The Saintess Has Long Since Quit (5)
Hmm. What should I do about this?
I sat still inside the barrier, lost in thought. Outside, the monsters licked their chops as they glared at me. They swung clubs down to smash the barrier and body-slammed it, putting on a menacing display. But no matter what they did, the barrier wouldn't break. Even if those beasts attacked it for a hundred days straight, this wasn't something brute physical force could shatter.
"Looks like the teleport points didn't get crossed either..."
I used clairvoyance to check beyond the barrier. Sure enough, no sign of Claude. Right before teleporting, I'd seen that scene—Claude's magic resistance repelling the trap without interference. He was probably standing alone in front of the trap by now.
"Lucille... isn't too far from here."
My current position was pretty close to hers. If I ran, I could reach her in about five minutes—but could I break through this monster horde? To move, I'd have to step outside the barrier. The moment I did, they'd grab me by the hair and... well, I didn't even want to imagine what came next.
"Ah, if I'd known, I should've learned some attack prayers I could use on the sly..."
For some reason I couldn't fathom, the temple insisted a saintess like me shouldn't know how to harm anyone. All the holy power manuals I'd studied covered only healing and aiding others.
"I want to make cool spears or swords out of holy power like the other priests... You drop lightning from the sky or make chains. Can't you teach me?"
"No means no, Saintess."
Even begging my sister got me nowhere. She'd jump out of bed at dawn to light incense if I asked—but not this.
"You too? What if your one fragile big sister gets exposed to thugs or monsters all alone? What if they do something worse than kill me?"
"When would a saintess ever go out alone? But just in case... I'll teach you basic barrier techniques."
That's how I'd barely wheedled this ultra-basic holy power barrier out of her.
"Sis, you used holy power in the prayer room behind my back again, didn't you?"
"Saintess? You need to sleep during bedtime."
Later, when I tried self-studying in secret, my sister or the other priests would somehow appear and stop me like they were scolding a reckless kid. I'm second only to the pope in the temple, yet they restrict me this much? Sure, there must be reasons—but I'd love to know what they are. My sister just brushes it off.
"Eyaah!"
In the end, I stretched and stood up. Luckily, I knew a trick for times like this. I didn't know why, but I'd survived multiple assassination attempts, so handling situations like this was second nature. The dungeon was dim with little light, and these monsters had adapted to the darkness over a long time. They could navigate without light, but I planned to turn that against them.
Clap clap!
"Hey, everyone, eyes over here?"
I clapped to draw all their gazes to one spot.
Grrr...!
Maybe frustrated by the barrier blocking them, the monsters growled more irritably.
"You wanna eat me that bad, huh? Got it—I'll drop the barrier soon, so don't get too worked up. Just wait."
I gathered holy power in my palm. I still didn't know any attack methods using it. The temple strictly controlled manuals on wielding holy power, and priests swore oaths not to leak it. No way to learn, and as saintess, I was too busy anyway.
"Alright, releasing the barrier now?"
But I wasn't helpless. Claude wasn't here anyway. Clairvoyance confirmed only these man-eaters around.
Crackle!
I released the barrier protecting me from the monsters.
Flash!
At the same time, I unleashed the concentrated holy power in my hand all at once. It erupted into an incredibly bright light, like the sun exploding right in front of them...
What I call the mighty Solar Fist.
Kyaaak?!
The monsters all clutched their eyes in agony and collapsed. Seizing the opening, I bolted toward Lucille.
Haah...
After dealing with the surging monsters, Lucille leaned against the rubble with a sigh.
The situation's worse than I thought.
Basically the worst-case scenario.
Just moments ago, she'd reached the dungeon's core and taken down a golem that could pass for the dungeon's boss. No issues up to that point—a straightforward fight.
The problem started after. Once the golem fell, the entrance sealed shut, and monsters poured in from the opposite side. These were far more dangerous than any she'd seen before, and their numbers were three or four times greater.
And that wasn't all.
If only that instructor hadn't been hurt...
The one teacher who knew the dungeon's layout and could contact the outside lay critically injured. A sudden explosion had hit while shielding other students, leaving her with severe burns over her body. The students had only passed out, thankfully... but the teacher was unconscious now. Even if awake, she couldn't handle this.
For now, rest. Recover stamina while I can.
So Lucille had to handle it alone. At least, before spirit summoning got blocked, she'd called one spirit.
Good call summoning a firepower-heavy mid-tier spirit.
Of course, one mid-tier spirit had limits. With rescuers' arrival unknown, the only solution was slaying the dungeon boss to dismantle it and escape.
But with monsters abnormally stronger than before, the boss would dwarf the golem she'd beaten. Without other mid-tiers or a high-tier spirit, Lucille couldn't take it solo.
"Ugh...!"
On top of that, the explosion had left her right arm throbbing unbearably.
Broken?
Lucille rolled up her sleeve to check. A massive purple bruise.
Won't be using my right hand for a while...
She'd blocked the blast's direct impact with a spirit but missed the flying debris.
If Nurse Erdel were here right now...
She lowered her sleeve with a wry smile. Erdel had popped into her mind unbidden—the new school nurse who always kept her eyes closed, kind but oddly off-putting. If she were here, a broken arm would heal in seconds. Lucille hadn't seen it herself, but the nurse had regenerated a severed, vanished arm in under an hour. Insane healing prowess.
"Oh, it's broken? Must hurt a lot... Hold on a sec."
Like this—her hand glowing with warm light, just one touch and the pain vanishes.
"...Nurse Erdel?"
Lucille stared blankly. She couldn't process it.
"How's that? All better now?"
There she was, appearing out of nowhere like it was natural, flashing a bright smile as she healed the broken arm.
"Why are you here...? No, how did you even get here?"
She should be waiting in the infirmary tent outside the dungeon. Why here?
"To rescue you kids, obviously. Isn't that a teacher's duty?"
"Ah..."
Hope dawned in Lucille's eyes.
Did rescuers already arrive?
The nurse being here meant she'd come with other teachers to save them.
Right, it was a huge explosion. They must've noticed the anomaly outside.
The whole dungeon shook. Hard to miss.
Still, this was fast.
"Any other injuries?"
"No, I'm fine now. My mana recovered too—good as new."
"Glad to hear it."
"Thanks to you, Nurse Erdel."
Lucille smiled in relief.
"Where are the others, by the way?"
"Ah... the rest will arrive soon."
"I see. Good thing. I was starting to struggle alone."
Rescuers here? Perfect. Arcanum Academy teachers were elite, and the rescue team included imperial knights contracted with the academy. That was beyond a major subjugation force. No matter how strong the dungeon boss, they'd handle it.
"First off, could you help me out a bit?"
"Of course. What do you need?"
Lucille stood to assist.
"I've done basic first aid on the injured."
Probably help with the wounded and treatment. That's what Lucille thought at first.
"Yeah, not that—them. Could you deal with those?"
Then Erdel pointed not at the injured, but toward the dungeon depths.
Why there all of a sudden?
"Pardon?"
At first, nothing visible, so Lucille asked again, confused.
But then.
Rumble rumble rumble!!!
"Ah, they're really pissed..."
A quake-like tremor hit, and a massive wave of monsters surged forth. An endless procession poured from the depths' passage—far outnumbering everything Lucille had felled so far.