Chapter 89
Chapter 89
Episode 89
In the slowed world, I was so engrossed in thought that I even forgot the throbbing headache.
The rock falling towards the child.
Gigantes falling towards me.
A malicious situation.
It was an impossibly exquisite and contrived timing.
As if fate was sneering, daring me to defy it.
[Erosion Rate 17%]
A choice between two options.
Magic was impossible. I couldn't make it in time. I had to use [Spatial Barrier].
[Erosion Rate 17%]
But if I did?
I would lose the means to stop Gigantes. Everything I had planned would fail.
[Erosion Rate 17%]
This was an even greater mistake than the one Oz made.
Knowingly falling into it.
It absolutely shouldn't happen. This was foolish.
If I was defeated, more people would die as a result.
[Erosion Rate 36%]
But was it okay to abandon a child like that? The child was innocent.
If you thought about it, I was responsible for pushing Gigantes and making him use an area attack.
[Erosion Rate 16%]
Saving the child was a soft thought in the first place. I was different from Oz.
Unlike him, I could live ruthlessly.
I had to. Wasn't that why I deliberately dirtied my hands by killing the assassins who came for me?
[Erosion Rate 38%]
But was killing assassins who came to kill me really the same as standing by and letting a helpless child die?
[Erosion Rate 16%]
Different. It was definitely different. The situation couldn't be the same.
But just as the situation was different then, so was I.
In the original game, he survived even when defeated, but there was no guarantee I could survive like that.
The world was a place where a butterfly's small flap of wings could become a typhoon anytime, anywhere. I didn't know when or where I would make a mistake that would change the planned situation.
[Erosion Rate 38%]
To achieve my goal, should I discard everything unnecessary?
[Erosion Rate 15%]
To live in this harsh and unreasonable world, of course, I had to.
[Erosion Rate 38%]
Then what was my goal?
[Erosion Rate 15%]
To survive the predetermined death, to save the world heading towards ruin.
[Erosion Rate 40%]
...And to challenge divinity and go to meet Arietta.
[Erosion Rate 15%]
Then, on the contrary, there was no need to throw myself to save a single child.
[Erosion Rate 40%]
But wouldn't Arietta be sad? Would it be okay for someone who intended to challenge divinity to fail to save a single child?
[Erosion Rate 15%]
In the first place, the god of this damn world wasn't omnipotent.
[Erosion Rate 40%]
Yes, then. If I could truly give up for the sake of my goal.
[Erosion Rate 40%]
Why am I reaching out towards the child?
[Erosion Rate 15%]
"I don't know either..."
[Spatial Barrier Lv. 2]
Even though I understood it with my head, even while constantly making excuses.
[Erosion Rate 15%]
In the end, it seemed I couldn't be as ruthless as Oz either. I deployed [Spatial Barrier] towards the child.
"Still...!"
I didn't want to give up like this yet. If this choice was truly right.
[Mana Dominator Lv. 3]
Now was the time to prove it. I entrusted my entire fate to this single moment of luck.
"Come out..."
Come out.
[0/100 until guaranteed SSR-rank magic]
Come out!!!
[Curse of Perpetual Snow]
I unleashed SSR-rank magic towards Gigantes, who was falling towards me.
A storm of snow and ice swallowed Gigantes's massive body.
But...
"Guwoooooooo!!!!"
Gigantes also risked everything. He began to tear apart the storm of snow and ice with his massive arms.
As a result, his body was tattered beyond recognition, but he still had something left.
The overwhelming mass of his huge body remained.
"Damn it..."
And the monster, imbued with that mass, then fell towards me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Arietta was confronting one of the [Death King]'s Hands, who had launched a sudden invasion.
"Indeed, the Saintess is different."
[Demi-Lich]
Pied Dunn
The oldest of the Sistus created by the [Death King], and one who proved his loyalty to become a Hand.
A being half-living, half-dead, he was one of the [Death King]'s few cards that could counter Arietta.
The existing Hands would have trouble checking Arietta within the sanctuary.
But Pied, even if half-dead, was half-alive.
At the very least, he wouldn't die instantly from Arietta's attacks.
"But that's why you're in this situation."
And the [Death King] had sent him before Arietta because he seemed to be the best matchup.
"...The Pied Piper."
Pied didn't attack Arietta directly. Instead, he played his flute, spreading his curse throughout the Holy City.
At the widespread curse utilizing sound, Arietta recalled the name of a fairy tale protagonist. The story of a missing person who, unrewarded for his good deeds, became corrupted and disappeared with the children.
And that missing person had eventually become a Hand of the [Death King].
"Now... Choose, Saintess. Will you ignore my curse and defeat me?"
If so, the curse would spread throughout the Holy City.
And that curse would massacre countless people.
"Or will you block it here until my curse's power runs out?"
But this method also had a problem. She was the second most skilled person in this sanctuary after Lucia Domine.
For Arietta to be tied down in one place would mean a tremendous loss in terms of manpower, and the number of innocent victims would increase.
"People, when faced with a choice, tend to see only what's in front of them. You must see the consequences. The idea that everyone will be fine if you just solve the problem at hand is ultimately an illusion."
Pied smiled wanly, as if his past self and the current Arietta were the same.
What mattered was the result. Just as he was ultimately betrayed even though he acted out of goodwill, goodwill had no meaning.
"Moreover, since you won't allow any sacrifices, can you even last until sunrise?"
The efficiency was different.
Pied didn't mind just indiscriminately spreading the curse, but Arietta had to purify every curse Pied scattered.
"I might not be able to last, but..."
"Hmm?"
"The knights who protect me will be able to."
