I Can't Acknowledge a Goddess Like This (2)
The gray-robed girl continued frantically rifling through the bookshelf, ignoring her friend's desperate pleas.
"Ailin… let's go back already, huh? The sisters are going to be so worried…"
It wasn't like Ailin had never acted strangely before, but today felt especially off. In the middle of this terrifying situation where demons had stormed the cathedral, the girl searching so intently for something seemed suspicious.
"What are you even looking for?"
"The holy scripture!"
If a mage's weapon was a wand or staff, a nun's weapon was a holy scripture or bible. Nuns who had reached a certain level could channel divine power without even holding one, just like skilled mages who no longer needed their staves for basic spells. Ailin, who knew none of this, was terribly worried about the head nun who had rushed out without her scripture while the place was crawling with demons.
"Huh? Y-you…! Are you really Ailin?! Or did a demon transform into you?! You've never once read the scripture before! Wait… but there's no reason for a demon to look for a holy book…"
Her friend clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes darted around nervously, ready to bolt at the first sign of danger. Had her friend always been this obsessed with the scripture? Or did it just seem weird because demons had suddenly invaded and everything was chaos?
"What are you talking about…? Earlier I told the head nun that Hailey was missing, so she ran off in a hurry and forgot her scripture… Aselia. Stop standing there and help me look!"
"…O-okay!"
Ever since the moment Ailin had been surrounded by monsters and nearly killed, only to be saved by the head nun, her fate had been sealed. Whether she liked it or not, she would walk the path of a nun when she grew up. Like all the other orphan girls who had become novice nuns by accident, she had only read the first few pages of the scripture. But having witnessed the head nun's incredible strength while holding that very book, Ailin couldn't help but worry about her now more than ever.
"What does the head nun's scripture look like, anyway?"
"It's black with her name written in gold leaf on the cover."
"Got it…! I'll check over there!"
The World Tree sapling absorbed nutrients and enriched the surrounding land. Lush vegetation began to grow in the fertile soil, drawing in herbivores. Then came the carnivores. And finally, monsters so corrupted by demonic energy that they could barely be called animals anymore. The strongest monsters claimed territory, while the weaker ones were gradually pushed out. Even the ones too weak to hold ground became formidable threats when they attacked villages, easily overpowering a few humans alone.
Because of the treaty, no kingdom's forces could reach Springwood. That left only the head nun, the senior nun, and the other sisters stationed here to act as the final reapers for the mindless monsters. They also became the maternal figures who took in the lost children who wandered far from distant villages, following the scent of food through the forest.
'She always told me to carry one with me… That idiot head nun!'
The day Ailin had nearly died to a monster after venturing into the mountains out of hunger was the first time she had come to believe in the gods. She remembered the scripture resting on her stomach as the head nun had carried her here in her arms. Thinking of the demons outside—far more terrifying than the monster from back then—Ailin shuddered.
"Hmm. Doesn't seem to be on this side, Ailin…"
At her friend's dejected words, Ailin—who had frozen in fear—snapped out of it and began flipping through the shelves even faster.
"Ah, found it!"
She wondered why anyone would put a scripture so high up, but the moment she spotted the thick black book with gold leaf edging, Ailin reached for it.
"Ah?"
Maybe it was because the book was too heavy to pull out while she was precariously balanced on the edge of the shelf. The moment Ailin rose onto her tiptoes to stretch further, her body toppled.
"Kyaa!"
Even as she fell toward the floor, Ailin clutched the black scripture tightly to her chest. She crashed down with a loud clatter, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
"Gruk? Were there still some left?"
Ailin, who had been brushing the dust off her nun's habit, froze in place.
"Huk!? I-it looks like a demon…"
Seeing her friend cover her mouth and tremble violently, Ailin nodded calmly.
"Let's hide. Quickly…"
Heavy footsteps thudded nearby, but Ailin managed to stay composed as she led her friend into a small prayer room attached to the grand chapel. She found a barrel just big enough for the two of them and pulled them both inside.
