Hero Selen (3)
Selen stood upright, enduring the searing pain that tore through her abdomen. Her legs trembled beneath her. Even with the physical enhancement magic she had prepared in anticipation of a counterattack, the agony came through undiminished.
"The attack itself wasn't bad."
The Banished Saintess, on the other hand, was completely unharmed — even after being struck cleanly by a slash laced with killing intent.
"But next time, don't just charge in blindly. The Demon King's army has more than a few guys with bodies like rocks."
She was even offering praise and advice, as calm and unbothered as if nothing at all had happened.
Fear crept slowly through Selen's heart. She was beginning to understand why this woman had become a symbol of terror.
"Have you... ceased to be human?"
Selen managed to force the question out.
"What are you talking about."
The Banished Saintess snorted and threw off the robe she had been wearing.
A beauty that seized the eye at once. Gloomy eyes that stood in stark contrast to her rough speech. A nun's habit of deep crimson. Her appearance matched the witnesses' testimonies exactly.
"Do I look like a monster to you?"
Her face was far above average, but her outward appearance was unmistakably human. Which only made it harder to understand.
"How can you be cut by a sword and act as if nothing happened?"
She had not used Aura. What had stopped the blade was nothing more than bare skin. It was hard to imagine any other explanation.
"This is the kind of thing you figure out yourself. Analyze it through combat."
"......"
Advice again. That same leisurely attitude, as if she did not even consider Selen an opponent. It was so infuriating that Selen bit down hard on her lip.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're giving up."
The Banished Saintess paused for a moment at the cry, wrung from sheer desperate resolve. A faint smile, barely visible, touched her lips.
"That's more like it."
I kept my face expressionless, but inwardly I was pleased.
Fighting spirit: pass.
She had been afraid, but only for a moment. In the end she had not crumbled — she was ready to face me again. The Goddess's eye for talent really was impeccable. I felt bad constantly comparing them, but when it came to mindset, Liam was not even in the same league.
Still, it was too early to relax. Once the real fighting started, she might falter and destroy herself. The truly important evaluation and instruction would begin now.
"I will pour every ounce of my strength into this."
The Hero gripped the hem of the robe wrapped around her body. The fabric scattered like dust in every direction, revealing an appearance that matched every published description exactly.
She was beautiful. Beautiful enough that you would believe she had been chosen for her face alone. She had probably attracted plenty of attention even before becoming the Hero. I knew that feeling well — I had had my share of exhaustion dealing with other nuns who envied my looks.
While I had been lost in thought, a massive magic circle, glowing a luminous purple, had been drawn in the air. Magic manifested by borrowing the power of a magical tool, then. That meant she was using a spell beyond her own capabilities. Curious about what it would be, I watched without interfering.
Before long, a translucent barrier formed around us, enclosing the Hero and me in the shape of a rectangular prism.
"Oh."
Unbalanced Space — a spell that strengthened the caster and weakened the enemy. A high-tier magic with a simple yet powerful effect.
"Spellcasting: seventy-five points. Just keep doing what you're doing."
She had borrowed a tool's power, but a score this generous was still well-earned.
"...Please stop grading me!"
The Hero charged, swinging her sword of Holy Power. Another slash aimed at my neck. I had let the last one land, but the freebie was a one-time offer. I blocked the sword with my left hand and drove my right fist forward.
"Pyrite!"
But the Hero was different this time. Heat rushed closer. A fireball came hurtling in. Flames launched by the fire spirit she had summoned swallowed my body.
Hot. Thanks to my Sun-bask I would not get burned, but the pain was the real deal. The opening created by that searing agony let the Hero's sword, which my left hand had blocked, come at my neck a second time. Of course, it still could not wound me.
The Hero's face twisted — probably because I had been cut again and still looked completely fine.
"Keep your composure in combat."
I grabbed her by the collar and hurled her backward. Without pausing, I leaped up and smashed my fist into the body of the flame eagle soaring through the sky. The fire spirit could not even withstand a single blow and was forcibly unsummoned.
"Spirit control: thirty points. Your spirit is weak because your affinity with nature is lacking."
The Hero, grimacing from the backlash of the unsummoning, forced herself into a stance and leveled her sword.
"Your body should be getting heavy about now."
My movements had definitely grown sluggish compared to usual. I had dropped to less than half my normal speed. High-tier magic, all right. Terrifying power — which meant it was devouring a massive amount of mana. She would not be able to use any other spells now.
Of course, that restriction was not much of a problem for a Hero. Aura, magic, spirit arts, Holy Power. The Hero was the only being who could wield all four.
The next method of attack she chose was Aura. Platinum-colored Aura wrapped around her Holy Power sword, swelling until it was as large as a greatsword. She had poured in every last drop of mana except what was needed to maintain Unbalanced Space.
"This is my full power!"
