Chapter 11. Summer and the Sea (10)

If I were to judge by its appearance, I’d say it couldn’t be anything but a monster.

Considering its size, it was similar to the monster wearing a tiger skin that I had seen before.

I don’t know why something like that would appear precisely when I was present.

“This, we need to fly a little higher.”

Whether it’s fortunate or not, the depth of the sea only came up to the monster’s shoulders. In other words, it meant we could secure a position to attack the monster’s head.

“I think I’ll need your help a bit too.”

Ria said.

“Since it seems to be a creature that uses mana too.”

“If I can be of help, of course, I’ll go with you.”

I nodded.

However, before that.

I tightly hugged Ria’s waist with both arms.

“Uh, hey!?”

Ria made a funny sound as if she hadn’t expected that, but I pretended not to hear and pressed myself even closer to Ria’s body.

“Just a moment. I’m going to pray now.”

“While hugging your same-sex friend tightly from behind…?”

“…No, it’s just to better transmit the holy power coming from my body.”

No, more than that, it was absurd that Ria, who had confidently hugged my waist and pulled me towards her when we were taking pictures earlier, was reacting like this.

The situation was urgent, so there was no time to argue here.

While hugging Ria tightly from behind, I closed my eyes and summoned holy power.

Now, I don’t even know if what I’m doing is prayer anymore.

When I couldn’t communicate with the being above at all, I just thought I had to be wary until the end because I didn’t know its purpose, but it’s different now.

It might be that the being is just a very good actor or trying to deceive me- but still, every time I summoned power, the feeling I felt was only a genuine affection for humans. When healing an injured child, it seemed flustered and quickly lent its power, and whenever I needed strength, it never refused.

It’s true that God might have brought me to this world because I didn’t believe in God and was angry about what I said about His novel- but even so, I felt a greater purpose beyond that.

…Yes, it’s a very religious judgment, and honestly, I don’t like it.

But isn’t that how truth usually is? Whether I believe it or not, the truth simply exists.

My body was enveloped in a soft light.

My hands felt a little numb. Although the bleeding had stopped, the wound on the back of my hand from last time felt a little sore. Perhaps that’s why I can connect better with the being above.

…If that being created me to sacrifice myself for a purpose-

-You don’t have to if you don’t want to.

That voice was not sarcastic at all.

It was simply a voice full of concern for me.

What would a staunch religious person think of that? A reprimand? Or the devil’s temptation? As in the old scriptures, would it be the devil’s whisper trying to seduce a saint who is about to sacrifice herself?

Ironically, even the existence of the devil can only exist with the will of the absolute being in the presence of the absolute being. If so, wouldn’t it be strange to say that even the devil’s voice is the absolute being’s question?

…

Well, it’s ridiculously simple to think about now.

The being I believe to be God in this world was not that omnipotent.

But, because of that, I can borrow strength so easily. I don’t have to doubt everything one by one.

A faint light shimmered around Ria’s body.

“Good.”

Ria said, feeling a slight warmth in her body.

“First, we’ll ride this and get as close to the edge of that whirlpool as possible.”

“…Really?”

I looked at the whirlpool spinning around the monster.

The hunters had quickly dodged it, but most of the tentacles, which seemed to lack intelligence, couldn’t. Beyond the whirlpool, I could see those unable to resist the current, spinning around.

The monster looked around, searching for Gloria. If there was an opportunity, it was now.

Ria didn’t answer me and was already increasing her speed.

Well, honestly, I don’t feel like it-

I trust Ria too. Not just because I read the novel, but as a result of observing and acting with Ria up to now.

“When we get there, I’ll jump with all my might.”

Ria said.

“Understood.”

This motorcycle has a limited height it can fly.

Ria did as she said.

She went to the edge of the spinning whirlpool, accelerated to maximum speed at an angle that could gain more speed from the current- and then, using the momentum, she turned the motorcycle towards the monster.

I don’t clearly remember exactly what happened next.

As someone who pursued stability over thrills and peace over challenges in life, honestly, I didn’t enjoy such ‘thrills’ much-

“I’ll jump!”

Ria shouted that, and indeed, I was jumping as Ria said.

Ria’s hand was on my waist.

Before the motorcycle fell onto the exposed seabed, we leaped towards the sky.

