“Wait, let go! I can’t see!”
“Sister, pull yourself together!”
As I struggled and shouted, the soldier holding me tight from behind yelled. His voice penetrated my eardrums perfectly, thanks to his mouth being nearly right next to my ear, easily cutting through the chaotic sound of gunfire.
Only after hearing that shout did I gasp for breath.
“We need to get rid of the Magic Point first! It’s still right there!”
“Are you really concerned about the Magic Point? You’re not just trying to run away, are you?”
A voice filled with doubt. Meanwhile, the sounds of the beasts on the shallow hill grew louder and louder. Right in front of the Magic Point, where monsters continuously spawn. There’s a limit to how much firepower we can pour in to hold them back. If we run out of bullets, it’s over.
This was the result of my moment of mental breakdown. Had I not suddenly jumped up to charge at the High-Ranking Demon…
Half of the demon has human blood running through it. Holy Power won’t work on it.
If only I had properly listened to Lina’s warning earlier.
I clenched my teeth. Crack, a sound of grinding teeth echoed. I tightened my fist, then relaxed my body and spoke.
“I understand. I’ll handle the Magic Point first, and we’ll take care of the beasts too.”
“…”
The soldier who was holding my waist tightly released his grip in silence. I got up and crawled forward, laying down and moving on all fours up the hill in front of me.
I peeked over the edge. The High-Ranking Demon was nowhere to be seen. It had been hit hard from the sky and thrown far away. I tried to search for it, but it was hidden from view by the approaching beasts.
I couldn’t see exactly what had thrown it, though.
Boom! Boom! It sounded like a punch directly hitting my eardrums, and the ground trembled. There was artillery fire from both sides. The monsters and demons in front were being cut down again and again.
Fortunately, one soldier had run out earlier and brought back Lina, who had fallen nearby. I hadn’t checked thoroughly, but she should be relatively safe in our rear now.
At least, there were no longer any obstacles making me hesitate.
Like before, I stretched my arms out in front of me.
This time, I won’t fail.
With all my might, I unleashed the Holy Power in a direct shot.
An immense wave of golden light burst forth without a sound, stretching out like a laser.
The beasts that survived despite the artillery and the 30mm machine gun were swept away and turned to dust by the tidal wave of Holy Power.
I felt as though the Holy Power had made contact with something.
This time, I seized the handle in front of me without hesitation. My arms were straightened, but I could feel it for sure.
And with all my strength, I twisted it side to side.
Even though it was 50 meters away, I heard crunch, as if it were twisted. Then an enormous blast echoed.
Kaboom!
In the distance, something black exploded dramatically. I remembered seeing a movie featuring bomb disposal experts before, and there was an explosion similar in scale when they detonated explosives manually. It was probably what it felt like to witness artillery fire from a relatively close distance.
Thud, thud, something fell.
Small stones and some flesh that looked disgusting just by looking at it.
It was to be expected that tearing apart the condensed ball of magic would lead to such an explosion.
“Oh my…”
The soldier next to me murmured in disbelief. His voice sounded dazed. Perhaps he had never seen a Magic Point explode before.
The beasts that had just emerged from the Magic Point were swept away by the explosion while the few remainings, along with the demons we had been dealing with, were turned into Swiss cheese by the machine gun, artillery, and gunfire. There were almost no beasts left.
Confirming that, I immediately stood up and ran toward the back.
“Lina!”
Lina was lying nearby. Someone had rescued Lina and laid her next to a vehicle. Her injuries had not yet been treated; she was lying on a camouflaged blanket with a makeshift splint for her arm.
I rushed over to Lina and knelt beside her.
The side that had been injured during her fall was her right arm. I couldn’t tell how serious it was. I lacked medical knowledge. However, her elbow, which had bent at a strange angle earlier, was now swollen.
Her face was still swollen. This side definitely looked serious. Her left eye was swollen shut. I couldn’t tell if her bone was broken from the fall or if it was just swollen like this from before.
Lina, with her eyes closed, was very quiet.
I put my ear to her chest.
Her heart was still beating.
I touched her nose with my finger.
I could feel her breath faintly.
I swayed forward. At that moment, all my tension unraveled. Lina was still alive. I couldn’t say she was safe, but at least…
Lina was wearing her school uniform.
It might have been shortly after we parted ways yesterday that she ended up like this. I couldn’t tell if she had been hurt in battle or if she had simply been used as a shield because of our friendship. One thing was certain: I considered Lina a friend, and I knew she was a demon.
Taking a deep breath, I lifted Lina’s shirt. Fortunately, her abdomen looked fine. She had a bruise forming on her right side, but that was probably from hitting the hard ground rather than from assault.
I lifted her skirt. There were no noticeable injuries here either.
“…”
I tidied up Lina’s clothes again. It didn’t appear that my worst fears had been fulfilled.
