Chapter Index

    The demonic energy that had dyed the sky dark red vanished.

    Only a backdrop of pure blue remained.

    Following the gentle sea breeze, a pristine, shining summer scene drifted in.

    The girl stood amidst the peaceful waves.

    Occasionally, splashing waves tinged her toes.

    Whoosh—.

    Only a cool echo remained in the broken foam.

    Charlotte stared blankly at the scenery.

    A faint pink vitality, as if it hadn’t quite melted away, lingered on her silent lips.

    “……”

    It was a peculiar domain.

    It was beautiful.

    It felt as if she were dreaming.

    Just moments before, it had been covered in a crimson mist, with a tidal wave of blood pouring down like tears, and only horrifying discord echoing through the dark red fog.

    Yet, when she collected herself, it had transformed into a completely different world.

    —Just for a moment, I’d appreciate it if you could draw their attention.

    —I will signal.

    It happened in the blink of an eye.

    It was a transformation that occurred in a fleeting moment.

    —Now.

    The boy leaped with a short clap.

    Instantly, he got behind the corrupted one, and without a moment’s hesitation, snatched the woman by the nape of her neck.

    What followed was merely a simple gesture.

    —Shatter.

    But.

    That was enough.

    Cracks spread through the air, following each joint of his grasping fingers.

    Soon, the crimson background shattered into pieces, and through the opening cracks, a blue sky was revealed layer by layer.

    A landscape where red and blue intermingled.

    It was an indescribable ecstasy.

    Splash splash—.

    The boy approached silently.

    His composed steps walked across the wide ocean.

    He held a woman in his arms.

    She was sleeping with peaceful breaths.

    As if her corrupted appearance had all been a lie, not a trace of darkness remained around the nun.

    Charlotte gazed at the two of them, spellbound.

    ‘How?’

    How on earth did he do it?

    To purify a being tainted by demonic energy.

    It felt like common sense was being shattered.

    Though the girl had experienced many things while chasing after cultists, she had never once heard that such a thing was possible.

    It was something that would only appear in the scriptures.

    ‘I was wrong.’

    Charlotte realized she had been mistaken.

    The back alleys, and the class placement test.

    The boy’s strength she had witnessed then was merely a fraction of his true power.

    The serpent exuded an overwhelming aura.

    As a princess, she had met countless strong individuals—professors, deans, Sword Saints… but it was the first time she had felt such a sense of powerlessness.

    Was this how a creature felt when it stood before God at the dawn of creation?

    ‘Strange.’

    Suddenly, fear welled up, but curiosity took precedence.

    Charlotte didn’t think the boy was bad.

    That was the conclusion she had drawn from observing him so far.

    He wasn’t greedy; he desired nothing. He wasn’t cruel; he was full of mercy. He wasn’t selfish; he didn’t treat others poorly.

    Nor did he exude the terrible stench peculiar to adults.

    However.

    —I just… didn’t want you to get hurt.

    A clean, shining smile.

    A fresh winter scent.

    He possessed an aura of pure innocence.

    Though others didn’t seem to notice, the girl, with her special vision, could fully comprehend.

    Regarding a being who had not forgotten the purity of childhood.

    “……”

    Charlotte gazed silently.

    Unaware of her complex thoughts, the serpent merely approached with calm steps.

    Holding the unconscious woman tenderly in his arms.

    ‘Perhaps.’

    Charlotte found herself thinking.

    Perhaps it might be possible.

    Until now, lacking certainty, she had merely observed, but witnessing a miracle firsthand changed everything.

    A ray of hope shone upon a situation filled with despair.

    ‘That person… he might be able to heal her.’

    Earnestness was palpable in her brief monologue.

    As she replayed that possibility like a plea, a pained voice suddenly reached her ear.

    —Sister.

    The girl wore a rarely seen wavering expression.

    Amidst the gently blowing wind, Charlotte stood.

    ***

    The concert thus concluded.

    Having subdued the sentient phantom, the clear condition, and destroyed the demonic energy that had permeated the surroundings, there were no longer any remaining dangers.

