Saintess Summons Skeletons

“And there you have it everyone! For the second time this year, we will be able to proceed to the grand finale!” Nex announced, “I know you are all eager but alas, as you know, we have to give our contestant some time to rest, so I will see you again in half an hour! Be ready, this one, I think, will be extra special.”

The world faded to black with Nex’s voice, and Sofia soon found herself fully healed, in a new place, Pareth sitting next to her on the side of a luxurious bed with sheets of blue silk.

Sofia turned her head to look at him, his feelings were hard to read, as he was completely still.

“Feel fine?” Sofia asked, “We won.”

Pareth slightly nodded, but Sofia could feel his uneasiness.

“You fought perfectly,” Sofia reassured him, “Having you temporarily die for me to stay alive’s always been our strategy hasn’t it? This win would have been impossible without you, so don’t be like that.”

Pareth nodded weakly, his hand reaching to glowing rock floating in the middle of his chest.

“We just need to find a way to fix your weak point. Maybe you could store your mana heart somewhere safe like the liches do? We’ll have plenty of time after the trial to work on that. For now we just have to focus on that last round.”

Letting go of his mana heart, Pareth approved, standing up and walking to the bedroom’s window to look outside. From where Sofia was sitting, she could only see the blue sky, but her mana senses already showed her a wider picture. She joined Pareth at the window.

Lords… Is this also a real place?

Sofia and Pareth were in a circular room at the very top of a tall ivory tower, majestic buildings of pearly white bricks and lush green fields and forests covered the land as far as the eye could see. People were peacefully living down there, tending to the fields or walking through the clean paved streets, it was like the dream image of the words ’Prosperous and peaceful human kingdom’ the kind of warm utopia that only existed in one’s fleeting dreams.

After getting lost in the view for a bit, Sofia pulled back from the window, and put a hand on the book at her waist. “Is everything fine Bookie?”

The short skeleton summoned himself on the nearby bed.

“Sofia, I’m tired…”

“You have half an hour to rest for now, maybe try to get some sleep? Can you still summon Pestle?”

“Nnn,” Bookie confirmed with a nod. He summoned Pestle as he pulled the sheets over his shoulders.

“Aaaaack! Pestle am die again!” the fairy screeched in frustration as she appeared on the bed. She grabbed her skull and threw it to the floor, letting it roll on the room’s cold marble and fluffy carpets. Her headless body sat down on the bed, arms crossed.

Sofia picked up the tiny skull with a giggle, “Sorry, it was my decision to take the fight inside. Don’t be too frustrated, Sen took you out first because you were just that dangerous.” Sofia told her caressing the tiny horned skull.

“But Fae One not supposed am die! Very shame!” Pestle explained, “Am focus on not die now.”

“It’s not your fault you’re too low level to use most of your magic,” Sofia answered, “No shame in that, besides, it’s fine if you die, I can always bring you back. Just be yourself alright? You did good this fight, everyone did, for proof, we won! And it wasn’t even that close. I had unlife runes left. So don’t beat yourself up over that.” She told Pestle while putting her head back where it belonged. Then she grabbed the entire fairy her brought to the window next to Pareth. “Ever seen a place like this?”

“Hmmm… A bit like Fae city!” Pestle said, looking back at Sofia after looking outside, “But less chaos.”

“Really?! I really want to go see it then.”

“Hmm… Sofia danger, Pestle think. Need strong!”

“I think it’ll be a while until we’re strong compared to most fairies, you know? But we’re working on it.”

“Need lot leg,” Pestle said in agreement.

Pestle jumped out of Sofia’s hands and started exploring the room, opening the drawers and random books, while Sofia took a few more moments to watch the outside world with Pareth. A fresh breeze flowed in from the open window, rustling her hair.

I wonder if my own city can ever be this great.

Finally looking at her system notification, Sofia skipped most things about the trial and how she had won access to the grand finale, and just got to the important part, the progress of her mana heart.

[Current Mana heart Awakening progression: 93%]

Up twenty seven percent. Almost there. Even if I fail this last duel, I should manage to complete the trial and get a master item. I can go in it with no pressure.

But the perfect run pin… A battle against the tournament master himself.

Sen, then Tartaros, then Saria. They all failed. Not to mention the others.

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I have to be prepared for a battle worse than with Victory, perhaps with an equally strange win condition. And I’m still going to be making it harder?!

I’ve never heard any bell, so it has to be now. Extra difficulty for extra rewards… On top of something nobody’s ever even beaten?

Maybe at this point it would be wiser not to, I might be ruining my chances at the perfect run pin for nothing… But I just have to try. I can’t not.

Why am I so greedy?

“Sofia!” Pestle called out from inside the drawer of a desk on the opposite side of the circular room. She was holding up a tiny golden plate. “Pesle found name city!”

“It is actually a real place?!” Sofia reacted, turning around to go check Pestle’s findings.

Sofia grabbed the tiny engraved golden plaque and read the few words inscribed on it.

