When it came to battles involving magic, some forms had inherent advantages over others. In this case, Sain didn’t have Melia’s fundamentals, but his magical arsenal was uniquely effective against Cain’s. He was, in fact, probably the one person in this entire tournament who was perfectly positioned to counter all of Cain’s magic.
“Now that I think about it, you’ve done nothing but get in my way,” said Cain. “Three months ago in the Origin Spire... You were the one who killed the Chaos hiding in that labyrinth, weren’t you?”
“And if I am? What’s your point?” answered Sain in a cautious tone.
“I was letting it hide there on purpose,” Cain said, proceeding to explain his intent. “The Clan of Chaos had been trying to get their hands on the titan’s staff before you even came to this school. That corrupted demi-holy sword was part of their groundwork to break in. When the time came, they were planning to release all the Chaos they’d hidden in the labyrinth and use them as a diversion. While the school staff was busy rushing into the labyrinth to deal with the confusion, they’d use the opportunity to steal the titan’s staff.”
“And knowing all this, you chose to let them be?”
“That’s right. I was going to use their scheme against them. Let them all in and wipe them out then and there. But thanks to your meddling... that won’t be happening anymore.”
The sheer recklessness of the plan left Sain speechless. Failure would have placed the lives of countless innocents at risk.
“And that’s not all,” Cain continued. “Because you strengthened the academy’s barrier, they’ve ceased operations. Originally, they were supposed to mount their offensive around this time, but your actions have made it impossible to predict their timing. Everything you’ve done up to this point... has been a disservice to me.”
Cain rattled off complaint after complaint in an almost business-like manner, but the implications of what he was saying were profoundly distressing. The more Sain heard, the more furious he felt.
“Are you out of your mind?!” he exclaimed, shaking with anger. “These things aren’t pushovers! You can’t just wipe them out all by yourself!”
“...And who are you to judge, you pretentious clown?” Cain snarled back, his intensity matching Sain’s volume. “Don’t project your own weakness onto me, holy knight! I’m not like you!”
He raised his hand toward the sky, bringing a massive spear of light into existence.
“Ray Javelin!”
Sain looked up at the glowing spear, its tip pointed diagonally downwards at him. He knew this spell as well. Ray Javelin would explode upon contact. Dodging the spear itself wasn’t enough.
“Darku! ”
He didn’t have time to prepare a big spell. As the enormous spear bore down on him, he shot a bullet of darkness at its tip. Once he confirmed that it hit hard enough to slightly alter the spear’s trajectory, he started running, trying to gain as much distance as possible. As soon as the spell hit the ground, it exploded violently.
“Ugh!”
A blinding flash lit up the whole arena, forcing his eyes shut. He crossed his arms in front him, bracing for the impending impact. The shockwave hit and sent him tumbling backward through the air. He felt his body bounce off the ground multiple times before slowing into a long roll. The world was spinning when he forced himself to his feet, but through the aches, dizziness, and thick cloud of dust obscuring his vision, he somehow managed to lock eyes with Cain.
“You asked me to join you as a friend.”
“...That’s right.”
“Why do you not see the inherent danger in this kind of thinking?” Cain’s gaze was reproachful. “The holy knight, who is one of the strongest beings in existence, shouldn’t need friends. The only reason you would still seek to make friends through the attendant pacts, then, is your own weakness of will. Having friends might sound good in theory... but the more you make, the more vulnerable you become through your reliance on them.”
He was, Sain figured, probably talking about Alicia, Melia, and Marni, whose existence he saw as a crutch and source of weakness. According to him, by relying on the girls, Sain was becoming less self-sufficient.
“Are you saying I should always fight alone?”
“That’s right. In the end, nothing gets solved until you’re strong enough to do it yourself.”
Sain recalled how Cain had always given off an aura of unapproachability. As it turned out, the aloofness wasn’t an inadvertent side effect of his disposition; it was intentional. No one ever stood at his side. Even yesterday, when he’d gone to fight the Chaos that appeared near the school, he’d done so alone. The way he insisted on distancing himself from others, on being alone... it felt almost like an obsession, and Sain knew exactly where it was coming from.
“...This is about regret, isn’t it?” His tone grew more sympathetic. “I owe you an apology. Yesterday, I asked the goddess to show me the memories of the previous holy knight.”
He’d done so after killing off all the Chaos with the girls. In order to figure out how to convince Cain the next day, he’d used the goddess’s power to find out more about his past. Cain’s younger sister had apparently died as a result of the previous holy knight’s blunder. In that case, he should have been able to learn the details from the goddess, who had doubtlessly been present during the incident. She’d agreed, and when she showed him the memories of the previous holy knight, he finally witnessed the tragic scene for himself.
“Ten years ago... your sister died protecting you.”
Cain’s expression darkened immediately, but the menace eventually gave way to grief.
“She did...” he admitted, his voice hoarse with regret. “It should have been me. I should have been the one to die.”
And then, there in the middle of the arena, the student council president — a creature of pride and confidence who had always held his head high and his eyes forward — lowered his gaze and spoke into the ground in front of him.
“It appeared without any warning. A Founder of Chaos, right there in front of us. Fear held me so tightly that I couldn’t even move a finger... So she moved instead. My little sister... She jumped in front of me. She shielded me. And I watched as she died being ripped apart limb from limb.”
There was a moment of silence, during which Sain could hear Cain’s teeth grinding against each other. Then, he continued.