The moment something inexplicable washed over the surrounding area, Rei landed on the ground, sensing something off about his own body's movements.
He had used the Sleipnir boots to leap through the air multiple times—a movement method that could be called a Triangle Jump, a quadrilateral jump, or even a pentagonal jump—but an unexpected development brought him to a halt the instant his feet touched down.
"What... is this?"
"Do you not understand? This is Divine Punishment. Experience the power of the holy Goddess of Light upon your own flesh."
Visente let out a guffaw at Rei's discomfiture.
The tattoo-like mark on his right cheek was glowing, asserting itself intensely.
(It's called Stigma, after all. Which means that must be the Holy Mark. What a Holy Mark to be saddled with. ...If that's the case, is the tattoo on that old man's hand also a Stigma? And does that mean his seeming to vanish every time my attack connects is also an effect of Stigma? But if so—)
Various thoughts raced through his mind, but Visente had no need to wait for them.
The opponent was a great enemy who had insulted the one, absolute God.
He needed to inflict a punishment befitting that sin.
"Now then, great enemy... receive the retribution for your sins. I shall execute Divine Punishment."
At Visente's declaration, the old man erased his usual gentle smile and nodded in agreement, his expression turning solemn.
Beside the old man, who held his staff poised like an estoc, Visente clenched his fist... and in the next instant, kicked off the ground.
Seeing Visente charging straight toward him, Rei readied the Death Scythe and braced to meet the attack.
A smile crept onto Visente's lips as he watched.
The moment Rei saw that smile, a fierce chill ran down his spine, as though an icicle had been driven into it.
"!?"
Driven by that chill, Rei abandoned the idea of meeting Visente head-on and instead threw himself sideways.
It wasn't a calculated movement but a reflexive one.
Yet the instant he made it, the sense of wrongness Rei had been feeling intensified beyond anything before.
(Slow!?)
Yes—movements he could normally execute in an instant were now taking several times as long.
Of course, to an ordinary person it would still seem quite fast, but by Rei's standards it was sluggish enough to be called heavy—and more importantly, slow enough to seriously hinder him from countering Visente.
The opponent was moving normally, yet it felt as though he alone had been left behind by the flow of time.
Defending like this would never work in time.
Making a split-second call, Rei chose not to block Visente's attack with the Death Scythe. Instead, he tried to defend by rapidly cranking up the heat of his mana-based skill—the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
He hadn't completely mastered fine heat adjustment yet, but simply choosing to raise or lower the temperature wasn't difficult.
As he poured mana into the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, intent on incinerating the fist hurtling toward him, the surrounding temperature began to climb at an accelerating rate.
"What!?"
The one who cried out in astonishment was Visente.
His voice carried an unshakable conviction that something like this was absolutely impossible.
"Visente!"
The voice that snapped Visente out of his blank, reeling mind was the old man's.
It was no longer the tone of a genial old man. It was sharp—sharp enough to convince anyone that he truly was a member of Stigma.
Jolted back to himself, Visente abandoned his attack on Rei and leapt backward to create distance.
"Master, what on earth... Within the Holy Domain activated by Stigma, why..."
Beside the retreating Visente, the old man had materialized at some point, staff in hand.
Visente pressed him for answers, but the response was a shake of the head.
"I do not know. His movements are unquestionably slower, so it is not as though the Holy Domain is having no effect. If so... no, now is not the time to be pondering such things."
Centered on Rei, the surrounding temperature was rising rapidly.
It was winter—the dead of night, no less—yet the snow that had blanketed the area before the battle began had already melted into water.
That water, further evaporated by the heat Rei was radiating, became steam and drove up the humidity, all on top of an ambient temperature now approaching thirty degrees.
If it was this hot for Visente and the old man at a distance from Rei, what would happen if they got close?
Visente in particular had just been about to swing his fist at Rei. The thought that it would have been burned if he'd followed through sent a chill down his spine despite the sweltering heat.
Of course, if it was to deliver Divine Punishment upon a great enemy, it didn't matter what happened to his own body or life.
But he was a member of Stigma—a chosen existence within the Holy Light Religion.
If a Stigma member could do nothing, or worse, suffered serious injuries attempting to attack, the Holy Light Religion itself could become a laughingstock.
"Master..."
What should he do? He wanted guidance.
When Visente turned to the old man standing beside him with such a plea in his eyes, the old man gripped his staff, thought for a moment, and spoke.
"Hmm. Then perhaps I shall test the waters a bit."
As the old man spoke, his figure vanished.
Then, in the next instant, he abruptly appeared right before Rei's eyes.
"What!?"
Apparently not expecting the old man to pop up so close in temperatures that would burn a body on mere approach, Rei let out a brief exclamation of surprise—but in the next breath, he swung the Death Scythe, channeling mana through it.
Reinforced by the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, the blade cut through the air at a speed that seemed to leave even sound behind, racing toward the old man to bisect his torso... but the instant the blade touched him, his figure vanished once more.
"Hmm, I see. Quick reactions."
At the old man's mutter as he reappeared beside Visente, Rei suddenly felt something was off.
(Was that... isn't something strange? No, it's definitely strange. First of all, is it even possible to teleport that frequently? Even the Teleportation Stones created by the Bestia Empire come with all sorts of strict conditions... if so, then it isn't teleportation?)
Could the old man's ability not be teleportation after all?
