to use the rattle like that......"
"What? The rattle?! THAT'S the rattle?!"
"I said the whip was absolutely out of the question on grounds of cruelty, and to swap it for something gentler, and then he......"
...THAT'S what counts as gentle?!
Looks like the heresy inquest will have to be conducted by that little bastard, not us!
Just as Red was scrambling in chaos over Isaac's lone charge, a golden light streaked through them in an instant.
BOOM!
"Gah...!"
Gone in the blink of an eye.
Worse, it tore straight through Red's formation like it was a child's plaything, demolishing it in a single pass before vanishing.
And when Red realized the identity of that light's trajectory, their expressions turned ugly.
"Kina Berith!"
"It WAS a diversionary attack!"
They chased Kina with their eyes. Chasing him on foot was hopeless — when they had crossed a stream, that one had breezed across an entire sea. It made you feel it without a word spoken: they were simply born different.
In a flash, Kina had plunged into the deepest heart of Red's formation, aiming for one man alone.
KUUUNG!
"Niger!"
"Look out!"
But at the sight of Kina bearing down on him, Niger curled his lips into a grin of pure vindication.
'Yes. I knew you bastards would do exactly this.'
He had watched Isaac and Kina exchange their signals.
No, honestly — the schemes of those punks? He could have predicted them without even watching.
'Ordinary Blue would never run a strategy targeting the captain.'
Of course, the optimal play in this match was to seize the enemy captain and force a confession.
But who was Niger Sephet?
He was the trueborn heir of House Sephet!
A direct-line descendant trained in torture since childhood!
He was as skilled at giving torture as he was at receiving it.
For Blue to try breaking him into a confession? It would be about as effective as a tickle. Even Blue's whole team throwing themselves at him with their lives on the line would barely manage a capture.
Rather than pick that option, he'd sooner personally hunt down all twenty-nine of the others.
But what if Kina Berith were in play — same age, perhaps the strongest fighter in this entire country?
They'd put that monster up front and go for the captain!
'Yes — exactly like right now!'
Kina was a priest, but his martial arts and holy arts were both genius-tier. Even Niger, who'd earned a recommendation to the senior holy knights on his combat skill alone, found him a handful.
Soon Kina Berith extended his iron-forged hand toward Niger.
But in that instant, something astonishing happened.
Shwip!
"!'
The Niger Kina's hand had touched vanished like a mirage.
And where Niger reappeared was — of all places — the very center of Blue's formation!
Niger, who had been lying in wait inside Blue's lines while invisible, let out a great laugh.
"You'd have to be insane to trade blows head-on with Kina Berith!"
"!"
That was Red's signature holy art, Blurring Eyes.
It created a decoy double while the true body turned invisible and lay in ambush.
Because the caster's aura stayed directed into the decoy for the duration of the ambush, no one outside Red could ever tell the difference.
Granted, the duration was short since it dissolved the moment the body took a hit — but that hardly mattered.
Wailing Apology (5th Tier)
A crimson magic circle surged up where Niger had stood.
It was a wide circle — broad enough that Isaac and Kina, deep inside Red's formation, could not escape it easily.
"A leg-binding art. As if something like this could......"
Just as Kina moved to unravel it, the Red priests nearby laid their hands on the circle Niger had cast.
FLASH!
"Pour everything in and HOLD THEM!"
There were about five of them.
The strongest of Red's team after Niger himself — the iron-walled torturers known as the Sitting Bulls.
And when they channeled their holy power to amplify the circle, neither Isaac nor Kina could move an inch.
At the same moment, Niger made straight for Shuri.
He knew perfectly well his men couldn't hold Kina for long.
'Even a few dozen seconds will do.'
While those two bought time, he would finish off Shuri Eschua once and for all!
Captain's duel?
Ha! Did they really think that half-wit deserved the captain's seat?!
They'd shared a classroom for seven whole years.
No one on earth knew Shuri better than he did — and every trainee knew he was a weakling. He was a fellow scion of one of the Five Great Ducal Houses; how could he not know?
If he weren't weak, why would he avoid a fight at every turn?
True to form for Blue — a faith that couldn't even catch the Skeleton Demon King — Shuri had been utterly unremarkable whenever they'd actually clashed.
That was exactly why he could say it.
