“Hmm…”

In the waiting area, Anten contemplated her look as she glanced down at her brand-new outfit before giving a quick twirl and watching the fabric move along with her body.

Given that the second trial was more combat based than the first, the attire that the candidates had been asked to wear was very different from the thick and protective robes that they wore before.

This time, they wore a unisex white sleeveless top with remarkably short pants and had to go completely barefoot for their matches. It was therefore not surprising that, despite it being much freer and cooling, the entire fit made some of them feel exposed and embarrassed, even the audience who were not wearing them.

On the other hand, Anten did not particularly mind the outfit at all, but when she had been asked to change, she at least made sure that Yuu was far enough away for her to do it in peace.

Sorry, Miss Yuu. I have to protect my dignity.

As for the spirit girl herself, she did not seem too affected by the rejection either, but she had been sullener and quieter for a little bit after she saw her in her new attire, which did concern her a little.

To compensate for that, Anten intended to fully apologize to her and offer a compromise when she came into the waiting area to give her the mentor’s pep talk before her match.

“Miss Yuu…”

“… it’s ok… I’m not mad…”

With a simple wave-off, Yuu immediately shook away any need for an apology and fully threw her off her plan, causing her to stammer and mumble in confusion.

“Uhh… umm…”

“… angel lady…”

“Y-yes?”

“… what’s your plan?”

“… oh.”

In an instant, the spirit girl brought Anten back on the right track, the more important thing they had to deal with other than a simple wardrobe change. They had to return back to their plan.

“I still need to think about it.”

She had built up and expanded on her initial plan to get the Particle based on her experience with the Church thus far, but especially after what she had faced and seen during her first trial. Over the past few days, she had agonized over its details and prepared for it the best she could.

Establishing connections, learning about weaknesses, and most importantly training for it were all part and parcel of the plan, and in the event that it failed, she of course had alternative paths that she could take to ensure that it would succeed in the end.

However, despite her extensive planning, at the moment she was not decided fully on whether she would use the alternatives, and considering their specifics, she was not keen on carrying them out either.

All she could do now was to hope that the plan succeeded, and she would not have to fret and worry as a result.

“… are you sure about this…”

“I am sure,” she calmly responded to Yuu, masking her doubts from her, “as long as the first match—”

“And the winner of the first match is… Brother Simon Bailey! A great congratulations to the winner!!!”

… for god’s sake.

And just like that, the plan had changed with one fateful development, one dreaded announcement from the arena.

“Candidate Anten. Candidate Anten. Please get ready for your match now.”

I’m sorry, Sister Gail. I can’t keep the promise after all.

The hard choice had to be made, and someone had to be on the chopping block in the end. That was the only truth of the trials. As she got ready to step out into the arena, she steeled herself for it.

**********************

Anten.

The so-called ‘Golden Girl’.

At this point, Blake’s disliking of her had already grown into a severe and desperate desire to beat her.

Renare had already given him the apology from her before the trial, but not only did he not trust his mentor at the moment, but he had also not believed that it was genuine in the first place.

There’s something wrong with her, I can feel it.

Since the moment that he had first heard about her and her record-breaking aptitude score, he had a sneaking suspicion that she was not telling anyone her real motivations. He knew she had something to hide, something that went outside the Church, and more towards where she really came from.

Meeting her in the Garden did nothing to assuage his fears either. From her nonchalance about the trials to her cheery façade, he swore that he would break them down for everyone to see who the worthiest candidate truly was.

For as much as it takes.

There was no room for error. He had already won his first match, but now was the deciding moment.

Even though he still did not know what the third trial was going to be about, he set aside his dreams of obtaining the Gift for the moment. If his prediction was right, he would get the opportunity he had been waiting for.

“And the one who wins the second match of the tournament is… Anten! Is there nothing this Golden Girl can’t do?”

I knew it.

The stage had been set, and the hour of revelation was about to begin. All he had to do now at that moment was to win. Given how much the Gift had helped him during his last match, he knew the probability of it succeeding was now much higher than before.

No matter what his doubts were, he needed to uncover the truth behind everything. Renare, Anten, all of them had their own hidden secrets, and if he let it all slide, it would not sit well with him for as long as he lived.

