Chapter 122 | The Vampire Princess Later Drew the Holy Sword

The arena of the City of Holy Radiance branch of the Adventurer's Guild had been designed from the very beginning with the sparring needs of high-rank adventurers in mind.

It was said that its structure could withstand a full-force clash between Rank Seven combatants without instantly crumbling to dust. As for Rank Eight...

When asked about this, the head of the guild branch stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.

“They're already Rank Eight. Can they please not come and make life miserable for us minor officials?”

But those were just minor details.

At this very moment, there was not a single empty seat in the arena's spectator stands.

The front rows were packed with the guild's resident adventurers, the back rows were stuffed with ordinary citizens who had rushed over after hearing the news, and even the steps in the aisles were completely filled with people.

Esper stood on the eastern side of the stage, doing her final warm-ups.

Today, she had her black hair tied up in a high ponytail, its tip swaying back and forth behind her.

Her lightweight, dark leather armor hugged the contours of her body, with the bracers and pauldrons specially tailored so they wouldn't restrict her range of motion.

The Holy Sword was gesturing wildly at high speed beside her, looking as if it were performing some highly arrogant taunts and threats.

Unfortunately, since absolutely no one could understand what the hell it was trying to do, everyone simply ignored it.

Standing opposite Esper at this moment was a silent giant.

The Lion Knight, Aure.

Even just by standing there, the man's sheer presence was oppressive enough to make the front-row spectators instinctively lean back.

He unstrapped his great axe from his back, resting it beside him with one hand. The metal spike at the end of the shaft tapped against the ground, producing a dull, heavy echo.

Yat stood right in the center of the stage, serving as both referee and host.

This wasn't her first time refereeing. Esper had once specifically asked her why she took on this role on the side.

“It's fun! Plus, I get a front-row seat to watch a good fight.”

Esper found herself entirely unable to refute that.

Yat was currently wearing only the short referee robes provided by the guild. Even with her hair still casually draped over her shoulders, she looked surprisingly professional.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this special exhibition match.”

Her voice, amplified by a simple magic spell, echoed clearly against the arena's circular walls, easily drowning out the chatter of the crowd.

“After the joint training session with the Church and the Empire, just how much has our cute and handsome Hero's strength grown?

Today, she will engage in a friendly sparring match with the Rank Seven Named Knight and Rank S adventurer, the Lion Knight Aure, to show us the answer through actual combat!”

She paused, waiting for the whispers in the stands to quiet down.

“The rules are simple. No restrictions on weapons or armor. The match continues until one side yields or can no longer fight.

Lethal attacks are strictly forbidden, as are destructive skills that exceed the boundaries of the stage—after all, the guild's maintenance budget is tight this month, so please be understanding. If any dangerous situations arise, I will step in to end the match.”

Yat raised her right hand, sweeping her gaze from left to right.

Esper nodded, and Aure followed suit.

“Well then—”

She swung her raised right hand down sharply.

“Three, two, one... start!”

Aure moved.

As he took his first step forward, the great axe was already swept up from his side, its blade carving a small arc through the air.

With his stride, the lion's head carved onto the back of the axe suddenly lit up.

Workshop Rune: 『Lion's Roar』.

The prototype was the rune 『Roar』 produced by the Mage Tower, which had been specially modified by the workshop to possess a unique power.

The moment the rune was activated, the lion's head seemed to come alive. A visible shockwave of sound erupted from its open maw, spreading forward in a fan shape.

The guardrails at the edge of the stage vibrated violently as the soundwave swept past, and several lower-rank adventurers in the front row instinctively covered their ears.

Modified with the 『Lion』 motif, the originally simple 『Roar』 now possessed a series of effects such as spiritual intimidation, resonance, and weakening the enemy.

In group battles, it was an extremely potent crowd-control method, while in a duel, it could be used to weaken the opponent's condition and secure an opening to attack.

But it was useless against Esper.

An orange glow lit up in the depths of Esper's eyes, resembling two pieces of amber being heated.

【Initiating Read】

『Laplace's Demon』 activated at the exact same instant.

Even though her synchronization with 『Wisdom』 had slipped back to its original level after she stopped channeling magic into Noelle's magic stone, 『Laplace's Demon』 itself was still recorded by the Holy Sword.

