Chapter 58 - Less Impressive Than I Expected

“Heh heh...”

Chris rose with a grin, dust pattering off his clothes.

“You... sinner who will never so much as glimpse heaven.”

As he spoke and raised his sword, a seminary student in the stands gasped and clapped a hand over his mouth.

“How could he say something so vile...?”

The other seminary students reacted much the same. Some shook their heads at Chris’s words.

Yes. Chris had just unleashed the foulest profanity a clergyman could utter.

“You lamb whose bleating would make even the Goddess cover her ears.”

The stands grew even more agitated.

Only the seminary’s section, of course.

“I’ll send you to hell.”

WHIRRR!

A blue dot appeared above Chris’s head, then extended into a halo.

“You sure talk a lot, you piece of shit.”

Laward, meanwhile, regarded Chris calmly as he spoke.

Now they were both running their mouths...

Compared to Chris’s insults, Laward’s words felt positively unspeakable. But he hadn’t brought anyone’s mother into it yet, so by the old Laward’s standards, that probably counted as an ordinary greeting.

SWISH!

Chris swung his sword, sending blue sword aura streaking forward.

BOOM!

Laward ducked low to dodge the sword aura, but he didn’t know what Chris’s unique magic did.

Chris’s unique magic was Crossfire.

One more shot from the sky...

KABOOM!

...came crashing down.

“Ghk!”

A beam of light pierced the clouds and struck Laward head-on. He staggered in pain.

HISSS...

Pitch-black smoke curled around his body. He swayed as though about to fall, but then planted both feet firmly on the ground.

“Oh...”

Ximena watched with interest.

“Is he that tough... or is it sheer willpower...?”

“He’s tough. He hasn’t been pushed far enough...”

Laward glared at Chris, his eyes wide.

“...to have to draw on his willpower yet.”

WHIRRR!

The two halos spun at high speed. Their circular nozzles glowed red, and Laward accelerated once more, closing the distance.

WHOOSH!

But Chris wasn’t about to fall for the same trick twice. The moment Laward began preparing, he pulled back and unleashed sword aura to keep him at bay. Laward had no choice but to change direction and dodge.

... Had he figured out Laward’s weakness after seeing it just once?

Laward could move at incredible speed, but he needed time to warm up.

“Hey, sinner. Draw your sword.”

“I don’t need it for the likes of you.”

SKRRR...

Laward’s feet scraped against the floor as he slowed.

“Ha. Suit yourself.”

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Chris swung his arm rapidly. Sword aura and beams from the sky rained down in succession. Countless blue lights flashed incessantly, filling the arena.

It was like a game of chess. Just as you had to study the enemy’s positions to work out where you could move, Laward searched for open spaces and darted into them.

But the instant Chris saw where Laward was headed, he changed his technique. He had several sword patterns ready, allowing him to respond wherever his opponent went.

At first, the attacks hadn’t even grazed Laward’s clothes. But as his stamina waned, scratches began appearing on his face and arms.

“Is this turning into a battle of endurance...?”

Ximena rubbed her chin as she watched them fight.

“If so, the student running all over the arena will be at a disadvantage. Your pupil seems particularly focused on close combat, Lord Daywin. At this rate, he won’t be able to close the distance...”

Just as she said, Laward was beginning to breathe hard, while Chris still looked fresh. Chris stood rooted in place, unleashing his barrage. Since this was all he’d trained for, it didn’t seem to cost him much stamina.

What would Laward do now? Would he play the card he’d secretly prepared?

“No. He isn’t at a disadvantage yet.”

“Are you serious? From what I can see.”

Ximena stopped speaking when Laward’s halos began to move.

WHIP!

It was just like when he’d fought Rebecca. A halo flipped over, turning its nozzle in the opposite direction. The halo that had been propelling him forward now faced Chris.

BOOOM!

A massive shock wave shot out with a vibration that seemed to shake the heart.

“Urgh!”

Chris’s sword stopped, and he was driven far backward.

“You... I thought you could only fight up close...”

“That used to be true.”

Meanwhile, the remaining halo propelled Laward forward.

Awakening his unique magic had given Laward tremendous acceleration and even ranged attacks, but it had two weaknesses.

Warm-up and cooldown.

His halos resembled fighter-jet nozzles. They needed time to build up their explosive force, and more time before they could attack again.

Chris seemed to have figured that out after watching Laward throw himself out of the barrage’s path without using his halos.

His opponent knew both his strengths and his weaknesses. That made this practically his last chance.

WHOOSH!

As Laward came within a hair’s breadth of Chris, Chris smiled and drew a dagger from inside his clothes.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

Laward’s eyes widened at the concealed weapon. Even then, blue light was already gathering in Chris’s dagger.

“You can’t make a sharp turn in midair, can you?”

SWISH!

As he spoke, he slashed the dagger through the air. Sword aura rushed toward Laward’s chest as a beam of light plunged from the sky.

Chris was right. Having already left the ground and launched himself forward, Laward could neither change direction nor slow down.

But Laward was smiling too.

WHAP!

Laward thrust both arms forward, gathering divine power in his hands.

His unique magic was an adaptation of the F-rank stun spell, but that didn’t mean he could only cast it through his halos. Naturally, he still had his old way of fighting.

THOOM!

A stun spell burst from his outstretched hands.

Sudden deceleration.

By firing the stun spell forward to reduce his momentum, Laward evaded Chris’s Crossfire.

The moment he landed, Laward seized Chris by the collar and yanked him forward.

Caught.

Once again.

THUD!

He tripped Chris and drove a knee into his solar plexus.

“Gaaagh!”

As Chris groaned in agony, Laward took the opportunity to secure a dominant position. Having pinned him down, he extended his right hand in front of Chris’s eyes.

“Ugh...!”

