Chapter 602 Harsh Examiners (Kinda?)

Chapter 602 Harsh Examiners (Kinda?)

Finally, two figures stepped out of the smoke and revealed their identities to the weary examinees.

One, a young man with medium length black hair, was giving off a frightening atmosphere despite his ethereally beautiful face.

Like his father, Straga prioritized physical dominance and martial ability over weapons and magic in combat.

His clothes reflected that mindset; being a pair of white dougi pants tied with his own golden belt and a black sleeveless shirt.

His knuckles and wrists were wrapped heavily in bandages, and each one had draconic characters written in sharpie.

If one looked closely enough, it was easy to see that it was the same characters written over and over again to form a phrase.

'It is I who am the gunner of god. When I roar the earth trembles.'

At his side; his sister was dressed in much more formal battle attire.

Shining silver and bronze armor in the form of gauntlets, a chest plate, cuisses,and pauldrons adorned her body.

Brown tights interwoven with gold came up to her thighs while still leaving a bit of her flesh exposed.

She carried two items in her hands; being a longsword and shield.

The sword was on the thinner, more traditional side; with the inner material being made of bright red metal and the outer edge being traced with silver.

Her circular shield was mortifyingly horrific; bearing the visage of a familiar multi-eyed dragon.

Her long hair billowed behind her back in every direction from the strong winds and rain; painting a majestic picture.

She flexed her back muscles and two huge leathery wings almost six feet in length erupted from her body.

With a single flap of her wings, she started floating upward into the sky like a great phoenix.

"We are all well aware that you cannot die, so forgive us for sparing you no pleasantries today. Spjót!"

Thrudd raised her shield high overhead and a large bolt of lightning fell from the sky.

It struck her shield with the force of a car bomb striking a plastic cup, but the metal, and Thrudd, held firm underneath the powerful strike.

There was an odd hum and an unknown roar that came from somewhere in the area.

Thrudd brought her shield down from over her head and revealed it's horrific face once again.

Only this time, the circular mass of metal no longer looked alive, it really seemed to be alive.

With it's four eyes glowing a horrific red; it let out another great roar, but this time it wasn't something purely sonic.

With the bellowing from within it's metal; a concentrated mass of red energy formed just at the cusp of it's mouth.

Thrudd aimed the living shield at the ground where the examinees stood and gave it a single mental command.

At her discretion; red spears of volatile energy rained down on the test takers en masse.

Thrudd's yellow eyes made careful observations at that moment, and time seemed to slow down for the young goddess as she took in their reactions.

She remembered her father's criteria for grading this exercise perfectly, because they had come up with it together with her aunt before the test even started.

Those who were unable to avoid attacks and were 'killed' would fail.

Conversely, those who were nearby and did not attempt to help or defend those who were about to die, despite having an opportunity to do so, would also fail.

While that may have seemed harsh, they both considered it necessary.

The Euphrates are supposed to act as one under Kanami.

They are supposed to share a bond like that of family; and prioritize the lives of not only themselves, but each other to ensure that they suffer no losses.

Not again.

A familiar scent wafted into his nose and his heart prematurely sped up.

Turning around slowly; he found Monica standing side-by-side with Adeline.

He ignored the purple haired beauty like she wasn't even there and remained star-struck (no pun intended) by the beauty of his fiery first love.

"H-Hey..."

A smile threatened to crack on Monica's lips.

"Hey."

"Y-You look good... though that's nothing new..."

"I haven't bathed in two weeks and my face is caked in dirt?"

"A diamond covered in dirt is still a diamond.." Straga looked embarrassed by the words coming out of his mouth but he was powerless to stop them nonetheless.

Monica blushed and looked at the ground.

Adeline looked back and forth between the two in bewilderment.

'What the fuck is going on right now...?'

"S-Should you really be saying stuff like that in this setting..?" Monica asked in embarrassment.

"Haha! Probably not...!" Straga scratched his cheek bashfully.

A man tried to attack him from behind with a spear and he sidestepped it with ease.

He grabbed the weapon and snapped it in half before stabbing the man in the head with the broken half; all without taking his eyes off of his beloved.

"I've been watching you the whole time like I promised..." he continued.

"O-Oh yeah..?"

"Yeah..."

'Seriously, what the hell is this?!' Adeline cried internally.

Straga suddenly looked unbearably sad.

"Truthfully... I need to apologize to you. I was upset with my father for allowing you to do this after watching you face danger and get hurt... I almost broke in here to save you myself."

Adeline told herself that she was going to sit tight and listen, as she was also beginning to find this situation interesting despite it's obvious absurdity.

Lowering his head, Straga continued his apology.

"I thought you needed to be protected, and if you weren't then something awful was certainly going to happen... but dad helped me see that loving someone doesn't necessarily mean that you protect them from all harm. It also means allowing them the space needed to grow as an individual."

"Straga, you..." Monica shifted her feet awkwardly; completely unprepared for this kind of emotional assault.

'Awwwwwwww...!' Adeline was kind of glad that she was getting to witness such a scene.

The young prince's face was almost beet red, but not from blood.

Nevertheless, he kept spilling out everything that he had kept bottled up for all of these weeks.

"I admit... I'm an imperfect guy. I have a lot to learn about... everything pretty much. That includes loving someone and even being a husband."

A large barrage of magical attacks fell on Straga from behind, but a shield of magical power formed to protect and rebound the attack like a bird off a window.

"But as a man who claims to love you... I do know that I will never hold you back again, and I will always keep cheering you on. Even if I am to be the obstacle you have to climb."

With a smile, Straga raised his fists again, and for the first time since Monica left home, he looked truly happy.

"I do hope that you can best me. Because there is nothing that would make me happier than seeing you get everything you've worked so hard for."