The Grand Festival (5)

The principle of the Helize Church was to be built in a style rich with curves, as it was defined in the scriptures.

At a location of Märchen Academy, atop a spire soaring towards the sky, there was a statue of a pierced crescent moon symbolizing the Helize Church. The churches of Helize surrounded that spire.

Church sanctuary.

The Saintess with light pink hair, Bianca Anturaze, was sitting alone in the pews.1EDMIn Note: Pews are basically the long benches you see in church.

She was covered in a pure white saint's robe, adorned with golden ornaments and a veil over her head. It was an attire a saint had to wear during the period of the public ceremony. Because of her status as a Saintess, Bianca Anturaze had to maintain a restrained appearance.

After offering prayers to Manhala as the academy's representative at the opening of the public ceremony, she returned to the church to complete her private prayers.

The church was devout and quiet, in contrast to the fervor of the public ceremony.

Bianca held a book in her hand.

An old book from Carly Hall, the once most prestigious building in the old campus of Märchen Academy where the Nameless Hero did battle with Thunderbird Galia.

She had already read it several times.

Bianca thought that the cause of her finding this book was divine intervention, which was the reason why she kept reading it over and over.

Although she still couldn't read the characters that were both neat and round,

She could definitely recognize the pictures.

'Where is this?'

Rain made of blood fell endlessly. It was possible to recognize the figure as deliberately drawn with the observer's own blood.

There was a hole in the sky as if the ground had been turned upside down.

The rainwater seeped into the vast lake.

Around the lake, several things were stationed. They looked like solid masses, but it was hard to determine exactly what they were.

Looking around the world, there were no places with holes in the sky, and even if there were, rain made of blood would not fall to make a lake similar to this.

The scriptures of the Helize Church did not mention such ominous places. Then, where exactly was this?

"Holy Saintess. Are you sure it's okay not to participate in the public ceremony?"

Sylon, the escort priest standing in the corner of the sanctuary, asked as if probing, and Saintess Bianca slightly turned her head towards him.

Bianca still had her eyes closed. Whether she opened or closed them, the lost vision of her body wouldn't return.

She could only 'see' with her mysterious divine power. If the power was depleted, she would be thrown back into a world of darkness.

"There are many lambs that will become the playthings of the Lord. I merely struggle to deeply understand the holy will of the Lord through my prayers. Isn't that the mission of one who has become a saint?"

A refined voice. It was a solemn nuance befitting a saint.

Bianca turned her head back to the book.

"Now, I want to know as soon as possible what this book is about and to whom I should deliver it."

She was prepared to give her life if it was the will of the Lord.

She did not know the author's identity. However, the fact that this book had come into her hands must have certainly been the will of the Lord.

Therefore, she did indeed have to deliver the book to this person to its destined recipient.

And the identity of that recipient was already becoming clear.

"No, there's no need to worry about one of them…"

Certainly, there was some mystery hidden here in Märchen Academy.

Even the Saintess herself could not fathom such an enormous secret.

It was all too clear who stood amidst that secret.

"'The Nameless Hero… It must be him. This book has to be passed on to him."

The Nameless Hero, the enigmatic Archwizard.

The book must be delivered to him.

"Sylon. I will deliver this book to the Nameless Hero. Even if my limbs are crushed, and my body battered, I will crawl on the ground like a desperate worm if necessary. Isn't that the will of the Lord?"

Beyond the colorful stained glass engraved on the ceiling.

The midday sunlight seeped in, brilliantly illuminating the symbol of the Lord.

"So, if my breath ceases and my soul returns to the Lord's side, please, I hope you will deliver this book to him. Even if your limbs are severed, your eyes gouged out, or half of your body is blown away, please prioritize the mission."

Sylon approached the Saintess' side, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head.

He had no hesitation. Having his life once saved by the Saintess, he had already vowed to dedicate his life to the Lord and the Saintess.

"…Yes, I understand."

Bianca let out a refined smile.

* * *

On the Arcball Race Track. When they crossed the safety line.

The ones ahead were shocked and turned around, gaping at the immense mana of the Clover Paladin, Pierre Flanche.

'Outrageous.'

