Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: S2. Resentment Offered to the Stars -1
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How did it go?
Ah.
Yes, all of you failed to stop even a single thing. Of course, it is not as if you gained nothing. You had a family, if only for a little while. You cherished the hope of saving the world, however briefly.
In that moment, didn't your heart race with adrenaline, as if you had become the hero of a tale? Didn't excitement flutter within you at the thought that saving the world just like this would allow you to atone for every wrong you had committed?
Even though everything you gained crumbled to dust and scattered because you headed in the wrong direction. Still, since you held it in your hands and savored it for a short time, that should be enough, should it not? Everything fades away eventually, in any case.
Dreams, hopes, society, humanity—all turn to dust and scatter someday. This time, it simply happened a little sooner. Niole.
So there is no need to grieve like that... and truthfully, you have no right to grieve. It was not you who died, after all. It was innocent people.
I know, Niole. You tried your best.
You gritted your teeth through the pain and revulsion, poring over magic tomes to be of help to your companions. True, all you accomplished with the magic you learned was killing people, but things might be different from now on. Who can say if you might save even one soul?
You did well, Niole.
You will continue to do well going forward. Of course you will. I believe in you. If you offer up a little more of yourself, sacrifice a bit more, hurl your life into the mud and grind it beneath boot heels. If you wring power from torment and save people with it. If you can save them.
It will feel wonderful, will it not? You will be on the verge of death, while the one you saved laughs right in front of you. Isn't that so? Is this not... the justice you desired? That is what I thought.
You take pleasure in dismantling yourself and handing out the pieces, do you not? Keep at it just like this from now on. Hm, you will end up a raving madwoman with a wretched life, but at least Bennett and Tara benefiting by your side will find happiness.
As you know, a tender atmosphere is budding between them. Once all these events conclude, the two of them will share a deep kiss atop your grave. They will marry, and later reminisce like this: There once was a pitiful, foolish person named Niole.
"Shut up—what are you saying?"
You are the one who approached me first, begging to borrow my power.
The party was hiding inside the New Life Newspaper building alongside reporter Sally. Bennett peered out at the world through a gap in the blinds.
The world had taken a turn for the worse.
Ever since the sky had screamed in agony and countless animals had fled in terror from the upheavals in the heavens, time and space had broken free from their ancient laws, churning unstably.
For instance, someone's severed leg suddenly materialized in midair.
The leg of an ordinary citizen walking along had abruptly been teleported away. Somewhere out there, another citizen was no doubt clutching that severed limb, screaming as they bled to death.
For instance, a ten-year-old girl turned into an old crone in the blink of an eye.
Caught in a bubble of accelerating time, dozens of years had rushed past in an instant. The world had gained one more innocent elder.
Traps wrought by warped space-time lay everywhere, and monsters strode openly through the city. Policemen who realized their mistake fought back with gunfire, but the foes were far too strong and far too numerous for mere pistols.
The distance to the evil god continued to narrow in real time, while the city's population dwindled relentlessly.
The party's condition was poor as well.
Niole seemed plagued by severe auditory hallucinations. She would clamp her hands over her ears and shake her head, or slam her forehead against the wall. With each passing day, an inky darkness gathered in the depths of her eyes.
Tara had lost all her power. What remained was no longer the saintess of the goddess's church, but a fragile girl bereft of her family.
Bennett took action. His face was grim, but he did not break. There was still work left to do.
The legacy Abraham had bequeathed them. Deciphering his research might grant them one final chance.
If they could calculate the alpha value and enact a reverse summoning...
"...Niole, can you move?"
[Yes, Bennett. No problem. I'm fine.]
"The math professor Abraham mentioned... his name was Lot, I believe. I'm thinking of finding him and asking him to run the calculations. Before it gets any later."
Bennett checked his gear and packed some of their remaining food. Niole staggered to her feet as well, preparing to venture out into the city.
Tara fidgeted anxiously before speaking to Bennett.
"...Um."
I want to go too.
"Tara, you stay hidden here."
"...Yeah, guess it has to be that way?"
"No need for that look. You did more than enough. Rest here a moment... I'll bring good news. Don't go outside. Stay under cover."
As Tara's expression twisted with conflicting emotions, Bennett stroked her hair. Tara quietly leaned into his touch.
The sweet moment was fleeting.
"We'll be back."
Bennett stepped out of the newspaper building with Niole. Only Tara and Sally remained inside.
Tara huddled in a corner of the room, waiting for the party's return.
The flow of time had become utterly unpredictable.
