6
Chapter 6
The market began to come into view.
Running with all her might, Morse stole a glance behind her.
A man with a red bandana tied around his head was chasing her and her younger sister.
Whether they turned into narrow alleys or squeezed through market stalls, the distance between them never widened.
It was still before dawn.
Though she knew the market would be empty, she ran blindly toward it, clinging to a sliver of hope.
She felt that if there were people, they might survive. That if someone just witnessed this, everything would change.
Her breath couldn't keep up with her will. She felt suffocated, the taste of blood grew thick, and her heart felt as if it would burst.
But she couldn't stop.
If she were alone, she would have given up and collapsed on the ground long ago. The warmth of her sister's hand was the only thing driving her forward.
She looked back once more.
Despite his weapons and metal armor, he wasn't any slower than they were, running empty-handed.
'Does that guy never get tired...'
Her mouth went dry, and the shadow of death began to whisper to her.
— You could escape if you were alone.
— Your sister wouldn't want to be a burden either.
— You can just save her later if she's caught. Run away by yourself first.
"Shut up! Get lost!"
Morse screamed at the top of her lungs.
She could never abandon the only person she had shared warmth with in the slums.
"Ack!"
Her sister tripped over a rock and tumbled across the ground. Her heart sank the moment their hands slipped apart.
She could see her sister's legs trembling violently. Sancta's physical strength had already reached its limit.
"Sancta!!!"
"Sis..."
Exhausted, the younger girl gasped for air, unable to pick herself up. Tears welled in her eyes.
The man in the bandana approached slowly, sword drawn.
"Finally caught you."
There was a mocking sneer in his voice.
Morse stepped in front of the man, shielding her sister from view.
'Why is this happening to us...'
She had been content just to survive alongside her sister. She had asked for nothing more.
But the world would not leave them alone.
If they were taken by him, they would be sold as slaves, treated like toys, and eventually discarded.
She would never see her sister again.
"I'd rather die than be taken by you!"
"Stop shaking before you say things like that. What a bluff for a girl who can't even die."
The man strolled forward with a smirk. The tip of his sword dragged along the dirt.
"Don't underestimate my resolve!"
She reached out toward him and unleashed her mana.
— Drip, drip.
Blood leaked from her nose, and a wave of severe dizziness struck her entire body. Her vision blurred, yet she didn't lower her hand.
"You bitch! What are you playing at!"
Sensing something was wrong, the man lunged forward. The mana reached him before the sword could.
"—— Aagh! What! What's wrong with my eyes!"
The man screamed, clutching his eyes.
At the same moment, an intense dizziness washed over Morse. Her vision split in two, but there was no time to hesitate.
She roughly wiped the blood from her nose and rushed to her sister's side.
"Unnie..."
"Get up, now!"
— *Wheeze.*
Morse tried to run, fighting through the dizziness, but collapsed as a sharp pain shot through her legs.
"——Urgh."
"You little bitch! Where do you think you're going!!"
"Unnie!"
The thug roared, infuriated that he had been played by children from the slums whom he had looked down upon.
The mockery had vanished from his voice. Only raw fury remained.
Morse was likely only still alive because the man's vision was still blurred.
But her luck had run out.
Her older sister couldn't walk, her younger sister was at her limit, and the thug was blinded by rage.
He was no longer approaching to kidnap them, but to kill.
— Step, step.
He drew closer. One step at a time. He didn't rush, knowing there was no way they could escape.
Only one thought burned in her mind.
'Ah... I'm going to die soon. I can finally say goodbye to this wretched world.'
"Even... so!"
With the last of her strength, Morse pulled her sister into a protective embrace.
"I... want to... protect... you."
The sister, usually expressionless, sobbed in her arms. Her small, thin shoulders trembled.
The sword swung down.
"What do you think you're doing over there?"
The sword stopped.
#
Before dawn.
Just as he had decided yesterday, Enoch headed to the market early without eating breakfast. The dawn air felt crisp and refreshing as it filled his lungs.
Enoch was strolling alone through the empty market.
"This damn bitch is being a nuisance!!"
At the sound of a man's scream, his steps naturally led him in that direction.
"What do you think you're doing over there?"
Enoch approached the source of the noise. There were three people there.
Two girls clutching each other in terror, and a man with a red bandana threatening them with a sword.
The girl who seemed to be the elder was as pale as her waist-length silver hair. Blood trickled down her legs, yet she still held her sister protectively.
He couldn't see the younger one well, but seeing her whole body shaking, he could guess her state.
Enoch's gaze sharpened as he looked at the man in the red bandana.
The man wavered, startled by Enoch's sudden intrusion. The hand holding the sword trembled slightly.
"Mind your own business and get lost! You want to die too?!!"
The man pointed his sword at Enoch threateningly.
Looking at the blade raised against him, Enoch gestured in the air.
ᛇᛋᛖ
— Crack, crrrr-ack!!
"Wha... what is this! You little shit, are you a wizard!!"
Suddenly, a pillar of ice erupted from the ground beneath the man's feet.
"This—is... impossible..."
Ice encased the man's entire body. The hand gripping the sword and the mouth that had been screaming were both frozen solid.
"I'm not a wizard; I'm a mage."
Enoch gave the frozen man a cold look before turning toward the sisters.
Terrified by the person who had neutralized the thug in an instant, neither girl could easily speak. They simply looked up at Enoch with wide eyes.
"Looks like you're hurt."
Stretch.
