Chapter 26

“There are still Hunters beyond the Gate.”

At least it must have been the best of the Hunters in this association. Naturally, they wouldn’t let up on their attacks, and now, blood was dripping from the tiger skin draped over that monkey’s shoulder.

A deafening sound pierced the air.

The monkey was stuck at the Gate, confused about which way to go.

It looked like it really wanted to come out—but—

“———!”

Just because it’s on the outside doesn’t mean there aren’t any Hunters.

They might have been low-ranking Hunters, but the ones I saved were all valuable assets within this association.

Of course, I didn’t save them all. Those who died instantly from the attacks, or those who were already torn to shreds before arriving, were things I couldn’t help with. They needed to be breathing for me to save them.

Crack!

A rock flew toward us, splitting in mid-air, much like the huge radio that had come soaring my way earlier.

How on earth did they cut that with a blade?

There was some description of it in the original work, but—

The chaos outside the Gate, which had initially thrown me into confusion, was now slowly taking shape around me. The injured gathered around me. The Hunters who could fight stood in front of us as barriers, and attacks against the beast behind the Gate continued relentlessly.

It’s not that there were no additional injuries.

“Hey…!”

An attack flew in from the inside, piercing the beast’s shoulder.

Those Hunters beyond didn’t seem too different from us, yet how were they able to launch such a large-scale attack?

The shoulder cracked open, creating a gap. From that gap, a person stained red with monkey blood popped their head out.

Of course, the beast roared and swung its hand toward its shoulder—but—

Swish!

Even if they couldn’t completely sever its finger, this person had enough skill to prevent the beast’s hand from reaching them.

First-class Hunter.

People who stood at the forefront of humanity, determined not to fall behind even when compared to ‘heroes.’

But it seemed that this person had used up their last ounce of strength, as they slipped through the wound and fell outside the Gate.

More people followed after that. Through the torn gap. From beyond the Gate.

“Don’t let the beast turn around!”

Someone shouted that, and the Hunters dashed forward in unison.

“Ria!”

As I stood up with my shield, I shouted, and Ria nodded.

Then, nonchalantly, she slipped her hand into my side.

“Gah!?”

That was a sound I couldn’t help but make. Was it a reflex? The way Ria poked at my ribcage with her fingers, even though I knew she didn’t mean it, made me snap out a sound.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—whether she noticed or not, Ria just yanked me forward and jumped ahead.

My view shot upwards in an instant, my feet leaving the ground, sweat pooling on my back.

Clenching my teeth to suppress the scream, Ria gently landed on the ground.

Right in front of us stood that blood-soaked person.

The beast was just nearby.

The Hunters swarming its body were swinging their arms like a swarm of insects, but suddenly the beast lowered its head and looked at me.

“……!”

Instinctively, I raised my shield, but this time, I didn’t sense the weight of its attack coming down on me.

Swish.

Instead, I just heard something being sliced.

“————!”

Blood dripped down onto my shield, and the beast let out a roar. Yes, I had an unflagging knight beside me. Ria must have blocked the beast’s attack for me.

With my shield raised, I reached out my other hand and placed it on the Hunter’s body.

Through my hand, the Saint Power I had infused into the injured person earlier flowed into the Hunter. The wounds, which had been torn and bitten by beasts, healed in an instant.

“……Haa!”

The person, who was barely breathing, suddenly shouted that as they sprang up from the ground.

Then, after frantically checking their body, they widened their eyes and stared at me.

“You—”

They seemed to start saying something to me but suddenly froze. That sudden change was somewhat chilling. Their previously gentle face transformed in an instant, resembling a hunting dog with prey in front of its eyes.

But those eyes were not looking at me.

More precisely, they were looking behind me, past my shield.

The Hunter immediately stood up and leaped, still holding onto the sword they hadn’t let go of until then.

I unconsciously lowered my shield and followed their movements with my gaze.

With both hands gripping the hilt of the long sword, the Hunter swung the blade at the arm of the beast falling toward us.