    I carried the limp woman’s body and moved forward.

    “……”

    Medro, whom I had rescued, was unconscious.

    There didn’t seem to be any particular problem; it merely appeared that her stamina had been depleted.

    She would probably wake up after some time.

    Thud thud—.

    I passed through the serene ocean and stepped onto the warm sandy beach once more.

    Someone was waiting for me there.

    A girl with a somewhat vacant gaze.

    Charlotte only snapped out of it belatedly after I spoke to her.

    “Your Highness.”

    “Ah.”

    “Let’s return.”

    “……Okay.”

    The girl quietly nodded.

    We moved towards the door we had originally entered through.

    The girl, who had been walking with a complex expression, then, as if having made up her mind, posed a question to me.

    Her blue eyes were fixed on the woman in my arms.

    “Hey.”

    “Hmm?”

    “That… how did you do it?”

    “You’re referring to Miss Medro, I presume.”

    She seemed to have been quite shocked.

    Well, of course.

    It was likely her first time seeing something like this.

    Anyone who had even slightly researched demonic energy would know how absurd the notion of purifying a sentient phantom was.

    It was something theoretically impossible.

    What I had just shown was nothing short of a miracle, transcending all principles and concepts.

    It would have been stranger not to be surprised.

    Charlotte muttered softly.

    Though she was usually a person whose emotions weren’t easily expressed, this time, it was clear at a glance that she was agitated.

    I, however, maintained my composure as I replied.

    “Let’s discuss it later. First, isn’t it more important to get out of here?”

    I had subdued the conductor’s sentient phantom.

    Since I had shattered the core of the domain, this space would collapse soon.

    My output was also running low, and getting trapped in a collapsing domain would create a lot of trouble.

    Even if I were to explain, getting out of here was the priority.

    Though it was a suggestion made for that reason, Charlotte seemed to think I was avoiding the answer.

    The girl obediently nodded and said,

    “Alright… if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t ask.”

    “That’s not what I meant.”

    “Don’t worry. I don’t want to fall out of your favor either.”

    “Hmm.”

    She seemed to be misunderstanding something, but it was better that she cleanly backed off like this.

    After all, it wasn’t something I could properly explain anyway.

    The serpent and the little princess.

    The two of them simply walked side by side across the sandy beach.

    As we reached the threshold leading out of the domain, the first one to greet us was none other than Irene.

    The girl was waiting, crouching nearby.

    “Ah.”

    Her eyes met mine, and the fox perked up her ears.

    Light entered her dim pupils.

    Irene immediately ran over and took the unconscious Medro’s body from me.

    Even as she did so, she asked about my well-being.

    “You weren’t hurt, were you?”

    “I’m perfectly fine.”

    “You didn’t overdo it again, did you?”

    “Well, this time it was an easy success. It wasn’t particularly dangerous, so you don’t need to worry.”

    “In that case, I’m relieved.”

    Had she been anxious while waiting?

    The fox nodded, yet she couldn’t stop circling me for a while.

    It was as if she was checking whether I had been injured.

    Should I say her reaction was commendable?

    As I quietly stroked her head, the other members who had been standing behind us also approached.

    As expected, Neria was the first to speak.

    “You’ve worked hard, Master-nim.”

    “Vice-Commander.”

    “The situation in the basement has also been resolved. All survivors have been transferred to the hospital under Astro’s direct control, and the young mutated beings you ordered to be isolated have been sent to headquarters.”

    “Have you identified the number of fatalities?”

    “Of course. A total of 128 priests died in this attack, 37 survived, and 23 mutated beings have been isolated.”

    “Many… have died.”

    I had a bitter taste in my mouth.

    I seemed to fall into melancholy for a moment, but I shook it off and took command of the situation.

    It was still a moment when I needed to remain alert.

    “For now, let’s clean up the area. The sun will be rising soon. We must leave before anyone outside discovers anything unusual.”

    “As you wish.”

    Immediately after, the members moved busily.