Sometimes day and night swapped places in a mere ten minutes. Other times, a setting sun would reverse course and climb back to its zenith. The only reliable timepiece was the pattern on her wrist marking their expected return.
With light sources restricted to avoid detection by monsters, life in the darkened room dredged up all manner of gloomy thoughts. What should they do next? Guilt over being unable to help the party.
Worries about whether the two who had gone out were safe.
And every so often, the memory of Bennett's touch surfaced. Tara placed her own hand atop her head. Even swaying it side to side failed to replicate the feeling.
"When will they come back..."
"They're superpowered, right? Any monsters, they'll smash 'em in no time...! Isn't that so?"
Tara merely nodded to Sally, who clenched her fists brimming with hope. Three people and two made a world of difference in strength. Without her, were they okay? What if they got hurt?
As such worries swirled, what felt like a full day passed.
Tara began to grow truly uneasy. Had something happened? Was finding that mathematician Lot taking longer than expected? Had they gotten dragged into a fight? What if they ran into the cult leader?
Shaking with anxiety, Tara contorted her face.
She pulled out her holy emblem, hung it on the wall, clasped her hands, and began an awkward prayer.
Goddess, please watch over those two. Let them return safe and whole, without a single injury. If you take pity on me, your former saintess...
How many years had it been? Ever since her disappointment in the goddess who had granted not a single wish, Tara had not prayed. Perhaps that irreverence was why her divine power had been stripped away.
Only after losing everything did Tara think of the goddess again, praying with desperate fervor for the party's safe return.
In this way, what felt like two days passed.
"Um, Tara?"
"...Yeah?"
Tara, bowed in prayer, lifted her head at Sally's call. Sally gestured cautiously from beside the window.
Tara crawled over to the window. Sally parted the blinds just a sliver and pointed outside.
"Someone outside... trying to get in. Here."
"...What?"
A lone man with a wooden bat slung on his back was prowling around the newspaper building. Compared to the shattered ruins nearby, it looked relatively intact—he seemed to be checking for remaining supplies.
"Th-that's fine, right...? Tara, your fist was glowing too...!"
Sally shot her a look of trust. Tara averted her gaze slightly. Sally didn't know Tara had lost her divine power and was now powerless.
Tara hesitated a moment before speaking.
"Y-yeah... leave it to me."
Tara took a deep breath.
She had taken classes at the academy and knew the basics of close-quarters combat. Besides, this world had been peaceful without monsters until the incident—so few people were professionally trained to fight.
One man should be manageable.
Seized by the conviction that she had to do something, Tara resolved to deal with him herself rather than cower in hiding.
She opened the door, descended the stairs, clambered over the barricade, and stepped outside. The man whistled upon spotting her.
"Whew, people after all."
"...Yeah, plenty of people here. If you don't want to get hurt, don't even think about trying anything—just get lost!"
"You were right. Worth checking out."
Tara's threat had no effect. The man dug in his ear with a finger, blew into it, then muttered to the sky—who knew at whom?—before speaking with utter fearlessness.
"If there were that many people, a man would've come out. Instead, they send a ragged sack of a girl."
The man's gaze raked over Tara with blatant lust. Repulsed by the vile stare, Tara covered her chest and took a step back.
The man gripped his bat and swung it menacingly through the air.
"Don't try anything stupid. Behave, and I might let you live. Was just needing a woman anyway."
"...Disgusting pig."
"Gonna have to fix that filthy mouth first. Hey, come here."
Deep breath.
"...Hah!"
Tara hurled the stone she had hidden behind her back. She aimed for his head.
Crack!
It connected.
"...Kuh!"
The man's head snapped to the side. The stone tore his eyebrow and fell away. Blood spurted, drenching half his face.
...Now!
Tara seized the opening while he recoiled from the throw and charged in. She slammed a full-force punch into his jaw. Thud!
Next, a left hook to the face. Then she drew back her right and drove a body blow into his solar plexus. Bang!
Crunch.
Amid the impact sounds came the crack of bone—from Tara's hand.
"...Eut?!"
The man had concealed something hard like iron plating beneath his gut. An unforeseen counter. As Tara grimaced in agony and faltered, the man's fist came flying.
Mana—infuse mana to dodge...!
"......!"
Thump!
The man's fist sank deep into Tara's abdomen. The blow lifted her off the ground for a moment. She couldn't even scream, reduced to ragged gasps. A body without mana was far too slow and frail.
Move. This isn't the time to freeze in pain—move now...
She tried to push through the pain that stole her breath, but it was too late. The man's thick hand whipped across her cheek.
