Whimper…
…
Hmmm?
What’s going on? Why is everything white in front of me?
Did I somehow end up in another one of those consciousness realms? Has it only been a short while since Baal came by that I’m already in a crisis…?
…Oh, no. That doesn’t seem to be it. This was weirdly different from the realms I saw before.
For instance, the sounds.
It wasn’t the quiet ambiance where only my or my opponent’s voices can be heard; even in the silence, every kind of sound mixed together, creating a living world.
A breeze blew through the open window, moving the curtains with a swish. I could hear children chattering off in the distance and the sound of footsteps as people passed by.
Upon closer inspection, the white in front of me was the ceiling. A regular, bland ceiling, like one from any ordinary building.
“…”
As I sat up, the white blanket that had climbed up to my chest slid off my body. Huh, at least it wasn’t some fancy villa blanket. It felt like a hospital-style cover.
And I was wearing a patient gown instead of the saintess robe I last wore.
“…Uugh.”
And over beside the bed, Aurora was sitting, sprawled out and snoozing away. Since all I could see was the back of her head, I had no idea what kind of expression she had while sleeping.
As I reached out to get up, a sudden sting jolted me. I looked at my hands, both wrapped tightly in bandages.
So that’s how it ended up.
I guess everyone managed to get out safely. Well, that had to be the case since I caused quite the situation. The massive tentacle monster, which I couldn’t even grasp the appearance of, disintegrated the moment I flew up and made contact with the miracle I conjured, and the beasts rushing at our group on the cliff were wiped out. Since I could remember up to that point, I probably fainted right afterward.
I examined the bandages closely, and thankfully, there weren’t any signs of blood seeping through like last time. It makes sense, though—using my own powers directly would be less taxing on my body than having a divine being possess me. So, instead of descending upon my body, it likely chose to appear in my consciousness and offer hints.
Hmmm.
The hospital was one I didn’t recognize. After all, I had only seen one hospital since coming to this world—the one attached to the airport in Elf territory. So, unless I was admitted to that hospital after a long flight, it wouldn’t be surprising if I couldn’t recognize which region this hospital belonged to.
Well… I could expand the meaning to any place where medical procedures occur, so the infirmary on the battlefield would count too. But whether you can call that a hospital is debatable.
How long has it been?
At least a few hours; it must have been over ten hours. It was still an hour to go before the clock hit even when we claimed the cliff.
I looked around for a clock but oddly, this hospital room had none. I guess people these days don’t need to hang up a clock since everyone carries smartphones.
But hey, there was a TV.
“….”
I glanced down at the back of Aurora’s head, but there was no sign of her waking up.
Honestly, waking Aurora to get the others after regaining my consciousness would be the right response. If she saw me fall off the cliff, rise again, and then faint one more time, she’d definitely be worried sick.
But… that’s why I wanted to delay that moment a little.
You know how it is. Even though I wouldn’t mind hearing their concerns, for some reason, it makes me feel awkward… or something like that.
So before I heard anything from them, I wanted to gather as much context as I could. I guess it might sound like an excuse to someone else.
I quickly found the remote. There had been a nightstand opposite where Aurora was sitting, and there it was, sitting all alone.
I moved slowly and carefully, trying not to wake Aurora.
But that was easier said than done.
Being on my stomach meant that every time my butt moved, the arm Aurora was using as a pillow shifted slightly too. Plus, with both my hands wrapped in bandages, I couldn’t simply use one arm to reach for the remote.
I had to carefully lift it using both hands, akin to how one might pick up a prize in a claw machine.
Even so, by moving slowly, I managed to get it. Ah, this was patience and persistence.
Patting myself on the back in my head, I poked the power button on the remote resting on my knees.
But there was one thing I hadn’t anticipated.
Well, I expected the TV to make noise, and I figured there was a chance it might wake Aurora.
But I never expected the sound to be at maximum volume.
[This is! The site of last night’s fierce battle! The corpses of the beasts have vanished without a trace! However, the massive amounts of magic residue remain here!]
…Of course, it wasn’t the reporter screaming at the top of their lungs, but the majestic TV sound filled the hospital room, making it feel like it was.
