Chapter 148

“Maybe that piece of Saint Power is bigger than usual.”

As I hurled it towards the Demon Race, they let out a blood-curdling scream and recoiled.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

But with Ria right in front of me, would they actually manage to escape?

Ria kicked it with all her might, embedding it into the Demon Race’s body.

“———!”

Once again, the tearing screams echoed through the air.

This time, it wasn’t just a beastly roar. It felt as if Paina’s voice was coming from the depths of her body, being eroded by Magic Power.

Ah, I see.

Paina was resisting.

Whether it was because of love or something else, I couldn’t quite tell. Paina, who had sounded so resigned, did she really mean what she said in the end when she switched her heart around?

Taking another look, her face and limbs were being consumed, yet her body still retained Paina’s form.

Was she being controlled like a puppet?

Upon confirming the light cast upon Paina by the Saint Power, Ria and I exchanged a brief glance.

At the same time, we nodded and charged back towards Paina with renewed vigor.

The sound of slicing through the air filled the space.

Just like last time when I saved Ria, it felt as though raindrops from the sky had turned into needles, raining down upon us.

A few of them might hit us, but they wouldn’t truly be able to harm us.

Ria swung her sword while I raised my hands above my head.

A mediocre Magic Power would be no match for the Saint Power.

Let alone the Demon Race, which hadn’t even properly descended into this world yet.

Don’t worry.

Soon, I’ll make sure you can come out properly again.

Thud!

Ria spun around and deflected an arm that was coming straight for me. Once again, that claw was severed. After that, attacks rained down on us in a split second.

Blocking them all was impossible.

With each frantic struggle from the Demon Race, wounds appeared on Ria’s body. But Ria shielded me with her entire form, absorbing the blows, and then, bleeding, she swung back, sending the attacking leg flying.

“I won’t forgive you.”

I muttered through clenched teeth.

Ria looked down at me, a bit surprised.

I wrapped my arms tightly around Ria and poured in Saint Power. In an instant, her wounds vanished.

I had no intention of leaving even a single scar on her body.

Our eyes met the Demon Race’s gaze.

It seemed I was glaring so fiercely that its eyes widened in shock.

“Ria!”

“Are you okay?”

Something felt strange.

Even without exchanging words, being pressed against each other made me feel like I understood her thoughts somehow. It wasn’t a direct conversation like the goddess said, but Ria seemed to grasp what I wanted and what operation I was aiming for.

“I’m fine! If Ria comes charging in right now…!”

“…Alright.”

Before we came here, Ria had doubts about me. Of course, it wasn’t faith in me as a human.

It was a fear of me sacrificing myself and leaving her behind.

…

Should I be honest?

I felt glad.

I know I shouldn’t feel happy. Ria must have been tormented by that thought. I shouldn’t feel joy from watching the person I like struggle.

But still.

Whether there was a chance or not, the fact that the person I liked worried about me—feeling that way was unavoidable.

Humans can find joy even in immoral things.

…That said, I shouldn’t exploit those feelings.

At least for now, it didn’t seem like there was a reason to. Ria trusted my words.

Ria loosened her tight grip around my waist.

I charged forward with all my might. I wasn’t quite sure how I found such strength from within.

Could it have been the power of the being above that allowed me to run like that in the sinking sand?

Crash!

Paina and I collided. Paina did not fall.

She smiled at me, as if the prey had willingly come into her grasp—

But that smile did not last long.

I was also smiling.

I grabbed Paina by the head.

Blood gushed down my hands, slowly dripping onto Paina’s body. In truth, my hands were already soaked in blood.

“Aaaah—!”

It seemed the Demon Race finally realized what I was after.

An arm flew towards my body, but—

Snip.

That clawed arm was severed mid-flight and fell away.

What I saw at the end of that severed limb was a human hand. Paina’s arm was safe. Ria had appropriately predicted the location and swung the sword.

As Ria’s hand touched Paina’s body, smoke began to rise.

“Kyaaaa!”

Paina’s scream of agony echoed, yet I held her tight, internally apologizing as I forcibly tore her away.

Crack.

And then, with a strong tug, I ripped it off.

Paina somehow managed to stand her ground. And then in front of her face, something black gradually emerged, bit by bit. The yellow eye that had floated above Paina’s head was also beginning to take shape and flow out.

