Chapter 55

“Okay. Got it.”

In such a situation, Ria accepted my words way too easily.

And at that moment, my mind froze.

“Uh, you really understood me?”

“Yep. You said we have to go stop it, right?”

Ria said that and jumped back on the motorcycle.

“In places with magic power—”

“I know. The devices could malfunction. But it’s fine. At least for the one-way trip, it should be okay. It was made for that purpose in the first place, so it’s somewhat protected by the magic power.”

But there’s no way to come back.

In this kind of situation, the electronic circuits could still hold out for now, and as Ria said, we could at least make it there, but—once we get near, the circuits are definitely going to fail.

Just think of pushing electronic devices into a place with intense radiation. Depending on the shielding performance, it varies, but if the radiation is too strong, the circuits won’t stand a chance and will just shut off.

“…….”

I stared blankly at Ria for a moment.

Yeah. I did say it. We need to stop it.

Even after saying that, I honestly didn’t know much.

I still didn’t know what kind of being it was or how it recognized the Saint Power and found the Saintess. I had only read up to the beginning of that episode.

But even if I knew, would I have been able to tell Ria?

No, more than that, I hadn’t mentioned any of those things at all.

People in this world might question it. They might think that blocking the Gate is all right or that we haven’t gotten that far yet.

It felt like she completely believed that one phrase I had said.

“What are you doing? Get on already. Wasn’t it urgent?”

“It is urgent, but…”

If we just leave it, there’s definitely going to be a problem. That mass of magic power will grow bigger over time, and later it’ll become a huge headache.

Ria looked at me with a strange expression and opened the gate.

“What, don’t you trust me?”

“No, it’s not that—”

“How much do you trust me?”

“…….”

I didn’t have an immediate answer.

I… I believe that Ria would willingly save my life. In any situation.

But that’s not because I know Ria deeply. I’ve come to know over the time we’ve spent together that she is a good person, but that’s not the basis for my judgment.

I know the character ‘Lee Chae-eun.’

Because I’ve read the novel.

Lee Chae-eun, even if pretending otherwise, was ultimately a selfless person. She could risk her life for her friends.

That probably applies to me as well.

Ria, who has never seen such a novel, seemed to fully trust me. Even though we had spent the same amount of time together, Ria seemed to completely grasp who I was.

That fact was a little confusing.

“Wait a second.”

So instead of answering, I gathered the Saint Power in my hand.

I forcefully threw the crystal to the ground. The shattered crystal was, quite literally, a mass of pure Saint Power. The color of the ground beneath us changed in an instant.

“With this, at least you guys won’t be consumed in here.”

“Wait a second.”

Lee Si-yoon stepped forward and spoke.

“What about the other Hunters? Should they stay here?”

“What’s going to happen with that mass of magic? Are there any monsters around?”

“……No. I don’t see any at all.”

Glaria said, and Han Yu-ri next to her nodded.

“In places where the magic power is excessive, both monsters and living beings can’t survive…”

No, that’s not the case.

There are things that can only emerge when that mass of magic exists.

But at least for now, it’s okay. Since it’s still the first half of the story, that mass seems just to be a mass.

I closed my eyes again.

Maybe it’s because I already summoned the power once, but this time I could do it a bit more skillfully.

Like when dry ice is left at room temperature, a white aura overflowed around my hand.

I climbed onto the motorcycle behind Ria.

And placed a hand on her back.

“I felt this last time too.”

Ria turned slightly to look at me and said.

“This Saint Power thing, it’s warm.”

＊

Ria understood my words about urgency perfectly.

No matter how much the motorcycle levitated, it wasn’t an aircraft. I wasn’t exactly sure how high we could go, but—

“……!”

I couldn’t even scream.

The motorcycle zipped through the treetops at quite a height. The colors of the branches that whizzed past beneath us turned darker the farther we went, eventually just leaving behind desiccated remnants.

“If it’s a circuit that we’re gonna toss anyway! Shouldn’t we go as fast as possible!?”

“Gah!”

I opened my mouth to say something, but only a scream escaped, so I hurriedly closed it again.

Instead, I tightened my grip around her waist and buried my face into her back. Honestly, it felt a bit embarrassing, but isn’t safety the priority?

Plus, Ria was right. If we can’t come back, it’s better to go fast. Instead of flitting between trees, we might as well just fly straight up.

Although the motorcycle was starting to produce a bit of heat and the vibration was getting stronger, for now, I decided to ignore that.

“……I see it!”

At Ria’s words, I managed to open my eyes.

And I leaned my head to the side to see ahead.

It was, quite literally, a ‘massive mass of magic power.’

That was a prototype. It could be distinguished by the fact that it was ‘huge.’

Rather, as time passes, the magic will condense, like a star at the end of its life. And that will become one ‘core’ and form a gigantic monster.

