episode_0026
by fnovelpia“This duel is a duel between Eksan, the representative of the Operspiel de Bronchost, and Milicia Airgrant, the saint of the Airgrant Church, under the auspices of the Holy Airgrant Church. The two will fight without any impurity under the Holy Airgrant God…”
“Please wait a moment.”
“Huh?”
What silenced Benedict’s loud voice was someone’s calm voice.
It was obvious who it was. It was the man who had been sent as a proxy for this fight, Operspiel de Bronkhorst. He had a rather sinister, yet confident look on his face. No, his face was already soaked in a sense of victory.
Well, it’s a duel that’s so advantageous. That’s only natural.
“I had to interrupt while you were declaring a sacred duel because there was a typo in your words. However, I must point out what needs to be pointed out.”
“What are you trying to say? You shouldn’t be interrupting the duel now. Don’t hesitate. If you have any complaints, tell me right away!”
Benedict’s tone of voice contained a great deal of anger, perhaps because he had interrupted his work. However, Opperspelle, who accepted it, did not lose his composure at all. Benedict, who had spoken passionately, became tense at that composure.
“A little while ago, I think our agent’s opponent was said to be Saint Milicia Airgrants of the Airgrants Church. I wanted to point that out.”
“What’s wrong with that? If you don’t answer properly, I will charge you with blasphemy before God!”
Even as he said that, the Benedict monk felt terrible.
That guy is determined to uproot me.
His despair was real. Opperspelle, in a voice full of joy, revealed what the bishop and some of the monks had wanted to keep hidden.
“I can’t ask for blasphemy. Because the saint, or woman, standing before me is no longer a saint!”
“What!”
“What the!”
“Operschuppel! Isn’t that an exaggerated statement!”
“I, I, I’m making statements that could be considered heresy!”
“Who dares to speak in front of you!”
Naturally, the congregation reacted with great resentment. It was a terrible statement. Some of the Bronkhorst people also looked bewildered. In fact, the saint herself looked unfazed. No, if you look closely, you will see that her fists are clenched so hard that they are bleeding.
In comparison, whether people were shocked or arguing, Eksan had a bored expression on his face. As if he wanted to fight a duel soon.
“How dare you shout such a statement in our cathedral! Do you think the church will let this go! Operspelle!”
Some among the congregation members protested loudly and did not hesitate to swear at him.
However, Operspelle did not back down at all. It was natural. Proving something like that would have been so easy.
Above all, the person being suspected will do it himself.
“I guess you need proof. Okay. It’s simple. Now, Saintess. No, not a Saintess anymore, Militia Airgrants. Do you now have the power of a Saintess?”
Once again, the congregation protested at the extremely rude question. Meanwhile, some of them looked at the saint nervously.
In fact, rumors were circulating even within the church. A duel. And the young monks’ refusal to be a proxy. Sensitive news was causing suspicions.
What? A duel in 58 days? Why on that day? What day is it? It’s the day the saint was born! We should congratulate her! But, why, of all days?
And then the saint answered. Surprisingly, she shook her head with great confidence.
“No. The grace of God that has supported me until now, the power of the saint, is not in the proposal now.”
‘Shit.’
The moment the Benedictine monk cursed in his mind, the congregation became so cold that it froze. It was the moment when the atmosphere of the duel tilted to one side before it even started.
“What, that’s ridiculous…”
“The Saintess’s power…isn’t there?”
“No, why would that happen…”
I knew this would happen, but that damned bastard was already going to blow it up. There was one person who hadn’t been watching it any longer. It was Bishop Abraham. He sighed and stepped forward.
“Originally, this was supposed to be kept secret, but the power that God bestows upon a person will not remain with that person forever. When that person reaches the right age, for example, if they complete a mission such as defeating the Demon King, it will inevitably leave that person. God judged that the saint, Milicia Airgrants, who had turned 20 years old, could now live on her own, and took away her power. ”
So, when I calmly added an explanation based on doctrine, the congregation seemed somewhat convinced.
At the same time, they were resigned. Even to them, this duel was absurd. This was just a faithful priest who had hardly ever fought on the front lines.
Rather, they could not help but feel admiration and wonder at the Militia’s appearance of not losing their dignity even in such a desperate situation.
‘But it is clear that it is disadvantageous.’
Of course, Bishop Abraham, who was well aware of the situation, could not help but sigh.
Status.
A person’s talent and ability that only a very select few can perceive.
Even in the Church of Air Grants, it was a kind of insight that only Bishop Abharam and a very few monks who had completed long training could see through. Except for one person, a natural born warrior.
And the saint’s status as perceived by Bishop Abraham was dire.
