Chapter 22. Prayer and Salvation (11)

Many people affiliated with the church had heard about the destroyed world described by the Saintess.

A world devoid of everything, without any life, where only demonic creatures and demons existed.

The Saintess, and those who followed her, did not explain the meaning of it, so people made various speculations.

There are many reasons why people wage war. Usually, wars have justifications.

However, in the end, no matter what justification led to the war, what they sought to occupy at the end was ‘land’.

Whether they eliminated the opponent entirely, enslaved them, or drove them out. In the end, what they wanted was land. And the resources of that land.

If they didn’t need such things in the first place, there was no reason to invade other places, and no need to create such justifications.

Therefore, there were those who speculated that the demons were targeting the world’s magic power.

The fact that they targeted the lake near the area where the gnomes lived, the magic power filling the dwarf mountains.

Targeting the beastmen themselves.

Then, what is the reason for targeting the human world? What was the reason for abandoning the world they had conquered after completely devouring it?

Some said it was because of the existence of the Saintess. Because of the Saintess who, by traveling between worlds, saved even those unrelated to Earth.

Also, humans could fuse with demonic creatures. If that could provide minimal immunity to holy power, then billions of ‘ingredients’ would also be worth having.

……No matter how you look at it, they couldn’t reach a clear conclusion. The church was also afraid of that conclusion.

What would people think if the Saintess they served was the cause of the war-

And then, the scene that the Saintess and her companions had told them about unfolded before their eyes.

“…….”

The great storm was literally something out of a myth. A storm of pitch-black magic power obscured the view.

And, beyond that thick storm, a faint white light flickered.

At that moment, anyone who saw that scene would have thought the same thing.

‘That’ is evil.

Whether the Saintess was important or not was something that didn’t need to be debated further.

It was a matter of the survival of the species- no, the fate of the world. That’s what they felt.

The incessant stench of death. The screams of rotten things. Giant monsters. The scene, as if someone had deliberately drawn it, could only be described as the opening of a hell gate.

Beyond the storm, every time white light burst, the silhouette of a giant was visible.

Amidst the surging black waves, warriors shining white were visible.

Someone watching that scene- suddenly thought.

Isn’t that white light over there not the light of one person?

It was a person who had just become an adult, who had pierced through the enemy, which was like a sea created on the ground. Who had just shed the last vestiges of girlhood.

This person, who rode a white horse without hesitation as if it were natural to be there, was the same.

It didn’t take long to realize that the world rested on their shoulders.

The time it took for more people, not just that one person, to have such thoughts.

“They’re coming! Prepare for battle!”

The enemies surged in like the tide.

Enemies that the holy power falling from above couldn’t completely wipe out.

Gunshots began to be heard from the foremost fortress. Soon, all the other fortresses were surrounded by enemies.

Everyone felt their skin tingle.

Not only the humans who had produced the Saintess, but also the elves, and the other races sent in small numbers.

By this point, everyone could feel it.

This sudden war was literally about the lives of all of them. If it was all because of one person who looked somewhere, that they had hastily gathered personnel from other regions and prepared weapons so frantically.

The shells filled with holy power ran out. Bullets were being consumed incessantly. A few people were hit by monsters flying towards the sky, and priests rushed to their aid, while the remaining knights all went outside the fortress and engaged in close combat.

Demonic creatures must not reach the gates or the royal castle. Everyone present knew this.

How long did the battle last?

My sense of smell was numbed by the rotten smell that pierced my nostrils, and my hearing was deafened by the tearing cries and gunshots heard from everywhere.

I felt the recoil of the firearm every time I pulled the trigger. I felt my strength gradually draining every time I cut down an enemy.

Soldiers and knights could only think one thing.

May the Saintess win.

May the power of the God they believed in block the enemy.

And, as if in response to that prayer.

There was light.

For a moment, the dim sky brightened.

Those who looked in that direction opened their mouths.

The typhoon was torn. There was no other way to describe it. The wind was still swirling, but the upper part was torn, revealing the inside, the eye of the typhoon.

And beyond that- a giant falling with its upper body gone was visible.

It wasn’t just one person who felt the tingling sensation on their skin disappear.

Even though the battle was still ongoing, someone cheered.

