Shade studied the expression of the Lady before him:
"Defeat you? Do you mean riddles? A contest of Wisdom?"
Shade blinked.
"No, exactly as you understood it—combat."
"Um... you're not joking, are you?"
"Of course this isn't a joke. Defeat me now, and this will be your Third Trial."
The White Robed Lady spoke gently, the glow surrounding her as soft as ever. She made an inviting gesture.
"Is this really a trial I can complete?"
The first two tasks—proving himself at the banquet and investigating the professor's secret—had increased in difficulty, but both had remained within an acceptable range. The difference between the Third Trial and the first two, to use an inappropriate comparison, was roughly like the difference between "defeating the God of Vampires" and "defeating a talking White Mouse" or "defeating Mia, the orange Cat."
"Every trial has a possibility of being completed by you."
The White Robed Lady repeated the words she had spoken when Shade first came here. Shade pursed his lips.
"I thought the trials I had to complete would all be tests of Wisdom. Why compare strength?"
The White Robed Lady said softly:
"In the First Trial, you proved your value in the Material World; in the Second Trial, you proved your ability to act and your judgment; in the Third Trial, you must prove your strength. This time, prove your strength to me."
"I will suppress my power and use the mystic system of this era to fight you. You need not worry about that."
Shade gripped Night Watchman. Though the trial still seemed somewhat absurd, he nodded to accept it.
He had already completed two of the four trials. Having come this far, he had to try. Although he no longer had the Youthful Immortality Leaf in hand, he felt that