Reading the whip’s movements with expert precision, he launched the dark orb at where he thought it would come from next. A split second later, his prediction was proven correct; the orb was placed so perfectly that the whip seemed to be pulled toward it. As the golden strand curved around its shadowy locus, Dardia shaved through its middle, and the severed front dissolved with a flash.
Cain was undeterred and continued to press the attack, launching a barrage of light pellets at Sain.
“Use it, holy knight!” he roared. “Use your power! And I’ll show you I can beat it!”
Sain intercepted the attack with his own volley of Darku Shot and yelled back.
“I’m not the holy knight! I’m...”
He drew in a deep breath. Right now, at least, the one who stood opposite Cain in the ring was—
“Just Sain! Nothing more, nothing less!”
A salvo of dark missiles accompanied his fiery response. Cain leapt out of the way, lifting his arm above his head in the process.
“Ray Javelin! ”
A massive, ethereal spear flared into existence, bathing the arena in its golden light as it plunged toward Sain.
“Dark Ray! ”
There was a flash, and a dark lance slammed into the oncoming spear, bored through its head, and shot out of its rear like a bolt of black lightning.
“Wha—?!”
The dark lance pierced Cain’s shoulder, marking the first time he’d been wounded in the entire tournament.
“I’m trying to become the dark knight because I want to save the goddess from her loneliness.”
“...The goddess?”
Cain froze for a second. Then, a laugh, equal parts amazed and contemptuous, escaped him.
“The holy knight’s duty is to exterminate the Chaos that escaped the gods’ seals. Are you telling me you’re placing your own desire above your sacred obligation?”
“That... I can’t deny it.” A grimace flashed across Sain’s face for the briefest moment. “But this is something that no holy knight has ever been able to accomplish. It’s a problem that every single one of my predecessors kept putting off.”
The previous holy knight, and the one before, and all the ones throughout history... They’d surely noticed how lonely the goddess was, but every one of them, without fail, chose their duty over her feelings and spent all their time hunting Chaos as they continued to kick the can down the road. Sain didn’t fault them for it; perhaps it was how things were meant to be. But by what was perhaps some cosmic coincidence, the title was passed to Sain who, unlike all his forerunners, just so happened to think that this problem shouldn’t be put off any longer. From that thought grew a desire that had been absent in every holy knight until now.
“This chain of negligence needs to end... and I’m determined to end it. One way or another.”
There was a resolve to the words that caught Cain off guard. For a long moment, he regarded Sain with surprise. Then, he quietly closed his eyes as the aura of rage about him dissipated.
“...I will admit, Sain Fostess,” he said, his gaze free of ire but still combative, “that you are not the holy knight I know. Everything about you, from your goals to your disposition, is different. Whatever hatred I feel, you do not seem to be deserving of it.”
At last, Cain acknowledged his opponent as just another ordinary person — a person named Sain.
“Sword of salvation, hear my pledge to bear the sacred light, guide all that is just and right— ”
Luminous particles started gathering in Cain’s hand.
“Saint Saber. ”
As more and more of them converged, they began to take on an elongated form until a sword of pure, concentrated light glowed in his grip. Its radiance closely resembled that of the holy sword — a symbol of the holy knight — and the similarities likely did not end there; the sword probably conferred a great deal of power upon the wielder. It was a distillation of Cain’s strength.
The glowing blade was a statement. Cain would now fight at full strength, not because of his hatred for the holy knight, but in honest competition against Sain himself.
“Let’s do this, Sain Fostess.”
He brandished his sword.
“...Bring it.”
Likewise, Sain readied his coup de grâce, Dark Ray , to be unleashed at a moment’s notice. Both of them were reaching the limits of their stamina. This last clash would decide it all. They each swept their gazes across the ring. The instant their eyes crossed, their forms blurred into motion simultaneously. Cain charged at Sain, light sword in hand. It shone with such intense luster that a steel wall would probably part like butter to its edge. Sain could scarcely hope to defend against it unarmed, but the sword at his waist offered little solace. He still had his dark magic, and in particular, the decisive Dark Ray he’d learnt from Marni, but both fatigue and circumstance suggested he had only one last shot.
So, he stood his ground, forcing himself to watch, to wait, to strike at the most vulnerable opening that would appear at the last second.
Cain was mere steps away — Not yet.
Cain raised his light sword over his head — Still not yet.
Cain swung.
Now!
“Dark Ray! ”
As the glowing blade drew a lethal arc toward his head, he let his dark missile go. Had he been a fraction of a second late, he’d have been parted down the middle. The ensuing shower of bicolored sparks, however, told him he hadn’t misjudged his timing. Light sword collided with black lance, pushing against one another with violent energy.
All throughout the match, and even for a long time before it, he’d been contemplating a single question. How could he make Cain Theresia acknowledge his strength? Not the strength of Sain the holy knight, but the strength of Sain Fostess, the person?
The solution was similarly singular; he had to win. Leaving him with a few scratches wouldn’t do. Even a draw was unlikely to suffice. A clear victory was needed. He would have to face the full power of Cain head-on, and best him in resounding fashion.
This was his first chance to do so. It would also be his last.
“Goooooooo!”
Dark Ray , with its incredible speed and penetrative power, slammed into the sword. A crack appeared on the glowing blade. Then, there was a deafening explosion.
“That was a massive explosion! It swallowed both of them!”