Priests and medics alike rushed to the arena. Verity wasn't quite dead yet, but as it stood, he would die very soon without some sort of intervention. The medics began with various ointments, potions, and different methods to stitch his wounds, but with the accumulated damage he had suffered, and the gaping hole in his chest, he was way past the point where mundane methods would suffice.

Then came the priests. They offered prayers, strengthening blessings, and even begged their goddess, Terras, to make Verity as resilient as a mountain. It worked, to a certain extent, but all of the professionals surrounding Verity wore a dark expression.

A young man from the Temple frowned. "We're losing him…! We need more divine power! Together, everyone!"

The priests held hands while the medics ensured that all superficial wounds would not aggravate the healing process. In an instant, a bright light shone upon Verity, and at last, the hole in his chest seemed to mend. However, that was all.

Elio's strike, covered in Aura, wasn't something that could be healed easily in the first place. Aura and mana inherently interfered with each other, and both interfered with divine power, that was one of the laws of this world.

Verity coughed a mouthful of blood and his complexion grew paler by the second.

At the summit of the audience, Virgo sighed. "Should I grant you this favor, Evie?"

Evangelina took a moment to respond, but she ultimately closed her eyes and grit her teeth. "...Yes, I will owe you one."

Virgo's eyes widened to such an extent it seemed his eyeballs would fall out. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "That's insane… you must really like this disciple of yours."

His hands which hung at his side could not be moved, but Virgo simply closed his eyes. After all, a prayer came not from the hands, but from the heart.

"My Goddess, I may not have the hands to praise you, but for your greatest devotee, your Apostle, please grace this child with your warmth."

A few simple words, but upon hearing a reply, Virgo smiled. A light filled the arena. It wasn't blindingly bright, or even oppressive. Instead, it was soothing, and all of it seeped into Verity.

The hole in his chest closed, the bruises shrank, the broken bones repaired themselves, and the influence of Elio's strange disorienting ability waned.

Verity opened his eyes in a gasp, and he sat up. "Amazing… I really thought I was done for."

For the first time in a long, long while, his sponsor spoke.

[Your sponsor expresses deep displeasure.]

'Must be because she doesn't like Terras… but would you rather have me die??'

[Your sponsor turns her head and huffs. 'You could have just asked me instead'.]

'I never know when you are there, and when you aren't…'

One of the medics interrupted his conversation. "Sir, how are you feeling? It seems the Apostle has personally healed you… but do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

A vein bulged on the side of a priest's temple. "How dare you question the Apostle's grace!? Do you think there's anything you can do that he cannot?"

The medic's eyebrow twitched. "It sure is easy to let a magical light do the heavy lifting… but sometimes that's not enough," he muttered under his breath.

"wha–"

Before a full blown argument could break out, Verity raised his hand. "I feel great, thanks to all of you. I'm just a bit tired, so I'll go back to where the other challengers are."

The medic scratched the back of his neck. "That's, uh… we still need to inspect your body thoroughly to make sure… so that might not be possible."

Verity sighed. "Can we do that later? I really want to see this last duel."

The three medics looked at each other, and they shrugged. "If that is your wish… but don't complain if something goes wrong later because we waited too long."

Verity pressed his hands together. "Thanks!" and he rushed back to his seat.

As he ran, he took a moment to glance back to the arena. 'Huh, he must have left already,' he thought when he could no longer see Elio.

A heavy hand crashed into his back. "Ha!! That was great! So great! I really thought you were dead!!"

It was Ife, who was showing an uncharacteristic amount of joy.

Hoshino then appeared in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "To think my Knight of Truth would be a master of lies and deceit, how… poetic!"

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Verity scratched his head, unable to suppress the smirk forming on his lips. He then took a peek at Felicia who stood not too far away.

They locked eyes, and her lips parted. "That wasn't bad. I've learned a lot."

'Hm? She's not going to say anything about wanting to fight?'

His face fell. 'Wait… could she be angry about 'that'?'

Verity stretched an arm in her direction, but before he could say anything, the Trial overseer spoke. "What a match! What a finish!! Deception prevailed against overwhelming might, a true underdog story! This match gave me goosebumps… and I don't even have any hair, haha! It was like witnessing an ant defeating a dragon!"

'I'm obviously not the dragon…'

"But now, it is time for the last battle of the day! Unlike the previous matches, this one will be between two non-warrior classes!" The Trial Overseer waved his wand and recited a spell. Then, ice crystals appeared in the sky in the forms of two names. Ifedolapo and Hoshino.

The two, who had crowded around Verity, looked at each other, and they both smirked. With a spring in their step, they marched onto the stage.

"Will magic prevail against nature, or will the wild swallow it all!? I, for one, cannot wait to find out!"

The Trial overseer who was never one to draw out the suspense, immediately announced the start of the match.

As soon as she heard the signal, Hoshino used Gale to rise into the air, and she spoke with a smile on her face. "These duels have managed to get my blood pumping! Knight of love, today, I will show you the entirety of my brilliance!!"

Ife smirked. "I had a feeling… but she's completely nuts…" she said.

In the sky, Hoshino began her chant.

"Darkness shrinks before my splendor,

The night cowers before my radiance

I am the Light that shines upon the masses

The warmth that embraces all creation

Illuminate - Stars' Light!"

A small ball of light rose into the air, and upon reaching sufficient altitude, it expanded dramatically.

But it was not only large.

It was also bright. Blindingly so. Enough to make the average human's eyes burn simply by gazing upon it.

