The Serpent and the Sun (3)
The Serpent and the Sun (3)
Rosemary stammered.
"D-do you even know what you just said? That's insubordination against a superior officer...!"
"Insubordination or whatever, you don't like me either, do you?"
I tapped the desk threateningly.
"If I bother you that much, let's settle it ourselves. Strip the rank insignia and sort out the pecking order. What's wrong? Scared?"
"...Excuse me?"
Rosemary, who had been spacing out, stopped dead. Her slit pupils swiveled and glared at me.
"Did you just ask if I, Rosemary, am scared?"
"No, well. I get it. You could be scared. Of course you could."
I pointed straight at myself.
"Super rookie, top of the Group 2 paladins. On top of that, I'm close with Divine Judge Dimona, so you're backing off because you figure there's something there, right? Isn't that right?"
"Ha. You think you can beat me with brute force?"
"No. No."
I leaned my face toward her.
"Past beating you, I think I could just crush you flat."
"Haaaaaah?"
Rosemary laughed. Her eyes weren't laughing at all.
"I don't know what you're counting on, but I am your superior. Among all the inquisitors, I'm one of the ones who holds a 'Chief' position. I stand in the same place as Radatok. We aren't ordinary inquisitors. We're veterans among veterans. And you're telling me you can face me now? A rookie like you?"
Rosemary crossed her legs. She stretched out a pretty leg.
"Take back what you said right now. Lick my toes like a dog. Who knows? I might skip reporting you to the Judge and forgive an impertinent rookie's disrespect."
"Scared?"
"What?!!!!"
Rosemary laughed as if dumbfounded. She swept her hair back.
"Scared? Did you just call me scared?"
"Ah. You are scared."
"I'm s-scared? Of a greenhorn like you?"
"I wondered if there was something to you... but you're just a nobody, aren't you?"
"...You piece of trash who doesn't know his place."
Her expression changed. Rosemary slammed the desk. She bared sharp fangs.
"I was going to go easy on you because the Judge seems fond of you... but you're crossing the line? Fine. But I have conditions."
"What conditions?"
"The loser grants the winner's wish. If I win, I'll hang you naked in the marketplace. Your stupidity will be the talk of the crowd for a full half day."
"Whoa. Scary. Just thinking about it gives me chills down my spine. But..."
I smiled.
"Isn't that a little weak?"
"...What?"
"Let's just make it one clean thing. Throw out the wishes and all that."
I pointed at the floor.
"The loser becomes the winner's dog."
Doubt crept into Rosemary's eyes. As if confused about what I could possibly be counting on, she couldn't answer for a moment.
"...The rules?"
"There aren't any. The stronger one just wins."
"Interference from others?"
"None. If there were going to be, why would I have brought it up? If fairness is needed, we can put Inquisitor Radatok forward as the witness. How about it?"
"Ha. Fine. He wouldn't tolerate an unfair rule."
The desk Rosemary had been gripping snapped in half.
"Eat your feed in advance. If I win, I'll starve you for a week, for starters."
"Oh my. That's harsh. I wasn't planning to starve you."
I cracked my neck.
"I was thinking of just making you kneel and prostrate yourself naked. I'll have to add one more thing."
. . .
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Dimona shrieked. I picked at my ear. Ow, my eardrum. It's going to burst.
"It's been decided that we fight tomorrow. We just have to finish it before the Serpent Church gets here, don't we?"
"It doesn't end as a simple problem like that! I'm going crazy... seriously... I was worried because two bull-headed people were gathered together... and you've already locked horns...?"
Dimona staggered and sat down in a chair.
"You know it too, Zahard. We're isolated right now. We can't give Archbishop Dwayne any opening to sink his teeth into. That man is vicious and petty. If he sees an opening, he'll do everything he can to exploit it."
"Think of it as moving up something we had to do anyway."
"What do you mean, had to do?"
"You know too, Judge. That inquisitor Rosemary—her temper is no joke."
Dimona flinched. I spoke calmly.
