Chapter 2. Encounters and Opportunities (12)

I was someone who denied the status of a Saint in the original work, so strictly speaking, I am a different person from the Saint Anna in that original work.

However, at least the being above seems to expect the same role from me as that Saint.

Just like the Saint, I could also use an amount of divine power that was incomparable to others.

And if it wants the same role, doesn’t that mean the divine power can also be used according to the role in the original work?

Even after coming to this world, I haven’t had a particularly good impression of the being above, but there is one thing I know for sure.

That being has no intention of abandoning people, at least.

Although it placed me in this role for some reason, it doesn’t just think of messing with me.

Because it allowed me to use divine power when I asked for help in front of the injured people.

…Yes, if I’ve been reincarnated into another world, shouldn’t I follow some of the clichés from that transmigration story?

Kneeling before the injured, I clasped my hands together.

And, as if receiving something from the sky, I raised those hands.

Carefully, towards the white light falling on my face.

The wounds on the bodies of the injured people gathered around me were already slowly disappearing. Some of the injured were looking at their hands with bewildered expressions, and a few were sitting up.

There were also gazes directed at me, of course.

Although I didn’t have time to worry about such things right now.

Every time the divine power shone on my face, I would brush it away with my hands. The power, which at first glance seemed to be just light, would scatter like smoke when brushed away.

The meaning of this is simple. It is correct to think of divine power as something like a natural phenomenon, rather than just power.

Light appears as a phenomenon, but in reality, it possesses both particle and wave properties simultaneously, and therefore bends in strong magnetic fields.

Although air molecules are too thin to be seen with the eye, when you wave your hand, you can feel their presence.

If divine power exists as a phenomenon in this world, it should be accepted in the same way.

Just as the Saint could do in the original work.

My mind felt a little hazy. My legs felt weak, as if I had sprinted for several kilometers without rest, and my shoulders were stiff. My clasped hands were trembling.

The divine power, which was light at first, was now flowing like water over my hands.

Just as dry ice freezes the surrounding moisture and makes it flow like smoke, the divine power that overflowed from my hands also turned into smoke and scattered on the ground.

People were getting up.

Although many still had expressions of not fully grasping what had happened, they all looked ready to fight again, holding weapons in their hands.

“Anna.”

Ria said, looking at me with a slightly dazed expression.

“—!”

Thump.

The ground trembled. Although it hadn’t completely exited the gate yet, the monkey monster wearing tiger hides was roaring and trying to get out. Blood splattered from beyond the gate. Perhaps the high-ranking Hunters still inside were holding back the monster.

I stumbled to my feet and lowered my hands.

On my clasped hands, a sparkling light had gathered. It was like a small, polished gemstone.

Divine power affects all living beings equally.

Unless the opponent is a being that specifically moves by magic, attempting to ‘attack’ with divine power is meaningless.

That thing from beyond is probably the same. Although I’m concerned that it’s too different from Earth’s creatures.

In that case, should I just focus on healing the injured from behind?

That might be possible.

However, I didn’t want to just stand by and do nothing.

“Anna!”

As I stumbled forward, Ria grabbed my arm and supported me.

“Ria.”

I extended my clasped hands towards Ria.

On my hand, a small, jewel-like object was sparkling.

It was transparent, and though its shape was irregular, as if melted and fused together in intense heat, it sparkled more than any jewel.

Seeing me extend my hands in front of her, Ria hesitantly placed her hands on top of mine.

I gently took Ria’s hands.

And closed my eyes as if in prayer.

I pondered how to save more people. Although Ria would later rise to the position of a Hero, for now, she was still just a candidate.

I cannot risk her life.

Not because she’s a character in a novel or an important figure for the story’s progression.

But because she is in front of me, my friend.

Well, even if she weren’t my friend, if she were in front of me, I would try to save and protect her.

I closed my eyes.

I drew our clasped hands towards me.

Slowly, my hands grew warm. The pure crystal of divine power that was in my hands melted and permeated both of our bodies evenly.

That’s right. If the divine power I can use affects the target we’re facing, then I should internalize that power within our bodies.

“……”

When I opened my eyes, Ria was looking at me with her mouth agape.

It was the most bewildered expression I had ever seen on Ria’s face.

