Chapter 160

“But getting there wasn’t smooth sailing.”

Could it be because I saw my own light?

“Ugh!?”

At first glance, the city looked empty, but from all corners, monsters started to creep out.

They were like a horde of zombies, rushing towards us as if they were people.

Each one was so unique that if the Association saw them, they would probably want to give them scientific names.

Sadly, there was no time for that right now.

With a flashbang going off and creatures shrieking, they flew towards us and disappeared without a trace.

If I could just shrink the size down to that of a small pebble, I could create a chunk of Saint Power… but the more I created, the more my stamina drained. Right now, I didn’t have the luxury to think about that.

I didn’t want to be a burden to Ria.

Thanks to my detour, Ria managed to avoid falling after colliding with a monster while in mid-air.

Swish!

Ria’s hands weren’t just flailing around aimlessly.

The glowing sword worked wonderfully against the monsters. Some of the larger demons were sliced in half as if they were black butter, while others turned to ash without leaving a trace.

“…There’s too many.”

Ria frowned.

“I think so too.”

I could just stop and pray at this point. If I poured enough Saint Power from my hands to the point of bleeding, I could definitely hold back the monsters rushing at us.

But I couldn’t do that here. Simply put, if I spent all my energy at once, I’d just be a sitting duck in front of the next wave of monsters that came.

Besides, this world was a bit odd.

Perhaps it was because Magic Power was seeping into the world, or maybe it was always like this, but calling forth Saint Power felt a little heavier than usual.

Had I strayed too far from the source?

…Yeah. That higher being isn’t an omnipotent entity. It doesn’t know everything perfectly or is able to do whatever it wants. Perhaps this world is one that power hasn’t reached yet — one that even that being isn’t aware of.

In the truest sense, a world where not even a divine being could protect us.

The connection between me and Saint Power might just have barely held firm.

“Let’s change our plans.”

Ria said as she saw me gasping for breath.

“First, let’s hide and conserve our strength. They’re probably doing the same.”

If we were Hunters, that’s how we would play it.

We couldn’t use up all our power at once. If we collapsed from exhaustion, all that awaited us was to be torn apart by ravenous fangs.

If we felt this way, how were Yuri and Glaria? What about Davi?

Those thoughts raced through my mind. I wanted to argue that we needed to head that way immediately.

But then what would happen to Ria? The Ria who I couldn’t lend strength to.

“……”

Thus, I gathered my next burst of Saint Power.

And I forged ahead.

For now, I would do my best with what I could.

Yeah. Neither Ria nor I are willing to give up on the others. I’ll definitely take Siyoon with me when I escape from here.

Even if it takes some time.

I could only hope that Yuri, Glaria, and Davi were managing to keep themselves safe.

*

Yuri and Glaria weren’t particularly close on a normal day, but they had no intention of blaming each other and fighting in a situation like this.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault. This was a situation none could have predicted.

“Davi, are you alright?”

Above all, thanks to Glaria and Davi, Yuri was still alive.

If Davi hadn’t created the magic circle the moment the small orb of magic was unleashed, and if Glaria hadn’t activated that magic circle while holding onto Yuri, who knows what would have happened to her?

Given that we ended up in this totally unforeseen place, they hadn’t perfectly avoided the magic.

But if it weren’t for Glaria and Davi’s magic, Yuri would’ve likely fallen from a great height and perished.

…To be precise, without the magic, all three of them would’ve been in that situation.

“…I’m fine.”

Davi answered, looking distinctly not okay.

“We need to move, first.”

Glaria climbed onto a broken statue and scanned the area.

Having already repelled a wave of monsters, they had to inform Anna and Ria that they were here. Right after shooting off a flare spell, monsters had sprung up, and they needed to run for their lives.

They hadn’t fallen too far, but they had to reach a place where they could signal their location again.

Who knew if a safe place even existed? A magic storm was raging nearby.

“I just don’t understand what’s going on.”

Yuri murmured as she wiped her face.

Gates generally have a defined ‘gate’ form. A veil that appears as if it were made of mercury.

This time, there hadn’t even been that structure at all.

“I wonder if Siyoon is okay.”

“He should be fine. He’s a prince, after all.”

“……”

Glaria’s words made Yuri look up at her.

Thinking she was joking to lighten the mood, she soon realized Glaria’s expression was dead serious. Glaria jumped down from the statue with a firm look on her face.

“You don’t trust Siyoon’s abilities, do you?”

“…No, it’s not that.”

It did bother her.

There’s no way anyone would have considered him particularly gifted at first. That didn’t have to be a bad thing. It just meant he was ordinary.

Thinking he’d start from the bottom and slowly climb up to settle at some point was all she assumed.

“…Yeah, if it’s Siyoon.”

It was always like that.

Be it in strength or weakness, Siyoon always tried to save others.

“……”

There was a moment of silence.

“Though we don’t see any monsters yet, we should get moving. Let’s look for a place to hide.”

“We have to consider that there might be monsters inside, but that’s better than nothing.”

Just as Yuri stood up while saying that—

Thud.

A noise echoed from somewhere in the distance.

There was the sound of metal clashing and something falling heavily.

Glaria stood up.

“Davi, you need to stay put.”

Glaria told Davi firmly.

“Right. Leave this to us for now.”

“…I never thought I’d team up with you alone.”

“Come on, we’ve done it when we were at sea too.”

“Is that so? Well, if you say so.”

Yuri and Glaria lifted their staffs and began to chant.

Just when small orbs of fire and ice started to emerge from the tips of their staffs—

“Is anyone there?”

A timid voice called out.

A male voice.

