Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Interlopers (3)

“Whew... Did Damon tell you to do this?”

After reading the state of the battle in the arena, Elysia let out a thin breath.

“You really do follow the words of someone who brought a Black Mage onto his team.”

“I thought it was worth doing. Damon was the one who came up with the idea of trying Holy Light weapons on an undead too.”

Elysia’s eyes widened.

‘That man came up with that......?’

If they had not used that method, the battle would not have flowed this way.

The moment the match began, Team 44 would have been caught in the wide-area magic and eliminated in full.

On top of that, they had forced her, a Grade 1 mage, to fight Karin one-on-one at close range, interfering with her casting.

If they had not intended to win, they would never have devised this kind of strategy.

‘You said all you had to do was win, right? If you beat our team, I’ll never defend Black Magic again.’

Remembering the bet she had made with Damon, Elysia muttered under her breath.

“...Did Damon truly intend to keep the bet?”

Neither Karin nor Elysia had any connection to Holy Power.

Because of that, Damon’s vow as an Acquired Holy Power Awakener did not resonate that strongly with them.

Even so, neither of them had any intention of losing here.

Elysia drew a series of instant-cast formulas with short casting times toward Karin.

“It won’t be easy, Karin.”

“I don’t plan on losing either.”

Their attacks surged toward each other.

***

Auto-Casting.

Grace of Durability, Grace of Agility, Grace of Strength.

My body, fully wrapped in Mid-Rank Holy Magic, was filled with a satisfying sense of enhancement.

PING— WHOOOSH~!

RUMBLE!

From the other side of the arena, the sounds of the battle between Karin and Elysia rang out without pause.

After all, the thing we had to be most careful of when facing Team 1 was Elysia’s Grade 1 Elemental Magic.

On top of that, I had placed ‘Grace of Agility’ on Karin as well, so she wouldn’t be pushed back easily.

Still, Elysia was Grade 1, so Karin, who did not even have her main weapon, would not be able to interfere with her for long.

In other words, we had to somehow send the two bastards in front of us packing quickly.

The Mana Crystal Dagger I drew with my right hand reflected the sunlight and flashed sharply.

THUD, THUD, THUD!

At Lloyd’s command from behind me, the Undead Orc stood beside me.

Grrrrrr......

No matter how much it had been covered in ice armor, the sight of it firmly gripping an enormous Holy Light Shield in its left hand was quite strange.

“Do you think you can win just because you separated Elysia?”

“It is surprising that you used an undead that way, but it is still only an undead.”

Holy Power dripped like water from the tip of Franz’s spear, and golden flames rose from Bella’s shield and one-handed blade.

“We need only melt that ice armor.”

“Do you know how many undead we’ve destroyed?”

“Oh, is that right?”

Well, they were right. 

Those bastards were Inquisitors. 

They were experts when it came to dealing with Black Sorcerers and Black Mages.

But here was the thing.

“Even so, I doubt you’ve ever fought a Black Mage cooperating with a Holy Power user, have you?”

Franz and Bella’s expressions creased.

Holy Light Forging.

Holy Light Lance, Single Forging.

I planted the Holy Light Lance created from Holy Power beside the Undead Orc.

“Lloyd.”

“Got it.”

The Holy Magic those two used by fusing Holy Power and mana was certainly threatening.

But it was not as if there was no way to break through it.

Whatever else may be true, when it came to the sheer amount of pure Holy Power, I, the bearer of the Sacred Mark, had the advantage.

Holy Light Lance, Giantification.

Rrrrrrr......

I increased the size of the Holy Light Lance to match the Undead Orc.

“Ugh, even seeing it again, that refinement ability is beyond imagination.”

Lloyd had the Undead Orc hold the Holy Light Lance I had created.

Whoosh.

A condensed Holy Light Shield in its left hand, and a Holy Light Lance in its right.

If there were any Inquisitors who had ever faced an undead like this, I would love to see them come forward.

“He still has that much refined Holy Power left......?”

“Why in the world did God grant that man such refinement ability......?”

“Who knows? Maybe, just like you said, I’m a devout believer after all.”

SHING.

I summoned four Holy Light Daggers into my left hand, gripped them, and took a throwing stance.

“Let’s do this. We’ll see who wins.”

***

The professors’ seating in the arena.

Most of the professors looked down at the arena without saying much.

Even the Grade 1s, Dave and McDowell, were no exception.

“Ho ho......”

“Ahem......”

Dave and McDowell had no choice but to trail off.

It was common to arm undead.

At the very least, when undead wore equipment, it became difficult for Holy Power to directly damage the body of the undead.

One could call it a means of resistance against Holy Power Awakeners.

However, not once had that equipment ever been armaments made of Holy Power.

After all, if Holy Power touched an undead, the undead could not avoid taking fatal damage.

But the battle unfolding before their eyes was proudly denying that theory.

“To think he would apply Holy Light Forging like that......”

Professor McDowell could not hide his admiration as he watched the battle playing out in the arena.

The same was true for Professor Dave and Professor Noel.

“To think he could fight like that with an undead. How unexpected.”

“My goodness......”

Even in Dave’s eyes, there was nothing superfluous about Franz and Bella’s movements as they faced the Undead Orc.

Holy Power rippled through the air along the trajectory of Franz’s thrusting and rotating spear, and each time Bella swung her one-handed sword, flames made of Holy Power danced high from the floor.

