A Powerful Martial Artist Reincarnates as a Nun Knight

Unexpectedly, it was Ezio who first reacted to Ariel’s plea.
“If Lady Wolfstein is in peril, as her comrade, I cannot ignore it. Let us go.”
Having said that, Ezio immediately urged Ariel with his gaze to guide them without delay. Ariel nodded hurriedly, understanding his unspoken prompting not to be late, and began flying, taking the lead. Watching Ezio swiftly follow after her, Sophia shook her head before addressing Conra and Maria.
“You two, wait here.”
“Master, I’ll go too.”
In response to Sophia’s instruction to wait until they returned, Conra expressed his intention to accompany them and fight together. Sophia clicked her tongue and countered:
“Are you going to leave Maria alone?”
“Uh…”
Rendered silent by Sophia’s words, Maria stepped forward and said, “Brother, I’ll keep watch here. Please return safely.”
“Ohh. I’m leaving it to you.”
“What!? Sister, Master!”
Conra’s mouth hung open in bewilderment and indignation at the exchange between the two women.
“In any case, it seems time is of the essence, so I’ll hurry back as well. Both of you, stay put and wait.”
With those words, Sophia’s figure vanished from the ship’s deck. The next moment, she reappeared beside the far-ahead Ariel and Ezio, having skipped the physical distance and travel process through her mastery of mind and action.
The divine spirit and two individuals streaked across the city’s night sky, darting from rooftop to rooftop as if in flight, following an almost straight trajectory without detouring through alleyways.
It took no more time than a cup of tea before they arrived at their destination.
However, upon reaching the scene, Sophia and Ezio found themselves unable to take immediate action, for the situation was somewhat… perplexing.
“Uh, um. What in the world is that?”
Sophia’s bewildered gaze fell upon the person crucified on the cross before them.

“Huuuh…”
Ezio, too, let out an unconscious sigh as he took in the spectacle, striking a peculiar pose reminiscent of a dynamic marble sculpture, his back prominently displaying rippling lats, trapezius, and triceps.
“Truly a bizarre sight.”
‘Is that for you to say?’
Sophia inwardly retorted, but did not voice it aloud. After all, she too was at a loss for words before the scene.
In the center of the vacant lot stood a large crucifix. And upon it, a person was suspended – no, more accurately, bound.
That person was bound to the crucifix by unidentifiable tentacles, while an altar bearing blasphemous patterns was situated below. The area around the altar was surrounded by shadowy figures moving in and out of the shadows, circling the altar while continuously emitting “kuhu-hu” sounds – laughter, or growling, it was difficult to discern.
Spotting the antlered, hound-like figures, Sophia’s brow furrowed slightly, as if something had clicked.
The person bound by tentacles to the crucifix was none other than Hildegard, someone Sophia and Ezio knew well. It seemed she had been roughly handled before their arrival, for she was in an uncharacteristically humiliating and undignified state, bound and squirming helplessly on the cross.
“No, Lady Wolfstein. How did you end up in such a state?”
Transitioning from one peculiar pose to another, Ezio posed the question. As if responding to Ezio’s query, Hildegard wore an utterly mortified expression, her jaw clenched and grinding her teeth with a “bbba-deuk bbba-deuk” sound that raised concerns for her dental health.
And whenever the tentacles binding her body squirmed, brushing against her immodestly exposed skin, she would exclaim:
“Hyah-wik! D-Damn it! To suffer such indignity before everyone’s eyes… Infuriating!”
Had she been properly equipped with armor and a nun knight’s formal attire, she might have avoided such humiliation, but that was water under the bridge.
Regardless, having narrowly avoided becoming a sacrificial offering to otherworldly monstrosities by the demons, Hildegard seemed to have regained some of her mental fortitude upon seeing a chance for rescue before further calamity.
For until moments ago, her situation had been almost unimaginably dire. Her primary weapon, the halberd, had been taken from her, and the tentacles binding her body seemed to have the effect of blocking her connection to luminous power, as no matter how hard she tried to summon it, there was no response.
Even attempting to contract her muscles and regulate her breathing to break free of the tentacles was difficult while crucified, naturally hampering her ability to concentrate her astral muscles. Thus, forcibly freeing herself from the tentacles was impossible.