Harboring that suspicion, Rei kept the Death Scythe at the ready, maintained the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor's heat, and fixed his gaze on the old man.
The old man had appeared right beside him just moments ago, yet he didn't seem to have a single drop of sweat on his face. Was that not strange, even for those called Stigma?
Once he found something suspicious, questions began to multiply.
For example, when the old man dodged Rei's Flying Slash and vanished, the slash had cut through the wall in his stead—and when the old man reappeared, hadn't it been in the exact same spot he'd disappeared from?
Even with teleportation, reappearing in the exact same spot should be extraordinarily difficult.
Of course, if told the man simply possessed that level of skill, Rei might have no choice but to accept it. Even so, from his current perspective, only suspicion remained.
(But the attack I took when I jumped out the window was definitely real. ...Should I test it a bit more? Ideally, if I could directly touch him with my hand right before he disappears, that would settle it. But testing him... even if I do, how?)
While Rei was internally working through ways to defeat his opponents, the two Stigma members hadn't been sitting idle either.
However, dealing with an opponent whose very proximity dealt damage—a skill that was simultaneously offense and defense—was difficult even for Visente.
And above all...
(Why can he exert that much power within the Holy Domain?)
That was Visente's greatest question.
In theory, deploying the Holy Domain should reduce everyone within the area to a state where they couldn't exert even half their power.
The sole exception were those who bore Stigma.
Stigma bearers, and only Stigma bearers, could exert abilities beyond their normal level within the Holy Domain.
And yet, even under those conditions, the great enemy before his eyes still retained enough power to fight properly—enough to still contend with them.
This should have been impossible. Depending on how things unfolded, it could even threaten the doctrines of the Holy Light Religion itself.
That was precisely why Visente could not comprehend the existence before his eyes... and therefore could not accept it.
"One who insolently resists the power of the holy Goddess of Light... you are indeed our great enemy!"
"Calm down, Visente."
"But, Master!"
The old man interjected to soothe Visente, but Visente immediately tried to argue back.
In the next instant, however, the gaze the old man turned on him became piercing enough to bore straight through.
"I said calm down, did I not? Could you not understand those words?"
"That is... yes. I apologize."
Before that gaze, Visente could say nothing more and simply composed himself.
Seeing him settle down, the old man returned to his usual genial expression and laughed.
"Hyohyohyo. It is good that you are earnest, but letting your blood rush to your head so easily will not do. Have I not told you many times?"
"...Yes."
"Well, I understand why you are so troubled by him, but the answer to this matter is likely not so complex."
The old man's words, spoken with near certainty, were astonishing to Visente—and at the same time, worthy of respect.
Why could Rei exert that much combat power within the Holy Domain? Visente had no idea, yet the old man was saying he had already solved the riddle.
"Why is that?"
"Now, it is not so difficult. To begin with, there were many clues. For example, the fellow's movements themselves have slowed due to the Holy Domain's effect. You understand that, yes?"
"Yes. His reaction speed to my attacks has definitely dropped as well. But..."
"Do not rush for the answer. In other words, as I just said, the fact that his movements have slowed means the Holy Domain's effect is unquestionably working on him. However, it does not appear to diminish that red something of his. ...At first glance, that is how it appears."
"At first glance?"
At the old man's words, Visente once again turned his gaze toward Rei, who still had the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor active.
The overwhelming heat radiating from him was palpable even from this distance.
If someone with no prior knowledge were here, they would absolutely refuse to believe it was winter.
Spring... no, they would swear it was summer.
If he had gone through with his attack on Rei earlier, his fist would probably... no, definitely have been burned to ashes.
"Umu. To put it frankly, his base abilities are simply so high that even diminished by the Holy Domain's effect, he still possesses that much strength. That is my judgment."
"Impossible!"
Though the words came from someone he respected, the man reflexively rejected them.
Naturally. It meant that even with the holy Goddess of Light's blessing suppressing the opponent's strength to less than half, he still possessed enough power to wound them.
In other words, Rei's strength exceeded that of themselves—the bearers of the Holy Light Religion's goddess's blessing.
Unforgivable. Unbearable. Unacceptable. Impossible.
Such thoughts flooded Visente's heart... and ultimately, an absolute fury toward Rei filled not just his heart but his entire body.
"Calm down. This too is likely a trial that God has bestowed upon us. It is by overcoming that trial that we demonstrate our sincere devotion to God. That the opponent is a great enemy means this: defeat him and prove the power of our faith. That is surely what it means."
At the old man's words, the fury written across Visente's face vanished in an instant.
If defeating the great enemy before his eyes through his faith would demonstrate that faith—and simultaneously bring joy to God—then the rage that had consumed him a moment ago was nothing but his own immaturity.
"I understand, Master. I was immature. ...To inflict Divine Punishment on him, on the great enemy. I need only think of that, yes? By doing so, God will accept my faith, and I too shall be embraced by God's love. ...In order to envelop this entire world in the holy Goddess of Light's love, and to create a world where everyone can live in peace and happiness."
"Umu. I feel the same. Such a one must not be permitted to exist. In the name of the holy Goddess of Light—Divine Punishment upon the great enemy."
"Divine Punishment!"
With a sharp shout, Visente kicked off the ground and surged forward.
Rei, too, deciding it was better to break the stalemate than let it drag on, held his ground and waited to meet Visente's charge, still clad in the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
As it happened, both sides had reached the decision to set things in motion at almost exactly the same time.