Chapter 2. Encounter and Opportunity (13)

There were still hunters beyond the gate. At least, they must have been the Association’s top hunters. Naturally, as they weren’t ceasing their attacks either, red blood was dripping from beneath the tiger skin draped over the monkey’s shoulders.

A deafening sound was heard.

The monkey was awkwardly stuck in the gate, unable to properly judge which direction to go.

Although its desire to come out seemed greater-

“—!”

It wasn’t as if there were no hunters on the outside.

While they were low-ranking hunters, the hunters I had saved were all crucial assets within this Association.

Of course, I didn’t save all of them. There was nothing I could do for those who died instantly from the attacks or whose bodies were torn to shreds before they even arrived. I could only save those who were still breathing.

Kagagak!

A stone that flew towards us split in the middle. It was the same way the large walkie-talkie that had flown at me earlier had split.

How in the world did they cut that with a sword?

Although there wasn’t a lack of such descriptions in the original work-

The outside of the gate, which had initially been in a state of confusion, was now becoming organized around me. The injured had all gathered around me. The hunters who could fight were all blocking our front, and attacks continued from behind the gate towards the monster that was firmly blocking the entrance.

It wasn’t as if there were no additional casualties, though.

“Um…!”

An attack flew in from the inside, striking the monster’s shoulder.

Surely the hunters on the other side were no different from us, so I didn’t understand how they could launch such a wide-ranging attack.

The shoulder split, creating an opening. And through that gap, a person, stained red with the monkey’s blood, poked their head out.

Naturally, the monster roared and swung its hand towards its own shoulder-

Seogeuk!

Even if they couldn’t completely sever its fingers, they possessed the ability to prevent the incoming hand from reaching them.

Rank 1 hunters.

People fighting on humanity’s front lines, judged to be in no way inferior even when compared to the ‘Heroes’.

However, that person seemed to have expended their last strength, as they merely managed to escape through the wound and fall outside the gate.

People came out after them. Through that split opening. From beyond the gate.

“Stop the monster from turning around!”

Someone shouted, and the hunters all charged forward.

“Ria!”

As I raised my shield and called out, Ria nodded.

Then, she casually slipped her hand into my side.

“Kkik!?”

That was a sound I couldn’t block. It was like a reflex. I don’t know how many times Ria had poked my ribs with her fingers, but even though I knew she didn’t intend to, I let out such a sound.

Fortunately, whether she heard it or not, Ria simply hugged me and leaped forward.

My vision instantly rose upwards, my feet lifted off the ground, and cold sweat beaded on my back.

As I gritted my teeth and tried to hold back a scream, Ria gently landed on the ground.

The blood-soaked person was right in front of me.

The monster was right next to us.

The monster, which had been swinging its arms as if the hunters cutting its body were a swarm of insects, suddenly lowered its head and looked at me.

“……!”

I instinctively raised my shield, but this time I didn’t feel it coming down to strike me.

Seogeuk.

Instead, I only heard the sound of something being sliced.

“—-!”

Blood splattered down over my shield, and the monster’s scream was heard. Yes, I had an unyielding escort knight. Ria must have blocked the monster’s attack.

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

Through my hand, the holy power I had infused into the body earlier transferred to the hunter. The wounds that had been scratched and bitten by the beast all over were instantly healed.

“……Heeo!”

The person, who had been holding their breath, cried out like that as soon as their body was healed and propped themselves up.

Then, they frantically touched their body to confirm and looked at me with wide eyes.

“You are-“

As the person was about to say something to me, their expression suddenly hardened. That sudden change was somewhat chilling. Their previously docile face instantly transformed into that of a hunting dog that had spotted prey right before its eyes.

But that wasn’t the look in their eyes directed at me.

More precisely, they were looking past my shield, towards the back.

The hunter immediately got up and, still gripping the sword they had never let go of, leaped up.

Without realizing it, I shifted my shield and followed their movement with my eyes.

