SAINTESS [Chapter 169: Resolute] (Patreon)

But the human body had limits, after all.

Aesphyra thought as she watched Zane launch a devastating charge straight at her.

The gigantic man caused the arena floor to shake with every heavy step he took.

Aesphyra recognized it as one of the Berserker’s signature techniques, known as Earthshaker.

Indeed, it was a technique rather than a form of magic. Its activation depended on the user possessing sufficient body weight. Each heavy step sent tremors through the ground, making anyone nearby lose their balance.

In the stands, quite a few spectators who knew something about the Berserker Soul Armament looked astonished.

It was exceedingly rare to see someone use a mere technique on the stage of the Chosen One Contest.

“Boom! Boom!”

Zane moved quickly, his strides coming one after another. Every step made the ground around him tremble, and the successive shocks merged together, creating the sensation of an earthquake.

Even Aesphyra’s composure was affected slightly.

It certainly looked imposing, but on an open plain like this, completely devoid of obstacles, he was nothing more than a living target.

Aesphyra leaned backward and spun, widening the distance between them. At the same time, her hair whipped through the air, and three spells shot out in an instant.

Thunderbolt, Blazing Flame, and Wind Blade.

When Zane saw Aesphyra abruptly retreat just as she was about to enter his attack range, followed by several spells flying toward him, he reacted without the slightest hesitation.

His reactions and agility were astonishingly fast. In the middle of his charge, he ducked beneath the massive fireball, then twisted sideways. The wind blade grazed his shoulder, leaving blood pouring from the wound.

Yet even that failed to produce the slightest change in his gaze or slow him down at all.

But just as Aesphyra had thought, in an unobstructed arena where everything was laid bare, no matter how fast or agile he was, if he could not retaliate with magic or cancel out his opponent’s spells, then he could only be a living target.

Lightning was simply too fast.

Even after pushing himself to the limit, Zane could not dodge it. The enormous chain of lightning struck him head-on.

“What?!”

Spectators and instructors alike stared at the scene in utter shock.

Lightning magic had struck a human body directly, with the target wearing no enchanted equipment to absorb the damage.

That was no joke.

One mistake, and someone could die!

“Holy crap?!”

Watching Zane roar amid the crackling arcs after being struck by lightning, Fred was so stunned that the hash brown in his hand fell to the floor.

“Is this for real?”

“That looks painful.” John clicked his tongue.

“Painful? This is about to turn into an accident,” Aiden said with a scoff. “What is that fourth-year named Zane trying to prove? Did he really have to do this? Does he honestly think he’s indestructible?”

And yet, what came next proved even more shocking.

“RAAAAGH!”

Zane did not stop after being struck by the lightning. Not only did he remain standing, but even after his flesh took a direct hit from the spell, his speed merely decreased.

He did not stop!

“Isn’t this a little too incredible?!”

The spectators stared, dumbfounded.

What were they witnessing?

A man as massive as a small mountain was advancing through high-tier lightning magic with his bare body, without wearing a single piece of elemental resistance or damage-absorbing equipment.

“What a gathering of monsters,” even Winnie could not help remarking.

Aesphyra probably had not seen anything like this very often either.

Winnie had seen plenty of creatures capable of withstanding a spell with their bodies. But this was genuinely his first time seeing a human do it.

It was terrifying.

Everyone knew how fragile the human body was, yet this man actually intended to endure magic through the sheer strength of his tempered flesh?

He really was something else.

Indeed, Zane had absolute confidence in his body. It was not merely a gift he had been born with, but also the result of relentless tempering.

His body was harder than steel. Ordinary blades and swords could scarcely injure him at all. He was even more durable than armor.

That was also why he had said he did not want to wear a damage-bearing belt. Such a belt would only hinder his strength.

The belt merely represented the amount of damage an ordinary student could withstand. Once it shattered, the match was over.

But Zane was different.

His ability to withstand punishment was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

His powerful body could even carry him safely through a night in the lands where blizzards howled.

To temper his body and reach what he believed to be the “ultimate,” he had traveled to countless places, volcanic regions, frozen wastelands, and poisonous swamps.

All to forge this indestructible body!