She believed so.
Arietta opened her mouth, feeling a suffocating pain in her chest.
"All members of the Shield of Light, please stop his evil deeds."
In the end, it was like this. Even if she wanted to treat them as friends, at moments like this, she had to give them orders.
That was her destiny, and their mission. An absolute prerequisite that could never be bridged.
Arietta began to sing a hymn, her voice soaring as if to reach every corner of the Holy City buildings.
She poured all her divine power, except for the divine power used to purify Pied's curse, into the [Shield of Light].
Among it was the divine power to protect herself. There was also the divine power that served as a sensory network to survey the world.
'Ah...'
Arietta, having poured out everything, was truly shrouded in darkness.
The divine power that had always allowed her to distinguish objects was now gone.
In the pitch-black darkness where she couldn't see an inch ahead, she barely managed to suppress a sigh.
She clutched her trembling shoulders and stifled a scream that threatened to escape.
God's trace had already left her.
But she sang resolutely, her voice raised to the world.
A lighthouse, alone in the darkness, began to shine, illuminating the path.
"Well, well..."
The [Shield of Light] members, having received Arietta's divine arts at their maximum, each readied their weapons.
Some, to form a perfect defensive formation around Arietta, took out large rectangular shields called scuta and created a wall.
Others, to seize the opportunity Arietta had created, discarded their shields and gripped their weapons with both hands.
"Huh..."
Pied let out a hollow voice as he watched the evenly matched situation suddenly turn.
Even though their master was groaning in pain, consumed by death energy, they didn't look back.
Because they didn't care? No, they had expected this from the beginning.
They knew. That their master would eventually make such a choice.
That's why they didn't look back, bit their lips, and faced forward, solely to fulfill the mission entrusted to them.
To finish the job as quickly as possible and alleviate their master's pain.
Pied felt fear for the first time in a long while in the face of that united will.
"Then..."
Pied's eyes widened as he watched the [Shield of Light] members advance like white spots spreading on a black canvas.
"Will you take my life, or will I take the Saintess's life first?"
He disliked the bond between them.
For him, who hadn't even received a just reward, a relationship built solely on such trust was irksome.
"Let's see..."
Just as Pied, like Arietta, was about to pour out all his strength...
Thwack!
A huge explosion that resounded throughout the Holy City momentarily halted their confrontation.
The reverberation had been there before, but this time its intensity was different.
Everyone's gaze turned towards the direction of the explosion.
"Ah..."
And Olivia, who was holding up a scutum next to Arietta, sighed at the sight.
Oz was falling to the ground, covered in blood.
And towards Oz, a similarly tattered monster was slowly crawling.
Just by looking at that fragmentary result, everyone knew.
He lost.
The [Successor of the Mage king], who was as strong as a monster.
The mage who should have possessed absolute firepower.
"What... Ugh, what happened?"
"...."
Olivia fell silent, unsure what to say as she looked at Arietta, who let out a short scream as death energy began to invade her body.
Right now, Arietta couldn't see anything. Couldn't feel anything.
She couldn't even comprehend the fact that Oz had been defeated.
So, the scene she saw must never be told to Arietta.
Yes, to her, at least...
"Olivia?"
"It'll be... alright."
But her voice trembled with bewilderment.
Even though Arietta couldn't see anything, she could feel something. Even if she couldn't see, she had ears.
She could feel it on her skin, that everyone's morale had dropped significantly with the explosion.
Then what was the reason?
In this situation, there were usually two reasons why everyone's morale would drop.
Either Pope Lucia Domine was defeated.
"Don't tell me..."
Or the [Successor of the Mage king], Oz Quabadis, was defeated.
And Arietta instinctively knew it was Oz who had been defeated.
Because Lucia Domine would still be inside the Holy City.
"So..."
She fell silent.
To hide the direction her heart was leaning.
She wanted to go to Oz. She wanted to go to him and heal his wounds.
But she couldn't.
She was at the center of this battlefield.
If she left now, all formations would collapse, and everyone would be in danger.
Moreover, there was no way she could break through the horde of undead alone and reach Oz.
Yes, that thought was selfish.
As the [Saintess of Hope], even if she harbored such thoughts, she must never show them.
"It's okay..."
Arietta tried to convey her opinion to the [Shield of Light] members who were watching her.
Even if Oz was defeated, we had to do our job.
There was no need for everyone to risk themselves for me.
So, maintaining the formation and defeating the opponent came first.
She had to say that.
Even though she had to say it...
"Ugh...!"
Arietta felt the greatest pain she had ever experienced.
The decision that went against her heart felt like it was tearing her apart.
"So..."
Arietta's eyes welled up with tears.
The [Shield of Light] members nearby bit their lips and barely maintained their silence as they looked at Arietta.
They also wanted to respect Arietta's wishes.
They had faith in 'Arietta,' the human and the Saintess. But they couldn't.
Their master was enduring, so they couldn't step forward.
"It's okay... Maintain the formation."
Arietta finished her words, feeling an unknown pain, perhaps from the aftermath of lying to her heart, or perhaps because of the emotions she was feeling.
At her words, the [Shield of Light] members swallowed their sighs and pulled down their helmets.
They knew Arietta couldn't see, but they wanted to hide their expressions so that her decision wouldn't be in vain, so that her hesitation wouldn't increase.
"Are you really alright?"
"Sir Olivia, stop..."
But Olivia was different.
She pushed away the [Shield of Light] members who tried to restrain her and strode towards Arietta.
"Are you really okay with that, Arietta?"
And she asked for her true feelings.
The emotions she, who had always endured, had hidden inside.
To listen to them.