"It's a fight that was going to happen anyway. Rosemary... that cat is hissing right now as if her territory's been soiled. She says she's served far longer than Radatok, right? It's obvious she can't adapt to the changed Fifth Inquisition Office and is trying to drag it back to the old days. Should we just leave her alone?"
"But..."
"Racial discrimination, summoning the kids while they're resting under the pretext of enforcing discipline... do you know she won't even let them eat properly? Telling them to clean their trays because they're picky eaters? How would you feel if someone told you that you can't rest unless you eat the cucumbers you can't stomach, Divine Judge Dimona?"
"That's crossing the line."
"Right? She crossed the line, so I'm going to beat the hell out of her."
"No. No. Wait a moment."
Dimona tapped the desk lightly.
"Fine. I don't want things going back to how they were either. Group 2 finally came together, and it would fall apart. The relationship between Group 1 and Group 2 finally improved, and that would clearly turn bad again. But your method is wrong. Fighting isn't the only way, is it?"
"It's the fastest method."
"It's the fastest, but it's reckless. Rosemary is a battle-hardened veteran—a veteran among veterans. She's good enough to hold her own even against Radatok beside her. There's no one in the Fifth Inquisition Office who can subdue her without shedding blood. Even I would have to accept some injuries."
Dimona let out a sigh.
"...There's no way you can beat her. Inquisitor Zahard. Why did you make such an irrational choice?"
"I can win, though?"
"Huh?"
She blinked. Radatok, who had been listening quietly, whispered.
"Forgive me for interrupting, Judge... but Brother will not go down easily, at the very least."
"What do you... no, what are you both talking about? I heard he distinguished himself inside Vagueness, but even so, he's only at the level of an apprentice priest, isn't he?"
"Did I not tell you? That he fought on the front lines."
"No, I thought that was a joke?! That was real? Zahard was an apprentice priest back then, wasn't he? I know he handles the Sword of Judgment fairly well... but are you saying he was at the very front, cracking demon skulls?"
Dimona thought it over. She muttered to herself several times, then suddenly raised her head.
"Ah. I see. So that's it. Ah, seriously. You startled me! How annoying."
"......?"
"Stop joking around. It's all over now!"
Dimona laughed. She lightly wiped her eyes.
"Ah, seriously. You two planned this just to mess with me, right? There's no way it's true. Good grief. I get it. The thing about fighting Rosemary is all a lie too, right? Ha, damn. I almost fell for that. Zahard, my heart dropped. Don't scare me. If you do this one more time, I'll punish you, okay?"
"......?"
"I said stop it. It's not funny anymore. Really not funny. Hurry up and say it's a lie."
I exchanged glances with Radatok. I shrugged.
Dimona's chair tipped over backward.
"I-it's real? Radatok didn't exaggerate your merits on purpose to cover for you?! And you're really fighting?! With Rosemary?!"
Ah.
So that was the subtle question that had been nagging me all along.
No need to say it. I'll let the results speak for themselves.
"Radatok. Will you be the witness?"
"Are you confident?"
"Of course."
I'm carrying all sorts of penalties, but that doesn't make me think I'll lose. Nor am I worried that my twisted Sacred Power might be exposed during the fight.
Hadn't the Apostle of Ra vouched for it? That unless it was someone on the level of Dwayne or Arpina, they wouldn't notice. As long as I kept Dimona slightly in check, there would be no interference. Dimona was too busy with work to attend anyway.
"I've realized a lot lately, so you don't need to worry about me losing."
I know most of Rosemary's attack patterns. If I'm only careful when her sword changes into an axe, I can finish this cleanly.
There were variables: I was probably lower-level than her, and then there were her weapon arts and Holy Arts.
But I can't always fight only battles I'm sure to win. Besides, this was the first time.
Properly fighting someone of a similar rank.
My heart beat a little faster. Was I finally going to experience a real fight?
I can't resist PVP!
. . .
Rosemary drew in a breath. With Radatok acting as referee, the training ground had been cleared out.
Silence. Along the walls sat the Group 1 paladins and the Group 2 paladins. But no one could speak.