The cheers soon grew louder and spread wider. People ran again, shot guns, and swung swords. The heavy oppressive feeling seemed to have disappeared.

“…….”

“Do you feel it?”

“……Yes.”

However, only two people spoke quietly, gazing blankly into the distance.

“It’s not just the magic power that disappeared.”

Anna murmured.

“……Is that so.”

Marie also murmured.

That was the extent of their conversation.

For now, there was nothing the two of them could do.

Until they directly confirmed what was beyond, they couldn’t know what had happened.

For now, they could only pray that God of this world could protect those two and cut down the remaining enemies.

*

Should I call it a flashback?

I saw myself. My vision.

A truck honking its horn so loud it could shatter my ears. A child frozen, watching that truck. No, it’s meaningless to run now. The approaching truck was too fast, so even if I dodged it, with my small body, I couldn’t completely escape.

So I ran.

Why?

Did I judge that if I ran in and blocked it, I could save that child and myself?

Maybe I just had no thoughts.

I said I would live a good life, but I didn’t pledge to do so by sacrificing my body. If I just lived without wronging the people around me, that alone could be considered ‘not wrong’.

…….

No.

Thinking about it again, it’s a little different. Yes, it was different.

I, at least, didn’t want to see a person die in front of my eyes.

Especially if it was a child younger than me.

What I saw next- was me talking to that being. This time too, it was only my vision. She was smiling, but her eyes held a look of pity.

“……When the time comes, you will know. Just as the demons can feel your aura, you will feel the moment they find you, in some way.”

“Even if I don’t read the novel to the end? I won’t remember all the conversations we had here?”

“Didn’t you ask to have it returned so you wouldn’t believe in God, as a wish?”

The being asked as if truly curious.

“What if… because of that, everything could go wrong?”

Before I could finish my sentence, the other party laughed.

“……Why are you doing that?”

The being, probably the one people would call God, looked at me calmly and spoke.

I didn’t know what answer to give.

Isn’t it overestimating someone who doesn’t believe in God?

“Yes, well.”

Feeling a little uncomfortable with that smile, I replied.

“Then, I’ll do my best.”

“Yes, I asked because I expected you to say that.”

The being replied, still smiling.

“You don’t like seeing the people in front of you suffer. I knew one more person like that. A truly dazzling… person. Perhaps you’ll hear stories about that person in that world too.”

“……But, I might fail.”

“Can you call someone who stopped doing good deeds a failure? Or can you condemn them as evil because they couldn’t save more people? Is their life a failure because they couldn’t save the world?”

“…….”

“Even if you just tried- if you could save even one person. You can’t call that a failure. Because living like that is important. Like your life.”

I felt strange.

That is, my nose tingled, and my eyes reddened. I felt like I was in danger.

“Please, erase my memories.”

“It’s not erasing, but rather making you forget for a while, but if you wish.”

The being nodded with a wide smile.

“Ah, and, I’ll tell you one more thing. The source of the holy power I give is-“

When I came to my senses, I was standing in front of a cathedral.

Thus, I became a person of that world.

*

The first thing I felt was the smell of decay.

Magic power always smelled like that.

Whether life was decaying within the magic power, or the way magic power was generated was different from what we knew.

Feeling my hand sink into a gooey place, I recoiled in shock.

And where my hand touched, there was another gooey place.

“……Ugh.”

Only then did I realize that it wasn’t ‘black’.

No, there was black too. Some were covered in magic power… and some were blackened and burnt.

But it wasn’t just those colors.

Red. White. Pink.

……I regretted the moment I thought the place where the demonic creatures were pushing through was hell. The sound of flies flying in swarms could be more terrifying than the howling of demonic creatures and demons.

“……Ria.”

Feeling a little scared, I murmured.

“Ria!”

But I couldn’t hear Ria’s reply.

“……Haa.”

My skin tingled, and my throat hurt. It was a little difficult to breathe.

Even while tears streamed down my face, I tried to open my eyes and look around.

……It’s just corpses. Slowly decaying- corpses turning into magic power.

Ah, I see.

The anxiety I felt.

This was the place that caused that anxiety.

The place the demons ultimately desired. The ‘world they wanted to create’.

A world made solely of magic power.