At first, the challengers were all too busy trembling uncontrollably.
The Agents.
The Apostles' Fingers.
Those who carry out the Apostles' orders.
Since the Apostles themselves rarely made an appearance unless there was something important at stake, it could be said that these Agents effectively ran the entire kingdom.
If one were to specify, it was the entire body of Devotees, or perhaps the Royal Knights—the kingdom's elite—who were fulfilling that role.
They were the guinea pigs in that position.
Yet their appearance as guinea pigs filled everyone with doubt.
Soon, that doubt turned into indifference, and indifference led to courage.
Courage, in turn, inevitably breeds recklessness.
"Me! Let me and my comrades take on the trial!"
Among them, the pair with the greatest courage were another of the Four Heavenly Kings.
In particular, this was the one who had gained popularity for having the most majestic and imposing appearance among the Four Heavenly Kings.
"Let's go, Nemesia!"
"Roar!"
A massive lion, easily nearly five meters tall, and a female warrior clad in a bearskin, riding atop it, advanced with excited expressions.
"So you're the Apostle's pet! My name is Aione! I'm sorry to the Apostle, but! You'll pay the price for recklessly challenging our city's finest warriors—!"
"Pfft! (You sure talk a lot!)"
"Huh…?"
The guinea pig suddenly flew through the air.
Well, to be precise, it jumped so high it looked like it was flying.
Uncharacteristic of a rodent, it held a beautiful, elegantly shaped sword in its mouth instead of a sunflower seed and spun through the air.
Whoosh! Swish! Swoosh-!
Then it unleashed a unique sword technique unlike anything they'd ever seen.
"W-what is that?"
"Uh, uh-huh?"
For a moment, Nemaya and Ione were speechless.
For her, a professional pet trainer for decades, pets and monsters wielding swords were a common sight.
Among them, there were even occasional cases of four-legged animals wielding swords in their mouths.
From her perspective, while such cases were rare, they weren't exactly a spectacular sight.
If anything, it bordered on foolishness.
But the guinea pig, Kwi, was different.
Its entire body moved like a single arm.
Its spine moved like an arm bone, its neck bones like wrist bones—no, it moved with even greater freedom than a real arm.
Combined with its exceptional jumping ability and agility, it felt as though the sword-wielding arm was flying through the air as it fought.
The bigger problem was that this arm wasn't just an arm...
"Ne, Neamia! Snap out of it!"
"Kuhhhhhhh..."
Thud!
It moved like the arm of the world's strongest swordsman—a sight unseen anywhere else.
In a mere five seconds, the Iron Lion Nemesia—one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and the proudest defender of Taming City—fell to Kui's dazzling swordplay.
He had sliced through only the joints that were bearing her weight.
"Pssst! (That's slow!)"
Everyone was momentarily stunned by the sight and fell silent...
[She's... she's down! The Iron Lion Nemaya knocked out in 5 seconds! Her owner, Aione, is automatically... *swoosh*!]
Only then, upon the announcer's declaration, did the audience erupt in cheers.
"Yes, Nemaya..."
It was truly striking to see that once-proud warrior trainer, sniffling, trailing after the lion as it was carried away by her gorilla pets.
With that scene behind them, no one dared to move forward.
Even among them were the former champion and self-proclaimed "King of the Skies," King Wyvern Palum, and his owner, Even.
He unconsciously imagined his own wyvern, which had soared into the air, crashing down pitifully.
Even so, he gripped the reins tightly.
If he, the former champion, were to back down now, the pride of Taming City's trainers would be shattered.
"I'll go this time."
[Oh! Ooh! It's our champion, Even, and Palum! Will our champion truly be able to overcome this trial?!]
Just as he was about to step forward.
"Wait a moment."
While everyone hesitated, Newbie calmly raised his hand.
"Is there a rule that only one team can participate in the trial?"
At Newbie's unexpected question, the emcee faltered for a moment, as if experiencing a lag.
