The Priest of Complete Dispel ~ Every Time I Save a Cursed Beautiful Girl with My Status Abnormal Cure Skill, For Some Reason Her Dependence on Me Maxes Out ~ - Chapter 78: Practice Match (3)

Chapter 78: Practice Match (3)

Berkhart quietly lowered his knight sword into a low stance.

It was completely different from this morning when he’d held a wooden sword. The aura around him was sharpened like steel.

I had no idea how serious he was being.

But letting my guard down wasn’t an option. It wouldn’t be weird if he had techniques I’d never seen before.

“I’m the challenger this time. Let me make the first move—”

Even though I’m younger, he didn’t forget his manners.

His dignified attitude really suited someone with the title of squad leader.

“Hmph… Can you block this easily too?”

Right after he spoke, Berkhart kicked off the ground. A sharp flurry of strikes came rushing at me like a storm.

I met them with my long sword and accurately knocked every single one away.

“Wha—too fast… The squad leader’s sword is moving like that—”

“He’s obviously holding back!”

“Even holding back… can you even see that sword speed?”

“…Nah, I can’t see it at all…”

I could hear the confused and shocked voices of the students pressed against the wall of the training ground.

No wonder—they were watching a seventeen-year-old apprentice trading blows evenly with the top swordmaster of the temple knights.

“Come on—”

“Alright then, this time it’s my turn to go first.”

Berkhart lightly jumped back.

The moment he landed, I activated my magic.

“—<Air Boost>”

For an instant my vision melted into the wind.

I circled around to his back at a speed that made it look like I’d vanished, then slammed a slash into his defenseless rear.

“Guhhh… gah!”

Berkhart twisted his body on reflex and barely blocked with his knight sword.

But his stance was broken. He couldn’t completely stop the surprise attack.

I hammered him with raw power, and Berkhart flew backward, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Well, you’re not the kind of guy who goes down from something like that, right?”

“…So this morning when you weren’t going all out—it was the same for both of us, huh.”

When the dust settled, Berkhart slowly stood up and walked toward me.

There wasn’t a single scratch on the body that had just been blown away. He must’ve already activated <Holy Armor>.

That annoying auto-heal magic skill.

“Of course. Class doesn’t last forever. I can’t be the only one fighting the whole time. —So I’m not holding back anymore!”

“You think I’ll let it through that easily!”

The knight sword and long sword clashed hard, sending high-pitched metallic ringing across the training ground.

I was accelerating with <Air Boost>, but Berkhart desperately kept up.

His real specialty seemed to be counterattacks that exploit openings—he was aiming for tiny gaps and slashing toward my torso.

Still, his speed wasn’t on Dorotheia’s level. So—I could see it.

Plus, after the dungeon break in Hares, I definitely felt my level had gone up. I could catch the opponent’s movements way more clearly than before.

“Daaaaah!!”

The moment Berkhart pulled back once and stepped in again—his eyes changed.

It wasn’t a physical color. It was a dark light filled with the resolve to finish me.

Looked like I had to get serious too.

I gripped the handle of my long sword tight, swung it way up high, and slammed it down into the ground.

“—<Air Slash>”

“Uwaaaaaah!?”

A roaring sound as the earth split, clumps of dirt and dust flying up.

The students crowded at the edge of the training ground all screamed at once.

Through the haze of dust—a blurry shadow.

It was Berkhart.

If we’re talking pure eyesight, mine should be several times better than his.

Even in the dust cloud, I could tell exactly where he was.

I kicked off the ground and closed the distance in one burst.

I dropped low like a beast hunting prey—the same stance I’d practiced over and over against giant monsters back in Iasis village.

Then I swept my long sword horizontally in a straight line.

“——”

But no one was in the space I cut.

For a second I thought it was some illusion like the <Mirage> Glen used—but the next instant, a presence exploded behind me.

“Gotcha!”

My back was wide open.

If he cut me now, unless I was wearing that specially alchemized robe I didn’t have on today, my back would get shredded.

But I deliberately didn’t take a defensive stance.

“Guh…”

A sharp pain shot through me. The kind of pain that should’ve left me covered in blood.

But—

“Wha…t”

“Berkhart. Is that all your swordsmanship amounts to?”

My monk’s robe was sliced open.

Even so, the wound on my back was only a shallow cut.

Looked like my level was so much higher than Berkhart’s it wasn’t even comparable.

“Then—<Obelisk Tomb>”

“Wha!?”

In the dust, Berkhart’s right arm swelled up. A stone armor wrapped around it, sword and all.

The next moment, a gigantic stone sword rose straight up toward the sky.

“What the… is that!?”

They couldn’t see his figure through the dust, but the huge sword stretching into the heavens was clearly visible.

The students let out voices close to terror.

“Th-that’s… Sir Berkhart’s ultimate technique…”

“Squad leader… is he seriously trying to kill Shu?”

Panicked murmurs leaked out everywhere.

Looked like—I had to meet that thing head-on.

“—Take thiiiis!!”

Swinging a weapon that heavy should’ve left his torso wide open—

But defying common sense, the massive stone sword came swinging down at unbelievable speed.

No way I could just stand there and take it.

A blow from a giant god that could easily crush a person was falling straight toward me.

“—<Air Slash>!!”

I gripped my long sword with both hands and fired off a blade of wind.

The stone sword and wind blade collided, sending a thunderous roar that shook the whole training ground.

“Uwaaaaaah!?”

The blast wind drowned out the students’ screams.

My <Air Slash> couldn’t cut through the stone sword.

But—that was fine. The only goal was to stop it. I’d already activated another spell.

Multiple wind protrusions clung to the blade of my long sword.

