Inside the temple, surrounded by ornate stained glass.
An elderly man in ceremonial robes and a woman with her hood pulled low over her face were engaged in conversation.
"This is the full report"
"Hm... is that so? It was good to make the believer use the 'Horn of Fury,' but there are still many regrettable aspects. Which sister conducted the investigation?"
"Regret? Ha! I went myself, you bastard. Got a problem with that?"
The hooded woman grabbed the old man by the collar.
"Haha. No, not at all. I just hoped you'd return with more knowledge of the beast's weaknesses."
"I told you more than once—it sensed me! It was unavoidable. And don't you think it's crazy? Even though I was at least 300 meters away, it still noticed me."
The woman released his collar, clicking her tongue.
"Anyway, she's no ordinary one. You said she wasn't even mentioned in the prophecy. And to top it off, she's always holding hands with that precious priestess of yours, so curse magic won't work on her. They never let go of each other. What a nuisance."
"That's true. In that case, we have no choice. I'll send Sister Sharan to take care of the rest."
"Sharan? What's that weakling gonna do? That beast, even after slaying thousands of monsters, could kill Sharan in an instant."
The old man chuckled quietly.
"Sister Sharan's faintest breeze is more than enough to subdue the beast."
"Fine, do what you want. I'm leaving. Who knows what kind of nonsense the elders will come up with next…"
"Hahaha. There's nothing I can do about the Tower. Good luck, Sister @$!&%#."
"Sister my ass. You piece of shit."
Flipping her middle finger, the woman vanished, leaving behind a faint trace of magic.
"At least we learned of the beast's existence early," the man left alone in the temple muttered to himself.
With a grin that seemed to tear his face, he looked skyward and prayed.
"All for the sake of Erden."
* * * *
The chaos in Roholan was quelled.
By the girl, the one who now lay asleep in my arms.
Her body was in ruins. Her equipment was in tatters.
She had charged into the horde of monsters.
Even as her arm twisted, her leg broke, and blood burst from every part of her body.
She continued slaying monsters, unfazed.
We, too, cut through the endless waves of beasts, all to reach Noah.
But we never made it.
No matter how many we killed, more appeared to block our path.
And by the time Noah's breaths grew shallow, by the time the monsters stopped rising…
It was only after the sun had risen.
That's when we saw her.
Noah, standing, blood flowing from her entire body, swaying on her feet.
She kept swinging the hilt of a blade, now devoid of form.
Tears burst forth from me.
I tried to rush over and hold her.
But Noah kept swinging.
She didn't even notice me approaching. She didn't even realize the monsters were all dead.
She kept swinging, over and over, endlessly.
I carefully avoided her arms and embraced her.
Only then did she seem to relax.
Her body loosened, and she smiled faintly.
She wiped my tears away.
Not with the twisted, terrified expression she had before the fight.
But with that reliable smile she'd given me earlier, telling me not to blame myself.
And with the same strong voice, the one that had once told me she would protect me forever.
Even now, in this broken state, she wanted to reassure me.
She wasn't afraid anymore. Her face wasn't twisted anymore.
And that made my chest feel like it was being torn apart.
I poured divine power into Noah.
I knew it wouldn't make a difference. I knew she wouldn't heal quickly.
But I wished for her to rest a little easier, to suffer a little less.
"Her condition... it's severe."
A deep, somber voice, unlike his usual light-hearted tone, came from Heinzel as he approached.
"Just what kind of person is she?" Luchi, filled with some unknown anger, also came over.
The murmurs of the villagers surrounded us.
Still, even now, there were voices.
Ungrateful voices.
Voices asking why she hadn't done this from the start, as if it were that easy.
Voices blaming us adventurers for their troubles.
I grit my teeth. My hands trembled.
I wanted to strangle them right there.
But... these were the people Noah had protected, even at the cost of her life.
I couldn't do it.
"I admit I was wrong, but... this treatment is... too much."
"If you cause a scene here... it'll only cause more headaches for Noah and the rest of us, right?"
"Don't spout nonsense, Heinzel."
Luchi and Heinzel, seemingly of the same mind, glared at the villagers with gritted teeth.