Hildegard, who had been trying to calm her agitation by thinking she should add crucifixion endurance to her training regimen, found it difficult to maintain her composure upon witnessing the blasphemous altar set up beneath her and the demonic host seemingly performing some ritual around it.
It would not have been surprising if she had lost all hope, resigning herself to becoming the sacrifice in this bizarre rite. Yet Hildegard continued struggling to preserve her strength and resolve, truly befitting a nun knight of the Paladin Order.
“Let’s end the pleasantries here.”
The moment Sophia spoke those words, having sensed the demonic ritual starting to escalate, a long sword flashed in midair, skipping space and process, and in an instant, the tentacles binding Hildegard were severed and fell away.
Simultaneously, Hildegard regained her physical freedom, landed like a cat, and swiftly retreated from the ritual site. The shadowy demons, stunned by the sacrifice’s sudden liberation, hurriedly attempted to obstruct her, but fortuitously, Hildegard surpassed them in sheer physical prowess.
Not only could they not match her escape speed, but the demons lacked the constitution to withstand her furious soccer kicks as she approached and swept them aside. And hiding in the shadows would hardly restrain a nun knight dedicated to escaping.
Finally having extricated herself, Hildegard clenched her fists and grit her teeth.
“Ugh, to make me suffer such humiliation? Damn demons, I won’t let this go.”
“Well, that’s all fine and good, but how about properly getting dressed first?”
Ezio crossed his arms, leaning with his torso tilted as he used one palm to half-cover his face while speaking. At that moment, his pectorals, abdominals, and biceps rippled and swelled.
However, Hildegard ignored his words. To be fair, Ezio’s remark lacked any persuasive power coming from him…
“Come to me, Ariel!”
Responding to Hildegard’s call, Ariel flew to her, and Hildegard accepted her divine spirit into her bosom. The next instant, light coalesced in Hildegard’s grasp, taking the form of a halberd – the very one she had lost in her battle against the demons.
It was the blessing of Sunras, the god of warriors and the guardian of farmers. Given sufficient time and opportunity, Hildegard could fully utilize the blessings of the various deities she knew and communed with. The various prayers, mantras, and hymns she knew were invoked in abbreviated forms, and in an instant, Hildegard’s figure became densely imbued with divine auras of manifold blessings.
Finally, she deployed the Immovable Bright King Inner Cultivation Method. As the golden luminous power containing the Immovable Bright King’s enlightenment manifested, the divine auras surrounding Hildegard’s form were also tinged with a golden radiance.
“It’s been truly a long time since I drew upon such full power.”
Taking a step forward, Hildegard remarked, “This form requires considerable preparation, and it’s extremely difficult to maintain for an extended period.”
Ordinarily, the most stable approach was to combine and simultaneously employ one or two blessings. Indiscriminately stacking and rectifying all available blessings, as she had done here, was not a particularly wise method of operation. Nevertheless, her ability to manifest this form alone proved Hildegard’s innate genius and profound cultivation in this realm.
“It means I’m that thoroughly enraged.”
Declaring that she should have been killed rather than subjected to such humiliation, Hildegard raged with an indignant expression.
Suddenly, Ariel, who had taken residence within Hildegard, whispered something to her.
[…?]
Hildegard nodded at the divine spirit’s murmur.
“I know, about their mode of existence. Indeed, they are beings that cannot be permanently vanquished unless their shadows are fully erased and they are struck down en masse.”
Had she not been dragged along by the enemy’s pace for that very reason, only to be mocked and taken advantage of in the end? Gripping her halberd, Hildegard said, “For that reason, Sophia, Ezio, I could use your assistance.”
“Gladly.”
“I shall lend you my strength.”
Sophia and Ezio responded to Hildegard’s request in their respective ways.
Hildegard did not specify how or what kind of assistance she wanted from each of them. Nevertheless, Sophia and Ezio did not hesitate in their actions upon receiving her request. They well understood what they could do, what they should do, and what actions would be mutually supportive.
The demons, sensing an ominous shift, warily regarded the three high-ranking clergy with an awkward, eerie growling sound.
The time for retaliation had arrived.