Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Tournament Preliminary Round (2)

The people who had climbed into the arena numbered five teams, including ours, for a total of fifteen.

After looking over the faces of the students from the other teams, just as I had, Lloyd raised the corner of his mouth.

“…Kekeke, their eyes are quite murderous, are they not?”

Naturally, the gazes of the twelve students aside from the three of us were all directed at us.

“Be careful. The moment the match starts, every one of those spells is going to be cast at us.”

Just as Karin said, the students who had learned magic were constructing formulas on top of the arena with their staffs in hand.

I did not have especially deep knowledge of pure magic, so I did not know exactly what kinds of magic they were, but I at least knew that, fundamentally, their power or effect rose in proportion to casting time.

And once the match began, all those spells would be fired straight at us, the team judged to have the greatest ability.

I could see their intention to concentrate instantaneous firepower from the very start and eliminate us all at once.

Karin was also pulling her bowstring and casting Wind Magic, but blocking all those spells with a temporary weapon would be too much for her.

“They really are trying so hard.”

Hummm…….

Holy Power continued blooming from the Sacred Mark engraved on the back of my right hand.

Just as the students had been casting magic for the match, I, too, had been condensing Holy Power in my heart even before the match began.

Holy Power Condensation, sustainment time: ten minutes.

After learning ‘Condensation’ from Yulia over the holiday, I had tested it in various ways.

At present, the longest I could condense Holy Power in my heart was ten minutes.

If I went beyond that, it put a strain on my heart.

However, it was also possible to deploy other Holy Magic spells while maintaining Condensation, so my combat options had become even more varied.

This was an encouraging result.

However.

‘There really are a lot of eyes watching.’

Those who did not know the shape of the Sacred Mark would judge this divine pattern to be ‘Holy Symbol,’ but to people who knew that the Sacred Mark took the shape of a cross, this was a situation suspicious enough to draw attention.

‘Still, it’s not like I can avoid using Holy Power.’

After checking the time, we took formation.

I stood at the front, Lloyd in the center, and Karin in the rear.

‘Let’s see just how useful this is.’

I spread both hands and prepared for the spells about to surge in.

[2]

[1]

[0]

Beeeeeeep!

As soon as the match began, just as expected, casting spells mixed with various attributes began rushing toward us.

Holy Light Forging.

Holy Light Shield, Six Consecutive Forgings.

RUMBLE—!

“A-are you insane…….”

“Hey, why isn’t that breaking through?”

“What kind of Holy Power is that solid?”

When not even a crack appeared in the shields, the students began to panic.

“What? Is that it?”

Crackle…….

The moment I released the Holy Light Shields, Lloyd stepped forward.

“Now it is my turn. Try blocking this properly.”

Grooooooan……!

With Lloyd as the starting point, numerous Undead Goblins began scattering across the arena in every direction.

***

“That just now… was Holy Light Shield, correct?”

Professor Veroniel looked bewildered as she went over what had just happened.

The power of the casting spells that had swept toward Team 44 all at once had been considerable.

If those attacks had struck just now, they would have been enough to destroy most High-Rank defensive spells.

“Hah, you are saying that was Holy Light Forging?”

Orwell also swallowed a hollow laugh.

Front, back, left, right, and above.

Six massive Holy Light Shields created in each direction had surrounded and protected Team 44.

Surely Karin’s Wind Magic had fixed the Holy Light Shields in midair, but—

“There is no way the Holy Light Shield should be solid enough to withstand all those spells……?”

Since they were Professors of a prestigious academy, they knew at least that there existed a Holy Magic spell called Holy Light Forging, which manufactured Holy Light weapons.

But for the durability of Holy Light weapons to be that strong?

“Come to think of it, I have heard this before. If one uses Holy Magic with condensed Holy Power, it can increase the effect…….”

He had clearly used condensed Holy Power to create Holy Light Shields and raise their durability to the maximum.

Of course, it was a method that could only be done if the total amount of refined Holy Power itself was large enough.

“That is Holy Power……? It is astonishing that he possesses that much Holy Power at his age.”

“I had heard there was an operation method for condensing Holy Power, but I did not think it would be to this extent…….”

“Team 44 is Team 44, but the judgment speed of the other teams has also become quite polished.”

Potrick’s face and tone remained stiff.

However, agitation was visible in the eyes with which he watched the arena.

The arena, where fifteen people stood, should originally have fallen into a chaotic melee, but things had not gone that far.

Every student was playing their role and moving cooperatively.

Naturally so.

“Each team is surrounding Team 44 from every side… and launching simultaneous attacks. It is the optimal method.”

It was a battle method meant solely to defeat Team 44.

The situation had arisen because the gap between Team 44’s ability and each team’s ability was so large.

Grrrrrr…….

Grooooooan…….

Lloyd, standing in the center of Team 44’s formation, swept his arm horizontally and summoned many Undead Goblins around himself.

Their number was roughly thirty.

“So he is answering numbers with numbers?”

Orwell nodded.

Lloyd could summon even Mid-Rank Undead, but his close-combat ability was not especially outstanding.

In this kind of battle, increasing the number of summoned creatures like that and blocking approaches was a good choice.

Karin had also slipped into the gaps between the undead Lloyd had summoned and was firing Mana Arrows in rapid succession.

“…Their grades may all be high, but their team balance is not particularly good.”

Professor Veroniel’s assessment was accurate.

Lloyd was Summoning Type, and Karin was long-range.

On top of that, both of them were not especially outstanding in close combat.

