Ch.3The Qualification of a Saint

A storm and a roar swept through the underground mall.

Blood and chunks of flesh seeped out from the crevices of the destroyed shops.

It was the result of just one person swinging their fist once.

“Haha, well this is…”

“…strange.”

The man let out an exclamation with his mouth wide open, while Eila tilted her head, looking at her fist with confusion.

“What’s strange about it?”

“I think my strength has weakened. I threw that punch intending to completely destroy those corpses.”

Look, there are still scraps left.

The man’s face hardened at Eila’s words.

As his eyes slowly turned, he saw completely demolished buildings.

That was from a punch thrown with weakened strength?

“Um, I’m just curious, but what happens when you throw a punch with full power?”

“Hmm? I’m not sure? Since I don’t know how sturdy these structures are, I can’t give you a definite answer.”

“Could you explain, even roughly…?”

Eila trailed off in response to the man’s question.

She didn’t know herself.

The reason she learned martial arts in the first place was for self-defense, not to stand at the forefront destroying things.

When heroes or sword saints swing their swords once, the sky splits, and when archmages or great sages utter a few incantations, the earth shatters—why would there ever be a need to swing a mere fist with full power?

But to the man, it appeared differently.

After all, it’s common for some hunters to hide their abilities.

Especially after surpassing A-rank, every piece of information could be treated as a national secret.

“Well, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. Thanks for saving me anyway.”

“No, it’s not over yet.”

“What?”

“We still haven’t found the gate. With so many monsters pouring out, it might be difficult to destroy the core. We need to find it quickly…”

“…What nonsense are you talking about?”

That’s when it happened.

“What the fuck! What’s wrong with the passage?!”

A rough voice was heard.

The man and Eila simultaneously turned their heads toward the source of the voice.

There, emerging from a black hole, stood people covered in wounds.

***

Black holes.

Ten years ago, when they suddenly appeared, countries around the world fell into chaos.

Countless people died at the hands of persistent monsters that seemed to come straight out of fiction, emerging from these holes.

However, the technology that humanity had built up over hundreds of years was not so fragile, and people succeeded in restoring society over a period of four years.

Of course, there were many differences from the society that existed before.

Anyway, the birth of black holes—dungeons—changed society.

It altered lifestyles and established social structures, and created various academic fields and mysterious tools.

A major transformation that even renowned scholars from countries around the world couldn’t predict took place globally.

At the center of these changes were, naturally, the dungeons.

Many nations prioritized research on dungeons, and over the course of a year—a time that was both short and long—scholars were able to discover various facts about the cause of dungeons, methods to eliminate them, ways to prevent their formation, and more.

Five years passed like that.

Dungeons came to be perceived as just another common natural disaster, and being a hunter became a globally popular profession.

People were enjoying their daily lives as they had before.

***

“Wow, thanks to you, we survived. I thought it was strange how those creatures suddenly rushed past us without even looking at us, but it was all thanks to you, miss… I’m truly grateful.”

He was a large man.

With a physique that filled half the corridor and a sturdy build.

The muscles on his left arm, extended for a handshake with Eila, rippled.

“No, I was just doing what needed to be done.”

Eila took his hand.

It was firm.

The man smelled of blood and death.

A familiar scent.

“Ahem, I apologize for the late introduction… I’m Lee Han-guk, the chief supervisor of this dungeon raid team. If you don’t mind, may I ask your name…?”

“Please call me ‘Eila.'”

“Huh? Are you perhaps a foreigner…?”

Lee Han-guk blinked.

Eila’s speech was so fluent that it was hard to think she was a foreigner.

Although her hair was white and her eyes were golden, hair and eye color can change when one receives mana.

If you were to pluck a strand of hair from each hunter around Lee Han-guk, you could make a rainbow.

“Yes, I’m a foreigner.”

For different reasons than Lee Han-guk, Eila also blinked.

Foreigner, someone from another country.

It made her want to laugh. Rather than “foreign country,” wouldn’t “other world” be more accurate?

Well, either way, the fact that she came from a different place wasn’t wrong, so Eila decided to go with it.

“By the way, which part of Lee Han-guk is your surname? ‘Lee’?”

“…Yes?”

“Then is this South Korea?”

“Wait, miss, did you come here without even knowing which country this is?”

The man’s eyes narrowed.

“…Yes, somehow, that’s how it turned out.”

Eila gave a bitter smile.

Lee Han-guk relaxed his body.

Right, she’s still our benefactor who helped us.

A bit suspicious, but…

“Yes, well, this is indeed South Korea… If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your rank…?”

“Rank…? What kind of rank are you referring to?”

“Hunter rank. With skills like yours…”

His gaze turned toward the completely demolished mall, then back again.

“I’m a Saint. Not a hunter.”

“…Huh?”

Now that’s some novel nonsense.

Saint, he says.

Well, there were several hunters with the title of Saint.

All of them were trash, though.

Whatever, it’s not my business.

Lee Han-guk’s gaze swept over Eila.

“Are you okay leaving your clothes like that? It’s not good for your body if you keep them on.”