All in the audience but a few select individuals were forced to lower their eyes, and cover them with their hands.

Even Ife had no choice but to look at the ground. The miniature sun above her made it impossible to raise her head, lest she wished to go blind.

Hoshino then brandished her staff once more.

"Descend at my decree - Starfall."

Tiny motes of light sparkled into existence beside her, and when she brought her staff down, one of them flew toward Ife.

With only her instinct, Ife moved before the attack had been launched, throwing herself to the ground. Thankfully, it only pierced her shoulder, but the pain was nothing to scoff at.

She clicked her tongue. "How the hell am I supposed to dodge an attack at the speed of light!?"

Hoshino brought her staff down once again, and this time, the lower part of Ife's leg was pierced, reducing her mobility.

"Ah! Screw it!"

Ife placed her hands on the ground, and it trembled before breaking apart and giving way for large trunks of pristine white wood to emerge. They twisted and coiled, until they had fully enveloped her in the image of a cocoon.

Hoshino laughed. "Haha! Great move! But light cannot be stopped by mere wood!"

Hoshino brought her wand down again and another shooting star fell from the sky. This one, however, was only able to scorch the wood, not even deep enough to peer into the inside of the cocoon.

Hoshino swung her staff three more times, and simultaneously, three motes of light shot toward the same spot that had been scorched, creating a much deeper hole.

Verity stroked his chin. This was an interesting match to watch, even if he could not see much because of Hoshino's spell. Still, it was not anything like what he was used to seeing. "This is bad… Ife can't be given time to prepare anything. You better hurry up, Hoshino."

Felicia raised an eyebrow, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. "You hold her in high regard," she told Verity.

He shrugged. "You would too if you'd seen how she fights. She's very crafty."

"Mmm."

Right now, Hoshino was only using low to mid-level spells to lessen the strain on her brain. Before this, she was one to begin with large scale spells such as Empyrean Ray, but after months of rigorous training with her Master, she learned to make better use of her advantages and steer the battle in her favor without over-exerting herself.

Well, at least, her Master had tried to teach her these concepts.

Aurelius' shook his head and let out a long sigh. "Foolish girl!" The bird on his shoulder said.

Hoshino's eyes sparkled, and she raised her staff high. "A star is meant to shine!! There is no need for these tricks!"

"O Stars so bright, O skies so high–"

At the same time, outside of the cocoon of tree bark, flowers adorned with green petals sprouted from the ground. They rose to a height of at least two feet, and without as much time needed to blink, they bloomed.

Ife spoke from within the cocoon, though no one could hear her. "That'll keep her occupied for some time.

Bee-like creatures with darts the size of daggers, and skin made entirely of flower petals swarmed from the flowers.

Though this was not the purpose for the cocoon, it served to protect her from her own attack. In fact, the bee-like creatures she had brought forth were not summons like Brother, or Osa, simply an inherent feature of the strange plants she had forced to bloom.

This meant that even she, having brought them into existence, was still not safe from their onslaught. Thankfully, they were simple minded creatures that only attacked the most obvious, and easiest targets.

In this case, that was Hoshino. The creatures swarmed her as though she'd poked their hive.

Hoshino smiled. The shooting stars that circled her multiplied by the dozens, and she simply shot them out in all directions. Because there was no need to aim, nor concentrate their power, Hoshino could handle many more of them at the same time.

Since she did this as she was chanting for Empyrean Ray, it was effectively an impressive feat of double-casting.

The first creature of the swarm burst, pierced by an unavoidable ray of light, and with its death, a cloud of purple dust was released from its body.

Many more followed suit, and soon, the air around Hoshino was covered in purple dust.

However, none of it reached her. With a simple Draft spell, she had created an air bubble around her that prevented the entry of all foreign substances, whether visible or invisible.

She was now displaying an advanced feat of triple-casting.

The audience would have been in awe… if they could see anything. Hoshino's miniature sun was still shining too bright for any of them to open their eyes.

Now, it was a stalemate between Ife's strange creatures and Hoshino's shooting stars.

Would Hoshino's Empyrean ray strike first?

Or would Ife's unknown preparations come to fruition?

Hoshino's staff twirled in her hands, and she cried out. Multiple massive magic circles appeared in the air. "ULTIMATE MAGIC — EMPYREAN PRISM"

She had applied the advanced parameter 'Multiply', to her most powerful spell, earning a trickle of blood seeping from her nose.

Ife patted an obscured figure's back within the cocoon. "If this doesn't work… Well, let's not think about that."

And then—

SCREEECHHH

A grating sound resonated throughout the arena, forcing anyone who could hear to cover their ears.

Some spectators, and even some challengers grew irritated. Midnight placed both of her hands over her ears and shouted. "This girl!! Now it's sound magic!? Is she fighting us or her opponent in the arena!??"

Hoshino, however, was also covering her ears. "N-No! That's not me!! Why would I ever even use sound magic when I have the greatest magic affinity of all!?"

Even Ife inside the cocoon stopped what she was doing. "AH! What the hell!!! Stop this!!"

The Emperor sprung to his feet, his expression hardened. "...What's happening? Speak."

One of his attendants fumbled with a magical device in front of her. "Your majesty, um, it seems like the city's alert system has been activated."

The Emperor frowned. "How is that possible? We spared no effort in making this place the safest in the entire continent for this event. Is it a mistake?"

The attendant nervously fiddled with her device and she shook her head. "N-no, your Majesty! The guards at the gates are losing their minds! This is real!! It's a monster wave, larger than anything we've ever seen before!!"

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