Coincidentally, Ria, too, was swinging her sword to protect me, and by sheer chance, the two sword strikes crossed magnificently, forming an X.

Clink!

The beast’s wrist, which Ria hadn’t been able to sever earlier, was now cut through to the bone. With the sound of something solid breaking, the beast’s right hand fell to the ground.

The blood gushing out afterward wasn’t particularly pleasant.

“Everyone made it!”

The first-class Hunter shouted loudly. I heard responses from various directions. Their gaze quickly scanned the area to check on the numbers—and then—

“Close the Gate!”

They shouted like that.

The beast didn’t look like it understood human words, but it wouldn’t just stand by and let itself be sliced and stabbed.

Clink, something broke. It was the sound of the skin covering the beast’s head tearing. Maybe a thin piece of the Gate got caught and ripped.

With its thick black hair soaked in red blood, the beast roared again.

Its eyes were watching me—

“Close it!”

The Hunter shouted once more with all their might—and then, the Gate, which seemed to shimmer like liquid mercury, vanished in an instant.

For just a moment, the beast’s head floated in the air. With its face, still twisted in a moment of rage.

Then, it fell to the ground in a very anticlimactic manner.

Thud.

Not only its head but also various limbs of the beast that had tried to force its way through the Gate crashed to the ground in pieces.

…Well, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

I took a deep breath, dropped my shield, and stood up.

Everyone stood there dazed, shocked by the abruptly ended situation.

For a brief moment, a tense silence flowed.

Once I confirmed that the Gate wasn’t reopening and the decapitated beast wasn’t moving again, people started to sit down one by one.

There were no cheers or anything. Just a sense of relief that we no longer had to risk our lives.

I raised one hand.

“Injured!”

Everyone who had been sitting dazedly turned their gaze to me.

“If there are any injured, come here—”

But I couldn’t finish that sentence.

Strangely, my vision went up. Huh, I was clearly standing there, but—

Thud.

Only after seeing someone catch me with their arm from behind did I realize I had simply fallen backward in that position.

Ria’s face came into view.

“Aren’t you the injured one?”

“No, the places I’m hurt are…”

There were no injuries.

With my arm that had been held high above my head, I let it droop and become feeble.

My legs felt jelly-like, as if all strength had suddenly drained out. Not just my arms and legs, but all the muscles in my body felt like they were melting away in an instant.

My body was refusing to move.

“…Using Saint Power puts a strain on the user’s body. The power that was within you ultimately poured out onto someone else. It’s no wonder you’re like this.”

“What about you?”

“I’m fine. I received. Rather, it’s the opposite.”

“……”

Is that how it works?

I thought I had shared it, but—well, if I had to put it that way, it makes sense that I ‘gave’ it.

I wanted to say something, but my tongue wasn’t cooperating. In fact, it was hard to even lift my head to look at Ria.

“Just take a good rest. You’ve done enough.”

“The injured people……”

“There are plenty of others. If it’s Saint Water, there should be enough. …And those who almost died all owe their lives to you.”

I didn’t see everyone who came back from beyond the Gate—there could have been injured people among them—but—

In the end, I couldn’t say that part aloud.

My brain felt like it just couldn’t take it anymore, and my sight faded away as if everything had shut off.

The last thing I felt was the warmth of Ria’s body holding me with both hands and the busy murmurs of people gathering around me.

*

“…Huh!”

I thought I had just opened my eyes the very next moment, but it was already dark outside the window.

Even considering it was still early in the day, it seemed I had been knocked out for several hours.

I turned my head upon hearing rustling beside me, and then—

“Ugh!?”

I panicked when something was shoved into my mouth—ah, it was sweet.

It took a moment for me to realize how incredibly hungry I was. After using that much Saint Power, it was no wonder I wasn’t feeling hungry at all.

As I chewed and swallowed the chocolate that had entered my mouth, I glanced at the culprit who had acted so forcefully.