Gah!
With the sudden sound, I reflexively shot up, only to hit my thigh against the bed frame and flop back onto the chair, causing Aurora to tumble over toward me.
I fumbled to grab the remote, but it had already rolled away and flipped over, landing upside down beside my thigh.
…At least, I learned that the time was 10:37 AM, and that there hadn’t been any injured persons the night before. So, I guess that was a win.
Thud!
Just then, the hospital door burst open. Technically, it was right after I woke up or rather, right after the TV turned on, but that little timing difference didn’t seem to matter; doctors used “immediately” to describe the moment.
After all, it had barely been five minutes. But medically speaking, isn’t there a threshold where cardiovascular or brain issues can worsen in minutes? I feel like five minutes could be critical… Well, the doctors are the experts. Though medicine might have regressed a tad due to divine power, it’s still a complex field.
If it comes to smarts, they’d be several times smarter than me; I should refrain from questioning their logic only to get blown out of the water with a comeback.
Anyway, according to that stoic doctor, I had been unconscious for about ten to eleven hours. I was told that Seo-A threw herself to save me when I fell off the cliff right before I hit the ground.
After rescuing me, they hurriedly tried to get me onto a helicopter, only to discover my hands were bleeding profusely, prompting them to quickly cut off my gloves—
“Pardon?”
I was taken aback for a moment.
Wait, are you telling me they sliced up a priceless artifact from the church with scissors?
My eyes widened in shock, but the doctor continued without any visible change in expression.
“I was about to cut them off, but thankfully your friends managed to stop me.”
I sighed and pressed a hand to my chest. Goodness, what a relief. They wouldn’t expect me to pay for it just because they messed up, but that artifact was essential for me. Without it, using divine powers would chip away at my body, piece by piece. If I had gone through what I did yesterday without it, there probably wouldn’t be a hand left of mine.
Anyway, to continue the story.
After tearing off the saltwater and blood-soaked gloves, I revealed a hand full of gaping holes. With the middle-section having vanished, blood squirted out like a fountain, and while I had received first aid, most doctors suggested it would be better to just amputate it—
“…”
“They recommended it, but again, your friends managed to persuade me otherwise.”
…Well, I get it.
If there’s a gaping hole like something hit my hand with a hammer, even if they don’t cut the whole hand off, they might have to remove part of it. I’m not sure how things would work in the world I used to live in, but even if this world’s medicine has stagnated for centuries under the church, I wouldn’t argue against it.
“In the end, I think that was the right decision. Magic and divine powers truly are miraculous.”
…Saying that while staring blankly at the clipboard doesn’t exactly make it sound very wondrous, you know.
“How’s your hand feeling? Are you experiencing any pain?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s a bit throbby right now.”
“…”
I can’t blame the doctor for giving me a skeptical look. When you have a hole in your hand, it usually doesn’t end with just a light throbbing. Is this the blessing of a demon?
“Well then, let’s keep monitoring for a bit before we discharge you.”
With that, the doctor quietly nodded his head and promptly turned to leave the room. At that moment, the nurse who had stood behind him the whole time looked a bit flustered before hurriedly bowing to me and following the doctor out.
Does she have something against me?
No, perhaps it’s not personal; she might just have ill feelings toward the entire church.
Becoming a doctor is no easy feat. It’s not just difficult; only some of the smartest individuals among people can become doctors. Merely being smart isn’t enough; it takes years of training and knowledge, which means a certain pride comes with the profession. Whether expressed positively or negatively.
But the church… well, from their perspective, it’s an organization that treats patients in a thoroughly unscientific manner. Some individuals could perform treatments at a level that ordinary doctors could never reach, often without formal training.
They use holy water instead of medicine, and even use it to disinfect. What’s more ridiculous is that that holy water isn’t even scientifically crafted—it was made through divine power.
It’s proof that validation is impossible, but also far more efficient than the skills they’ve honed over time. A miraculous liquid that works on any ailment, anywhere.
Well, no use complaining about it now, but treating patients that way seems unprofessional, doesn’t it?
