Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Holy Nation (5)
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Unable to resolve her doubts, the Saintess ultimately entered the gate.
The entire raid party entered the gate in the formation they had been briefed on beforehand.
The Holy Nation's S-rank gate raid had truly begun.
Not only did the Saintess have questions about pushing ahead with an S-rank gate raid, but suspicions about the man in his thirties—who didn't seem like an awakener at all—added to her confusion, leaving her in a deeply bewildered state.
"Haa... Focus, focus."
However, the Saintess currently had no leeway to even harbor such doubts, let alone resolve them.
This was the first S-rank gate raid since the catastrophe five years ago that claimed no less than two S-rank awakeners.
The moment they entered the gate, everyone shared the same impression.
'Hell...'
The most fitting word to describe the landscape that unfolded the instant they entered the gate.
And the thought that came next was also identical.
It was a single post on the Gallery.
[Why the Holy Nation's S-Rank Gate Raid Makes No Sense]
Author: Gallery User 93848
Everyone knows the minimum raid criteria for S-rank gates that the World Hunter Association set after the catastrophe five years ago.
Some say those criteria act as inhibitors, making S-rank gate raids 0% feasible, but that's just clueless talk from people who know nothing.
The World Hunter Association has never once given up on S-rank gate raids.
It's an organization for world peace, after all—obviously.
Yet the negative opinions persist because they've never even properly attempted a raid, let alone succeeded.
The reason the Association isn't even trying S-rank raids isn't surrender—it's because they've explored, prepared, and investigated so thoroughly.
And there's just no answer.
Anyway, through all that gate exploration, they've set additional raid conditions per gate.
The one the Holy Nation declared they're raiding is the infamous Fire Hell.
You retire from the heat and flames right after the entrance, and the boss-level monster is the same.
So the raid condition attached to Fire Hell is an S-rank water-attribute mage.
Of course, there's not a single one like that in the entire world lol.
Didn't an S-rank water mage pop up this year exactly???
You think we wouldn't know if that happened? Sure, there's a slim chance insiders hid it, but they couldn't get cooperation from the Association or other guilds precisely because there's no S-rank water mage.
We're screwed...
Wait, why no water mages lololol? Aren't they the most common attribute???
Yeah, water-types are the most numerous among all mage classes.
Then just throw every water mage in the world at it?
This guy's never been in a gate lmao
Arrest this unemployed awakener who only gallery-scrolls lololol
Fuck, tell me why and curse me out then
Gates have entry limits on party size.
What if the Saintess's holy water has effects beyond regular water or something?
Same deal—if that were true, they'd have gotten cooperation from the Association and other guilds.
So what, the Holy Nation guild is just gonna burn to death as a group?!?!
That's exactly it lol. Can't read?
Not the Saintess!!!
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 ▶️
The post that drew the most attention and popularity after the Holy Nation's S-rank gate raid declaration.
It seemed written by an insider, spilling info unavailable to the public, so crowds flocked with questions—and the high-quality responses kept the interest alive.
Of course, while many trusted it, others dismissed its credibility since it was unproven info from one person.
"Haa... I wonder how it's going..."
Out of anxiety, he was meticulously rereading an innocent Gallery post.
The Saintess still wasn't replying to DMs after turning off auto-replies for regulars.
Of course, once inside an S-rank gate, there's no reason to open the Gallery.
Besides, he'd asked her to DM if anything dangerous happened—so maybe she wasn't sending any because nothing had.
Or perhaps she'd taken offense at his phrasing, which seemed to assume the Holy Nation's failure...
"No way... My S-rank healer recruitment plan..."
"Kwaaaah... Boastful Guild's benefits...!!"
Though he'd denied it all along, he'd already been mentally counting the Saintess as recruited.
And Hyeji was agonizing as if they'd lost a Saintess they'd never even recruited.
"Phew. Still no DM, huh~?"
Meanwhile, Yena emerged from the shower nonchalant as ever, amused by me and Hyeji.
"Yeah..."
"Grrrut... Saintess DM..."
We were the ones offering help, yet here we were waiting for her DM—like a one-sided crush.
"If she DMs late begging for help, let's not reply right away..."
"Kraaah!!! That heal-slut...!"
So to show we were busy people not just waiting on the Saintess, they agreed to add a slight delay before replying.
That way, she'd think, "A guild even S-rankers would crave!" and want to join.
"What if she DMs right before dying~?"
...
Yena's piercing, heavy-hitting fact platter.
"It's a special situation raiding a gate, so we'll forgive it."
"I-I'm experienced with gate raids too! We have to understand a delay like this...!"
And so they plunged back into indefinite waiting.
Meanwhile, the raid party members who shared the "hell" impression upon entering the gate.
Surprisingly, their second shared thought matched too.
'That Gallery post was real...'
The moment the gate's interior confirmed the post's truth.
Now, fear of the raid grew based on the post's info.
On the brink of failure from fear right at entry.
"Don't waver! Advance as planned!!!"
In that moment, the only one unflinching, reassuring the party, was naturally the Holy Nation's Guild Master Gregorio.
Most of the raid party—excluding Gregorio's inner circle—had only been given minimal info: their roles and formation.
So facing an S-rank gate's reality, bolting out wouldn't have been odd.
But after a brief dip in fear, no one turned to flee.
The Holy Nation was a guild closer to a religion—severely distorted structure.
The ignorance the Holy Nation intended fostered strong faith and trust in Gregorio, who knew what they didn't.
Selection prioritized loyalty to the guild over personal ability, amplifying that trust into fanaticism.
Thus, the raid split into a minority who knew the raid's grim truth but never shared it: Guild Master Gregorio and his closest aides.
And the majority who knew nothing but believed blindly following Gregorio would suffice.
Only the Saintess stood apart from either group.
The Saintess, naturally unaware of this, was the sole one questioning the situation.
But deeming such doubts a hindrance to the raid, she forcibly set aside all the questions piling up since before entry.
Only then did the faces of the raid party members come into view.
'Why on earth is that person here...'
The Saintess, who had memorized nearly all guild members' faces.
Having always accepted people as they were—without judging by ability or looks—in this moment, they registered as letter grades.
'E... Another E... D... B, E... C...'
Awakener ranks unimaginable for an S-rank gate raid party.
Beyond wondering how such weaklings made the cut despite needing the strongest from the top...
A bigger question loomed.
'How can they stay brave in a situation like this...'
This "situation" encompassed far more than the S-rank gate's dangers.
Their ranks and abilities.
Judging comprehensively, their inclusion on the roster was tantamount to a death sentence.
"Hoo..."
'Focus.'
If these people survived, it'd be a miracle beyond miracles.
And she, the Saintess—called a living miracle by the Holy Nation and the world.
There was no way to save them but herself.
As long as she was the Saintess...
She had to become the miracle.
The moment she steeled her resolve.
Tick—
A miracle occurred: rain falling in Fire Hell.