A massive slash carved through the air. Her movements, in contrast to mine, had become astonishingly fast. The ferocity of it said she intended to cut me clean in two.
"Aura generation: ten points. Don't just make it bigger — build substance."
I delivered the cold assessment and counterattacked. Left elbow to the sword. Right fist to the Hero's face. Two strikes in rapid succession. The sword, stopped by my elbow, lost its force and bounced away. The Hero, caught by my fist, tumbled across the ground.
"Watch closely."
Looks like she needed a special lesson.
"This is how you use Aura."
Mana concentrated in my right hand. The first stage. Anyone could do this.
The mana gathered in my right hand became crimson Aura, flickering violently. The second stage. A power you could only acquire through grueling, bloody training.
And the final third stage.
"This is the level you should be aiming for from now on."
The Aura clung to my right hand like a second skin. The unification of body and Aura. A realm that transcended mere physical force.
"Let's end the games here."
I thrust my right hand into empty air. For an instant, the forest was swallowed by silence. Then Unbalanced Space shattered into pieces.
This was the true worth of Aura. If something was made of mana, you could crush it even if it had no physical form.
"You still want to continue?"
"......"
The Hero, still down, looked around and then dropped her head toward the ground. So this was as far as she went. Even so, for a rookie of barely two months, she had done absurdly well.
"Time to wrap this—"
"It is not over yet!"
And yet. The Hero I had thought had given up pushed herself back to her feet. Even though she must have fully recognized that the gap between us was nearly impossible to close, she was still burning with fighting spirit.
"You're out of mana, you know."
"I still have my faith and my belief."
The Hero clasped her hands in reverence.
"O Sun, I am but a helpless young sprout before this trial."
"Bestow upon me your gracious sunlight."
The pouring sunlight concentrated into a single point, brilliantly illuminating the Hero from whom Holy Power overflowed like a tide.
"...Holy Power utilization: ninety points."
A technique that used Holy Power as fuel to push physical abilities to their absolute limit. A genius, through and through. Even among high-ranking holy knights, nine out of ten failed to master this demanding skill.
"I will defeat you here, so that no more victims will be made!"
The Hero, having formed a sword of Holy Power once more, moved. Far faster than before. She was weaving between the trees at a speed the naked eye could barely follow.
Then my neck was cut by her sword. It did not even leave a scratch, but she vanished before I could counter. The same pattern of slashes repeated again and again, each time targeting the exact same spot.
How should I deal with this. It was admirable, but I could not just keep taking hits and spoil her — that narrowed the answer down to one. I stood still and focused. Holy Power approaching from behind. Instead of dodging, I stepped into it and reached out.
"Kh..."
Got her. The Hero, her own neck seized in turn, let out a groan of pain.
"This time it actually stings a little."
The Hero's attack had landed, too. Blood flowed from the side of my neck, the spot she had been so persistently targeting. But it healed cleanly, without even leaving a scar — as if I had never been wounded in the first place.
"Holy Power..."
"Correct."
I cannot project Holy Power. But that does not mean it is gone — it remains inside my body. I just cannot send it outward.
"Don't tell me... you have looked unharmed this whole time because you recover at an absurd speed?"
"That's also correct."
The pain was real, actually. Pretending I was fine had been a bit of work.
"Now it's really over."
I drove a knee wrapped in Aura into her abdomen. The Hero finally could not hold on and slowly collapsed.
"Good work. Just keep doing what you did today."
I wiped away the blood that had trickled down and offered one last piece of advice.
That should be enough mental training. I was basking in satisfaction when the Hero, still lying there, smiled.
"So that's what it was."
"What."
"You approached me from the start in order to teach me, didn't you."
"......"
Sharp. I did not bother denying it.
"How'd you figure it out?"
"You never used your full strength, and you kept giving me generous advice the whole time. Did you really expect me not to notice?"
Was I that obvious. She had a point, so I hurriedly offered an excuse.
"If you're too weak, there's no satisfaction in killing you."
That sounded like a proper Banished Saintess line, right?
"I see. Understood."
She did not look like she believed me. The way she was grinning while face-down on the ground somehow looked like the face of someone dealing with a person who was not being honest.
This is not good. I turned and left before my image could take any more damage.
"When we meet again, I will be stronger."
A voice full of resolve came from behind me.
"And I will put a stop to your evil deeds."
"Whatever."
I said it gruffly, but I was actually pleased. Did that not mean I'm going to beat you?
"My Sun, you may be proud. It was an excellent choice."
The Hero was a talent with capabilities beyond my expectations. Was I allowed to be this happy? A crushing defeat was waiting not so far away.
She was already brilliant on her own — what would it be like when she fought alongside her companions as a Hero party? Anticipation slowly bloomed.
Her companions... I should check them out too.
A new goal was set. Find the Hero's companions before the Hero herself. And that was the moment the plan for a continent-wide mental training tour was born.