Such a level of basic elemental magic. Isn't that too ridiculous?

Well, it was to be expected.

However, we were already prepared.

"…What?"

Pierre showed a surprised expression. It was because the outcome had deviated from his expectations.

"Kahaha!!"

Tristan was already flying along the track at an incredible speed, with wind wrapped around his body.

Whoosh!

Our protagonist, Ian Fairytale, was rocketing through the air, arms stretched back, explosively casting fire elemental magic.

Although his skills were not yet enough to match Tristan's speed, it was a respectable level on its own.

Our team's male student, Doji Tu Mals, whose presence was strong sometimes and then quiet like an outsider, lifted a pillar of rock from beneath his feet like Lisetta, dodging whirlpools and waves.

The highly dense water magic shattered even his rock pillar, but by that time, Doji had already escaped Pierre's attack range.

There were zero casualties on our team. Moreover, Snow White, his target, wasn't swept away by the water magic.

Pierre quickly turned his gaze to find White and me.

"Waaah! Senioooor Isaac!!!"

Splash─!

Holding White, I created an ice board beneath my feet and surfed on the wave created by Pierre.

White screamed so much that my ears hurt.

Hair and clothes fluttered wildly. Even our shoes were frozen to the ice board, securing our feet in place.

I froze the surface of the wave as I went, stretching forward at high speed. Even in the midst of this, thanks to my trained physique, it was quite easy to maintain my balance.

I had made a secret agreement with White's team.

Since White was my mentee, I had vowed to protect her if anything happened.

I had also informed our team, and they all agreed.

Perhaps because of the incident during the Duel evaluation when White was rag-dolled by the Priestess and I got angry, the atmosphere was one of understanding towards my feelings among the students.

Additionally, under the pretext of cautioning against Pierre Flanche, who was known for his high mana quality and quantity, we also shared our strategy.

The moment we crossed the safety line, we decided to go full throttle, like blasting boosters in a kart game, to prepare for the eventuality of Pierre trying to annihilate everyone.

'I had already figured it out with [Psychological Insight].'

Thanks to that, our team and White's stiletto-haired team successfully avoided Pierre's attack.

'Oh.'

We had climbed quite high. Pierre's astonished face looked down on us.

"Ha! Worms!"

Tristan in a single breath cut through the air, passing every other student and reaching the Arcball.

He had gotten even faster. I couldn't grasp how much more he had trained since his defeat to me.

Tristan intercepted the Arcball that had been caught in another student's racket. Since there were no actual nets to speak of, it was perfectly feasible to snatch the ball away by swinging it through someone else's racket.

Several students were taken aback by Tristan's sudden appearance.

"Ah!"

"Don't lose it!"

However, judging that he couldn't handle all the competitors swarming around him, Tristan immediately passed the Arcball to Ian.

The Arcball flew at a high speed, and Ian easily caught it with his scoop.

Lightning mana flowed out, securing the Arcball.

"Tch!"

Pierre, who was relatively close, swung water magic towards Ian. In an instant, water magic formed around Ian, rising up in the form of a wave.

It would have been hard to avoid that.

Whoosh─!

"Isaac!!"

Then Ian swung his racket and threw the Arcball towards me, who was surfing on Pierre's wave.

I swiftly caught the flying Arcball with my racket.

Zap.

Lightning mana flowed from my racket, securing the Arcball.

Good.

Whoosh!!

"Aaah!"

Ian was swept away by the wave out of the track and lost consciousness due to the barrage of water magic cast upon him.

Ian hit his back against a tree and closed his eyes.

Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.

It wasn't just him. Looking back, many students swept away by Pierre's water magic were groaning in pain or rolling on the ground, most of them unconscious.

Thanks for eliminating the competition.

Well. Pierre was one of Alice's most powerful subordinates, a Paladin.

Due to his highly dense mana, even a basic water spell felt like getting hit by iron rather than just water.

Anyway, the next step was clear. Pierre had unabashedly revealed himself to be the most dangerous person in this race. That meant, I also had ample reason to unleash my attacks on him without reservation.

"White! Take out the staff!"

"Hngh…!"

As previously discussed, White took out a magic pouch from within her robes and then took out Zhonya's Staff from it. It was a magic pouch that held just that singular weapon.