A sharp smack. Ringing filled the ear on the struck side. When she came to, Tara lay sprawled on the ground. Her limbs refused to obey. She needed to move.
"...Kek!"
"You... fucking bitch..."
Her throat was crushed in his grip.
"......!!"
Tara clawed desperately at his hands and thrashed to break free, but she couldn't dislodge the weight bearing down. Rage and lust swirled in the man's eyes as he glared down.
Like this—so pointlessly...?
At that moment, the pressure on her throat eased by half. Enough for a thread of air. Regrettably, it was no salvation.
The man seized her clothes. Only then did Tara grasp what was coming. Revulsion crawled over her skin like insects. The utter helplessness of the powerless.
No, please no. She screamed it in her mind a hundred, a thousand times, to no avail. At last, Tara understood the terror of the defenseless.
Her consciousness dimmed. Yet she could do nothing. If it's to end like this, then rather...!
That was when.
Crash!
The man's head jerked forward. Clods of dirt rained down. Reporter Sally had smashed a flowerpot over it from behind. She kicked him off, shoved the groaning man clutching his skull away from Tara, and...
"...Get up here!"
"Kehk, heuk..."
...dragged Tara back inside the barricade. The two shoved it into place to seal the entrance. But there was no respite.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"--Hey, come out! I'll kill you all!"
The man must have recovered. He battered the barricade. Kicks, punches, wild bat swings. Tara and Sally braced it with all their might.
"...Superpowers—your superpowers...?"
"Sorry, sorry Sally... cough, I... I can't use them..."
"Why didn't you say so sooner...! I never would've left it to you!"
Brutal violence loomed at their doorstep. Tears welled as Tara prayed fervently. She beseeched the goddess for strength to escape this, or dared hope the man might tire.
Creak!
The barricade groaned. Furniture splintered, and the bat's tip poked through. The man's glaring eye peered from the gap.
Tara trembled like a rabbit moments from the predator's jaws.
In her final instant, Tara thought of Bennett. She squeezed her eyes shut and cried out.
"...Please, please help us. Bennett...!"
"Bennett? Don't care who you're calling for—that fucker's next on my li--"
"Then try it."
A voice cut the man off.
He whirled toward the sound from behind. A man with hair veiling half his face stared back with eyes like honed blades.
"When did you get behind me...?!"
"I said, try it."
Slim build. He held a blade, but didn't look particularly strong. Charge in close and it would be an easy win.
Ignoring the voice in his head urging him to target the woman, the man lunged at Bennett.
"Fine, just as you wished—die!"
Shlick.
Those were his final words. Before he could take a step, he split into three chunks and tumbled down the stairs.
[I'll handle the cleanup.]
Niole murmured a light incantation. Countless mouths sprouted from the floor, devouring blood and flesh. The stairs gleamed clean, as if nothing had happened.
Scrape. The barricade slid aside, revealing Bennett fully. Tension drained from Tara's rigid frame as she gazed up at him.
"...Bennett."
"Tara, any injuries?"
"...Took one to the gut. And my cheek. It hurts."
"Should've beaten him worse. Sorry I'm late."
Regret flickered in Bennett's eyes. Look closer, and deep fatigue shadowed his face. Tara startled upright, waving her hands frantically. It wasn't his fault.
"No, it's on me... I thought I could win."
"You would have, under normal circumstances. But certain people in the city... they've been empowered by the evil god. That one seemed to be among them. No match for someone without mana. Don't dwell on it."
Tara nodded, swallowing her tears.
Bennett and Niole had just returned from a grueling journey. Wounds dotted their bodies here and there, and Niole's dark circles hung hollow. Her once-vibrant expression was gone, replaced by a stiff mask.
She couldn't play spoiled with those who had suffered. She was useless baggage already—no need to add more weight. Tara forced some energy into her voice.
She sniffed hard, wiped the dampness from her eyes with her sleeve, mustered her usual confident look, and asked Bennett.
"...How'd it go? Niole's not hurt?"
[It went well. Made contact with the mathematician Lot. Handed over the data on the way back.]
"He'll call when the calculations are done. Got a radio from him too."
They seemed to have succeeded. Bennett met each of their eyes in turn, clearly outlining the path ahead.
"The moment we receive the alpha value from the professor, we'll hijack the magic circle the Silver Twilight cult set up and perform the outer god banishment ritual."
He was charging toward that final chance.
And by his side... she couldn't stand. Tara glanced at Niole beside him, then bowed her head. A tangle of emotions she couldn't quite name welled up.
The distance between her and the party felt wider. A little cold.