Chapter 2. Encounters and Opportunities (11)
Chapter 2. Encounters and Opportunities (11)
I stumbled a little on the way when a stone caught my foot, but I still managed to arrive before it was too late.
They were drenched in blood...... but even so, they didn't seem to be a Lowest-Rank Hunter. Their injuries were in far better shape than when I'd last seen Lee Si-yoon.
Of course, that only meant the skin hadn't been torn off their face and their limbs were still comparatively intact. Left as they were, they would die. I didn't even know whether pouring Holy Water on them would be enough to save them.
Slowly, light descended from the sky and shone down on me.
......Fine, I get it.
In a situation like this, I couldn't just stand by and watch.
I placed my hand on the wounded person's body and poured in Holy Power.
......Anyway, even if I don't specifically ask for help, Holy Power will flow out.
Because that's the kind of being You are. Then again, at least so far, You've never made a fool of me 'in that way.' If I got arrogant and went around swaggering as a Saintess, I didn't know what would happen then—but at least, not so far.
I wasn't the only one who had come running after seeing the wounded man.
It was only natural that startled voices sounded from all around at the dazzling light. Among them was something like a woman's scream. It came from far behind, so I couldn't tell who had screamed—
And then, soon after, I heard a scream that was a little different from one a person would make.
Was it a beast's cry? No, it was a little different from that. It was a more chilling sound than any wild animal cry I had ever heard.
—A monkey?
Just as the thought crossed my mind that it resembled the shriek of an ape—
I heard human screams again. Men's voices and women's voices mixed together. And then, once more, red things flew out from beyond the Gate.
The things that fell with dull thuds were people, and also parts of people.
And among them, there were also things like animal hides. Body parts of feline beasts that brought to mind tigers or lions.
But their size was enormous.
What had Ria said on the way here?
She'd told me to imagine a bear the size of an elephant, hadn't she?
......That thing wasn't quite the size of an elephant, but it looked like it could be about the size of a rhinoceros—
"......No."
I quickly shook my head. Then, as I got up from my spot, I stumbled a little.
And then I ran again.
Toward the nearest patch of red light that had fallen.
"......Ah."
There was no way they could still be alive.
To the next red light.
That was a part of a person. There was nothing Holy Power could do for a single leg.
The next—
"......."
As I was trying to rise, someone grabbed my arm.
Just like before, my body spun around.
The person looking at me was Ria.
She wore a far angrier expression than when I had spoken to Lee Si-yoon.
"Where do you think you're going—"
Instead of answering, I pointed with my finger. Not at some vague spot, but at the next person drenched in bright red.
Ria saw what I did and was at a loss for words.
She already had a sword drawn in one hand, but she hadn't managed to put on armor. That was only natural. Just a little while ago, she had simply been wearing a nun's habit.
The Veil had long since fallen from Ria's head.
Without thinking, I raised my own hand and found there was no Veil on my head either.
"Wait, wait a moment......!"
Sophie shouted as she ran toward me. Knights were around her. A few of them wore expressions that suggested they were debating whether to grab her and pull her back.
"S-Sister, that side is close to the Gate!"
Seeing her run over even while terrified, she seemed to have the personality befitting a Saintess, for someone who had tried to scratch me.
Then again, the other Saintess Candidate here who hadn't crossed paths with me was the same way. In any case, if I weren't here, one of the two of them would become the Saintess. For that, they'd need at least a minimum of awareness.
No, actually, hadn't they said there were quite a lot? Since there were two more just in this area, it wouldn't be strange if there were actually about a hundred across the country.
"That way, Sister."
I pointed in the opposite direction from where I had been about to run.
"You go that way."
"Huh?"
"There are a lot of wounded."
I said only that and looked back at Ria.
"......Tch."
Ria ran a hand down her face, then let go of my hand.
"Wait here a moment. If anything happens, hide behind the Hunters. I'll run to the car and be right back."
"Got it."
Ria sprinted off, and I ran toward the patient as well.
I dropped down almost sliding across the ground on my knees, barely confirmed that they were still breathing, and poured in Holy Power.
People were pouring out of the building. The comparatively lower-grade Hunters who had briefly pulled back, and the Hunters who had been receiving treatment for injuries. The clergy who had been tending to people inside.
Judging from the fact that several knights came out with them, the other Saintess Candidate had apparently been looking after people inside.
I raised my hand toward the running Hunters and shouted.
