Chapter 55

〈 Chapter 55 〉 Reunion

*

“Stop stalling! Write it quickly!”

“Ah, don’t rush me····.”

Apis wanted me to return to the party.

I didn’t want to meet the Hero.

In the process of trying to find a compromise, we ultimately decided that I would need a valid reason to formally inform the Hero in writing that I would be leaving the party.

If the Hero understands, we part ways without any lingering feelings.

If he doesn’t, I would have to face him directly to discuss it again.

Being generally unlucky, I made it a rule not to gamble on uncertain outcomes.

Do not run away.

Maybe Apis’s sharp reprimand dulled my judgment.

In the end, I accepted Apis’s proposal.

“But why is she doing that?”

Apis pointed somewhere with her chin.

There lay a Sister, sprawled on the ground, carelessly scattered with her possessions as if she had just vomited out some items.

She had been like that ever since Ranobel the Priest had left.

It was a painful sight, but all I could do for her now was to keep her as far from the window as possible.

The humiliation of her current state was hers to bear alone.

“Oh Lord····. How could you give me such a trial····.”

It was quite a struggle to pretend I didn’t hear the Sister’s mournful voice that slightly dampened my ears.

“Apis, it’s better to just leave her alone at times····.”

Just then, as I was trying to redirect my attention back to the writing paper in front of me, a chill swept over my consciousness as if all the blood in my body had frozen.

Thud!

Immediately afterward, I felt a fierce vibration that shook the very world, and my body leaned sharply toward the floor.

“Gah!”

Luckily, just in time, I managed to grab the chair with my hand, preventing a disaster of toppling over.

However, within my mind, saturated with an unprecedented sense of crisis, there was no room left for any relief that my body was safe.

“Apis!”

“I know!”

When I called out Apis’s name, she was already perked up, her characteristic elongated elf ears twitching, intently watching the situation outside the window.

Her nimble movements resembled those of a cat watching its prey.

Even while observing the situation from a distance, her hands rested firmly on her bow and arrows.

It was not difficult to guess that she was in an extreme state of tension, just like me.

“Dammit…”

Apis, who had grasped the situation before me, suddenly cursed under her breath.

Late to comprehend the situation, I almost cursed too, but all I managed was to share her sense of unease.

A miniature replica of a huge city.

At that moment, an alien sight overwhelmed my vision, like a building densely painted with black crayon just shoved into the scene.

It felt as if dark night, hiding from the dazzling sun, was stretching out its inky hands toward the vast sky like oil bubbling up from the ground.

Yes, it was as if…

The shadow was trying to swallow the sun.

“Sister, please secure this area immediately, and call back the High Priests who are out!”

“W-What is happening…?”

Did she catch on to the seriousness of the situation from my unusually grave tone?

The Sister, her troubled heart obvious, quickly steadied herself and asked me uneasily.

It didn’t take long for her expression to change to one of horror as she heard my answer.

“It seems a dungeon has opened····.”

◈◈◈

I rushed through the crowded streets filled with countless people to reach the place I had glimpsed just moments ago.

The epicenter of the shocking event, where the black pillar had appeared out of nowhere.

“Hero! Dawna! Bigtim!”

Without time to catch my breath, Apis suddenly called out the names of our comrades with a desperate look on her face.

Her earnest voice was directed toward the huge black pillar that had swallowed a building whole.

If my memory serves correctly, that building was definitely a well-known inn for travelers in the vicinity.

As my ominous hypothesis began to flesh out, my face grew more and more pale.

“Apis! Is that true!? That all our party members were staying here!”

I intended to calmly inquire about the situation, but for some reason, my words came out charged with raw emotion.

“Priest···.”

The Sister, who had come with us, flinched as if frightened by my demeanor, but before I could continue to speak, it happened.

“Ahh!”

“Look over there! There’s still someone near that black thing!”

“Someone hurry and call a Priest!”

As the terrified crowd huddled together and pointed somewhere, there lay a giant man, forlornly sprawled out, cradling a smaller figure in his arms.

“Bigtim!”

There was no need to determine who moved first.

The unknown, dangerous structure could pose any number of threats.

To approach someone laying among the risk of an unidentified entity was an act fraught with danger.

Even a slight hesitation would be unpunished in such a situation.

But neither I nor Apis exhibited even a trace of doubt.

“Priest!”

I shook off the Sister’s hand, which tried to prevent my reckless behavior, and rushed over to my unconscious comrade.

“Bigtim! Hey! Are you alright!? What is this···!”

“Step aside! Apis!”

Thankfully, he still seemed to be alive.

However, seeing the anxious look on Apis’s face as she checked Bigtim’s condition, it was obvious he was in serious trouble requiring urgent intervention.

“Bigtim! Can you hear me!?”

“Ugh···.”

“This, this is····!”

The person Bigtim was holding was the unconscious Dawna.

It seemed clear he had tried to protect her from whatever menace was associated with that black pillar.

But right now, there was a more urgent matter at hand to deal with.

We had to set aside trivial things like the order of events for the moment.

“Quick! Hurry!”

“O Lord. I am your finger. A mere lamb. Under your authority, I grant peace to all things on this earth. All glory shall be dedicated to you.”

With Apis urgently urging me from behind, I quickly began to chant my prayer.

Bigtim and Dawna both had black spots marked on their bodies, and there was no need to mention what they were.

A curse.

No, a rather high-density curse.

Although not as impervious to all poisons as my sister, Bigtim was nonetheless a top-tier tank with strong resistance to all kinds of toxins and curses.

Yet for him to be in such dire straits from a curse…

I needed to focus all my attention on my prayer.

It was truly unfortunate that even a fleeting thought about the source of the curse sent chills down my spine.

Fortunately, unlike Bigtim’s critical state, the curse on Dawna was not as severe.

Surely, it was thanks to Bigtim having thrown himself to protect her.

What a stroke of good fortune.

It’s one thing to heal ordinary wounds, but diseases or curses that have penetrated the body are tough to heal all at once in multiple people.

I had worried about Dawna being in just as severe a condition as Bigtim.

But if Dawna’s curse was at this level, it seemed quite possible to cure Bigtim’s curse while simultaneously treating Dawna’s.

“How, how is it! Can I save them!?”

“Don’t talk! I’m concentrating right now.”

So, ignoring Apis’s urging, I devoted myself to my prayer.

Then, a very reasonable question flashed in my mind.

I was pretty sure I’d already used today’s prayer when I treated Apis’s broken hand····.

“Ugh!”

“Bigtim!”

“Bigtim! Are you okay…?”

Just then…

Before my questions could even take shape, Bigtim, covered in black stains, grimaced and let out a moan filled with pain.

The familiar scene recalling a memory from somewhere, thrust a heavy line of the past, long buried in oblivion, into my retina.

“Who are you! What did you do to my brother!?”

Forget prayer; it felt as if I might stop breathing entirely as a vision pierced through my brow.

But I shook my head fiercely, trying to rid myself of the disruptive thoughts tangled in my mind.

“Sis····.”

“Bigtim! Are you alright!? Are you coming to!?”

“Bigtim! You don’t have to talk! No, don’t say a word!”

At that moment, Bigtim, having regained his senses, parted his parched lips.

“Sis… Sis is still inside…”

It was right after that.

My bewildered gaze turned toward the black pillar.

*