Ch.7979. Struggle

God is dead.

No, did a being called God ever exist in the first place?

That was a concern Ainer had contemplated every single day since becoming a priestess.

Perhaps it might seem strange for a priestess who serves God to have such thoughts.

Ainer thought that divine power might be some kind of energy similar to mana, unrelated to God.

It was just a thought that had persisted for a long time.

…

“Ah, ah.”

-Splurt!

Blood gushed from Reneva’s torn arm.

The inside of Reneva’s flesh was visible. Something was seething within it. Demonic Blood.

The Demonic Blood continued to burrow into her flesh without stopping. Tearing. Her body was slowly being torn apart.

“What is this?”

She couldn’t understand what was happening.

But time kept flowing.

The monster lunged to devour her head.

-Clang!

“Are you crazy? Why are you just standing there when there’s a monster?!”

Explorers from the inn rushed to block the monster.

“Ah, ah…”

Even so, Ainer could only see one person in her field of vision.

“Ainer. I feel strange, my body. Something…”

No one knows what effect Demonic Blood has on the human body.

Someone with strong mana might be completely fine, while someone particularly sensitive to Demonic Blood might slowly rot from the inside out.

-Squelch, squelch!

“Re-Reneva. I’ll heal you right away. Just wait, just wait a little.”

Ainer rushed to her and poured divine power into her.

When the divine power touched the skin contaminated with Demonic Blood…

“Ah… Ah, aaaagh! It hurts! Stop! Please stop!”

She began writhing in pain, screaming horribly.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what to…”

Ainer’s eyes trembled.

Her vision blurred. She couldn’t see what was in front of her.

At that moment.

“Priestess! Get a hold of yourself! No one else can heal this person but you! Even if it hurts, there’s no choice!”

“…!”

Thanks to the explorer’s voice, she was barely able to regain her senses.

“I’ll cast a sleep spell first, then you can heal her. That should work fine.”

The female mage nearby put Reneva to sleep, and Ainer was finally able to complete emergency treatment by pouring in divine power.

“…”

And so silence fell.

***

A room on the second floor of the inn.

Ainer looked down at the street through the window.

Broken streets. Pools of blood. And corpses, corpses, corpses.

In just a few hours, countless people had died.

“Are there still a lot of monsters?”

The blonde girl asked Ainer.

“No, the monsters have decreased a bit… but I think it’s still too difficult for us to break through, Arya.”

It was Arya, the innkeeper’s daughter.

“I suppose so. All those explorers are dead now.”

Their expressions darkened.

Just a few hours ago, right after Reneva’s emergency treatment was finished, monsters had poured into the streets.

Most of the explorers in the inn went out into the streets.

Even civilians went out, saying it would be dangerous to stay here and that with so many explorers, there wouldn’t be a problem.

But they were all wiped out in less than a few minutes.

That left only four people in the inn.

Reneva, Ainer, and the innkeeper and his daughter Arya.

The innkeeper and Arya stayed behind out of responsibility for their injured guest, but that choice ended up saving their lives.

“If this continues, it’s going to be quite difficult…”

Arya said, looking at Reneva lying on the bed.

Although emergency treatment had been done, Reneva’s condition continued to worsen.

With a skilled priest or holy water, she could probably be treated somehow.

Since priests who handle divine power would be gathered at the cathedral, they could probably request rescue for those remaining at the inn if they could just get there.

“Even if we leave for the cathedral now, it would take at least several dozen minutes.”

The problem was how to get to the cathedral where those resources were.

Even all those explorers had been annihilated by monsters swarming from all directions.

Right now, not many monsters were visible, but risking their lives on such uncertain safety was too reckless.

‘Even at times like this, I can’t do anything.’

As Ainer continued to blame herself…

“Then I’ll go.”

Arya said with a determined expression.

“You’re going… alone?”

“Yes. I’ve been preparing to become an explorer, so I’m somewhat confident in my physical abilities. Do you know how to use baptism or something similar?”

“I know a little, but are you really going out?”

“If we can save someone’s life, we should.”

Arya was sincere.

In her mind, a true explorer should be able to overcome obstacles like this.

“Besides, I think the person I look up to would have done the same.”

Because that explorer who played a big role in the purification operation would have done this.

Although she had never seen his achievements with her own eyes, she knew well.

From the people around him, from his girlfriend, from him directly.

Just casual conversations in daily life were enough to understand his determination.

“Well, it seems that person is now a wanted criminal.”

She muttered quietly.

It was loud enough for Ainer, who was right in front of her, to hear.

“…”

But Ainer was already deep in thought.

What should she do?

This girl in front of her was risking her life for a friend who had collapsed due to her own incompetence.

‘What have I been doing all this time?’

She felt utterly pathetic about herself until now.

She steeled her resolve and said to Arya.

“I’ll go too. I have practical experience, so the chances of survival will be higher than if you go alone.”

The duration of blessings isn’t very long.

If she sent Arya alone, the blessing would wear off by the time she reached the cathedral.

“…It would be better if I went alone.”

“No, I’m going too.”

Ainer had already made up her mind firmly.

Eventually, the two of them left the inn together.

-Tap, tap.

After walking a short distance from the inn, they saw several buildings on fire.

“…”

Seeing this, Ainer bowed her head for a moment.

She remembered the female mage who had cast the sleep spell when she was treating Reneva.

The last fireball she had launched just before being bitten to death came to mind.

“Let’s move quickly.”

Arya nodded in response.

They walked for dozens of minutes.

There were times when they almost encountered monsters, but they managed to avoid them well.

“Ainer, we really made it.”

They arrived at the cathedral.

Looking up at the towering spire of the cathedral, they entered inside.