    I calmly took a breath and moved out of the basement.

    ***

    I said we would clean up the area, but it didn’t hold much special meaning.

    It was already a ruined space from the cultists’ attack.

    There was no particular need to erase our traces.

    Because of the lingering, terrible demonic energy, it would be difficult to discern anything properly anyway.

    What we had cleaned up was none other than the corpses.

    “……”

    At the center of the cathedral.

    Below the upright cross, those who had met their demise were sleeping.

    White shrouds covered the neatly laid out victims.

    One by one, lives were put to rest.

    I stood blankly, watching it all.

    ‘So many.’

    There were so many people I couldn’t save.

    A full one hundred and twenty-eight people.

    Realizing anew the weight carried by that number, I let out a sigh I hadn’t been able to release.

    My calm breath drifted on the scent of blood.

    ‘It’s like this every time.’

    It was the same feeling every time.

    I saved people.

    I prevented an incident that could have turned into a catastrophe.

    I acted like a hero saving the world.

    But even so, the people I couldn’t save to the very end always secretly bothered me.

    Perhaps it was due to a lingering, foolish desire.

    ‘I can’t save everyone.’

    I knew that.

    Because I wasn’t God.

    I wasn’t omniscient enough to see through everything, nor omnipotent enough to achieve everything.

    The future I could see was limited to only what I knew from the original work.

    The miracles I could perform were limited by my given output.

    That’s why I couldn’t prevent every tragedy.

    No matter how outstanding, a mere human cannot transcend their own abilities.

    If so.

    ‘Next time.’

    I can only vow.

    To achieve better results next time.

    To notice sooner, move appropriately, respond wisely, and save more people.

    This time was no different.

    “……”

    I stood silently, replaying my thoughts.

    As time passed like that, a girl approached my side.

    Platinum-blonde hair swayed with her steps.

    Her blue eyes gazed at me with a quiet look.

    It was Charlotte.

    “……Your Highness.”

    “Yes.”

    The girl stood parallel to me.

    She had said she would look around the basement a bit more, and it seemed she had just come up to the surface.

    Charlotte, who had been silent for a moment, soon spoke.

    “I’m indebted to you. Thanks to you, we were able to find the missing people.”

    “It was nothing.”

    “I’ll handle the aftermath here. Even though the incident is over, there are all sorts of troublesome procedures left. My authority should be enough to resolve them quickly.”

    “The surviving priests will be protected by our side for the time being.”

    “Yes. That would be good. If there are survivors in a branch they thought they had annihilated, the cultists would probably find it suspicious.”

    “They truly are troublesome things.”

    “Indeed.”

    Charlotte gave her characteristic matter-of-fact reply.

    As we exchanged opinions on the aftermath, the sun slowly began to rise outside the window.

    It was time to return to headquarters.

    “Well then… I’ll be going now.”

    I turned my back with a light farewell.

    The members had already finished tidying up and were waiting.

    Just as I was about to step towards them, Charlotte’s hand suddenly moved and grabbed my sleeve.

    I turned around.

    “Excuse me.”

    “Your Highness?”

    “I have something to ask of you.”

    “What is it?”

    It felt somewhat out of the blue, but I quietly listened to the girl’s words.

    She had seemed to be observing me, gauging my reaction, for a while now.

    It appeared she had something to say.

    Was it important?

    Charlotte hesitated for a while, then, as if having made up her mind, parted her lips.

    The girl’s voice was rarely heard to tremble.

    “I need help.”

    “Hmm?”

    “You… you might be able to save me.”

    Her blue eyes blinked.

    Beyond her transparent pupils, only my reflection was perfectly visible.

    Her faint pink lips pleaded softly.

    “Please… save us.”

    “……”

    After hearing the girl’s words, I remained frozen for a while.

    The corners of my lips twitched faintly.

    I covered my mouth with my palm.

    And then, with an ominously stretched smile, I thought.

    Chewing on the thrill that coursed down my spine.

    ‘Just as I thought.’

    She took the bait.

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