Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Barely a Speed Bump
Cassian staggered backward, and as I watched him, I summoned Astra into my hand.
A heavy silence settled over the audience chamber.
Tense gazes immediately focused on me. It was obvious everyone was worried about what kind of incident I was about to cause.
…What, did they think I’d start a fight even in a place like this?
While glancing around at everyone’s reactions, my eyes happened to meet Archbishop Bartholomew’s. The old man was trembling as he looked back and forth between the shattered floor and me.
I quickly looked away.
I’d just get scolded later. Still, if I smashed Cassian into pieces, maybe the old man would feel a little better too.
After all, I’d be disciplining a rude bastard.
“So the Saintess herself is going to test my strength? Did I hear that right?”
Cassian finally regained his senses and spoke in that lazy, mocking tone of his.
“Yeah. You heard correctly.”
I almost added, you fucking idiot, at the end, but barely held it back.
This was still an official setting, after all.
“Come on now, how am I supposed to spar with the Saintess?”
“Hey, you little shi—”
Right before my paper-thin patience finally snapped, Leonid quickly wedged himself between the two of us.
“Alright, alright, let’s all calm down. We need a test of the Hero Candidate’s abilities anyway, don’t we? And if the opponent is Big Sis— ack.”
Mid-sentence, Leonid shrank slightly under the murderous glare of Archbishop Bartholomew.
“If it’s the Saintess, I doubt anyone will object. Right?”
He hurriedly corrected himself.
Most of the people present nodded in agreement.
Well… except for the Archbishop.
But after exchanging glances with Grandpa Pope, he let out a sigh and reluctantly nodded too.
Then he looked at me with pleading eyes.
Please, Saintess. Don’t cause trouble.
That was clearly the message.
‘...Sorry, but I’m definitely causing trouble. I’ll quietly sit through your lecture later and behave myself from now on, so don’t be too angry, okay, old man?’
“…?”
The Archbishop tilted his head at my stare for a moment before his expression turned uneasy.
‘Good. Looks like my intentions got through just fine.’
Satisfied, I nodded to myself before turning toward Cassian again.
“So, red-haired holy knight guy, you’re really telling me to fight some frail little woman who can barely lift a stick?”
The moment he said that, I nearly stabbed him with Astra on reflex.
But Leonid reached behind himself and grabbed my wrist before I could.
Our arms trembled as an unexpected contest of strength broke out.
‘Goddammit, this bastard’s ridiculously strong.’
I whispered quietly enough that only Leonid could hear.
“Hey. Want to die? Let go.”
“Please calm down first. Then I’ll let go.”
Eventually I relaxed my grip.
There was no point attacking first out of anger and giving him an excuse when we were about to begin the actual test anyway.
“And who exactly are you calling frail? Did you forget who grabbed your face and dragged you all the way to the middle of the audience chamber?”
“That’s only because I let my guard down. Honestly, I’d rather do something other than spar with the Saintess.”
“Hah. Your confidence is admirable, at least. But you should remember who’s standing in front of you. This is the ‘Silver Holy Spear.’ Keep running your mouth like that and you might end up in serious trouble.”
“Huh? The Silver Holy Spear? Isn’t that just some exaggerated title the temple made up?”
Neither Leonid nor I answered.
We both knew exactly what happened to people who said things like that.
If he was trying to provoke me, then congratulations—he’d succeeded brilliantly.
And if he genuinely thought I wasn’t dangerous, then he was simply pathetic.
Still, I was starting to get a clearer picture. Actually fighting him would confirm it.
“Can you let go of my wrist now?”
“Ah, right. Please take your positions. Stand about ten steps apart.”
Leonid finally released me.
Shaking my head, I stepped backward a few paces.
“If either side is rendered unable to fight or verbally surrenders, they lose. Lethal attacks are strictly prohibited. Strictly.”
Leonid moved to an appropriate spot between us.
Cassian reluctantly stepped back and drew his sword.
Seeing that, I lowered my stance as well.
“The match begins when I lower my hand.”
Leonid raised his hand high and slowly began counting down.
“Three… two… one… begin!”
The signal rang out.
Neither of us moved.
A probing battle to gauge each other’s skill?
No.
I simply didn’t feel the need to move.
And him?
He just… didn’t seem interested.