Arya, relieved at the thought that they had finally survived, quickly entered the cathedral.

‘Something feels off.’

However, Ainer felt something strange about the state of the cathedral.

There were clearly no traces of Demonic Blood or bloodstains.

But.

‘There’s no divine power either.’

Through the wide-open main doors of the cathedral, she could see Arya’s back.

There was no one inside.

“…!”

Suddenly feeling a chill, she hurriedly opened her mouth.

“Arya! You need to get out of there quickly—”

-Crunch!

Something bit off Arya’s hand.

A level 5 monster, a Kobold.

“Ainer, run away!”

Having instantly lost her left hand, Arya calmly gripped her sword.

If they had met inside the Labyrinth, even a civilian could have easily handled such a monster.

-Clang!

But this one was contaminated with Demonic Blood.

Arya swung her sword at the creature charging like a beast. She was gradually pushed back.

Even while maintaining her composure, her breathing was ragged. Whether due to her damaged breathing or not, she seemed to have run out of stamina after just a few exchanges.

Even in such a situation, she didn’t give up.

-Thrust!

With all her might, she delivered a strike that pierced the Kobold’s neck.

“Grrrk-!”

However, she wasn’t the only one who landed a blow.

The creature collapsed while biting through Arya’s neck.

“…A-Arya?”

Blood flowed from Arya’s neck.

“Run… away…”

Those were her last words, squeezed out with her final breath.

“…”

However.

Ainer did not run away.

She couldn’t run away.

Just a few hours ago, her friend had been sacrificed.

If she ran away here too, she wouldn’t be able to face herself for the rest of her life.

She rushed to Arya and poured divine power into her.

There might still be monsters around. But that didn’t matter to Ainer.

“Ah, ah…”

Arya’s body trembled.

Unlike when treating Reneva, she didn’t scream. She must have damaged her vocal organs.

“You can’t die.”

She poured in divine power.

Blood flowed.

“Don’t die.”

The flesh that came into contact with divine power seethed and regenerated. The Demonic Blood dissolved all those efforts in an instant.

The Demonic Blood spread across her skin to other areas.

Her condition was even more serious than Reneva’s. This was because she had continued fighting after her left hand was torn off, with the Demonic Blood contamination already progressing.

“No. Please…”

She stopped the flowing blood. She healed the flesh. She tried to stop the spreading contamination of Demonic Blood.

…It was impossible.

It was impossible with her power alone.

She needed holy water.

Surely there would be holy water somewhere.

Within a distance of not even a hundred meters, in the same building, there was something that could save Arya.

But.

If she stopped the treatment for even a few seconds, Arya would surely die.

Arya was dying.

‘Why…? Why? Why?’

Ainer’s head was filled with questions.

Why did monsters appear? Why was Reneva writhing in pain with her arm torn off? Why was Arya dying?

Why?

Why did they have to go through such things?

Ainer couldn’t understand.

‘This is strange. Strange.’

It’s strange.

Divine power should be the power of God.

It should be a gift from God for people.

‘Why does it hurt this child?’

She poured in divine power.

The flesh continuously melted away. Arya was in pain. Ainer couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain she must be feeling.

‘I’m at my limit now.’

If she used any more divine power, her own life would be in danger.

The moment she felt she couldn’t save Arya.

A thought crossed her mind.

God is dead.

The thought that had persisted for so long…

“…”

At this moment, it turned into certainty.

If God existed, such terrible things wouldn’t happen.

If God existed, Arya wouldn’t be writhing in pain right now.

Her wounds would have healed. She wouldn’t be dying.

But reality wasn’t like that.

Therefore.

‘There was never any God.’

The world is cruel.

Not a single thing goes right.

In that headache-inducing world, she couldn’t do anything.

If she hadn’t been there, Reneva wouldn’t have been hurt.

If it hadn’t been her, Arya wouldn’t have had to die.

‘It’s because of me.’

This world is too cruel to dream in.

In such a world, is there even any value in being alive?

Especially if she was nothing but a burden…

‘…No.’

The world was too cruel to dream in.

That was reality.

However.

Ainer denied it.

Because there were countless stories in this world.

Just like the protagonists in those stories she had seen.

Just like that man she had seen in the ice cave.

Like someone who is prepared to overcome any hardship that stands in their way.

‘Like Adel.’

To forge her own path in life without succumbing to reality.

She would continue to dream.

“…”

Ainer faced reality.

Arya was still dying.

It would be meaningless for her to pour in more divine power.

But.

‘If I stop here, nothing will change.’

She poured in divine power.

The flesh regenerated.

It melted away.

It regenerated. It regenerated.

Yet it still melted away.

Ainer’s eyes were bloodshot. Her vision was obscured.

She poured in divine power.

Her entire body felt like it was about to burst.

Every inch of her skin, all her muscles, without exception, felt like they were burning.

Her body was hot. At the same time, she felt cold.

It hurt.

She couldn’t hear anything. Her ears were filled with ringing.

She couldn’t smell anything. Only the scent of blood stung her nose.

She couldn’t see. Everything was just red.

Not divine.

This was hideous.

‘…Still’

She had to do it.

This was something she started.

This happened because of her.

She had to do it herself.

She had no choice.

‘Even if I can’t become special.’

Even if she was a failure who couldn’t even be ordinary.

She wouldn’t give up.

Even if it killed her.

She poured in divine power.

-Whoosh.

A faint breeze was felt.

It was strange. There shouldn’t be any wind in the cathedral.

A brilliant light appeared.

It was strange. Ainer had already lost her sight.

[Child, I’m sorry. You don’t need to worry about what happens next.]

A warm voice was heard.

It was certainly strange, but.

[Rest for a while.]

Her eyes closed.