How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?

“So I should’ve realized it sooner, shouldn’t I?” The cardinal stared fixedly at that luster overflowing with holy brilliance, as though it were purifying everything around it without distinction. Only after a long while did he finally let out a sigh filled with relief and emotion. “If I remember right, back when you were still doing surveillance work, you already thought very highly of her, didn’t you?”

“Looks like you won this one, Sir Knight.”

“...”

The scar-faced knight said nothing. He only stared silently at that healing, scorching cherry-colored radiance. That dazzling riot of color reflected in his eyes and flickered there.

A pair of immaculate white wings burst out from the cherry glow, spreading from within that field of pure blossom-light and blotting out the sky.

Everyone raised their heads at the same time.

A rainbow took shape above the Sanctum of the Sacred Tree. Within it, the faint outline of a vast, many-colored goddess appeared, then dissolved like rainbow rain and fell across every face present, as though they were standing in a warm spring breeze—like tender shoots revived by spring rain after the dead of winter.

In the next instant, a sacred, dazzling pink angel was born from the fading light of that towering radiance, as though reborn, breaking free from a cocoon of light.

She swept over everyone’s heads, and the wind raised by her wings sent hair and hems flying into disarray.

The cardinal stood where he was in silence, one hand still clasped behind his back, making no move even when the violent gust—carrying a faint white camellia fragrance—blew his hood clean off.

“How could this...” Ronilei parted her lips, then stopped herself. She glanced at Vera beside her. Vera was still seated on the bench, but her gaze had been wholly captured by that pure and flawless figure. She had nearly forgotten to keep hold of her teacup.

[Virtue +350.]

[Current Virtue: 9219.]

“Sister Sophia...” Vera murmured under her breath as she watched the incomparably brilliant cherry-colored angel in the sky.

High above, the angelic girl who had shed the last remnants of light stood in the air, lifted her eyelids, and looked down at those below. A faint divinity blurred her captivating peach-blossom eyes, their heart-shaped pupils blazing with beauty.

“...”

The cardinal reached out and caught one of the falling holy feathers. The moment it touched his palm, it released an immaculate cherry-pink healing light, restoring his skin to perfect condition.

He could not help recalling the final appearance at the old Saint-Healing Festival. Back then, the Dawn Saintess had descended in just this same fashion—the Blessing Angel sweeping across the sky, holy feathers drifting down over the celebrating crowds, healing their fatigue and the wounds that had built up over time.

People called it the Saintess’s blessing.

It was said that anyone who caught one of those feathers would enjoy good fortune for the next year.

But after the last Dawn Saintess, Sophia, died in battle, and the Facilis Family fell into the state of dead veins, that fixed part of the Saint-Healing Festival could never be performed again.

The cardinal silently watched the graceful figure in the heavens singing a sacred hymn.

This was real.

After Saintess Sophia, this was a genuine Dawn Saintess.

“Oh, honestly. This is why I say you’re too young.” The cardinal shook his head. “How can you expose your identity in front of the enemy?”

“Was it a move of desperation? Or did you want one last gamble, new-generation Lady Saintess?”

In the air, Vanessa looked down at the cardinal.

Once she became Vanessa, all of her injuries had been healed. Her condition had effectively been reset.

She beat her wings lightly. Countless white feathers shot forth like sharpened blades, sweeping toward the cardinal in a storm.

“So it’s [Saint King’s Baptism]. Not bad. The power is lacking, though.” The cardinal tapped his staff lightly. The crystal atop it blazed with light, forming a curtain of radiance in front of him.

[Light Protection]

The blade-like white feathers bombarded the cardinal’s light screen, only to be knocked aside in an instant. The attack did not injure him in the slightest.

But Vanessa had never expected [Saint King’s Baptism] to hurt the cardinal in the first place. This was not some panicked spell tossed out in desperation.

It was—

Though the dense, chaotic feathers lacked killing power, they did an excellent job of obscuring the cardinal’s sight. Especially when the feather-blades struck the light screen and scattered apart, they blanketed everything before him.

Using that brief moment—less than a second—Vanessa suddenly flashed straight in front of him, the icy spear in her hand exploding with light.

[Stored-Light Smite]

The [Frostfang] that Vinny needed both hands to wield properly could be handled with complete ease in one of Vanessa’s hands alone.