On the field, Aesphyra frowned slightly at the sight.

She stopped supplying mana and dispelled her magic.

Because Zane had already reached her.

As the lightning faded, Zane emerged with smoke rising from his body, his skin charred and blistered. His face twisted into an expression of sheer madness.

He had not fallen.

Instead, his bloodshot eyes had become even more ferocious.

Moreover, he was now faster and stronger than before.

Flames burned along the edge of his axe as he brought it down upon Aesphyra.

The instant the blade struck her, Aesphyra’s figure once again blended into nothingness and disappeared.

Only then did everyone realize something.

Zane’s feat of enduring the lightning had frightened them so badly that they had completely overlooked what Aesphyra had done.

If they had not been mistaken, the second-year’s top-ranked student had precast and unleashed three spells in a single instant, hadn’t she?

Realizing what had happened, the spectators gasped in shock once again.

Only now did they understand that this stunningly beautiful second-year was no simple opponent either. She truly possessed the strength to go toe-to-toe with Zane!

The instant Aesphyra vanished, Zane seemed to sense something and swung his axe behind him.

The broad axe smashed into the ground. A trail of stone spikes erupted from the earth, racing toward Aesphyra as she reappeared in the distance behind him.

[Rock Piercing]

So Zane did possess a ranged spell.

He simply had not revealed it until now, deliberately leading his opponent to believe that charging straight ahead was his only means of attack.

Ruthless.

He had concealed his trump card even while taking a spell head-on, saving it for the most crucial and appropriate moment. He had never once worried whether he would still have a chance to use it after being hit.

Moreover, after witnessing Aesphyra use [Mirror Flower, Water Moon], he had deduced that she possessed another spell that allowed her to escape. Anticipating her next move, he predicted where she would reappear before she even made a move.

Such judgment and confidence truly befitted the top-ranked fourth-year student.

Moreover, [Rock Piercing] was an unusual spell. The spikes emerged directly from the ground, making them extremely difficult to defend against. Ordinary barriers did not protect against attacks from below.

The moment Aesphyra landed, she gripped her sword with both hands and plunged it into the earth.

She continuously poured fire elemental power into the holy sword, which channeled it into the ground. The terrifying heat instantly melted the arena floor into magma, along with the stone spikes.

In this manner, Aesphyra neutralized [Rock Piercing].

When his attack missed its mark, Zane let out a furious roar. The muscles throughout his body glowed like red-hot iron, while clouds of white steam billowed from his skin.

“He can still move?!”

Winnie was genuinely startled by the sight.

Enduring magic with his bare body was one thing, but that had been a spell cast by Aesphyra, the heaven-favored heroine herself!

And he had actually withstood it?!

Aesphyra stared solemnly at Zane’s reddened body.

That was the Berserker’s signature technique,

[Bloodrage]

The worse the user’s condition and the closer they were to death, the more terrifyingly their potential would erupt. Their strength, toughness, willpower, and bodily functions would all increase dramatically.

It was plain to see that Zane had already suffered severe injuries. His clothes hung in tatters, and under normal circumstances, he should have collapsed long ago.

But he had not.

He still stood firmly in the arena, roaring at his opponent before launching another charge.

Zane’s enormous body seemed to dissolve into the wind.

He was astonishingly fast, appearing to Aesphyra’s left one moment and her right the next. It was difficult to imagine such a massive figure possessing that level of speed.

His movements outpaced his own afterimages, overwhelming the spectators’ eyes. They could not even see when he raised his axe.

“It’s over. It’s over. Even Aesphyra is finished after running into a monster like that,” Fred said with a click of his tongue.

“You have that backward,” Winnie replied dismissively.

“Huh?”

“Senior Zane is certainly strong, and he has a very distinctive style.” Winnie paused. “Unfortunately, the one he encountered is the real monster.”

Zane’s axe came crashing down toward Aesphyra at incredible speed. The spectators couldn’t even tell when he had lifted it.

With [Bloodrage] combined with the Berserker Soul Armament, both his strength and speed had soared to a frightening level.

Aesphyra could only catch glimpses of the afterimages Zane left behind, each one appearing so lifelike that it was difficult to distinguish them from the real thing.