“How high can this motorcycle go!?”

I strained my voice to shout that, but Ria didn’t reply at first.

Instead, she looked up at the sky.

It was as if she was trying to measure something.

“Hey, how much do you trust me?”

Ria asked.

It wasn’t a shout. Just a common tone, as if she was casually asking me something.

But strangely, her voice felt clear in my ears.

I didn’t know why she was asking that in this situation, but—

“……At least, I trust you enough to designate you as my knight with my life.”

In the end, I answered like that.

“Really?”

Ria snickered and then—

Took her hands off the motorcycle’s handlebars.

I gaped in shock.

But I couldn’t voice what on earth she was doing.

Ria drew her sword from where she had tucked it beneath the handlebars—

By the time I realized what had happened, we were already soaring through the sky.

To be precise, Ria had jumped off the motorcycle. With one arm wrapped around my waist and holding the sword in the other.

I couldn’t even scream properly.

For a moment, the sounds around us faded away. Our ears, lifted high, heard only the sound of the wind.

“Don’t worry. I can handle some magic power—well, rather here, it’s easier.”

Ria said that as she leaped higher and higher.

Ah, right. This was the kind of character Lee Chae-eun was. After all, if you’re going to fight monsters, you’ve gotta do this, right?

I bit my lip and looked down.

In my hand, I was already holding a crystal of Saint Power. The heavenly light shone down upon us. In the gloomy sky, a beam of light coming down was somewhat mythical.

And as if that light was guiding us to where we were going.

It was illuminating that mass of magic below.

A huge black sphere floating in the air.

Thick black magic spilled down the surface of that sphere.

The mass began to spin, and then it ‘looked at’ us.

“Whoa.”

Ria said, sounding a bit disgusted.

A massive eye floating in the air was staring straight at us.

No, perhaps, it was looking right at me.

“…….”

I raised my hand.

The mass of magic shook, as if I were a danger signal, and lifted what seemed like duplicates of itself around it.

It wasn’t that huge. It was probably the size of a human head, barely visible from here.

But that was dangerous. Just like how the tiny crystal of Saint Power I was holding possessed an incomparably powerful force compared to ordinary Saint Power.

From that mass of magic, black tendrils grew out. They grew at a speed incomparable to real vines.

It was just like the vine from the fairy tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.

“……Huh.”

The method of attack was just like in the novel.

So this is how it’s going to be.

I—threw the crystal I was holding with all my might.

The sound of the wind brushing past our ears momentarily stopped.

Like a single drop of water falling, that shining point split the gigantic tendril that was flying toward us.

“Wow.”

I heard Ria’s voice, filled with pure admiration.

But it wasn’t over yet.

I closed my eyes one more time. And recalled the being that had sent me here. I didn’t know what she looked like or what exactly she was doing—but oh well.

Becoming a Saintess, I’m not keen on that.

Believing in gods, I’m not keen on that either.

But just because I’m not keen on it, I can’t just give up everything.

…….

No, well, I thought I could just run away first and everything would be fine, but seeing that creature act like this, it must not be that simple.

There has to be some minimal plausibility as to why I’m here.

It would have been easier if they had just set someone I could believe in more.

A light shone from above. Towards me.

I thought.

Alright, fine. I get it.

This fight is your victory.

……But next time, I have no intention of losing.

“Ria.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go.”

“Do you need a sword?”

“If you have one, that would be great. Swing as hard as you can.”

I turned my head to look at Ria.

Had we jumped too high? For a moment, it felt like it was just the two of us alone in the air.

Hmm.

This was a bit embarrassing.

I belatedly thought that.

Ria glanced at me and grinned.

“You said you trust me, right?”

A slightly playful smile.

Ah, oh—

Before I could even say something like, “Can you please go down slowly,” Ria had already cut off the magical energy.

Again, I couldn’t scream.

But.

Beyond that sky, someone far away showed me light once more.

I could see the mass of magic looking up at us. Our eyes met. No, to be more precise, it was just that nothing but its eyes were watching me.

The split pupils reminded me of some villain I had seen in a fantasy movie long ago.

Into that eye, Ria’s sword plunged.

With all the Saint Power, and receiving the light shining toward me, Ria’s sword sparkled.

The shining blade split the mass of magic with overwhelming ease.

A scream, unlike anything a human could produce, echoed, and the center of the pupil tore wide open.

“……Seriously.”

I felt a bit resentful toward that being below.

And— I pushed the Saint Power crystal inside.

The next thing I saw was a bright light.

A bright light that purifies everything.

I understood why people call that “divine light.”

“……Ah.”

With a slight release of strength from my body, someone helped me from behind as I started to tumble back.

Of course, it was the red-haired girl.

She smiled at me with a slightly complicated expression.

……Ah, but.

This position is a bit embarrassing—

—But I had no time to voice that out loud.