“How about reconsidering this? I’d hate to hurt such a beautiful lady.”
Cassian lowered the tip of his sword toward the ground as he spoke.
“Hey.”
“How about we do something else instead? Maybe come see me tonight wearing that incredible outfit you’ve got on right now. That’d definitely get me motivated.”
“Haah… you fucking bastard. You really think you can just say whatever garbage comes into your head?”
At my outright profanity, Cassian’s expression stiffened.
In the distance, I caught sight of Archbishop Bartholomew pressing a hand against his forehead.
“If you don’t raise your sword again in the next three seconds, I’ll kill you.”
“What the hell does that—”
“Three seconds.”
I thrust my spear.
Paaang—!
The sound of air tearing apart echoed through the chamber.
The tip of my spear grazed Cassian’s cheek, leaving behind a cut as blood trickled down his face.
“…Huh? What?”
Cassian touched the blood on his cheek with a dazed expression.
Had he failed to react?
Or had he realized I wasn’t aiming for his head?
Didn’t matter. I could just test it again.
“Next one really puts a hole through your skull.”
“Y-you crazy…!”
Only then did Cassian hurriedly raise the sword he’d lowered toward the floor.
Kkaaang—!
Sparks exploded as his sword spun violently through the air and flew from his hands.
“A swordsman who loses his sword. Pathetic.”
That time, I’d genuinely aimed for his head.
He hadn’t even perceived the attack properly.
But because of what I’d said beforehand, he’d instinctively raised his sword to block it.
I understood now.
This bastard wasn’t hiding his skills.
He was genuinely trash.
He had some talent, maybe.
But he was the type who relied entirely on that talent and never bothered to work for anything.
The kind of person I hated most.
“Blocking wasn’t a terrible choice. But trying to receive an attack without understanding the force behind it? That’s the worst possible decision.”
He should’ve retreated instead.
Sure, he’d still have been pushed onto the defensive, unable to stop the assault completely.
But at least he wouldn’t have lost the sword that was practically a swordsman’s lifeline.
“Failed the combat evaluation. Calling you a Hero Candidate is insulting. It’d be better to randomly pick one of our holy knights and call them the Hero instead.”
There was no need to see more.
I coldly dismissed him and turned away.
“…Hey. We’re not done yet. Fight me again.”
Cassian’s voice stopped me.
Clicking my tongue, I turned back around.
“The result will be the same.”
“That was a sneak attack. And I haven’t surrendered or been incapacitated yet.”
“Calling an attack after the duel started a sneak attack? Fine, whatever. But do you seriously think things will go differently if you try again properly?”
“Of course.”
“Tch.”
He really couldn’t understand the difference between us.
And now, probably from shock, his eyes looked even duller than before.
“…Fine. Let’s do it again. Thinking about it now, I should probably see what’s hiding underneath your pathetic surface.”
I dismissed Astra and rolled my shoulders to loosen up.
“…What are you doing?”
“Oh, this?”
Looks like he was reacting because I put away the spear.
“Using Astra against someone like you would be a waste.”
Cassian gritted his teeth and immediately charged toward me with his sword.
Reasonably fast.
Wild swordsmanship.
Unrefined movement.
Hopeless.
As the blade swung down toward me, I twisted slightly and avoided it before smashing the flat of the blade with the back of my hand.
Kaaang—!
A sharp metallic sound rang out as the sword shattered instantly.
“…What!?”
Cassian froze in shock at the sight of his broken weapon.
“Spacing out during a fight? Seriously?”
I drove my knee straight into his stomach.
“Ghk…!”
The hit landed cleanly.
Yet Cassian merely choked once before swinging the broken blade at me again.
Huh. More guts than I expected.
Still, his response was terrible.
I grabbed his wrist and flipped him over my shoulder before slamming him into the ground.
“Kuhack…!”
His full body weight crashed into the marble floor.
His brain had probably turned to mush from the impact. He wouldn’t be moving anytime soon.
The duel was basically over.
But I wasn’t finished.
For over ten years, I’d lived in fear of this bastard.
And now I find out he’s this worthless?
It was beyond anticlimactic. It just pissed me off.
Especially after the disgusting way he ogled me earlier.
“You need to get hit a little more.”