While she couldn't analyze and decompile everything as she did when fully connected to 『Wisdom』, it was more than enough to handle the current situation.

The moment the oncoming soundwave entered her field of vision, it was broken down into a massive stream of data.

Waveform, frequency, amplitude, phase, distribution of magic injection points... all the data turned into discernible values within the orange light, only to be reconstructed in the next instant.

The soundwave, decompiled and reversed by Laplace's Demon, shot backward in the exact same form, retracing its original path to strike Aure on the opposite side of the stage.

The Lion Knight's footsteps faltered, his muscles involuntarily spasming for a split second under the mind-disrupting soundwave.

Yet he did not retreat; instead, he took a small step forward.

A low, muffled growl erupted from deep within his throat, and another rune on the back of his axe burst with a dark golden light.

Workshop Rune: 『Lion's Heart』.

The prototype was 『Will』, which had been given a completely new interpretation by the workshop. It replaced the original simple effect of strengthening the body through sheer willpower, granting it a brand-new power instead.

Its effect allowed the user to delay the onset of any negative status effects they received, gaining a temporary all-around boost in return.

In exchange, when the delayed negative effects finally triggered, their intensity would be doubled.

It was originally developed for battlefields ravaged by the Black Tide, ensuring that corrupted warriors could continue charging forward before finally collapsing.

For a warrior like Aure, this power was like giving wings to a tiger.

The more he endured, the fiercer his counterattack. As for the pain of the delayed backlash? As long as he finished off his opponent before then, there was nothing to worry about.

Although there were rare cases of warriors dying on the spot after a battle due to the doubled negative effects, they were ultimately few and far between.

Besides, if a negative effect reached such a severe level, even if it weren't doubled, receiving it directly on the active battlefield would likely result in a fate no better than dying from the doubled backlash afterward.

Now, Aure raised his great axe above his head with both hands.

The dark golden light of Lion's Heart spread outward from his chest, channeling down his arms and onto the axe blade, intertwining with the residual acoustic ripples of Lion's Roar.

The great axe swung down.

Before the blade even reached the ground, the sheer wind pressure slammed into the bluestone floor, forcing the air to yield to the heavy pressure, causing several stone tiles on the stage's surface to spiderweb with fine cracks.

Esper did not dodge.

This was the exact moment she had been waiting for.

Since they were going to fight, she wanted him to go all out.

She had long since understood the mechanics of Aure's abilities.

But it didn't matter.

He can't beat me.

『Forbidden Fruit』 activated at this moment.

By now, it already incorporated her original three-part set of 『Momentum』, 『Compression』, and 『Rigidity』.

After undergoing successive rounds of special training from the Church and the Empire, she had also absorbed many new runes from the Mage Tower's armory, determining the maximum number of runes she could currently support simultaneously.

Five. This was the number of runes she could bear under normal conditions, which was on par with the limit Zhong could withstand back then.

And the runes she used most frequently now, aside from her oldest trio of 『Momentum』, 『Compression』, and 『Rigidity』, were 『Sharpness』 and 『Swiftness』.

『Sharpness』 granted her weapon an even keener edge, pushing her destructive power—which had already reached its limit through repeated stacking—even further upward.

『Swiftness』 bestowed her with even greater speed, taking her explosive power, which was already under multiple enhancements, to the next level.

Five layers of runes were simultaneously engraved onto her arms and legs.

The small area of the stage floor beneath her feet suddenly caved in. Cracks radiated outward from the soles of her boots like a rapidly weaving spiderweb—or perhaps like the current state of the stage designer's heart.

Then, she stepped forward to meet the descending great axe.

She tilted her body, letting the blade brush past her shoulder and slam into the ground behind her.

Fragments of stone tiles splattered, clinking against her pauldrons and backplate.

In the brief window before Aure could recover his axe and change his stance, she slammed the hilt of her Holy Sword against the middle of the axe shaft.

That exact spot was the weakest point in his grip distribution, as analyzed by 『Laplace's Demon』.

As a side note, although it wasn't a slashing attack, 『Sharpness』 itself could still provide a certain degree of power enhancement.

And so, the great axe flew from his hands.

The axe spun in a heavy arc through the air before its blade plunged downward, embedding itself into the outer side of the guardrail at the edge of the stage. The spectators standing nearby jumped back half a step, only to lean forward again to get a better look.

A few beats of silence passed.

