As I steadied my breathing, the muscles that had gone rigid with tension relaxed.
My pounding heart sent blood through my entire body in a pleasant rhythm.
And the red blood within me readied itself to shoot out in every direction at any moment.
My body’s condition was perfect.
Confirming that fact, I turned my gaze forward, and Eleonore, looking just as she had when we first met, was gazing down at me.
Because of her helmet, I couldn’t read her expression, but judging by her stance, she was ready to begin at any time.
Smiling at that, I slowly took my stance with my spear in hand.
“Ashen, do your best!”
Behind me, Senior Rena cheered me on.
Her clear voice rang against my eardrums, filling me with exhilaration.
Slightly excited, I looked at Eleonore and spoke.
“It really is all right for me to go all out, yes?”
“Of course. Otherwise, there would be no meaning to this.”
Eleonore nodded as she answered me. Her calm voice continued evenly.
“What I want to see is ‘you in a combat state.’ I want to see whether you can control your power even in that state.”
“It may be dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
As if she had heard something amusing, Eleonore let out a faint laugh.
Pure white divine power flared up from her entire body like a wildfire.
“Just who do you think you are saying that to?”
“…I was being foolish.”
I nodded as I looked at her, blazing with white light.
With that much divine power, the red blood I could use now likely wouldn’t be able to pierce even her defenses easily.
Even so.
‘I don’t want to lose.’
As I felt my fighting spirit rise, I could sense the flame of life force within me blazing fiercely.
At the same time, a faint layer of red blood covered my entire body.
It could not compare to the Blood Scripture’s, but right now, I had wholly become a beast clad in blood.
It was a grotesque sight, and yet Eleonore showed not the slightest agitation as she said calmly,
“Let us begin.”
Instead of answering, I raised my spear.
A brief silence.
The first to move was my spear.
I lowered my body as far as I could and thrust my spear toward her.
My target was her knee. More precisely, the joint where one iron plate connected to another.
It was a mixture of the thought that I had to attack a weak point and the judgment that, since she used heavy armor and a heavy weapon, defending her lower body would be difficult.
Perhaps my judgment was correct, for until the spearhead was just about to reach its destination, Eleonore showed no particular reaction.
But in the final instant, her hammer moved, aiming for my head.
A speed that ignored its weight.
At this rate, the moment I stabbed her knee, my head would be smashed in.
I had no choice but to withdraw my spear and retreat.
“That was not a bad judgment. Had your opponent not been me.”
Eleonore’s calm voice made her seem utterly devoid of tension.
That fact irritated me enough that I wanted to leap in at once, but if I did, I would be completely dragged into her pace. No, most actions I could take were probably already within her calculations.
‘Then how about this?’
Having made my decision, I immediately threw my spear at Eleonore.
Bang!
The spear that collided with her hammer fell straight to the ground.
“I understand that you want to fluster me, but to abandon your weapon in the middle of battle… I am a little disappointed.”
Seeing that, Eleonore rebuked me with disappointment in her voice.
But making her feel that way was exactly what I had been aiming for.
‘Now!’
The moment I signaled inwardly, the spear lying on the ground emitted a red light and shot straight upward.
Its target was the space between her neck and chin.
Startled by the sudden change, Eleonore hurriedly stepped back.
The spear narrowly grazed her chin as it passed. Then it flew through the air and returned to my hand.
“I did not expect that. You can retrieve your spear at will?”
Eleonore spoke with a hint of excitement in her voice.
Even though I had nearly harmed her just moments ago, her attitude was not one of alarm, but pure amusement.
Only for a moment. Soon regaining her composure, she continued in an even tone.
“But that is as far as it goes. That attack will only work once.”
“Well, I wonder.”
I immediately closed the distance toward her at high speed. At the same time, the spearhead moved like a snake, aiming for her neck.
“From the front? Brave. And foolish at the same time.”
Eleonore’s hammer flashed with pure white light as it swung once again toward my head.
