Youngest on Top - Chapter 53

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 53

But something was odd.
The Artemisia Trainee Priests had suddenly become grave, as if they’d been handed their death sentence.

The children, who had been overwhelmed by the Sacred Maiden’s power for the first time, suddenly snapped to attention.

“We absolutely cannot lose. Absolutely! No matter what!”
“Ten! Ten!”
“That one’s mine! Get away!”

In an instant, the children’s eyes blazed red as they scrambled frantically, swapping tiles and dashing about.
The spectators widened their eyes once more.

‘W-what, fanatics?!’

They even seemed to be competing with each other.

“I called dibs on that tile first!”
“Whoever swaps it first owns it!”
“No studying the rest!”
“As long as it’s not me. Just not me!”
“Get your head in the game! If we lose, we all do group punishment!”
“Right, right.”

Watching the Artemisia Trainee Priests scramble about with such desperation, Helene let out a scoff.

“How pitiful.”

She drooped her eyebrows.

“Ladies and gentlemen, final struggles are nothing but ugly. No matter how many you swap, one use of my ‘Integration’ and they’ll be back to—.”
“No.”

Saelika spoke.

“You’re done now. You can’t use it anymore.”
“…What?”

Saelika dusted off her small hands with a pat-pat motion.

“Our children only recently awakened their sacred power.”
“And?”
“They need real combat experience. That’s why I was trying to stay still.”

Finally, Saelika began to step off the tile.
With each step she took, the tiles beneath her feet glowed brilliantly in blue—pong, pong, pong, pong.

“Huh?”
“Wh-what?!”

The spectators gasped in surprise, their eyes fixed on Saelika.

“What, what is this? The tiles are changing just from her passing through?”
“I thought she was just a bystander since she wasn’t doing anything?!”
“Those aren’t even empty tiles—they’re already occupied by red! How is this even possible?”

Could she be some kind of special existence we don’t know about?
Perhaps a Sacred Maiden?
But—.

“Didn’t they say she’s not a Sacred Maiden?!”
“No, even a Sacred Maiden couldn’t do this! There’s no way someone her age could pull off something like that!”

Waaaaahhhhh—!!
The spectator stands erupted with deafening noise.

An unexpected counterattack from the child everyone thought was just tagging along.
And a display of power so extraordinary it defied comprehension.

It was only natural that the spectators, who had already decided the game was over, erupted in enthusiasm.

And it wasn’t just the ordinary spectators who were shocked.
The people in the VIP section were equally astounded.

“Th-this is… what on earth is this…!”
“How is this even possible?”
“C-could that child be a hidden Sacred Maiden? Were you trying to surprise us?”

Devon chuckled at the nobles’ question.

“Our Sae is not the Sacred Maiden.”
“Then…!”
“She’s a blessing, a blessing! My precious little blessing!”

Ehehehehehehe, Devon let out an absurd laugh.

The nobles turned their heads away composedly at the sight.
Let’s pretend we didn’t hear that.

“So she really isn’t the Sacred Maiden, but just an ordinary Reyatan Trainee Priest, it seems.”

How could this be?
She was just a child.
Not the Sacred Maiden, just a child.
And considerably younger than the other trainee priests at that.
Yet possessing such tremendous power!

The eyes of the Reyatan Priests, who had been riding high on Helene’s unification, looked ready to pop from their sockets.

Pong pong pong pong pong.
Even in this moment, the blue tiles continued to spread relentlessly.

“S-she’s even more impressive than the Sacred Maiden.”

Hearing those words, Helene’s gaze shot toward the spectator stands.
And she clenched her fists tightly.

‘Is she going to interfere with me again?’

It was intentional.
Deliberately pretending not to have undergone Sacred Bloom, hiding away in a corner, then appearing at the critical moment.
It was clear she was trying to conceal her own reputation that way.

Saelika crossed the tiles and stopped directly in front of Helene.
Then she opened her mouth.

“Gerald bet a lot of money on Sae.”

Since I walked on my own terms, it doesn’t matter whether I lose or not.
But…

“I promised Sae I’d share the money I earn with her.”

And I need that money.

‘Gerald devoured all the bread, so I have to buy more to feed our children!’

Helene’s face twisted.

“You’ve been chattering away since yesterday, seriously. Did replacing a few tiles make you think you’re someone special?”

