A Powerful Martial Artist Reincarnates as a Nun Knight

During the Bronze Age, Kukunnis was a formidable warrior. That era abounded with powerful fighters including giant warriors, yet Kukunnis – a Lykian of sea-elven lineage – had established his name among those extraordinary demigods.
His masterful maritime combat techniques, exemplifying the agile and lithe maneuvers characteristic of the Alb seafaring peoples, undoubtedly elevated him into the highest echelons. However, his true renown transcended mere personal prowess.

‘Son of the War God’ – that epithet bestowed upon him by his aquatic followers during their maritime dominance era revealed his unparalleled genius for training and commanding vast military forces.
At times leading armadas across the seas, at others spearheading terrestrial legions, he pillaged unwalled cities and decimated civilizations as both mercenary auxiliary and marauding scourge. Even the most motley rabble became nigh unstoppable juggernaut forces under his leadership, inspiring utmost awe and fealty among his subordinates.

Such records memorialized one man who ruled those Bronze Age waters, transmitted through Kemetic and Anatolian baked clay tablets alongside carved stone artifacts from ages past.
Consequently, Kukunnis and his present reawakened entourage manifested alongside a commensurate mystical benediction:

{Beware – I have ascertained the nature of their invested blessing. ‘For every solider comprising Kukunnis’ martial host, each individual ancient pirate’s combat prowess intensifies proportionately. Furthermore, whenever one of that host perishes, Kukunnis himself gains corresponding enhancements to his personal might and leadership faculties.’}

“How ludicrous!”

Despite Esras-Hermes’ sobering warning, Conra could only gape incredulously before hurling himself toward the arrayed ancient pirate phalanx unwilling to heed caution.

{Hwooarrr!}

Under Kukunnis’ command, the cohesive ancient pirates systematically converged upon Sophia’s group. Their imposing testudo tortoise-formations – densely packed with massive scutum shields alongside protruding thickets of outward-angled pila javelins – presented an overwhelmingly intimidating prospect. And concealed within those tightly regimented ranks slithered gladius and spatha-armed pirates akin to venomous serpents baring their fangs.

Yet Conra charged ahead undaunted. Presently benefiting from Hildegard’s invoked blessings summoning celestial favor from envoys, huntresses, war deities, battlemaidens, arbiters and personifications of victory, he experienced supernatural enhancements transcending his mortal limitations.

Even ordinarily, Conra’s prodigious talents synthesized martial instincts alongside his druidic attunement with nature and alchemical materialistic perceptiveness into a distinctly indigenous combat doctrine. Amplified by divine benefactions elevating his faculties beyond their typical peak, he harbored no trepidations whatsoever.

Moreover, the ancient pirates’ ranks already labored under the obstructive deterrents Conra had preemptively deployed – frozen caltrops pools alongside thick arboreal root archways impeding their maneuvers throughout the area.

Momentarily closing his eyes, Conra’s irises rapidly dilated and constricted as his shoulders and thighs swelled with inhaled vigor.
Initiating the hyper-focused zanshin state, his perceptual acuity heightened to discern infinitesimal details down to the slenderest passing needlepoint – the interstitial gaps between individual combatants becoming even more transparently visible. Conra instinctively accounted for every single variable he had previously introduced into this battlespace.

“Haaah! Glory to Ogmios and the Volk’s divine patrons!!”

Instantly pinpointing the fissures perforating their ranks caused by his obstructive roots and icy hazards, the youth serpentine flowed through those crevices like an eel – a whirling dervish scything across the entire battlefield with his spear.
Throughout that delirious display, Conra experienced incredible spiritual growth within this wondrous realm:

‘I can feel it! How I must move, how they will react, and precisely how I should counter – everything is so viscerally sensible!’

His ophidian spear technique accelerated with each thrust and recovery, steadily increasing speed through a perpetual cycle of rebounding momentum and elastic propulsion.
His footwork followed the same principle, each step progressively shedding extraneous superfluities through sheer refinement. And the combat principles inherited from his Celtic paternal lineage focused upon generating more variables through increased motion – enveloping Conra within an unpredictable maelstrom that rendered any defensive measures futile against his erratic whirlwind onslaught.

Meanwhile, Hildegard seamlessly dominated the ancient pirates without undue strain. Though relatively unfamiliar against such systematically regimented forces, her halberd represented the quintessential versatile pole-arm permitting thrusting, slashing and bludgeoning techniques alike.

Halberds inherently outmatched the gladius and spatha swords favored by those seaborne marauders, especially within the spatially constricting confines of shipboard combat where shorter weapons offered distinct advantages. Had Hildegard simply wielded an ordinary spear, her opponents could theoretically deflect its reach with their scutum shields before closing quarter to deliver lethal gladius or spatha stabs.

