บท 6: Chapter 5: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Why, hello! Greetings, salutations, et cetera! Your most-despicable idol, Ellize, is here for the show! Did you miss me?

Professor Farah had been so kind as to send me an invitation, so I was on my way to the academy. It had taken me a little longer than expected because all of my guards had ganged up on me to try to stop me, but here I was, en route!

Scotterbrain had been especially hard to outrun. It was so funny to see her chase after me while yelling, "For goodness' sake, Lady Ellize!" Her desperate expression was hilarious! I was so used to seeing her look all stoic and serious in the game. Honestly, the gap was kind of endearing.

I didn't expect someone like her to worry for me in earnest. In the original story, she only ever pretended to be meek in front of Ellize as she bided her time. She probably wished for Ellize to drop dead each time she bid the fake saint a safe trip whenever she went out.

I have her completely fooled, don't I? Though I guess she'll only hate me more later on when she discovers the truth. People usually got way more emotional if they were betrayed or disappointed by someone they held dear. The greatest hate springs from the greatest love, right?Now that Layla was sincere in her loyalty to me, I couldn't even imagine how much she'd change after she learned that I'd been playing her the whole time. I only knew her reaction would be...fiery, to say the least.

I knew my fate, and I was fully ready for her to be the one to banish or eliminate me when the time came. It was better if I kept that in mind so I wouldn't be disappointed either.

Anyway, while my guards had wasted some time, they hadn't managed to stop me. Even without a single day of training in her life, the original Ellize had been one of the strongest people alive, and she'd been able to easily defeat the most powerful monsters if she'd wanted to. I'd topped all of that incredible potential by also training every day. Shaking off a few guards was child's play to me.

Remember how I could fly? It was easy to do if I used a combination of wind and light magic. Though if you asked me to explain how I did it or why it worked, I wouldn't know what to answer—no one else could really replicate it since flight magic wasn't really a thing here.

Anyway, it just meant no one could catch me. QED!

Flying type's way too OP, guys. Though I guess some annoying trainers will just spam buffs while your little guy's up in the air... Or worse! Use a thunder attack!

Anyway, I was flying toward the academy at full speed. As soon as I arrived, I went down to the basement.

Here I am, tiddies! Let me cop a feel, babe! Oh, and can you release the hostages while you're at it? Pretty please?

"Lady Ellize, you can't come in here! It's a trap!" Verner screamed.

Look, Verner...uh, how should I put this? You're the main character, you know? What are you doing getting captured with your waifu? With Farah in the state she's in, you're rushing toward a bad end, dude. This is all your fault! You spent too much time training. Couldn't you have turned on your brain instead?! Oh my God, hang on—he looks way too funny all trussed up like a chicken! Oh no... I'm gonna laugh...

"To think you'd really come... You're even more good-natured than I expected. Or should I say even more of an idiot?" Farah said.

Bingo—I'm an idiot. I can't really deny that part, but I wouldn't say I'm good-natured. Okay, I know I really shouldn't be saying this about myself, but I doubt there're many people more self-centered than I am.

The only reason I'd decided to come save Verner and Eterna was because I wanted to have a good time watching their happy ending. I didn't like feeling depressed while thinking of my darling Eterna's grim fate.

So don't mistake my intentions, Miss Tiddies. All right?

At the end of the day, I was ready to destroy this entire world if it meant I got to see the story I wanted. I didn't really care what the characters themselves thought of that either.

"I will not deny that second part. But I must say you overestimate the goodness of my heart. Everything I do is simply for myself."

"Ha! You sure don't lose your composure easily, Saint. I wonder if you'll be able to keep that straight face much longer," Farah said, raising her arm.

Wow, her boobs jiggle whenever she moves. Gotta love that. What a bombshell. That's why you can't underestimate F cups. Oops, I'm gonna start drooling if I don't pay attention!

"Behold! How do you presume to fight all thirty of these monsters, Saint?! This underground arena has been built to train students—there's no escape! You'll now have to fight for your life here! No matter how strong you are, you won't leave unscathed!"

Hmm? Had she summoned something? I'd been so focused on her boobs that I hadn't noticed at all. She was kind of forcing my hand, so I reluctantly tore my eyes away from her chest and looked in the direction she was pointing at.

Indeed, there were a bunch of small fries swarming in a corner. One...two...three... Do I even care? She could bring a thousand of those little guys and it wouldn't make a difference.

"Kill her!" she ordered.

