Chapter 547: Mixed Fates (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 547: Mixed Fates (1)
Brașov, the current capital of Romania.
The raid team and the volunteer group, who had arrived without warning, were met with fierce resistance at the city gates.
“St-stop them!”
“Stop them, no matter what!”
“D-don’t let them in, ever!”
The ones leading the charge were Romania’s politicians.
The moment they saw the Hunters, they knew instinctively.
They knew that their grand scheme, led by Viktor Vadim, had been shattered to pieces.
And that if they let them inside, they too would not be safe.
To save their own skins.
And to buy time, they screamed at the soldiers until their throats were raw.
But it was useless.
“Lay down your weapons and stand back. Otherwise, we will attack.”
Clang!
Click!
No matter how exhausted they were, they were all veteran Hunters.
They were not opponents the soldiers guarding the gate could hope to stop.
“W-we surrender.”
“Ugh…!”
Unable to withstand the killing intent radiating from them, the soldiers dropped their weapons one after another and raised their hands.
The path naturally opened.
Upon entering the city, the raid team split into two groups.
One took the injured to the hospital.
The other went after the pack of rotten politicians who were scrambling to escape.
“U-ugh… S-spare us!”
“We were only following his orders!”
“H-he said he’d kill us if we didn’t obey… we had no choice…!”
The excuses from the captured group were all the same.
The Hunters glared at them.
“Shut up. If you don’t want to die right here.”
“Eek…!”
Countless comrades had died, and Francis and Kim Do-jin were in critical condition.
They had barely made it back alive, but they had come just as close to death.
The fact that they didn’t kill the masterminds of such a plot on the spot was a testament to their character.
They gave a warning.
“You’d better start praying. Hard.”
“Because if Francis or Do-jin dies, we’ll kill every last one of you bastards.”
That was the absolute limit of their patience.
If either of the two in critical condition didn’t make it, they would no longer hold back.
While the Romanian politicians’ escape was quickly thwarted, the situation for their comrades at the hospital was not improving.
“Quick, lay them here!”
The only hospital in Brașov.
For a moment, the staff was startled by the sudden emergency unfolding in a place that was usually peaceful.
The doctors and nurses on duty quickly rushed over to help with treatment.
Stopping the bleeding, suturing torn wounds.
Those with deep injuries requiring surgery were quickly moved to the operating room.
Slowly but surely, the number of patients began to decrease.
But that was when the real problem began.
“…The conditions are too poor.”
As the only hospital in Romania, it had the basic necessities, but that was all.
There were many who needed immediate surgery, but there weren’t enough operating rooms or surgeons.
Not only were they short on supplies, but what little equipment they had was outdated and woefully inadequate.
Because of this, two people were in the most danger.
“No… At this rate, Francis and Do-jin…”
Han Ju-yeon shook her head violently, despairing at the terrible outcome that flashed through her mind.
It was impossible to treat the two of them here.
By taking turns with the Volunteer Group, they were barely managing to prevent the wounds from worsening by pouring in healing magic, but how long could they keep it up?
‘What do I do? What, what can I do….’
She didn’t want to lose this happiness she had grasped only through sheer, miraculous luck.
But what could she do?
Unable to find an answer, she gnawed on her lip until the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth.
Just then, Michael, who had been just as busy tending to the patients, approached her.
“There is one method left that we can try.”
Her head snapped toward him.
“There’s… a way?”
Michael nodded at her desperate question.
But his expression was far from optimistic.
“But the chances of success aren’t very high.”
In a situation where nothing else was working, it was a method worth trying, but the probability of success was low.
However, to her, that didn’t matter.
“Tell me.”
As long as there was a chance, she would do whatever it took.
Her eyes shone with firm resolve.
Seeing this, Michael explained the idea he had in mind.
“…The Saintess is on her way here.”
“Ah!”
Realization dawned.
Saintess Sophia Saintess.
She could do it.
The rumors that she could save anyone as long as they were still breathing were not just empty tales.
But the hope that had filled her face for a moment was soon replaced by deep worry.
She understood at once.
She knew why Michael had said the chances were slim even after mentioning her.
She asked.
“How long until the Saintess arrives?”
“…It will take at least three to four hours.”
“……”
Her face grew even darker.
The condition of the two men was worsening by the second.
Without a constant stream of divine power, they wouldn’t last even thirty minutes.
And now they had to hold on for more than three hours.
“She can’t… come any faster, can she.”
The answer was obvious without asking.
The Saintess was one of the busiest people in the world.
That timeframe was likely only possible if she dropped everything and rushed here immediately.
“So in the end, we have to buy time.”
“That’s right.”
There was only one way to buy time.
They had to maintain the healing magic for the three hours it would take for the Saintess to arrive.
“…Is it possible?”
Healing magic was a type of magic where the consumption of divine power varied depending on the severity of the wound being treated.
In other words, the amount of divine power required to cast healing magic on two people in the worst possible condition was simply astronomical.
Knowing this, Michael spoke in a somber voice.
“For one person… it might be possible.”
“……!”
It was a difficult thing to say.
It would be a hard decision, but since they couldn’t let both die, they had to save at least one.
That was what Michael was trying to say.
And on top of that, the person he wanted to save was likely…
“…Did the Volunteer Group choose Francis?”
“I’m sorry.”
Michael bowed his head respectfully.
It wasn’t an incomprehensible choice.
No, in fact, it had to be seen as an extremely rational one.