Well, it was none other than Ria.

“What have you done to someone who just woke up!?”

After I gulped down the chocolate and complained, Ria lifted the chocolate bar she had been holding, now only halfway wrapped.

Then she moved it slowly and dramatically side to side.

Dammit, my eyes followed it.

“Ah, this is for injuries, for injuries. I was thinking about your health as a roommate and prepared a snack that you can eat right away.”

“…Ugh.”

I gritted my teeth at Ria’s words.

Sweet-smelling snacks were cheating when one was obviously starving. My body was crying out for sugar!

Ria chuckled and handed me the chocolate.

I accepted it, trying not to seem too eager, and cautiously took a nibble.

Crunch, with the signature sweet sound of chocolate breaking, some sweetness entered my mouth, and I felt like I could breathe again.

Still, I needed to eat something more.

Slowly melting the chocolate in my mouth, I leaned back against the bed again. It seemed to be a patient bed, as part of the back was a bit elevated, making it not too rude to recline like that.

“What about the injured?”

“Most of them are treated. Even if it’s not much, you’re a Saint Candidate, after all. You can heal standard serious injuries. Those who couldn’t be treated were already managed by you before. The Hunters are grateful.”

“Really……”

I sighed.

If someone died because I passed out, I wouldn’t be able to sleep properly for a while.

“…No one will say anything about you passing out, you know? So what are you worrying about?”

Looking at Ria, who seemed to read my thoughts, I pouted.

“Still, how can I not worry?”

“……”

Leaning with arms crossed, Ria stared at me silently, until she finally opened her mouth.

“What you should be worried about isn’t that.”

“What else is there? What’s more important than a person’s life?”

“You wrote a letter to the Cardinal saying you didn’t want to be a Saintess.”

“I did.”

“And yet, didn’t you just perform splendidly in front of both Saint Candidates?”

“That’s right?”

“……You really don’t think something will come of it, do you?”

“U-uh….”

Honestly, I was a bit worried.

Though I was worried—

Well, it wasn’t like I was going to say anything crazy. There are certainly some political implications? Conceptual issues.

After all, leaders of religious groups tend to be conservative. There’s always a part of the scripture that should never be altered. Especially when it touches on the parts they believe in.

No matter how capable a person is, that aspect can never change. It’s a perilous story for any religious group.

So, I felt free to just say whatever, since if something in my words would change things, it would have already changed by now.

“So, before all that, you turned the tables on the Saint Candidates, right?”

“Was that intentional?”

“……”

Well, it wasn’t something I planned out, but it unfolded like that.

I needed to hear a bit more, but if it hadn’t come to that situation beyond the Gate, I probably would have thought I was just being reckless.

“That girl, Sophie, who heard that from you, probably headed straight to Myeong-dong afterward.”

Upon hearing Ria say that, I shrugged my shoulders.

“So what? Is she going to report me as a heretic or something?”

“Of course not. After all, she’s seen that sight.”

“……Huh?”

“She said that there must be another ‘chance’ and that she should seriously think about what she believes.”

“Huh?”

“You knew, but you really are lacking a sense of common sense?”

Ria said, with irritation apparent in her voice.

“No—”

“Didn’t I tell you? The scriptures are continuously under revision. If a problem arises that needs to be completely overturned, it has to be overturned.”

“……”

Huh?

“The people who gave up a religion that has lasted for thousands of years and built a new doctrine, do you think they will just sit by this time?”

I couldn’t come up with a response as I watched Ria speak.

Uh, wha…?

Wait, in the original work, they were doing the same kind of thing.

…

Ah.

Right, that’s it.

It was the kind of thing that a ‘Saintess’ would do. In that novel, they were already a ‘Saintess.’

I realized what I’d done and rubbed my face.

“Well, I guess I should hope the Cardinal is a much more stubborn person than I expect.”

As if she felt sorry for me, Ria said that while patting my shoulder.

It didn’t really feel comforting.