W-Wait! I haven't thought of a cool attack name yet! Hmm... Um... Oh, whatever! I'll just blurt whatever comes through my mind.

I started to cast light magic.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," I said in perfect—well, save for the pronunciation—English.

Good going, me! English words always sound the coolest when you're naming a super attack. Any chuunibyou could tell you that.

Light started radiating from my body, and the monsters who'd jumped at me crumbled into dust in a split second.

Image here:

This is... AMAZING! I just love this feeling so much! I'm in another world now, so I have to be the strongest and destroy everything! I don't make the rules, that's just how things should be!

The ecstasy of destroying weaklings with a flick of my finger... I couldn't get enough.

"I-Impossible! How could you...?! You killed them all by yourself?! Even the members of the saint's guard struggle to fight more than one monster at once... How did you destroy them with a single attack?!"

"A-Amazing," Verner said.

"So that's...the saint's powers..." Eterna muttered.

Yes, yes, praise me more. This is nice! Now I get why everyone writes self-inserts. I'm really going to get addicted to this feeling.

Didn't that one famous game's villain also say something along the lines of "Nothing beats the thrill of victory! The envy in the eyes of your comrades as they realize your superiority! I don't favor fighting... I favor winning!"

That being said... What are you on about, Eterna? You're the saint, not me.

Now, then, I believe we have a winner, Farah. It's time for bad girls to receive their punishment now. Don't worry, I won't kill you—I'll just enjoy your tiddies a little bit, heh heh heh.

Farah let out a high-pitched yelp. Had she somehow sensed my bad intentions? She stepped back, a fearful look in her eyes.

You don't need to be so scared, baby. Everything's fine, heh heh heh. I'll just cop a little feel. Nothing too mean, I promise.

Farah wasn't done, though. "I-I was right to prepare a backup plan..." she said, snapping her fingers.

A small monster, which had been hiding in a corner of the room, jumped and landed right behind Eterna and Verner. Its arms were sharp like blades and it pressed them against both their throats.

Uh oh, did I miss one? It was so tiny I didn't see it.

"I won't hesitate to kill them if you resist, Saint! Let me stab you! If you agree, I'll send the students back unharmed! You won't leave them to die, will you?" she threatened, taking out a knife. The weapons on her chest jiggled nicely in the process.

So that was why she'd kept her hostages alive all this time. I was in a pickle now, wasn't I? It was game over if these two died.

Then again, maybe it wasn't? I had taken Verner's dark powers (lol) into my body. I probably also had a shot at defeating the witch, didn't I? I was pretty confident I could also take the rest of the monsters by myself and save the world. But it couldn't really be called a happy ending if the fake got a glorious victory while the original main characters died now, could it?

And if I did that, there wouldn't be any point in everything I'd done up until now.

Wait... Did that dumbass really think I was the real saint? In the game, she'd been one of the first to notice that Eterna was the real deal! Where'd your brain cells go, Farah? She had a great rack and a perfect face to match, so it didn't really matter if she was an idiot, but still...

Farah was tired of waiting for my answer. "What will you choose, Saint?!"

"Don't listen to her, Lady Ellize! Don't concern yourself with us!" Verner screamed.

"He's right! You can't die in such a place!" Eterna pleaded.

"Run! Please! I beg of you, Saint!"

"Yes! Please run away!"

There was a ton of screaming in my ears going on. The last two were total random characters, so I didn't really care about their names.

My little Eterna, you do realize you're the one who can't die here, right? If anything, my death here wouldn't matter much in the long run.

Either way, I wasn't too fond of the deal Farah offered, but there was only one option left.

Whatever! Let's see you try to kill Ellize, Miss Tiddies!

Farah burst out laughing. "To think you'd be so stupid! I'm astonished!"

She was certain she had won as she walked toward me, knife in hand. I could sense the witch's dark energy on it, but it didn't really matter.

Miss Tiddies was now right in front of me.

"NO!"

Shut up, Verner! You're so noisy. Can't you see I'm busy ogling? Don't distract me.

Spoiler, but a little knife like that had around zero percent chance of actually killing Ellize. Her healing magic was impressive, and I was currently using it on myself to increase my recovery speed. No matter how many times she was planning to stab me, I'd heal right away.

Besides, Verner's dark powers (lol) worked to keep their host alive, even against their will, so I was even harder to kill than the original Ellize.

