“Damn it!”
By the time he shouted and shoved the kids, it was already too late. Even before that, his vision flipped upside down—
—and the surrounding environment changed dramatically.
Of course, none of that mattered to Matthew, who was already airborne, and since the kids were in front of him, he couldn’t prevent them from hitting the ground collectively.
Not a kitchen floor with tatami mats, but dirt.
“Kyah!”
One of the girls let out such a cry as she fell.
Matthew hurriedly got up. And found a horde of beasts filling his view.
“What the—”
He could tell right away that the place they were inside was a magic point, but he never expected it to have this kind of function. Space jumping? Such a thing had only been tentatively mentioned in research labs of prestigious universities recently. At the very least, there was no technology in human society to manipulate magic in that way.
Was there another function apart from simply creating beasts and demons?
Well, it was the demon kin who had opened dimensional gates to invade the world after all.
The army of monsters was moving in one direction, seemingly to attack at a tremendous speed.
“Keyeeek!”
As a four-legged, deformed leopard-like beast lunged at him, he immediately drew the handgun he always carried and blew its head off. Not a simple police pistol, but a large-caliber firearm loaded with enchanted bullets.
The high-caliber bullet that entered the monster’s head lodged right into its brain, cooking it from the inside out. The blunt .50 caliber round had relatively less penetrating power compared to a rifle round, but it excelled at delivering kinetic energy to the target and stopping it.
“Everyone grab your weapons! We need to escape quickly!”
Shouting, Matthew shot another beast rushing from the other direction. Right in front of him, the magic point was pulsating. He was in a life-and-death situation before he could even unleash his holy power to annihilate it due to the monsters pouring in. Getting out of this situation was the priority.
Besides, the presence of a magic point meant they were outside the city—
Whiiing—Boom!
Yes, it meant they were in a war zone where bombs could rain down at any moment. A bomb or artillery shell exploded far away, sending a massive cloud of dust shooting up into the sky.
With a thud, thud, pieces of torn monsters and demons fell among the scattering debris.
“What are you all doing?! Run!”
Matthew grabbed Miss Lowell by the arm, who had been sitting dumbfounded on the ground after falling.
“Raise your weapons!”
Everyone scrambled to pull out weapons from their cases.
They ran! That way!
In reality, he just picked a direction based on instinct. Surely there would be people where the beasts were running.
Going the opposite way would only meet more beasts.
Only then did the students seem to snap out of it and start running. They were faster than he had initially worried. Pretty decent for first years—
Boom!
But let’s think about that later.
The place where the bomb fell this time was a bit closer. Not a promising sign. It meant they were zeroing in. Not good news for human beings, right?
While deliberately running from the back, Matthew shot beasts charging at the kids. They didn’t seem to be in complete panic either. The beasts Matthew couldn’t cover were taken down by arrows from magic bows or slashed by swords.
With a repeated thud, thud, the sound of falling bombs started to increase. Moreover, the sound grew closer. The vibration felt from the ground was such that if it weren’t for the explosive sounds, one could easily mistake it for an earthquake.
Will we make it out alive?
Feeling a chill run down his spine as he sped up, he noticed a tree with fluorescent ribbons tied to it. And another one spaced a bit behind it. Someone was clearly marking a path.
“Trees! Follow the marked trees!”
He wasn’t sure if they heard him due to the explosions, but they seemed to catch on. Everyone dashed between the trees. Smart kids.
Honestly, it wasn’t a great idea to be doing this, but they all seemed quite talented.
Miss Lowell was hopping lightly as if flying, managing to take longer strides than she appeared to be. Lady Rechmir dashed between the trees with two daggers in hand, crouching slightly forward like an elven scout. Of course, he had only heard about it in stories.
The student named Lee Ji-An sprinted like a champ, leading the charge and smoothly slicing apart the beasts in front of him. The areas touched by his sword split the monsters cleanly in two, and they fell without resistance.
Were the girls not shocked at his ability because they trusted him that much, or did they have no time to be shocked?
Whiiing— Soon, he could hear the sound of falling bombs. And the explosions were much larger than before. He felt the shockwave and stumbled momentarily.
The rate and volume of the artillery falling continued to increase. It would probably keep going until this area was flattened completely. While crushing the beasts rushing in as well.
Thinking sorry for the kids running ahead.
After all, this was just to follow the address he had.
It felt like they were heading for a certain death. If it continued like this, the corpses wouldn’t even be found, and they would be considered missing.
Of course, he never imagined this would happen.
Even with all these negative thoughts, his body was honest, and in a frenzy to survive, he dashed forward. In the midst of that, he saw Lee Ji-An, who was at the very front, suddenly turn around and stop.
“Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up and run!”
He shouted, thinking that maybe he was giving up for a moment, but the boy’s expression didn’t show that he had given up. The girls trailing behind also stopped, looking toward Lee Ji-An.
Lee Ji-An was looking to the sky while tightly gripping a heavy bastard sword with both hands.
Whiiing, the sound of falling bombs could be heard. It was practically right above his head.
Then, the boy swung his sword.
So fast it was almost invisible.
Something, like an invisible wave, shot straight up to the sky like the shockwave he felt when the bomb exploded earlier.
And that shockwave split whatever was rapidly descending from above in half.
Boom-, as if it was an incredibly dangerous firework, the bomb that had been split in half exploded in the air. No debris fell toward them.
“What…?”
Matthew stood there agape, watching the scene unfold. The stunned girls looked just as shocked. No matter how much they knew about his skills, seeing something like this was undeniably surprising.
“He sliced the bomb in half with a sword technique…?”
*
“Now that’s proper artillery support.”
And while riding a warhorse, Andrea murmured as they moved away from the forest.
“I suppose, after all, it was personally requested by the leader of the Knights.”
The knight who heard Andrea’s murmuring replied.
Andrea was the head of the Inquisition and also the commander of the knights under her command. It wouldn’t be easy to completely ignore Andrea’s requests during military operations.
Of course, a request made without grounds would simply be rejected, but this time they had granted it because it was a request for artillery support while the monsters were on the move in large numbers. Even if there was no magic point, it was essential to deal with the horde of beasts coming in.
Although the status of the Inquisition has diminished considerably compared to hundreds of years ago, the weight of its name hadn’t lightened.
“Let’s retreat and organize our formations. And bring back Sisters Clara—”
At that moment, a distant bang echoed faintly from far away.
“Huh?”
Andrea instinctively turned her head to look back at the forest. Monsters were crawling out of the forest while their heads were being blown off by long-range sniper rifles from afar.
Had she been mistaken? But the sound was clearly coming from that direction.
“Is there someone left behind?”
“None. We checked the numbers before departing.”
That made sense. Andrea had checked herself. It had been done hastily, but still…
But a gunshot?
Monsters don’t use guns. Saying that they ‘don’t’ dismisses every potential, but at least until now, demons that utilized the sheer destructive weapons created by humans hadn’t been observed.
Even when retreating, there had been stories floating around regarding monsters and demons who didn’t utilize the weapons they had left behind. The most likely theory was that most weapons contained magical seals or enchanted bullets.
But even if a demon that could use weapons had appeared for the first time, it was still peculiar. There were no humans in that forest. Normally, there were rarely any people beyond the front line.
Even if a monster shot a gun, what would it shoot at in the empty air where no enemies existed?
“Was there a reconnaissance team that departed before us?”
“There wasn’t. I confirmed this point before we left.”
A puzzled knight answered. Since Andrea was present, he knew it was true.
Bang, bang, the sound of gunfire repeated. Amidst the booming sounds of falling shells.
The sound of the giants falling was distinctly different from the sound of the high-caliber sniper rifle.
“Ah.”
After hearing the consecutive gunshots, the knight seemed to finally understand.
“Could there be humans?”
“Not sure.”
By now, the knights, who had been racing forward, were gradually slowing down.
“Should we go check?”
The knight spoke in a desperate tone. Going back to where the shells were raining down was synonymous with asking for death. Moreover, there was no way they would cease artillery fire for a few uncertain gunshots.
Without artillery, the monsters would emerge again, and heading into that situation would be a suicide mission.
The forest was already quite distant.
“For now, one person should go and call for reinforcements. There should already be a protocol for magic point annihilation. Bring Sister Clara back too. The rest will stay here. Maintain a safe distance and watch the situation, and if any survivors emerge, rescue them.”
“Yes!”
Without needing to discuss who should go or stay, they smoothly divided into roles. After all, this was what they had trained for since childhood, from seedlings to apprentice knights.
“If there are survivors there, is it possible to escape?”
“We can only hope.”
Of course, Andrea thought that even if there were survivors, the chances of escaping would be slim.
“Are there really humans…?”
It was the voice of another knight. A voice filled with uncertainty.
“Even if they misheard, there’s no harm in being careful.”
Once the bombardment ends, they could see for themselves, but seeing wouldn’t guarantee there was something to be seen. It would be nice if they could at least find a piece of clothing.
“If so—”
Before the knight could finish his sentence,
Boom, something exploded in the air.
It was the sound of a bomb exploding.
It wouldn’t be strange for a bomb to explode in the air. There were types of shells and bombs designed to do just that.
But, Andrea, having trained ceaselessly, instinctively judged that was not the case.
