Chapter 7. Favor and Calculation (10)

That scene- perhaps all those who witnessed it firsthand at that very spot would never forget it for the rest of their lives.

Heaven and earth were connected.

A sacred light, like the spring sunshine, descended from a noble being above, illuminating one girl.

The magic that shot up into the sky turned into clear water without any meaning and fell. In this place where not a single drop of rain had fallen for hundreds of years, it was raining.

The clergy forgot to pray, and the hunters forgot to fight, gazing up at the sky.

As the falling rain flowed into the lake, the lake began to boil. All the monsters born from the lake boiled and then disappeared as if they were evaporating.

At the very top of the lake, a clear membrane formed. Purified water was constantly flowing upwards. It looked like a spring gushing from the black earth.

The sandbags sunk at the bottom, each of the countless small holy artifacts, were purifying the lake.

However, all of that spectacle ended in an instant.

Flicker, flicker.

The light from the sky flickered like a light installed in an unstable power source, and then it went out at once.

The monster being purified endured without falling, and the falling rain turned back into magic.

Although it didn’t become a major problem as the clergy brought back holy power-

Somehow, people thought they heard someone’s scream amidst the chaos.

*

Ria didn’t know what had happened for a moment.

With her excellent dynamic vision, she could sense in an instant that something dangerous was approaching her.

But the speed at which it approached was so fast that even Ria couldn’t react, and she couldn’t avoid it.

Literally, it must have been faster than most bullets.

She managed to pull her body back a little, but that was it.

She tried to block it with her arm, but it was clear that the object would have pierced Ria’s chest before her arm could even block it.

But then-

The warm light disappeared, and the sky turned gloomy.

The sky, which had been a piercingly clear blue just a moment ago.

No, was it just Ria’s emotions that moved like that? Was it just the shadow cast by the monster’s hand still pointed towards the sky?

None of that mattered.

However, Ria couldn’t understand how Anna could be in front of her at that moment, how she could be pierced by that spear instead of Ria-

“…Anna?”

Clearly, Anna should have been up in the sky.

So, she shouldn’t have gotten involved in something like this.

Anna’s abdomen, it was piercing it. No, not just her abdomen. Just below her diaphragm. A place that would be fatal no matter where it was stabbed. Perhaps, even a part of her lungs was cut off-

“Anna!?”

Ria approached Anna.

“I’m… okay.”

Pierced by a giant spear, unable to sit or fall, Anna spoke like that.

Now that I see it, there wasn’t just one spear. As if to ensure the death of the being there, from all directions.

Only the position Ria had pushed away from was barely safe. Or, if not.

Red blood flowed from Anna’s body.

Like a drop of water falling onto a heated frying pan, the magic that pierced Anna’s body was being purified. But this time, the purified magic was not clear and transparent, but bright red.

“Ah, as expected, changing reality itself- doesn’t seem to work.”

“Anna!!”

Anna spoke as if she had thought of something, but Ria didn’t care about that at all. She stood up with her sword and swung it wildly. The thing that had pierced Anna’s body was easily cut by Ria’s sword.

For such a thing.

Cough.

Anna vomited blood. Bright red blood.

As Ria caught Anna, who was falling forward, she felt warmth from Anna’s body. But Ria felt a chill from that warmth. That warmth was not just the warmth of the body, but the warmth of the pouring blood.

The surroundings were collapsing. The monster’s body would probably collapse too.

“Still…”

“No, Anna. Don’t say anything.”

Seeing Anna speaking while spitting blood and with her eyes half-closed, Ria took Anna’s hand. She felt that chilling sensation once more. Unlike the blood, her hand was so cold.

“I’m… okay.”

“Okay, what are you talking about!”

Ria shouted.

What should I do? If it were just one wound, I could stop the bleeding, but there was too much bleeding from everywhere. I tried to block one of the wounds on Anna’s body with my hand, but blood flowed from another place-

“I think… I think I understand…”

“Don’t say anything, Anna.”

“The reason I came here…”

Ria’s vision blurred. With Anna lying on her lap, Ria tried to recall again and again. Things she learned as a child. First aid for when hunters got hurt. But the things that came to mind immediately were not things she could do-

…One thing came to mind.

Holy water.

While Ria was taking something out of her pocket, Anna raised her index finger and pointed to the sky.