“……”

In an instant, the magic vanished from both their staffs.

Yuri and Glaria exchanged shocked glances.

And as they turned their heads back to where the voice came from—

“Siyoon!”

Yuri threw down her staff and ran with all her might toward Siyoon, who emerged from the rubble with both hands raised above his head.

*

“Let’s take a little break here.”

Ria led me into a partially collapsed building and laid me down on the floor.

I wished I could have done it by myself, but unfortunately, my legs just wouldn’t cooperate. I had clearly drawn upon too much Saint Power to make it this far.

The more I used it, the more I understood. This place is so far removed from where I usually draw power.

“Don’t overdo it.”

Ria warned me as she sat me down on the floor. Leaning against the wall, she stood with her sword drawn.

“…I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?”

At my words, Ria looked at me with wide eyes, as if she genuinely didn’t understand.

“No, it’s just that I didn’t notice what was happening in that room.”

“You couldn’t have done anything about that.”

“If I had asked more questions beforehand…”

“Do you expect prophecies to come that easily? You also said that being isn’t omnipotent.”

True. I felt that way here as well.

But at the same time, I was feeling that they were trying their best to send me power. It’s likely that my struggles were more about my physical state.

“Also, the one who barged in first was me.”

“…Ria.”

Ria had her back turned to me.

“I didn’t know, so it’s not Ria’s fault. The situation was what it was.”

This was also different from the usual Gate.

Was this in the realm of the mind? Well, I didn’t think so.

The building was in ruins, but within it remained traces of the lives of people who lived before this world fell apart. Among them were posters and books with writing on them.

It resembled Korean, but it wasn’t Korean. They were characters I couldn’t decipher.

It didn’t just look like that in one place; it was a consistent pattern across the board. Characters that looked like English but weren’t English. Characters that seemed like Chinese… well, I’m not sure if they really were, but they weren’t the Chinese characters we knew.

It seemed like a child’s room where someone had hidden away.

The owner had vanished without a trace.

At the Gates, words are normally understood. Even if the language differs, somehow we were able to understand what the other side was saying, likely due to whatever effects the gate itself held. Reading the writing would be a different challenge.

In a story, it might be a narrative trope… but in this reality, it felt quite plausible that someone might research it.

“Ria.”

I tentatively called out to her.

“Yeah?”

Ria didn’t turn to face me.

I couldn’t really ask her to relax. I might have thought the same if I were in her shoes. I was feeling guilty myself.

But I wanted to say something that might give her a little comfort.

“……”

We had landed in this predicament so suddenly. To be honest, I couldn’t have predicted danger coming in this fashion, and I had no sense of how to handle things from here on.

But one thing was certain: the current situation was dangerous. My friends were scattered, and I couldn’t find them easily, and even with a rough idea of their locations, I couldn’t venture far enough to help.

They were likely facing similar dangers. Siyoon would be in the same predicament.

What about us?

I wasn’t giving up just yet. I was determined to find a way back and would definitely look for my friends. Until I see them with my own eyes, I couldn’t shake off that belief.

But with all this danger…

I realized I was having such weird thoughts.

The fact that I even considered confessing, just in case this could be the end, showed I had some composure left.

I lifted my body from the spot. Even if I had taken a short break, the dizziness had subsided a bit.

“So, how about we find somewhere to start a fire for today? The seasons here seem somewhat similar to ours.”

“…That seems right.”

Only after hearing what I said did Ria nod and take a deep breath while looking back at me.

Her expression seemed to have returned to a bit more of a Ria-like state, and I was relieved.

Yeah. Saying something absurd in this situation wouldn’t be quite right.

Still, isn’t it okay to just give her a tight hug?

As I seriously contemplated it—

“…Wait a second.”

Ria suddenly gripped her sword tightly.

And she aimed it toward the door we had entered.

After all, the back wall was quite destroyed, so if someone were to escape, they’d likely flee in our direction. Did they not know that?

I soon found out why Ria was acting that way.

Outside the broken door, footsteps could be heard.

It wasn’t the sound of a monster breathing or a beast with claws — it was the footfalls of bipedal beings that were steady and well-centered.

Those footsteps stopped just before they would enter the room we were in.

“……”

After a brief hesitation, Ria opened the door.

“Who’s there?”

If we could understand the language, it could only be one of two things.

Either a monster or a person.

Well, it could also be a goblin from this world.

I summoned Saint Power into my palms again. My head spun again, but I held it in.

“…Is that Saint Power?”

A tense voice came from beyond the door.

It was a woman’s voice, but not one we recognized.

“……”

Light flowed from Ria’s sword.

She stepped back slightly, getting closer to me, ready to escape with me at any moment.

Sounding a little rushed, a figure suddenly bolted from behind the door.

That figure was—

“…Ria?”

I couldn’t help but utter that.

No, but it wasn’t Ria.

The hairstyle was similar. Though slightly longer and messier, it looked like Ria hadn’t been managed for months.

She wore clothing that looked like a nun’s outfit layered with armor.

But the aura of her face was different from Ria’s. Not just the difference felt from surviving in this world for a long time, but the dead, crimson hue of her eyes was something a person who knew Ria well could instantly recognize as different.

This person was not Ria.

But simultaneously, I thought to myself.

Could this be a version of Ria from this world?

“Who are you?”

The sudden emergence of a person surprised Ria too.

“…Who are you?”

Then, a moment later, the surprised one’s eyes widened in shock.

“……”

For a while, the three of us stood there, gazing at each other with our mouths agape.

“Kyaah!”

Until I heard a monster scream from afar at the sight of the Saint Power I had just conjured.