“The final match will begin in half an hour. Candidates Simon Bailey and Anten, please be ready when you are called.”

Just one more match, one more round. And then, it would all be over, for one of them.

**********************

Simon Bailey.

The so-called ‘Church prodigy’.

Anten had figured out what his problem was with her shortly after they had met. She believed she was sure that she had smoothed out their rocky relationship with Renare’s help, or at the very least allowed him to understand her point of view a little more.

After a short break was given for the both of them to rest and gather enough strength, the tournament resumed, and she went in with hope in her heart that everything was good.

“Here we are, at the final match of the Second Trial! In one corner, we have the unchallenged Golden Girl herself, Anten! In the other, we have the darling of the Church himself, Simon Bailey! Who will be the ultimate victor? Let’s find out, shall we!?!?”

However, as she stepped into the ring and took one good look at his face, she could immediately tell that it had not worked out in her favor.

“…”

He appeared to be, for lack of a better word, absolutely steamed, considering that his eyes were completely wide open and staring at her, and he was scowling deeply, as though there were hooks forcefully pulling his mouth down.

His foot had also begun to tap repeatedly, and she could hear a loud clicking sound coming from his mouth, all indicating that he was getting more and more impatient with each second that he was standing still and not moving towards her.

Ah hell. It all comes down to this, huh?

The plan was not yet lost. In order for it to still work in her favor, she just had to make sure she beat him as fairly as she could.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

That meant she could not use any angel powers, she had to make sure she did not accidentally reveal her true purpose of being here, and above all had to keep her relationship with yesterday’s intruders a secret.

She had ensured that no one had found out so far, but now, up in a big fight against another fan-favorite candidate, she knew this was the critical juncture. If she messed up in front of the entire Church, it would all be over, and she would not see the Particle again without having to enact Plan B herself.

“…”

“…”

Two candidates at opposite ends, one fighting for truth, and the other fighting for purpose; but both still determined to succeed no matter what.

“Without further ado, let the final match… BEGIN!!!”

“Hm!”

Simon made the first move. Letting out a breath disguised as a loud snort, he began to run towards Anten.

Letting the power of his strong belief improve his physical attributes even further, the Gift was increasing his speed and reflexes, not to mention his overall strength, and utilizing them wisely, he prepared his first attack, ready to unleash it on his unarmed opponent.

“Hah!”

Halting his charge for a split second and dodging to the side when he was right in front of her to make sure that she was not going to strike him first, he threw a heavy punch towards her side, aiming to hit one of her presumed weak spots.

But his fist, which had been primed to reach its target, hit plain air instead.

… eh?

At the very last second, Anten had dodged the blow by moving away, and before he could respond to it, had thrown a punch directly towards his head.

“Sorry.”

“Bhf!”

Her fist struck him squarely in the jaw, and he stumbled backwards in shock before quickly attempting to defend himself.

He had not expected her to react so quickly with no visible preemptive build-up whatsoever, and he had certainly not expected the blow to be as strong as it was, with it having come extremely close to dislocating his jaw.

Does she… is she taking powers from the Gift too? Is she… actually serious?

Retreating backwards away from her as the wheels in his head started to spin again, he briefly considered the idea, but within a few seconds stubbornly shook his head.

That’s not possible. She doesn’t care about the Gift at all. She doesn’t care about the Church! How can she possibly…

He was finding it surprisingly hard to continue thinking as he moved. For one thing, the punch had rattled his brain, and he was feeling slightly dizzy from the impact. For another, he could start to hear the spectators loudly chattering among themselves, their voices echoing in his ears.

“Brother Simon got hit? And he’s retreating?”

“That’s weak.”

“Anten! ANTEN! ANTEN!”

The crowd, once a force that he was proud to acknowledge together with his success, was now quickly turning against him, just from one single mistake.

Ghh. Shut up, just shut—

But he could not focus on them now as Anten suddenly came at him, rearing to strike again. He had to think of a counterattack fast, while he still had the capacity to do so.

“AHHH!”

