Journey to Become the Zenith

The Eight Divine Temples

The power of their strike wasn’t proportional to the power they were emitting.

Videl’s sapphire eyes narrowed as the clash echoed throughout the office.

The collision should not have been that powerful.

From what she could sense, neither Ruby nor Natalia possessed enough mana to produce an attack of that level. Yet the impact that traveled through her arms felt heavy enough to make her muscles tense.

’There must be something with the weapons they’re using...’

While Videl was thinking this, she pushed the two girls back.

A burst of force surged through her arms.

Ruby and Natalia were sent several steps backward.

The moment they stabilized themselves, both girls stared at Videl with shining eyes.

The reaction wasn’t fear.

It was admiration.

Excitement.

Interest.

Ruby looked as though she had just discovered a priceless treasure.

Natalia’s smile grew even brighter.

Videl had barely recovered from blocking their clash when Natalia suddenly appeared beside her.

Before she could react, Natalia grabbed both of her hands with sparkling eyes.

”That was amazing, Lady Hero! I, Natalia, the Holy Maiden of the Temple of Justice, implore you, please become my chosen hero.”

Videl froze.

The blonde maiden was standing far too close.

Their faces were only a short distance apart.

Natalia’s bright blue eyes practically sparkled with excitement as she looked at Videl as though she had discovered a priceless treasure.

Videl wasn’t used to this.

Victor occasionally teased her.

Victor occasionally stood close enough to make her heart race.

But having another woman suddenly latch onto her while looking at her with such enthusiasm was an entirely different experience.

”U-Uh...”

Before Videl could form a proper response, another figure stepped between them.

Ruby.

”How dare you suddenly appear, call me a barbarian, and then immediately try to steal my hero?”

Ruby crossed her arms beneath her chest and glared at Natalia.

”I’m sure Lady Videl doesn’t appreciate being cornered the moment she meets you.”

”Oh?” Natalia raised an eyebrow.

”And what makes you think she’d prefer you?”

Ruby immediately moved beside Videl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

”Because unlike some people, I know how to make a proper first impression.”

”Hah! Your idea of a proper first impression is threatening people with a halberd.”

”And your idea is sneaking around and ambushing them.”

The air between the two holy maidens crackled with hostility.

Videl stood between them, feeling as though she had somehow become the prize in a competition she never agreed to join.

Meanwhile, inside her mind—

’Master.’

Amura’s voice sounded amused.

’At this rate, Victor is going to have competition.’

Videl’s face immediately reddened.

’W-What competition?!’

’The competition to see who can cling to you the fastest.’

Videl nearly groaned.

Even her sword spirit had started teasing her now.

Videl had barely recovered from blocking their clash when Natalia suddenly appeared beside her.

Before she could react, Natalia grabbed both of her hands with sparkling eyes.

”That was amazing, Lady Hero! I, Natalia, the Holy Maiden of the Temple of Justice, implore you, please become my chosen hero.”

Videl froze.

The blonde maiden was standing far too close.

Their faces were only a short distance apart.

Natalia’s bright blue eyes practically sparkled with excitement as she looked at Videl as though she had discovered a priceless treasure.

Videl wasn’t used to this.

Victor occasionally teased her.

Victor occasionally stood close enough to make her heart race.

But having another woman suddenly latch onto her while looking at her with such enthusiasm was an entirely different experience.

”U-Uh...”

Before Videl could form a proper response, another figure stepped between them.

Ruby.

”How dare you suddenly appear, call me a barbarian, and then immediately try to steal my hero?”

Ruby crossed her arms beneath her chest and glared at Natalia.

”I’m sure Lady Videl doesn’t appreciate being cornered the moment she meets you.”

”Oh?” Natalia raised an eyebrow.

”And what makes you think she’d prefer you?”

Ruby immediately moved beside Videl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

”Because unlike some people, I know how to make a proper first impression.”

”Hah! Your idea of a proper first impression is threatening people with a halberd.”

”And your idea is sneaking around and ambushing them.”

The air between the two holy maidens crackled with hostility.

Videl stood between them, feeling as though she had somehow become the prize in a competition she never agreed to join.

Meanwhile, inside her mind—

’Master.’

Amura’s voice sounded amused.

’At this rate, Victor is going to have competition.’

Videl’s face immediately reddened.

’W-What competition?!’

’The competition to see who can cling to you the fastest.’

Videl nearly groaned.

Even her sword spirit had started teasing her now.

The two holy maidens glared at each other.

The temperature inside the room seemed to drop.

Principal Max quietly rubbed his temples.

Even Aria, who was waiting outside the office, could probably sense the chaos happening inside.

Videl stood between them like an innocent victim caught in a battlefield.

’Victor...’

For some reason, she suddenly remembered him.

If Victor were here, he would probably laugh at her situation.

That thought somehow made her even more embarrassed.

”Lady Ruby, Lady Natalia, please stop for a moment. I think Videl here is a bit confused. I hope you two ladies can stop bickering for the moment and please explain to her, what it means to be a hero of a certain temple.”

Hearing what Max said, the two girls reluctantly released Videl’s arms.

They immediately moved away.

Then they glared at each other again.

The peace lasted exactly three seconds.

”How about I explain the situation, a barbarian like you wouldn’t be able to explain it properly anyway.”

Natalia smiled sweetly.

”Heh, I’m sure you won’t be able to explain it at all since your brain is as big as your chest, practically non-existent.”

Ruby immediately fired back.

”At least I have a brain.”

”At least I have a chest.”

The two spoke at the exact same time.

Silence followed.

Then another glare.

Max sighed deeply.

Videl almost felt sorry for him.

The academy principal looked like a man who had aged ten years in the last few minutes.

”This is going nowhere, then if the two ladies do not mind, allow me to be the one to explain the situation to Videl.”

The two girls crossed their arms.

For once they agreed on something.

They both nodded.

”Fine.”

The synchronized answer surprised even them.

Another glare followed.

Max decided to ignore it before a second battle started.

He turned toward Videl.

The office finally became quiet.

Sunlight filtered through the large windows, illuminating dust particles floating in the air.

The peaceful atmosphere contrasted sharply with the chaos from moments earlier.

”Sorry for that, well then let’s get straight to it. Videl how much do you know about the Temples?”

Videl scratched her cheek awkwardly.

Truthfully speaking, she knew almost nothing.

Her village had been isolated.

Most of what she learned about the world came from traveling after leaving home.

”Truth be told, this is the first time I heard about them.”

The reaction was immediate.

Ruby’s mouth opened slightly.

Natalia looked genuinely stunned.

Both holy maidens stared at her as if she had just revealed she lived under a rock.

”Impossible.”

”You’ve never heard of them?”

The two spoke simultaneously.

Videl nodded.

The two girls exchanged looks.

Then they remembered her background.

The surprise slowly faded.

Max smiled helplessly.

”I see, you did come from a very remote village...”

He walked toward a large map hanging on the wall.

The map depicted the known world.

Several kingdoms, empires, mountain ranges, and territories had been marked across its surface.

Max pointed toward the center.

”Fine then, let me start from the beginning.”

Ruby and Natalia finally became quiet.

Even they listened respectfully.

This was basic knowledge for them.

However, for Videl, it was a completely new world.

”The human race does not simply worship random divine beings. Throughout history, eight great Gods and Goddesses have protected humanity.”

Videl listened carefully.

”The world itself is divided into two major regions. One is known as the Ancient Continents. The other is the New Continent.”

Max’s finger moved across the map.

”Each region contains four great empires.”

”Meaning eight in total.”

Videl nodded slowly.

The scale of the world was larger than she had imagined.

Max continued...