A Powerful Martial Artist Reincarnates as a Nun Knight

The first to act was none other than Ezio.
“Saraswati! Guide me from now on!”
The name he cried out along with his peculiar pose was none other than his beloved divine spirit. Responding to his call, the divine spirit of voluptuous form manifested, clinging to Ezio’s back and caressing his trapezius muscles.
Soon, Saraswati transformed into a cluster of light and merged into Ezio’s body. And the moment Ezio, having accepted Saraswati, transitioned into another peculiar pose:
Go-go-go-go-go
All present, demons and humans alike, experienced an optical illusion where Ezio’s figure began to appear larger than reality.
It was the muscle tension caused by the rearrangement of his luminous power-imbued muscles, temporarily displacing the surrounding air and refracting the light. A physically implausible, highly fantastical and bizarre phenomenon, but within the realm of peculiarities and muscle supremacy surrounding Ezio, it became an undeniable reality imposed upon all those present.
Simultaneously, the demons felt their full attention and hostility inexplicably drawn toward the bald, muscular man before them. It was the manifestation of his recently perfected technique to fully draw the ‘malignant tendency of malefic objects’ upon himself.
“Next is my turn, it seems.”
Next to act was Sophia. From the moment she settled her heart-mind, the sword that responded was already poised to strike its target. Thus, beyond establishing the blade of her intent, no other overt measures were required.
However, unlike usual, Sophia narrowed her eyes and took a sword stance, for the task ahead required her to maintain some concentration – a conscious measure on her part.
And what transpired was astonishing.
Without any forewarning, a cluster of keen, piercing trajectories appeared, thrashing in all directions.
From the vicinity of the antlered, hound-shaped demons, a simultaneous barrage of slashing sword-streaks erupted, sweeping past the area. The number of trajectories exceeded hundreds, not a single one overlapping, all emanating from her lone sword.
Sophia’s heart sword art, skipping the spatial distance between herself and the target as well as the process between cause and effect, had finally realized the miracle of ‘a single entity occupying multiple spaces simultaneously.’
Yet Sophia’s long sword remained sheathed at her waist, showing no signs of being drawn, even as she manifested such sword strikes. It was a technique that proved her heart sword art had already reached a certain realm.
The swirling sword strikes were meticulously calculated to herd the demons in a specific direction. As each strike traced its bold, unhesitating trajectory, the demons found themselves being driven toward the direction of Ezio, who stood firmly in his peculiar pose before them. Having already drawn their aggression through his earlier move, herding them was not difficult.
Even if they attempted to hide in the shadows and evade the sword strikes, it was meaningless. If they tried to retaliate or attack, they would inevitably have to materialize. But in this scene, all spaces except the vacant lot before Ezio were filled with the trajectories of Sophia’s heart sword strikes.
Hildegard’s role came when all the demons had gathered before Ezio’s front.
At this point, Ezio was fending off sporadic attacks from the herded demons. The enemy could move between shadow and physical forms. The spatial constraints imposed by their numbers were an advantage rather than a weakness for demons capable of transitioning between corporeal and incorporeal states through shadows.
However, Ezio steadfastly withstood the crashing waves of onslaught. As the golden luminous power coated his body like lacquer, adding luster, and his rippling muscles further bulged, Ezio let out a mocking laugh and said, “Truly light. Light attacks indeed!”
His words conveyed his sincere impression of the demons’ assault upon him.
While Ezio lacked wide-ranging or high-output techniques to instantly turn the tide, his true strength did not lie in momentary force or superiority. His true weapons were his unconventional toughness and an agility that could be called adroit.
Not surprisingly, despite the demons’ sporadic yet intense barrage exploiting spatial constraints, Ezio firmly held his ground without retreating or faltering, controlling the demons’ aggression and focusing it upon himself.
When all the demons were fully under Ezio’s control, Hildegard finally made her move.
“Celestial deities, bear witness! Here is a place enshrouded by a sacred veil! Behold, the mythic land, the ancient divine grounds, are now open!”
Striking the shaft of her halberd into the ground, Hildegard intoned a resonant chant. For Hildegard, who primarily communed with specific deities to receive their blessings, this chant was her unique original – the newest esoteric knowledge attained by her alone in this world.
