Saintess Summons Skeletons

Where nobody could see it, Sofia transformed under her armor in the brief time before the start of the match. She observed Ulfric during the countdown, already busy circulating his mana and preparing a spell, and wondered how well he was really going to hold. While he might not have been as much of an over-achiever, Ulfric Merad was still someone with half a century of experience at the level she had just reached.

And we have to make it look over the top.

Sofia was actually getting a bit excited. She had to admit it, she liked showing off.

The battle started.

Before Sofia could even move dozens of long green vines shot out of the ground all around her, binding her legs, arms and wings, as four larger giant vines, thick like tree trunks, slammed down on her from all sides.

Three big templar skeletons in shining armor appeared between her and the tall vines out of thin air, raising their shields above her head. They were pushed down as the vines fell, but Sofia was safe. Ripping away the vines holding her through sheer force as she dashed forward between the templars and the tall vines directly toward Ulfric.

The templars were left behind to deal with the vines as Sofia attacked with a straight punch.

A wall of tangled vines sprouted from Ulfric’s staff to stop her. Just before impact, Sofia imbued her fist with a single-drop explosive bolt, just a fraction of what she normally channeled in a second, but enough to create a bright explosion on contact. The explosion blasted through the vine wall, but Ulfric was already no longer behind it.

Left.

She wasn’t quite sure how he had moved, it did not feel like a teleportation, but was near instantaneous. A flaming vine whip in his hand pierced the air toward her.

[Regret].

Sofia reappeared behind him, throwing a bolt-infused punch again.

A thick vine grew from his back to shield him at the last moment, as his flaming whip turned around in the air, following Sofia like a homing missile.

The following seconds of the show match were similar. Ulfric summoned exponentially more vines, making the arena difficult to navigate, while Sofia chased him around with explosive punches, unloading more and more pre-summoned skeletons from the painted halls to deal with all the greenery.

Despite both of them holding their magic back, Sofia actually struggled to land a hit, Ulfric’s vines were like a thousand eyes, he was never surprised by her moves, and always had a counterattack ready. They were both at a level where holding back just a little meant neither could ever properly get a single solid hit in.

However, such a match was bound to quickly get stale. In the center of the vine against skeletons generalized carnage, the two exchanged a knowing glance, pulled away from each other, and both changed strategy.

Thousands of tiny thread-like green vines grew from Ulfric’s staff, making it the handle of a two-meters long huge vine greatsword, while Sofia summoned a piercing bolt in each hand, like two blinding plasma swords.

They were both mediocre swordsmen for their level, but nobody around was strong enough to notice that. What the students saw were two masters, clashing fiercely all around the arena, killing the remaining vines and skeletons in the wake of their intense battle.

“You move well for an old man!” Sofia lightly taunted, as the vine greatsword stopped both of her bolts for the hundredth time.

“You’ve got a good physique for a tomb-crawler!” he answered in kind, switching his stance to a more aggressive one.

The two progressively got lost in their sword duel. Both turning more aggressive with the flow of battle, they started trading successful blows. The vine sword hit with brutal strength, leaving deep cracks in the bone armor every time, while the piercing bolts left half-molten charred marks on the headmaster’s.

While the physical fight continued, they also continuously threw other attacks at each other, elemental vines sprouting from the ground and striking Sofia any chance they got, while Sofia’s Sirhellion skull choir flew in a circle high above her head, spewing down lightning at Ulfric’s face any chance they got.

As the battle started to linger, Sofia felt it was time to end it.

She used [Regret] again teleporting away from Ulfric, only to instantly teleport back in with [Summon Self]. The feint pushed past the limits of his reaction time. A bolt slammed into Ulfric’s side while the other pierced his heart through his back.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Ulfric let his sword go, his staff falling to the ground. “My loss,” he declared, raising his hands, the piercing bolts still shining brightly, searing through his body.

Sofia dispelled the bolts. Ulfric’s mana heart was in his head, the two bolts were really not even a serious wound, but it was enough to shock the students.

His wounds healed in an instant, and he turned back to shake Sofia’s hand again, all the vines around the arena slowly disappearing in a thick mist of mana. Despite the thin trickle of blood flowing from his mouth, his face bore a wide smile, “I learned a lot.”