"Sigh... Miss Priestess, take this."
At that moment, Luchi pulled a glass vial filled with purple liquid from his coat.
"It's an elixir."
When he revealed its identity, my jaw dropped.
"W-What...?"
An elixir.
The miraculous liquid said to be able to revive even the dead, created by a single alchemist in the entire world.
Said to heal all wounds and promote growth—an artifact of the gods.
I'd never seen one in person, even after becoming a priestess. I'd only heard of it in rumors.
And now, this legendary elixir was in Luchi's hands.
But…
"N-No, Noah's condition... it's severe, but with my divine power—"
"No. The external injuries aside, the internal damage is beyond repair."
Luchi cut me off, kneeling down on one knee.
"This is similar to last time... but I'll explain again. This kid overused her senses. Did you see how she was swinging that greatsword?"
"Y-Yes... I saw..."
"Her movements were incredibly light. The sword never stopped, even after all that time. It didn't catch on the bones or the muscles of the beasts. Do you know what that means?"
I shook my head.
"She cut through only the weakest points of the beasts"
Luchi pulled over the arm of an orc lying on the ground.
"Take a look at this."
Then he drew his sword and cut through the arm.
"See how it gets stuck? Now, watch…"
He studied the arm for a while before swinging his sword again.
"Look here. This part cut cleanly. Noah only sliced through parts like this. She analyzed each weak point with her senses. Similar to before, but even more extreme this time."
"T-Then... the aftereffects…"
"She should've had her brain burned out, her head should've exploded, or she should be in a vegetative state... Instead, her organs have slowly melted, she lost more blood than she needed to survive, and even her brain is slightly damaged. Can you heal these wounds?"
Luchi handed me the elixir.
All I could do was nod silently and take it.
"Thank... thank you. I swear on the name of the priestess... no, on the name of Rubia, that I will repay this favor."
"It's fine. I didn't give it to you expecting anything in return. It's useless otherwise."
With that, Luchi stood and began inspecting his equipment.
I carefully opened the vial and slowly poured the elixir into Noah's mouth.
Noah's body quickly regained warmth, and her skin started to regain color.
"The effects... they're incredible."
Her pulse returned to normal, and her wounds healed rapidly.
It was far faster than my own healing powers.
"If I hadn't stolen it from that old man, we would've been in real trouble. Haha... Let's get inside and rest. I'm not sure if there's anywhere to stay, though."
"Even if we don't have a place, the kid needs to be somewhere comfortable. Hmm... this is probably the best option."
Heinzel raised his fist after scratching his head.
"N-No, I'll find us lodging. I'm still a priestess, after all. I'll manage something."
I carefully lifted Noah and stood up.
"Noah's equipment is in bad shape, though. We'll need to order a new greatsword as well."
Luchi picked up Noah's broken gear in my stead.
As we headed toward the blacksmith's, Luchi suddenly furrowed his brow.
"Priestess, are you sure the barrier is holding?"
"Yes. Once it's up, it stays until I dispel it. Why do you ask?"
"Something feels off with the wind. I just thought I'd check. If it's fine, let's hurry. I'm starving."
"Hm? I don't have a single hair on my head, so I can't feel anything."
"Pfft—Ahem. I'm sorry."
I couldn't help but laugh at Heinzel's ridiculous comment.
I'd always thought of him as just a little strange before.
But after seeing him fight those monsters...
I realized he was only making jokes to lighten the mood.
Luchi and Heinzel were both genuinely good people.
And Noah, lying in my arms, was the same.
I should thank them properly.
They had promised to protect us at least until we crossed the Mountains, if not all the way to Cartia.
Just as I was about to offer my thanks with a smile…
"Priestess! Unleash your divine power!"
Luchi's shout echoed out.
"Protect the kid!"
Heinzel's roar followed.
And then.
A strange wind swept through Roholan.
A horrifying beast's howl filled the air.
The suffocating pressure of death surrounded us.
"What is this…"
And then.
Luchi uttered words that should never have been spoken.
With a voice filled with endless malice.
A voice soaked in fear.
"Karpeng has awakened!"