Chapter 22. Prayer and Salvation (14)

It’s not like I’ve never prayed before.

When I was young, in my innocent days when I knew nothing.

I believed for a short while, following my parents.

Ironically, the wish I prayed for then was a little different from what my parents thought.

I prayed for a family that loved me.

A family that loved me more than you, God.

Well, I don’t know. Perhaps my family didn’t love me? Wasn’t the story that you go to hell if you don’t believe in God, a story born out of kindness and love in its own way?

My parents said they would pray for me. For me, who didn’t pray.

……I don’t know. In the end, I hated that.

It’s truly ironic.

For an atheist who doesn’t believe in God to become someone others consider God. It makes no sense.

No matter how I looked at it, it was a cult.

I laughed alone at that joke-like story.

No, how can an atheist become a Saintess?

Because I ended up breaking that story I denied until the very end with my own hands.

“What on earth… why…!”

“I know, why would that be?”

As I cut down the magic powers rushing towards me, I replied.

No, it’s Ria cutting them down. I was just adding power to it.

Sweat dripped and soaked my hair, and my clothes were starting to stick uncomfortably to my body. To be honest, my joints were starting to creak. I had reached the limit of what my body could move.

But no matter how much it hurt, how could I stop?

If I collapse, Ria will die at that moment too.

I don’t want that. I… I wanted to save Ria.

And, I want to live too. Yes, that’s right. I want to live too.

I will live, live… kiss, and hug her tightly. And there were so many things we hadn’t done yet.

Now, the magic power was like a tidal wave. I couldn’t see the handsome face it had as a crystal of magic power. It felt like fighting a natural phenomenon itself.

But, even so, there is a core.

Otherwise, magic power would truly become a natural phenomenon.

Humans need a brain to think, and a heart that pumps blood to that brain to live.

Demons are the same. To have a personality, they needed a ‘thinking place’.

“……I’ve seen it once.”

Ria and I plunged into the storm. No, perhaps only I plunged in. The number of enemies for Ria had significantly decreased.

The opponent saw me as a greater threat.

Good. I learned something important. At least, Ria and I weren’t on opposite sides of the Earth.

As Ria ran and swung her sword, I waved my left hand.

There are many corpses piled up. They were too greedy.

Into the swirling magic power, I saw faint holy power mixed in. There would be insects like flies and mosquitoes, but perhaps there were fungi too. Maybe mold, mushrooms, or grass were mixed in.

Good heavens, if I picked just one of them, I could have a theme like an evil god from a fantasy novel.

-No, a goddess for one person.

Ria said.

-Whether it’s an evil god or not, I don’t know.

I laughed.

Far away.

Among the faint holy power mixed in the storm.

I found a silhouette that looked like a human form.

Ria saw it too. Through my gaze.

Ria ran. I also ran, following Ria.

One step, two steps, three steps… my body creaked. It was really reaching the limit now. Perhaps, even if I wanted to move more, I wouldn’t be able to endure it.

Ria was also struggling.

The magic power was concentrated much more towards me, but that didn’t mean it didn’t block Ria’s path. If Ria couldn’t run comfortably, I wouldn’t be able to run that much either.

Grind.

I don’t know if the sound of gritting my teeth came from me or Ria.

Both of us swung our swords.

When my sword was swung, the storm before my eyes was torn.

When Ria swung her sword, the enemy before her eyes was torn.

All sorts of monsters from all directions reached out to grab us. The storm slowly stopped, and then became a giant hand. Hands rushing in from all directions.

I extended my left hand.

Ah, Ria will be sad if I do this.

…….

But, even so.

I liked Ria more than myself.

My left hand, which had been shining white, slowly crumbled from the fingertips. The fingers turned to dust, and only a spherical mass, the size of the hole in my hand, remained.

Blinding light.

The sphere, which had been my hand, emitted a brilliant light.

From Ria’s fingertips too. The ring on her ring finger was shining brightly.

As the pain subsided in my arm and returned like a burning sensation, blood gushed out.