However, halberds specialized in forcibly disarming those very shields – allowing Hildegard to literally hook and tear away the pirates’ protective scutum before impaling exposed vitals with spear-thrusts or axe-smashing blows. An eminently secure fighting style rendering those ancient seafarers utterly vulnerable.

Hildegard systematically routed any pirates attempting landfall while Ezio simultaneously endured their most grueling ordeal.

“Kuh, rather problematic!”

Evading a grazing gladius thrust by weaving inside that guard before shattering the offending arm and subduing its wielder, Ezio inadvertently groaned amid his exertions.
As an unarmed combat specialist, confronting the scutum wall defensive alongside gladius stabbing combinations proved challenging. Only attaining the pinnacle Centire (known as Filling, Fulling or Chyungkyung) enabled most strikes merely inflicting superficial abrasions. Yet suffering any damage remained undeniable.

‘Frustrating. Humiliating!’

Amid the furious melee, Ezio introspectively reflected upon and accepted those seething emotions regarding his physical limitations relative to initial expectations. Acknowledging the sobering reality that his corporeal cultivation fell short of previous aspirations – neither as overwhelmingly impregnable nor exquisitely refined as envisioned – he neither suppressed nor indulged those sentiments.

‘How complacently I convinced myself this already represented adequate progress for emulating the Great Priestess’ legacy. Such arrogance, merely contenting myself with these middling bodily refinements. More infuriating still – my inherent weakness cannot even readily accept enduring deficiencies!’

While his enhanced senses and impregnable musculature rigorously responded to the enemy’s offensive patterns, Ezio’s innermost depths plunged into profound contemplation and remorse. Fully confronting and accepting himself catalyzed an imperceptible glow gradually emanating from his form like flowing robes despite his oblivious absorption within that internal reflection.

At that very moment:
[……!]

A luminous radiance coalesced behind Ezio before manifesting into a distinct presence.
A humanoid feminine figure materialized – her elongated ears resembled the Alb’s yet slightly shorter, with golden ornamental tresses swept upward framing her slender, athletically muscular physique adorned in diaphanous tropical islander garments leaving much exposed.

Observing this development from a reserved distance, Sophia immediately recognized that apparition – a serene smile gracing her lips.

“So you have appeared here at last – Ezio’s divine spiritual guide.”

[……?]

The puzzled Jibril, having similarly manifested beside Sophia, questioningly addressed her regarding the newly arrived entity behind Ezio.

“What, jealous of that divine spirit’s physique? Wondering if you can become like her too? Wake up, this is reality. Does a method for that even exist?”

[……!]

Jibril indignantly puffed out her cheeks in a visible pout at Sophia’s dismissive retort.

Meanwhile, that sublime spiritual manifestation alongside Ezio’s profound introspection considerably impacted his inner consciousness.
The negative thoughts and distortions clouding his mind gradually dissipated like flowing currents, their vacancies filling with vibrant positive energy and exuberance. The sinews comprising his musculature – so diligently and painfully cultivated – harmonized into an inaudible celestial symphony reverberating through Ezio’s deepest recesses.

“So that’s it. Your name is Saraswati! You have come to orchestrate the music resonating through these muscles, infusing my very essence with your transcendent melodies!”

Instantly comprehending this divine spirit’s quintessence upon her arrival, Ezio received an affirmative nod from the smiling Saraswati.

“Very well, I invoke your aid, Saraswati!”

Simultaneously striking his first proper ‘avant-garde pose’ since arriving on this island, the divine spirit Saraswati embraced Ezio from behind – her ethereal caress brushing against the nape of his neck unheeded as he gazed defiantly ahead with scorching determination.
In that instant, Ezio’s already impressively statuesque and aesthetic musculature bulked upward while the golden luminescence enveloping his form flickered with an opalescent radiance. The aura enshrouding his being no longer represented mere restorative light – but a transfigured manifestation of sublimely concentrated willpower temporarily warping physical reality itself.

This profound apotheosis immediately impacted their surrounding battlefield. The ancient pirates’ weapons could no longer inflict harm upon Ezio’s transfigured body – now shielded by an elemental principle negating 90% of any incoming detriment. What previously might have inflicted minor abrasions now registered as utterly negligible due to that mitigating damage reduction.

Finally able to decisively turn the tide against the ancient marauders, Sophia observed Ezio’s newfound dominance before refocusing upon Kukunnis commanding from the rear – having already scrutinized that area for the location housing this sealed dungeon’s core catalyst.

“There – the dungeon core. Kukunnis’ vulnerability.”

The very next instant, Sophia’s sword spontaneously materialized from her scabbard before vanishing without any transitional motion – the unprecedented surprise attack splattering Kukunnis’ arterial spray across the docks as his severed index finger helplessly dropped.