‘We thank Sun for this memory-recording of the Revinthius Kingdom, circa 4000 years into the modern epoch - The administration team’

Revinthius Kingdom… 4000 years after the lost epoch, then… That’s… More than twenty six thousand years ago… There probably aren’t even ruins left by now…

“Nice find, Pestle. Anything else interesting in these books?”

Pestle shook her head, “No leg.”

The half hour preceding the last challenge was spent in a refreshing lighthearted mood at the top of the tower.

When the time finally came, instead of a door opening into a white void, the scenery outside of the tower’s windows changed slightly. No longer on the outskirts of the big city with the fields and forests in view, the tower was now directly in the heart of the human city, with bustling activity outside. Colorful flower wreathes and long white ribbons decorated the rooftops, and the entire city seemed overtaken by a solemn, but joyous atmosphere.

Only then did the room’s door slowly swing open, revealing the white spiraling stairs that led down the tower.

“Alright, it’s time everyone. After me.”

Despite her mental preparations, Sofia could fell her nerves tighten with every step on her way down the stairs. When she spotted the exit door at the bottom, she stopped for a second to calm her breathing.

I can do this.

There were inaudible murmurs outside, and Sofia’s mana senses were stifled, unable to see past the door. After a final moment to gather her strength, she turned the doorknob.

The voices stopped. The sound of trumpets sounded her arrival as she stepped outside of the tower, stepping onto a long white road cutting straight through the city from the tower to a white palace. A row a knights in silver armor on either side of the road separated Sofia from the crowd behind them. While most knights stood stoic with their sword in hand, a few of them were the trumpet players, and a few more, on both sides, were holding tall banners.

There were two different designs of banners, one clearly represented Sofia’s side. It was an image of a human skull, two human hands hiding its eye sockets, topped with a glowing halo. The other banners bore the image of a long and sleek white sword piercing through a gleaming diamond from the top.

The first Key?

After Sofia and her skeletons took a few steps, the trumpets stopped.

Nex appeared in the air over the street, wearing fully white ceremonial clothing.

“Greetings to our champions!” Nex announced, and the crowd behind the knights cheered.

“As promised, you will now have the privilege of fighting an ultimate round, against none other than the tournament master themself. Do you, Pareth and Sofia Aphenoreth, still wish to proceed?!”

“Of course,” Sofia answered, and Pareth confirmed with a solemn nod.

“Very well, then, proceed!”

The trumpets sounded again, and white flower petals started raining over the road out of nowhere as Nex disappeared.

Sofia looked back at her skeletons. “Let’s go.”

Under the ceremonious gaze of the hundreds of knights lining the road, Sofia advanced through the city until she was only fifty meters away from the entrance doors of the grand palace at the end of the road.

A knight slightly stepped out of line, a hand extended out to stop Sofia. “You may stop there, milady,” he said in a low voice, before stepping back in line with a deep bow.

A man in long priestly robes came out of a side door next to the palace’s main gate, and stood atop the steps leading to it, “His excellency, tournament master Jewel of Truth!” he announced, before standing to the side, bowing towards the colossal closed gates of the palace.

Jewel of truth?! He was the tournament master?!!!

Sofia heard some heavy footsteps from the other side, but just as the gates started to open, she finally heard them.

The city’s bells started to ring.

Now! Everyone copy me!

Sofia had received a message from Jin for killing the trial’s ‘immortal god’, and she now followed the instructions she had gotten from that tiny piece of paper. Hearing the bells, she saluted the incoming tournament master with a deep bow, a hand on her heart.

Like this, Sofia could not watch the tournament master’s entrance, but she heard his heavy steps, and the clanking of his armor. A pair of pointy silvery sabatons soon entered her view.

The bells suddenly stopped.

“Well met, champions. Your courtesy honors me,” a calm male voice greeted.

Sofia finally looked up.

She could not see much of the tournament master, he was likely a human around her height, maybe a bit shorter, and fully covered in a slightly more luxurious version of the same silver armor every knight around the street wore, with his visor down hiding his face.

When Sofia’s entire group stood upright, the tournament master returned their salute.

Something seemed to break. After a light spasm, the tournament master stopped moving completely. Before he started laughing.

“Ahahah! Ah! I can’t believe this,” he heartily said, his voice lighter than before as he got upright and looked around, “So someone actually killed it! I’m glad! I didn’t even think this clone would ever get to see the light of day!”

Stunned by the sudden personality change of the tournament master, Sofia watched as his silver armor started to fall apart. Piece after piece, the armor broke by itself and fell to the ground, revealing the relatively average stature of the man behind it, and leaving only the helmet intact.

The man grabbed the helmet with both hands and slowly took it off, shaking his head to fix his hair after he did. He smiled at Sofia.

“Not a face you expected to see?” he asked.

There was no doubt in Sofia’s mind as stared at the man’s face, and the ominous suspicion that had formed at the back of her mind when she saw the banners turned out to be correct.

Jin.