'Pin him down, cast the confession art, and it's over in ten seconds flat!'
Blue's team swarmed in to check Niger at the same time. The beastified trainees lunged savagely, trying to grapple him down.
But even that only made Niger sneer.
'Beastification? So what. That's just a stopgap cobbled together by a pack of nobodies!'
They lacked real power, so they'd resorted to tricks like that.
'You think WE'd lose to THAT?'
"Grab them!"
"UOOOH!"
At Niger's command, the Red trainees each took charge of a Blue fighter.
The beastified ones weren't in their right minds, so Red's holy arts didn't take properly — they had to be physically wrestled down one by one.
'All they got was stamina!'
Soon Niger had closed the distance to Shuri in a flash.
'!'
Niger's pupils shifted into something like a hunting hound's. Like a mastiff fixing on prey, his eyes held not a flicker of hesitation, not a margin for error.
The only difference was the smile of a tormentor blooming at the corner of his mouth.
'Isaac Eschua, you idiot. You should've set your defense to Kina Berith!'
Trusting THIS guy as your big brother and handing him command — that was the real mistake!
At the sight, everyone watching squeezed their eyes shut.
'Judging by the art he's about to cast, he means to cripple the boy completely.'
A holy art that severed the arm to inflict agony!
The future results were all too vivid. His opponent could not have been worse.
Rillai's face drained white as he shot to his feet.
"Lord Rillai?"
"I need to tell the referee to stop this."
It was far too heavy a burden for Shuri.
He didn't know what had Niger so riled up, but this was no holy art meant for a test of junior priests.
Shuri, too, shuddered at the red lightning crackling from Niger's hand. The art's nature — and its power — were all too visible.
And if that strike landed, his arm was gone.
But at that moment, Shuri's eyes met Isaac's.
And he remembered what Isaac had said before the match.
—It's all right, big brother. Just do exactly as I say.
Isaac had told him:
—That red-mannered brat won't move personally in this exam.
—What? Niger won't fight?
—Nope. He's gunning for the top score with the execution of the Fourteen Six Demons — he has to rack up points. But if he hoards all the points alone as the head of his house, do you think his men would follow him? No. He'll hand his underlings the chance to score too. Naturally, he'll delegate the exam to his team — and go after only me, the one he's got a grudge against. But not this time.
There was no need to ask why.
—Because I dragged the Pope's grandson in with us.
"!"
Isaac had smirked.
—He'll be scared out of his wits. With the Pope's grandson on the field, there's no time to leisurely send underlings hunting. But he'll hate matching Kina directly even more. So he'll come for you, big brother — fast and decisive.
"!"
But that, in fact, was Isaac's first strategy for flushing Niger out of Red's formation.
Kina Berith helping was a bonus, nothing more — his participation alone already paid dividends for Isaac.
—And do you know why I beastified the entire team?
—Because everyone's stats are too low, obviously. To raise combat stats in the short term......
—Big brother. Red's holy arts are made to work on 'humans.' They barely take on beasts. Mental brainwashing doesn't stick to animals.
"!!!"
The Demon King, who had squared off against countless priests across the ages, grinned.
—So the odds are high he'll go for the one person beastification didn't touch — and among those, the captain, the one who can end the match in a heartbeat.
He'd leave the beastified Blue team to the underlings.
That was the second strategy: steering Niger so he couldn't spare a single thought for anything but the captain.
—Which means Niger will absolutely insist on settling it one-on-one. He already looks down on you, big brother — now more than ever.
At those words, Shuri had nearly panicked.
—Don't tell me — the reason you made me go tell the referee before the match that I 'wanted to resign as captain' was......!!
Isaac had just snickered — puht.
Right. Niger had been watching, so he'd made Shuri do it on purpose. That way Niger would abandon every other thought and come for Shuri alone.
Isaac was laying out the board, properly and deliberately, for his own flesh and blood.
—Then show them, right there in front of everyone. Show them that you're no errand boy, big brother!
At that very moment, Niger curled his lips and hurled his fist at Shuri.
"You're finished, you half-wit!"
At that roar, Shuri gritted his teeth. In a flash, the memories came flooding back — all that training, all those sessions where Isaac had made him take hits, over and over.
And in the same instant, Shuri seized Niger by the collar.
"The half-wit is YOU, you bastard!!"