The fatigue I felt just moments ago was almost gone. I didn’t know what would happen after I used up all the divine power in my body.

I bent down and picked up the shield.

“Let’s go.”

As I said that, Ria’s eyes blinked. It seemed she had finally come to her senses.

I shifted my gaze. In the distance, there were still people groaning on the ground. The monster hadn’t come out of the gate, but it was reaching out towards those people.

Clearly, it saw people as prey.

Although the Hunters were trying to pull those people back as much as possible, it looked too close. If something went wrong, another casualty could occur.

And if I indiscriminately scattered divine power near the monster, the wounds I had just healed might be undone.

I don’t believe we have the ability to resolve something like that at a point where the main story hasn’t even begun.

Let’s leave that to the Hunters, and if Ria and I focus on support, maybe we can save at least one person-

That’s what I was thinking.

*

In this world, there are almost no people who deny God.

When gates began to appear one after another, when an enemy appeared that could not be killed by bullets and artillery, if God had not revealed His existence, everything would have ended.

Perhaps a countermeasure could have been found eventually, but no one knows how many people would have died by then.

That’s why almost everyone in this world worshipped that God. The more they acknowledged and worshipped God, the more they could do countless things with God’s power.

But, if so.

What does that light mean?

“……Ah.”

Someone muttered that.

There was someone who saw the light descending from the sky. There was also someone who saw the light reviving the dying. However, no one among them had seen the crystal of that light.

Not a single Hunter, nor any clergy member.

Not even a Saint Candidate.

There might have been someone who thought they should pray in their heart.

There must have been someone who thought they should kneel down immediately and bow their heads towards that light.

But the light soon permeated the bodies of two people.

Into the bodies of a rather infamous Saint Candidate and her escort knight.

The light quickly disappeared. The light, so bright it seemed to be etched onto the retina even in broad daylight, vanished in an instant. For a brief moment, even the residual divine power that flowed down like smoke and remained on the ground disappeared.

But the traces remained.

“Let’s go.”

She said, picking up the shield.

Without her, people didn’t know what to call her.

It was only after the two people started running that the people who belatedly accepted the situation began to follow.

“—!”

Seeing the two running, the monster screamed.

Thump.

Finally, the monster’s arm protruded outside the gate. Blood splattered again from behind, but the giant monkey was already raising one hand high above its head.

“No!”

Someone shouted that.

The monster’s upper body emerged from the gate, and the reach of its arm increased.

That hand fell precisely above the heads of the two people who had approached the fallen person.

A sound of the ground trembling was heard. Someone groaned seeing that sight. They thought no one could survive crushed underneath. Even if they survived, they wouldn’t be unharmed, everyone thought.

But.

Immediately, blood spurted from that arm. A wound, as if cut by something sharp, opened and bled. The monster was startled and withdrew its hand.

Beneath it was a nun, holding a shield high above her head.

The shield was completely dented and couldn’t withstand the impact, but it had clearly protected the people beneath it.

And the knight who stepped forward in front of her. He was wiping the blood from his blade.

The nun, who healed the dying and stood up again with her shield, still couldn’t be described by the people.

Perhaps if they were to describe it, that word would be only one.

Even though the person hearing it would hate it.

*

Divine power is fundamentally a power of healing. It also had the function of driving away beings with opposing powers to that healing power.

In that case, can it truly be used only for ‘healing’?

No, the Saint in the original work utilized power beyond that.

If the power of infinite healing can be transferred to another person, that could be considered a form of physical enhancement.

In addition, the ability to recover from fatigue could be used to alleviate pain, and such power would allow the recipient to always maintain their best condition.

“……You went out too far.”

Ria said with a look of horror.

“That’s why no one got hurt.”

I said, standing up with the shield.

The person who had fallen was just staring blankly at the two of us, unable to grasp the situation.

“—!”

A scream of pain was heard. It was the roar of the monster whose flesh had been cut by Ria’s sword.

“……Next time, stay behind me. Don’t step in front of the person who’s protecting you.”

“Alright.”

Yeah, well.

It’s problematic if I interfere with the knight’s duty. And, um.

I thought, looking at the completely crumpled shield.

……No matter how high the healing power is, if it’s just crushed, there won’t be any room for healing.

Let’s be careful, okay.