[Ah, well... um...]
At that moment, a voice boomed across the entire sky.
[I grant it]
At the voice—clear and resounding like that of a goddess of war—the host flinched, then quickly regained his composure and shouted.
[The Apostle has granted permission! Who, indeed, will stand by the champion's side!]
"Then I'll go too."
Newbie spoke up and stepped forward alongside Excel.
The participants behind them merely hesitated; no one followed suit.
'How can we possibly defeat the Representative...'
'What if the Apostle punishes us for being so presumptuous...'
Just as everyone was hesitating, citing plausible excuses, someone roughly shoved them aside and stepped forward.
"Move aside, all of you!"
It was Salo and Urakan, who had been eliminated in the preliminaries.
Salo raised his fist toward the sky and shouted.
"I want to take on the trial too!"
As everyone murmured in response to his declaration and even the host hesitated, he shouted boldly.
"Surely just because we were eliminated in the preliminaries doesn't mean we can't face the Trial, does it? Or are you saying I'm not as capable as these cowards trembling here right now? I believe the Apostle doesn't discriminate against challengers!"
Just as everyone was on edge at these words, which might have sounded like a provocation.
[Granted]
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Sallo burst onto the arena, mounted on the back of his bull, Urakan.
And so, a team was formed consisting of the previous champion, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and a dark horse who had suddenly appeared.
Guinea Pig had looked bored even at the champion's challenge, but immediately showed curiosity upon the arrival of Newbie and Excel.
"Beep-! Beep-beep-beep-beep! (Finally—! The one my master's been longing to see has appeared!)"
Guinea Pig clenched the hilt of his sword in his mouth with great dignity.
So what.
"He's cute."
"He's cute. But what's he saying?"
"I don't know?"
It was just cute.
But that sword looked dangerously out of place.
It seemed to possess a power beyond mere strength.
"Something feels off. Be careful, Excel."
"Huh? What is it?"
"There's something bug-like about it."
"But if it's the same thing, doesn't that mean it's not a bug?"
Newbie nodded at Excel's question.
Eveon and Salo just looked confused by their conversation.
Just as the two were about to ask what that meant.
"Beep-! Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep! (Alright! I'm taking control!)"
As if reacting to those words, the guinea pig shouted something.
Then, the surrounding scenery grew slightly blurry.
A barrier of light separating the inside from the outside formed around them.
The host, who had been cowering in the face of these continuous unexpected events, suddenly became excited and spoke passionately.
[It's… it's a Power! The Apostle's Representative has used a Power!]
Everyone cheered in unison at the host's words.
"It's the PD's Power! I've never seen this before!"
"Who am I supposed to root for here?"
"The winning side, of course!"
The audience was thrilled.
From their perspective, seeing a high-ranking figure fight in person was a spectacle they'd never witness anywhere else.
As Kwi stomped his foot once, the stone floor shattered.
Fragments of the floor flew into the air all at once.
The stones were enveloped in white light and instantly transformed into silver swords.
The silver swords, all identical as if mass-produced, floated in the air, displaying their majesty.
"Beep-beep... Beep-beep-beep! (How about that? This is the power of the Divine!)" -Kkui
"Huh? Wait, why can I suddenly understand what you're saying?" -Newbie
"Yeah! I get it perfectly too!" -Excel
"Beep! Beep-beep-beep... Beep-beep-beep! (This place is! A temporary space created by the Power... Therefore, it is my space!)" -Kkui
That power is even more amazing than I thought.
"Beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep-! Beep-aaaaah! (There are many kinds of powers! This is—! My power, aaaah!)"
A power that can temporarily transform every object in the game into whatever he desires
"Beep! Beep-beep! (In this area! My power is the law!)"
"Doesn't that mean it's only valid within your area?"
"Huh? Beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep! (Huh? Yikes! That's loud!)"
"I guess so."
Newbie and Excel couldn't help but laugh at its slightly goofy attitude.
