Redios's request clearly caught Jircniv off guard.
He hadn't expected sothing so… bizarre.
"…Ren Kuroda," Jircniv said after a brief pause, turning his gaze to the young man. "Go ahead and spar with Lady Redios. She is an envoy of the Holy Kingdom—try not to go too hard on her."
This ti, Jircniv didn't refuse.
If anything, after watching Redios recklessly stomp all over one verbal landmine after another—nearly dragging the Empire down with her—his patience had already worn thin.
Since she wanted a match with Ren Kuroda, he had no reason to stop her.
Besides, he had absolute confidence that Ren wouldn't lose to the so-called strongest paladin of the Holy Kingdom.
Ever since their visit to the Great Tomb, Ren's standing in Jircniv's eyes had skyrocketed. His performance there had been nothing short of extraordinary, far surpassing even the Empire's fad Four Knights.
Now, his trust in Ren bordered on unquestioning.
"Martial Arts—Flow Acceleration. Immovable Fortress. Vital Sense. Ability Boost. Greater Ability Boost. Paladin's Blessing!"
Redios's irritation had already reached its peak.
She was the strongest paladin in the entire Holy Kingdom—arguably its greatest individual combatant.
And yet here she was, being underestimated before the match had even begun.
The Emperor had already acted as though his knight would win—and even told him not to strike too hard.
What kind of joke was that?
Still, mindful not to provoke the Emperor again, Redios held her tongue.
Instead, after activating a chain of enhancent techniques, she gripped her holy sword tightly and burst forward in a flash.
She had already gathered so intelligence on Ren Kuroda before coming here.
Although he served as the Empire's Knight Commander, he was, in essence, a magic caster.
And in a confined space like this, Redios was certain—
No matter how powerful a magic caster might be, once she closed the distance, there was no way she could lose.
Under the effect of Flow Acceleration, her body blurred into an afterimage.
At the sa ti, Vital Sense scanned for weaknesses in her opponent.
But almost imdiately—
She froze.
Despite standing there casually, Ren Kuroda showed not a single opening.
"…Fine. A magic caster loses most of their threat once you get close. And with a frail body, every part is a weak point to a paladin!"
Unable to detect any vulnerabilities, Redios didn't hesitate.
She pressed forward, bringing her holy sword down toward him.
In the next instant—
A blade far slimr than her sacred weapon intercepted her strike mid-air.
Steel t steel with a sharp clang, sparks erupting in all directions.
"That's impossible! Aren't you a magic caster? How do you have this kind of strength?!"
There was no hiding her shock.
Redios was wielding her sword with both hands—yet Ren blocked her full-force strike effortlessly with a single hand.
At first, she had held back slightly, considering this was the Empire's territory and rely a sparring match.
But the mont her attack was stopped, her expression hardened.
Her arms tensed as she poured more strength into the blade, intending to crush him outright and secure victory in one decisive blow.
And yet—
No matter how much force she applied, Ren remained completely unmoved.
Even when she pushed herself to her absolute limit—
Her sword didn't advance so much as a fraction of an inch.
She had charged in with full montum.
She had stacked multiple enhancent techniques beforehand.
And still… she couldn't overpower him?
This is supposed to be a magic caster?
For a mont, Redios genuinely wondered if her intelligence report had been completely wrong.
Realizing she was at a disadvantage in raw strength, she imdiately disengaged, leaping backward to create distance.
If she couldn't win through power—
Then she would win through speed.
But the mont she retreated, Ren moved as well.
His left hand rose calmly, and a glowing blue magic circle rapidly ford in front of his palm.
"Sixth-Tier Spell—Maximize Magic: Chain Bind."
Golden chains burst forth from the ground beneath Redios without warning.
As a warrior who had surpassed the realm of heroes, her reflexes were exceptional.
She twisted and dodged, avoiding several of the chains—but this was a sixth-tier spell, the pinnacle of human magic.
It wasn't sothing that could be evaded so easily.
The chains moved like living serpents, coiling swiftly around her body.
In an instant, they bound her tightly—accentuating the curves of her already well-defined figure in an embarrassingly conspicuous way.
Her face flushed red with both anger and humiliation.
Gritting her teeth, Redios raised her holy sword, preparing to sever the restraints.
Like Lakyus's demonic blade, her weapon was of the highest grade and possessed a special ability—
It could cut through magic itself.
Against ordinary spellcasters, this ability alone made her nearly invincible.
Since she had avoided so of the initial bindings, her arms were still free.
Gripping her sword, she aid to first cut the chains around her legs—
But just as she moved—
A figure suddenly rushed into her field of vision.
That earlier sixth-tier spell had already proven it:
Ren Kuroda was a genuine magic caster—one standing at the very pinnacle of human capability.
And yet—
This magic caster was closing the distance on a paladin.
A paladin wielding a holy sword capable of cutting through magic.
No… for others, perhaps that would be unthinkable.
But after their brief clash, Redios understood one thing clearly—
The man before her did not fight like any conventional magic caster.
As his fist ca swinging straight toward her face, the air itself seed to warp under the sheer pressure behind it.
Every instinct in her body scread danger.
Abandoning any thought of breaking free from the chains, she instead raised her holy sword horizontally, using the flat of the blade to block.
Ren's voice followed, calm—yet utterly at odds with the absurdity of the situation:
"The kind of magic caster you're imagining… is already obsolete."
"The truly powerful ones these days max out strength and agility—"
"Then get in close and unleash a full barrage."
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!!"
...
Want to unlock up to 60 early-access chapters and exclusive novels and NFSW CONTENT ALSO? Join my Patreon today and dive deeper into the adventure!
patreon/denji21
Reviews
All reviews (0)