Chapter 4: She is a madwoman!

Knight Combat was a competitive sport that had become wildly popular across all of human civilization.

The matches were usually in the form of 1v1, 3v3, 5v5, or chaotic free-for-alls with mixed formats.

There was no restriction on the Resonance Rate of the participating knights, but there were two fundamental requirements.

First, each contestant had to possess their own Spiritbound Weapon, meaning they must be a Spirit Master who had signed a contract with a Spirit Race entity.

Second, they must not yet hold a title. In other words, Title Knights were not allowed to participate — after all, that would destroy the balance of the competition.

For the final winner, the organizers would grant not only a title but also real, tangible rewards.

At that point, the winner would face two choices.

The first option was to directly claim a material reward — usually something physical or valuable.

But the second option was far more interesting.

The winner could choose to challenge any currently ranked Title Knight. Even if they lost, they would still

receive the material reward. But if they won, they would immediately take that Title Knight’s ranking —

and could make one request to the Alliance.

In principle, the Alliance was obligated to fulfill whatever request was made. This was their way of showing respect to the Title Knight and acknowledging their potential future contributions to humanity.

Of course, realistically, not every request could be fulfilled.

If someone wanted to overthrow the Alliance or rule all of humanity — that obviously wouldn’t be approved.

However, simply asking a question or finding out how to remove the Kiss of Thorns was something the Alliance could allow.

After all, that would be equivalent to pardoning a criminal, nothing more.

“Two questions,” Melo raised two fingers and asked Lady Aida.

Lady Aida took a sip of coffee, waiting for her to continue.

“First question: Pardoning a criminal might be no big deal to the Alliance. But what if they knew that this criminal was once a Radiant Knight? Do you think they’d still approve?”

Melo folded one finger. “Second question: How am I supposed to defeat the other contestants without first removing the Kiss of Thorns?”

Lady Aida gracefully finished her coffee and gave a gentle smile.

“These two questions can actually be seen as one — that is… how can you gain power equal to a Title Knight, even without removing the Kiss of Thorns?”

At that moment, Melo looked at Aida with a strange expression.

In the Punishment of Sealed Spirits, the Kiss of Thorns was among the most severe. It was a punishment that drastically restricted the use of spiritual energy.

Not only did it cause overwhelming resistance whenever the punished tried to use spiritual energy, but

even if they forced their way through, it inflicted unbearable pain across their entire body — extreme

torment.

That Miss Divine Punishment Knight had surrendered to a noble and accepted the fate of becoming a personal s*ave, all because she couldn’t endure the agony of the Kiss of Thorns.

“Don’t look at me like that, Miss Melo. Naturally, I wouldn’t say something like this without a reason. In

fact, during all these years of preparation for revenge, I’ve investigated many things — and uncovered

some secrets most people don’t know. One of them came from another individual who had also received

a Punishment of Sealed Spirits.”

“Of course, that person was lucky. They weren’t subjected to the Kiss of Thorns, but rather the Chains of Spirits.”

The Chains of Spirits were a milder version of the Punishment. If the Kiss of Thorns was at 100% intensity, then the Chains of Spirits would be around 40%.

“But that’s not the important part. What matters is that the punished individual was not a Spirit Master, but a Spirit Race being.”

Melo was startled.

“A Spirit Race being? A spirit was punished by the Alliance?”

But Aida shook her head. “The Alliance has no right to punish the Spirit Race — they have to consider the stance of the Tree of Life. But…”

She revealed a scornful expression. “What if it was a private punishment?”

Lady Aida gave a cold laugh, her eyes full of contempt for the nobles in the Alliance’s upper ranks. “Those

nobles live far behind the front lines, in complete safety. They live in comfort, drunk on power. There’s no

filth or depravity they won’t stoop to. For them, taking part in a little private punishment — just for the

thrill — is nothing.”

Realizing her tone was getting too emotional, Aida quickly cleared her throat and shifted the topic. “All

methods to lift the Punishment of Sealed Spirits are held only by the Alliance leadership. The only

outsider who knows anything is the Divine Punishment Knight. But… if the punished is a Spirit Race

being, then while the punishment can’t be fully lifted, its intensity can be weakened to a degree.”

She looked at Melo and smiled with closed lips. “And you… are a Spirit Race being now, aren’t you?”

Melo stared at Aida in a daze and couldn’t help but ask, “Was all of this part of your plan?”

Her meaning was obvious — was even her being framed by the Alliance something this noblewoman had planned from the start? That would be horrifying!

Aida curled her lips. “How could that be? As I said before, your appearance merely added strength to my revenge plan. Even without you, I wasn’t going to give up.”

“Then… what’s the method to weaken the Kiss of Thorns?”

Aida shrugged. “What else could it be? You’re a Spirit, so obviously — you need to form a contract with a Spirit Master.”

Melo glanced at Aida suspiciously. “With all due respect, Madam, you probably…”

“Who said it was me?” Aida interrupted. “The one who’ll form a contract with you is my daughter. She’ll become your Spirit Master — and will share half of your punishment.”

“…Huh?”

Melo was stunned. As the meaning of Aida’s words sank in, her face gradually filled with shock.

“Wait — are you saying she’ll endure half of the Punishment of Sealed Spirits? That punished Spirit… their contractor also endured half of the Chains of Spirits?”

“Yes.” Aida nodded.

Melo instantly stood up, her face turning grim. “I don’t know how painful the Chains of Spirits are — but I do know what it feels like when the Kiss of Thorns is triggered.”

She looked extremely serious. “With all due respect, Madam — if you want your daughter to share even half of the Kiss of Thorns… she’ll break.”

But right then — Melo froze again.

Because the elegant and composed noblewoman before her now had a completely twisted expression.

In her eyes — flames were burning!

Flames of madness that devoured all reason. Flames fueled entirely by vengeance!

“Don’t worry. I believe — my daughter can endure it. And… if it’s for avenging her father, she will gladly do so!”

She’s insane!

This woman… she was a complete madwoman!

At that moment, Melo once again felt a pressure beyond words.

A pressure not even a False God had ever made her feel.

This woman’s mind — must have already shattered on the day her husband died.

She had spent all these years enduring, suppressing her hatred, keeping up a rational front.

But deep inside — this was someone who would throw away everything for revenge.

Even… her own daughter.