He let out a scream to pump himself up before bracing himself for her attack, raising his arms up and preparing to grab her limbs the moment she came close, which would effectively trap and leave her exposed for him.

“…”

However, she did not strike. Instead, as soon as she came close and he rushed in to grab, she immediately pulled backwards, causing him to reach forward, and his arms closed around nothing.

“Ghfbg!”

It was only then that she sucker-punched him in the face again, and he reeled in response again, clutching his broken nose as it began to bleed before stumbling away from her.

He had not realized the side effect of his power, but the fact that he was seeing her punches, even if they were faster than his own, slower than before meant that he was also experiencing them at a slow speed, causing them to hurt more than ever, which irritated him even further.

“Agh… gah!”

My beliefs… the Gift… they’re backfiring on me!

“Boo! Boo!” he could hear the crowd shout as they watched his pathetic display, something he was sure was unbefitting of him in their eyes, unfold in front of them.

This… this can’t be happening.

Unfortunately, it was, and he could do nothing to stop the one-sided pounding. As much as he tried to think of a strategy to win, he had no ideas he could use at the moment, not when he was still up against an opponent who was beating him at his own game.

Am… am I going to lose? Is it… over?

As he stumbled towards and pressed up against the metal fence, his mind struggled to comprehend the hard truth that was only becoming more apparent with his weakening state.

It was obvious to him. Her sudden arrival, her impossible score, and the fact that he could not find anything about her. His shunning and avoiding had only added to his inexperience with her, and it was going to be the one to seal his own defeat by her hands.

… no.

But he refused to take the easy way out.

If he did not at least give his all, he knew it would disappoint everyone who had ever supported him. If he had to go down, he had to go down in a proper fight, not like what he was doing right now.

I… will still… believe!!!!!!!

“What is that?”

“It’s… it’s…”

“The Gift…”

The crowd gasped and chattered again as he stepped away from the fence, his eyes focusing only on Anten. As for her, she had also suddenly retreated backwards as soon as she saw what was going on with him.

“…”

Lowering his eyes, which had turned completely white without his knowledge, he saw it too, the thing in his hands that had made everyone either start gossiping or be rendered speechless.

… there we go.

He cracked a smile once again, and while Anten was still standing back in surprise, he made his counterattack, charging at her with the new white sword that he had instinctively and mysteriously pulled out from behind his back.

“!!!”

The attacker had suddenly now become the defender, as she jumped to the sides, avoiding his sword thrusts as he went in, going deeper and getting more aggressive with each missed attack.

“Ha… ha ha ha!”

That’s right. My belief is stronger than hers!

Simon savored the moment with giddy happiness, watching his opponent scurry to and fro as he pressed on, attacking as much as he could before she could have the chance to fight back.

“Guh!”

As she backed up against the fence, she managed to duck from his blade at the last second, and it cut through the metal instead, leaving a wide gash on its surface like a beast’s claw mark.

As her balance faltered and she fell to the ground for a short moment, he lunged his sword down, but again, she managed to dodge in the nick of time, forcing the blade to hit the ground instead and bring a fair bit of dirt up with the impact in the process.

Come on. Quit running away and fight me!

Much to Simon’s annoyance, he was already going all out, but Anten was still managing to slip through his fingers every single time. Considering her sudden lack of confidence, he knew that she was not receiving the same kind of powers he had obtained from his belief, and yet despite that, she was still unwilling to back down.

That annoyance only caused his strikes to become more desperate and quicker, as he yearned to end it as fast as he could, trying his best to prove his point once and for all.

My belief… my belief is absolute!

All of a sudden, much to his own surprise, she stopped in the middle of her evasion before turning her body around to face him.

“…”

She said nothing, but he did not need any explanation from her at this point.

… gotcha.

Without any hesitation, he went in for the strike. Since he could not kill her, he went for a lower angle instead, and plunged his sword into her waist, pushing it deep and hard in before stopping.

“Gack!” Anten coughed, finally having sustained the first bit of damage in the entire fight, and arguably an injury that should have rendered her unable to fight anymore.

Guess I win, huh?

“…”

But despite having the presence of an entire sword inside her body, she did not fall. On the contrary, she remained standing, continuing to stare at him without uttering a single word.