The bomb descending from the sky was clearly being sliced in half unnaturally. The bomb that was falling was too fast to see, but when it was split in half and opened up to both sides, it slowed down enough that it could not be missed.
No, it didn’t merely split; it appeared to hit something transparent before tearing apart.
“What…?”
Andrea, for the first time in several years, found herself questioning her own eyes.
And as if she hadn’t seen incorrectly, she witnessed the bomb falling from the sky getting hit and torn apart.
This time, she saw it clearly.
Somewhere in the forest, a shockwave had split the falling bomb in half.
The shockwave was fan-shaped. It generated so quickly that it seemed to have formed that way, but observing closely, she realized that it originated from an invisible force swinging rapidly from right to left, or left to right.
Andrea had seen that shape once before.
It was from the sword of the mentor who had guided her during her childhood.
…Of course, the range was nothing compared to what it was now.
“What…?”
Andrea stood there, mouth agape for the first time in a long while.
“He sliced the bomb in half with a sword technique…?”
*
As she hurriedly treated casualties in the infirmary, time slipped away quickly.
No, to be precise, it had long since passed noon. The designated downtime ended at six o’clock, meaning it was now only half an hour until the end of that time.
Did I eat lunch?
She thought she did. She vaguely remembered stuffing something in her mouth and then returning to work, but specifics were a blur.
In fact, treating the majority of the patients didn’t require much effort. As long as they had their limbs intact, or even if they were missing limbs but not yet necrotic, she could heal them with her own abilities. Of course, recreating lost limbs was a matter for the divine.
Holy power is a fragment of great miracles. Had she set that as part of her background? It seemed like people here didn’t think that way, since it was far too common.
However, at least the way the people in this base viewed her was different.
Actually, treating the existing patients hadn’t taken more than an hour. While there were indeed serious injuries, many had been injured in battles against demons and beasts. Even when categorized as minor injuries by this base, there were quite a few that appeared severe to her.
As long as limbs weren’t missing, everyone had healed cleanly. Her holy power alone was sufficient.
The issue was that the word had spread to the adjacent camp that she was treating patients effectively.
It was reported back almost instantly. While it wasn’t directed to her, an officer had rushed down from the base headquarters saying,
“Sister, would you be able to treat the injured from another camp if they are brought over?”
He spoke earnestly.
If they were classified as injured, she thought it would be better for her to just go, but upon hearing the officer’s explanation, she understood. Simply put, it would be more efficient for patients to move rather than for the hospital to keep moving around.
Even in places with well-crafted communications, confusion was inevitable whenever hospitals moved around endlessly. Plus, she had not been performing treatment in multiple rounds; she had done what she could do right on the spot. The results were that patients often ended up completely fine.
In scenarios where patients were severely injured but limbs intact, treatment was only problematic when they were missing limbs, and there were cases where the internal organs were damaged or infections were critical. In such cases, treatment was a whole different matter, assuming that the organs were all attached.
Therefore, she nodded her head in consent.
The officer’s face brightened instantly before he dashed back to the base headquarters.
A little while later, helicopters began to land one after another at the helicopter pad.
The patients’ injuries varied.
Some had their stomachs torn open, others had limbs missing, faces mangled, or were so grievously cut that without immediate treatment they would soon die.
All were severely injured.
After waiting for the helicopters to finish landing, she climbed aboard. Ignoring the soldiers trying to unload the patients, she immediately treated them and unloaded them. The officer standing nearby signaled for takeoff, while the pilot looked on in bewilderment.
There had also been cases when the transport helicopter arrived filled with patients. Again, she interrupted the soldiers trying to offload them, treated the patients, and only then signaled for takeoff.
Yes, holy power was incredibly convenient.
It was true that in most cases of severe injuries, it was often impossible to treat them all at once. No matter how talented or devoted to the divine someone was in holy magic, there were limits to holy power, so most cases required multiple treatments over time while keeping the patients alive.
If a patient couldn’t receive care when another patient arrived, things could turn serious. That was why holy water was often used too.
But those conventional rules didn’t hold much weight for her.
Despite appearances, she was a munchkin personally scouted by the goddess in this world. While she may not have trained in swordsmanship and thus couldn’t utilize munchkin-like physical abilities, she could still bludgeon her way through if necessary.
Whether it was a helicopter landing nearby, an ambulance that drove in urgently, or a truck in extreme cases.
As she continued treating the patients arriving in flurries through all methods, time flowed forward rapidly. She had long since lost track of how many she had treated.
Around half past five, the last truck arrived. The person aboard had deep wounds, likely from a massive beast. After promptly treating him, she sent him back.
“That should be the last of it.”