His speed was so extraordinary that it tricked the naked eye into perceiving dozens of Zanes charging toward Aesphyra simultaneously.

Then, without warning, Zane’s movements abruptly froze.

All the afterimages disappeared.

And in the next instant, Zane was sent flying backward.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Like a kite with its string cut, he hurtled across the arena, carving out a long trench before finally smashing into the wall.

Everyone in the stands looked utterly astonished.

None of them had seen what had just happened.

Even the referee had failed to catch it.

“So that’s how it is.”

For some reason, the vice principal smiled.

After being hurled away by a single powerful strike, Zane struggled to his feet. Even he couldn’t understand how his attack had been deflected so effortlessly.

“See?” Winnie said with a smile, watching the silver-haired girl on the other side of the arena as her hair fluttered in the air.

“Brother Winnie, what exactly happened? Why did that Zane suddenly... Did he trip over something?”

“You people are hopeless. Even if you couldn’t see their movements, you should still be able to guess, shouldn’t you?” Winnie propped up his head with one hand.

“So what was it, then?!” Fred demanded irritably.

“It’s simple. In one sentence, Aesphyra is faster than Zane even after all his Berserker techniques enhanced him.”

“Much faster,” Winnie answered, enunciating every word. “Senior Zane probably assumed that no one could surpass his speed in that state. So he still hasn’t realized, or even considered, that he was completely crushed by raw stats.”

“Huh?!”

Winnie had seen it clearly just now.

The instant Zane raised his axe, Aesphyra, who had remained motionless as though frozen in fear, abruptly struck.

With a light flick of her sword, she deflected Zane’s descending axe. Then she drove the hilt viciously into his abdomen, launching him across the entire arena and into the opposite wall.

Aesphyra had personally taught that stat monster how one was supposed to allocate stats.

That was right.

Even with the enhancement of the Berserker Soul Armament and a body tempered through countless ordeals, Zane still could not match Aesphyra in strength.

Winnie did not know how large the gap was, but one thing was certain: in terms of skill, Zane was nowhere near Aesphyra’s level.

That single deflection had completely dispersed all the force behind Zane’s attack, leaving him unable to exert his strength. She had then struck him with her sword hilt like a cue striking a billiard ball, sending him flying.

And after Zane landed, Aesphyra’s assault was not yet over.

Aesphyra had entered serious mode.

She shifted to a reverse grip on her sword and swung it from afar, unleashing a powerful wave of sword energy.

[Void-Breaking Slash]

Zane had only just risen and had no time to react before the sword energy struck him.

When the smoke cleared, Zane still held his long-handled axe aloft in a blocking stance. No one knew whether he had actually blocked the attack. Only after a long while did he lower his weapon.

“He’s taken three spells already, hasn’t he?” Fred said in disbelief. “And he still looks completely fine.”

Winnie silently watched Zane.

Aesphyra and Zane stood at opposite ends of the arena, staring at each other.

Then, with a furious roar, Zane charged at Aesphyra once more like an enraged lion.

Aesphyra did not use any more offensive magic. She merely cast a wind spell to accelerate herself before rushing forward to meet him.

Both swung their weapons at the same time.

Their figures crossed, leaving them standing with their backs to one another.

At the sight, not a single person in the stands dared to breathe. They did not even dare to blink, afraid they might miss the decisive instant.

Five seconds passed.

Then ten.

Neither of them reacted.

Just as everyone began wondering what had happened, Aesphyra suddenly moved.

In one smooth motion, she sheathed the holy sword, causing it to disperse, then turned to look at Zane, who remained frozen in the posture of swinging his axe.

The referee realized something as well.

He walked over to Zane and examined his expression and eyes. Upon understanding what had happened, he immediately summoned the arena’s professional medical team. They entered the field and carried away Zane, whose body had gone rigid while still maintaining his battle stance.

An uproar erupted throughout the stands.

“Zane was already finished when [Void-Breaking Slash] hit him,” Winnie finally explained. “No, perhaps it happened even earlier, when Aesphyra interrupted his attack and sent him flying. He was only holding himself up through sheer willpower. Even until the very last moment, he refused to fall.”