“Likewise,” Sofia answered, shaking his hands.

No need to spare the feelings of an old man. But thank you. Ulfric’s voice resonated straight into Sofia’s ears through silent magic.

I really need to learn to do this.

It was really a nice fight.

After the deputy headmaster formally announced the winner, Ulfric and Sofia had a more casual chat exchanging pointers on the way out, leaving the students and the aftermath of the battle for others to deal with.

After leaving the academy, Sofia went on to meet Chino’s parents right away since their territory was close-by. Since they were nobles of the Empire they were already well aware of who Sofia was, having already seen her from afar during her audience with emperor Xeros Drakron years prior. They had never even remotely expected that their adopted child and the necromancer saintess were related. Nevertheless, they were a bit hesitant to entrust the magical education of their child to a prominent necromancer.

Sofia had to wait in a guest room while they got into a long conversation with Chino.

She idly passed the time playing with Crowie, sitting on a luxurious couch for a few minutes before someone knocked on the door, opening it right after. It was a relatively short maid with freckles, and at an unusually high level of 78, she brought along a cart loaded with a few drinks and pastries.

“Pardon the intrusion, my lady. The countess has sent refresh–”

The maid stopped mid-sentence, staring wide-eyed at Sofia like she had seen a ghost.

Likewise, Sofia couldn’t believe her eyes, blinking a few times. This was like a scene straight out of her memory.

Sofia’s melodious laughter broke the silence. “Now this–! This is something I truly wasn’t expecting.”

“S- Saintess?!”

“It’s nice seeing you again, Irina.”

“Holy shit.”

“My exact thoughts as well, honestly.”

Irina hurriedly pulled the rest of the cart into the room and closed the door.

“You’ve changed a lot,” Irina noted, staring at Sofia’s horns, “I thought you were dead!” she exclaimed, coming up to Sofia and grabbing her hands as if to check she was real, completely forgetting all about her current status.

“As you can see, I’m not. Although a certain god really wants me to be.”

“Yeah?! I sure imagine he would after what you did. You could have warned me!”

“Warn someone from the church I was about to kill the magisterium and escape?” Sofia asked with a smirk. Of course now Sofia knew Irina had been Beatrice’s spy in the Holy See, but she was completely clueless at the time.

“... Never mind. I expected you were going to escape around that time but I have to say I didn’t think that was how it was going to happen!”

“You were aware? I was pretty careful when talking to you even if you seemed like you were on my side… As expected of a spy I guess.”

“You knew?!” Irina asked, looking like her entire world-view was continuously shattering.

“Of course not. Beatrice told me.”

“The princess is alive too?!”

“Hmmhmm. She works for me now.”

Irina blinked a few times, grabbed a silver fork from the cart she had brought in, pulled back her dress’ sleeve, and stabbed her own arm. “Am I really not dreaming?” she muttered, watching her own blood trickle from the shallow wound.

“You’re making a mess.”

Past the initial confusion, Sofia and Irina had a surprisingly easy time catching up. Although their respective positions in the Holy See were a bit tough, they had genuinely developed something akin to a very loose friendship back then. It turned out Irina had lived as a mercenary in the Laudell theocracy for a bit after being let go by the princess, her talents as a spy making her a good scout. After three years of this she had enough of that dangerous life and started applying to maid positions in various places, because it was a position she had experience in. That was how she had ended up working for the Blacklumbers for the past two years, silently living a regular life. Apparently they knew that her identity was forged, but they hired her anyway, and had recently gotten her proper papers, so Irina was now a true legal citizen of the empire.

Irina was quite satisfied with her current life, and in complete disbelief at Sofia’s current status and power. She eventually left Sofia to return to her job, promising that she would come to her city to visit her and Beatrice next time she got a paid leave.

In the end, the Blacklumbers agreed to let Sofia teach Chino, on the premise that they could watch the entire thing to make sure it was appropriate, and they insisted on paying her for it, even if Sofia was fully willing to do it for free.

They seemed to be really distrustful of her despite her status, but they also genuinely cared about Chino’s feelings and well-being, so Sofia only had a positive impression of them by the time she left.

What an eventful day.