SAINTESS [Chapter 162: What realm has he reached?] (Patreon)

The terrifying Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd stabbed toward him, yet the blue-haired young man remained unmoved, wholly focused on his own task as if he could not even sense the sun-like halberd bearing down upon him.

He raised both hands, commanding the vast army of ice and snow at his disposal. Countless ice blades and spears shifted toward the enemy before surging forward at his command, raining down upon the rapidly advancing [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd] like a violent storm.

Every bit of ice and snow that had gathered throughout the arena was consumed and transformed into deadly weapons, unleashing a relentless barrage that swept forward with the fury of a raging tempest.

[Frost Sovereignty.]

Wrapped in extreme cold, the ice spears and blades bombarded the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd]. Under Winnie’s control, every single one struck the tip of the halberd with perfect accuracy, like a machine gun concentrating its fire.

Light magic that focused all its destructive power into a single point collided with vast, surging ice magic, producing the phenomenon taught in the very first lesson of every school of magic - Magical cancellation.

Countless ice-forged weapons shattered like breaking stars, releasing crisp explosions. At the same time, the terrifying cold unleashed by their detonation rapidly spread.

The [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd], which had been flying at the speed of light, actually began to slow, gradually freezing beneath that horrifying cold.

Impossible.

Her hair disheveled, Charlotte stared blankly at the scene.

That terrifying cold could even freeze light.

‘No. No! How could this impostor possibly-’

“Why?! Why won’t you accept the fate already decided for you?!” Charlotte gritted her teeth.

Winnie ignored her. He continued manipulating the accumulated snow and deep ice, forging weapon after weapon in an endless stream.

He could actually convert the surrounding ice into magic??

Charlotte had never even heard of such bizarre magic. She had no idea where Winnie could possibly have learned it.

Moreover, judging from the aptitude of Winnie’s Soul Armament, there was no way he should have been capable of learning magic of this caliber.

The spectators finally realized the same thing. Winnie’s Soul Armament was merely a one-star Soul Armament, and armor-type magic at that, a category almost incapable of learning spells.

So how had he learned a spell that anyone could tell belonged exclusively to a true mage??

As the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd] moved ever more slowly and encountered increasing resistance, Charlotte gradually realized that the ice in Winnie’s hands was almost impossible to exhaust.

Whenever those ice-forged weapons shattered, new ice crystals and cocoons formed continuously. The fragments once again became ice under Winnie’s control.

There was undoubtedly some loss in the process, but it drastically reduced the amount of ice required.

Moreover, from what she could see, this spell likely required nothing more than ice. In other words, it placed no burden on the caster’s mana reserves. As long as ice existed, the spell could be cast indefinitely, regardless of whether the caster had any mana left.

Realizing this, Charlotte bared her sharp teeth, yet could do nothing.

“Mr. Impostor, those little tricks of yours are nothing more than cheap parlor tricks. Do you honestly believe they’re enough to destroy the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd]? That spell was once powerful enough to slay a Demon King.”

Charlotte tightened her fists, her expression tense. It was unclear whether she was addressing Winnie, who was unable to hear her, or simply trying to reassure herself.

As time passed, the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd] slowed visibly from the flash of light it had been at the beginning. Not only that, frost began spreading over the halberd formed from pure light energy.

“What?!”

The spectators could not help but cry out in astonishment.

Winnie’s ice had truly frozen light!

And this was far from ordinary light magic. It was an advanced spell that had sacrificed everything else to concentrate its power entirely on overwhelming destructive force.

Charlotte stared in utter shock.

She had thought that although her [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd] could only attack a single point and pierce through Winnie’s magic, hitting Winnie himself would be enough.

As long as she could land a blow on him before his magic reached her, that would be enough. She had already abandoned her earlier expectations. At this point, all that mattered to her was defeating Winnie.

Yet she had never expected Winnie to prevent the power of his magic from dispersing, directing every single ice-forged weapon at the exact same point solely to stop her [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd].

And he had actually succeeded.

“How can you be this persistent? You’re like a pest that refuses to leave the manor,” Charlotte spat angrily. She knew she had backed herself into a corner, having placed all her hopes on the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd] defeating Winnie. If even that spell failed, she might truly end up losing to this impostor.

