The Martial Unity

Squire Frinjschia suddenly snapped back to reality when the impact of Rui crashing through the contest barriers shook her, both physically and mentally. Only then had her current reality become cognizant to her. 

Yet, she didn't even have time to celebrate or even process her breakthrough to a higher Realm.

"What have I done...?" She murmured with a grave expression as she too hurriedly headed for the crater that had been created in the distance outside of the colosseum.

What she saw shocked her to her very core.

The sight of a silver-haired and silver-eyed man walking out of a crater unharmed shook her to her very core.

For just the briefest of moments, she wondered whether she had actually broken through to the Senior Realm.

She couldn't be blamed for indulging this thought.

That was the sheer magnitude of the feat that the man before her had accomplished. The dust clouds from the crash had yet to fully settle, so ordinary people were unable to make out his appearance, but she could clearly sense every detail on his body.

There were no wounds.

He was unharmed.

He stood there, and an excited grin flashed across his face.

She wanted to immediately head on over, if only to make sure he was okay, and apologize for attacking him as a Martial Senior.

'And also to express gratitude.' Her eyes softened.

She was not foolish.

She may not have been the brightest, but she had spent an entire lifetime fighting. She knew what true malevolence looked like. She had lost count of the number of demons who tried to inflict as much suffering, misery, and despair on her, that she she had overcome.

Rui was not one of them.

This she knew with certainty, especially now that she had come to her senses. He pushed her to her very limit, and just the tiniest bit.

Just far enough to trigger her Martial Heart.

But close enough to ensure he didn't inadvertently cripple her before that happened.

It was surgical.

She knew that he was holding back an overwhelming amount of power within him. A strangely muscled form that supplied raw power that overcame even the mighty abyssfeeder. The astonishing speed and agility he demonstrated when he acquired a pass in the second round yesterday.

It had become evident to her that inflicting untold pain and suffering on her would have been trivially easy for him. Yet, he didn't and had chosen the strangely time-consuming path where he carefully pushed her bit by bit, methodically and systematically forcing her to and past her limits.

She was certain that he had blessed her with an opportunity to overcome her limits, a priceless boon that she had yet to come across her entire life. She needed to confirm it. She needed to hear it first-hand herself.

Yet before she could even reach him, his patron exhaled deeply, snapping his fingers and seemingly teleporting Rui away.

"Senior Frinjschia."

She felt chills crawling up her skin as a profoundly deep pressure pressed down on her. Senior Deril's expression was schooled, yet she could feel the fury that he was emanating.

"I will have to detain you," He coldly informed her. "For the unauthorized assault on a Martial Squire and reckless endangerment of tens of thousands of people."

His Martial Heart had long blazed into fury. It was much deeper than her own.

"I recommend you submit obediently," His eyes sharpened. "However, I do not mind giving you an early lesson on the power gap between a veteran and a novice Martial Senior if need be."

She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about that. Yet she had far too much sense to dare to do something like that. For the first time in a while, she valued her life and well-being. She did not want to forfeit her life right after becoming a Martial Senior.

"I submit," She bowed her head lightly, deactivating her Martial Heart.

"You made the right decision," Senior Deril calmed down, yet he refused to deactivate his Martial Heart. "Follow me. Don't try to do anything stupid."

Senior Frinjschia nodded, before glancing back at the crater. The three Martial Masters had already disappeared. An evacuation team had already kicked into action, safely extracting spectators from the compromised structure. 

Her newly enhanced senses quickly scanned the site.

She was unable to spot a single corpse.

She heaved a sigh. It was a miracle. It was also due to the fact that the colosseum barricade was extremely high and the spectator stands were abnormally high due to Martial Squires fighting in the air.

Thus Rui had crashed through a pure wall.

She was fortunate to not have sullied the greatest moment of her life with manslaughter. As long as she navigated the consequences of her action head-on with earnestness and sincerity, she could come out with this as an overall positive moment.

"What's going to become of the Martial Contest?"

"I am merely a priest, I do not have oversight on such important matters," Senior Deril spoke. "However, I suspect that the Virodha Council will decide to accelerate the restoration of the colosseum with extreme measures. This is one of the rare instances where such measures are justified. The price of doing so will be dozens, if not a hundred times greater than if it were restored at a normal pace."

The weight of her actions became more evident. It did not take a genius to guess that she was most likely going to be required to repay the Theocracy for that price.

"What... will become of me?" 

"Again, I am a priest, I cannot say," He said officially, before his tone lightened. "However, if I had to guess, you will have to serve the Theocracy for a number of years."

That was a lot more palatable than she had expected.

"May I speak to Squire Falken at any time?" She asked.

"You do not have the right to request anything," He stated. "However, I can convey your desire to Squire Falken. Ordinarily, a Martial Squire shouldn't be able to visit convicts in an unauthorized manner but..."

He heaved a sigh of admiration. "...If he wins the Martial Contest, his status will be high enough that such a matter will be trivial."

She smiled. "Please do, that is all I request of you."

He didn't respond. Finally, they arrived at a remote location. She frowned as she felt something was off.

"Where are we? Who am I going to speak to?"

He didn't humour her with a reply. He gestured to a church before her with a grave expression. She glanced back, scanning the place with her senses. Her senses were unable to pierce the church.

She frowned. 'What kind of church has such intense anti-sensory measures?'

Her instincts warned her of a profoundly deep sea of power. Deep within the church.

It wasn't until she entered the church, closing the door that she realized who she was beholding.

A single person meditated within the church.

The very sky and earth seemed to accommodate her existence. Her being seemed almost out of place in reality.

Almost like she didn't belong.

She hid her power

Yet her power couldn't be denied.

"Cardinal Sage Sariawar," Senior Frinjschia's voice quivered as she fell to a knee, lowering her head.

Sage Sariawar smiled. A serene gesture that seemed to brighten the world around them.

It was as though nature itself prostrated before the emotions of a Martial Sage.

A single sentence escaped her mouth.

"Tell me..." Her smile grew wider. "Tell me about Squire Falken."