"Bring as many as you can over here, quickly!"
The Hunters, trained to move as efficiently as possible in situations like this, heard me and swiftly scattered in all directions. The clergy also spread out toward those Hunters. Unless someone was on the verge of death, those people would probably be able to at least stop the bleeding with the Holy Water and Holy Power they had.
I confirmed again that the person I had healed was still breathing, and as I got up from my spot, I stumbled a little.
"Tch."
Since this was a moment that demanded maximum efficiency, I tried to raise my own efficiency as best I could, but it seemed the amount of Holy Power wasn't something that could be divided up and used quite that efficiently—
"—————!"
Another chilling shriek sent goosebumps down my back.
I, and everyone with me—all of us turned our heads toward it without realizing it.
The Gate looked exactly like mercury spread thin. Its surface shimmered faintly in the light, and from what I remembered, if you actually struck it with your hand, it rippled just like a liquid surface.
And now, that Gate's surface was churning violently.
Boom!
A sound like something being smashed rang out,
"Oh, damn it!"
I heard someone shout that.
And then, something flew in through the Gate. Equipment I had never seen before. If I had to describe it, it looked like a large communications device you might see at a field headquarters in a war movie, and of all things, it was flying toward me from beyond the Gate as if something had kicked it out.
Stupidly enough, I threw myself over the patient.
Did I think that if I covered him with my body, the patient would be a little safer? I don't really know—
But before it could reach me, it was split in half.
Boom!
Drawing a V shape with me and the patient in the middle, the two halves slid across the ground.
"......Hah."
I exhaled at the sight and lifted my head, then locked eyes with someone and froze.
"......."
Ria.
Ria held a sword in one hand, and in the other, she was carrying the shield I had been using.
She clearly had a great many things she wanted to say, but Ria didn't bother to voice them.
"......Well, it's partly my fault too."
Ria muttered that for some reason, then set the shield down in front of me.
"I couldn't bring the gun. But...... you learned, right? How to protect yourself with a shield. You won't be able to block that bastard from beyond the Gate."
"At least I can block falling debris. Thanks, Ria."
"......Because I'm your knight."
Ria closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, let it out, and then opened her mouth.
"So, where are you going?"
"First—"
"Sister!"
Someone called out to me.
I turned my head and saw Lee Si-yoon, along with other Hunters, pulling the wounded as far back from the Gate as possible.
"First, let's go that way."
As I rose from my spot, other Hunters ran over to us and dragged away the patient who had collapsed unconscious.
"————!"
The moment I started running, something shrieked again.
Thud.
This time, the ground shook.
Once again, I looked toward the Gate. And I nearly stopped in my tracks.
What was emerging from beyond it was a giant. No, was it not a person? It looked like a monkey.
A monkey wearing, on top of its head, several tiger hides—hides from tigers far larger than any we know—that had been flayed whole and then crudely woven together.
The thing made by weaving together multiple tiger hides to clumsily imitate a tiger's face looked exactly like the beast version of the Texas Chainsaw Killer I had seen as a child.
The thing looked like it could snatch a person by the waist with one hand and chew them up in its mouth, and it was forcing its body through the inside of the Gate, twisting as it tried to emerge.
"Good Lord, a Rank 2 Hunter......."
Someone muttered that after seeing what was "held" in its hand.
At those words, goosebumps shot up my back.
They said Rank 1 was on par with Heroes, but that didn't mean Rank 2 was a low tier. From Rank 3 onward, Hunters already possessed abilities that wouldn't be strange to call inhuman.
.......
Before I knew it, I had glanced over at Lee Si-yoon.
How on earth did that guy survive in a situation like this......?
No, never mind.
Still, there was hope.
The tiger hide was torn here and there, and blood was seeping through the gaps. At the very least, that thing was not a Magical Creature. If so, then.
Boom—!
That sound rang out, and the monster shrieked again.
"You think I'll just let you through!?"
The shout came from inside the Gate.
Right. There was still a Rank 1 Hunter inside. Even if a victim had come out, it was still a situation they could hold for now.
"Ria!"
"Uh, yeah......!"
When I shouted, Ria flinched belatedly and followed after me.
I ran as hard as I could toward a wounded person reeking strongly of blood.
Stopping that thing wasn't our job.
At the very least, it wasn't something I could do.
So, for now, I would save the people in front of me.
Without even scattering the light falling over my head, I thought only of that.