Saintess? Not Anymore! I'd Rather be a Destroyer-Chapter 355 - 292: Fighting Vanuer

"Hmm... let’s do this then. If you manage to cut off my arm, I’ll give you your brother," Vanuer said brightly, flashing a radiant smile—completely ignoring the look of horror that bloomed on Ralph’s face.

"What if I can’t?" Aurianna asked coldly, her expression unreadable.

"Then," Vanuer said with a teasing grin, "you’ll be under my tutelage during your whole school years. After all, that’s the real reason you came here, isn’t it? To learn from a strong lady like myself. And you probably want to seek refuge here for a while since you betrayed the Church of Paige by refusing to be her Saintess."

Aurianna let out a dry chuckle. "News travels fast, doesn’t it?"

"Of course! Ahaha!" Vanuer laughed sweetly. "And making an enemy of my church isn’t a wise choice, child. So, what do you say? A fair wager, yes?"

Aurianna paused for a moment, considering. Then she nodded. "Hmm... alright."

"Excellent!" Vanuer clapped her hands together, and a blinding light surged from her palms, washing over the room.

In an instant, the entire group vanished.

They reappeared seconds later inside a massive stadium, far larger than the previous hall. Rows upon rows of seats were filled with students, both new and old, summoned without warning. Murmurs of confusion spread across the arena.

"What’s going on?"

"Where are we?"

"Why are the upperclassmen here too?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Vanuer was hovering at the center of the arena. Her voice echoed through the place, magically amplified. "Everyone, I know you’re confused! But a rare opportunity has presented itself!" she declared cheerfully. "You’ve all been transported here to witness a special event, a battle between two Saintesses!"

Gasps rang out.

"I, the Saintess of Light, Vanuer, will be facing off against the Saintess of Beauty, Aurianna Vanluad! Since none of you have ever witnessed the true power of a Saintess in battle. I’ve decided to give you all front-row seats!"

The arena erupted into wild cheering, many students on their feet, shouting support, though unsure who to root for.

Vanuer turned toward Aurianna, her eyes gleaming. "So, Aurianna, are you ready?"

Aurianna gave a subtle smirk. "Yeah."

But her thoughts were sharper than her words. ’She’s a Floop, and an Arcane human winning may be impossible but cutting off her arm wouldn’t be so difficult... I better be cautious. But as long as she’s not stronger than Vivian, she’s no real threat.’

"Gixo... let’s end this quickly," Aurianna whispered.

A soft humming orb materialized in her palm, and the atmosphere shifted. Suddenly, the entire sky above the stadium darkened and shimmered, like a sea of stars folding into existence. The wind went still. The ground trembled.

"Shining Star!" Aurianna’s voice rang out.

A single, blinding beam of white and gold light burst from the sky, crashing toward the arena. The protective barrier that normally guarded the stadium cracked like glass—then shattered completely.

Vanuer’s eyes widened in alarm. ’What?! She broke through the barrier?!’

With barely a second to react, Vanuer summoned shields across the entire arena, forming multiple layers of defense over the audience. The moment the beam struck, the entire stadium was bathed in searing light.

When it faded—there was silence.

A smoking crater now replaced part of the stadium floor. At its center stood Vanuer, her robes scorched, her skin charred. She was still alive.

"Well, I expected her to survive," Aurianna said, tilting her head. "But as long as I have mana... I can make plenty of Shining Stars."

The sky above pulsed as golden magic circles spread across the sky, thousands of them. Glowing rings like halos, orbiting one another,

"I see why you aren’t afraid now," Vanuer said with a breathless chuckle, her skin rapidly knitting itself back together as her body pulsed with light. Her blonde hair grew long, covering her body. And her brown skin healed up. She flapped her wings effortlessly in the air across from Aurianna, both of them floating above the now-silent crater.

Then, as if the battle had never scarred it, the massive hole below them began to mend, the stone reassembling itself piece by piece.

"That explains how you could kill those Grand Humans... and survive the Bahamut Ruin," Vanuer said.

Aurianna laughed softly. "You’ve been doing your homework, haven’t you?"

"Of course. It is good for me to know everything about the new Saintess. And you, my dear Aurianna, have been... quite a troublesome child. You’re a genius , that’s the obvious part."

"Well enough talk," Aurianna stated snapping her fingers.

All the golden circles in the air converged into a single colossal magic circle. Aurianna pointed, and the spell launched downward with deafening force, a beam wide enough to swallow the entire stadium.

But Vanuer didn’t flinch. She rose into the sky, her hand opening wide and a mouth formed at her palm. With a sickening sound, the mouth devoured the attack whole.

The light vanished.

Aurianna narrowed her eyes. "Devouring magic, huh?"

"Bingo!" Vanuer said, waving her now-normal hand and shaking it off like it had just eaten something too hot. "I can’t really determine the taste, but it’s quite powerful."

She snapped her fingers again, and her usual baggy top and shorts reappeared, forming around her body. "There. Modesty restored."

"Come on show you full power." Vanuer chuckled.

Aurianna didn’t answer. Her response came in the form of a wave of aura that rushed out from her body, thick and suffocating. The sky darkened. Even the most seasoned students watching in the stands were frozen in terror.

Vanuer’s brows furrowed. "I seriously don’t understand how someone with an aura like that can use such pure holy magic."

Aurianna’s voice was steady. "Because I’ve never done anything wrong."

Vanuer blinked, stunned.

"Every action I’ve taken was for for my good. Every drop of blood I’ve spilled was for good. That’s the secret to holy magic, isn’t it? Purity. Belief. I believe everything I’ve done was right. That’s why I’m still standing here, and that’s why you must let me kill my brother. He doesn’t deserve to keep breathing after all the trouble I went through just to kill him."

"School rules," Vanuer said flatly, shaking her head. "No killing. Not in my school, nor can any student kill another student."

"But we made a deal," Aurianna hissed.

Vanuer grinned. "Of course! But only if you can cut off my arm."

"Then I will."

Without warning, Aurianna vanished—only to reappear an inch from Vanuer’s chest, her blade flashing. Most of the audience couldn’t even track her movement, their eyes struggling to follow the sudden explosion of speed.

But Vanuer could.

Every strike, every motion—she parried with ease, her scythe dancing like it was weightless in her hands. Steel rang against steel. Light clashed with light.

’Why the hell does she fight like a veteran?’ Vanuer wondered as she blocked another ferocious slash. ’That precision... that bloodlust. Is it the time magic thing or an I over thinking it?’

In a flash of light and a twist of her blade, Vanuer suddenly surged forward—her scythe spinning.

Gasps erupted from the stadium.

Aurianna’s limbs—her arms, legs, even her head—were sliced clean off in an instant.

Her body in pieces on the ground.