Chapter 186

“Way more chaotic than I pictured!”

There, in the distance, was a demon that had grown more arrogant after my Saint Power was cut off. Magic Power was falling towards that demon now that my Saint Power had vanished.

Ria ran towards it.

Before I could even shout a word, Ria was already clashing with the demon.

I tried to get up from my spot, but I stumbled and knelt on one knee. My hand still had a gaping hole, and my body felt like it was melting away.

My Saint Power was gone. Why?

Did Ria sever it with her sword? Enduring pain to borrow that power and go fight?

It seemed a bit odd. Ria wasn’t a Saintess. Unlike my body, which was made to wield Saint Power, Ria’s body was just that of a human.

Maybe she could borrow Saint Power. With the strength of that sword, she could fight somehow. But, why? Why go that far?

She said she would protect me— Ria said that.

“Ria…!”

At the last moment, I saw blood flowing from Ria’s hand. It wasn’t a small amount.

If I, who was specifically made to call forth Saint Power, was like this, then Ria’s body must really be on the brink right now—

I gathered my trembling hands again. I needed to call forth my Saint Power once more. I had to get over there.

“Anna.”

Just when I was trying to rise, someone was stopping me.

“No.”

I ignored that and insisted on getting up.

“I still have strength. I’m not at my limit.”

“That can’t be true.”

It was someone who looked a lot like me, but strangely the atmosphere was different.

“That’s not a demon, is it?”

Yeah. That’s true.

Still, it wasn’t a demon. It was a being that could withstand some Saint Power, and even though it had received the power of demons through some ‘faith’, it wasn’t a demon itself.

I had already fought and defeated demons that had destroyed the world. I had fought and won against demons that had directly descended into this realm.

So, I should be able to fight and win against this fake too.

“You’ve already used too much power. Anna. In fact, you haven’t even fully recovered since the last time, have you?”

“It’s been a long time since then—”

“…No, that can’t be true.”

‘Anna’ shook her head firmly.

“Because I’ve seen how you move. When a person uses Saint Power, they end up feeling like they’ve used every bit of their strength, as if their consciousness is cut off. That’s not just because of a moment of shock. You can feel it too, can’t you?”

“…But.”

“You defeated the demon, and held back the surrounding magic. You pushed yourself to the limit just to keep me and Mari from dying. That alone was already a miraculous feat.”

Mari took my hand.

The hole in my hand was still gaping wide. A wound that couldn’t be filled even with Saint Power. …After all, it was a hole caused by the Saint Power, so it made sense.

“…The more you use Saint Power, the faster and stronger powers could be summoned, right?”

“….”

“Can’t you feel your body slowly collapsing?”

In the end, the wounds in my hand would heal over time.

But those wounds broke open more easily. Once I used my Saint Power and bled from my hand, the hole would crack even more with a squishy sound.

“I—I, but.”

“You say gods can’t bear everything, yet you want to bear it all yourself.”

I couldn’t think of a comeback to that.

“…Don’t you trust Ria?”

With that, I felt all the strength draining from my body.

Is that right? Do I not trust Ria? Was that why I kept trying to step forward?—

In a flash, a light sparkled in the corner of my vision.

Ria had severed the demon’s arm with her shining sword.

A howling sound echoed. The once arrogant demon likely thought it had blocked my Saint Power.

“She’s your knight, after all.”

Beside her, Mari swung her sword too. The knights had joined in as well.

As if responding to Ria’s shining sword, the other swords glimmered brightly too.

“If you say you can entrust your life to her, why not try to believe in her?”

“…”

I had said that many times before, in front of Ria.

That I could entrust my life to her. Even if she couldn’t save me right away, I thought she would one day.

I didn’t want Ria to get hurt. Even if it was a wound I could heal, I hated seeing Ria’s skin being cut open.

It’s because I’m this way that I’d be the most at risk. I hated thinking that Ria would be the first to die.

So if I’m in front—

If I could just solve everything before it happens, then Ria would be safe, right?

“Believe in her.”

Anna said, following Mari with her eyes.

