Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Burnt Hand
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Our Lord came to this world to bestow mercy upon it.
It is only natural that the Lord's divinity is used not to harm others, but to save them. Only the Milky Way Bleeding Night could serve as the axe of judgment that carves out sin, but the more I wield that axe, the more my own body crumbles. That is the Lord's will.
Mercy of enlightenment for those who cannot die and linger in life. Mercy of healing for those who cling to survival.
The Lord simply showers us with boundless mercy and love. His love knows no bounds of race, and it is not for me to draw lines where He draws none.
“Ugh... kuh...”
I saw a man who could no longer even cry out in pain, only rasp for breath and exhale hot sighs.
In a room without windows to block out the sunlight, a few soldiers lit lanterns. Even then, not satisfied, they shut the door tight before removing the helmet that had covered his face.
Red eyes. Pointed fangs. He was no human, but a vampire.
His expression alone told me how much agony he was in. The other soldiers removed their helmets and looked at me with worried eyes.
“Can you really heal him? I’ve never heard of a divine power user treating a vampire.”
The man in charge, Mr. Handel, said with concern in his voice.
But the Lord was here, and so was I. Even if it failed, things couldn’t get any worse, and nine times out of ten, it would improve. This wasn’t my first time, so there was no need to fear.
“Our Lord does not hate you.”
I extended my hand toward Mr. Handel, and a ray of light seeped into his chest.
Mr. Handel’s eyes widened. He was a vampire too, but far from harming him, my divine power had amplified his strength. Probably feeling exaltation for the first time, he let out a cry.
“I see! So this is divine power! I’ve never felt anything like it. Now I understand why adventurers go to such lengths to bring a priest along.”
Then he added,
“Priest. If you heal our Hans...”
I’d heard he was Hans’s older brother.
“Then the god you serve will have at least two faithful. My guy here and I will worship Him for now.”
I just smiled and grasped Hans’s glove.
The glove was still hot, smoke rising from it. I yanked it off easily, and a handful of ashes scattered out. Gasps echoed around the room.
The two hands that had gripped the spear shaft had been burned to ashes by the sun’s mana.
Only charred forearms dangled where the gloves had been pulled away. No wonder it hurt so much.
Mr. Handel, who had thought it was just a burn on the hands, collapsed in a heap. From behind, Roca winced and shrank back.
“I’m sorry...”
The child couldn’t bear to look and closed her eyes.
A fatal mistake. Even if unintentional, Roca had ruined a vampire’s life.
He would never have held a spear again. The only fortune was that I was here, and I could cover for the child’s error.
The Lord’s divinity, taking the form of light, poured from my fingertips into Hans. Call it what you will, but I had confidence in treating external wounds.
No matter how severe, as long as they didn’t die, I could regenerate them somehow. I’d proven it through experience, so I was certain on that front.
Sizzle!
The sun’s heat, which boiled blood and seared flesh, yielded to the Lord’s divinity and faded.
The forearm bubbled as if boiling, then new hands sprouted one by one, each extending five fingers. Whether grown or formed, it would be far better than a prosthetic. It wouldn’t differ from the originals, and sensation would work properly.
“Phew.”
Only then did Hans exhale in relief,
“Ha.”
And breathe deeply out. He brought the new hand before his eyes and stared in disbelief for a long time before waving it around and finally patting his chest.
The pained groans he’d been making had stopped the instant my divine power touched him. He hadn’t felt pain since.
“H-how is this possible...”
Only after a moment did he gape in shock. Looking around, the soldiers who’d watched my treatment were all flustered, unable to speak.
“Three Gods... no, not serving at least five gods, so how...”
Mr. Handel grabbed my arm in astonishment.
“My god, I thought you weren’t an ordinary priest since you’re with that extraordinary person, but you surpass our wildest imaginations. Are you perhaps a bishop from another continent?”
Was he vaguely calling her “extraordinary” because there was no guarantee the princess was the empire’s true first princess?
Unfortunately, I hadn’t come from another continent, nor was I a bishop.
Just a priest. Just a believer. The angel seemed to combine the two and call me an apostle, but that’s it.
But they didn’t believe me when I said so.
“I’ll report this to my superiors. The duke needs to know. Even if our humble gratitude is meager, if the duke sees your abilities, he’ll be overjoyed. He might even bestow a great gift.”
Mr. Handel rushed off somewhere, and the other soldiers helped Hans away, probably to a bed for some rest.
Only then did the princess whisper at my side.
“Saint. It’s best not to reveal your ability to heal demonkin if possible. If the Three Gods Church hears, they’ll surely accuse the one behind you of being a demon god.”
“That won’t happen. The Nemi Church already verified me.”
When Yurinel first brought me to the Holy Kingdom, Nemi priests checked if I was fit for her party.
They didn’t seem to know who was behind me, but they agreed it wasn’t an evil god.
“I gripped the holy sword without issue, and above all, I helped Yurinel defeat several demon lords.”
The holy sword could only be wielded by a hero, but not only touched by one.
I’d touched the blade a few times and was still alive. And if I were on the demonkin side, I had no reason to help defeat demon lords like Grozam, third in rank.
“Yurinel...? You mean Yurinel Rakfoncia?”
“Yes. The world’s one and only hero. My hometown friend too.”
“I think I heard there was a priest in the hero party not from the Three Gods Church...”
“But I was lacking, so I had to leave midway.”
At that point, I hadn’t received the Lineage Sapling at all, and while the Milky Way Bleeding Night worked, its limits were clear.
It shattered Grimudo less than it shattered me, so I could only use it once.
Even the Star Dream Observatory was overwhelmed. Foresight in battle is a huge advantage, but Grimudo bridged that gap with pure power alone.
Attacks you know are coming but can’t block—no observatory miracle could counter that. In the end, none of my powers fazed Grimudo at all. And that was then; it’s even more true now.
“Our party went to the North Star Fortress to defeat Grimudo. Barely surviving was all we managed. Against our sworn enemy, I couldn’t do a thing. I wasn’t the slightest help.”
The Western family fell to Grimudo,
And Citadel Kingdom became Citadel Republic. It’s now an open secret that the republic’s Doge made a deal with Grimudo and borrowed some of his monsters.
Pannell was royalty from there and hated Grimudo and commoners alike. Yurinel and I go without saying. We barely saved our hometown, but many neighbors left us.
But that grudge wasn’t enough to defeat Grimudo.
That’s why I left the party willingly. I realized staying wouldn’t beat him.
But now with the saintess with them, they’ll surely avenge us someday. Yurinel always achieves her goals.
“The saintess, Araidel, is with them...?”
Had my explanation fallen short? The princess looked puzzled.
“So they cast out the saint and took the saintess instead?”
She even tilted her head.
“Why on earth...? To make ties with the Holy Kingdom? No matter how I think, there’s no reason...”
“Master.”
Something soft wrapped around my leg again—it was Roca’s tail, as expected.
She’d decided to cling to me tail and all. Roca looked up at me seriously and asked.
“Is that Yurinel person pretty?”
“Pretty. But what sticks in my memory isn’t her looks.”
“Breasts...?”
“Ambition.”
Yurinel had always been exceptional, even as a child,
And right up to our parting. Success mattered more than anything to her.
Looking back now, our split might have been inevitable. We’d banded together only to defeat Grimudo, but Yurinel and I aimed for vastly different things.
“Cheer up, Saint. In my view, they made a foolish choice.”
Still, the princess comforted me.
“None of the Three Gods Church’s three saintesses could heal me, but you did it effortlessly. The Araidel I met was still a child back then, and even after a few years, she can’t be that different now.”
I was grateful, if only in heart.
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