Theo stared at the Practitioners of Light.
Although the Practitioners all brandished their weapons, Theo's expression remained calm.
It wasn't because he was controlling his expression. He had anticipated this situation.
'I knew it, these f*cking bastards.'
This was the way of the Practitioners of Light, as introduced in the game.
They adopted the most efficient method to achieve their clear goals.
They couldn't care less about morals and ethics, committing serious crimes like murder, arson, and kidnapping without hesitation.
The fact that all Practitioners of Light used aliases during their missions was closely related to this.
It was part of an effort to prevent their vile and brutal methods of operation from becoming known.
The naive people of the Order must only know them as heroes of justice.
It's a method passed down from the leadership of the ancient and venerable Order.
It makes it easier to govern the majority of the ignorant populace.
Without even drawing his sword, Theo said to the Practitioners,
"Wait a moment."
He stretched his neck, waist, and wrists, loosening his body.
"We all should warm up first. It'll make exchanging blows more comfortable."
Theo spoke to the others with the calm demeanor of someone out for a stroll.
Hearing this, the others began to stretch as well.
The Practitioners chuckled awkwardly with dumbfounded expressions.
Billy said,
"What do you think, Sara?"
"······Hic. Let them."
Gulp.
Sara took a sip from the silver champagne bottle she was holding.
Mike watched Theo warming up nonchalantly and murmured,
"Wow······ that's so romantic. I gotta use that line next time."
Sincerity was dripping from his voice.
Adrienne secretly shook his head in disbelief.
'······Being around these folks makes me feel like I'm going insane. Ugh.'
After they had all warmed up, Theo said to the group,
"I'll take on Sara and Adrienne, the two of them. Each of you take on one of the other three."
Piel pointed at Britney with her finger.
"That one's mine. We need to settle this."
"Hehe, I'm afraid that's not possible. I've taken an interest in that lemon-colored kid."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"She was fiddling with Theo's hand without my permission. I think a simple lesson is in order."
Piel nodded reluctantly.
"······Mm, agreed. Let's decide fairly with rock-paper-scissors then."
"Hehe, alright."
Piel and Siena began playing rock-paper-scissors.
"Ah, why do you keep copying me!"
"That's my stategy!"
No clear winner emerged.
Both were so quick with their reflexes that they kept tying.
Billy burst out laughing at this.
"Wow~ Britney, you're quite popular, huh?"
Adrienne chimed in.
"You probably want to fight the weakest one. Britney is the weakest among us."
"Oh my, who got thrashed last month, I wonder~?"
"······Let's have a match after this."
Britney replied naturally.
"Nope~ Don't want to~"
"Sh*t······!"
The Practitioners made a racket.
Their behavior showed no tension, as if they were not in the middle of a fight.
Team leader Sara didn't stop them but continued to gulp down the remaining champagne.
Finally, the game of rock-paper-scissors between Piel and Siena ended.
The winner, Siena, said,
"Hehe, the lemon-colored kid is mine. No objections, right~?"
"Plenty of objections. Hey, you used your spirit, didn't you? At some point, my fingers wouldn't spread. That's why I ended up showing rock."
"Accusing someone just based on suspicion is a bad habit~. Got any proof~?"
"······I'll find it now."
When Piel frowned and took a step towards Siena,
"Stop it. It's time to get moving."
Theo said, holding the [Demon Sword] in his hand.
"······Tch. I'll see you later."
Piel retracted her gaze from Siena and drew her sword.
Piel asked Jang Woohee, who was nearby,
"Hey, Jang Woohee. Who do you want to take on? The crooked one? The dwarf?"
"······Don't care."
"Then I'll take the crooked one. Since you're short, taking on the dwarf will be easier for you."
Jang Woohee glanced at Piel.
"······We're not much different in height, you know."
In reality, there was only about a 5cm height difference between Piel and Jang Woohee.
As Piel was about to retort, annoyed,
Swoosh──
Theo charged towards the Practitioners of Light.
"······Ah, sh*t!"
Piel swallowed what she was about to say and ran towards Limping Mike.
Theo's opponents were Adrienne and Sara.
However, Theo ignored Adrienne completely, focusing solely on Sara.
Theo swung his sword down at Sara with the intent to split her in two.
Sara crossed her twin swords, blocking Theo's strike.
Clang──!
The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed.
Despite the downward strike being loaded with weight and acceleration, Sara blocked it without much trouble.
The height difference between Sara and Theo was roughly 20cm, and the weight difference was over 20kg.
Yet, Sara didn't struggle much, proving her skill and physical strength were exceptional.
'Hmm, she hasn't used [Release] yet. She truly is on a different level from the other Practitioners of Light.'
Theo decided to increase the tempo.
Bang, bang, bang─!
After using [Overload], he struck down repeatedly.
It was effective.