The magic pouch was tossed aside, and in White's hands, she wielded a magic weapon as big as herself.

Hugging me tightly, White pressed it against my chest, and I firmly grasped Zhonya's Staff.

"Whoa!! From the moment they crossed the safe line, it's been absolute chaos!! Amidst it all, Isaac, riding on an ice sheet, advances through the wave created by Pierre Flanche and secures the Arcball!!"

Amy's voice echoed throughout Märchen Academy via the loudspeakers placed all around.

Whoosh─.

Pierre withdrew his water mana. The slowly subsiding wave instantly turned into blue powder and scattered in the wind.

"Aaaaah!!"

I felt a sense of buoyancy. As we started to fall swiftly downwards, White tightly wrapped her arms around my shoulders, hugging me tightly and screaming at the top of her lungs with her eyes firmly shut.

During the fall, I looked at Pierre.

Around Pierre, water mana was still swirling, ready for both offense and defense at all times.

Ignoring White's ear-splitting screams, I calmly extended Zhonya's Staff toward him, directing the energy of the dawn contained within the mana stone at him.

Then, I unleashed a torrent of pale blue ice mana. I executed the complex mana mastery I had practiced countless times to wield Zhonya's Staff swiftly

A powerful current flowed. Completely freezing Pierre's formidable water mana was still beyond my capabilities.

However, it wasn't necessary to freeze every bit of his water mana.

Crackle!

My [Elemental Efficiency] was top-notch. Meaning, the area in which I could cast magic was quite extensive.

At the center of the whirlpool, I froze the water mana around Pierre.

[Elemental Synergy] was activated. The power and effect of ice spells used to freeze water were enhanced.

Realizing I was aiming to freeze his own body, Pierre's eyes widened in shock, and he quickly dissolved the whirlpool.

That wasn't my aim.

Groooow──!

"…!!"

At the same time, shadows formed around Pierre.

Shockwave. Only then did he look up and notice the large chunks of ice falling toward him.

One after the other, I created several large chunks of ice in rapid succession, aiming at the escape routes where he could potentially run.

Above the ice chunks falling towards Pierre, I also created icicles for a secondary attack.

This feat was only possible due to the amount of water mana he had spread. I even absorbed the remnants of his scatted mana to amplify my power even further.

My target was solely Pierre.

"Is he crazy?! How did he do that so quickly…?"

"That bastard…!"

Tristan and Lisetta seemed surprised to see me create several large chunks of ice with basic elemental magic in one go.

Just before White and I hit the ground, I created an ice slide and slid down on an ice board smoothly. As soon as we touched the ground, I dissolved the ice board and started running again.

Boom─!

Behind me, the ice chunks fell to the ground from a distance.

A cloud of white dust from the low temperature rose, and a loud noise echoed, mimicking a mini earthquake for just a moment.

Pierre was alone, and with nowhere to run, he took the full brunt of the falling ice.

"Senior Isaac!!! It, it was so scary…!!"

"I thought my ears would fall off because of your screaming."

While running with White in a princess carry, I urged her on. It was quite uncomfortable with a racket in my right hand and Zhonya's Staff in my left.

I looked back.

Amidst the white mist, a chillingly eerie mana burst forth. Of course, one wouldn't faint just from that.

"…Isaac…"

The figure who emerged, brushing off the dust with a swing of his arm, was Pierre, bleeding from beneath his beige hair. The furrow in his brow, filled with murderous intent, was particularly striking.

To think he was in that condition even after taking a direct hit from a large ice chunk that was enhanced by [vs Human Combat Power], Zhonya's Staff, and my absurd [Elemental Synergy].

Seems like he took my ice attack with nothing but his [Basic Protection Magic]. Impressive.

"White, hold onto the staff for me."

"Ah, yes!"

"Hold it tight."

"What…? Aaah!!"

After handing Zhonya's Staff to White, I used all the strength in my leg muscles to sprint down the track.

The Arcball remained secured in my racket.

From behind, Pierre, and from the front, other participants simultaneously lunged towards me.

Footnotes:

1EDMIn Note: Pews are basically the long benches you see in church.