I'm the fake saint! Don't look down on me, idiot! Your puny knife has no power on my mighty body! HA HA HA HA HA!!!

Good thing Farah was a little stupid. She just walked up to me without noticing that anything was amiss.

Once she'd stabbed me, I'd pretend to be dead for a while. Then, when she lowered her guard, I'd go for the monster first before punishing her.

I didn't want to feel pain, so I'd block the electrical signal being sent to my brain with thunder magic one way or another. A perfect plan.

"Promise me... Promise me that you will release everyone else," I checked with Farah.

"I'll keep my word. I'd also get a bad taste in my mouth if I killed unrelated students. You're the only one I want dead."

"I understand. Then go on," I agreed to her terms.

All right. Now she should leave the hostages alone.

Although Farah was currently being controlled, she was originally a good person and possessed a strong sense of duty. I trusted her not to harm the students for no reason.

That sense of duty of yours will be your downfall, dumbass!

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!"

Huh? Did Verner suddenly tear off the ropes that had tied him down? How? Through dark magic...? No way. Did he just brute force his way out?

He grabbed the monster's head and hurled it at Farah with all his strength.

Looks like player Farah is being pushed back! Indeed, she hits the wall! GOAAAAAAAAL!!!

Farah? Miss Tiddies? Heeeeey! Anyone home? She's out cold... Guess that means I'm free to get some hands-on experience?

◇

From the get-go, something had seemed off.

Verner had been called to the basement under the pretense of extracurricular lessons. His grades weren't good enough, Miss Farah had said. Sadly enough, that part was true.

While he had been training his body and excelled at his practical exams, Verner had barely studied since he'd entered the academy. As such, his grades for academic subjects were far from spectacular.

When he'd arrived at the basement, Eterna, as well as five other students whom he had never seen before, were already waiting.

While it might've sounded surprising to some, Eterna's grades were terrible. It wasn't all that strange, though—up until a little while ago, the young girl hadn't even been able to read or write. She'd had no use for such skills in her small provincial village.

In this world, the literacy rate was fairly low. Only the children of nobles and wealthy merchants learned such things. Commoners usually didn't even entertain the idea of learning to read or write—it just wasn't necessary.

As a result, Eterna had never even seen written letters before she'd arrived at the academy. It was already impressive enough that the young girl could now read and write proficiently.

Naturally, literacy alone wasn't enough to perform in a school meant to teach the elite, and she was still far behind most of the students.

The very system in place at the academy benefited the sons and daughters of the nobility. Or, to put things in a different way, it hadn't been built with the lowborn students in mind. It wasn't to say that the children of poor villages didn't aspire to become knights—only that, even if they did, they usually had no way of passing the grueling admission examination.

The reason was fairly simple: their rivals had trained and studied since they were old enough to hold swords. Thus, the nobles were better prepared for the examination. That's all there was to it.

People like Eterna or Verner—who'd succeeded in enrolling in spite of their lack of preparation—could already be considered remarkable for this very feat. Still, the gap between them and the others remained large.

For people like them—Verner simply assumed that the other five were in a similar situation, since none of them bore family names either—extracurricular lessons were a dream come true.

Well... For most people like them, at least. Verner wasn't particularly interested. If he had time to spare, he'd much rather practice his sword, learn magic, or do some physical training. He had to become stronger.

Eterna had insisted and made him promise not to waste the opportunity, so he'd begrudgingly gone along.

Still, he couldn't help but feel like something was fishy.

They'd been told they would study school subjects, but they hadn't gathered in a classroom; they were in an underground arena meant to fight monsters. Only the best students usually got to train against live monsters. Why would such a grand place be used for the seven students? It was just strange.

Verner wasn't the only one to sense that something was amiss, but now that they were there, it was already too late.

"Welcome to my special lesson. I'm glad to have all of you here, and I hope you're ready to listen to me very obediently," Farah, the female professor who'd invited them, said while snapping her fingers.

The door slammed shut and large monsters started appearing in the arena.

"M-Miss Farah! What is going on here?" one of the students exclaimed.

His name was John. He'd grown up in a small village and used to work as a soldier. He had almost died after being cornered by monsters with the rest of his squadron, but the saint had saved his life. On that day, he'd sworn to himself that he'd become stronger so he could fight by her side. He'd started studying relentlessly and, at the age of twenty, had finally passed the entrance examination.

Students could enter the academy from the age of seventeen, but there was no upper limit. It wasn't rare for older students to enroll.