Countless tiny blades spun faster and faster.

—Viiiiiiiiiiin!!

A warped, ultra-high-speed rotation sound vibrated the air.

That exact moment was the signal.

“—<Air Drive>”

The long sword, now a wind chainsaw, crashed head-on into the stone sword.

I poured every ounce of strength into my body, raised the sword—and sliced straight through Berkhart’s arm along with it.

The stone sword spun through the air, then scattered into mist as the magic dissipated.

I saw the shattered stone sword return to Berkhart’s right hand.

“—Whoa, close one, close one.”

I jumped up with <Air Boost> and caught that right hand.

Still in the lingering dust, I stepped closer to Berkhart.

“…Heh, I lost.”

“You’re not even flinching in pain—that’s actually kinda scary. You’re way too tough.”

“<Holy Armor>… and you even broke through <Obelisk Tomb>. You’re the first one to do it.”

Blood was pouring from Berkhart’s right arm.

<Holy Armor> had completely lost its effect.

He might’ve poured every last drop of mana into it.

So I—

“—<Heal>”

Just like with Dorotheia, I reconnected the arm using recovery magic.

“…Regenerating this much with basic recovery magic? You’re an absolute monster talent.”

“Conversely, it means I can barely use any other magic.”

“…With you around, I don’t have to worry about Canaan anymore.”

“Cut it out… He’s just a roommate and friend. We get along, sure, but that’s it.”

“…Hm? Roommate? Wait, hold on a sec—”

Right when Berkhart seemed to notice something and started to speak—

“The squad leader’s sword…”

“No way…”

The dust cleared, and the only one still holding a weapon was me.

Berkhart’s knight sword was stabbed into the ground.

The winner was obvious to everyone.

“Sir Berkhart… this means—”

“Yeah, it’s my loss.”

He answered the teacher’s question honestly.

…Wait, maybe for the sake of the squad leader’s dignity, I should’ve lost?

Nah, I couldn’t pull off something that calculated.

And so my practice match with Berkhart came to an end. Next up were his matches with Seira and then individual fights with the other students—

◇◇◇

“—Hey, Canaan. What the hell is that guy?”

“Oh, Gaits-kun. You’re awake.”

“Only partway through…”

When Gaits, who’d been knocked out against an A-class student and slumped against the wall, finally opened his eyes, Canaan was sitting right beside him, watching the end of Shu and Berkhart’s fight.

“Look. The A-class kid got totally wrecked by Shu-kun.”

“Huh? …What, so he got revenge for me or something?”

“Hehe. Who knows. Shu-kun’s a little blunt, but deep down he’s kind… I think he still feels something for people who pick fights with him, like you, Gaits-kun.”

“Didn’t ask him to… Doing whatever the hell he wants. Your dad got wrecked fair and square though.”

The fight had just ended.

The dust had hidden the details, but the sharp sword clashes midway through were crystal clear.

“I don’t really feel anything even if Dad lost.”

“You’re… pretty cold, huh.”

“But if Seira-sama had lost, I might’ve gotten mad at Shu-kun.”

“Beating the squad leader basically means he’s the real winner…”

“You never know till you try.”

“You… body all skinny, but your personality’s thick as hell.”

“Really? But you’re super sore loser too, Gaits-kun.”

“Tch… Obviously.”

He didn’t laugh.

But Gaits couldn’t help feeling like he had to acknowledge Shu’s strength.

He’d trained in his own way.

That’s why he could tell—the fight he’d just watched wasn’t normal.

He could accept his own weakness and the opponent’s strength straight-up.

In that respect, Gaits was honest.

The fact that Shu had defeated Berkhart—even in a practice match—sent a huge shock through both teachers and students.

Beating the top of the Temple Knights Order was something that shouldn’t happen.

And yet it did.

Some students still refused to believe it, but half of them had already started accepting Shu’s strength as undeniable.

◇◇◇

“—Shu-kun, good work!”

“Canaan… your dad just lost and you’re way too cheerful about it, aren’t you?”

“Gaits-kun said the same thing~”

Class ended, and I talked with Canaan.

“I’m on good terms with Dad, but that’s it—nothing more, nothing less. Back home he was always bothering me, like seriously annoying.”

“Didn’t expect to hear ‘annoying’ come out of your mouth, Canaan…”

“It’s the truth! So I’m totally fine even if he loses!”

“Good then… Oh yeah, you fought Seira…-sama in the practice match, right?”

“Yup! I was so happy I don’t even remember it!”

Since it was set up so one of us fought Berkhart and the other fought Seira, I got a break after my match with Berkhart and watched Canaan’s fight with Seira instead.

But it never really turned into a proper battle.

Her admiration was so intense that Canaan just stood there swooning at every little move Seira made.

Even Seira eventually sighed and tried to snap her out of it, but Canaan looked thrilled no matter what happened.

…I was genuinely worried whether she could become a Temple Knight like that.

“Wait—your back!?”

“Yeah, it’s the wound your dad gave me.”

There was a huge tear in the back of my monk’s robe where Berkhart’s sword had cut.

“But… Shu-kun, there’s no wound?”

“Yeah, I healed it with recovery magic. Problem is, the clothes are still like this.”

“Then I’ll fix it for you!”

“You can sew?”

“Yup! It’ll take till night, but is that okay?”

“Of course. Please… Oh, right. I’m heading out tonight—is that cool?”

“Huh, going out? There’s a curfew though… You’ll come back properly, right?”

“Ugh, curfew… Eh, I’ll figure something out.”

“I’m worried… but if it’s you, Shu-kun, it’ll probably be fine, right?”

And so, as planned, I decided to go meet Seira that night.