At that moment, the creature's dark, bright eyes flashed with rage.
As it moved its cute little feet, the entire space vibrated.
It felt exactly like a silent earthquake.
Only then did the expressions on their faces gradually harden.
The opponent before them was not just a cute guinea pig.
Swoosh!
"Beep! Beep-beep-beep! (Alright! Bring it on!)"
It was an incredibly powerful and cute guinea pig.
Thwack!
In an instant, the creature vanished, then immediately whipped its head around.
At that moment, the sword clenched in its mouth flew toward Excel with enough force to slice him in two.
"Ugh!"
Excel tried to dodge, but Kui's sword flew straight toward him, poised to pierce right through his body.
"Kieeeeeek!"
At that moment, a pillar of fire rose between Excel and Kui, blocking their path.
Kui retreated without hesitation.
Behind Excel, Palum the wyvern—the source of the flames—approached.
Eben mounted Palum's back and shouted to Newbie and Salo.
"If we stall, we'll be at a disadvantage! Salo! Let's settle this with our best moves! Newbie, you handle the follow-up attacks after that!"
"Alright! Go, Urakan!"
"Moo!"
True to their long history as teammates, Even and Salo's team worked in perfect harmony.
The fire beast Urakan rampaged on the ground, while the wyvern Palum breathed fire from the sky.
"Urakan! Fire Tornado!"
"Palum! Boom Firing!"
At their masters' commands, Urakan spun around the stationary Kui, creating a storm of fire, while Palum made a sound as if gargling, then spat out flames like a machine gun.
The fire tornado created by Fire So Urakan swallowed Kwi whole, and as if that weren't enough, the fireballs spewed by Wyvern Palum caused explosions every time they hit the ground where Kwi stood.
Whoosh! Whoooosh! Whoooosh!
Thanks to Urakan and Palum, the ground and sky were transformed into a sea of fire.
If this hadn't been a designated zone, the entire stadium would have been engulfed in flames.
Even so, Kwi simply remained calm and held his ground.
[Amazing~! The ultimate moves of the two rival teams, which until now had only been directed at each other, have combined! Even the Representative would find this quite a challenge!]
Before long, the announcer was commentating on the situation with such excitement that he had even forgotten his fear of the Apostles.
Newbie and Excel, who were watching the spectacle unfold right in front of them, stared at the sea of fire with astonished expressions.
"Wow, at that intensity, even that guinea pig would've been roasted whole by now, right?"
"It's definitely amazing... Wait a second."
At that moment, Newbie sensed something ominous.
Just then, the silver swords that had been hovering motionless in the air began to vibrate and resonate.
"Wait! Something's wrong!"
"Wh-what?"
"The swords seem to be moving! Excel! You go tell the guy flying around! I'm heading toward the cows!"
"Uh, yeah! Got it!"
Excel and Newbie split up and approached the two teams.
"Wait a second!"
"Hold on! Newbie has something to say..."
By the time the two reached the other two teams, who were in the midst of turning the area into a grilling pan, the swords were already moving.
The swords, which had been floating haphazardly, began to move in unison.
Only then did Even and Salo sense that something was off.
"Beep? Beep-beep! (Are they done? It's my turn!)"
With Kwi's shout, he waved the sword he was holding like a conductor's baton.
The swords began flying in sync with his movements.
In the sky, swords flew like arrows, piercing one of Wyvern Palum's wings, while on the ground, swords spun like propellers, tearing through Fire-So Urakan's hide.
Wyvern Palum narrowly avoided crashing as it spun wildly, while Fire Urakan resisted by fending off the onslaught of spinning swords with its horns.
Eaven, Salo, and the pets continued their resistance like a seasoned team, but scattered so far apart that they could barely hear each other, they could do nothing but endure the sword attacks.
Seeing that Even and Salo's team were unable to do anything, Kwi aimed at Axel with the remaining five swords and the one he held in his mouth.