At that instant, I released the shaft of my spear and ducked down as if throwing myself to the floor.
Clang!
The spear struck by the hammer went flying through the air. Along with it, an opening appeared in Eleonore’s lower body. Gathering as much red blood as I could into my leg, I launched a kick toward the back of her knee.
Thud!
When red blood and pure white light collided, a powerful repulsive force erupted.
My foot was flung away by it, but the same impact had struck her knee as well.
When her stance lowered slightly, I moved behind her and called my spear back.
The spear that tore through the air flew into my grasp, and red energy gathered at its tip.
This time, my target was her right armpit. If she was injured there, Eleonore would no longer be able to wield her warhammer.
With that judgment, I was just about to thrust my spear—
When, as if it were a lie, Eleonore’s massive body spun around.
‘What?!’
The sudden change inevitably threw me into bewilderment. Seizing that opening, the enormous hammer came for my torso.
‘I can’t dodge this normally!’
Instead of moving my body, I kicked off against the head of the hammer and launched myself in the opposite direction. I landed more than ten paces away from her and tried to rise at once, but perhaps because of the impact, my body staggered.
Even after diverting most of the force, it was still this much. Had I taken it head-on, my torso itself would likely have been crushed.
“That was truly excellent, Ashen.”
Eleonore’s excited voice burrowed into my ears.
“It was an ingenious trick, using your power, the repulsive force against divine power, and the spear’s retrieval ability. Had my physical abilities not overwhelmingly surpassed yours, it certainly would have succeeded.”
“I’m not particularly happy to be praised after you blocked it so easily.”
“Is that so? But it is my honest impression. In terms of combat technique alone, you surpass a newly appointed knight of our order. Congratulations, Ashen. You pass.”
Saying that, Eleonore clapped her hands. Yet contrary to that action, the divine power rising from her body had not subsided in the slightest.
Explosively raising the divine power that surrounded her entire body, Eleonore looked at me.
“But it would be a shame to end it here. Ashen, I want to see your full strength. Use the strongest attack you are capable of. I will receive it head-on.”
“That is… an offer I can hardly refuse.”
I took my stance on the spot and poured every bit of blood energy I could use into my spear.
Sharp thorns rose one after another from the spear that had been simple and stake-like. Over them, a blood-red vortex spun rapidly around the spear.
Rotation and compression. As those two forces meshed together, my spear was no longer a weapon meant to pierce, but a calamity that would grind down anything.
Yes, just like the Blood Scripture’s strike on the day I obtained the red blood.
Perhaps Eleonore sensed its power as well, for without saying a word, she gathered divine power at the end of her hammer.
Red and white. Two colors freely embroidered the air, and silence continued for a while.
Then came the collision.
Bang!
The moment both sides swung their weapons at each other, an explosion and light swallowed the surroundings.
Amid the clash of the two powers, all I could do was endure.
A short while later, after the aftermath of the explosion vanished, what could be seen was me, barely standing as I leaned on the shaft of my spear, and Eleonore, whose armor was scorched here and there but who remained perfectly intact.
My complete defeat.
At the moment anyone would have acknowledged that, Eleonore spoke.
“This match is your victory, Ashen.”
“What?”
When I looked at her in confusion at her unexpected statement, Eleonore shrugged and continued.
“I took one step back from your attack. But you, though on the verge of collapse, are still standing in that spot. The Lord has said that war is waged in order to protect. You, who held your ground, are the victor.”
Having made that declaration of defeat that was not quite a declaration of defeat, she removed her helmet and took something out from between her armor.
“Now then, since you have won, I should give you a reward.”
Holding a luxurious envelope stamped with a golden seal in her hand, she smiled at me.
“Ashen, I would like to make you an official offer.”
When she flicked her finger, the envelope flew straight into my hand. Only then did I confirm the identity of the golden seal engraved upon it, and my eyes widened.
Watching my reaction with satisfaction, she opened her mouth.
“I would like to recommend you as a special admission student of the academy.”