The entire venue was dead silent.

Aure looked down at his empty hands, nodded, and placed his arm across his chest to give Esper a solemn knightly salute before extending his hand to her.

Esper let out a breath and grasped the calloused hand.

His palm was rough, covered in hard calluses built up from years of wielding an axe, yet his grip was incredibly light, as if he were holding something fragile.

“I yield.”

Then, the cheers from the stands erupted like an explosion. Waves of sound crashed against the arena's circular walls, piling on top of one another, making the eardrums of the few archers dangling their legs from the ceiling beams buzz.

He released her hand and turned to retrieve his axe.

Esper turned around, looking toward the section of the stands closest to the stage.

Amidst the members of the Adventurer's Guild dressed in various attire, there was a splash of clear blue.

Eladia sat in the front row closest to the stage, her fingers lightly clapping together. It wasn't the deafening applause of the other spectators, but each clap was filled with sincere care.

The corners of her lips were slightly curved upward, wearing an expression as if she were the one standing triumphantly on the stage.

Esper offered her a smile.

She returned the smile.

A natural, happy, and joyful smile.

...

After the match concluded, the corridors outside the arena were still packed with spectators who had yet to disperse.

Esper held Eladia's hand, shuffling toward the guild's exit while dealing with the constant stream of congratulations coming from all directions.

Just as they reached the bulletin board, their path was blocked by several young adventurers.

“Hero! Please give me your autograph!”

Leading them was a freckled female knight, around fifteen or sixteen years old, holding a writing board above her head with both hands, her eyes shining with intense excitement.

Three or four others followed behind her, some holding parchment, while others simply pulled their sleeves taut and thrust them forward.

“Ah, sure.”

Esper released Eladia's hand, took the pen, and carefully wrote "Esper" stroke by stroke on the writing boards, parchment, and sleeves.

After all, having been forced to attend etiquette classes by Eliza since she was young, she wouldn't embarrass herself on such an occasion by not knowing how to write or having terrible handwriting.

“You're amazing, Hero! Why did your eyes turn orange just now?”

“It's magic.”

“Is it some new technology from the Mage Tower?”

“Mmh... something like that.”

“When is your next match, Hero?”

“That hasn't been decided yet.”

After a brief chat, the small group of fans took their leave.

She took Eladia's hand once more, squeezed through the crowd, pushed open the guild's heavy oak doors, and stepped onto the paved path outside the plaza.

Then, she saw Constantine.

The Grand Commander of the Holy Spirit Knights stood by the plaza's fountain, arms crossed over his chest, wearing a thoroughly helpless expression.

Esper's expression instantly shifted from relaxed to alert.

“...What? You look like that the moment you see me?”

Constantine pointed at himself, his face the very picture of exhaustion.

“Well, obviously. Your arrival always means trouble.”

She tightened her grip on Eladia's hand, her tone carrying an undisguised sense of annoyance.

Constantine remained silent for a moment.

“...You're actually entirely correct on that front.”

“Hey, at least try to argue with me!”

“I can't lie against my own conscience.”

“At the very least, prove you aren't a harbinger of bad luck!”

Constantine shrugged, giving up on the verbal sparring with Esper, and got straight to the point.

“Her Holiness sent me.”

“Why am I not surprised at all?”

“Can't be helped.”

Constantine grumbled, then continued.

“To put it simply, the leaders of all the major factions will meet at the Plains of Holy Remains, with the assistance of the Mage Tower.

In addition to Her Holiness, the attendees will include the Emperor of Avalon, the Pope of Esperfite, the Queen of Fibores, the Chief of the Mage Tower, the Beast King of the Fanged Wastelands, the High Priest of the Forest of Star Whispers, the Ultimate Smith of the Heart of the Forge, the King of the winged race, and the Demon King of Abyss City. Oh, by the way, it's rumored that the last fire dragon and the founder of the Adventurer's Guild—whom no one has known whether they're dead or alive for hundreds of years—will also show up.”

Eladia noticed that Esper's expression visibly faltered for a brief second upon hearing the words 'Demon King.'

But Constantine acted as if he hadn't seen it, simply continuing.

“This is a pre-war joint conference convened for the Abyss Expedition. Its purpose is to coordinate the deployment of forces from all sides, arrange supply lines, and, most importantly, allocate command of the expeditionary army.”