How dare she speak like that in front of me, who replaced all these tiles.

She must have picked up some tricks from the Artemisia Priesthood, but it won’t work.
One unified strike would end this anyway.

Helene’s lips curled upward.
And she whispered to the child in front of her.

“Don’t act out when you have no real ability. Stay quiet. If you keep annoying me, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“What will you do?”
“Don’t mess with me. I could kill you right now.”
“Wow! That’s amazing! But why are you talking so quietly?”

Saelika mimicked Helene, cupping her hands together and whispering.

“That’s hilarious.”
“You…!”

What kind of child says things that get under people’s skin with every single word?
Helene’s eyes turned cold.

“You might actually die, you know.”
“But do you have the ability to do that?”
“What are you talking about…? I’m the Sacred Maiden!”
“But you’ve been sitting around doing nothing this whole time just to do one unified strike, haven’t you?”

Saelika smiled brightly and tilted her head.

“And you couldn’t even get the timing right, could you?”

The goal must have been to activate it with only 1 minute remaining, not 10.
She lacked skill and couldn’t control it properly, so it activated early.
After all, she was the type who desperately craved attention from others.
Besides…

‘Controlling the unified power for ten whole minutes must be difficult, right?’

Of course, the sacred power that now dyed the tiles crimson belonged to the Reyatan Trainee Priests.
But who was using it?

‘It’s Helene.’

In other words, if Helene couldn’t control it properly, it would be like casting pearls before swine.

“Isn’t it already overwhelming just maintaining the tiles this crimson color?”

Helene lacked the capacity to properly control such a vast amount of sacred power.

If she had truly unified the power properly and could use it well, the children of Artemisia wouldn’t have been able to change the color again.
Even if they could, it would have taken them a long time to change even one.

‘But right now, she’s changing them as quickly as if she were dyeing white tiles.’

Saelika grinned wickedly and provoked Helene.

Who would be most affected by Reyatan’s hot-blooded nature?

‘It’s the Sacred Maiden, Helene.’

She was trying to appear composed, but looking at her actions so far, she was more hot-tempered than anyone.

“Right. Who else would strut around with barely any ability?”
“You—!”
“And yet you’re using that unified power like it’s not cheating.”
“…!”

Helene’s face drained of all color.

‘How… how did she know that…!’

My mind went blank.
How did she find out? No, that doesn’t matter right now.
If she’s exposed. If she’s exposed. If that child tells everyone here everything—!!

Helene poured her sacred power into the scepter she held.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up.

In an instant, a sharp, piercing light spread across the arena.
The massive surge of power drew every eye in the arena toward her.

The scepter transformed, and something bizarre emerged.

A colossal scythe.
It was easily three meters tall.
A sickly green poison dripped down the blade of the enormous scythe, each drop glistening with an eerie luminescence.

“The, the Reyatan scythe! It’s the Reyatan scythe!!”

Those who witnessed it screamed in horror.

With her eyes completely wild, Helene saw nothing but Saelika.

‘I won’t let you live!’

Helene hurled the scythe toward Saelika.
The massive blade cut through the air with a sharp whistle, descending toward the small child.

Whoooosh—!

Brimming with Reyatan’s sacred power.

“Insane!”
“That, that thing—!”
“Kyaaaaaaah!”

The spectators screamed.

In that instant, High Priest Anatullio rose to his feet.
Randel and the other Artemisia Priests also jumped up abruptly.

A fierce sacred power erupted from them, streaking across space like a comet.
Toward Saelika.
They had unleashed their sacred power to protect the child.

But there was no need.

“Huh.”

The sickle had stopped mid-air, its blade halted in the void.

A small pastry was lodged in the center of the blade.
More precisely, Saelika was gripping the sickle’s blade with her hand.

“Eeek—!”

Helene’s eyes widened as she tensed her entire body.
She was trying to tear the small child’s body apart with the sickle.

But no matter how hard Helene struggled, it was futile.
The sickle’s blade could not pierce the child’s delicate palm.
Instead….

Whoosh—.

As the child straightened her bent arm, the sickle was pushed upward.
A golden radiance gathered in Saelika’s small hand.

Crack!

As the child clenched her fist, the summoned sickle shattered into fragments.
Soon it became dark green powder that scattered through the air.

“Gasp, gasp…, huff….”

