Chapter 266: Let Me Try the Blade

"Tsk, sure enough, taking things lightly never ends well."

After Alice, the younger sister who had been celebrating victory halfway through, was taken out in one fell swoop by her own spell, Dorothy tilted her head slightly and looked toward the Succubus Witch.

Over there, the dust raised by the previous concentrated bombardment was gradually dissipating. Amidst the pitted, crater-filled ground where not even ashes should have remained, a broken skeleton stood defiantly.

Then, the skeleton moved. Rays of holy light began to overflow from the bones. These rays, which looked quite divine, shone upon the remaining flesh—flesh that had been roasted to the point of emitting a charred aroma—and under this illumination, the flesh regained vitality and began to proliferate.

Muscles, blood vessels, fascia, fat... and finally, skin...

The Succubus Witch, who should have been dead, miraculously returned to normal at a speed visible to the naked eye. Although her full set of equipment had been destroyed, leaving only the longsword-style staff in her right hand barely usable, the Succubus Paladin, stark naked, made a grand reappearance.

"Ah... hell, this is insane. Madelyn, oh Madelyn, it's a real waste for you to be a Succubus."

Witnessing the entire process of resurrection, Dorothy sighed with a twitching eyelid.

Holy Light is a pure combination of positive energy derived from the refinement of complex faith—a manifestation of heart-power capable of triggering miracles, on par with the source mana of witches.

It is worth noting, however, that while angels create and control this power of justice, it is not the angels who truly carry Holy Light to its zenith, but the Paladin believers deceived by them.

Only those who are truly self-disciplined and harbor justice in their hearts can perfectly resonate with the power of Holy Light. Angels themselves can hardly be called just.

Even though the religions established by angels preach all kinds of truth, goodness, and beauty, winning countless ignorant mortals to worship them as saviors, these are merely means set up by angels to better plunder other worlds; it has nothing to do with so-called justice.

Conversely, those Paladins who were tricked by the angelic sects into being kind and upholding the code of chivalry played with Holy Light quite skillfully. Unfortunately, the light they wielded was merely lent to them by the angels; while they gained the recognition of Holy Light, they lacked the ability to generate it themselves, leaving them powerless to resist the angels.

Witches are different. Although the Angelic Witches have fallen, they remain one of the two major forces in this Western Universe that control the power of faith. Many Paladins who were cheated by angels and witnessed their homes being devoured by them eventually defected to the Angelic Witches.

Some of these Paladins, filled with hatred, even realized a dark faith power—Shadow Power—which is the opposite of Holy Light.

The Source of Holy Light condensed by the Angelic Witches is open to all witches, and those interested in the path of the Paladin can attempt it.

But who would have thought that Madelyn, a Succubus Witch who should be repelled by Holy Light just like a demon, would possess such terrifying affinity for it? This miracle of returning from the dead—if those Paladins saw this, they would immediately bestow upon her a title like "Child of Holy Light."

However, thinking about it, this Martial Arts Club President is extremely self-disciplined—so disciplined that she has overcome her own lecherous Succubus nature. As the Disciplinary Committee Chair, she highly values order and is a guardian of order. Isn't that exactly what Holy Light loves?

Although, strictly speaking, the witch race should be classified as Lawful Evil; no matter how they disguise it, their essence as a war race and invaders cannot be changed.

Logically, Madelyn, who aspires to be a Martial Arts Witch, shouldn't fit Holy Light's judgment of justice, but having witnessed this miracle of bathing in light and bones regenerating, Dorothy had to accept reality, even if she couldn't understand it.

Could it be because the Succubus Witch hasn't graduated yet and hasn't headed to the battlefield, so she doesn't count as "evil"?

Or is Madelyn's heart truly that of a just person who treats all beings equally?

Dorothy felt a surge of curiosity.

Unfortunately, there was no time for her to study this, because the resurrected Succubus Witch had already turned her gaze toward her.

Before the skin on her face finished regenerating, Madelyn reached out and manifested a demon mask identical to the previous one. Then, her purple hair, which had just finished regenerating, wrapped around her body, weaving into a graceful bodysuit to cover her body, which had been exposed as the smoke dissipated.

Finally, the fully recovered Succubus Witch raised her sword. The purple eyes beneath the mask looked at the Grand Inquisitor opposite her, a flash of realization crossing them.

"So it was you."

Clearly, after taking that round of bombardment and considering Alice's earlier behavior, Madelyn had recognized her opponent's identity. Consequently, her fighting spirit became soaring.

"Yeah."

Dorothy didn't intend to continue denying it and nodded openly.

"As for you, you're still the same—truly absurdly durable."

Dorothy recalled their first duel, where the opponent's indestructible, masochistic Succubus constitution had been a headache. The Succubus Witch had surely relied on that shameless constitution, which converts pain into recovery, to survive that bombardment without being reduced to dust.

And now, with the addition of Holy Light, a powerful healing ability, this girl's health bar had grown even thicker—she was ridiculously tanky.

However, miracles also have a cost. Right now, Madelyn was likely just putting on a show and probably had only one strike left in her.

Dorothy herself wasn't in much better shape; after maintaining the time stop for four seconds, her mental energy was nearly depleted.

"How about we settle this in one move?"

Dorothy proposed.

Her condition was actually better than Madelyn's, so she could have played dirty and worn her opponent down, but that would be boring. Since they were old acquaintances, there was no need to be so disgusting.

"Agreed."

Madelyn didn't refuse the proposal. She nodded, gripped her somewhat damaged longsword staff with both hands, and her fighting spirit erupted.

During the Martial Arts Club training, she had often sparred with the Fairy King, but she always had to suppress her strength, which left her unsatisfied.

But now it was different; this could barely count as her going all out.

Thus, countless specks of light began to emerge from the void, as if countless believers were offering their sincere prayers. The endless light gathered on the Paladin's sword—water accumulating into a stream, rivers returning to the sea—and a torrent of light that dispelled all darkness manifested here.

"I swear by this sword: Justice shall prevail."

The Paladin holding the sword whispered her vow.

Then, the next moment, the torrent of light erupted, as if the Heavenly River had fallen, destroying everything that stood in the way of victory.

At that moment, Dorothy, standing before this torrent of light, looked so insignificant.

Yet, Dorothy wasn't in a hurry at all. She even looked at the torrent of light with an admiring gaze, once again lamenting that Madelyn must have been born into the wrong race.

If she were an Angelic Witch, there would be no need for a "Holy Son of the God King"; she would undoubtedly be the restorer of the Angelic Witches.

It was a pity that there were no "ifs" in reality.

"Then, let me try the blade after all this time."

At the very moment before the torrent of light reached her, Dorothy placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist.

"Secret Sword: Swallow Return."

*Clang! * A crisp sound of a blade being drawn echoed throughout the arena—a sound not particularly loud, but one that even the mighty torrent of light could not drown out.

... Dorothy draws her blade...