Kelvin, who was beaming with an evil smile, made Gloria question her hearing. She confirmed that she hadn’t misheard and that her ears weren’t broken; the person before her was truly saying what she thought she heard.
“Are you sane?”
“Oh, I’m perfectly sane. Though, worrying about your enemy, Gloria, you’re surprisingly kind, aren’t you? Or perhaps you’ve changed your mind about joining us?”
“You idiot! That’s not what I meant!”
Gloria strongly shook her head, denying his assumption.
“Haha, my bad. Anyway, jokes aside, about the Three Authorities of Authority, right? I’ve heard about them from Kelvum. It seems they have some complaints.”
“Naturally. The Three Authorities of Authority isn’t a rank established by the god Adams, but a title Eld arbitrarily coined. I suspect it’s meant to harass me, excluding me from that group. In terms of overall power, including Authority, I’m second to none.”
“Psst (After losing to Master Kelvin, how dare he boast so shamelessly?)”
“Psst— (I agree, but what happened to your earlier statement about rudeness—)”
*Glare.*
Shinjir and Paul, glaring at Kelvum, turned their gazes away and fell silent. It seemed their hushed conversation had been overheard.
“Kelvum says the Three Authorities of Authority are the ‘God of War’ Hao Ma, the ‘Barbarian God’ Hazama Shemhazai, and Gloria’s sister, the ‘Guardian God’ Isabel Roses… Hey, why aren’t Eld and Kelvum included? They’re the top two in the Ten Authorities! Hao is a warrior who defeated Pritia and Dahak. I can accept that but… this isn’t just harassment, is it?”
“No, knowing that cowardly Eld, he must be harassing me by balancing the scales like this.”
“How much do you hate Eld…”
For Kelvin, understanding the strength of each of the Ten Authorities was paramount. After all, it determined his opponents. He usually targeted the enemy leader first, but if that person wasn’t the strongest, choosing his opponent for this battle required careful consideration. Analyzing the combat strength of these Three Authorities was part of that process.
“Hmph, it would be troublesome if we were misunderstood. Well, I suppose I can explain such a simple matter.”
“Oh, the God of Discipline is reliable!”
“Hey, isn’t the God of Death reliable too?”
“…”
Kelvin and Gloria were speechless in response to Kelvum’s serious pronouncement.
“The Three Authorities of Authority is a title awarded to those who achieved great success in the previous great war. Hao, Hazama, and Isabel defeated numerous gods on the front lines. Conversely, Eld and Kelvum, due to their roles in overseeing the battlefield, had fewer opportunities for direct combat compared to others. This is the true reason they were excluded from the Three Authorities of Authority. In other words, it’s a difference in achievements.”
“Ah, I see. So that’s why. By the way, didn’t Kelvum know this?”
“Naturally, he didn’t.”
“He just… said that so definitively…”
“Eld and Kelvum are like a cat and dog. Though, honestly, Kelvum just hates Eld. He probably just didn’t listen carefully when Eld explained the ranks.”
“Was it… like that?”
“Kelvum, you…”
Regardless, Kelvum’s doubt seemed to have been resolved.
“Well, whatever. More importantly, who is the strongest in the end? Is it Eld? Or the Three Authorities of Authority? Please clarify that!”
“Unfortunately, I cannot ascertain that. However, it is undoubtedly Eld or one of the Three Authorities of Authority.”
“What, so you don’t know after all…”
“That doesn’t matter. No matter who you face, you have no chance of winning. Die with your complacency.”
“Wait, I’m the prime candidate and—”
“You’re automatically disqualified from candidacy the moment you’ve been defeated by this human before.”
“…”
Kelvum had no retort to Gloria’s irrefutable logic.
“Well, I’ll take that into consideration. I’ve promised Dahak that Hao will be his responsibility, so it’s up to fate for the other enemies, I guess.”
“Master Kelvin, about our training…”
Kelvin, lost in thought about which of the Ten Authorities would be the most advantageous opponent, was brought back to reality by Paul, who had been waiting behind him.
“Ah, right. That’s what you came for. So, Gloria, I’m counting on you too.”
With that, Kelvin placed his hand on Gloria’s head.
“…?”
Gloria wondered what he was doing. He didn’t do anything else, nor did he say anything more. Yet, Kelvin seemed intensely focused.
“Hey, what are you—”
*Click!*
In that instant, Gloria’s eyes and ears were assaulted again. Kelvin had effortlessly opened the door to the cell that confined Gloria. Though Gloria’s arms and legs were shackled, Kelvin unhesitatingly unlocked them.
The “Eagle Grasp Kazenagi” restriction Kelvin had placed on Gloria prohibited any actions that would harm Kelvin. It didn’t even restrict her escape. This meant that as long as Gloria didn’t attack anyone other than Kelvin, she was now free to move.
“Foolish!”
Gloria’s actions were swift. She invoked her Authority, then cast the B-rank White Magic spell [Flash Burst] without incantation, releasing an instant, blinding light throughout the surroundings. However, as previously mentioned, she couldn’t harm anyone but Kelvin. Simultaneously, she used her Authority, ‘Gap,’ creating infinite distance behind Kelvin, who was within close proximity. This prevented the light from reaching Suzu and the others.
(I’ll abandon the others! But there’s no need to show mercy to this one!)
Immediately after unleashing Flash Burst, Gloria intended to drive a clenched fist into Kelvin. Since Kelvin was outside the restriction and at point-blank range, allowing him to remove her shackles, she was certain she wouldn’t miss his heart. …But.
(Ngh!?)
A sharp pain shot through her right hand. Simultaneously, she sensed the horrifying sensation of flesh and bone crushing. Sensing dire danger, Gloria changed her objective from eliminating Kelvin to escaping. She closed the distance to outside the cell and the room, then dashed away at full speed.
“Master Kelvin!? Are you alright!?”
As the blinding light from Flash Burst dissipated, Kelvin reappeared. He had been crouching to remove the shackles, but his posture remained unchanged after the light faded. Naturally, Gloria was no longer in the cell.
“That was close. If I hadn’t reflexively activated my hard Wisdom form, a hole would’ve been punched through my heart. It’s good I’m finally getting used to activating it instinctively. Though, I imagine her fist is in pretty bad shape after hitting my unbreakable armor.”
“Hey, you forgot about her escaping?”
“No, no, she didn’t escape; I let her go on purpose. Just like my disciples, my comrades fighting on the front lines need to regain their form. So, Gloria will participate in the training too. As for persuading her, leave that to me. I’ll handle it.”
“Huh? …Are you perhaps saying you’ll persuade Gloria concurrently?”
“While Kelvum trains the disciples, I’ll persuade her in a relaxed environment. Well, I’ll leave the rest to you!”
“Ah, wait!”
By the time Kelvum tried to stop him, Kelvin had already vanished from the room. In his place, the intense gazes of four disciples, anticipating training to become stronger, focused solely on Kelvum. He wasn’t lying, but Kelvum couldn’t quite accept it.
