"Hikari! what did you just do?"
Ria shouts at her.
"Sorry."
Hikari scratches her cheeks and looks away in embarrassment.
The guards were shoveling the rubble away.
"I thought you got it? I was sure you could jump over the gate house."
"She's heavy."
"(Yes, I am.)"
The giantess nun clasped her hands together and prayed.
"Well I can see that. But you could have just said so!"
Hikari glances at the destroyed gate house.
Her boots had landed directly on top of the gatehouse, causing the entire structure to cave in to their combined mass. The stone was smashed into pieces.
The impact of her landing had even dragged the gating mechanism by the chains and yanked it out of the side, burying it below the pile of stone rubble.
Fortunately, she and her passenger were fine. So were the guards who cleared the area beforehand.
It was a different issue for the structure that took builders more than a month to complete.
"She's heavy."
Hikari points her finger at the nun.
"(Yes. The brave soul is right. It is Silora will that we face trials in this world)"
She continues to pray.
"What about the gate!?"
Hikari glances at the nun praying.
She clasped her hands together.
"I pray."
"That's not going to fix the gate!"
"(Oh, holy Silora…)"
Hikari took another glance at the giantess nun.
"Oh, holy Silora."
"Don't pretend to pray! I have never seen you do it before."
"... (Oh only Silora, bless the walls that keep the darkness out…)"
"Bless the walls…"
"I don't need the gatehouse blessed, I need it fixed."
"(Guide me with your light … through the perils that may …)"
"Guide me…"
"Stop it!"
. . .
The guests were seated. The agenda on the table is a raid on the depths below Carla.
The delegations from the houses who wished to involve themselves in the raid. The representatives from the merchant guilds who are looking to fund it and flip a profit.
A representative from the Moradale commission to ensure the agreements that bind the houses are observed.
Not a head of a house was present. The Carla shaft was merely an issue that they convened periodically to address.
It was also common for Silora priests to be present for a delving expedition.
The only surprise was his rank and the one he brought.
The waiters served up the dessert.
A sponge cake. Decorated with luminous herbs from the garden city of Herdial. They gave off a sweet acidic scent.
A drizzle of chocolate sauce on its side.
Hikari couldn't help but glance at the tiny pieces of cake that would just about coat the tip of her tongue before instantly evaporating in her mouth.
The waiters brought bottles and poured the wine.
Ria raised the glass as the host of the event. They each took a tiny teaspoon bite at the tip of the sponge cake and took a tiny sip of their glass.
Then the deliberations began.
They began with a brief discussion of the outline of the campaign.
"… mounting forward posts … clearing the pre-built roads through the swamps from the cult of eon campaign …"
And then came the incomprehensible words and legalese.
"… rights and notional duties of participants … claims to articles … voluntary and circumstantial involvements …"
Hikari quickly lost track.
She glanced across at the giantess nun who was deep in her prayer.
The latter opens her eyes, noticing Hikari looking at her.
Hikari felt a tingle of mana around her as the nun scanned her.
She did likewise, staring into the deep blue eyes of the giantess nun.
. . .
Hikari's mind space.
She stood in a vast empty arena. Her full armour. Enchanted wyvern skin suit covering her body from the neck down. On the inside, her salamander armour boosted her strength and mana while acting as a second layer of armour.
Two swords of the old wyvern order strapped to her back. Five rows of runes each. Her RazenHeir flames. Her telekinesis. Runes belonging to the wyvern order of which she could now partially use.
A set of throwing daggers trapped to her back. Each massive enough to crush normal armour with just their weight.
Opposite her, an imposing warrior.
Only very slightly less than her in physical size.
White ivory armour lined with columns upon columns of cryptic runes.
It was not made of steel, but something much tougher.
A tower shield stood from the ground to her chest.
Her golden long hair. Her piercing blue eyes.
She put on her helmet and took a stance.
Her shield facing Hikari. Her sword resting atop her shield in a thrusting stance.
Her armour glowed with a brilliant light as she channeled her mana. Lesser foes would have been completely blinded by her.
Thud. Thud. She began approaching Hikari. The sound of her heavy armoured boots.
She maintained a low stance even as she moved, maximising her stability.
Hikari drew her sword. One foot before the other.
She held her sword pointing diagonally downwards in a flexible stance.
She channeled mana to her free hand. It flared with RazenHeir flame.
As her armoured opponent approached, she released a torrent of flames. It hit the shield and then spread around it, igniting the bearer.
She was stopped as her armour was engulfed in the dark flames.
The runes on her armour lit up, wrapping herself in an aura of light.
The Razenheir flames began flickering and were soon dispelled.
She continued her advance.
Hikari was soon within sword range.
She did not lunge. Her shorter sword did not match her armoured opponent's sword in reach.
But her opponent did.
In a sudden thrust, she lunged at Hikari, the tip of her sword aiming for her heart.
Clank! Hikari parries. With a swing of her short sword, she knocks her opponent's sword aside.
She spins to one side, sliding past her opponent. Despite her larger mass, Hikari's speed advantage allows her to land a kick on the side armour before her opponent could recover, staggering her.
Hikari lunged with her sword, concentrating her wyvern flame into the metal.
Her opponent turned and raised her shield just in time.
The sword pierced half way into the shield and got stuck.
They wrangled for a moment. Hikari was surprised her smaller opponent could match her in strength.
it was not her style to engage in a brute force wrestling match so she pulled her sword out and kicked the shield, giving her a moment to regain her stance and reset.
Her opponent swung her sword.
Hikari parries and pushes her sword to the ground.
She drew her other sword and swung it around the shield line right at the throat.
The searing sword screeched against the armour.
Her opponent jumped back.
Her helmet had been cleaved through. A slither of flesh exposed in the full helmet.
Hikari unleashed her throwing daggers. They flared with RazenHeir flame. The daggers flew forward.
Her opponent held her shield tight but the daggers flew behind her.
At the same time, Hikari lunged.
The anointed one leapt back. Hikari's daggers struck from behind, engulfing her in RazenHeir flame even as the inferior steel could not pierce the armour itself.
Hikari kept up the pressure.
Their swords clashed and clashed again.
Hikari dove towards her sword hand where it's harder for the anointed one to cover with her shield.
As their swords clashed, Hikari found it hard to gather mana in her sword arm as the holy sword kept dispelling her form.
Nevertheless, the weight of her sword alone with her superior speed was enough to pin the anointed one down.
The sword duel continues.
Hikari's shorter and more nimble sword could find openings against the heavier longer sword at short range but could not pierce the armour.
But the constant pressure prevented her opponent from gathering her energy and dispelling the RazenHeir flames that slowly ate away at her strength.
Whenever she tried to open a gap by leaping back, Hikari just followed, constantly taking swings while her flaming daggers continued to strike the anointed one from behind.
After a few more bouts, the anointed one finally dropped on her knee.