That would become a stain upon her entire life.

Charlotte would never allow such a stain to mar her life.

Defeated by an impostor?

How could that be possible?!

Charlotte poured every last scrap of her mana into one final attack. Countless golden stars condensed around her before shooting toward Winnie like meteors.

[Constellation Strike.]

In truth, her mana was almost completely exhausted. Casting this spell was already overdrawing her own strength and potential.

Despite possessing the [Holy Envoy] Soul Armament, Charlotte had never learned a single healing spell. Her family had always followed the path of the [Holy Knight], a route entirely different from that of ordinary clergy.

The Church of Radiance actively searched for gifted commoners with the aptitude to inherit the [Holy Envoy] and took them in for training. Most of the Church’s most talented clergymen followed the [Cleric] path, which closely matched the public’s traditional image of a [Holy Envoy] and was also the most common specialization among [Holy Envoy] mages.

The [Holy Knight] path, by contrast, was entirely different. Holy Knights might learn only one or two healing spells, or none at all, choosing instead to dedicate themselves completely to mastering the [Holy Envoy]’s combat-oriented magic.

The Holy Radiance Cross Knights were a prime example. Only a small number of them were [Clerics], while the vast majority followed the path of the [Holy Knight].

For centuries, the Rescaine family had borne the title of “the Goddess’s most loyal knights.” They were the most representative Holy Knights in the world.

Besides, even if Charlotte knew healing magic, it would have been useless. She knew just how terrible her close-quarters combat ability was. She would shatter from the slightest touch, with neither the need nor the time to heal herself.

Thus, if she could not place her hopes in the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd], she had no chance whatsoever.

While Winnie’s magical firepower was concentrated on dealing with the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd], she had to find a way to attack him first, even if it meant pushing herself beyond her limits!

After unleashing [Constellation Strike], Charlotte’s condition continued to deteriorate. Due to overtaxing her mana, the [Rain of Splendor] gradually began to wither.

Yet that was not what she needed to worry about now.

Just as Charlotte thought Winnie’s full attention was focused on dealing with the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd], leaving him no time to respond to her, Winnie waved his hand.

A stream split away from the torrential rain of ice weapons and collided with the stars she had released, freezing every one of them.

Charlotte’s eyes widened.

It was time to bring the battle to an end.

That was the only thought occupying Winnie’s mind.

Now, it was his turn to strike back, unleashing a counterattack infused with the overwhelming power of a Master.

The blizzard of ice-forged weapons instantly became even more ferocious.

Seeing this, the vice principal in the spectator stands waved a hand. A translucent wall of light appeared between the stands and the arena, trapping the terrifying cold within the field.

The [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd] truly was powerful. Even Winnie had been forced to display a little of his genuine ability to deal with it.

But now, after being repeatedly bombarded at a single point by [Frost Sovereignty], the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd] finally reached its limit.

The head of the halberd froze completely, followed by the ring of light at its center. The ice spread all the way to the end of the shaft. Then, its momentum vanished and its energy ran dry.

With a clatter, it fell onto the arena floor.

Charlotte stared blankly at the scene before her. Yet she had no mind to care about the fact that the [Demon Slaying Meteor Halberd] had been frozen.

Before her, the fading [Rain of Splendor] froze into an “ice rainbow” the instant it touched the blizzard. Immediately afterward, the storm continued toward her without the slightest sign of stopping.

She had never witnessed anything like it.

Why had no one told her this impostor was so powerful?

Was he even human??

Clatter.

The parasol slipped from Charlotte’s hand and fell to the ground. She stared at the approaching storm in terror and panic, all strength leaving her body. Her knees went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

It was not only Charlotte, even the referee instinctively began to doubt whether he could save her, or whether he would only end up sacrificing himself as well.

Several traces of shock flickered through the vice principal’s eyes.

How many years had passed?

How long had it been since Carillian Academy had last produced a genius this extraordinary?

And that person was...

Just as the vice principal was contemplating stepping in if the referee failed to halt the attack, the raging blizzard that had already closed in on Charlotte suddenly came to a complete stop.

It was like a spring compressed to its absolute limit. Once released, no one should have been able to stop its rebound, yet at this critical moment, it contracted freely and withdrew.