“W-wait, I surr—”
I poured divine power into my fist and punched him in the face before he could finish speaking.
Craaaack—!
A horrifying sound exploded through the audience chamber as Cassian’s head sank halfway into the marble floor.
Oh?
Tougher than expected.
So he really was a Hero Candidate after all?
I’d hit him with enough force to crush a skull instantly.
Fwoooosh—
Black haze began rising from his mangled face.
Frowning, I stared at it.
That was definitely demonic energy.
So this was what lay beneath your surface, Cassian?
“Demonic energy? Are you a servant of demons?”
He didn’t answer.
His consciousness was already gone. Only his limbs twitched weakly like dying insects.
Crack—
Grabbing him by the collar, I lifted him slightly and slammed another punch into him.
Again, black haze poured from his body.
“Well, damn. Impressive. Every time I hit you, demonic energy keeps leaking out. Been conspiring with demons or something?”
Craaack—
I punched his face again.
Now his head was buried almost completely into the floor.
And the demonic energy still continued pouring out.
“At this point, it’s less ‘working with demons’ and more ‘you are a demon,’ huh?”
I shoved divine power directly into his chest.
Divine power was the force that purified evil and revealed truth.
Naturally, it was completely incompatible with demonic energy.
Simply injecting it into him burned and expelled the corruption.
“Ghk… GRAAAAH…!”
The instant divine power entered his body, Cassian convulsed violently in agony.
Black smoke poured endlessly from him, burning away with sizzling sounds.
“Wow, what an unbelievable bastard. How much demonic energy are you carrying around inside? Don’t worry. I’ll kindly beat it all out of you.”
I raised my fist again and slammed it down.
Crack—
Craack—
Craaaack—
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Every punch echoed viciously through the audience chamber.
By now, Cassian’s head was completely buried in the floor and no longer visible.
But I had no intention of stopping.
If the demonic energy was still coming out, then obviously I needed to keep beating him.
Craack—
KWAANG—
“Oh? Finally stopped coming out? Still, you should probably take a few more hits.”
Just as I raised my fist again—
“P-please stop, Saintess. At this rate, he’s really going to die.”
Leonid grabbed my wrist before the punch could land.
“Didn’t you see the demonic energy? This guy isn’t a Hero Candidate. He’s someone connected to demons. Anyone allied with demons deserves immediate execution.”
“Please calm down. This guy has records of entering the Demon Realm frequently. It’s not unusual for people who spend time there to accumulate demonic energy. Though… admittedly, this amount is excessive.”
“Hey, you…”
“If you kill him here, you’re going to end up in serious trouble, Big Sis.”
Leonid whispered the last part quietly.
And annoyingly enough, he wasn’t wrong.
If I killed this bastard here, it would create an enormous mess.
No matter what, he still carried the title of Hero Candidate.
If rumors spread that the Saintess had beaten the Hero Candidate to death, it would do absolutely nothing good for our order.
“Tch…”
Finally stopping, I wiped the blood from my fists onto his clothes before standing up.
“Either way, he fails. Calling this trash a Hero Candidate is laughable. Investigate whether he’s connected to demons. If he is, cut off his head and hang it from the city walls. If not, toss him a few coins and dump him in some alleyway trash heap.”
“…Judging by how he looks now, I think he might already be dead.”
“Then you should’ve stopped me sooner.”
“Watching him get beaten was so satisfying I lost track of the timing.”
“……”
I stared at Leonid in disbelief as he merely shrugged.
Then I turned toward Grandpa Pope.
“It doesn’t look like further evaluation is possible. My condition still isn’t great, so I’ll be leaving now. Is that alright?”
Grandpa Pope nodded.
I gave a light bow before opening the audience chamber doors and stepping outside.
“…This feels fucking awful.”
I should’ve felt relieved.
I’d confirmed that Cassian posed no real threat.
I should’ve felt reassured.
But instead, all I felt was emptiness.
Still, I couldn’t stop here.
I had to prevent the Empire from being destroyed by demons.
That was my ultimate goal.
And in the process, I’d simply crossed one major obstacle called Cassian.
Ah, no.
Calling him a major obstacle was giving him too much credit.
More like a speed bump.
“Damn, the weather’s nice.”
I muttered blankly while staring up at the sky.