"Your name was...John, right?" Farah asked. "I'm sorry. I must say I have no need for you, but I couldn't very well call in a single student. You all have mediocre grades, so it sounded more believable, didn't it? The rest of you are...collateral damage. I hope you'll find it in yourselves to forgive me."

"What are you—" John tried to ask, only for Farah to cut him off right away.

"My objective was you, Verner—you and you alone. You'll make a very fine hostage," she said, looking at Verner.

A hostage? Whatever for? Verner didn't understand who she hoped to threaten by kidnapping him. He was nothing but a commoner. She'd never get any ransom money with him as her hostage.

"I know that the saint Ellize visited your room yesterday. I have no idea what she sees in you, but there's no doubt she's interested in you."

"So you mean to—"

"Indeed. I mean to threaten Ellize with your life."

Verner couldn't help but think her plan was absurd. Sure, Lady Ellize had visited him, but that was only because she was a kind person. She didn't care about him in particular—she would've done the same for anyone.

He was nothing but one of the many people she tried to protect. She'd never take the bait and endanger herself for a single man she barely knew...

No! She will, Verner's brain cried. She won't be able to stay put! She won't care who it is, she'll risk her life to save anyone!

Ellize was a benevolent saint. She'd never abandon anyone.

She had once said that she loved this world and everyone in it—a belief she'd proven time and time again with her actions. She extended a helping hand to anyone she could reach, regardless of their origins, wealth, or character.

If she heard that someone had been kidnapped because of her, she'd rush to them in a heartbeat... No matter who they were. Even if she had never heard of their name before.

Please don't come... You can't endanger yourself for someone like me... Please...

Verner's wish wouldn't be heard. If there was someone who needed her, and that someone was within her grasp, she'd come no matter what.

That was her very raison d'être as the saint.

To make a long story short, Verner's concerns turned out to be completely unnecessary. While Ellize had done exactly what he'd feared, she was far stronger than Farah's monsters.

Even though Farah had only been able to summon monsters that could fit inside the arena, they were all incredibly powerful. Baphomets, chimeras, basilisks, griffins, and even a dragon lunged at her.

The best recent graduates of the academy would need to band together to defeat even a single one of them, yet Ellize was forced to face all of them at once... Alone.

Ellize had said something in a language Verner didn't understand.

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

At the same time, rays of light started radiating from her body. Everything went bright for a moment, and when the light finally disappeared, not a single monster remained.

The students needed a few seconds to comprehend what had just transpired. It was just too overwhelming for them to make sense of it.

Ellize had erased them from existence. The monsters didn't belong in the picture she'd envisioned, so she'd erased them, plain and simple.

Farah's confidence crumbled in an instant, and she stepped back in fear. The monsters she'd summoned were far from weak, but they still hadn't held a candle to the saint. The sinful beings hadn't managed to lay one claw upon her holy body.

Verner and the others had heard that Ellize was referred to as the greatest saint in history many times in the past.

According to the rumors, she could defeat monsters that would've been strong enough to threaten her predecessors' lives without so much as touching them. According to the rumors, she didn't need more than ten seconds to wipe out an entire army of monsters. According to the rumors, even the witch feared her and was doing everything in her power to avoid a direct confrontation.

There were thousands of rumors about the saint, but Verner and the others had all thought they had been exaggerated. Now, they realized they hadn't been. If anything...mere words weren't enough to tell of her might.

Indeed, a picture was worth a thousand words.

"A-Amazing."

"So that's...the saint's powers..."

Verner and Eterna hadn't been able to stop themselves from speaking up.

Their words slipped into cliché, but that was the best they could muster at the moment. They couldn't find the right words to express the admiration they felt. The more they thought of a good way to put it, the more it sounded like what the saint had done wasn't all that impressive. They could easily explain regular events by detailing them, but Ellize's might far transcended their understanding. They knew that she was incredible, but they would've been hard-pressed to say how exactly.

After that, Farah tried to threaten Ellize with Verner and Eterna's lives again, but Verner somehow succeeded in breaking free of his bonds and knocked her down.

Ellize walked up to her, crouched in front of her, and placed her hands on the unconscious woman's breasts. That was when Verner noticed that an ominous black mist was escaping from Farah's chest.

What in the world is this?! Could it be the same as mine?

Verner didn't know what that black mist was, but considering Ellize's actions, she did.

Ellize got rid of the black mist before turning to the students and revealing that it was the true culprit of today's events.