Chris clenched his teeth, apparently anticipating the next move.

THOOM! THOOM! THOOOM!

Three stun spells in rapid succession.

He blasted them straight into Chris’s face.

It was the same spell he’d used during the Houndry operation, but Laward’s divine power wasn’t what it had been then. Its destructive force was now powerful enough to be called the strongest of all F-rank spells.

HUMMM!

Not satisfied, Laward gathered divine power once more.

“Chris!”

“Brother Chris!”

Voices erupted all across the stands, somewhere between desperate cries and cheers. The seminary students seemed to realize he would lose at this rate. They shouted with veins bulging in their necks.

“Get up!”

“You can’t let it end like this! Hurry!”

THOOM! THOOOM!

But Laward mercilessly poured every ounce of his strength into his stun spells, relentlessly blasting only Chris’s head.

Was he really trying to kill him?

“S-stop!”

Just as I was wondering whether I should intervene, the referee stepped between them. Only then did Laward get off Chris.

“Good grief...”

Ximena clicked her tongue at the sight.

058

“Was making the final eight really that difficult, genius paladin?”

I tossed the remark at Chris as he returned to the stands, having pulled himself together while his classmates consoled him. When he saw my face, indignation flashed across his features, but then he shook his head.

“... Mock me all you like. What would I gain by engaging with you?”

“Right, no need to engage. Nobody’s going to fight someone who’s already been eliminated. Hahaha!”

I mocked him for all I was worth, adopting Blash’s manner of speaking.

A +16 weapon might be strong in a game, but a final-sixteen paladin was weak as hell.

“Haah...”

Perhaps he’d already thrown away his pride. Chris merely shook his head again.

Ximena glanced over at us, and I thought her expression suggested she found me pathetic, but whatever.

I pretended not to notice.

“Ah, there you are.”

The academy chairman sat down on my left, adjusting his tie with a dignified touch.

“There were so many people to greet that I’m only just sitting down now. Phew.”

And so I continued watching the matches with the chairman on my left and the principal on my right, the heads of the two schools flanking me.

“Chairman, did you see that last match?”

Apparently, seeing Laward had given Ximena plenty to talk about. She asked the moment he sat down.

“No, unfortunately I missed it. This is my first chance to catch my breath.”

“You would have been delighted! Laward, a first-year from the academy, defeated the seminary’s ace!”

Ximena, who had now even memorized Laward’s name, spoke with a pleased expression. At the volume of her voice, Chris’s back twitched.

“You must be overjoyed, Chairman.”

“Ah, yes. Laward, you say. I thought he would.”

In contrast to her excitement, the chairman responded with an impassive face.

“Aren’t you... surprised?”

“Well, it’s Laward, not just any student... I expected as much.”

Perhaps Ximena had expected him to be beside himself with shock. She smacked her lips and turned her gaze back to the arena.

Both the military academy and the seminary were abuzz over the tremendous upset. The academy’s staff, however, merely nodded as though they’d known all along.

Laward received cheers and a warm welcome when he returned to the stands, but their expressions said they’d never even imagined him failing to advance past the round of sixteen, no matter whom he faced.

The dueling competition would finish today, on the third day of the Peach Garden Festival. Since everything from the round of sixteen to the finals was scheduled for a single day, Laward leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes for a short nap.

The heroines’ matches followed, in the order of Rebecca, Veronica, and Lucia.

When they entered the arena, Ximena’s only comment was, “What pretty girls.”

But after Rebecca defeated a seminary student...

“Oh...”

The result must have caught her off guard, because she became much less talkative. This time, the chairman was no different. He’d considered Laward’s victory a given, but apparently the heroines hadn’t figured into his predictions.

“Lord Daywin, did you see that? That student...”

“Rebecca, Chairman.”

“Yes, Rebecca! Isn’t she one of the students you sponsor? What a magnificent victory, with such precise swordsmanship!”

“That girl... too?”

Ximena asked, looking surprised all over again. She must have recalled my earlier remark about training Laward.

“Yes, isn’t it remarkable, Principal? Lord Daywin didn’t stop at recommending Laward for admission. He sponsors other students as well. Those students were quite literally lacking... no, in need of a little more effort...”

Encouraged by Ximena’s reaction, the chairman began recounting everything about me. Starting with Esther and continuing up to the present, he chattered on without pause, ignoring how Ximena’s reactions grew more subdued along the way.

Meanwhile...

BOOOM!

“Huh. Less impressive than I expected.”

Veronica claimed victory as well.

“Lord Daywin! Wh-what... is happening? That’s three already! Three of the eight quarterfinalists are our students...!”

The chairman shook my shoulder in delight. He looked excited enough to leap into the arena.

“This year... really is a little different...”

By contrast, Ximena’s expression was growing increasingly stiff.

Meanwhile, the academy students’ section of the stands was in a festive mood.

It had to feel even more dramatic from the students’ perspective. The girl with the lowest grades in her year, and the returning student who’d been held back a year. Students nobody had expected anything from were radiating the presence of generals returning with an enemy commander’s head. How could they not be popular?

Rebecca basked in the response as though it were only natural, while Veronica awkwardly did her best to escape.

And finally, it was Lucia’s turn.

SWISH!

An ear-splitting roar rang out, followed by a cloud of dust rising from the arena floor.

“Whew...! That was quick...!”

Lucia exhaled with a relieved expression.

... The match had ended in Lucia’s victory almost as soon as it began.

“Lord Daywin, that student...”

The chairman asked with an expression of disbelief at what he’d just witnessed.

“Lucia. A third-year in the swordsmanship department.”

“We had... a student that strong at our school? Why haven’t I...”

“It’s no wonder you didn’t know. She’s a little different from usual.”

To be precise, this was Lucia after eight hours of sleep.