The government officer standing next to her said with an expression of apparent fatigue. It wasn’t directed at her, but she had overheard him grumbling from around three o’clock, “No way we’re sending this many…” She didn’t mind.
“Is all the patients accounted for?”
“No…”
The officer started to say that, but then,
“Yes, that last patient is indeed the last.”
He suspiciously changed his tune.
She felt something was off, but decided to let it slide for now. She couldn’t dictate orders to the military at her whim. Honestly, considering how close it was to the end of their designated time, the officer should get some rest too.
“…Are you not tired?”
Aurora, who had been watching nearby, asked.
Um— to be honest, she was a bit fatigued. While holy power didn’t consume physical stamina, getting in and out of helicopters, cars, and so forth drained her. She had even hit her head a few times climbing in too hastily.
Still, overall, it was less exhausting than her sparring sessions with Rina.
“I’m fine. More importantly,”
Grrrroooowl.
Well, regardless of whether she was tired or not, feeling hungry was unavoidable at this hour.
“Is the cafeteria still open?”
As she asked the officer, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, it’s not so much that it’s open, but I believe it just opened. Allow me to lead you there.”
Somehow it felt burdensome to have someone who appeared to be five years older than her from the original world speaking to her so formally.
And that burden only grew upon arriving at the cafeteria.
As soon as the soldiers and church personnel seated in the cafeteria saw her enter, they instantly jumped up and started clapping.
…It seemed the news of her activities that day had already spread throughout the entire base.
Ella took her hand and, with her big eyes shining with tears, said, “Thank you, Sister.”
“Ah, no, I was just doing what I had to do…”
Hearing Matthew’s reply, Ella seemed even more moved.
She had intended to ask Linnea and Aurora for help, but both of them were looking at her as if they were seeing someone far away, so it didn’t seem they could be of much assistance.
…How on Earth should she wrap up this situation?
While she racked her brains for a solution, Boom, something loud echoed from far away. It sounded like the blast she’d heard when entering that morning. Probably artillery fire.
But this time, it wasn’t just a single round.
Boom, boom, boom, the sounds of artillery fire echoed consecutively.
Something had clearly been discovered beyond the wall.
It might be a horde of beasts or possibly a magic point. Whichever it was, there was no way they could receive it in a peaceful atmosphere.
The sound of applause died in an instant, and everyone’s faces filled with tension.
This camp was just a few steps away from the battlefield. Moreover, the magic point had been observed years ago.
It would make sense for them all to be tenser than usual.
Andrea’s predictions were coming true. Whether it was a coincidence or something that was meant to be after she arrived here was something to ponder over, but it could only lead to frustrations.
Due to the sudden silence, the officer, who had been holding the radio up to his shoulder, suddenly heard static crackling that reached her.
With a serious expression, he shifted slightly at a distance where it became hard for her to hear.
Well, in reality, she was more of a civilian volunteer than a military personnel. Still, it felt a bit disappointing. It would have been easier to pinpoint where the witch was if she were more in tune with the information.
“…Understood. Over.”
The officer finished his radio message with a stern expression, then continued the same expression as he walked toward her. With each step closer, worry seemed to deepen on his face.
Clearing his throat, he finally said, “Sister Anderson.”
He addressed her with a serious tone.
She realized she could guess what he was about to say.
“…It seems a magic point has been discovered. Would you be able to assist…?”
Before the officer could finish, he noticed how fiercely Ella was glaring at him and clamped his mouth shut. It wasn’t that bad of an outburst anyway.
“Yes, I will help.”
Well, it was already agreed upon in advance.
Just in case, she summoned a small amount of holy power in her hands. There was still plenty left. Despite having expended so much on the people earlier in the day, she felt she could still manage.
This was quite the fortuitous turn up.
To lure out the witch, obliterating the joint artifact of the witch and the demon kin while going solo could indeed be an ideal strategy.
“Let’s eat after we’re back. Aurora, Linnea, I’ll be fine alone.”
Though of course, she wasn’t genuinely going solo. The soldiers and knights were all trained professionals in combat. The fewer civilian numbers, the better. Even if those civilians happened to be exceptionally skilled.
“…We will wait.”
“Yeah, I’ll have you wait.”
Linnea and Aurora understood that well. They had grown up under the church’s care since childhood.
She slightly inclined her head toward them and also gave a small nod to Ella, who was staring at her in horror.
“This way. Vehicles have been requested to be on standby by Commander Andrea. You’ll wait with the other members there before deploying when the time is right.”
“Understood.”
As she left the cafeteria, she could faintly hear soldiers muttering from afar, “Saint…”
…No, it was too cringeworthy to use such nicknames.
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