Though, still, the High-Ranking Demon showing up was a terrible worst-case scenario, at least regarding what had happened to my friend.
I raised my hand to heal Lina—
But I stopped midway.
If I used ordinary Holy Power, it would only inflict pain on a demon. The screams that had echoed in my head earlier were probably Lina’s cries. I had been shocked into cutting off my Holy Power during that brief moment when she let out such a torturous scream. Pouring my Holy Power into this girl would be like saying I wanted to kill her.
But it wasn’t like there was no way.
If I used the power of miracles. If I drew upon the power of the goddess…
No, I can’t.
Not yet.
I tightly clenched my fist.
“I’m sorry.”
Once this is all over, I promise I’ll heal you.
Had the remaining beasts been dealt with? I heard footsteps rushing toward us from behind.
“Isn’t that an Academy uniform? What is a civilian doing here…?”
“Did they get kidnapped? Those filthy bastards.”
I heard someone hurriedly pulling out a canteen, making me jump up in surprise.
“Stop!”
As I shouted, the soldier opening the cap on the canteen filled with Holy Water froze in his tracks out of surprise, and I felt a twinge of guilt, but I held his hands tightly and looked him in the eye.
“Absolutely do not treat this girl with Holy Power.”
“What?”
The soldier looked confused, so I shook my head. How should I explain this? I couldn’t let them find out that Lina was a demon. They weren’t bad people, but the church and soldiers receive training not to listen to demons’ words. Sometimes people are lured by demons into crossing over.
Just look at how warlocks once crossed over when they were deeply faithful.
“The reason is… I’ll explain later.”
I didn’t have the talent for coming up with a believable reason on the spot, so I said it vaguely.
“Everyone! Under no circumstances should you treat this girl with Holy Power! If you have any medical supplies, please use those instead!”
I clasped my hands and begged.
“Please!”
A moment of silence.
They didn’t understand, but they did comprehend the gravity of the situation. The overwhelming power of Holy Power was an almost common sense in this world’s society. If someone got injured or sick, they’d go to priests for treatment, or visit a certified healer recognized by the government. If a bone were broken, you wouldn’t need to live in a cast for months; regular treatment would suffice, and with it, no lasting disability would remain.
So, asking for a different approach in such a situation was akin to asking doctors in our world not to use advanced medical techniques and treatments.
“…Yes, understood.”
The officer nodded in response.
“I don’t know what happened to this girl, but if the sister says so, it must be the case.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
From everywhere, voices echoed in agreement. They decided to trust me after seeing my earlier act of bravado.
“…Thank you.”
I bowed deeply in appreciation and looked back down at Lina.
Her chest was still rising and falling lightly. At least, she didn’t seem like she was going to lose her life within a short time. I couldn’t let my guard down, though.
At that moment, Boom!, a huge sound echoed from a distance.
It was entirely different from the sound of artillery; it sounded like something colliding with something.
I turned to look in that direction, but another vehicle blocked my view, and I couldn’t see what was there.
I put my hand on my waist and realized that I didn’t have my morning star, which I usually kept there.
Looking around, I discovered it lying near the entrance of the vehicle I had exited. Seeing that, I let out a bitter laugh. I was so chaotic when I jumped out of the car that I didn’t even realize I had dropped it right there.
I quickly walked over to grab my weapons and shield. Both of them had become familiar extensions of myself, marked with scratches from Lina’s sword.
“…”
Surely, it was just yesterday.
Gripping my weapon tightly, I said, “Please take care of Lina.”
And then I dashed with all my might. I heard voices calling out from behind, but I ignored them.
Right now, all I wanted was to make that filthy bastard pay.
*
Boom! Boom! The loud thuds came from the clash of two beings.
One was a bald giant with skin like copper and an outrageous fashion sense in a bright pink suit.
I had never seen one like this before.
Of course, I had seen the Magic Points before, but I didn’t recall creating such a thing. It was never a description I would have conjured up.
It was a High-Ranking Demon.
Perhaps it was born because of that very lore.
I had no clue why a being that was only part of an idea was already appearing, but here we were.
And fighting against that insane creature was Lee Ji-An.
With a bastard sword that was broken in half in one hand, he was fighting the High-Ranking Demon, not losing ground at all—the very image of a ‘protagonist.’
…
Wait a minute, why was he here?
How? I had departed early this morning and arrived via helicopter, which made such an arrival possible. But without that means, to appear in this place at this time required one to have left school and raced madly here. Plus, he was wearing his school uniform…
In the midst of their clash, a large horse charged in from afar. On top of it was a knight with flowing golden hair that didn’t lose its radiance even in this situation.
It was Andrea.
Brandishing a shining holy sword, Andrea charged forward, resembling the very essence of a knight from ancient paintings, but—
“Holy Power doesn’t work! That bastard is a High-Ranking Demon! A mixed blood between a witch and a demon!”