Francis was humanity’s greatest hero.
The good deeds he had accomplished numbered in the thousands, even tens of thousands.
Besides, wasn’t he known to have a deep connection with the Saintess?
While Kim Do-jin had also recently built a great reputation and was forming a bond with the Saintess, it was true that he fell short in many ways when compared to Francis.
Michael bowed his head again and pleaded with her.
“I know this is difficult. But… please, help us.”
“……”
It couldn’t have been an easy decision for them either.
That’s why she felt no anger or disappointment toward them.
But.
“I’m sorry.”
Because she had no intention of giving up on Kim Do-jin either.
“The Volunteer Group should be able to protect Francis until the Saintess arrives.”
Michael’s eyes widened slightly.
“Does that mean…”
“I’ll take care of Do-jin.”
She had made her decision.
Succeed or fail, she was going to try.
“If this goes wrong, you could be in danger too, Hunter Han Ju-yeon.”
Divine power wasn’t so different from mana.
Overusing it would strain the body, and if the strain was too great, the body would break.
Even for an S-rank Hunter, using healing magic on a critically injured person for three hours straight was nothing short of a life-or-death gamble.
But she did not back down.
“I don’t care.”
After glancing at Kim Do-jin’s pale face, she continued with a faint smile.
“There’s no reason for me to live a life without him.”
So there were only two possible outcomes.
Either she and Kim Do-jin would both live.
Or they would die together.
“…I understand.”
Michael took a step back.
It couldn’t be helped.
Since she had respected their decision, they had no choice but to respect hers.
“I pray for your success.”
“You too.”
The two wished for each other’s safety.
After Michael left, she immediately resumed her healing magic on Kim Do-jin.
Her divine power began to drain away in an instant.
Han Ju-yeon focused her mind.
‘I can’t let it overwhelm me.’
To maintain the healing magic for the next three hours, she had to control the consumption of her divine power.
She abandoned any thought of healing the wounds. Her only goal was to keep his condition from getting any worse.
Even so, lasting three hours was a distant hope.
Betting her life on a near-impossible task, she whispered to Kim Do-jin.
“Just hold on a little longer, Brother-in-law.”
I’ll make sure you live.
Her life force began to burn away.
*
The joyous news arrived that they had defeated the True Ancestor and reclaimed the Wallachia region.
And immediately after, bad news followed.
In the process, Francis and Kim Do-jin had fallen into critical condition.
The moment she heard the news, she canceled all her appointments and headed for Romania.
Many complained, but she didn’t care.
To her, the lives of Francis and Kim Do-jin were more important than losses of hundreds of billions.
She immediately boarded a plane to Romania, landing in the wasteland near Brașov.
As she entered the city, one of the raid team members who had been waiting for her led the way.
“This way!”
The time it took to reach the hospital was three hours and ten minutes.
The air rippled with the aura of death.
“Kugh…!”
“Just hold on!”
“Oh, please!”
Those who had barely survived and those who could not hold on and were slowly dying were tangled together.
“……”
The Saintess walked among them.
Fwoosh!
Clad in a golden aura of divine power.
The energy, filled with the Divine Authority of Mercy, immediately clung to the dying and drove death away.
The people cheered.
“It’s the Saintess!”
“Ah, the Saintess has saved everyone!”
Paying no mind to the cheers, she continued walking and asked.
“Where are Francis and Hunter Kim Do-jin?”
“Th-this way.”
In a room deep inside the hospital.
Though the sign read ‘Intensive Care Unit,’ two men lay in a room that was anything but.
The Volunteer Group was keeping one alive, while Han Ju-yeon was holding onto the other’s life.
As the Saintess looked at Han Ju-yeon, her face filled with shock.
“My god…!”
She had done something she never should have.
“Stop at once!”
Han Ju-yeon’s half-closed eyes turned to the Saintess.
“Ah… Saintess.”
The Saintess strode over, roughly pulled her hands away, and shouted.
“Withdraw your divine power, now!”
“…Yes. Now that you’re here, I suppose I can.”
Finally, the energy receded.
At the same time, a stream of red blood poured from her nose.
“Ah……”
Han Ju-yeon staggered and barely managed to collapse into a chair.
The Saintess started to say something to her but held her tongue.
There was something more important to do right now.
Looking down at Kim Do-jin, she immediately drew upon her Divine Authority.
“Oh, God.”
A dazzling torrent of golden light poured out, enveloping Kim Do-jin’s dying body.
The holes in his body slowly began to close.
Death, which had refused to retreat no matter how hard Han Ju-yeon tried, began to recede.
Wheeze— Wheeze—
After confirming that his breathing was gradually returning to normal, she immediately withdrew her power.
This was her limit for now.
There was still one more person.
Someone else she had to save.
Before leaving, she placed a hand on Han Ju-yeon’s shoulder and said.
“Hunter Kim Do-jin is fine now. So you should rest for a while, Hunter Han Ju-yeon.”
“Yes… thank y—”
Han Ju-yeon couldn’t even finish her words of thanks before her head slumped forward.
Giving her a bitter smile, the Saintess immediately turned to Francis.
“Ah, Saintess.”
“You’ve arrived.”
“Yes, you’ve all worked hard.”
The members of the Volunteer Group were clearly exhausted.
She passed through the path they made for her and arrived at the bed.
As she looked down at Francis, who had shared her cause for so long, her face froze, turning ice-cold.
“Fran…cis…?”
He was in a state that not even she could save.