Ria powerfully kicked the air. As always, it was unrealistically true that we ran through the air.

Because Ria’s arm was wrapped around my waist to keep me from falling, I could feel Ria’s body so well, just like when we took pictures earlier. Yes, even in situations like this.

Ria raised her sword powerfully above her head.

The monster, which had been targeting Gloria and Dabi, noticed the anomaly, turned its body, and looked at us. By the time it pointed its tentacles, attached like hair between its crown and the back of its head, towards us, it was already too late.

Ria swung her sword down with all her might.

The sword, imbued with my holy power and temporarily coated with it, sliced through the monster’s body as if it were cutting tofu, severing the mana that weakly enveloped it.

And the flesh beneath it too.

The sword was a bit short to cut the tentacles vertically in two, but it was appropriate for slowing our descent.

After landing on the monster’s head, before its hand could strike our heads, Ria plunged her sword into its crown.

Grind. The monster let out a terrible sound, as if its skull had shattered, a sound that was unpleasant even to me, who wasn’t the monster.

“Hold on tight.”

Ria removed her arm from my waist, gripped the sword hilt with both hands, and forcefully twisted it out. The shattered skull, which I could only guess from the sound earlier, was now vividly clear. However, I didn’t avert my eyes.

“—-!”

As Ria pulled the sword out, the base of the thick tentacles attached to its head also flew off. It wasn’t completely severed, but it was more gruesome with a part still attached and bodily fluids flowing out.

The monster’s hand eventually reached for this-

From below, magic flew towards that hand. Hit by the magic and bleeding, the monster let out another roar and screamed.

“It’s here.”

Ria said.

Where the sword had been pulled out, a dark, viscous substance was visible. It wasn’t just filled with mana, so it was hard to call it a ‘mana sphere.’

If you think of a dark brain, that’s exactly it.

I knelt down. Ria also bent down beside me and held me tightly. As the monster began to thrash and try to enter the sea, we also shook violently.

I reached my hand towards the sky. Light poured down from high above. As if a fire had ignited on the monster’s head, steam rose, and a louder scream was heard. Now, it was so loud that I couldn’t hear anything else.

At the tip of that light, I saw a thin, luminous thread.

I lightly grasped the end with my finger-

And then, pulling it down with all my might, I shoved it into the monster’s head. For a moment, I felt a sticky, squishy sensation that I never wanted to feel again,

“Be careful!”

Ria tightly grabbed my waist. We were falling.

From the monster’s head, as we fell, I saw a white light burning in its eyes.

*

I didn’t faint.

However, by the time we surfaced, I had swallowed so much water that my memory was a bit hazy.

Still, Ria kept talking to me, and it seemed like we got back on the motorcycle properly from the middle.

What’s certain is that the swimming I learned wasn’t very useful.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

At Ria’s words, I blinked.

I remember spitting out the water we swallowed as soon as we reached the shore, and then wanting to lie down on the ground and rest for a bit. Ria had agreed.

But when I came to my senses, I was lying with my head on Ria’s lap.

“…What happened?”

“Well, I thought it would be a bit much to just have you lying on the sand.”

“We’re still on the sand.”

“Should I move my legs? Is that more comfortable?”

“…”

It’s a little embarrassing that I hesitated for a moment at that question.

That’s right. To be honest, I briefly thought I wanted to stay like this a little longer.

Not because my body hurt, but simply because it was Ria’s lap.

That’s right. This is also a bit of a selfish thought. Unfortunately, my sexual orientation remains the same as when I was a man.

…Ria doesn’t seem to particularly like Lee Si-yoon, so there won’t be any talk of yuri drift.

What am I even saying?

“Huh? What do you want to do?”

People are milling around. Of course, with an incident like this, there would be a lot to investigate.

More importantly, with the situation escalating this much, a very detailed report would be sent to the church.

If the people at the church found out that we were wearing something like bikinis-

My head started to ache.

“…Let’s rest a little longer.”

Yes. I need stability right now.

It’s not about selfish desires, but a slightly more practical matter. It would be troublesome if I collapsed after carelessly getting up while my head was throbbing.

Ria laughed as if it were absurd.

And then, sitting with her legs stretched out, she leaned back on her arms and adjusted her posture to be a little more comfortable.

It was as if she was saying it was okay to stay like that forever.

We stayed like that for about 10 minutes.