But in the end, [Frostfang] was still an ice-enchanted weapon. Using it as a medium for light-element magic was never going to produce the same effect as using ice-element magic.

After so many battles, Vanessa had discovered many things her former self had never noticed.

One of them was this:

Vanessa’s affinity for the ice element was actually weaker than her male body’s. At the very least, it had not reached an outstanding level. When she cast ice-element magic, its power was inferior to what it had been in that form.

That was why Vanessa used only light magic.

Radiance blazed along [Frostfang] as the spear thrust straight for the cardinal’s throat.

“So you’ve learned to use tactics? Good force. Good idea too. But the speed still falls short.” The cardinal raised a hand. A tiny purple orb of light drifted slowly toward Vanessa.

Vanessa remembered that move.

Earlier, the cardinal had used that very spell to neutralize her [Icefang’s Roar] with effortless ease.

[Curved-Light Prism]

If she got trapped inside that crystalline little cage, she would never get out. Whatever magic she cast would only rebound back at her, the same way light refracted through crystal shards.

Ordinarily, there was no way an Intermediate Magus could withstand a master’s high-tier light magic.

But this time was different.

Vanessa’s movements blurred. She withdrew the flashing spear tip, raised her other hand—

and a winged cross-shaped holy shield descended.

[Original Sin Backlash]

“This is—?” At the sight of the winged cross shield, stained in holy light and appearing right in front of him, the surprise in the cardinal’s eyes was blatant for the first time. “[Radiant-Cross Holy Shield]?!”

The scar-faced knight at the side was equally stunned, but he still made no move to help the cardinal. He only stood there holding his halberd, motionless, just as he had been all along.

Then they watched, helplessly, as the outspread holy shield blocked the slowly drifting purple orb. The cross-shaped light upon the shield expanded, then closed over the purple orb like a net, swallowing it inside.

Vanessa dived forward with the shield raised.

At the same time, she hurled the rebounded [Curved-Light Prism] back at the cardinal.

“Here. Take it back.”

She smashed the shield down heavily.

Seeing the small orb returning to him through [Original Sin Backlash], the cardinal remained composed. Fortunately for him, [Curved-Light Prism] moved slowly. He had more than enough time to cast another spell and cancel it out.

At a time like this, what mattered was the depth of one’s spell pool.

After all, the same spell could not be cast again in rapid succession. That was true for [Light Protection], and it was true for [Curved-Light Prism] as well.

That was why Vanessa had chosen to attack only after [Light Protection] disappeared—her aim had been to exploit that brief window and launch a ruthless offensive.

If, at this moment, the cardinal lacked a spell capable of countering his own [Curved-Light Prism], then he would be in real danger.

Because [Original Sin Backlash] did not recreate a spell at Vanessa’s level.

It reflected the original spell exactly as it had been cast—its full, unchanged power.

Even if he did not look flustered, who would have thought that a master could actually be pushed this far by an Intermediate Magus?

At that moment, the entire situation had reversed.

With [Curved-Light Prism] covering her advance, Vanessa charged straight at him behind her shield, while the mana gathered in her spear had reached a terrifying level.

[Stored-Light Smite] was the kind of spell whose power only grew the longer it charged. And Vanessa not only carried the blood of the Blessing Angel, she also possessed light-element affinity at the [Breakshackle] rank. If that spear came down, its power would be impossible to predict.

In other words, in that instant, the cardinal had to deal with Vanessa rushing him head-on while also neutralizing the returning [Curved-Light Prism].

And yet, he remained utterly unhurried.

He lifted his staff. The crystal atop it erupted in a dazzling brilliance.

[Flashburst]

A blinding surge of instantaneous light exploded outward, like a tidal wave of radiance. It detonated the purple orb—and Vanessa, who had been hiding behind it while building momentum, had her eyes struck by the flash and was instantly blinded.

At a moment like this, the cardinal had chosen the exact correct spell.

Or perhaps, for someone as battle-worn as he was, it was no longer even a choice. It was muscle memory. He had seen far too many situations like this over the years.

And he had lived through every single one of them.

With her vision swallowed by darkness, Vanessa’s movements were disrupted—but she did not stop her attack. The spear charged full of mana slashed out anyway.

Without even blinking, the cardinal released a second spell.

[Thousand-Pike Demonfall]

A spear-blade formed purely from concentrated light energy with explosive speed and thrust directly toward [Frostfang].

