Chapter 91

The hero cradled the girl whose breath had ceased, shedding tears for a long while.

“Me, I… If only I had done better… If only I had finished off that snake for sure…”

The hero endlessly berated himself. So pitiful. But who could have known? That the snake which escaped while the hero was battling the wyvern would attack this village.

If only I had known… If only I had finished it, would the village have been safe? It surely would have been. If that snake were dead, everything would have been fine.

“O gods…”

The hero began to seek the divine.

“O Goddess of Life, who bestowed upon me the grave mission of a hero…”

The hero started looking for me.

“Please… Help me…”

The hero spoke in a feeble voice.

“If this is the sin of turning away from the responsibility you have given me, then I shall gladly accept it.”

The hero sobbed.

“But shouldn’t that sin be directed at me alone? This girl has committed no sin, has she?”

The hero began to cry like a child.

“So please… Revive this girl. Aren’t you the one who governs all life? Please, I beg of you. From now on, I won’t run away from my role… Please…”

I let out a small sigh.

“Alright.”

“Sis…?”

I had already appeared before the hero.

“Let’s not ask about your little runaway act. You’ve had your own share of worries, haven’t you?”

Lies. I had been watching everything.

Had the hero not shirked their duty, how would this person have lived?

I had watched them living among the people in this small village.

It wasn’t… too bad, was it?

“Nee, sis…”

“That’s right. You foolish one.”

The hero clung to me, crying like a child—no, even more childishly than ever.

Regression, huh?

“Sis… Please help me…”

“I know. I heard everything.”

I examined the girl nestled in the hero’s embrace.

Her arm was broken, her ankle twisted, and her body covered in blood with a wound on her shoulder rotting from the snake’s poison. I placed my hand on each part of her body.

I realigned the broken bones, fixed the twisted ankle, and as my hand rested on the darkening wound, it disappeared instantly.

“Eh, eeh…”

“Not yet revived. I just cleansed her body. Let’s find the others first.”

“The others…?”

“Given the state this girl is in, shouldn’t we look for others too? Or do you think reviving just this girl will be enough?”

“Th-that…”

The hero seemed quite embarrassed, his face turning red.

“Well, give me the girl and draw your sword.”

I pointed at the giant snake with a hole through its head. The hero hesitated slightly, handed me the girl in their arms, and approached the snake’s corpse to retrieve their sword.

Honestly, when will this person start acting properly? Tch tch.

As I watched the hero’s back, I sighed briefly and looked at the girl handed over to me.

Her body was now completely healed, but her soul had already departed.

If I hadn’t created the afterlife, her soul would have scattered beyond retrieval by now.

But now things are different.

The underworld where the dead journey consists of seven layers, each taking seven days. If within 49 days, revival is possible.

So let’s find the others.

If we’re reviving them anyway, it’d be less hassle to do it all at once, wouldn’t it?

—

“Um, can you really revive them?”

“Do you not trust my words?”

“But…”

I smacked the hero’s head with a loud “Clack!” sound and said,

“I flew here in a hurry because I heard your loud crying and praying! Do I seem so untrustworthy to you?”

“No, but reviving the dead… Honestly, it doesn’t make sense. How can you bring back the dead?”

“It’s laughable that the one who cried and begged for revival earlier is now asking such questions.”

At my words, the hero couldn’t say anything further, closing their mouth like a honey-eating bear.

“Let’s see. This seems to be the last person.”

After dragging the massive man’s corpse and gathering them together, I examined the bodies.

All the villagers of this small town had lost their lives to the great snake.

This girl must have been the snake’s final victim.

Or perhaps the villagers tried to lure the snake away to protect her.

A failed attempt nonetheless.

“Place that girl next to him.”

“Yes, sir.”

The corpses were in complete disarray. None were intact; some had only a single hand left, the rest reduced to chunks of meat.

Seeing these bodies, the hero’s expression also darkened.

Perhaps they were starting to blame themselves again for the people they had spent a short time with in this village.

“It’s not your fault.”

“But…”

“If I say it’s not, then it isn’t. Anyway, let’s begin.”

I began sprinkling my vitality around bit by bit.

The fallen bodies started regenerating, scattered flesh and blood reassembling into human forms.

Even bodies half-digested inside the snake’s stomach gathered and began regeneration. Hmm… Not a pretty sight, indeed.

But well, it’s something that must be endured to restore the bodies fully.

My scattered vitality caused the bodies to regenerate, plants to sprout from the ground, creating a strange situation.

After some time passed, the intact corpses of the villagers lay amidst the lush greenery.

“Is it done?”

“No, the real work starts now.”

Without a body, souls cannot be revived, can they?

Anyway, now that the bodies are complete, it’s time to return the souls.

“I, the one who speaks in the name of Great Life, declare.”

Since there are eyes to witness, I recited seemingly meaningless words, resembling a spell.

“There are pitiable souls here awaiting resurrection.”

「Thanatos?」

「Yes, O Creator Dragon God.」

「Will you return these souls?」

“Under the name of life, existence born and death negated. Change the fates of these ones.”

「Huh? Suddenly?」

「I humbly request it.」

「But…」

“To make these hearts beat again, to make their blood flow anew, to breathe life into their breaths.”

「Ugh… Very well. Since the Creator Dragon God requests it, I have no choice.」

「Thank you.」

「Only because the Creator Dragon God directly asked. And since they’ve just died, finding their souls isn’t too difficult either.」

“Let ye rise again.”

Following my words, invisible figures of death spirits could be seen returning the souls of the villagers.

Good. All the villagers’ souls seem to have returned.

As a finishing touch, I raised my right hand and declared.

“Resurrection!”

Simultaneously, the villagers’ hearts began to beat again. With intact bodies and returned souls, there should be no problem in bringing them back to life.

Hearts beat, breaths return. Regaining consciousness may take some time, but it won’t be long.

“You, really… They’ve come back to life?”

The hero was greatly surprised at the sight of the girl beginning to breathe. Hmm. Did they not believe me?

Well, they might not have. Anything goes, you know.

Anyway, that’s how the resurrection magic (not actually magic) made its first appearance.

—

The magic that brings back the dead. Resurrection magic.

Known as the most famous miracle of the Church of Life, this magic makes everyone admire, envy, and respect the Church of Life.

Long ago, used for the first time at the request of an unnamed hero, this magic differs from others as it does not consume magical power.

Though regenerating the body requires effort, it consumes vitality, not magical power.

Borrowing the name of ‘Mother of Life,’ this magic returns the souls of the dead and brings them back to life.

Compared to any school of magic, this is an alien and fantastical magic.

One might even call it a miracle manifested under the name of ‘Mother of Life.’

The most famous users of this resurrection magic are the Dragon Priestesses of the Church of Life, and a few high-ranking clerics chosen by the Mother of Life.

Of course, such clerics appear once every hundred years if at all, and considering that Dragon Priestesses emerge during times of global crisis… One could say resurrection magic is an extremely rare occurrence.

But… Can this truly be called magic?

Can something that uses no magical power be called magic?

Wouldn’t it be more accurate to call it a miracle?

– Is resurrection magic truly magic or a miracle?