episode_0087

Aria vs. Bahent

“…..”

This is bad. No, that’s not right… Perhaps I had already foreseen this would happen. Instinctively knowing this, I had told Aria to look at me if she got angry, as a countermeasure… My instinct might have already sensed back then that Aria would immediately reach her limit. It was my reason that hadn’t known…

“Sa-Saintess-nim!! Get away!! That man is dangerous!!”

“Why did the bracket have to turn out like that?! That guy is famous for being ruthless!!”

Oh, right. There was something else I had forgotten. People from the Margryon region, recognizing Aria as the Black Saintess from the arena stands, were greatly astonished that Aria had entered this tournament. Those who came from the Margryon region would remember Aria as a kind and merciful Saintess. That’s because…

“Oh dear. You’ve injured your leg? And this child isn’t feeling well. Wait, I’ll…”

For three months, while traveling through the Margryon region, whenever I encountered someone uncomfortable or unwell while walking, I asked Aria to heal them. Thanks to that, Aria had become so famous in the Margryon region that she was practically known as the Black Saintess there. Well… it wasn’t her intention. Still, there were people who had been helped by Aria and genuinely worried about her.

“Run away quickly!!! Saintess-nim!!!”

“Hahahaha!! Nuna, you’re really popular!! Everyone’s worried about you from all over!!”

As the worrying shouts for Aria continued from the stands, Bahent began to mock her. But Aria, without turning her head at any of the sounds, silently watched Bahent, and Orgun shouted towards the stands.

“Alright, everyone!!! Rest assured!! Killing is forbidden in this tournament! Furthermore, once you enter, you cannot surrender before the fight begins! However, you can surrender immediately once the fight bell rings, so don’t worry!!”

“Hahahaha!! Hey, Announcer!! Look at her face! It’s the face of someone who will never utter ‘surrender’! Stop chattering and ring the bell already!!”

“Yeah!! That’s right, so Saintess-nim can shout ‘surrender’!!”

“Alright!!! Since both the competitors and the audience wish it!! The match!! Begiiiiiin!!!”

The bell rang out in sync with the announcer’s cry. However, as Aria did not declare surrender, the stands were once again plunged into shock, and Bahent began to laugh loudly.

“Hahahaha!! I knew this would happen!!”

“Aaaaaaah!!! Saintess-nim!! Surrender quickly!!!”

“Why did they let such a frail person enter the competition!!”

No matter how much they shouted, Aria did not declare surrender, and people who were worried about Aria in the stands began to rise one by one. Bahent then looked around, mocking Aria as he shouted.

“Hahahaha! To be worried about by people! There are always fools like Nuna who misunderstand that they’re strong, aren’t there?! If you’re weak, you shouldn’t enter… Where do you think this is, to just enter!!”

Bahent scoffed at Aria, then charged towards her, leading his massive body, and the audience fell into shock again. Orgun, seemingly flustered, looked back and forth between Aria and Bahent with a greatly surprised expression, thinking.

‘Da-Damn it!! Why isn’t that woman surrendering?! And that Bahent… Su-Surely he isn’t trying to commit murder in this sacred tournament, is he?!’

“Saintess-niiiiiim!!!!”

‘…Alright… Aria, do as you wish… But keep your promise.’

“Hahahaha!!! This will be an easy win…..?”

Bahent, thinking he could easily advance to the next match, charged at Aria triumphantly. However, at that moment, Bahent suddenly lost his balance and flew all the way to the arena wall. Orgun and the audience, seeing Bahent slammed into the arena wall, were greatly shocked and stared at him with bewildered expressions.

‘Huh…? Huh? What was that? Did Bahent trip or something? Why did he suddenly lose his balance?’

“Wh-What happened? Bahent suddenly slammed himself into the wall…”

“I-I don’t know what happened… but Bahent, who charged fiercely, missed Aria and slammed into the wall! Did he miscalculate his direction?!”

‘No… That’s not it.’

Unlike the audience and announcer who were greatly flustered by the unexpected situation and didn’t know what had happened, I saw it clearly. And Bahent probably knew it well too. The reason I could guess that was because Bahent, who had gotten out of the wall, was looking at Aria with a dazed expression.

‘Ju-Just now… I clearly charged towards that Saintess… My direction was correct too. But… the moment I tried to ram into that Saintess earlier… what I felt in my legs then… Co-Could it be?’

“Will you declare surrender? I’m in a difficult position because I might not be able to keep my promise, you see.”

When Aria asked if he would declare surrender, Bahent snapped out of his daze and began to seethe with anger, grinding his teeth. Well… whether he was angry or not… it was already too late, as he had already gotten on Aria’s bad side.