…But I wouldn’t want to say that directly to their face.
“…”
The room was filled with the duel club members, Erica, and Seo-A, all exchanging glances as if unsure who would speak first.
“Um, well…”
Couldn’t bear the awkwardness, I took the initiative and spoke up first.
“Are you all okay?”
“…”
Hmm.
They had expressions that suggested they’d rather dive into a mouse hole.
Should I seriously ask what they experienced before we boarded the helicopter? What if it makes the atmosphere even more awkward?
Clears throat.
Finally, the eldest, Seo-A, cleared her throat and stepped forward.
And suddenly, with a resolute expression, she—
“I’m sorry!”
Bowed deeply, her back bending low.
“…”
“…”
Wow, things could get even more awkward from here.
Even though my real age was quite close to Seo-A’s, socially in this world, I was roughly ten years younger. So this situation resembled an adult bowing at a 90-degree angle to apologize to a child.
The problem was that I had no idea why I was being apologized to.
“Uh, what for?”
“About yesterday…”
At my question, Seo-A lifted her torso slightly, biting her lip. Then with a pained expression, she began to explain.
“Clara, right after you fell, I thought there was no chance of survival for you. So….”
Are you saying you gave up?
…
Hmm.
Well… I admit it’s unsettling for me to hear that from the perspective of someone who got left behind, but considering the actual scenario at that moment, it was probably a reasonable decision.
Everyone knew I couldn’t swim.
After all, I just fell off a cliff. Who would think someone would survive a fall from a twenty-meter cliff into the ocean? Especially not when I didn’t simply fall but was slammed down hard by a tentacle. If I had had an ordinary body, I would have likely fainted before I hit the water.
But Seo-A was responsible for eight other children besides me. The back was blocked by the flailing tentacles, making it impossible to pursue, and beasts were closing in from the front. The rescue helicopter was already nearby. In order to save the remaining kids, she must have felt it was unavoidable.
“I planned to stay and look for you— no, no. Saying such things now is pointless. After all, I did abandon my student as a teacher.”
Seo-A must have dealt with similar situations a lot in her career. Except for heroes capturing criminals in the city, situations arise frequently in the battlefield where one must abandon something and retreat. It was not uncommon, even in my “not-so-violent battlefield” far back, to hear of heroes who lost a leg.
“I understand. It was a tough situation.”
Thus, my actions then were nothing short of a ‘miracle.’ Someone who was nearly dead returned alive, turning the situation around dramatically. What else could this be called besides a miracle?
And, obviously, I should not rely on the leader to have miracles on their cards.
Miracles are… well, they were what they are. The probability of occurring is dwarfed by the vast possibilities of it not happening.
And most importantly…
“I owe you all an apology.”
The expressions of the kids in the hospital room shifted. But before they could say anything, I continued on.
“I don’t think I can regard what happened yesterday as simply an invasion.”
It wasn’t just because the beasts were targeting me; it was more in regard to the scale I observed.
There were plenty of beasts that night. The tentacle beast was the largest I’d ever seen.
But could those number of monsters and demons effectively handle a whole region? I was skeptical.
The numbers of beasts and demons that crawled up from below the ocean decades ago were much greater than what I witnessed yesterday. But due to that very limitation of crawling from the sea, they were entirely wiped out by sturdy battleships and masses of ground troops. For reasons unknown, it seemed they couldn’t create magic points underwater.
Naturally, considering what happened yesterday, it would be a blessing if they could even cause decent damage, let alone withstanding the potential loss of a whole region. If yesterday’s monsters had indeed invaded, their maximum achievement might have just been temporarily disrupting communications. Since restoration was quick, they didn’t really present a significant military threat. They actually couldn’t even tap into the radios.
Thus, sending in monsters of such scale prompted me to believe there was another purpose.
Rather than a regular army prepared for an all-out war, perhaps they operated like a special operations unit with a specific objective, like assassination of key figures.
And if there was any target the demons were aiming at, it would most likely be me.
“What happened yesterday was likely orchestrated by the demons aiming directly at me. Instead of a sudden invasion, it makes more sense to think they focused their efforts on eliminating just me.”
