As everyone knows, Saint Galahadworth Academy is famous for its extremely strict and loyal school atmosphere. In principle, students are not even allowed to duel.
If a student wants to rank within the academy, they must participate in regularly held mock battles. Rankings are determined by the outcomes of these simulations. Because of this system—and the academy's disapproval of casual duels—Saint Galahadworth maintains a tense relationship with Rewolf Black Institute, which encourages students to duel freely.
Furthermore, Saint Galahadworth emphasizes teamwork and selflessness. It has consistently ranked among the top of the six academies over the years.
Most students at the academy come from noble families. Their participation in the Festa is usually to benefit their households, and rarely for personal wishes.
But even in such an institution, there are those who clash with the academy's ideals.
The Black Knight.
He doesn't appear in the official rankings of Saint Galahadworth Academy. But make no mistake—this doesn't mean he isn't strong!
On the contrary, his power could easily place him among Page One!
However, he carries a major issue…
Multiple personalities.
In today's era, multiple personalities are often treated as an endearing trait in fiction.
But that's not the case with the Black Knight. He frequently talks to himself—and most of the time, he's arguing. Some of his personalities are dangerously violent.
Just like earlier, when he faced Elise—he attacked without saying a word!
Although… it's very likely that was on EP's orders.
"Lady Saintess, please go inside. We'll keep an eye on him."
The Genestella from the Church had originally wanted to help, but Elise's fight with the Black Knight had lasted less than ten seconds. They simply couldn't keep up with her speed.
So what's the point of us being here? To watch Lady Saintess rescue people? one Church staff member couldn't help but wonder.
"No, let's wait a little longer." Elise didn't move. She merely looked in the direction of the fallen Black Knight. The black mud and sword he had summoned had vanished the moment he lost consciousness—leaving behind only the terrifying armor.
"There's something wrong with him. I can't just leave him like this."
Elise crouched down and gently touched the Black Knight's twisted armor with her seemingly delicate hand.
The Church members behind her all watched Elise, uncertain of what the Saintess intended to do.
Then, under their gaze, Elise placed her hand over the knight's helmet.
"Heal—"
A brilliant golden light surged from Elise's hand, instantly engulfing the Black Knight's face.
Ugh!
A cry of pain followed, and the Black Knight began to thrash violently. But in front of Elise, such resistance was meaningless—the struggle ended almost as soon as it began.
Even a hulking, sword-wielding, monstrous black knight was no match for the legendary sacred light, and had no choice but to be optimized—ah, purified!
After all, the Saintess' mission was to save those lost in confusion!
You'd better thank the Saintess for the salvation she gave you later!
Elise glanced meaningfully at the unconscious Black Knight, then turned to the Church attendants. "Leave the rest to me. Please take care of him. He won't be the same when he wakes up."
With that, the Saintess walked off toward the negotiation site—leaving behind a sense of warmth lingering in everyone's hearts.
Faith Power UP!
This was Elise's first visit to the school battle city of Asterisk, and to think that just one action would net her more faith than usual.
As expected from the heart of the story!
"Next up, I'll be facing those folks from the Foundation… The Black Knight was probably just a warm-up. No—maybe not even that. They likely already know what I'm capable of."
As Elise walked, her mind turned over numerous possibilities. In the end, she chose the simplest path.
The blindfold over her fair cheeks slowly slipped down, and Elise opened her eyes—clear and radiant like gemstones.
It had been a long time since she had viewed the world with her eyes. Just this once... I'll indulge myself.
She couldn't destroy the Foundation—but that didn't mean she couldn't become one of its top brass.
Through these eyes, she would reach that truth!
...
"The Black Knight and him have been stationed outside, correct?"
In a pitch-black meeting room, a lone figure sat at the head of the table, hands clasped beneath his chin, glasses glinting in the dark.
His voice was deep and devoid of emotion—like a machine in motion.
"Yes, they've already been stationed. If Elise wishes to negotiate, she'll have to first get past the Black Knight—then him."
Another figure responded. Their voice differed, but the tone and delivery were eerily identical—like they were carved from the same mold.
These were senior executives of EP, a branch of the Integrated Enterprise Foundation—and they were all ordinary humans. Back when the Starpulse Generation had yet to be accepted globally, only regular humans could hold top executive roles.
All of them had undergone mental conditioning—stripped of personal desires, now existing solely to serve the Foundation's interests. If they were Genestella, such conditioning would've been ineffective.
Even though Elise's image as a saintess had spread across the world, helping ease public acceptance of the Starpulse Generation, the divide between ordinary humans and post-humans still hadn't disappeared. The Integrated Enterprise Foundation continued to exploit this rift.
"The Black Knight will fail. We've all seen Elise's capabilities. Still, he might help us gauge something."
This so-called "him" was a secret powerhouse cultivated by EP—someone never seen in public and only deployed under rare circumstances, with unanimous approval from the entire board.
Just as Ginga had its secret assassination unit, the Nightwhisper Clan…
And Solnage had Melchior, the elusive powerhouse of urban legend…
EP had him.
He had no name. They simply called him "he."
Though perhaps not at the level of Banyuu Tenra or Chronotemis, the executives believed he'd have no trouble dealing with someone like Elise.
Just as Elise didn't take the Foundation seriously, the executives held little regard for her either. The difference was—Elise understood their limits, while they only had a surface-level grasp of her.
They'd heard of the so-called "miracles" she performed—but without witnessing them firsthand, they didn't fully believe. Especially not Foundation executives.
A girl like her—so young and naive—how could she possibly contend with us?
The only reason the upper brass had gathered here was because of her public image as the "saintess." It warranted a sliver of attention—and a chance to put her under pressure.
Once she was properly humbled by "him," the negotiations to follow would become much easier.
Young people… shouldn't be so arrogant!