As I shouted with all my might, Andrea looked in surprise toward me. Not just Andrea, Lee Ji-An too.
And the High-Ranking Demon, who was about to be hit from behind, looked the most startled of all.
What the…
“Don’t just stare!”
With all my strength, I threw my shield. The shield, launched with impossible force, spun through the air like a boomerang, aimed straight at the demon. The demon, clearly shocked, managed to swat the shield away with its hand.
And in that moment, it was hit by Lee Ji-An, who was flying in from the side.
It collided directly with a horse charging at high speed from behind. Kicking up dust as it went, the demon rolled wildly to the side, and was met by my morning star, hitting its head and causing it to fall thrice in the air before hitting the ground.
Now that my hands were empty, I gathered all my remaining strength and dashed forward at full speed, getting ready to leap.
I jumped high into the air and drove down my feet onto the opponent.
The demon looked up in shock as I fell toward it from high above, its face turning pale as it rolled to dodge me. The ground where my feet landed immediately created a small crater.
“What the hell!”
The demon, now upright, slammed its fist into my abdomen.
Thud, a sound of breaking filled the air. My insides were crushed, and
“Urk!”
That pressure reverberated upward, pressing down on my stomach. Blood burst forth from my mouth.
“Clara!”
I heard Ji-An calling out, and I was sent flying backward, rolling over the ground a few times before bouncing up and hitting the ground again.
Ah, so this is what it felt like for Lina.
Crunch. It wasn’t a sound of bones breaking but of teeth grinding.
My legs wouldn’t move. Breathing was difficult. It seemed the thud I heard earlier was the sound of my spine breaking. My insides were probably a mess.
So what was I supposed to do?
With great effort, I moved my hands to my stomach.
“Heal!”
The pain vanished in an instant.
Even after using such overwhelming Holy Power, the goddess’s strength still overflowed within my body.
Confirming that my legs could move, I sprang up.
“Let’s see who wins this!”
I ran forward with all my might.
Seeing the demon punch my gut in front of Ji-An, he appeared incredibly furious. He knocked the demon down and mounted it, striking its face madly with the hilt of his sword, blood spilling from the demon’s eye.
That was a ferocious way to fight; it almost made me question if it was the “protagonist” doing it.
But my adrenaline was rushing too.
With all my force, I charged in and landed a soccer kick to the demon’s head.
Crunch. I couldn’t tell if it was my leg or its head that made the sound.
“Heal!”
I cast the spell. I had no time to target; I threw it into the fray. The pain in my leg subsided, and I noticed the blood flowing from the demon’s eye had stopped. It was within the range of my spell.
But so what now?
Ji-An swung his sword. It sliced across the demon’s face, creating a deep gash. My foot came down on that very wound. Thud! My steel greaves pummeled it with the force to shatter bone. Blood splattered on both sides of the greave.
“You, damn bugs!”
The enraged demon pushed itself upright. No matter how strong, the combined weight of the two of us, average teenagers, sent us flying back.
We rolled several times across the ground before standing back up.
The demon clutched its face. Blood oozed through its fingers.
But it still looked fine.
Rather delightful.
Then I heard the sound of galloping approaching.
“Annoying—!”
The demon’s hand pierced straight through the great steed’s neck. But Andrea had already leaped into the air.
“Ha!”
Andrea shouted as she swung her sword downwards.
Was she listening closely to what I said? The sword she held was unbound by any Holy Power.
“Ugh!”
The demon grunted as it raised its hand to block the sword. Even a holy sword without Holy Power was just a well-crafted sword, and a High-Ranking Demon with immense strength could certainly stop it.
Though it probably would have to sacrifice several fingers.
With a clean slice, she cut off the demon’s right thumb and forefinger, scraping along its shoulder.
The already dirt-covered suit began to soak in red.
“You damn bitch!”
The demon tried to swat away Andrea, but she was anything but easy prey. Andrea had already readied herself and blocked the demon’s strike with her sword.
In that moment, Ji-An rose and slashed the demon’s back with his sword. The suit became tattered and soaked with blood.
“Uraaaaah!”
I charged in with all my strength to tackle it. I slammed my shoulder into the demon’s side with everything I had.
“What!?”
The voice came from a power the demon could never have produced from its small frame. The demon gazed at me in horror. As it turned to stare at me, I saw a fist coming for my face and raised my hands to block it.
Thud, my arm snapped.
“Heal.”
A radiant light swept over my sight.
My arm was fine.
“Wha—”
Before the demon could finish speaking, I, already in a full mount position, raised my arm and punched down hard into the demon’s bloodied face.
Crunch. My hand broke. Simultaneously, the remainder of the demon’s nasal bones shattered in every direction.
“Heal.”