As he looked up and they made eye contact with each other, he could see a particular emotion in her golden-colored eyes. Clear as day, emotions of sadness and melancholy were being presented to him.

What… are you doing?

“…”

Why are you making that face? Do you want me to let go? I can’t allow you to—

“Guh?” he suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and grunted as Anten finally moved again, doing something completely unexpected.

“…”

Seemingly oblivious to her own injury, she unflinchingly held onto the sword blade with her bare hand and began to push it further and deeper inside her, inch by inch at a rapid speed.

Considering he was still holding onto the sword, the sudden movement at that moment had caused him to jerk forward violently towards her, and much to his shock, she was already ready to respond to the sudden and quick closing of their distance.

Damn it, I need to—

“Bhghf!!”

Her fist once again slammed into his face, causing him to let go of the sword and fall backwards once again, his bleeding mouth agape and his eyes unfocused.

“… sorry.”

The threat of him attacking her with his new weapon was gone now, and after she had pulled it out of her body and threw it to the other side of the ring, she went in on him.

Freak! She wasn’t making me feel pity for her. She was pitying me!

As she ruthlessly hit him over and over again, causing his blood to spurt everywhere in the ring, he could not seem to find the will to stop her. His mind was spinning again, but he was unable to think up of another strategy.

He had already gone all out with the power of his belief, but it had still not been enough. He did not know if anything was going to be enough at this point.

This is… this is!

She was simply unbeatable; he already knew that. However, even though he was already on the ropes, he still wanted to deny it for as long as he could.

I can’t accept it. I can’t! I can’t!

There had to be another way. He might not have believed in himself hard enough. She had to have a weakness. He wanted one, if not all of them, to come true in his hour of need.

My belief… is stronger…

Battered and bruised, his swollen eye drifted over the spectators that were the closest to him, hoping to find some means of support from them such that he could keep going.

Then, he saw it.

Standing at the front, clutching onto the metal fence, was a familiar face. The face that had not once given him a single smile or even other expression before, but yet had now changed in front of him.

“…”

Her mouth was drooping slightly at the edges, and her eyes had a certain emotion to them as they looked at him. It was an emotion that he could easily recognize and feel.

… ah, I see.

As soon as he understood Renare’s emotion towards him, he let go of his beliefs and gave up.

She’s given up on me.

With his face beaten to the point of unrecognition, he finally dropped to the floor, bringing the final match to a close with a clear victor.

**********************

“…”

“…”

Once again, the crowd did not speak a word. Anten also did not speak, and Simon could not, his current state having relegated him to only pained wheezing and labored breathing.

There was nothing anyone could say about the fight they had just witnessed, the brutal and arguably cruel duel that had just transpired in the arena. The spectators themselves did not know whether they should cheer or cry.

However, a loud clapping soon broke the silence.

“Well done, Candidate Anten.”

It was the Elder himself, having stood up from his seat on the elevated stage. His clapping was not pronounced, but instead reserved, and his eyes were narrowed as he looked down at both candidates in the ring.

“You have passed the second trial and can now move on to the third. That is truly remarkable.”

“… thank you,” Anten replied politely before she took a little bow, although the conflicted and slightly guilty expression on her face remained unchanged.

As he continued clapping, the spectators had quickly followed suit, but their clapping was less enthusiastic and much slower than before, sounding as though they simply did not want to be left out of the celebration.

“However. The third trial still remains,” the Elder finished his clapping before sitting down and continuing.

“…”

Anten, the bloodied Simon, and all the spectators all kept quiet and leaned forward to listen to him as he placed his hands below his bearded chin and began to explain the final trial, the one that would decide it all.

“Candidate Anten. Your belief in others is commendable, and your belief in oneself is excellent. However, the most important belief that a worthy candidate should have is their belief in a power greater than themselves, and to accept that faith and whatever it brings them.”

With the prelude set up, he paused for a moment before finally dropping the bombshell on everyone.

“The third trial… will therefore be an execution. Candidate Anten, your task will be to kill Candidate Simon Bailey, right here in this arena and right now. You may use any means necessary to do so.”