Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Growth
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“Phew... Before we spar, please keep in mind that this might be a bit different from before.”
“Should I take that to mean you've grown stronger?”
“Well... Technically, yes, but rather than explain it, I'll just show you. Careful, it might be blinding.”
A picture was worth a thousand words, so I took a deep breath and summoned holy power throughout my body.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ -Whoosh... First, I manifested the usual amount I could handle.
Then, slowly, I pushed beyond my previous limit.
My holy power, which had normally only extended a bit larger than my armor, gradually grew in size until it dwarfed its former extent several times over.
“This is... definitely different. Even to my knight's eyes, I can feel your holy power has increased to a level incomparable to before.”
“Right...?”
This was the first time manifesting the holy power I'd absorbed from the Hero, and sure enough, even Adel could see the stark difference.
No matter how small the amount, it was the Hero's—the protagonist's—power, after all.
“If it's not too much trouble... could we spar focusing mainly on this new holy power?”
Adel was a heroine who despised holy knights.
So showing her a fighting style reliant mostly on holy power felt awkward.
Fortunately, my image with her must have been positive, as she readily agreed.
“It's fine. If you'd gotten arrogant just because you gained immense holy power, I'd have been greatly disappointed... but Sir Is isn't some ignorant fool.”
“I'm grateful you think so. Then...”
The shotel in my hand was likewise enveloped in golden holy power.
The shotel gleamed with an intensity incomparable to before.
In my left hand, I held a standard-issue shield from the training grounds.
Even this mere supply shield took on a majestic aura, wrapped in vast holy power.
With power like this, it's no wonder one might get arrogant.
I'd only ever questioned Ruin's arrogance and debauched lifestyle, but indirectly experiencing his strength made it understandable, if not agreeable.
“...Lady Adel.”
“Yes, Sir Is.”
This might be rushing things between us, but no one was more suitable than Adel.
“If during our spar I seem overly reliant on holy power or show signs of arrogance, please give me a stern scolding.”
At my request, Adel widened her eyes, then replied with a faint smile tugging at her lips.
“Understood. Leave it to me.”
She then gripped her sword and standard-issue shield, and without further ado, we charged at each other.
My legs moved with speed incomparable to before.
Fast. Definitely different from before.
Though I'd hit a growth wall, absorbing part of the Hero's power let me leap over it in an instant.
My speed was such that one's gaze might not keep up, but the holy power enhanced my reaction time and eyesight as well.
Adel reached me in a flash.
Now, I could track her movements with my eyes to some extent.
“Hup!”
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 -Clang!
Her sword clashed against my shield with a deafening roar.
For a brief moment, I reveled in this feat incomparable to before, but I didn't miss the opening.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 -Whoosh!
With a vicious sound slicing through the air, my shotel aimed for her shoulder blade.
But Adel was no pushover.
Her shield shot up at blinding speed.
If it's now...!
This was an expected development, so I'd resolved today to finally land the technique on her.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 -Swish!
My shotel swiftly changed trajectory.
Adel calmly tried to deflect it with her shield, but in that instant, I shoved her back with mine.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 -Thud!
“...!”
Seeing her balance disrupted, even if briefly, I flashed a satisfied smile.
The technique had worked.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 -Whip!
The tip of my shotel hooked her shield and yanked it away.
She resisted desperately, but it was too late.
“You've certainly gotten stronger.”
Her shield lay rolling on the ground.
Adel acknowledged it with praise, but...
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 -Crack.
“Since you fought me on equal terms.”
The moment she lost her shield, mine was cleaved in two by her sword.
I couldn't even tell when her blade had pierced my holy power to reach it.
An almost unreasonable feat.
“...As expected, Lady Adel is the strong one.”
“I'll gladly accept the praise.”
After a brief exchange, we charged again.
Both shieldless now, but technically, this favored me.
Holy power excelled in defense and healing, after all.
No shield? Just make one from holy power.
A technique I originally lacked the power for, one I'd only master years later through training.
“Shield of Faith.”
A golden, translucent shield of holy power formed on my left fist, which I'd clenched after losing my shield.
“Hup!”
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 -Boom!
We collided head-on, the impact sending us both reeling back.
“A shield made of holy power... Impressive, indeed.”
Normally, I'd have taken far worse damage, but the Shield of Faith was the ultimate barrier—once learned, it lasted until death.
Leading with the shield, I charged at Adel once more.
But she dodged effortlessly.
As if refusing to fall for it twice, she evaded my rush with agile footwork.
Fine. With this shield, even if she attacked from the side—
“Sir Is.”
“Ah!”
Her cold gaze snapped me back to reality.
Using holy power was good, but my previous thought had been far too complacent.
She'd deliberately held back, retreating to offer advice.
“That holy power shield is strong, but still immature. Unstable enough to shatter at any moment. Never let your guard down.”
“My apologies. I got arrogant.”
I bowed my head in apology, and Adel replied in a comparatively gentle tone.
“It's fine. Just once, and you shook it off right away without letting it take root. Well done.”
“No, even a single moment of arrogance can cost countless lives. I sincerely apologize, and thank you for pointing it out.”
“...You're different, indeed.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Shall we continue the spar—?”
At that moment, a shout from afar cut her off.
“Get lost, you psycho! I like girls!”
“I like girls too!”
“Then what the hell do you want from me, you freak?!”
Familiar voices, male and female.
Without seeing their faces, I pictured black hair and red eyes for the man, white hair and blue eyes for the woman.
And I wasn't wrong.
“Hey!! Is! Do something about this guy!”
“What, Is?! Wait, Lady Carmen! That bastard is—”
In my view, the lesbian Lady Carmen and the rowdy Hero Ruin were locked in a chase.
“...I think that's enough sparring for now.”
“...Yeah.”
What the hell were they doing?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “...So, the Hero keeps asking Lady Carmen out?”
“Yeah! I told him I don't like rude, arrogant, immature little shits like him!”
“Guh...!”
Ruin clutched his chest like he'd been shot by an arrow at Carmen's words.
She reads people well.
Not a single wrong word—just pure facts hammering him down.
“Haa...”
That aside, I needed to mediate between them.
“Hero, weren't you into our Saintess?”
“...Ugh.”
Whether from me taking his holy power or getting caught liking Ariana while doing this, Ruin averted his eyes in embarrassment.
“C-can't a guy have a few girls on his mind?”
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ -Slap! At the fresh nonsense, I smacked my forehead without thinking.
This mad bastard.
“Hero, have you lost your mind—no, gone insane—no, crazy—no, uh... Are you alright?”
“Fuck... Just curse me out.”
“You crazy bastard?”
“This fucker really...”
Ruin fidgeted like a naughty kid, then sighed deeply and began explaining why he'd ended up like this.
“Look, I was already pissed about your thing with Ariana, and then I catch one dancing demon and there's a princess in the blizzard? Love at first sight—”
“Hold up.”
“Why...?”
“Hero, do you think that makes any sense?! How can you go after two women at once?!”
No, even if, that was too much.
How could anyone decently harbor feelings for multiple women simultaneously?
This guy was a real crazy bastard. Subhuman scum.