The area around my head became a little brighter. That light illuminated the surroundings. The hands that were trying to grab me recoiled as if burned by hot fire.

And, through the tangled fingers, I saw something looking at me.

It was an eye.

Of a being that had barely taken human form, with swirling magic power wrapped around its entire body like a cocoon.

A crystal of magic power.

Perhaps, a being that the demons wanted to make into a god.

As those two eyes met mine, they widened.

“Ria.”

Ria’s voice was barely audible now, but I murmured, sending my voice with the last of my holy power.

“……Did you see?”

It’s dizzying, but I’ll endure it. Surely, Ria will guide me there.

Because I was confident that Ria would believe in me as much as I believed in her.

For a very brief moment, my legs stopped. As if contemplating.

The white light around me was gradually fading. The sound was no longer audible.

I could only feel it. Barely.

Ria’s heartbeat.

Her breathing.

Because when I closed my eyes, it felt like we were standing in the same place.

Perhaps, Ria seemed to be shouting something.

Is it that kind of talk again?

Like, “If you die, I’ll kill you.”

…….

Although there was no basis for it. And it wasn’t something an atheist, who views the world rationally and logically, would say.

Still, for some reason, I thought I wouldn’t die.

No, perhaps, like when I was a child, I might be praying.

I, I-

…….

May I make just one wish?

-Gladly.

I laughed upon hearing that voice.

*

“…….”

Ria stopped walking.

Even after landing, the sword she had thrust forward was still in her hand.

A faintly glowing holy sword, almost the same as usual.

No, the blade had become a little duller.

It wasn’t just because she had continuously cut down enemies. The sword had melted slightly from the brightly shining holy power.

She quickly raised her left hand to look at the ring.

It had returned to being an ordinary ring, as if all the holy power within it had been used up.

“……Anna?”

Ria murmured.

No answer came back.

Suddenly, the surroundings became deathly quiet. No, it really was. The corpses hadn’t disappeared.

The magic power remained as well. It had merely become still. As if it had lost its master.

Her body trembled.

Ria felt an intense fear.

“Anna, Anna…!”

She looked around, but no answer came back.

In the first place, she didn’t even know where this was.

“Ah, please, really-“

Then, Ria saw the dark clouds in the sky parting slightly. The rain had stopped.

And-

In the distance, through a small gap in the clouds, she saw a single ray of light falling.

Ria ran.

Perhaps, with all her might since she was born.

Her body ached everywhere from moving so violently until just moments ago, and the parts she had injured while unable to block all the rampaging magic power hurt a little.

But, that wasn’t important.

Had Ria ever prayed like that since she was born?

Probably not.

Not even to the being others called God, nor even to Anna, whom Ria had decided to idolize. Ria had never prayed like that.

Without even knowing who she was praying to, Ria thought as she ran.

Please, let Anna be alive.

That was the only thought.

“Ah…!”

In the distance, where the light was falling.

She saw a girl lying there. With blonde hair, stained red in places.

Strangely rebellious, yet strangely wanting to save people.

Even though she said she wasn’t a Saintess herself- a human who fought with her whole body like this.

Around her, blue grass was growing. In this world full of corpses and still unpurified magic power, the area around Anna, lying on that shallow hill, was clean as if someone had guided it that way.

“Anna!”

Ria shouted.

She ran frantically to Anna’s side and knelt down.

She hugged Anna.

It was warm.

Tears burst out. If she opened her mouth, she felt like she would only make pathetic whimpering sounds, so Ria gritted her teeth.

Anna was sleeping.

Not in a figurative sense, but truly, she was sleeping like that.

There were no wounds on Anna’s hands.

She didn’t know how that was possible.

All she knew was that the light falling on their heads at that moment had had some effect.

Suddenly, she realized that the wound on Ria’s hand had also disappeared.

Was this also a miracle?

Without any time to think deeply about such things, Ria kissed Anna’s forehead.

And she hugged Anna tightly.

She just wanted to be like this, for now.