“The only one on that team who can handle close combat is Student Damon.”

“It may be the most important role, but is he not a Holy Power Awakener? If Holy Power touches the undead by mistake, it will be fatal to the team…….”

THUD, THUD, THUD! BOOM! RUMBLE!

Large and small Holy Light weapons kept rising from the arena floor.

“Team 12, one eliminated.”

“Team 20, one eliminated.”

“Team 39, two eliminated.”

The eliminated students appearing one after another, unable to withstand Damon’s attacks, were denying that concern.

“…That may be true, but he is handling it well on his own.”

“He is attacking while avoiding only the undead. And without spreading Holy Power either…….”

“To use Holy Power with that sort of restraint. It is certainly ingenious.”

“Hah.”

Levia’s snort dismissed the situation unfolding in the arena.

“That’s right. He should at least be able to do this much.”

Aron Bayonel.

***

I roamed the front line together with the Undead Goblins and summoned several Holy Light weapons.

‘The beginning was the most dangerous part.’

I had used up all the condensed Holy Power to block the casting spells, but for now, even this much was something.

After all, the thing I had needed to be most careful of in this preliminary round was the casting magic that would surge in from the very start.

Since I had blocked all those spells, it was safe to say there were no more obstacles in this preliminary round.

‘The fact that there are no Holy Magic Department students in the arena except me also helps.’

If there had been even one, the battle would have become much more troublesome.

That said, I could not deploy wide-area Holy Magic from here on.

Grooooooan…….

If I deployed wide-area Holy Magic, the Undead Goblins Lloyd had summoned would be damaged.

It might have been different if the Sword Radiance were here.

‘As for me, well, I’m not as skilled at handling Holy Power as the Sword Radiance was back then.’

Faaaaa…….

Holy Light Forging.

So I read the undead’s movements and deployed Holy Power within a limited range.

Even if I was a layman when it came to Holy Magic, I knew Black Magic well, after all.

“Ugh……. Damn it, let go of me!”

“Aaah! They really are undead. This is insane……!”

The Undead Goblins tied up the students’ feet, and I delivered the decisive blows.

Even if the magic was mutually opposed, cooperation was entirely possible as long as one could read it.

How many times had I done this with the Sword Radiance in the previous timeline?

“…It would be funny to be held back by something like this.”

Whirl.

I spun the Holy Light Dagger.

“U-uaaah—!”

Ping!

The Holy Light Dagger I threw cut through the air and rushed before the eyes of the final remaining student.

The band’s defensive barrier activated, and the band, having fulfilled its role, fell from the student’s arm.

“All teams except one have been confirmed eliminated. Everyone worked hard.”

Waaaaaaaaah!

***

The arena spectator seats.

“When I heard about it from Yulia and Viole, I wondered if it could truly be so…….”

While watching the screen displayed through the Magic Device, the old man stroked his white beard.

“Seeing it like this, it is fascinating. It certainly does resemble the Sacred Mark.”

If Yulia had not possessed the Sacred Mark herself, he might have mistaken that for the Sacred Mark of the Holy Empire.

“And yet he can refine that much Holy Power despite having no faith at all…….”

No, there was no way that much Holy Power could be refined without faith.

More importantly, according to what he had heard from Yulia and Viole, Damon was an Acquired Holy Power Awakener. 

To begin with, his Holy Power must have manifested because he prayed to a god with an Earnest Wish.

Despite how he looked, surely his faith, at least, was genuine.

The old man smiled faintly.

“Hohoho, how interesting.”

He had been dispatched to protect Yulia and capture Aron, who was targeting her life, but he had discovered an outstanding unpolished gem.

‘Yulia did say she wanted to have him join the Holy Order, but I had simply let it pass…….’

Talent like that was rare even in the Order.

However.

‘For someone with that much talent in Holy Power to defend Black Magic……. Even after living this long, I truly have seen all sorts of things.’

Just as he had feared, a minor fight had broken out between Damon and the Inquisitors.

He had expected that much, but—

‘…Yulia and Viole’s attitude was strange when they heard the news.’

The old man had also met separately with Yulia and Viole to greet them.

In the process, naturally, the story had come up that Damon and the Inquisitors had fought in the Training Hall Lobby.

At that, Viole and Yulia had shaken their heads and breathed out lightly.

‘Hoo… I knew that would happen.’

‘His personality was always weird, you know.’

Of course, when he told them that Damon had teamed up with Lloyd, they could not hide their shock.

‘This cra…… Ahem, no, really?’

‘Wow… that got tangled up in a serious way…….’

“Hoho…….”

Recalling what Yulia and Viole had said, the old man let out a hollow laugh.

The two of them were not suited to becoming Inquisitors, but they had still come from the Holy Order.

Because of that, they had not looked kindly upon Black Magic, which was regarded as Forbidden Magic in the Holy Empire.

And yet, for those two to evaluate Damon, who defended Black Magic, in that way…….

‘If Damon had not stopped her, Yulia would surely have killed Lucia, the student who had been a Demon Cult Leader, on the spot back then…….’

Damon’s existence had moved the values of the two of them, if only slightly.

Whether this was a good phenomenon or a bad one, he did not know.

But he could understand at least one thing.

Damon David.

That student was clearly becoming a stimulus to the members of the Holy Order who had grown up in the Holy Empire.

“Damon David…….”

The old man narrowed his eyes at Damon on the screen.

“…Let us see how long that unusual conviction of yours lasts.”