Chapter 96

Uninvited Guest (3)

Noel’s body was soaring through the sky.

By the time she came to her senses, it had already happened.

“......?”

It wasn’t that she had suddenly awakened a flying ability or anything. This occurred right after she blocked the aftermath of Magnus slamming his greatsword into the ground.

“......”

Even to her own mind, it didn’t make much sense.

What Magnus had done wasn’t a direct attack aimed at her—it was simply a strike to the ground with his greatsword. And yet, just from blocking the aftermath of that action, she found herself flying this high?

As she thought that, she looked down.

“......?!”

She saw a massive crater carved into the ground.

—And this had happened from a single swing of a sword by a human being.

‘What the hell...!’

Those who wield supernatural powers are often called superhumans—a title that conveys awe for those who possess strength beyond the bounds of human capability.

Yet even those honored with such a title have their limits.

Noel herself was a monster capable of slicing through buildings with a single sword. But that was more of a feat, made possible by her delicate manipulation of supernatural power—something closer to divine authority.

To generate this kind of sheer violence through pure physical ability... what could one even call it?

Overwhelming force that overturns mountains and shakes the world. A strength so fearsome, it would shock even other superhumans.

This wasn’t something that should be labeled “superhuman.” It was closer to a natural disaster!

“I’ve been waiting for this moment!”

And then, someone came soaring after her body as if snatching it midair.

The very person who had sent her flying like that.

Magnus let out a hearty laugh.

It was as if all the calm he’d shown until now had been an act. His voice was now thick with an intense fighting spirit so fierce that even Noel felt a chill down her spine.

“His Holiness may have claimed the real prize, but the Empire’s strongest knight isn’t a bad consolation! This won’t be boring at all!”

“You—what are you trying to—!”

“My purpose?”

Even with his visor on, it was obvious that Magnus was grinning.

“That’s for His Holiness to think about. Me? I just fight strong opponents! That’s the most fun there is!”

And sure enough, his next move matched those words perfectly.

In the middle of battle, he cast off his heavy armor—a move no sane person would consider.

It was a deliberate act.

He wanted to feel everything.

The thrill of battle, the tension—he wanted to experience it all with his bare body.

Muscles like chiseled stone throbbed and writhed beneath his skin. Beneath that, holy fire boiled so hot it vaporized the sweat collecting on his body.

"Let’s dance, Lionhearted! Don’t let me down!"

“......”

Noel’s gaze sank deeply.

This kind of person—truthfully, she hadn’t exactly never encountered them before.

People obsessed with battle. People who valued the process of killing and being killed more than the result.

Honestly.

“......Not really my type.”

She sneered as she raised her sword squarely at him midair.

“I prefer a more gentle kind of man.”

As if responding to that remark, Magnus erupted in wild laughter. Then, his greatsword swung at Noel with a thunderous roar, like a bolt of lightning crashing down.

▣

From within a half-collapsed building, Aiden caught his breath and looked at the Pontiff.

“Your Holiness.”

“Hm?”

“For a headhunting visit, you’re crossing quite a few lines, don’t you think?”

Even Aiden couldn’t overlook this level of destruction, barging into someone’s home and rampaging like this.

“I’ve said it over and over, they’re the ones who picked the fight first.”

The one who had caused all this was now casually trying to justify it, scratching at Aiden’s nerves.

But rather than snapping back in anger—

Click—

Something flipped in Aiden’s mind like a switch.

His gaze sank deeper.

Watching that, the Pontiff too, though she didn’t show it outwardly, smiled to herself.

‘—This guy.’

Same as last time.

He wasn’t swayed by what was happening in front of him. Even Noel and Katya, wielding immense power, had responded to her rampage with immediate, and frankly “reasonable,” backlash.

But this man didn’t.

He analyzed why she was doing this. As if to say he wouldn’t be swayed. That he would never dance to someone else’s tune.

He looked far, wide, and deep.

“There really are a lot of people in this world who don’t know how to communicate.”

“What?”

“Someone like that just joined as my secretary yesterday and gave me a headache. Now you show up and do the same.”

—And even went further.

“Would it have been so hard to just ask directly? If you wanted to see if I could do what needed to be done, just say it plainly and make a proper request. Are all people in power twisted like this?”

“......What?”

“You’re going around provoking people like this because you want to see what I’ll do if I really go all out, right? That’s your nature.”

“......”

“You’re that curious about how much I’ve grown since last time?”

He wasn’t just reacting. He had seen through the Pontiff’s intentions, traced them back in an instant, and hit the mark.

‘—This guy, seriously!’

Abigail III chuckled silently to herself as she gazed at Aiden.

A real one. He truly was exceptional.

This kind of ability couldn’t be judged by simple measures like being strong or skilled in combat.

This kind of person—no matter how powerful their opponent was—would always find a way to beat them in the end.

It was usually people like this who emerged as the final victor, when everything was said and done.

“......”

A smile that could no longer be hidden tugged at the corners of the Pontiff’s lips.