Eila’s body and clothes were soaked in blood.

The dark red blood stood out in stark contrast against her white clothes, hair, and skin.

Monster blood.

Everything that comes from monsters becomes poison, so prolonged contact with such blood can adversely affect one’s health.

Lee Han-guk spoke to Eila out of concern for this, but.

“Oh, this? If it bothers you…”

Snap!

“[Purify].”

As Eila snapped her fingers, a light green aura enveloped her body.

The light covered her entire body and began erasing the dark red stains.

“There, is that better now?”

“No. What is this…?”

“Ma-magic…?”

The two men’s eyes widened.

Just a snap of her fingers, and the blood was cleanly washed away?

It wasn’t wiped or blown away with water or wind; the blood simply vanished without a trace.

Among the magic they knew, there was nothing so non-destructive and useful.

“It’s… similar to magic, I suppose?”

Eila answered their question.

Similar to magic, but different from magic.

Something new that combined the ritual arts used by clergy with magic.

It was something neither magic nor ritual art, something in-between that she created while learning magic from her party members, the archmage Angelica and the great sage Kurtz.

Angelica had been excited about it, calling it a discovery of a new realm and naming it “Holy Magic,” but lost interest when she found out it could only be used by the caster on themselves.

Now, even that is just a memory.

“C-could that purify poison that’s entered the body too?”

“If it’s not too old, yes.”

“Th-then, could you possibly treat that person over there…?”

The man’s voice trembled.

In the direction he pointed lay a woman on the cracked floor.

Eila immediately approached her.

Her speed was so fast that not even an afterimage could be seen.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Hey, who are you?”

Regardless of what the people around the collapsed woman were saying, Eila fulfilled her duty.

Saving people.

That’s what a Saint should do.

Eila examined the body of the groaning woman.

There were many minor wounds on her body, but they weren’t severe enough to cause her current condition.

Which means…

“Poison, is it?”

“Yes, she was trying to shield me and got hit by a poisoned needle…”

A man standing nearby answered.

Poison.

Eila immediately used her ritual art.

“All that is unclean, all that is impure, all that is evil shall disappear. Return to where you belong in the name of the Lord. [Purify].”

A light green aura covered the woman’s body.

When the light faded, color returned to the woman’s face.

She seemed much better.

“She’ll be fine now.”

“Th-thank you, thank you so much…”

Eila wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

That’s a relief, ritual arts work normally here too.

Holy Magic worked fine, but since it’s a combination of magic and ritual arts, she thought ritual arts alone might not work.

“Really, thank you so much…”

“You too.”

“Pardon?”

Eila looked at the man who kept expressing his gratitude.

He had bandages wrapped around his chest.

The scattered red spots suggested his wounds were severe.

Bandages were wrapped around his arm as well.

“Could you gather all the injured in one place?”

“Ah, understood.”

A moment later.

“Everyone’s gathered now…”

As Eila turned her head, she saw the assembled people.

It was everyone who remained.

The number seemed to be a little over ten.

Among them was Lee Han-guk, who had offered a handshake earlier.

That’s quite a few.

“Please don’t be alarmed.”

Eila closed her eyes and extended both hands forward.

“Hear me, I proclaim in the name of the Lord. This place is the Lord’s domain, the Lord’s sanctuary. The Lord’s will shall be done within this space. [Sacred Domain].”

A light green aura spread out in a circle.

“W-what is this?!”

“Magic?”

“What’s going on?!”

The reactions varied.

Some were surprised, some showed interest, and some even tried to draw their swords.

Fortunately, Lee Han-guk was next to the man reaching for his sword and stopped him immediately.

Eila slowly opened her eyes.

Sacred Domain.

A ritual art that extends the effects of rituals, normally applicable only to individuals, to everyone within the sacred domain.

She could go around healing each person one by one, but there were too many people for that.

It’s annoying enough to repeat the same words more than three times, let alone recite ritual incantations over ten times.

How bothersome.

Just do it all at once.

“Those who are injured, those who are in pain, come to the Lord. The Lord gives strength to overcome all suffering, so lay your bodies under the Lord’s grace. [Heal].”

The circular light contracted and enveloped the people.

“I-I can see!”

“My arm moves!”

“Th-this is impossible… I’ve never heard of magic capable of this…”

“…Impressive.”

Though their words and expressions differed, their reactions were the same.

Surprise.

Astonishment.

And gratitude.

It made her happy.

She was glad to see their reactions to her healing.

For the past few years, there had been no one to use ritual arts on except her companions, and most responses had been merely formal acknowledgments.

These intense reactions made her feel good, reminding her of the old days.

‘This is truly fantasy… bones mending instantly. At this rate, do we even need doctors?’

‘Ritual arts aren’t omnipotent. If you overexert yourself relying solely on ritual arts, your condition might worsen.’

‘…Then can’t you reduce the training? I was just an ordinary person until a few weeks ago…’

The Hero was also surprised like that at first.

Ah, I miss the Hero.

“Is everyone feeling better now?”

Eila smiled.

It was a brightly radiant smile.