Thump!

It sounded like my heart was about to drop.

“Ria!?”

“Keep going.”

I tried to turn and look at Ria, but I stopped at her voice.

“You’re doing what you have to do, just as I’m doing what I need to do.”

Snip.

I heard something being sliced and falling to the ground. That sound hurt far more than the ache in my hands.

But Ria was right.

Ria was doing her own work. My own work—related to why the being above brought me here—was what I had to focus on.

It looked like a mouth was trying to bite my hand off, but that mouth was blocked by hands coming out from behind me, holding it back. I shut my eyes tight at the sight of the red blood flowing from those white hands.

“Don’t worry.”

Ria whispered in my ear.

“Just as you’ve said you wouldn’t die before me, I have no intention of dying in front of you either.”

At those words, my heart raced uncontrollably.

“If I die first, who will protect you?”

Ah, yeah.

I don’t know why a heroine would say such a thing.

Isn’t that something the male protagonist usually says?

…

In that case, Ria might suit the role of a true leading lady rather than just a heroine.

Ria’s arms shifted up and down as her mouth opened.

I pulled out the black face from inside her mouth.

Thump!

It made a sound that was both unsettling and refreshing, and ultimately, it poured out as if the tendons inside had finally snapped.

I was splattered with black blood, but that liquid evaporated as soon as it touched my body.

“You little—!”

The Demon Race shouted.

“Ha, you’re not as impressive as I expected.”

The Demon Race, having crossed over to this world without gaining its full power, was like that.

Is that why they’re wandering in search of a Gate?

…It wasn’t a typical Gate connecting the regular world to the normal world, but a world where Magic Power dominated far more than regular material, where beings like this Demon Race lived.

What I held in my hand felt like a small beast.

Yeah. It resembled the ‘offspring’ of that grotesque thing I had seen in that illusion. Ironically, it evoked the image of a newborn lamb rather than a carnivorous beast that devours the world. It was just that the amniotic fluid was mixed with Magic Power and stuck to it.

Ah, right. It wasn’t even as cute as a lamb. If anything, that was a point of difference.

“Y-Your body…!”

“All you’ve been able to say is that for a while now.”

Ria helped me back to my feet as I spoke while struggling to get up from where I had fallen back.

“Or did you finally realize that logic of yours was meaningless?”

“I-I will… not be the end…!”

“That’s probably true. It’s a shame.”

I said while looking down at it.

It was trying to get up on its slender legs, looking like a headless lamb.

Or perhaps it appeared as a shape with its face squished down. …I think I saw that face with yellow eyes and a torn mouth from the inside.

“If you keep acting like that, I’ll have no choice but to send you all up there in the end.”

In truth, their appearance didn’t matter at all.

If these creatures had no thoughts of invading us, we could have just lived together as indifferent neighbors while knowing this.

They had the capability for conversation, yet they had no willingness to communicate.

That’s ultimately the reason they couldn’t compromise.

Swish.

Ria drew her sword again.

The sword imbued with my Saint Power.

“Wait… wait…!”

Only then did the Demon Race seem to regain its senses and yelled.

More akin to some kind of monster than a Demon Race.

I took Ria’s hand beside me.

The Saint Power pouring out from my hand reached Ria. While her wounds vanished, the torn parts of her clothes remained.

Ria swung her sword, and the Demon Race’s head fell off.

Swish.

And soon after, that monster’s body could no longer maintain its form in this world and scattered into pure Magic Power upon the ground.

Before long, not a trace remained. Completely purified by the Saint Power.

…

I stared for a moment at that sight before—

Ah.

This seemed a bit much.

“Ria…”

I collapsed toward Ria.

She caught me, then also collapsed backward.

We lay side by side on the sand, staring up at the sky.

The sky had cleared up by now.

…

It’s over.

I need to check on Paina’s condition. To see if there are any remnants of the creatures.

But I felt utterly drained.

“…Good job.”

Ria replied.

“Rest a bit.”

“Ah.”

Even though I hadn’t confirmed anything yet, hearing Ria’s words brought my tension crashing down.

Evidently, I must have relaxed. Somehow, I imagined Ria pulling me closer and hugging me as I lay beside her.

Maybe I had already fainted and fallen asleep at that point?