Helene’s mouth fell open as she stared at the sight before her.
Soon, her pupils began to tremble slightly.

“Th-that can’t be… It’s a lie. This is a lie…”
“You deserve a beating.”

Saelika walked out through the powder of the scythe.
A brilliant light slowly began to gather in the child’s apricot-like fist.
The apricot-colored fist crossed through the air.

Boom!

The force was so tremendous that even though she was merely sweeping through empty space, the pressure difference in the air created a proper impact sound.
A golden sacred aura radiated from Saelika’s fist.
And it flew toward Helene…

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Helene was driven straight into the wall.

Saelika approached Helene with light, bouncing steps.

Pong, pong, pong, pong.
Even in the midst of this, she didn’t forget to stain the tiles blue.

“Don’t lie down, don’t lie down.”
“Ugh…”
“What do I do if you collapse already?”

We haven’t even started yet.

Saelika twisted her small hand around Helene’s collar.
And she whispered in a voice only Helene could hear.

“You brought the rotten meat, and this was all your plan, wasn’t it?”
“…!”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

Crack!

“And Dmitri getting hit is your fault too, Helene? Hendrick blabbed everything! How dare you strike our child?!”

I hadn’t meant to hit Dmitri at all.
I was aiming to strike Saelika.
How was I supposed to know Dmitri would suddenly jump in the way?

But I couldn’t protest my innocence.
Not with a golden pastry already shoved into my mouth.

Thwack!

On that bright day, the crisp sound of impact echoed through the arena.

* * *

[The match is concluded.]

The announcer’s final voice came through the magical artifact.
Everyone in the arena stared blankly at the arena floor.
The tiles were awash in a brilliant azure light, as if the sea itself had flooded the grounds.

“….”
“….”

Faced with this unexpected turn, no one could utter a word.
Someone swallowed hard and cried out.

“Artemisia is victorious!”

Once the floodgates opened, the spectators erupted in a deafening roar.
Some rose from their seats, clapping thunderously.
Whistles pierced the air from every direction.

“An overwhelming victory!”
“Magnificent, Artemisia! You’ve done it again!”

At the same time, those who had lost their bets began to jeer at Reyatan.

“Give me back my money! Damn it, blast it—!”
“Sacred Maiden this, Sacred Maiden that, all polished on the outside! Lost to a temple without a Sacred Maiden?! Incompetent fools!”

Had the match itself been impressive, the crowd wouldn’t have booed so mercilessly.
But.

“That magic the Reyatan Sacred Maiden used at the end—that was lethal magic, wasn’t it?”
“Of course it was. She swung that scythe!”
“Insane, going after a child so much younger than herself….”
“Tsk, how is that a Sacred Maiden?”
“She doesn’t deserve the title of Sacred Maiden!”

The crowd denounced Helene, who sat collapsed with her hair torn out in clumps.
The Reyatan Priests flinched, glancing around nervously.

The atmosphere was ominous.
Not just the common spectators, but even the nobles wore cold expressions.

“Come to think of it, that boy who threw punches at the beginning didn’t attack Sae, did he?”

A noble from the breast worship gathering murmured thoughtfully.

“That’s right. True.”
“There were larger boys too. Yet they deliberately attacked such a small child?”
“If you really wanted to win, you’d attack someone comparable, not a child who hadn’t even claimed a single tile.”

Not just the nobles, but the common spectators were discussing it too.

“She was the youngest, wasn’t she? I’ve never seen a trainee priest so young.”
“Right. The intent behind attacking a child who might as well not have participated is crystal clear.”
“Rotten bastards!”

Booooo—!
Jeers erupted from all directions.

At that reaction, all the Reyatan Trainee Priests went rigid.

Defeat.
A complete and utter loss to an opponent I had dismissed as easy prey, convinced I would win without question.
I had even mocked them as vermin-like rats, wretched beggars who’d never seen meat, and yet I lost.

That alone would have been shocking, but the crowd turned it into a mockery parade.
The jeers—a deafening roar that filled the entire Arena, making my ears ring.

I had never experienced anything like this in my life.
There was no humiliation greater than this.
Even the Sacred Maiden I had believed in lay crumpled like a rag, unconscious.

That was when it happened.
Saelika crouched in front of Helene, who was battered and barely conscious.
Then she began searching through her clothes.
As expected, her fingers found something hard and solid.

‘There it is, just as I thought.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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