This was a high-tier spell that compressed an attack from a broad surface into a single point.

Once, a Dawn Saintess had used [Thousand-Pike Demonfall] to slay a demon race lord.

[Frostfang] collided with [Thousand-Pike Demonfall].

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!

Even though Vanessa had light-element affinity at the [Breakshackle] rank, the gap between their realms was simply too great. [Stored-Light Smite] could never rival a high-tier light spell cast by someone two major realms above her.

Vanessa was blasted backward at once by the recoil.

Instinctively, she folded her enormous wings around herself to shield her body, sending countless feathers scattering down.

This time, she felt it clearly.

After that brief clash, [Stored-Light Smite] had been completely overpowered. The spear-blade had been thrown aside. If Vanessa had not possessed such extraordinary strength, she might not even have been able to keep hold of [Frostfang].

The weakened remains of [Thousand-Pike Demonfall], after being diminished by [Stored-Light Smite], still struck her head-on. Fortunately, she managed to block it in time with [Radiant-Cross Holy Shield]. Together with the protection of her wings, the innate overall magic resistance granted by the Blessing Angel’s blood, and the female-form [Armor Fortress], she barely managed to take the hit without falling from the sky.

She had only been blasted away.

“Not a bad tactic,” the cardinal remarked. “A pity you don’t have the strength to match it.”

Not enough strength to match it?

“Thanks for the compliment.”

And yet the corners of Vanessa’s lips lifted as she flew backward. With a small smile, she said exactly that.

“Hm?” The cardinal frowned. Only then did he begin to realize something was wrong.

“If you’re only noticing now, you’re too late.”

As she spoke, Vanessa had already burst out of the smoke, using the recoil from the cardinal’s spell to propel herself toward the entrance.

“Don’t tell me—?”

“That’s right.”

Vanessa had never intended to fight the cardinal to the bitter end.

Her purpose was simple.

Her logic was clear.

Her mind was perfectly calm.

Her first objective—

was escape.

In other words, every exchange she had just had with the cardinal had only been groundwork for her getaway. She had been waiting for this exact moment all along.

Everything had gone according to plan.

She had deliberately waited for their clash of spells. Deliberately allowed herself to be blasted by his magic. Deliberately used the force of his attack to send herself silently all the way to the entrance—so she could flee in one smooth motion.

And why had she dared to be so bold?

Why had she been confident she could take a master mage’s spell head-on?

Because yes, an ordinary person would never dare do such a thing.

But she was not ordinary.

She was a Blessing Angel.

With the natural full-body magic resistance she had been born with, the reinforcement of [Armor Fortress], the weakening effect of [Stored-Light Smite], and the blocking power of [Radiant-Cross Holy Shield], she had been certain she could endure his spell, be blasted back by its recoil—

and get away intact.

Vanessa shot over Vera and Ronilei’s heads in a blur.

The great doors of the Sanctum of the Sacred Tree were right in front of her.

Good.

As long as she got through those doors, the world was wide open. She could fly anywhere she wanted. They would never find her—

That was what Vanessa thought.

But this time, she had miscalculated.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Just as she was about to cross the threshold of the Sanctum, a cage of lightning woven from magic crashed down from above.

Vanessa was caught completely off guard.

She bit down hard.

So there had still been one more move waiting for her?

Instinctively, she raised her wings to take the hit from the lightning cage, which resembled a birdcage, hoping to power through it with her overwhelming magic resistance.

But the cage’s purpose did not seem to be harming her.

On the contrary, she felt no pain. She was not injured.

She only felt numb all over.

The current ran through her wings and into her body. The paralysis made her expression change instantly.

BOOM! BOOM!!

The lightning cage smashed down, dragging the paralyzed Vanessa with it and slamming her to the ground.

“Mmh—!”

Vanessa tried to push herself up with her arms, but she had already been shocked numb. The slightest movement sent violent spasms through her whole body, as though every muscle were cramping at once. She could only lie there on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, both wings sprawled limp at her sides like some giant white pigeon that had stepped on a live wire.

The only difference was that she had not been charred black.

“Far more impressive than I expected, Lady Saintess. But unfortunately, even this move was already within my calculations.”

The cardinal walked over, leaning on his staff.

“If you were only two minor realms below me, then perhaps... I really might not have been your opponent.”