BANG!
The sound of a door being smashed echoed, but the two little girls could do nothing. They were powerless novice nuns. No—two tiny girls who couldn't even properly manifest divine power yet. What could they possibly do against a demon? All they could do was cling tightly to each other and shake uncontrollably.
"Sniff. I'm sure I heard something from around here."
The grating sound, like stones scraping together, made the girls tremble even harder.
"Let's see where those stupid humans are hiding! Kyaahaha!"
Unlike me, who had scarfed down my meal at an insane speed and was now enjoying a leisurely stroll outside the cathedral, most of the nuns seemed to have only just finished eating. As I passed several buildings that still carried the soft, steaming scent of fresh bread, the structures grew more intact the farther I moved from the dining hall.
'Looks like the demons haven't reached this area yet. That's fortunate.'
Even though I had been using divine power every time I encountered a demon, there was still plenty of it circulating through my body. With its help, it wouldn't take long to reach the dining hall. The beams of light pouring down from the sky seemed to act like real-time markers showing the Pope's location. They shifted dramatically now and then, but the light never dimmed.
'That Pope… he's really something else.'
I occasionally felt my own divine power being drawn into those beams, but I didn't mind. After all, I had become some kind of monster who wasn't limited by the amount of divine power I possessed. If anything, it was comforting to know that lending my strength to deal with the invaders would lighten my own workload.
'Is he still fighting?'
I needed to wrap things up quickly and join him. There was no way I could let the demons who had brazenly stormed the cathedral leave here alive.
BANG!
"Hm? What was that?"
The sound of wood shattering came from beyond several buildings.
"Let's see where those stupid humans are hiding! Kyaahaha!"
'There were still some left?'
Flames erupted from the grand chapel. Judging by the savage demon's shout, someone was definitely in there.
I sprinted toward the chapel like a madwoman. By the time I arrived, a rather threatening blaze was licking at me with flickering tongues.
"Who the hell set my house on fire?!"
"What the—? You came looking for death, huh?! Kyahaha!"
I had nothing more to say to this idiot who didn't know his place. I needed to put out the flames before they swallowed the entire chapel.
"Mother. Pierce them with your light."
A brilliant orb of holy light formed instantly, then shot forward like a laser, piercing straight through the demon's body.
"Guh?!"
Every demon I'd met so far had done the same thing. The moment they saw me, they would spout nonsense about testing my skills or claiming this would be my grave. There was no need to converse with trash like that. Whether I blasted them apart with a mass of divine power or pierced them with a holy beam, they usually stopped breathing.
Maybe it was because I'd only been dealing with such weaklings, but I had let my guard down.
"Huk… Is this bitch the Saintess?"
"Tsk. Didn't die in one hit. I'll give you another."
"Huuuuk! I'll leave you a little present on my way out. Hehehe!"
The demon swung its tail, smashing several pillars to pieces, then let out an even more unpleasant burst of laughter.
"Go on, struggle all you want! You're not dying alone! Kyahahahat!"
'…Not dying alone?'
I quickly shifted my divine power to my eyes. The Penetration ability was still active, allowing me to see through the building's walls. After scanning around for a moment, I finally spotted two children trembling violently inside a small barrel.
[Children.]
"I can see that!"
The long rows of chapel pews made it difficult to move quickly. I kicked off the backrests and leaped over several benches at once, shouting as loudly as I could.
"Kids! Get out of there right now!"
I yelled at the top of my lungs, but the sound of the collapsing building must have drowned me out. The two children didn't move at all.
'What are they doing?!'
Were they too terrified to even twitch?
"Hup! Hey, kids!"
I shouted again, but they still didn't budge. I waved my hand to clear the thick smoke filling the prayer room and finally understood why they weren't moving.
'Damn it! It's the smoke!'
The children had clearly passed out from the dense fumes. The prayer room where they were hiding was full of paper books, so the smoke was even thicker than in the relatively open chapel.
"—Damn it all. Mother! Please suppress these flames!"