Following the tip of her finger, the sky slowly opened again. A warm light flowed down Anna’s face again.

Anna smiled softly.

“Ah, so that’s why.”

A thin, thread-like light, different from what I usually saw, touched the tip of Anna’s finger. That light, connected all the way to the end of the sky, looked particularly ominous today. I had never thought that way before.

I just thought it was best for Anna to be in the church. There was no reason for such a naive and pure child to step out into society.

It’s not that it’s completely safe within the church. There would be power struggles, and intrigue. She might get hurt in the process.

She said she would help by her side. If she settled down later, even if she didn’t intend to stay forever, she could be friends later-

For the first time, I doubted.

If that being called God was looking at Anna, why? Why at this particular time?

I thought it was simply because Anna believed in God much more than others, albeit in a peculiar way. I thought that because she was someone who could have such pure thoughts, and she thought that power was ‘not her own,’ God responded that way.

The chocolate did not melt at all even while running around. Instead, it felt cool. The light emanating from it was like the cold air seen after taking something out of a freezer.

It couldn’t be used on wounds like this.

Ria put it in her mouth and chewed it.

“…I see. So that’s how it was…”

Tears finally flowed at Anna’s weak voice.

No way, no way…

What if, what if…

What if Anna was simply destined to bear something?

What if Anna just wanted to escape that fate?

…What if Ria’s actions simply pushed Anna into it?

-I will believe you.

“…”

The light that fell from the sky softly enveloped the surroundings.

The monster’s body melted and collapsed. The surroundings were slowly purified by the connected light.

Even amidst the collapsing monster, the two did not separate. The lake was simply calm.

It seemed that the holy artifact poured into the depths had finally done its job. The monster’s body slowly crumbled like a sandcastle.

I tried applying the holy artifact, which had crumbled in my mouth, to Anna’s body, but the bleeding did not stop. The wound slowly filled, but the speed was too slow.

Anna’s hand dropped. Strength drained from her body.

“No.”

Ria put the chocolate in her mouth again.

I don’t want to let her go yet.

The fastest way to see the effect of holy water is to drink it directly. In urgent situations, it is sometimes sprinkled on wounds, but that only heals superficial wounds.

In this case, it couldn’t be sprinkled. It wasn’t water in the first place.

Then, there is only one way to properly inject this holy power into Anna’s body.

Anna’s expression, with her eyes closed, was simply peaceful. As if she had done what she needed to do.

…What are you so comfortable about, doing it all by yourself?

Who do you think you are?

…I said I trust you.

Anna said she trusted Ria to protect her completely. Even if treated a bit roughly, even on a battlefield where lives were at stake, Anna entrusted her body entirely to Ria.

Then, entrust it to me this time too.

Ria lifted Anna’s chin.

Without even thinking about that action-

Looking back later, Ria probably wasn’t entirely sane at that moment.

A little softness.

And endless sweetness.

That was the first time.

*

“…”

The sunlight entering my field of vision was a bit dazzling.

I raised my hand and waved it in front of my face. Seeing that it didn’t disappear, the light falling from the sky seemed to be literal sunlight.

“Ugh… sob…”

And what I felt was- a hot sensation, beyond warmth.

My body felt sticky. It was quite wet too. It didn’t seem like it was just because I was on the lake.

“…Ria?”

When I asked, my vision changed slightly.

Ria, who was holding me, let go of me a little with a surprised expression.

Her tear-filled red eyes looked at me.

“Anna?”

“Ria.”

Seeing Ria’s face like that, I called her name again.

Ria hugged me tightly again.

…Hmm.

It seems I was really close to death.

The lake is spread out before my eyes.

I am lying down, and Ria is sitting, but the lake only comes up to my knees.

…Is it because it was purified? The remains of the monster that collapsed?

I don’t know for sure. People who see the situation later will explain it themselves.

“…”

There are many things to think about.

The sweetness of chocolate lingered in my mouth. It must have been the chocolate I gave her out of goodwill. Ria seems to have fed it back to me.

…

Right, I need to do some calculating too.

Not the people who use my power.

…I mean the one who made me use this power.

I feel like I should settle the score with that being up there later.

Later.

For now, well.

For now, should I just rest a bit?

Both I and Ria- and the people running towards us from afar, we all seem to need to rest for now.