Each strike made Sara's posture falter, a sensation transmitted through the sword in his hand.
"Ha!"
In the midst of this, Adrienne targeted Theo's back.
Without even looking at Adrienne, Theo kicked backward, aiming for her face with his foot.
Adrienne easily dodged Theo's kick.
"Hmph, your hand-to-hand combat skills are pathetic! Just this much...ugh!"
One of Adrienne's knees buckled. Theo's foot had moved in a strange angle, striking down on her thigh.
But a mere kick, not even a weapon, wasn't enough to subdue her.
"Haap!"
Adrienne quickly recovered and thrust her sword towards Theo's abdomen.
Simultaneously, Sara also made her move. She aimed her twin swords at Theo's calves and swung.
"What is this...?"
However, their swords didn't reach Theo.
He jumped on the spot, lifting about 1.5m off the ground without any preparatory movement.
Squeak─
As Theo was falling back to the ground, he gripped his sword with both hands and struck down towards Sara.
A powerful blow combined with gravity and body weight.
Sara crossed her twin swords in an X-shape to defend.
"Ugh."
Clang─
Both of Sara's swords broke. They couldn't withstand Theo's strike.
Adrienne aimed for Theo's chest, now defenseless after his attack.
Theo leaned back to avoid the attack, then kicked at Adrienne with both feet, supporting himself on the ground with just his palms.
Bang!
Adrienne, who managed to block, was pushed back more than five steps.
Theo calmly checked his surroundings. His comrades were holding their own against the Practitioners. No one was hurt.
'...The Practitioners haven't used [Release].'
If they had used [Release], his comrades would have been bloodied and rolling on the ground by now.
'But the Practitioners live off their whims.'
They might use [Release] at any moment.
[Release] grants immense power to the user, much like a demon's [Demonization].
The more one uses [Release], the less human they become.
Theo sheathed the [Demon Sword].
Then he addressed Adrienne and Sara, who were staring at him.
"Let's stop here. If you're not going to use [Release]."
Sara replied,
"You're too suspicious. Your skills are too advanced for an academy student. You're too smart to give straight answers. Despite the media hyping you up as a supernova, something's off."
"I learned about you guys through my special ability."
"That special ability is prophecy, then?"
"Yes."
Sara's expression hardened.
"What nonsense. Are you claiming to be the Pope, Theo Lyn Waldeurk?"
The Pope of the Order is known to have the power of prophecy. Of course, only a very few within the Order know this fact.
At the same time, Sara recalled a prophecy the Pope had shared only with her.
─Soon, the continent will suffer from the threat of numerous demons.
─A hero with the aura of silver, glowing faintly like the crescent moon, will save the continent.
─Find him, Sara.
Theo smirked with a rotten smile, lifting only one corner of his mouth.
"Don't compare me to the Pope. The Pope sees random futures, but I could choose the futures I wanted to see."
"Can you prove it?"
"Now, the ability has faded away. Of course, I knew you weren't a fighter even before that."
"······!"
Sara glared at Theo.
His words were true.
Sara wasn't a fighter.
Her main weapon wasn't the twin swords, but holy spells.
She possesses a vast amount of divine energy, more than even Saint Isabella.
Theo continued,
"Anyway...proof? You'd understand if you used your head a bit. Is your head just for decoration?"
Provoked by Theo, Sara furrowed her brow for a moment but then spoke in a compliant manner.
"Make me understand."
"How could I, a mere academy student, know about the Great Demon Shrine in the Magic City?"
"······."
"How could I have identified the head in charge of the Magic City, something not even you guys knew, in one go?"
Sara was lost in thought for a moment.
Then, pointing at Theo, she said,
"Are you a demon who will destroy the continent or an angel who will save it? ······I can't tell. It's not for me to decide."
Then she raised her right arm.
"Everyone, get ready for [Release]. Secure Theo Lyn Waldeurk by any means necessary. If I die, hand him over to the Pope."
"······So, you're set on shedding blood."
Theo drew the [Demon Sword] again and said to his companions,
"Stay out of this. You could get caught up in it."
Theo then gathered energy from deep within his dantian and wrapped it around his sword.
Grrr─
The silver aura enveloping the blade shimmered.
It resembled a cool, faint crescent moon.
"!"
Sara's eyes widened as if they were about to burst.
'This guy isn't just some supernova. Ugh······ he's the Silver Warrior!'
Thud.
The broken blade aimed at her heart fell to the ground.
The other Practitioners of Light, who were about to stab their weapons into her heart, lowered them and expressed their confusion.
"What's the matter, Sara? I thought we were going to do it?"
"Yeah, why'd you drop your sword? Hey, Sara, your face is hilarious right now."
Regardless, Sara didn't hear any of it. The only thing visible to her was the sword enveloped in silver aura that Theo held.
Sara shouted,
"Uh, the silver aura... the silver aura!"