In the past, all of her abilities from when she was a brilliant saint were completely reduced. In particular, her magic and charisma were severely reduced. Next, her strength, agility, endurance, and stamina were reduced. Surprisingly, her intelligence did not decrease much.
Knowledge is something that remains. In addition, her strength, agility, and endurance were better than expected for a saint. Perhaps, it was the result of training.
‘I should be grateful that you even made it to the arena. To you.’
After briefly looking to his right, Bishop Abraham turned back to the arena and ordered the Benedictine monk to declare the grim reality.
“Benedictine monk, correct and declare again.”
“Huh, I see… This duel is, under the auspices of the sacred Airgrants Church, between the representative of the Operspelle de Bronchost, Eksan, and the followers of the Airgrants Church… Militia Airgrants Church. The two of you will swear to conduct this fight without any irregularities under the sacred Airgrants God. Will you do so?”
“Yes, I will do that.”
“That’s right.”
The saint answered calmly, and Eksan answered indifferently. He seemed to be protesting that all this commotion had nothing to do with him and that he wanted to start the duel quickly, by bouncing his feet slightly to warm up his body.
The Benedictine monk saw all of this, cleared his throat, and declared,
“The rules of the duel are as follows. Both parties must fight bare-handed and bare-footed, that is, without weapons. Shoes and gloves are allowed, but they must not have studs or special decorations. It ends when one party declares defeat, fails to rise by the count of ten, faints, or… dies. Both parties, I ask again if the conditions of the duel are as planned. Militia Airgrants, what are your conditions?”
“Yes. My condition is… If I win this duel, Operspelle must donate 80% of its remaining assets to the church. And, additional funds must be invested for the maintenance and expansion of the Airgrants Church and orphanages built in various places. Absolutely. ”
“Oh, no!”
“Seo, Saintess! That…”
“You are not a saint anymore. Marco.”
“Ha, but…”
The conditions of the saint, or rather Militia Airgrants, were extremely devoted. She had no benefit for herself, but only for the benefit of the church. Compared to the vicious conditions of her opponent, they were truly dazzlingly holy.
Even the Benedictine monk nodded after hearing these conditions, but in his heart he wanted to shed tears at the saint’s immense mercy.
However, without abandoning his attitude as a mediator of the duel, he turned his gaze to the other side.
“Agent of the Operspiel de Bronkhorst, what are your conditions?”
“Oh, I don’t have any… Count, what was it?”
Eksan turned around to look at him with an extremely rude title, but Opperspelle only frowned slightly and didn’t take any particular action.
Instead, he declared his harsh conditions with great confidence.
“If the Operschaffel de Bronchost wins, Militia Bronchost, a ‘follower’ of the Church of Airgrants, will become a member of the Count Bronchosts. Of course, she will become a member by becoming the eldest son of the Bronchosts. Absolutely.”
“That devil-like guy!”
“Is this it? There’s no need to be hesitant anymore!”
“You guys, stop insulting our lord!”
There were condemnations and insults from both sides. Well, there aren’t many people who can keep their composure when faced with such an overt attitude. Just like someone in a hoodie right now, clenching his fists.
‘Oh my. You’ll get caught if you do that. Get down on your deathbed before your lover notices, you idiot.’
‘Shut up. We’re not lovers yet. Should I touch you first?’
‘Eek!’
‘Grimes…be quiet.’
‘Ah, no…he was the one who started it first…’
‘Mr. Grimes, why don’t you just advertise that we’re here?’
‘That’s right. It’s too noisy.’
‘You look so ugly, sir.’
‘You, you guys too…’
‘Hmm…what a mess!’
‘Hey, Montaro!’
‘It would be good if you did it in moderation.’
On the other side, Bishop Abharam glanced at the group of hooded men bickering and sighed again.
Was this really a good choice? God, look down on us.
But, I had no choice but to believe it. If he was the man who made the saint stand so proudly, and if he was the man’s colleague, I had to believe it.
“Are you all ready? Then I declare the duel begins.”
“Ready.”
“Good. Let’s have a go.”
The saintess raised her arms neatly and took a pose, and Eksan jumped from side to side cheerfully as if he had been waiting for those words. His expression also looked good.
But then, suddenly, someone jumped out from the direction of the Operschpell. He approached Eksan and whispered something. Eksan’s expression turned sullen at those words, and he immediately started swearing.
“Oh, shit. I forgot. What are you talking about? Seriously. If only I hadn’t paid you so much.”
‘huh?’
“Agent of the Operschupel, aren’t you ready?”
“Okay, I’m ready! It’s nothing special.”
What? The saintess was bewildered by the sudden change in her opponent’s attitude, but she quickly erased it. From now on, she must act as she has practiced. If so, if so…even if it is a slim chance, she will be able to win.
The two people began to approach each other little by little.
“Okay then!”
