I was looking down at a returnee.
A young priestess with sea-blue hair and striking blue eyes.
Her ceremonial robe, a stunning blend of white, purple, and red, was impressive. Despite using three colors, it looked clean and elegant.
Even without Hainha’s notes, I could infer from the high status she held.
She was that noble and graceful a priestess.
“She just woke up a moment ago and fell back asleep.”
As I quietly examined the returnee, Hainha spoke beside me.
“She was awake for about five minutes, but she didn’t seem well. She looked a bit dazed, and her focus was blurry, so I didn’t ask her anything too personal.”
“Good job.”
If I had thrown questions at her without thinking, who knows how she would have reacted? Her condition could have worsened.
It seemed like I needed to start healing right away.
I was a bit tired from walking, but I wanted to help as soon as possible. I couldn’t help but feel compassion as a fellow priestess.
“Oh merciful Sun, please show pity on this unfortunate priestess who has lost the grace of the heavens and shower down warm sunlight and gentle rays upon this place.”
After praying with a deeper sincerity than usual,
I gathered the sacred power into my eyes. Suddenly, things started to appear in my view that weren’t normally visible.
Sacred spell, the radiant eye.
It was a series of sacred spells following the ‘eye that burns darkness.’
Its effect was to analyze all physical and mental wounds of visible creatures and display them in colors.
Minor injuries could simply be healed by injecting sacred power, but serious injuries were a different story.
If I carelessly forced energy, side effects could occur. In the case of already life-threatening injuries, sacred power wouldn’t necessarily help either.
Healing without a prior diagnosis could disturb the balance of the body, leading to greater injuries and diseases.
Thus, I had to accurately determine the injury site and the condition to perform pinpoint healing.
It was a high-level task that required both excellent analytical skills and healing abilities.
By this point, one should be able to do it easily to qualify for being a pope.
And I.
I had mastered all types of healing during my time as a saint.
I could truly be called a specialized healer.
“I will begin, so please step back for a moment.”
At my words, Hainha silently stepped back without moving a muscle.
The other two also stood still, silently watching me.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on me. If I made a mistake now, it would be a fatal blow to my reputation.
Naturally, that would never happen.
“Let’s take it slow.”
Drawing confidence from my heart, I began my examination.
First, I scanned the returnee’s body once more.
Overall, there were hardly any visible wounds, but the spot where the left hand used to be was empty.
It seemed not to be damage inflicted by a demon. The severed area was smooth and rounded.
There were no signs of wounds anywhere else, except for the left arm.
The entire body retained the same color as usual. This meant there were no physical injuries.
If that’s the case.
The problem lay with the mind.
Focusing intently on the head and chest for a precise examination, it indeed began to glow red.
That was not good news.
Red.
This meant her condition was the worst. It was a sign that I needed to take action quickly.
‘…Of course, it had to be like this.’
The mental connection with the goddesses I served was severed. I couldn’t dare imagine how despairing that must be.
Though if I were to picture it, it would be like feeling the whole world engulfed in a pitch-black shadow.
Wanting to live no more, having lost all energy and will.
And she might feel that even my compassion was a deception.
In a situation where she could reject empathy and pity, feeling tired of everything around her.
Perhaps she may even be ready to make an extreme choice.
If it didn’t go that far, there was a high chance she would fall into a severe lethargy.
The breakthrough lay there.
“I’m not sure if I should say this, but….”
Even while she was asleep, I spoke unnecessarily and placed my palm near the returnee’s head.
Then I concentrated the sacred power in my hand, forming it into a singular mass.
“I’m truly sorry.”
The mass of sacred power that was just a lump transformed into a round sphere the next moment and gradually changed into a smaller, more delicate shape.
From an insignificant weed in the sphere.
To an unnamed flower with petals sprouting from the weed.
Gradually, it transformed until it finally reached its destination.
A beautiful spring flower, blooming perfectly, releasing a fragrant aroma in all directions.
The spring flower that grew from my hand blossomed beautifully, transcending seasons and weather.
“May you regain your smile.”
