Chapter 130

“That little magic point—no, magic speck—seemed small enough to fit in my hand.”

But as I knelt before it, that little speck of magic started to squirm.

Ah, I see.

Indeed, this was some sort of setup.

Maybe I arrived too early. I have no idea what was supposed to happen after the Pope eventually kicked the bucket.

Perhaps the group that ambushed the Saintess in the original work came out of this.

How it got from Rome, Italy to Seoul, Korea is beyond me—there must have been some way.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter now.”

As I watched the magic point writhing as if it were having a seizure, I said, “…It was urgent, wasn’t it?”

I smirked.

“Because I’m here.”

They must have thought they’d have to off the Pope quickly to stir up some trouble.

Suddenly, the magic point exploded like it could wait no longer—

Pop!

—and it didn’t actually go out.

“Ugh…!”

The moment I wrapped my hand around it, I felt a sharp pain. It felt like my hand was full of thorns. Those thorns burned hot, digging into my hand, causing an excruciating pain that made my body shudder.

But even with that pain, I didn’t let go.

This must have been how it felt.

Even if the Pope didn’t physically touch the magic point, he probably suffered far more pain being a much more ordinary human than I.

He had suppressed that pain for over a decade without passing it to anyone else.

Even when someone capable of replacing him showed up, he held on until the end.

Some might call it foolishness—but what would he have been called if he had passed that pain to someone else?

The one at the top, the most faithful one, bore that responsibility.

“……”

I clenched my teeth and squeezed it harder.

Drip. Drip.

Glowing magic dripped down from my hand. It seemed to want to escape. Like it had its own consciousness, it tried to slip through my fingers.

But the droplets of magic vanished before hitting the ground. My Saint Power wasn’t so weak.

A little more, a little more.

Just like I always had until now—

—there’s no need for such suffering.

Something spoke to me directly in my head.

The low voice felt familiar. The yellow eyes that had spoken to me before.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I found something looking down at me from above.

—What are you doing this for? To keep you on the throne of suffering, or do you want to die early?

Ah, I see.

This type of talk must not be exclusive to me.

I can somewhat see why the Pope didn’t want to pass it over to me.

If it were given to someone irresponsible, they would just succumb to temptation. If they let go because I told them there was no reason to suffer, it would ultimately mean passing the decision-making power to that existence.

—Are you going to suffer this much for that being who has the power to grant you suffering? For one whom you don’t even consider as a deity?

The voice didn’t reach me.

Instead of the voice that always cheered me on in battles, it was just a voice trying to persuade me.

—It may not necessarily be a bad thing. Haven’t you seen beasts? Those you saved were also beasts. Beings that can think and communicate. We are the same.

Yeah, I suppose that’s true.

They try to convince me because they can think and communicate. Who can say otherwise?

But that’s just like humans.

Humans can think and talk too. Yet, murders occur, and sometimes massacres follow. People kill and desecrate corpses all for nothing but faith.

And I’ve seen what those who use this magic intend.

So obviously, I wouldn’t just trust them on the grounds of mere communication.

—Let’s make a deal.

It said.

—We want land. We want a place to spread the gospel. We won’t treat you badly.

“You’ve been chattering away since earlier.”

It’s hard to concentrate with all this noise.

I looked up directly at it.

“If I weren’t here, you wouldn’t be saying such things.”

At that, the other party fell silent for a moment.

“If you’re saying that just because of me, I hope you dream on. How could I trust someone who invades without negotiating from the start with a powerless opponent? If you start coming in, I certainly wouldn’t be able to stop you alone.”

Give up territory? Nonsense.

The territories of this world don’t belong to humans. They just draw lines to avoid conflicts when they encounter each other; there are only the boundaries agreed upon.

And if you want to break that promise, which country would be happy about it?

Before we talk about sovereignty, I don’t have the right to make such claims.

Ah, thank goodness it’s not the Pope. Even if I said I’m in too much pain, my words wouldn’t matter.

I decided to stop listening.

Religiously speaking, that sounded like the whispers of a demon.