The name of this chant was Pantheon (Πανθεονας), a miracle that temporarily proclaimed the designated land suitable for the celestial deities to reside – a pantheon.
The moment Hildegard’s declaration-like chant resounded, a massive pillar of light engulfed her, as if connecting heaven and earth. What transpired next was a wondrous spectacle that could be mistaken for a divine miracle.
The celestial bodies rearranged themselves as they had in ancient times when the heavens and mortal realm were connected. The land became imbued with sacred scriptures, causing all manner of mythic age flora and fauna to bloom forth, the very ground emanating light that banished darkness.
“Heh, so this was what Hilde had been hiding.”
The moment the pantheon manifested and the barrier unfolded, Sophia immediately recognized its nature. How could she not? The space unveiled in this moment employed techniques of the same lineage as the potion bottles Sophia had used earlier at the magic tower to contain the sacred sunlight pooled in Magec’s tray.
“The difference lies in the degree of isolation and duration, I suppose?”
The potion bottles Sophia had used were dharma realms completely isolated by the Vajra Mandala, and the adapted Sephirothic technique applied within merely created a specific environment inside the bottles.
However, the Pantheon chant Hildegard had invoked established a barrier adjusted to the minimum necessary form, distinguishing the space before densely filling the interior with an overwhelming divine aura in a single breath.
There was no inherent superiority or inferiority between the two methods. The difference stemmed from their respective purposes – a potion bottle meant to contain something, versus a manifested domain meant to summon a distinct force.
“Though I may be wrong, this barrier likely has a definite time limit.”
A domain formed by pouring forth limited blessings and divine auras, no matter how densely packed – its barrier isolation would undoubtedly be far from exceptional, an approach that clearly did not prioritize prolonged maintenance.
‘However, it seems more than sufficient to achieve Hilde’s objective.’
Precisely because it was a domain so thoroughly suffused, the power emanating within surged to an overflowing degree.
The level was so immense that the mere outpouring of power from the manifested Pantheon not only shattered the demons’ ritual site like a clay pot, but also distorted the fundamental principles of nature, erasing all shadows in the area.
For the demons that had traversed between illusion and reality via shadows, this was akin to a bolt from the blue. Suddenly expelled from the comforting illusion of the shadowy realm into reality, the demons’ expressions were filled with consternation and bewilderment.
Finally, as the pillar of light dissipated, the revealed Hildegard remained surrounded by a radiant aura reminiscent of a halo. Her form appeared clad in armor of light. Undoubtedly, the manifested Pantheon domain had further amplified the blessings she had received.
Perhaps, within this pantheon domain at this very moment, even Sophia might not easily overcome her.
‘Truly a secret technique only possible by stacking blessings to excess while simultaneously deploying the Immovable Bright King Inner Cultivation Method.’
Ordinary luminous power could not enshrine divine auras. Only luminous power purged of all worldly defilements through the Immovable Bright King Method could contain divine auras. Moreover, with just one or two blessings, she could never have poured forth enough divine auras to fill the entire space as she had here.
In any case, having stunningly manifested this miracle and sealed the demons’ means of escape, Hildegard finally raised the halberd she had planted on the ground, preparing to pass judgment upon the demons.
“{By the might of Sunras, the ferocity of Enualios, the celestial thunderbolts of Perun, the martial discipline of Andraste, the illustrious deeds of Chakra, the victory of Vahram, the military authority of Inanna, and the glorious pure lands of Mahesha’s armies! Allow me to punish the evil before my eyes!}”
She invoked the names of mighty deities symbolizing war and victory – gods of war and martial prowess. With each layered invocation, Hildegard became an incarnation of power enacting celestial majesty in this moment.
The halberd raised high now appeared less like a halberd and more like a towering pillar of light.
The moment her invocations concluded, Hildegard, without changing expression, brought down the upraised halberd – no, the pillar of divine aura. An overwhelming pressure rained down as if from the heavens themselves. Trapped within this sacred domain’s barrier, with all means of escape denied, the demons could only helplessly accept their imminent, irresistible punishment.