The Power of the Saintess

Olivia's (POV)

SLASH. SLASH.

"Divine Blade!"

My sword gleamed with celestial silver, divine light coating the blade as I swung it in graceful arcs. Each slash carved radiant trails through the battlefield, the glowing edges slicing clean through a wave of shadow monsters in long, blinding lines. The air shimmered where my blade had passed—ethereal remnants of holy energy disintegrating the darkness.

Screams echoed nearby.

I turned and saw six students collapsed under broken walls, injured and helpless.

Without hesitation, I raised my hand.

"Sanctum's Grace: Area High Heal!"

A golden-green magic circle bloomed beneath them, its soft vines of light wrapping their wounds, lifting debris, and mending broken bones. The light danced across their faces as they stirred—safe once more.

"Thank you, President!"

"Senior Olivia… you saved us!"

"Go. Now. This area isn't safe."

They didn't need to be told twice.

As their footsteps faded, I took a breath. The battle raged all around me, but in that brief moment of quiet, I felt it—a shift in the atmosphere.

A pulse of silver mana, unusually dense and familiar.

I narrowed my eyes. Noah…

A small smile tugged at my lips. "So, you finally learned it, huh, junior?"

But my pride was short-lived.

Suddenly—another sensation. Oppressive. Rotten. Mana that made my skin crawl.

I turned sharply. "This… corrupted mana? But who—?"

I began to move, striking down monsters as I followed the trail. Every step deeper into the academy brought a stronger, fouler presence.

And then, at the highest tower—the origin.

The view from here should have been breathtaking. Instead, it was a scene from hell. Fires burned. Screams echoed. Shadows writhed below like a living plague.

And at the center of it all—

Arthur.

He stood silently at the edge, watching the chaos unfold with a calm, eerie smile. But it wasn't the Arthur I once knew.

His golden-void eyes had turned abyssal black, veins of darkness pulsing down his neck like a coiled serpent. In his hand was a parchment—black as pitch, pulsing with vile power.

The shadows answered to it.

"Arthur!" I shouted, my voice filled with disbelief and sorrow.

He turned slowly, smile still etched onto his face. "Olivia."

"What have you done?"

"Something long overdue," he said, voice calm, too calm.

"That parchment… it's controlling the shadows. You've brought this ruin."

"Ruin?" His tone darkened. "I gave them justice."

"No. You gave them death."

I raised my sword. "I won't let you go any further."

"Then stop me, Saintess."

With a flick of the parchment, shadows swarmed the tower. The air thickened with their howls.

"Divine Blade Art – First Form: Dawn Sever!"

I stepped forward and swept my sword. A wave of blinding light surged forth, obliterating the first wave. I didn't stop.

"Second Form: Celestial Bloom!"

Petals of holy fire rained down, carving radiant sigils into the ground as they exploded.

Arthur growled and responded, his parchment summoning chains of shadow that lashed toward me. One wrapped around my leg. Another sliced across my arm.

Pain flared.

"Divine Aegis!" I gasped, erecting a golden barrier just in time to block a shadow spear.

He was powerful—twisted, corrupted—but focused.

I wouldn't hold back.

"Divine Blessing: Regalia Renewal!"

My wounds healed in a flash of holy light, and a new surge of energy coursed through me.

"Time to end this."

I took one breath, then raised my glowing sword high.

"Final Form… Judgement of the Starborn!"

The sky split open.

Above us, a divine symbol emerged—a massive winged sun. My blade flared with radiant fire, golden lightning crackling across its edge.

I descended like judgment itself.

Every shadow disintegrated in my path. I reached Arthur in a blink, slashing the parchment in two.

It shrieked.

A real, inhuman scream. Then it burned—black flames devouring it whole.

Arthur fell to one knee, stunned, the power draining from him.

I stood above him, blade raised one last time. The light around me flared like a sun.

"This ends now."

I brought my blade down.

But just before it struck—

"WAIT! If you kill me—Charlotte will die!"

My sword froze midair.

"…What?"

to be continued...