The hunter, gripping the long hilt with both hands, swung their sword towards the monster’s arm that was falling towards us.

Ria was also swinging her sword to protect me, and by chance, the sword strikes of both people crossed beautifully, forming an X.

Kaddeuk!

The monster’s wrist, which Ria couldn’t cut when she first swung her sword, was now severed along with the bone. With the sound of something hard breaking, the monster’s right hand fell.

The blood that poured out afterward was not pleasant at all.

“Did everyone get across?!”

The Rank 1 hunter shouted loudly. Answers were heard from various places. Their gaze quickly checked the number of people and then-

“Close the gate!”

They shouted.

The monster didn’t seem to understand human speech, but it didn’t just let the beings cutting and piercing its body go.

Kaddeuk, the sound of something grinding was heard. It was the sound of the hide covering the monster’s head being cut. Perhaps it had snagged and torn on the thin edge of the gate.

With the dense black fur inside covered in a lot of red blood, the monster roared again.

Its eyes were looking at me-

“Close it!”

The hunter shouted forcefully once more-

And then, the gate, which had been like a shimmering mercury surface until then, vanished in an instant.

For a very brief moment, the monster’s head was suspended in mid-air. With an expression of rage it had worn until the very end.

And then, it fell to the ground futilely.

Thump.

Not just the head, but other parts of the monster’s body, which had been trying to force their way through the gate, also fell to the ground in pieces.

…Well, it wasn’t a pleasant sight.

I gasped for breath, dropped my shield, and got up.

Everyone stood still, stunned by the sudden end of the situation.

For a brief moment, a tense silence hung in the air.

Only after confirming that the gate wouldn’t open again and the decapitated monster wouldn’t move again did people start to sit down on the ground one by one.

There were no cheers. Only a sense of relief that they no longer had to risk their lives.

I raised one hand.

“Injured!”

The gazes of those who had been sitting blankly for a moment turned towards me.

“If there are any injured, over here-“

I couldn’t finish that sentence.

Strangely, my vision rose upwards. Huh, I was clearly standing still-

Thud.

But only after seeing the person supporting my back with their arm did I realize that I had simply fallen backward in that position.

I saw Ria’s face.

“Aren’t you the injured one?”

“No, the injured, place is…”

The injured place, is, none…

My arm, which I had raised high above my head, went limp and drooped.

As if my legs had turned to jelly, strength rapidly drained from me. Not just my arms and legs. All the muscles in my body felt like they were melting away.

My body was refusing to move.

“……Holy power puts a strain on the user’s body. The strength in your body was ultimately poured out entirely to someone else, not you. It’s natural for you to end up like this.”

“Ria?”

“I’m fine. Because I received it. Rather.”

“…….”

Does it work like that?

I thought I had shared it- Well, if you want to be precise, I was the one who shared and ‘gave’ it.

I wanted to say something, but my tongue wouldn’t cooperate. In fact, it was difficult even to lift my head to look at Ria.

“Just rest well. You’ve done enough.”

“Injured, people……”

“There are many others. There should be plenty of holy water. …And, those who were close to death all owe their lives to you.”

I hadn’t seen everyone who returned from beyond the gate- there might be injured people among them too-

But, in the end, I couldn’t even say that much.

As if my brain couldn’t take it anymore, my vision simply flickered out as if it had suddenly shut down.

The last thing I felt was the people gathering around me in a murmur-

And the warmth of Ria’s body holding me in her arms.

*

“……Hah!”

I thought I opened my eyes the very next moment, but the outside was already dim.

Even considering that the days are short, it seemed I had been unconscious for several hours.

I heard a rustling sound from beside me and turned my head.

“Eugh!?”

Something was shoved into my mouth, and I was startled- Ah, it’s sweet.

A little later, I realized I was ravenously hungry. It was inevitable that I’d be hungry after using so much holy power.

Chewing and swallowing the chocolate that had entered my mouth, I looked at the person who had done such a violent thing to my mouth.

Well, it was Ria, of course.

“What are you doing to someone who just woke up?!”

