Chapter 164: The Two Saintesses
"Battle Commence!" Mika shouted—the built-up disgust between the two sides almost exploded as Alicia and Erika took action before Ryuji even said anything.
What he didn't know is that in private, Alicia requested to join the training with Erika and Yumiko as her delicate fingers grasped a single arrow and drew her bow with a graceful movement, a swirl of magic rotating like a vortex around the arrow's tip.
Erika meanwhile dashed forward, her pace and movements calculated as she suddenly burst forward, accelerating as Alicia loosed her wind-arrow the arrow and Erika's blades cut through the air, with a heartless and relentless speed, only for Grey's body to stand like an immoveable wall, blocking both attacks, before slamming Erika into the sand with a shield slam, his eyes gazing at her with his lips curling into a sneer.
Ryuji's body, like a raging wolf, sprinted the moment he saw the shield hit Erika, his axe primed to strike, while using his left hand to wrap the priestess in thick, sharp vines of blood that dug into her skin, tearing it like a wolf's bite, while aiming to crush her.
Grey Vaun and the apostle, Sheila, rushed towards Ryuji. The templar raised his kite shield and pointed his bastard sword forward before the ground beneath Ryuji exploded with divine light and shot sand and shrapnel toward him.
"Ryuji!" Yumiko's voice was filled with worry before she flew towards Miku with a violent glint in her eyes. She was fast, faster than before, her animalistic blood pumping through her veins, hot and furious. It rushed to the tips of her fingers, the fibres in her muscles, the pulsation coming in hot, blissful waves that caused her vision to focus.
Miku, however, had expected her to rush and quickly chanted her divine protection. A massive holy barrier that shone like the sun erupted as Yumiko's fist slammed into the light.
'Strong... I need more power! Ryuji is risking himself while Grey and the apostle work together. Erika is being toyed with by him, and Alicia can't aim while they're in close combat!'
Yumiko's eyes became black with red irises, and her hair turned silvery white for an instant as the power she felt tripled, as if her muscles might explode from her skin. She collided with the barrier while gritting her teeth and growling, pouring her magic into her fist.
BOOOM!
Yumiko's fist caused the light barrier to crack and shake violently; Miku's eyes widened as she began to cough, like a dying patient, vomited blood, her hands trembling with weakness as they lowered from the intense impact of Yumiko's blow.
"Priestess Miku! Hang in there!" Grey's voice caused Yumiko to snort before she raised her fist again.
'It won't be that easy; you won't save her so easily, templar!'
However, Ryuji's scream made her instinctively jump backwards, sliding through the sad, as a bloody line dripped down her cheek.
"Ugh... my face... what the hell?"
When Yumiko looked up, a male in priestly robes with bare feet and claws attached to his hands stood with his body in a martial arts stance. It seemed they hid one of their members using invisibility magic! "You won't harm our priestess, beast."
The monk spoke without emotion in a monotone voice. Also giving off the feeling he felt superior to Yumiko.
Erika lifted herself off the ground, feeling as if someone slammed into her chest with a jackhammer while wiping the sand from her lips and glaring at the templar Grey.
"What the hell is your shield made of... that hurt..." Erika coughed with a slight wheeze before lifting her blades.
She then turned to Alicia, who seemed to wait, her bow fully drawn with her eyes closed. It looked stupid until she noticed the sensation of magic gathering along the entire arrow, crackling with lightning.
'I have to make an opening for her!'
Ryuji was fighting both Sheila and Grey, his enormous axe swinging across the air, sending Sheila floating back after clashing with her silver rod, the loud echo almost deafening before he clashed with Grey, but lacked the force and momentum to break his posture.
"You're a templar, aren't you? Don't disappoint me, Grey Vaun!" Ryuji roared, his teeth gritting with annoyance.
"Ha! You're the first trash hero I've met that can match a templars defence!" Grey laughed, the two of them almost pushing against one another until Sheila used her rod as a pole to spin towards Ryuji with a kick.
"You're slow, Ryuji!." Sheila chuckled, Ryuji's eyes widening with anger before he swung his axe with one hand, causing the apostle to float back while his eyes focused on Grey's feet.
"Guh!"
Sand and dust exploded from underneath the templar as Ryuji's palm shot pure physical magic from beneath him like a pillar, pushing Grey into the air before Ryuji's axe tore through the air.