Eksan waved his arms absentmindedly.
.
.
.
.
.
.
‘First, advice. You must watch the opponent’s attack until the very end. Your gaze must be on the opponent’s attack.’
‘Second, advice. The body, must keep moving. It is meaningless to focus on the gaze and keep the body stiff. You must move somewhere. Even if you fall, you must move.’
“Ugh!”
“What!”
“Seo, Saintess!”
“Huh? It didn’t match?”
It was fast. Eksan’s punch was really fast.
However, at the same time, Milishia felt a great sense of embarrassment and lowered her body, eventually falling down.
The incredibly fast punch reached Milicia’s eyes in an instant.
However, it didn’t hit. Thanks to long practice, I quickly lowered my body and dodged. To be exact, I fell.
“Is this down?”
“Hmm, one…”
“Oh, no! I’ll stand up!”
As Benedict calmly counted the numbers, the saint quickly got up.
However, at the same time, the saintess’s mind became confused and complicated. It was too strange compared to the training. The training content quickly came to her memory.
Glenn’s punch, although very slow, was accompanied by fear. This was because Glenn had ‘life’ in him. The high-level adventurer’s punch, filled with life-giving spirit, was clearly slow, but it felt like rocks were flying.
However, even though the opponent was clearly a warrior of the water race who was accustomed to fighting, the saintess was so embarrassed that she didn’t feel any fighting spirit. No, she even lacked the will to fight. What was even more shocking was that she didn’t even have the will to hit in the first place. It just felt like she was unconsciously swinging her arm.
What is it? What is the intention? For now, Milicia took up her position again.
‘perhaps…’
As Milishia was recalling the training content, Eksan approached her again.
Milicia took a stance and moved her feet calmly. Eksan swung his fists like flowing water.
Pfft. Ugh. It was a tremendous attack. My arm that blocked it started to tingle. But this time it was the same. Wasn’t there a killing intent in the attack? I thought it was similar to the feeling of catching a tree branch swaying in the wind with my arm.
I was momentarily taken aback by the inexplicable sense of discomfort, and then suddenly, I felt an instinctive warning somewhere in my head.
The saint quickly pulled her body back.
“Ugh!”
“What the hell.”
I felt a little pain in my abdomen. Fortunately, I didn’t fall over or anything this time. However, it was different from before.
The fist that had previously been devoid of any fighting spirit began to show signs of life for the first time.
No way, no way! Milishia bit her lip. No, it was only once. At least, you shouldn’t be sure unless you try it.
This time, Militia did not move. Eksan still did not slow down his attack.
Again, his fist came close to Milicia’s eyes. Milicia blatantly defended her face with both arms.
Again, the feeling of life came. In an instant, the saintess twisted her body as far as she could and dodged to the side. But this time, she was not so lucky.
“Ugh!”
“Oh my, that’s touching!”
“Ahhh!”
“Saint!”
There was a murmur of regret and a sigh. It was definitely a proper slap to the abdomen. It went in much deeper than the slight touch just a moment ago.
The saint stumbled and fell. The shock was even greater because she quickly dodged to the side and was grazed by it.
The Benedictine monk who had been watching let out a small groan, then began to count.
“One, two, three, four…”
‘You have to get up. Even if your body breaks, you have to get up!’
“Ugh, ugh!”
The countdown that had been going up suddenly stopped. Milicia quickly straightened up and stood up.
It was painful to touch, but the stinging sensation quickly subsided. It was most likely due to tension. Despite the pain, my body moved for the time being. Later, it would be difficult to move again due to the enormous recoil.
However, Milicia had just noticed Eksan’s attack.
‘Just in case, it was as expected.’
So, did Mr. Glenn say something like that then? The training content came back to Milishia’s mind.
‘Militia. The opponent will send a proxy. That means they will have a strong desire to win. And they will have plenty of other desires.’
‘Other desires, you say?’
‘I want to take you away as healthy as possible. Especially your face and… the parts that are important for giving birth.’
‘Ah… the head and… the lower abdomen where the uterus is, you mean?’
‘That, that, that! That’s right there! There’s a very high chance of avoiding that place! And since you’re leaving it to a proxy instead of yourself, of course there’s going to be a problem with the attack. The defense won’t be a problem though.’
‘then…’
‘Yes. If you focus on defending only the abdomen, the rest of the attacks will likely be useless. Of course, if they blatantly aim for the legs or arms, it won’t be good. Anyway, if the opponent only aims for the abdomen… no matter how strong the opponent is, it’s an unfamiliar fight… ‘
‘Surely…the opportunity will come!’
Milishia took her stance, determined in the midst of pain.
The expression changed. There was neither an innocent woman nor a embarrassed woman there.
There before my eyes was a warrior, a woman full of the will to fight.
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