“Surrender…? Declare surrender?! How dare you suggest I surrender now!!! I don’t know what that ‘promise’ was, but if a charge won’t work, I’ll punch you senseless!!!”

Bahent, thoroughly enraged by Aria’s suggestion to surrender, began to approach Aria quickly again, dragging his massive body and breathing roughly. Orgun shouted with a trembling voice.

“Ah!! Bahent!! He’s starting to approach Aria again!! He’s raising his arm high with rough breaths!!”

“Aaaaaaah!! Saintess-nim, run away!!!”

“That must have been luck just now… How will she avoid that!!!”

As Bahent began to get closer and closer to Aria, screams once again began to echo from the stands. Of course, I, who already knew what had happened, was not worried about Aria. Because…

“Roared!!! This is the price for shaming me, Saintess!!! Go recite scriptures in a church or…”

“Shame?”

The moment Bahent was about to mock Aria and strike her with his fist, Aria kicked Bahent’s leg, making him lose his balance. The audience, who witnessed that scene, were so shocked they couldn’t close their mouths, and the announcer, dumbfounded, watched Aria bring Bahent down in astonishment.

“Wh-What…? Th-The Saintess-nim… Bahent…?”

“Im-Impossible… With such a frail body…?”

“…Wh-Wh-What on earth is happening…!!! The se-seemingly frail Aria… Player Aria has brought Bahent down with a single kick!!!”

The audience, Orgun, and even Bahent himself, upon directly facing Aria’s power, were too shocked to close their mouths. It was certainly so… If Aria were just a Saintess strong in power and divine energy, I wouldn’t have said anything. But Aria has, until now…

“Th-This is unbelievable…!! M-Me, defeated by a mere woman like that!!! Roared in agony!! I’ll never forgive…!”

“Shame, you say? You just insulted my beloved in front of all these people. And you call that shame?”

“Gasp…!!”

The moment Bahent tried to get back up, Aria kicked Bahent strongly in the face. Bahent then tumbled away in that state, and the audience was shocked once again by the sight. People didn’t know. Aria had not only caught monsters with her staff until now… but also with her bare hands.

“S-Strong!!! Player Aria!! So incredibly strong!!! Even the mighty Bahent is at a loss against that strength!!!”

Having continuously watched Aria catch monsters from the sidelines, I knew that Aria also had excellent combat skills. The times Aria used her staff were simply when it was within her reach, and the times she used divine power were mostly when she encountered something of a type I disliked. So… for Aria, bare hands were enough. For everything.

“Whether you insult me or not is none of my business. Whether those people judge me as weak or not is none of my business. But…”

As Aria slowly began to approach with a dark expression, a chill instantly ran down Bahent’s entire body. He immediately got up, clearly facing Aria with trembling eyes, and thought.

‘Wh-What is this?! Th-This feeling… Wh-What is this feeling, like I’ve touched something I absolutely shouldn’t have?!’

“Insulting my beloved in front of so many people is simply intolerable. You like to fight, don’t you? Raise your arms. Because I’ll beat you until my anger is sated.”

“….!!!!”

The moment he saw Aria’s chilling, eerie gaze, Bahent realized that he had, on the contrary, become the prey. Bahent, who had been confident he would easily win the fight against Aria just moments ago, was now instead terrified.

“Ro-Roared in defiance!! I… I can’t be like this!!!”

“You’re just stubbornly strong. Well… it doesn’t matter. If you don’t surrender, I’d prefer it, actually. Because then I can beat you.”

The moment Bahent threw another punch at Aria, Aria caught Bahent’s fist with one hand and pulled him towards her. Then, with her left hand, she struck Bahent’s abdomen. Although Bahent was clearly wearing plate armor, Aria’s punch seemed to have pierced through it, as he gagged and collapsed on the spot.

“Gasp! Ughhh…”

“As-Astounding! Player Aria!! She countered Bahent, who was attempting to attack!! Furthermore, did the plate armor get pierced?! Bahent, wearing armor!! Is crying out in pain from a single punch by Player Aria!!”

Orgun, who had been unable to hide his astonishment just moments before, began to shout with a bright face, seemingly excited as Aria started to subdue Bahent with ease. However, the audience, still dazed from shock, began to whisper amongst themselves as they watched Aria beat Bahent down.

“Wh-What… You said you traveled to the Margryon region and met that Saintess-nim…? She possessed such power…?”

“N-No… In the Margryon region, she was called Saintess-nim, who diligently healed injured people… I didn’t know she had such power either…”

“St-Strong, Black Saintess!!! You can do it!!!”