Seeing that such a being, who normally wouldn’t even utter the ‘h’ of negotiation, would say something like that—my power must be having that much effect.

I looked to an even higher place.

Like a believer looking up to their deity.

—…………!

They shouted something, but I could barely hear it now.

Ah, my hand hurts.

Now it hurts not only inside but also from the outside.

—You don’t need to suffer that much…

What the—why are you saying the same thing?

But I couldn’t help but smile at the emotional difference felt from that voice.

—….

The voice fell silent for a moment.

—Am I resentful to you?

“I used to be.”

I said plainly.

“But honestly, I’m not anymore.”

—Is that because you trust me?

“Something like that.”

—What a rather pure response…

“Are you as pure as that?”

I said with a smile. I had no choice but to. Not just because my hand was hurting, but also because of the escalating pain coming from there.

It was rebelling. It caused explosions from the inside. The fact that my hand wasn’t reduced to shreds was probably because that being above was lending me its full strength.

Thanks to that, blood gushed from my hand, but—

“Feels like my hand’s on fire.”

—This much…….

“Wait a second. Let me ask you something.”

I said while wiping the cold sweat from my forehead.

“What happened to me?”

I asked a question I truly wanted to know.

“Did I seriously just complain to you and end up here? Because that’s a bit disappointing.”

—It was an accident.

“A dump truck?”

—How did you know?

“Just a hunch, you know.”

It’s a cliché.

“…Was it really just an accident?”

—I was trying to save a child.

“Is that kid safe? I hope they are.”

—…You’re asking that even in such a situation.

For some reason, the voice sounded a bit pouty.

“Otherwise, it would just feel empty.”

Something came out of my mouth.

It was blood.

Things were really reaching a limit now.

Just when I thought that, the burning pain in my hand suddenly decreased.

—Your friend is helping you.

Ria.

—But there’s no more time…

“Did the kid make it?”

—…Yes, they are safe.

“That’s a relief.”

—Is it a relief that you died?

“If I saved one person and died, it wouldn’t be a wasted life.”

Now, I didn’t hear any seductive voice.

Ha, what a pathetic guy. Can’t even beat two twenty-year-olds?

My consciousness was fading little by little.

Still, I had one more question to ask—

“…I think I’ve lived decently well.”

—Of course.

“I mean, I’ve tried my best to help.”

—That’s true.

“…Though the intention was a bit impure.”

—….

“Did I live well? Was it a good life even though I didn’t believe in a god?”

—That’s not something I can decide alone.

What I wanted was an answer, but what came back was a question.

—Do you think you were okay? That you lived for someone else until the last moment?

I laughed.

That was the answer.

*

Ria’s hands were soaked in blood.

Hearing the sound of something breaking, she quickly wrapped her hands around it, but she couldn’t completely stop the flow of blood.

All Ria could do was hold hands together.

She could emit light. But that wasn’t what Anna wanted.

Protecting Anna seemed like protecting that conviction as well.

Ria had no intention of letting Anna’s sacrifice go to waste, but at the very least, she wanted to protect that conviction from being in danger.

Is it just my imagination?

Ever since she took Ria’s hand, Anna seemed to be free of pain.

Her expression bore a calm smile as if the pain had left her face.

Pain surged in Ria’s hands. A burning pain radiated from the place where Anna touched her.

She didn’t let go.

The fact that her hands were uninjured—was it because of the Saint Power?

Suddenly, she thought she heard a voice.

—I promise one thing.

Ria didn’t know whose voice it was, but she somehow felt like she knew the owner of that voice.

She could hear it because the Saint Power overflowing from Ria was flowing into Anna’s hands.

—I will ensure that this devotion is rewarded. So that it doesn’t become a futile effort…

It felt like a childish vow, and even in this situation, it was a voice that somehow made her smile.

Ria didn’t think it was a revelation.

It was just the willing power of someone who wanted to save the world.

Yeah, Anna was right.

Ria gripped Anna’s hand tighter. The pain increased, but her heart felt at ease.

As long as Anna was there until she used up all her strength and collapsed, Ria could continue to lend her power.

Ria thought that was the true blessing.