The abilities of Royal Lords, who used Holy Power and mana fused together, were being displayed to their fullest.

GRAAAAH!

Yet the two’s attacks could not easily pierce through the Holy Light Shield and Holy Light Lance the Undead Orc had set before them.

Holy Power had a property that caused it to interlock with other Holy Power, so when it collided with Holy Power of the same nature, its effect was greatly reduced.

This was no exception even for Royal Lords, who used techniques that fused Holy Power and mana.

That did not mean they could ignore the undead and go straight for Lloyd either.

Damon was constantly keeping Franz and Bella in check while moving between close range and mid-range.

If they tried to attack Lloyd, the master of the summon, Damon blocked them, and if even a little time was dragged out that way, they ended up back inside the Undead Orc’s attack range.

He had properly caught the Grade 2 Inquisitors, who were Royal Lords, in an unavoidable bind.

“Heh heh heh......”

Remembering the bet Damon had supposedly made, Professor Dave laughed quietly.

Had he not sworn that if he lost this match, he would never defend Black Magic again?

When Dave had only heard of it, it had not truly struck him, but after seeing this directly, he finally understood.

“Professor McDowell, Professor Noel, I owe both of you an apology for earlier. It seems I suspected him for no reason.”

Damon David. 

The vow that student had made was by no means false.

After all, that student was likely the only one capable of actually carrying out an idea like this.

“If he intended to show this, then of course he was more than serious about the bet.”

“Indeed. Ho ho......”

Unlike his usual self, McDowell trailed off.

Had I told a student preparing something like that that I looked forward to seeing how he would try to win?

Well now.

This was beyond that, was it not?

“...Did I look down on him too much because he is a student?”

BOOM, BOOM, BOOOOM—!

***

BOOM, BOOM, BOOOOM—!

The giant Holy Light Lance swung by the Undead Orc struck the floor without pause.

“Franz! Are you all right?”

“My band somehow hasn’t fallen off, at least.”

Bella wrapped her shield in Holy Flame and expanded it, somehow blocking the fragments, but that Undead Orc was far more out of standard than they had expected.

Franz constantly fired Holy Power from behind Bella after straightening his spear tip, but it immediately struck the Holy Light Shield the undead thrust forward and bounced off.

“Ha.”

Even after they had poured out this many attacks, all they had managed to do was crack a corner...... Because it was Holy Power of the same nature, it showed no sign of being pierced.

After catching his breath briefly, Franz steadied his breathing.

“Bella, keep blocking that for a bit. If I can somehow circle around its side......”

THUNK, THUNK, THUNK!

In that instant, several Holy Light Daggers stabbed into the ground in front of Franz.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“......!”

WHIRL— CLANG!

Damon approached diagonally and aimed for his vital point with a dagger, so Franz spun his spear to block him, then widened the distance between them.

“If it weren’t for this band......”

Franz looked down at the band on his wrist and ground his teeth.

If he had his way, he wanted to take all those daggers and Damon’s attacks with his bare body and charge straight in.

Even if he suffered a fatal wound, Holy Power would immediately heal him, so strategically speaking, it was not a bad idea.

But this was not that kind of battle.

If the body was struck by an impact severe enough to cause a fatal wound, the band would fall off.

He could not fully exercise one of Holy Power’s advantages: recovery.

“Heh, you look like you’re having a hard time protecting that band.”

“You......”

And Damon David, that bastard, was exploiting that rule with disgusting persistence.

“This isn’t a battle where our lives are on the line. You should’ve properly understood the rules of the match.”

Damon sneered.

Franz and Bella were gasping for breath. 

It was likely because their tension was gradually rising in a battle that shaved away their strengths.

Even though victory was right before his eyes, Damon grew slightly impatient.

‘Hmm, I didn’t expect this to take so long, though......’

Even accounting for the fact that they could not exert their full strength because they had to protect their bands, the two of them were stronger than Damon had anticipated.

As expected of Royal Lord blood and Inquisitors. 

Their abilities were not just for show.

GRAAAAH!

The Undead Orc raised its lance toward the two of them.

Franz adjusted his grip on his spear and pulled the arm holding it behind his back.

“Bella, keep blocking that.”

“I was wondering when you would use it.”

“We can’t lose like this.”

GRRRRRAAAASH—!

Bella also expanded the golden flames on her shield to the utmost and defended against the Undead Orc’s Holy Light Lance head-on.

‘Damn, look at the spread of those flames.’

Even for Damon, breaking through those golden flames was impossible. 

If he tried to force his way in, his band would fall off.

Rumble......

For a brief moment, the Undead Orc’s lance and Bella’s shield strained against each other. 

Then Holy Power began bubbling up like air bubbles at the tip of Franz’s spear.

‘I figured it was about time they tried to use one big attack.’

Those bastards would not want to lose after being pushed around so pathetically.

Even so, the corners of Damon’s mouth rose.

In truth, he had been aiming for the moment when the two of them tried to use a big technique.

When using a big technique like that, one’s body movements were often restricted.

“You guys should know what’s important in a fight, right?”

At Damon’s question, Franz and Bella’s faces crumpled sharply.

“You save your best move until the very end.”

SNAP!

When Damon flicked his left hand with a wicked grin—

Holy Light Lance, Rotation.

WHIIIIIRRRR......!

The Holy Light Lance gripped by the Undead Orc began spinning in place at tremendous speed.