The pressing Sacred Power and the heavy atmosphere. Rosemary inspected her weapon. A blunted practice sword. But if you hit hard enough, it could kill someone all the same.
Should I hold back? Or just beat him without worrying about it?
"What's taking so long?"
Let's go with the latter.
Rosemary stood. Her cat ears twitched. In her eyes, sharpened by tension, the inquisitor before her was reflected.
They say sometimes a newcomer knocks the old guard out of place.
Rosemary loved the Fifth Inquisition Office. The reason she had never become a Divine Judge, despite earning enough merit for the promotion, was that she thought of this place as her home.
Her territory, and the place where she would live her whole life. And before her eyes stood someone trying to change that place.
The stinking, disgusting northern barbarians who were always quick to betray.
The incompetent ones who had not a single ability but opened their mouths only to make demands.
The man followed by failed priests who weighed people this way and that and chased only their own gain.
From Rosemary's standpoint, the Group 2 paladins were all seeds of evil she wanted to weed out. And the man they followed was surely just as rotten.
With this one stroke, she would force the boy before her to his knees.
She would make him grovel at her feet for the rest of his life and destroy him completely.
The more she thought, the hotter her rage boiled.
How dare...
How dare he defy me in the Fifth Inquisition Office?!
I'll rip out that tongue!
"Let's begin."
"Well, we don't need any grand formalities, do we? Right?"
"You're right. Move aside, Radatok."
Rosemary stepped forward. Coarse Sacred Power became flame and blazed over her entire body.
"The match has already started."
Her opponent wielded a greatsword—a brutish weapon that did not suit the boy's frame.
She didn't know what he was thinking when he chose it. But it didn't matter. Rosemary gripped the hilt of her sword.
Whatever it was, she just had to smash it head-on!
Whoosh!
Fierce flames burst forth. The Sacred Power heated until the tip of the sword seemed about to melt.
Scattering sword strikes.
The ringing cry of clashing steel.
Collision.
And impact.
BOOM!!!
Rosemary moved. Her eyes moved constantly. She identified the enemy's weaknesses and analyzed his movements.
Her sword fell with force enough to split the greatsword. The ensuing sword dance dyed the training ground red in an instant.
Sword of Judgment Third Form
White Feather
Her sword trembled for an instant. The clinging flames spat out a violent roar.
BOOM!!!!
The greatsword was knocked back. His guard broke under the pounding flames. Rosemary clenched her teeth.
He's strong. At least strong enough to run his mouth. To think that all her White Feather did was pierce his guard!
But he's still far off!
Sword of Judgment Seventh Form
Soryeon
Her hand shifted to the very end of the hilt. The sword moved fluidly, and flames scattered like a whipping chain.
A thrust wreathed in flame. At the very end of the palm-driven thrust, the flames exploded.
The inquisitor before her was dyed red.
BOOM!!!
They say that when priests of the Church of Ra fight each other, the flames and explosions never stop. Just like now.
Inside the swirling vortex of blazing fire, Rosemary righted her sword.
There's still more. This won't be enough. The next move, immediately...!
"Nice."
The flames vanished in an instant. Zahard's upper body, tipping backward, stopped dead. The greatsword moved. From a posture where he could not swing the sword, one foot came forward instead.
A sword strike lashed out.
A chill.
In that instant, Rosemary chose evasion over counterattack. The narrowly missed sword strike was tinged with flame. The explosion that burst late robbed her hearing for a moment.
BOOM!!
Her vision turned red. The explosion alone sent her Sacred Power-clad body flying backward.
Wh-what?
What is this absurd destructive power?
Rosemary immediately righted her stance. Her wild instincts were warning her.
There's something. Something she didn't know about.
He looked at her. A large sword that didn't suit his small frame rested on his shoulder. A burning gaze. Air that seemed to press down.
"Now this is PVP."
He smiled.
"What's wrong? Not coming at me?"
At the changed air, Rosemary pointed her sword instead of answering.
She changed her assessment. The opponent before her was no ordinary inquisitor.
Toughness. Abnormal destructive power. Wide reach.
....He's no different from a flame-wreathed demon!