Only then did I realize that blood was also flowing from Anna’s hand. Silver Saint Power too.

Anna was still a goddess. The last one remaining in this world.

A god is someone without a place to lean on. Someone who has no one to pray to even if they want to.

But for me—

I felt like the way Anna looked was somewhat like she was praying to someone.

Her gaze at Mari seemed to show that belief.

Is it strange to think that gaze represents a belief that took years to obtain?

I still don’t know. But—

I looked at Ria.

Ria was fighting.

The light from her sword painted the surroundings. More brilliantly than when it was merely enveloped in the sky’s magic.

A cheer erupted from below.

The small demons that had rained down upon us from the sky had all gathered over there. Was it because their master was under attack?

“———!”

That thing, which had given up on being human and turned into a demon, let out a howl.

Even as it burst forth with magic multiple times to resist— it couldn’t touch Ria.

As if she were a chosen warrior of the gods, Ria raised her sword high above her head.

That light seemed like it would reach the heavens. Compared to the Saint Power I summoned, it was thin, but that shining sword looked unbreakable by anything in the world.

It seemed to symbolize a shining faith.

But I knew that it wasn’t simply faith.

Ria’s emotions of wanting to save me. Her genuine wish to protect me.

It felt so bright that my heart raced.

I know it was a reckless act that put Ria in danger. I thought that if I wanted to protect Ria, I should keep her as far away from me as possible.

But—

At the same time, knowing that Ria was here fighting made me feel a moment of relief.

Just having someone by my side, someone who wants to walk with me, felt like a blessing.

I could let my guard down a little.

—Phew.

It felt like I heard someone softly sigh. It sounded like a sigh of relief.

*

The white Saint Power soared high, slicing through the raging storm of magic with a single strike.

It looked like a battle from a myth. Since there wasn’t a place higher than the roof of that building around, it was all too clear for those watching below.

To them, it seemed as if the Saint Power, which had been slowly hidden by the storm, awakened and cut through evil.

It was only natural for both those who had deep faith and those who hadn’t to cheer in terror.

When the Saint Power sliced through the sky, revealing the blue sky in between, the cheers grew louder.

They had never witnessed that the Saint Power wasn’t everything.

No one had seen a Saintess pulling the head of the demon from a place already destroyed and far from the gods.

No one had seen her purify a massive lake filled with magic in a single breath, nor seen her shining alone with Saint Power in a dark, magic-filled place.

Even during a situation where magic rained from the sky, and she punished the demons to save an entire nation.

But because of that, they had no idea how much the Saintess was filled with the thought of sacrificing herself.

They simply thought that strength was just the power of the Saintess.

That it was entirely natural to have the power to eliminate the evil that devours the world.

That was, in a way, a good thing. At the very least, it was the first step toward keeping faith in demons from becoming publicly known.

“…Still, I guess I need to impose order once and for all.”

“Order?”

As Ria leaned slightly against the rooftop railing and checked the situation below, Mari asked from the side.

“Well, I have a thought.”

Right.

Anna can’t become a Saintess. Ria had already made up her mind that way.

I forced my tired body to turn and walked confidently toward the distant spot where two Annas were sitting. It felt like all the bones in my body were creaking, but I couldn’t show the protected person that I was exhausted.

Anna looked up at Ria with a sad expression.

“…The expression someone would make.”

Anna scoffed as if she found it ridiculous.

As expected, this is not right.

A person like her shouldn’t become a Saintess.

The position of a Saintess is better suited for someone a bit more power-hungry, someone who wields power for themselves.

Otherwise, they’ll sacrifice themselves at any time.

Ria scoffed again as she looked at the bleeding hand of Anna.

“Hmph.”

Ironically, it was a “tsundere” expression I had seen in the world Anna lived in.

“Let’s see who can easily rise to the position of a Saintess.”

The world, a Saintess, wanting to sacrifice herself.

Even gods wouldn’t want that.

You should learn the meaning of humility. And the concept of refusing.

With that, Ria formed a slightly dangerous plan in her mind.

A plan that later, she would think was a bit too extreme.