After swallowing all the chocolate, I protested, and Ria raised the half-unwrapped chocolate she was holding.

Then, she slowly moved it back and forth, widely, to both sides.

Damn it, my eyes followed it.

“Ah, this is a wound, a wound. I prepared snacks that can be eaten right away for my roommate’s health.”

“……Ugh.”

I ground my teeth at Ria’s words.

Sweet-smelling snacks were a cheat for someone who was obviously hungry. My body was already screaming that it was deficient in sugar.

Ria chuckled and offered me the chocolate.

I accepted it, trying not to look too eager, and carefully took a bite.

With the characteristic snapping sound of chocolate, the sweetness entering my mouth made me feel a little better.

Still, I should probably eat something more.

Slowly melting the chocolate in my mouth, I leaned back on the bed. It seemed to be a patient’s bed, as the back was slightly raised, so it didn’t seem impolite to do so.

“What about the injured people?”

“I’ve treated almost all of them. Even if not to your extent, a Saint candidate is still a Saint candidate, right? They can treat most serious injuries. Those they couldn’t treat were already all treated by you. The hunters are grateful.”

“I see……”

I exhaled.

If I had fainted and people had died, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep properly for a while.

“……No one is going to blame you for fainting there, okay? Why are you worrying about something strange?”

Seeing Ria speak as if she had read my thoughts, I pouted.

“Still, what can I do if I’m worried?”

“…….”

Ria folded her arms and looked at me calmly before speaking.

“I don’t think that’s what you should be worried about.”

“If not that? What could be more important than human lives?”

“You know, you wrote a letter to the Cardinal saying you didn’t want to become a Saint.”

“I did.”

“And then, two Saint candidates saw you in action this time, right?”

“Right?”

“……Do you really think nothing will happen?”

“Uh……”

To be honest, I am a little worried.

Although I am worried-

Well, I don’t know.

Wouldn’t there be political issues? Conceptual issues?

It’s inevitable that the leaders of religious groups are conservative. There are always the most important parts in religious scriptures that must never be changed. Especially if it touches upon ‘what they believe in’.

No matter how capable a person is in claiming something, that part can never be changed. From a religious group’s perspective, it’s a dangerous story in many ways.

That’s also why I go around saying such things without worry. If my words were going to change anything, they would have changed long ago.

“That’s why you messed with the Saint candidates’ heads before that happened.”

“Was that intentional?”

“…….”

No, well, it wasn’t intentional, but it turned out that way.

I would have to hear more about the situation, but if the situation hadn’t erupted from beyond the gate, they probably would have just dismissed it as me being thoughtless.

“So you expected that girl named Sophie, who heard those words from you, to head straight to Myeongdong.”

Hearing Ria say that, I shrugged.

“Why, did she say she was going to report me as a heretic?”

“How could that be? After seeing you like that.”

“……What?”

“She even left a message saying that there must be another ‘opportunity,’ and perhaps she needs to seriously reconsider what she believes in.”

“What?”

“Didn’t I tell you? You have a bit less common sense than I thought?”

Ria said that openly, sounding annoyed.

“No-“

“Didn’t I tell you? The scriptures are constantly being revised. If there’s an issue that needs to be completely overturned, it has to be overturned, right?”

“…….”

Huh?

“People who abandoned a religion that had continued for thousands of years and built new doctrines tens of years ago, would they just stand by this time?”

I looked at Ria, who said that, and couldn’t say anything.

Uh, that, what was it.

No, in the original work, the Saint did that too.

…….

Ah.

Right, that’s it.

It was something the ‘Saint’ did. In the novel, she was already the ‘Saint’.

The novel didn’t explain how she became the ‘Saint’ instead of a ‘Saint candidate’…!

Only then did I realize what I had done again and ran my hand over my face.

“Well, I guess I have to hope the Cardinal is a much more stubborn person than I thought.”

As if pitying me, Ria said that and patted my shoulder.

It wasn’t much comfort.