Charlotte stared at the scene, her face deathly pale. She suddenly realized something and looked down at her waist.

Her belt had shattered into fragments of ice.

The blizzard had destroyed only her belt before suddenly retreating under the terrifying control of that blue-haired young man.

Once an arrow was drawn and released, there was no way to take it back. In the same way, after a spell had been cast, recalling it was nearly impossible, like trying to retrieve an arrow after it had already been fired.

Just how terrifying was his control over magic?!

After Winnie withdrew [Frost Sovereignty] at the final possible instant, Charlotte stared dazedly at the scene. Only now did she understand that she had never been able to see through the blue-haired young man before her, not his knowledge, his strength, or his experiences.

Those eyes were not something a villain who had risen through deception and stolen glory could possibly possess.

He looked as though he had truly fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood countless times, returning again and again from the boundary between life and death.

This was not an opponent she was capable of challenging.

It was easy to make confident judgments while standing safely on the sidelines. She had once thought the same way. The only reason she understood it now was because she had entered the arena herself and experienced defeat firsthand.

Others could lecture you endlessly, yet their words might never truly sink in. But when reality itself became your teacher, one lesson was often enough to make you understand, and that lesson would stay with you forever.

Charlotte remained kneeling where she was, several teardrops hanging from her deathly pale face. Even she had not noticed when she had started crying.

With her as the boundary, one side of the arena was a frozen world of ice and snow, while the other remained an ordinary competition field.

After securing victory, Winnie did not spare Charlotte a single glance. He calmly turned his gaze toward the referee and waited for him to announce the result, silently urging him to hurry up.

“The round-of-sixteen match between Winnie Varelis and Charlotte Rescaine has concluded! The winner is, Winnie Varelis!”

The referee finally recovered and immediately declared the outcome.

Only after hearing the announcement did Winnie turn and leave without looking back.

In an instant, the entire venue once again fell silent.

Well, the noisiest place was probably where a certain unnamed group had gathered.

“Brother Winnie! So cool!”

“As expected of Brother Winnie! Take the championship! Win it all!”

“Aaaaah! Brother Winnie, I’m your fan! I’ve supported you since the day I was born!”

While everyone else remained silent, the card players raised an uproar.

This was different from his previous match against Fein. After that match, many people had still stubbornly denied Winnie’s strength, insisting that his next match would certainly be his end.

But now, even the most stubborn among them no longer dared to say such things.

The cold unleashed by [Frost Sovereignty] had even reached the spectator stands. For a brief instant, although they were seated in the audience, they had clearly shivered from the chill.

And who had he defeated?

Charlotte, one of the Rescaine Twins, who enjoyed immense popularity and prestige among the upperclassmen.

In fact, many third-year and fourth-year students still had not recovered.

Charlotte had actually lost??

“Hey... what realm do you think that blue-haired guy is in?” someone finally asked after a long silence.

No one answered him.

Things were becoming increasingly interesting.

In the spectator stands, Aesphyra watched with a radiant smile, feeling the bone-piercing cold wind blowing against her face.

Fighting an opponent of equal caliber was something every true powerhouse pursued, and Ascephise was no exception.

She had originally thought that the thing she looked forward to most about fighting Winnie would be the moment after she defeated him.

But now...

Aesphyra had begun looking forward to the battle itself.

‘Virtue + 200.’

‘Current Virtue: 20, 009.’

“Winnie...”

Mirexia watched Winnie’s retreating figure and murmured his name.

Even she would have needed some effort to defeat Charlotte Rescaine. Yet for the current Winnie, victory had been effortless.

Once, there had been a vast difference in strength between her and her childhood friend.

Now, that difference seemed to have reversed.

‘Virtue + 200.’

‘Current Virtue: 20, 209.’

Isatia was equally relieved and pleasantly surprised by the result.

‘Virtue + 100.’

‘Current Virtue: 20, 309.’

“Winnie has become so strong,” Shikondell murmured in a daze.

‘Virtue + 120.’

‘Current Virtue: 20, 429.’

“That guy’s pretty impressive! Looks like he’s finally getting serious.” Milian crossed her arms. “But this princess still won’t lose.”

‘Virtue + 100.’

‘Current Virtue: 20, 529.’