He pulled his robe wide.
— Rrrrip.
He tore a long strip of fabric with both hands.
He approached the girl who seemed to be the elder sister and staunched the bleeding in her leg. Without a word. With practiced ease.
"Feeling any better now?"
"Yes..."
Facing the first helping hand of her life, Morse's mind went blank, leaving her unable to think.
Words of gratitude and reassurance all crumbled in her mouth.
Enoch looked closely at her wounded leg.
"Your mana depletion is severe. Shall we move somewhere else first?"
#
Enoch returned to the inn with the sisters.
Upon entering, he took a seat in a chair and had the sisters sit side-by-side on the bed. He could feel the tension slowly leaving them.
"Mana depletion will heal naturally with rest. Don't worry about it. Just relax."
Reassured by his words, the sisters leaned into each other. The younger one's head rested quietly on her sister's shoulder.
The atmosphere became much more relaxed.
'That black hair... no matter how I look at it, she looks like the Saintess.'
There couldn't be that many black-haired people in the slums. It would be faster to just check.
"By any chance, have you two awakened?"
"Yes."
Morse nodded immediately at Enoch's question.
"What type are you?"
"Type... what is that?"
'Ah... I have to explain from the very beginning? Okay.'
"Did you notice any physical changes when you awakened? Like your body getting stronger, or remembering a magic circle you'd never seen before?"
Morse thought for a moment, then, as if remembering something, pulled up her clothing to her inner thigh.
"Oh! I have a mark here."
A tattoo was clearly visible on her inner thigh. It was a complex pattern, but Enoch recognized it instantly.
'As I thought... a tattoo appeared here. It's definitely a characteristic of the Curse Type.'
But is it okay for me to stare at a girl's thigh like this?
Enoch stole a glance at Morse's face.
'Wow... her face is a total Magma Slime right now.'
I should stop looking.
"You're a Curse Type Awakened."
As Enoch looked away, Morse hurriedly pulled her clothing down.
"Yes. Yes..."
'Her eyes have completely lost focus. What am I supposed to do with this?'
Beside her, the younger sister looked up at her older sister before looking back at Enoch. She remained silent, her face expressionless.
'I should try to keep the conversation going for now.'
"It's a type that can weaken the opponent by emitting mana."
"Ah! So that's why everyone had problems with their eyes when I used my mana."
Although she was answering, Morse's eyes flickered restlessly, as if they had lost their way.
'I think the problem with the eyes is actually yours right now...'
"That's... that's right. Exactly. You've been using your ability quite well."
Enoch's gaze shifted to the younger sister.
"What about you? What's your ability?"
"Oh! My sister hasn't awakened yet."
No way. That can't be right.
Then what is this mana I'm seeing from her?
The amount of mana in the younger sister was incomparable to her elder. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say her entire body was saturated with it.
"Would you mind trying to release some power into the air?"
With that much mana, it would probably leak out just by thinking about it.
The younger sister looked at her elder as if asking for permission.
The elder studied me for a moment before nodding.
'Why are you suddenly looking at me?'
As the younger sister reached out her small hand and concentrated.
— Flash!
A blinding light enveloped the entire room.
'Aaaagh, my eyes! My eyes!' it was that kind of light. Enoch blocked his face with his arm and stepped back half a pace.
The light gradually faded. The elder's jaw dropped.
"In... incredible! Sancta! When did you awaken? I had no idea my sister was this amazing!"
Her face, which had been pale until now, brightened for the first time.
"Hmm."
The sister made a small sound of happiness, but when her eyes met mine, she shyly buried her face in her sister's ample chest.
'Is she shy?'
I had suspected it just from the mana, but the light made it certain.
Just how much healing-type mana did she have for it to manifest as light?
'This child is the Saintess.'
The Saintess.
A saint who created the Healing Formula during the invasion of the Demon Realm, traveling the battlefield to heal everyone regardless of whether they were human or demi-human.
At first, no one believed it—that such a technique was created by a young child from the slums. People only began to follow her after seeing the effects firsthand.
This child was that beginning.
But as far as I knew, the Saintess didn't have an elder sister.
'Did something happen in the past? Is she connected to the thug I just took down?'
"Um..."
Morse opened her mouth as if she had something to say.
"Oh! Just call me Enoch."
"I'm Morse. And this is my younger sister, Sancta."
'I know. You literally screamed "Sancta!"'
Morse hesitated, but after looking at Sancta gazing up at her, she made up her mind.
The sister's eyes were desperate. It was a look that pleaded for her to ask.
"Please help us. We're being hunted by the Red Fang gang."
Enoch sank into deep thought.
Since he planned to save the Saintess anyway, saving the elder sister at the same time seemed like a good idea.
'This is it. I'm scoring double points with the Saintess, aren't I?'
Wait... what should I do with the elder sister?
She looks like an adult already... Right! I can use her as my assistant.
'A rare Curse Type with actual combat experience? She's a fantastic talent. Man, my brain really works wonders.'
If only my mana would return like that too...
"Um... Mr. Enoch?"
"Ah! I was lost in thought for a second. Of course. I'll certainly help you. Don't worry."
Enoch suddenly switched to formal speech, which was unlike him.
'Hehehe! A buy-one-get-one deal on a Saintess and an assistant!'
As Enoch let out a bizarre laugh, the sisters stared at him with bewildered expressions, not understanding what was happening.
The sisters looked at each other. Their eyes said the same thing.
'Is this guy... actually okay?'