“Th-That’s right!! Take down that rude Bahent!!”

As some people who had regained their senses began to cheer for Aria, more and more people started to cheer for her. I wasn’t surprised, but… for others, it truly must have been astonishing. Even I didn’t know Aria possessed such power at first.

“Are you not going to surrender?”

“Ugh… Ughhh…!! Me… Me surrendering…?! That can’t be…!!! I’ve never surrendered in this tournament before!!! Roared in defiance!!”

“Ah!!! Bahent!!! He’s starting to get greatly enraged by Aria’s provocation!! But it has also been revealed that Aria is no easy opponent! Bahent, wearing armor, and Aria, subduing Bahent with her bare hands!! Truly this match!! Who will win!!”

“Well… of course Aria will win…”

It goes without saying. Of course, Aria will win this match. Bahent clearly possesses formidable strength. Seeing the wall dented from his charge just now, he is certainly a skilled individual. But…

“Aaaaaah!! Take this and fall…!!!”

Aria is far stronger. Aria kicked Bahent’s leg, making him lose his balance just like before, then punched Bahent in the face as he threw another punch at her.

“Gasp….”

“Where do you think you’re lying down?”

As Bahent, hit by Aria’s punch, was about to fall, Aria immediately pulled his arm to force him upright, then continued to punch Bahent’s abdomen with a chilling gaze.

“Ugh! Uggghhhhh!! Aaaaaaaaah!!”

“It’s fortunate you didn’t surrender. Because… even with this, my frustration isn’t sated…!!!”

“Agh… Aaaah… Su-Surr…?!”

Under Aria’s continuous assault, Bahent finally tried to shout surrender. But Aria slapped Bahent’s mouth with her palm, preventing him from shouting surrender. Seeing Aria prevent Bahent from rashly shouting surrender, I sighed and thought.

“Cough…..”

“Aria… Isn’t that a bit merciless…?”

Aria, having covered Bahent’s mouth, immediately kicked Bahent’s leg again and then punched Bahent’s abdomen with all her might. Bahent then flew from Aria’s punch, slammed into the wall again, and immediately fainted. As Bahent fainted, Aria, who had worn a chilling expression, relaxed her face and said with a smile.

“Actually, if he had tried to shout surrender, I was going to do this.”

“Th-The winner!!! Aria Ritt!!! How could this be!!! Unlike her moniker as a Saintess, she mercilessly trampled Bahent!! Was it because Bahent insulted Player Aria earlier?! Player Bahent, who was always among the top ranks!! Has fallen in the first round for the first time in the tournament’s history!!”

As Bahent fell, the bell rang again, and Orgun declared Bahent’s defeat. Then, tournament officials began to carry away the fallen Bahent, and as Aria looked at me again, I let out a wry laugh and thought.

‘Yes… Seeing that smile… you’re feeling refreshed, aren’t you?’

When Aria looked at me with a bright smile, as if truly refreshed, I felt it with my entire body that Aria had hit Bahent enough to make her feel satisfied. At that moment, the audience began to cheer.

“Saintess-nim!! She’s strong!!!”

“Ooooh!! It seems the audience is excited by this new thrill!! Player Aria Ritt, the newly participating Black Saintess!! She magnificently concluded her first fight, raising the atmosphere of the tournament even higher!!! I, too, feel thrilled with anticipation and excitement for this new challenger, just like all of you!! However, the fight is not over yet! Will Player Aria Ritt be able to break through to the finals and win the championship!!!”

“They said Saintess-nim was merciful, right? But… she’s also cool, isn’t she?”

“Indeed… That Bahent guy… He always looked down on others, so it was a bit hard to watch him again… He got what he deserved!”

It seemed that the man named Bahent had various negative perceptions. Well… considering he rashly judged Aria, one could roughly guess his personality. Anyway… Aria has advanced, so should I watch the other players’ matches until Aria comes out again? While I was watching the matches with interest, someone at the very top of the stands saw Aria re-enter and left outside.

“…..The Black Saintess, Aria Ritt.”

The man, repeating Aria’s name, went outside and headed towards a forest. There, a robed woman appeared from behind a tree, and the man stood before her and spoke.

“The Black Saintess, Aria Ritt, has appeared in this town. Also, the Explorer Zeke Luprian was observing the match from the stands.”

“Is that so? Finally… Finally, Uncle has come here… to the Herlos region… Then I should prepare myself too… to welcome Uncle… Hehehe…”

Seemingly satisfied with the man’s report, the woman wore a truly delighted expression and entered the forest with many other people hidden behind trees.