Name - 4
Watching the battle unfold before my eyes, I found myself questioning.
If this world was real—if the gods we called Stars truly existed—then why did those so-called gods merely watch over us and preside over our transactions, never once caring for us?
Yes. Divine aid had never existed.
They merely maintained the balance, preserved this opposition, and observed from afar.
More precisely, not they, but she—and not she, but they.
And so the Saintess, called the woman most beloved by the Stars, and the outsider who had entered her body, now resented the Stars that had stood by as her comrade died.
Why did you not save humanity?
Why did you not grant me the power to save the human dying before my eyes?
Why, when you are omnipotent and can bestow vast starlight upon humans, do you merely watch?
Even as I hurled these questions that would never receive answers, the Stars remained loftily silent unless it was a transaction.
The Hero chosen by the Stars, the Holy Knight who had burned himself, and the Saintess who resented the gods stood before Spring.
Spring, like the Stars, merely gazed down upon them loftily from the sky.
The only difference was simply the height.
The time given to Jerome was ten minutes. Within that, somehow force a decision.
Capture that Spring, so that Jerome's sacrifice would not be in vain.
Somehow, I will save him.
Because I am the Saintess.
I am the Saintess.
I erase the line.
I blur the distinction between myself and her.
A trick possible only because of the Madman's Notebook.
The Erosion Rate was not fixed.
Through several trials and experiences I had learned the truth.
The Erosion Rate was fluid.
It rose, then returned again to 25%.
That meant only one thing.
I can use the moments when the Erosion Rate climbs.
Yes. When the Erosion Rate rose, I fought like a human deeply skilled in combat.
Even though I had never fought in reality, I used physical enhancement and holy arts to fight the Hero—whose body was still incomplete—to a standstill as a non-combat class.
Let's try it.
I am the Saintess.
Purification · Light Arrow · Light Arrow · Light Arrow · Physical Enhancement
Heal · Heal · Heal
It worked.
Only a little, but the efficiency was clearly different.
The use of starlight, its efficiency, every movement—everything seemed to obey me.
A star fallen from the sky had shattered into starlight, and every fragment moved at my command. An omnipotent sensation.
Even at 30% it was this strong.
More. More. More. I need more.
The Hero, Jerome, and Spring were tangled together in combat.
Crack—
When the sword struck a petal, metal rang.
Clang—
When a petal touched armor, the armor crumpled.
Scrape-scrape-scrape—
Blocking the whirling flower-wind gouged the earth and shoved the Hero back.
But it was doable.
Spring was certainly a powerful Disaster, yet as the first Disaster the Hero ever met, she was slow.
A mage whose speed at opening distance against knights and warriors was insufficient—that was what she was.
The battle had begun from a favorable position, but once the Hero and Jerome dodged the cherry blossoms floating in the sky, she had no choice but to flee.
I might not have known before, but a month later the Hero had grown enough that a mage initiating close combat—even a Disaster—was a burden.
Then my role was to support the fight and force the enemy down.
I loosed three Light Arrows that glowed softly behind me.
I am the Saintess.
My name is Theas.
Fwoosh—
Three arrows of light flew.
Before the Madman's Notebook could activate—quickly!
I poured my consciousness into the arrows.
The three arrows each twisted onto different paths.
One from the left, one from the right, the last stabbing from behind.
Spring whispered a small incantation.
"Spring Breeze"
She used a movement skill.
And the after-delay—caught.
Got her.
The Hero and Jerome leapt toward the empty air where she reappeared.
Then the sound rang twice.
Thud—
Thud—
The Hero's Holy Sword pierced Spring.
And Spring's nails pierced Jerome.
Ah—
Aaaah—
Aaaaaaah—
Why!
I tried so hard, I played the best move I could, I finally accepted this world as real, I decided to save him.
Why did I give him affection, why did I see him as human?
Jerome fell from the sky.
The Hero pulled his sword free in midair and plummeted after him.
Spring's wounds were not that severe.
Why?
I had clearly caught the after-delay after her movement skill.
Even the Hero and Jerome had seen it as an opening, which was why they leapt.
Ah. I see.
It wasn't an opening.
Even after using a movement skill, she could immediately cast another spell.
It was a trap.
Except for the Holy Sword through her abdomen, the enemy had just removed one-third of our current fighting strength.
The pink-haired girl smiled.
I want you to live.
Girl, become a Star.
I ran to Jerome.
Blood leaked from his mouth.
Blood poured endlessly from his stomach as well.
Heal
Heal
Heal
Healing would not take.
Why?
I can save him—
"This is as far as my lifespan goes."
"Please do not waste it."
Don't speak.
Don't you dare speak.
Shut your mouth.