“But how do you know you were there… A.”
As soon as I finished my sentence, Seo-A’s serious expression morphed into one of realization mid-sentence.
And I’m sure everyone here was aware of it.
“So, that means there’s someone revealing our location to the demons.”
Rina chimes in as if adding a cue. Of course, Rina must’ve already guessed that even before I spoke up.
“Exactly.”
I nodded.
There’s definitely someone out there, doing this for a long time and periodically leaking my location.
To cast my net as wide as possible, this began on the moment I stepped onto the battlefield.
What a relief that I had somewhat of an idea about who that might be.
*
A week later—
“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”
In a rather lavishly decorated office, a man stuffed various documents into a bag. Although the office was fancy, it was a disaster, with items strewn all over the floor.
‘How on earth? How do they know I’m here?’
Just this morning, there hadn’t been any sign of an issue. The saintess merely stayed in the hospital for a few days before returning to her convent. Though they failed in killing her, no evidence remained. After all, the monsters sent merely had low intelligence and could not communicate.
Furthermore, she even burned those monsters to ashes without a trace, making it even harder for any evidence to remain.
Whatever had transpired, the coastline had turned into a massive pool of holy water. Strangely enough, despite the constant ebb and flow of sea water, that spot continued to shine faintly with divine power.
The human news called it a feat of the saintess, but the man knew better.
‘That was a miracle.’
Yes, a miracle.
The power of a goddess that turned the natural order upside down, twisting the laws of the world as they knew it.
That was the power of the goddess.
Of course, the man didn’t see any of it firsthand— but he could use his knowledge to speculate.
However, even with that said…
[The saintess has arrived, what shall we do?]
Just ten minutes prior, receiving that call from his secretary left the man reeling. How on earth?
Well, sure, it’s possible they came just to ask a few questions. The saintess may not even know he’s a demon.
Yet the man’s instincts, honed from his time serving a witch, told him that she definitely knew his real identity.
“Tell her I’m busy.”
He replied.
And presently, he was devising a means to collect evidence and make his escape.
“Damn it!”
Unfortunately, there were too many things to gather up. Should he just set everything on fire? He felt he could escape with the important intel if he did. He needed to flee and reach the witch’s domain as soon as possible—
“Saintess, even if you’re angry…?”
A voice drifted in from just outside the office door.
The man hastily grabbed his belongings and pressed himself against the wall beside the door, clutching a knife.
…But judging by the info he acquired, the saintess was a formidable opponent, one he couldn’t hope to take on with this knife.
With a crunch, his fingers contorted grotesquely.
Realizing he was already discovered, perhaps it was better to prepare as a demon to maximize his chances of escape—
“Holy, saintess!”
The secretary squealed as she shouted,
Crash!
Something collided with the heavy wooden door.
Bang!
With a harder crash, something struck again, and metallic shards splintered off the door.
Suddenly, a formidable piece of metal barreled through, exposing the gnarled grain of the thick door.
Bam! Bam! Crunch!
Again and again, something relentlessly pounded against the weak spot, causing splinters to fly everywhere as the hole widened.
“Eek!”
He felt the deadly malice within that swinging object; the man who had spent countless hours studying human emotions at this very spot felt it pure and simple.
If that gets through, he would certainly die.
But it was too late. There would be no place to run.
No matter how the man wracked his brain or whatever plans he formed, the being outside the door didn’t care at all. It just continued to strike with a steady rhythm.
And then—
When it was finally big enough to fit through, a cute little face peeked through the hole.
If that hole weren’t in a hefty door, and if that twisted morning star didn’t ominously show itself during the breach, the expression wouldn’t differ much from that of a little girl posing for a photo at an amusement park, sticking her face through a hole in a board.
But surely, to the man who had experienced everything leading up to this moment, it didn’t look that way at all.
The face that peeked through the door rolled its eyes and glanced around the disordered office. When those wandering eyes finally settled on the man, who lingered against the wall, about to transmogrify into a demon, they stopped.
“There you are!”
With a radiant smile, the saintess spoke, and the man thought— that was the face of a killer.
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