Even her gaze toward Aiden began to glint, enough that she deliberately turned her eyes away to avoid showing it.

‘As expected.’

Choosing to bet on this guy had been the right call.

“So, I’ll play along just this once.”

Even after seeing through everything, the fact that he still gave her exactly what she wanted—it was enough to make her absolutely adore him.

Even as she frowned, Aiden drew out his aether and began to shape it. The Pontiff cleared her throat and quickly looked away again.

...No, seriously.

She was the one picking a fight right now, so if sweetness started dripping from her eyes in the middle of that, wouldn’t that be weird?

“A hit or two is fine, right? It’s not like you’re going to die that easily anyway.”

“I won’t move, but I’m not just going to stand here and take it.”

“That’s fine. That way, I can show you better.”

With those words, his supernatural power flared to life. The flame engulfing his body made the Pontiff’s eyes narrow.

No, up until now it had been a perfect ten, but this… this might earn him some deductions.

“—Are you stupid? Who picks a fight with the Pontiff using holy power?”

She had just subdued Katya, a top-tier holy power user, without even standing up. Challenging such a person with her own specialty was, at best, reckless bravado.

“No.”

Aiden cut off the Pontiff’s disappointed comment, raising his spear-shaped aether with a calm look.

“Because that’s what works best.”

He already had the combination in mind.

Morrigan had once said something insane about testing it on himself, but he didn’t need to go that far. He already knew what would work best on someone like her.

Aether transformation—lance form.

The outer coating: holy power. And mixed into it, mana arts. The Purifier, capable of nullifying all supernatural abilities it touches, was layered over the outer surface of the aether.

Then, he thrust it forward.

The Pontiff instantly responded, raising a barrier of holy power.

—But it was pierced just like ripping through cardboard.

“-?!”

Her expression twisted.

Of course—even for someone like her, the idea that there could be a technique that outright erased any supernatural power it touched had probably never crossed her mind.

The spear pierced through the barrier and reached right in front of the Pontiff.

“—”

With a deep breath, Aiden activated a second supernatural ability inside it.

The Guardian’s Flame filled the internal chamber he had formed within the lance. It served as a kind of warhead for the attack.

-System Message

▶ Supernatural ability has been imbued into ‘Equipment: Aether.’ Weapon’s power has increased.

▶ The imbued ability is amplified by ‘Equipment: Aether.’

▶ The power of the released ability is further amplified by ‘Equipment: Aether.’

Well.

Just reading those messages one after the other made it obvious.

This technique that Morrigan had refined for him—despite Aiden not pouring in his full power—was among the highest-tier single-shot skills in his entire arsenal.

Come to think of it, when he poured all his energy into a cheap handgun to take down Rad before, the power output was about 128 times its usual level.

And, based on the trials he ran in the Mental World—

Even when using just a couple of abilities together, it produced cheat-level strikes that far surpassed that number.

Seeing that, his kind senior had even gone ahead and named the technique herself, saying it deserved a proper title.

Its name:

—Explosive Strike

From the tip of the spear, the supernatural energy burst forth like a stream of plasma.

—!!!!!!!

It wasn’t a bullet being fired—it was more like a cannon detonating.

The ability surged forward in a massive arc, launched over the Pontiff’s head.

And it had been so powerful that, even with the spear braced firmly against his body and both feet planted hard into the ground, Aiden’s entire body shook violently from the recoil.

“Hmph.”

Still, it was more than worth the effort. Aiden let out a satisfied huff through his nose.

He turned his head slightly to check the Pontiff’s state—her expression was frozen stiff.

He didn’t find it hard to guess why.

She must’ve been shocked. Because—

“Your Holiness.”

Aiden smiled.

“If that had landed directly, you’d be dead.”

He’d purposely altered the trajectory of the shot because he was certain that a direct hit would have killed her.

“......”

The silence in response meant even the Pontiff couldn’t deny it.

If she had taken that hit while just sitting still and trying to tank it like before...

...she really could’ve died.

She was someone who could mimic Katya’s immortality by relying on her immense holy power—but she wasn’t the real thing.

If she took a blow beyond her limit, she would die.

And the problem was, there were very few people, even among top-tier superhumans, who could deliver such a blow.

But that one strike Aiden had just delivered—without even going all out—more than qualified.

Aiden Kellermain had grown that much in such a short time. That strike had been to show it.

“Next time, you’re gonna have to move.”

She didn’t respond, but he noticed the Pontiff propping her chin on the table with a sulky look on her face.

“I don’t know whether I should be happy or annoyed.”

“Maybe think of it as your excellent investment paying off big?”

“I hate that the product turned out so smug.”

“......”

“You’re seriously irritating. You just refuse to lose, even once.”

...It crossed his mind that Katya’s grumbling nature might actually be genetic.

‘Though... it’s kind of cute, isn’t it?’

...That he was even thinking that probably meant he’d spent quite a bit of time with Katya.