Chapter 17. Humility and Refusal (9)

Far away, there was a monster that had become more ferocious after my holy power was cut off. The magic was falling towards that monster after the holy power disappeared.

Ria ran towards that place.

Before I could even shout anything, Ria was already clashing with that monster.

I tried to get up from my spot, but I stumbled and knelt on one knee. There was still a gaping hole in my hand, and my whole body felt so weak it was like it was melting.

My holy power was cut off. Why?

Did Ria cut it off with her sword? Did she borrow that power, enduring the pain, to go and fight?

That was a bit strange. Ria is not a Saint. Unlike my body, which was made to use holy power, Ria’s body was just a human body.

She might be able to borrow holy power. With the power of that sword, she might be able to fight somehow. But why? Why, to that extent?

To protect me- Ria said that.

“Ria…!”

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

If I, who was created to summon holy power, am like this, then Ria’s body must be at its absolute limit right now-

I brought my trembling hands together again. I tried to summon holy power again. I had to go there.

“Anna.”

As I tried to get up somehow, someone stopped me.

“No.”

I ignored their words and said as I tried to get up.

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

“That’s impossible.”

The person who looked very much like me, but for some reason had a different aura, said.

“That’s not a demon, you know.”

Yes. That was it.

No matter what, it’s not a demon. Although it can withstand holy power to some extent, and although it received the power of demons directly through some ‘faith,’ it is not a demon itself.

I have already fought and defeated demons that destroyed the world. I have also fought and defeated demons that descended directly into the present world.

Therefore, I should be able to fight and defeat that fake one as well.

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

“It’s been a long time since-“

“…No, that’s impossible.”

‘Anna’ said firmly, shaking her head again.

“Because I’ve moved like that. People who use holy power often lose consciousness as if they’ve used all their strength. That’s not just because they were shocked for a moment. You can feel it too.”

“…But.”

“You defeated the demons, blocked the surrounding magic, and pushed yourself to the limit to ensure that Mari and I, who had fallen, wouldn’t die. You’ve already performed a miracle just by doing that.”

Mari took my hand.

There was still a gaping hole there. A hole that even holy power couldn’t immediately fill. …Of course, it was a hole caused by holy power, so it was natural.

“…The more you use holy power, the faster and stronger you can summon it, right?”

“…….”

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

The wound on my hand would eventually heal with time.

However, that wound broke more easily. When I used holy power to the point of bleeding from my hand, it would make cracking sounds and the hole would break a little more.

“I, I, but.”

“You say God cannot bear everything, yet you try to bear everything.”

I couldn’t answer that.

“…Can’t you trust Ria?”

At Anna’s words, it felt like all the strength drained from my body.

Is that it?

Am I not trusting Ria? Was that the reason I kept trying to step forward-

FLASH! At that moment, a flash of light hit the corner of my vision.

Ria had cut off the monster’s arm with her shining sword.

A monstrous roar was heard. The arrogant creature probably thought it had blocked my holy power.

“She’s your escort knight.”

Mari swung her sword alongside her. The knights had also joined them by then.

As if synchronizing with the shining sword, other swords were also shining brightly.

“If you said you could entrust your life, why not try believing your own words?”

“…….”

These were words I had said to Ria many times.

That I could entrust my life to her. That even if I couldn’t save her right away, I thought I could save her someday.

I don’t want Ria to get hurt. Even if it’s a wound I can heal, I don’t want to see Ria’s flesh cut and split by something.

Because I am this kind of person, I will be the most dangerous. I didn’t want to think that Ria would be the first to die.

So, if I’m in front instead.

If I- if I resolve everything before it happens, won’t Ria be safe too?

“Believe it.”

Anna said, her eyes following Mari.

Only then did I notice that blood was also flowing from Anna’s hand. And silver holy power.

Anna was still God. The only believer left in the world.

God was a being with no one to lean on. A being with no one to pray to, even if they wanted to.

But, I.

I felt that the appearance Anna showed was like praying to someone.

Anna’s eyes looking at Mari seemed to show such faith.

Is it strange to think that that gaze is the faith I gained after overcoming years?

I still don’t know. But.

I looked at Ria.

Ria was fighting.

The light of her sword adorned the surroundings. More brilliantly than when she was simply enveloped by the sky’s magic.

From below, cheers were heard.

The small monsters that had been raining down on us from the sky had all moved towards that side. Was it because their master was being attacked?

“—!”

The creature that had given up being human and become a monster let out a monstrous roar.

Even though it resisted by unleashing magic again and again- it didn’t reach Ria.

As if she were a great warrior chosen by God, Ria raised her sword high above her head.

That light seemed to reach the sky. Although it was thinner than the holy power I was summoning, that shining sword seemed unbreakable by anything in the world.

As if symbolizing shining faith.

But I knew that it wasn’t just faith.

Ria’s feelings of wanting to save me. Ria’s feelings of genuinely wanting to protect me.

It felt so bright that my heart pounded.

I know it’s putting Ria in danger. I thought that to protect Ria, I should push her far away from me.

But-

At the same time, the fact that Ria could fight like that in front of me made me feel so relieved for a moment.

The fact that there was someone who thought of walking with me, as a blessing in itself.

I was able to put my mind at ease a little.

-Hoo.

Somehow, I thought I heard the sound of someone sighing softly.

It sounded like a sigh of relief.

*

The white holy power soaring high into the sky sliced through the magic raging like a storm in one go.

It looked like a battle from a myth. Since there was nothing higher than the apartment rooftop in the surroundings, people watching from below could see it very clearly.

To them, it looked as if the holy power, which had been slowly obscured by the storm, had awakened and cut down evil.

It was only natural that not only those with deep faith but also those who didn’t, all those who were terrified, cheered.

The cheers grew louder when the holy power cut through the sky, revealing the blue sky in between.

They had never seen that the holy power was not all-encompassing.

No one had seen a Saint holding the head of a demon and pulling it out in a place that had already perished, far from God.

No one had seen her instantly purify a vast lake filled with magic, nor had they seen her shining with holy power alone in a dark place filled with magic.

Even the sight of her executing demons and saving a country while magic rained from the sky.

But because of that, they didn’t know how full of self-sacrifice the Saint always was.

They simply thought that power was the Saint’s power.

It was natural to think that it was the power to naturally eliminate the evil that gnawed at the world.

In a way, that was a good thing. At the very least, it was the first step to prevent faith in demons from becoming public.

“…Still, we need to set a clear example.”

“Set an example?”

Ria, who was leaning slightly against the rooftop railing and checking the situation below, muttered, and Mari asked beside her.

“Well, I have an idea.”

Yes.

Anna becoming a Saint is not allowed. Ria had already made up her mind.

She forced her exhausted body to turn and walked confidently towards the two Annas sitting far away. It felt like all her bones were creaking, but she couldn’t show her charge that she was tired.

Anna looked up at Ria with a sad expression.

“…What kind of expression is that.”

Anna snorted as if it were absurd.

As expected, it’s not allowed.

It’s not right for someone like this to become a Saint.

The position of Saint is more suited for someone ambitious and someone who wields that power for themselves.

Otherwise, she’ll just sacrifice herself anytime.

Ria snorted, still looking at Anna’s hand with a hole in it.

“Hmph.”

Ironically, it was a tsundere-like expression that I had seen in the world Anna lived in.

“Let’s see who can easily become a Saint.”

A Saint, in this world. To sacrifice oneself.

Even God doesn’t ask for that.

You need to understand the word humility. And the concept of refusal.

Ria formulated a slightly dangerous plan in her mind.

A plan that, in the future, she herself would consider a little excessive.