So that’s how it was done.
Before the demon could even think of retaliating, I swung my left hand down. The demon’s head, trying desperately to lift, was thrown back in an instant. Crack. I could hear the sound of its skull cracking, as blood sprayed out from behind the demon’s head.
“Heal.”
I struck down again. Crunch. Just like that, it felt the demon’s eye was still intact.
“So, stop it…”
Would Lina say the same?
“Heal!”
I slammed my left hand down again. The demon tried to block, but its arm snapped under the pressure. Naturally, my arm suffered worse.
“Heal!”
I smashed my right hand down again. My arm, hanging limply, bent at a strange angle while held down.
Just like Lina’s arm had done.
We still had plenty of time.
“Heal!”
The demon’s hand got buried in the flattened face.
“Heal!”
The demon’s skull burst open. Something bizarre extruded out of it, but I paid no mind.
“Heal!”
“Heal!”
“Heal!”
“Heal!”
“Heal!”
Again and again, with all my might, I slammed the demon’s face down to the ground. Yet my frustration wouldn’t fade away.
Why did it have to be this way?
Why was I forced to do this?
“What’s your problem?”
Someone grabbed my shoulder, but I ignored them and kept on healing.
“Clara!”
Someone yelled my name again.
Raising my hand to strike down one last time, someone firmly clasped my right wrist.
“…”
I looked up to see Andrea, her expression troubled as she looked down at me.
Her left hand was firmly placed against her side and remained unmoving since Ji-An was holding her like a lifeline.
“That’s enough. It’s enough now.”
Looking down, I saw the High-Ranking Demon, its face and the arm that had blocked it utterly mangled beyond recognition into a single mushy mass.
Even in that state, the demon twitched, letting out, “Umm… An…”
It was the last gasps of life.
Strength drained from my body. As the tension left my arms, Andrea let my hand go, and my arms fell limp to my sides.
Ji-An also released his hold on me.
I remained perched upon the defeated demon, staring down at it with drooping arms.
“…”
With one swift motion, Andrea drove the sword that she still held into the demon’s neck. The once-mangled head came off without any theatrics, rolling away without a chance to escape.
The High-Ranking Demon ceased to move completely.
It was… frustrating.
In the end, I killed it before learning anything. I was supposed to learn about the witch…
The last being to call it “Mother” must have been the witch.
“…”
Andrea placed her hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. Then she slipped her hand to my armpit, lifting me up. I rose without resistance.
“Let’s go back.”
She didn’t ask about anything. I was grateful for that.
Well, she would eventually ask.
Ji-An only watched me with worry but didn’t say anything. Ah, I had to ask him something later too.
…But I felt totally exhausted. So drained. Both physically and mentally.
Leaning heavily on Andrea, I staggered as we walked, when—
“Oh, you plan to just turn back like that?”
A voice echoed.
It was a woman’s voice.
When I looked up, I saw a black dot the size of a fist floating above us.
A Magic Point.
It wasn’t in the same place we had just dealt with. It was much higher up, looking down at us from above our heads.
“That’s troublesome. An opportunity to eliminate all of you at once has arisen.”
No monsters poured from the Magic Point, instead, a woman stepped out.
Her long, black hair cascaded down to her waist, elegantly groomed and completely untangled.
Instead of physical fabric or leather, her attire resembled a deep fog enveloping her. She exuded an unsettling presence with skin that looked pale as a corpse, and some dark substance flowed through the parts of her body where veins should be.
She was a witch.
More accurately, The Witch.
Descending gracefully down the black mist-staircase she conjured in mid-air, she resembled a divine being descending upon believers.
The witch’s power was formidable.
Even Lee Ji-An, the protagonist, could barely endure her presence until she was finally removed thanks to Lina’s sacrifice, the first boss that had taken them down.
Just watching filled my body with alarms.
I had to flee!
Andrea’s grip on my arm tightened, tension rushing through her.
The witch was a powerful evil that existed to uphold the demon race and give birth to more demons by bestowing immense magic on them—a dark, ominous presence.
“That’s been a while. Hehe, shall I check out my old home while I’m here?”
The witch chuckled to herself and added, “Just kidding. I might die if I recklessly entered a place like that.”
No.
“Then how about taking care of some troublesome insects while I’m at it? The operation failed, but it’s not like I’ve gained nothing.”
“I should thank my son.”
Hmph.
I fixed my gaze on the witch. No, I glared at her. She looked down at me as if I were a mere child. Yes, that much was clear. To her, I was just an innocent little sister.
But so what.
“… Found you.”
Those words slipped from my mouth, though I wasn’t sure if I was the one saying them or if another being through me.
The witch’s eyebrows twitched.
Perhaps it was because I was grinning wide enough to split my face open.
That smile too, I couldn’t tell if it was my own or a grin belonging to another being using my face.
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