Remedios's request clearly caught Jircniv off guard.
He hadn't expected something so… bizarre.
"…Ren Kuroda," Jircniv said after a brief pause, turning his gaze to the young man. "Go ahead and spar with Lady Remedios. She is an envoy of the Holy Kingdom—try not to go too hard on her."
This time, Jircniv didn't refuse.
If anything, after watching Remedios recklessly stomp all over one verbal landmine after another—nearly dragging the Empire down with her—his patience had already worn thin.
Since she wanted a match with Ren Kuroda, he had no reason to stop her.
Besides, he had absolute confidence that Ren wouldn't lose to the so-called strongest paladin of the Holy Kingdom.
Ever since their visit to the Great Tomb, Ren's standing in Jircniv's eyes had skyrocketed. His performance there had been nothing short of extraordinary, far surpassing even the Empire's famed Four Knights.
Now, his trust in Ren bordered on unquestioning.
"Martial Arts—Flow Acceleration. Immovable Fortress. Vital Sense. Ability Boost. Greater Ability Boost. Paladin's Blessing!"
Remedios's irritation had already reached its peak.
She was the strongest paladin in the entire Holy Kingdom—arguably its greatest individual combatant.
And yet here she was, being underestimated before the match had even begun.
The Emperor had already acted as though his knight would win—and even told him not to strike too hard.
What kind of joke was that?
Still, mindful not to provoke the Emperor again, Remedios held her tongue.
Instead, after activating a chain of enhancement techniques, she gripped her holy sword tightly and burst forward in a flash.
She had already gathered some intelligence on Ren Kuroda before coming here.
Although he served as the Empire's Knight Commander, he was, in essence, a magic caster.
And in a confined space like this, Remedios was certain—
No matter how powerful a magic caster might be, once she closed the distance, there was no way she could lose.
Under the effect of Flow Acceleration, her body blurred into an afterimage.
At the same time, Vital Sense scanned for weaknesses in her opponent.
But almost immediately—
She froze.
Despite standing there casually, Ren Kuroda showed not a single opening.
"…Fine. A magic caster loses most of their threat once you get close. And with a frail body, every part is a weak point to a paladin!"
Unable to detect any vulnerabilities, Remedios didn't hesitate.
She pressed forward, bringing her holy sword down toward him.
In the next instant—
A blade far slimmer than her sacred weapon intercepted her strike mid-air.
Steel met steel with a sharp clang, sparks erupting in all directions.
"That's impossible! Aren't you a magic caster? How do you have this kind of strength?!"
There was no hiding her shock.
Remedios was wielding her sword with both hands—yet Ren blocked her full-force strike effortlessly with a single hand.
At first, she had held back slightly, considering this was the Empire's territory and merely a sparring match.
But the moment her attack was stopped, her expression hardened.
Her arms tensed as she poured more strength into the blade, intending to crush him outright and secure victory in one decisive blow.
And yet—
No matter how much force she applied, Ren remained completely unmoved.
Even when she pushed herself to her absolute limit—
Her sword didn't advance so much as a fraction of an inch.
She had charged in with full momentum.
She had stacked multiple enhancement techniques beforehand.
And still… she couldn't overpower him?
This is supposed to be a magic caster?
For a moment, Remedios genuinely wondered if her intelligence report had been completely wrong.
Realizing she was at a disadvantage in raw strength, she immediately disengaged, leaping backward to create distance.
If she couldn't win through power—
Then she would win through speed.
But the moment she retreated, Ren moved as well.
His left hand rose calmly, and a glowing blue magic circle rapidly formed in front of his palm.
"Sixth-Tier Spell—Maximize Magic: Chain Bind."
Golden chains burst forth from the ground beneath Remedios without warning.
As a warrior who had surpassed the realm of heroes, her reflexes were exceptional.
She twisted and dodged, avoiding several of the chains—but this was a sixth-tier spell, the pinnacle of human magic.
It wasn't something that could be evaded so easily.
The chains moved like living serpents, coiling swiftly around her body.
In an instant, they bound her tightly—accentuating the curves of her already well-defined figure in an embarrassingly conspicuous way.
Her face flushed red with both anger and humiliation.
Gritting her teeth, Remedios raised her holy sword, preparing to sever the restraints.
Like Lakyus's demonic blade, her weapon was of the highest grade and possessed a special ability—
It could cut through magic itself.
Against ordinary spellcasters, this ability alone made her nearly invincible.
Since she had avoided some of the initial bindings, her arms were still free.
Gripping her sword, she aimed to first cut the chains around her legs—
But just as she moved—
A figure suddenly rushed into her field of vision.
That earlier sixth-tier spell had already proven it:
Ren Kuroda was a genuine magic caster—one standing at the very pinnacle of human capability.
And yet—
This magic caster was closing the distance on a paladin.
A paladin wielding a holy sword capable of cutting through magic.
No… for others, perhaps that would be unthinkable.
But after their brief clash, Remedios understood one thing clearly—
The man before her did not fight like any conventional magic caster.
As his fist came swinging straight toward her face, the air itself seemed to warp under the sheer pressure behind it.
Every instinct in her body screamed danger.
Abandoning any thought of breaking free from the chains, she instead raised her holy sword horizontally, using the flat of the blade to block.
Ren's voice followed, calm—yet utterly at odds with the absurdity of the situation:
"The kind of magic caster you're imagining… is already obsolete."
"The truly powerful ones these days max out strength and agility—"
"Then get in close and unleash a full barrage."
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!!"
...
Want to unlock up to 60+ early-access chapters and exclusive novels and NFSW CONTENT ALSO? Join my Patreon today and dive deeper into the adventure!
patreon.com/denji21