In desperation, Grey's left arm lifted, using a death-defying instinct to block the devastating blow aimed at his neck, the impact leaving a thin line on the shield as it sliced in half.
"Haa....haa... You?! YOU BROKE MY SHIELD! THE GODDESS GAVE ME THIS SHIELD!"
"Like I care about your flat-chested whore goddess."
[Your words amuse the goddess Serena. All negative effects from Lumina's interference have been nullified!]
"HAAAAH!"
Grey's divine power erupted as a holy aura covered his bastard sword. His eyes were wild, almost going insane, the damage to his shield causing him to lose his rational mind.
He tossed away the shield which he supposedly treasured before taking the one-and-a-half-handed sword in two hands; veins began to swell from his forehead as a strange golden mark appeared on his forehead.
"Ryuji, let's combine our magic."
Alicia's voice was like a sweet, melodious song dancing across the wind. Ryuji grinned as he took a deep breath and prepared to keep fighting.
Meanwhile, the monk fighting Yumiko was fast, too fast, and every time they touched, it caused her bones to tremble, yet her skin remained intact. She bit down on her sharp fangs, not understanding why she wasn't bleeding.
'Why can't I damage him?!'
'Why can't I hit him?'
Their fists crossed, Yumiko's fangs snapping, wanting to tear the monk's throat, only for her fist to stop mid-air with the monk's claw slicing across her arm.
"What are you?" Yumiko growled, the two of them leaping backwards before the monk lifted his hands and formed a prayer stance while closing his eyes.
"A superior human, greater than any beast could ever hope to become!"
'Fuck this, I tried being an honourable beast hero, and it didn't work. Ryuji... I'm going to reveal my true form and crush this guy. Forgive me.' This was the effect of her human personality returning with her memories; she hated to lose, even more, the thought of losing in front of Ryuji, who she loved too much to embarrass him.
However... she felt it... Ryuji as if he could feel her frustration and anger... his voice lingered in her mind, as the mark he gave her ached with a pleasant heat, healing all her wounds. "Show me your beautiful form. I will take all burdens with you."
Despite this moment only taking a blink of an eye to pass, the monk didn't stop after his initial attack and lunged forward immediately—the claws cutting through the air now an inch away from her throat before her hand grabbed the blade, clamping down.
"WHAT?!"
Yumiko's transformation shocked everyone; her beautiful, angelic face became feral, but her mouth and nose were still beautiful. However, they looked more wild and dangerous; her blonde hair and tail began to transform into a silvery white colour, even revealing her second tail to the world, while her eyes became black with red irises.
Her height increased, growing as the monk watched in horror before her mouth opened and revealed a set of beautiful yet sharp fangs.
"You may worship a goddess... but the man I worship will make her a bitch."
"However, your priestess is the one in danger now!"
Yumiko's jaws slid, forming a wicked smile, before she tilted her head, creating dozens of water bullets in the air around the still-terrified priestess behind the monk.
"She is mine to devour! Rain down, my water bullets!"
Yumiko's simple command and snap of her claw made the monk's eyes widen further. He could feel the magic behind his body, and then the priestess screamed... "WHAT?!"
Dozens of water bullets pelted her body; Yumiko wasn't holding back as blood spilt from the priestess's mouth and nose, her pale skin bruising with dozens of marks.
"STOP IT!"
However, her eyes were fixated on Ryuji and Alicia, and she would not lose in such an embarrassing manner.
The priestess who was deemed to become the saintess of Lumina in the future didn't just stand doing nothing; from the moment the monk appeared, she began chanting.... chanting a divine spell that took three minutes to complete!
Miku then turned to the woman, who now resembled a monster, and shouted. "At least my goddess doesn't fuck filthy beasts! He will face divine punishment!"
"Divine Ray!"
Miku's spell was like a ray of sunlight. Yumiko's senses were overwhelming, and her instincts screamed she should kill her and avoid that spell at all costs.
She smashed the monk in his stomach, slicing and twisting her hidden blades to tear out his abdomen, before kicking him away, but she was too slow, much too slow, as a massive golden pillar of light descended onto Erika and Ryuji!
Its brilliance blinds even the people watching in the VIP boxes with mini magic barriers.
"NO?! RYUJI DODGE THE LIGHT!"
Before Yumiko realised, her body was standing under the beam as she channelled her own holy magic for the first time.
'Please, protect Ryuji, protect my best friend.'
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