"I hope the Saintess will be happy."
"I hope you escape that narrow cage and fly free."
Girl, become a Star.
I want you to live.
I hope the Saintess will be happy.
I hope you escape that narrow cage and fly free.
He closed his eyes.
And looked endlessly at peace.
But it is not yet time for you to die.
Lifespan still remains.
A faint starlight, thin as a dying lamp, still illuminates him.
Only a tiny amount—but if even a little exists.
Prayer — Heal
I will offer prayer to the god I resent.
After confirming his outward appearance had been restored, I closed my eyes and turned away.
I could not face it.
I opened my eyes.
No more tears fell.
Now I could face it.
The Hero looked at me with startled eyes.
I met his gaze.
In the end, I must kill my emotions.
It was always going to come to this.
A comrade is on the verge of death.
Kill emotion—become unfeeling.
Kill affection—become heartless.
Kill personality—become featureless.
Yet because I was steadfast—martial.
And then, mixing again.
Because she was the woman beloved by the Stars—the Saintess.
Because he never retreated once he found courage—the Hero.
And now, even though burning his lifespan had become meaningless, he was still a knight.
Meaningless—yet if we kill Spring, meaning will be born.
I—no.
The Saintess opened her eyes and faced it.
White fire bloomed in her hand.
She took out the notebook and let the fire transfer to it.
Controlling the Erosion Rate had been a mistake.
I had been thinking wrong from the start.
The Pope had told me.
Become a Star.
Fine. I will become a Star.
I will become a Star that brightly illuminates everyone from the heavens.
Not a Star that only watches, but a Star that saves everyone.
The Holy Knight had told me.
That he wanted me to live, that he hoped I would be happy, that he hoped I would leave the cage and freely fly the sky.
He had said so.
Fine. I will become a bird.
Gladly I will become the bird that escapes the cage.
I will become a bird that freer than anyone gazes down loftily upon the earth from high above.
I will live happier than anyone, always wearing a smile as I fly the sky.
And I said to the Saintess.
I will become you.
Released. Reduced to ash and scattered on the wind.
If I reach 100%, what will become of me?
There will be no turning back.
If I pass halfway, what will become of me?
I do not know.
But I have decided.
I will not let the sacrifice be in vain.
I will be able to tell him, when he wakes, that the lifespan he offered was not meaningless.
This world is full of humans made of lies, overflowing with enemies of baseless malice, and our god remains silent.
The only real thing left in this world is the Hero, and he alone can be my true comrade.
He will not die.
Because I will make it so.
Therefore, because I have bound my heart—resolve.
I will never lose again.
Returning to reality had been my only goal.
But this place was reality too.
I had wanted to see them all as chess pieces.
But they were people.
I had not wanted to become the Saintess.
But I am the Saintess.
I am the Saintess.
I am a bird freely flying the sky.
I am a Star that watches over people from the heavens.
And then, mixing—ecstasy.
Blood flowed from my eyes and nose and mouth and ears.
The Hero tried to approach me, yet Spring blocked him again and again.
Spring. Yes.
Today I kill Spring, and the Disasters become three.
Spring looked at me.
Insolently. How dare she.
Light Arrow
And light poured from the sky.
The rain of light became blades that tore flesh and poured upon Spring.
Spring became a wind of petals, and the cherry trees were cut down.
Spring returned to human form and cast magic, yet her arm was severed.
"Aaaaah—!"
A scream reached me.
It sounded like pleasant music to the ears, the Saintess thought.
And the Saintess recited her own name for the first time in a long while.
The Watching Star, the Revealing Star—Theas.
A name I had not spoken in so long.
Ahaha—
Laughter came.
I shouldn't laugh. I should be grieving that my comrade offered his lifespan.
Why does laughter keep leaking out?
If the Hero sees my twitching lips he will think it strange.
Expression management!
Mm, this should be fine.
One arm already gone, scratches everywhere, and from the belly the Holy Sword had pierced she was dribbling the filthy fluid that was the source of her power—utterly revolting.
How disgusting.
But she is still useful.
I crouched and began to butcher her.
The left arm is already gone; three remain.
First the legs.
"Aaaah—"
"Aaaaaah—"
"Aaaaaaaaaaah—!"
The screams were song to me, so I was merry.
Her mistake was only one.
She had allowed herself to be struck by the Hero's sword.
Believing she could face all three at once and finish us quickly—that was the fatal error.
She must have thought that even with power leaking from the hole, dealing with a Hero who had not yet reached Superhuman and a Saintess unskilled in combat would be easy.
How rude.
Ah, pffft.
Did you truly think you could kill a person and still live?
Retribution.
Indeed—shall I leave the legs for now?