I carefully placed the pink sacred power sculpture on the returnee’s face.
The flower, in its spring embodiment, softly absorbed into the returnee’s head, disappearing as if it was returning to where it originally belonged.
Sacred spell, Herald of Spring.
One of the highest-level techniques in mental healing, removing acute feelings of helplessness and loss from the mind.
With this, the immediate fire was extinguished.
However, the emotions burning like a forest fire and the grim reality remained. The root cause still lingered.
For that reason, I strengthened my voice and vowed.
“I promise one thing. I will definitely reunite you with your precious ones. I speak it in the name of the pope.”
It was the utmost respect I could show for the goddesses and priests from another world.
*
“Thank you for your hard work.”
As I finished healing, Wip approached stealthily.
The dark elf, who always appeared calm, was now a mix of admiration, joy, and wonder.
“Will it be okay if we just wait now?”
“Of course. While we need to address the fundamental issue for complete healing, for the time being, she will be in a stable condition.”
“Thank you very much. I was most worried about her…”
Even during our conversation, Wip, who had continuously looked pained, finally reddened her eyes.
A truly kind-hearted nature that worries and cries for someone who is neither family, friend, nor lover.
I had felt it before, but this dark elf was just too pure of heart.
She looked as if she could survive on drugs or drink alcohol instead of water…
But her true personality and actions were entirely different. It was worlds apart from some useless person who couldn’t live up to their looks.
“Here you go.”
Hainha, who had quietly watched the examination from the side, handed Wip a handkerchief.
Waiting patiently for the lovely dark elf to wipe her eyes, I spoke.
“But this person has no external injuries at all. Did you perform some temporary treatment?”
“No… It seems to be due to some sacred relic she possessed. She originally looked so terrible it was hard to bear looking at her.”
According to Wip’s explanation, the returnee named “Reeve” had fought valiantly against the great demon’s threats without yielding.
Now that I thought about it, only one other person had stood up against demons without yielding, and that had to be her.
“Reeve fought bravely even unable to exert her full strength due to the severed mental connection with the goddesses. I felt shame for merely having given up.”
A priest, not even a holy knight, engaging in hand-to-hand combat, and refusing to succumb to a demon until the end.
As a fellow priest, I couldn’t help but respect her resolute spirit and fighting spirit.
What would I have done in that same situation?
What would I have thought and how would I have responded?
Would I have truly found a way to stand against the demons?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t envision the situation. Without the goddesses, I was just a former priest, full of sacred power.
“…Oh Sun, please remain by my side eternally.”
I prayed earnestly and sincerely, yet there was no response. It couldn’t be helped, as she was very busy lately, but it made me anxious.
Recalling that the black sun had been targeting me lately only added to my uneasiness.
“Your Holiness, are you alright? You don’t look well.”
Did my anxiety and worry show on my face? Hainha asked with concern.
Perhaps I had wavered to the point of losing my composure.
If Kelaout were here, I would have received a three-hour lecture on ‘why the pope needs to maintain tranquility.’
“I’m fine. I just had some unpleasant thoughts, that’s all.”
Excessively worrying and fearing about things that have not yet come is not constructive behavior.
A wise person prepares for the future with a positive mindset rather than worrying unnecessarily.
And a pope should be that kind of person. For the sake of every member under my care.
“Just to be safe, I should prepare.”
The black sun was an evil god, gifted with divinity solely from malice.
A cruel and vicious master of wicked schemes who could turn demons’ antics into mere child’s play.
Compared to the black sun, even Haoran and the great demon were merely juvenile delinquents committing petty theft.
Therefore.
There was a sufficient need to prepare in advance for the future moments that might come.
“Yao, when we go back, we all need to have some hell’s special training.”
“Suddenly…?”
Yao tilted her head, perhaps finding it unexpected, but I had already made my mind up.
I would elevate the central figures of the order to at least the pinnacle of superhumans. Then even the black sun would have a hard time going about its tricks.
And beyond that, I had one more goal.
It was something I had long since given up on, but a lingering desire remained.
“A demigod….”
The time had come to soar towards a higher realm.
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