Roholan Defense, Immediately After
Inside a temple walled in brilliant stained glass, an old man in holy vestments spoke with a woman who kept her hood pulled low.
“That’s the full report, Alstein.”
“Hmm… I see. Forcing a believer to sound the Horn of Frenzy was well enough. Still, there are regrettable gaps we cannot ignore. Which sister conducted the investigation?”
“Regrettable my ass. I went myself. What, you got a problem with that?”
The hooded woman seized the old man by the collar.
“Heh-heh. Not at all. I merely hoped you had uncovered that ‘beast’s’ weakness. Learning nothing is… disappointing, nothing more.”
“Fucking hell… I already told you a dozen times—that bitch noticed me. Nothing I could do. And seriously, are you out of your mind? I was at least three hundred meters away. How the hell did she sense me?”
She released him and clicked her tongue.
“Anyway, she’s no ordinary thing. Not even in the prophecies, right? On top of that she’s glued hand-in-hand with that precious priestess of yours, so curse magic won’t stick. The two of them never let go for a second. Damn pests.”
“Indeed. Then we have no choice. We shall send Sister Sharan to finish the rest.”
“Sharan? That worthless wind-rat? What can she possibly do? Even if that beast is half-dead after slaughtering tens of thousands of magic beasts, Sharan would still get herself killed in a heartbeat.”
The old man smiled quietly.
“Sister Sharan’s faintest breeze will be more than enough to bring the beast down.”
“Fine, whatever. You handle it. I’m out of here. Thanks to you I’ve got a mountain of shit to deal with… Haah… Who knows what the elders will start ranting about next…”
“Hahaha. I’m afraid I can do nothing about the Magic Tower matter. Do your best, Sister Firma.”
“Sister my ass. Fuck you.”
Flipping him the middle finger and spitting a final curse, the woman vanished from the spot, leaving only the faintest trace of mana behind.
“Still, it is fortunate we discovered the beast’s existence so early.”
Alone now inside the temple, the man smiled until his mouth nearly split, then lifted his face toward the heavens in prayer.
“All for Erden.”
The chaos that had swallowed Roholan was finally stilled by a single girl sleeping in my arms.
Her body was a wreck. Her gear was a wreck. Yet she had thrown herself into the midst of thousands of magic beasts.
Even when her arm twisted, even when her legs snapped and blood burst from every part of her, she never stopped killing them.
We fought our way forward too, cutting down the endless tide of beasts that poured between us and Noah, desperate to reach her.
We never made it.
No matter how many we killed, new ones rose to block our path.
Only when Noah’s breathing had grown paper-thin, only when not a single beast still stood, only after the sun had risen—
—did we finally see her.
Noah, bleeding from every inch of her body, still on her feet though she swayed. Noah, swinging a sword hilt that no longer even had a blade.
Tears spilled from my eyes.
I wanted to run to her and pull her into my arms that very second.
But Noah kept swinging her arm.
She did not know I was approaching. She did not know every last beast was already dead. She simply kept swinging, and swinging, and swinging—endlessly.
I carefully slipped past that arm and gathered her close.
Only then did she seem to relax. Strength left her body, and a faint smile touched her lips.
She wiped my tears away.
It was not the terrified, twisted face she had worn before the battle. It was the same steady, reassuring smile she had given me when she told me not to feel guilty—the smile that said she would protect me for the rest of my life, that I must not die, that I must not break.
And in that same proud voice she said:
Let’s… let’s go eat.
The same words she had spoken to me before we set out for the south.
Even reduced to this ruin, she still tried to put me at ease.
There was no fear on her face. No distortion.
And that only made my heart feel as though it were being torn apart.
I poured divine power into her like a madwoman.
I knew it would change nothing. I knew she would not heal quickly. Still I prayed that she might sleep even a little more peacefully, that she might suffer even a little less.
“Her condition… is grave.”
Heinzel approached, his usual booming voice sunk low and heavy.
“Just what the hell is that brat?”
Luci came next, anger simmering beneath his words.
I could hear the villagers murmuring.
Still. Still those voices that knew no gratitude. Voices that said if only she had done this from the start. Voices that claimed the adventurers had brought this disaster upon them.
My teeth ground together. My hands trembled. I wanted to wring their necks right then and there.
But these were the people Noah had protected even at the cost of becoming like this.
I could not.
“…I admit I was at fault, but… this sort of treatment is a bit much.”
“If we cause a scene here… it’ll only make more trouble for the little one and the rest of us, won’t it?”
“Don’t talk nonsense, Heinzel.”
Luci and Heinzel felt the same. They glared around them, jaws clenched.
“Haah… Priestess. Take this.”
Luci drew a glass vial of purple liquid from his coat.
“An Elixir.”
My mouth fell open and refused to close.
“W-what…?”
An Elixir.
The miraculous liquid that only a single alchemist in the entire world could create—capable of bringing even the nearly dead back to life. A divine treasure said to heal every wound and accelerate growth.
Even after becoming a priestess I had never seen one with my own eyes; I had only heard the rumors. A legend I thought existed only in stories now rested in Luci’s hand.
But…
“N-no… Noah’s condition is serious, yes, but with my divine power I can still—”
“No. The external wounds, maybe. The inside will be far harder to restore.”
Luci cut me off and dropped to one knee.
“This is similar to last time, so I suppose I have to explain again. That kid overused Qi Sensing. Did you see her swinging the greatsword earlier?”
“I… I did…”
“Her movements were absurdly light. That massive blade never stopped for all that time. It never caught on bone, never snagged on muscle. Do you understand what that means?”
I shook my head.
“She only cut the weakest points—the places that would kill a magic beast most easily.”
Luci dragged over an orc’s severed arm from the ground.
“Look at this.”
He raised his sword and chopped through the arm.
“Feel that resistance? Right. Now…”
He studied the arm for a long moment, then cut again.
“See? This part sliced clean through. Noah only ever cut places like that. She mapped every one of them with Qi Sensing. Same as before, only far more vicious this time.”
“Th-then… the aftereffects…”
“Her brain should have burned out, her head should have exploded, or she should have fallen into a vegetative state. Instead her organs are melting, she’s lost more blood than any body can spare, and her brain is a little melted too. Can you heal wounds like that?”
He held the Elixir out to me.
I could only bow my head and accept it in silence.
“Th-thank you… I will repay this somehow. On my name as a priestess… no. On Rubia’s name, I swear I will repay you.”
“Forget it. I’m not giving it because I want something. It’s useless to me, so take it.”
With that, Luci stood and began checking his own gear.
I carefully uncorked the vial and let the liquid trickle slowly into Noah’s mouth.
The moment the Elixir entered her, warmth returned to her body and color began to bloom in her cheeks.
“The effect… is incredible.”
Her pulse steadied. The wounds covering her body began to fade, far faster than my own healing could ever manage.
“If I hadn’t stolen it from that old man, we’d be in real trouble. Keh-heh-heh… Let’s get inside and rest. Assuming there’s anywhere left that will take us.”
“Even if not us, we at least need to put the little one somewhere comfortable. Hmm. Yeah… this is probably best.”
Heinzel scratched his bald head, then raised a fist.
“N-no. I’ll find us lodging. I’m still a priestess, after all. Something will work out.”
I lifted Noah carefully into my arms and rose.
“What a mess… Tch. Looks like dinner’s off the table. By the way—that wind-blocking barrier. Was that your work, Priestess?”
Luci, muttering that his equipment was ruined and he needed a blacksmith, glanced around as he spoke.
“Ah, yes. In case we failed to stop the beasts and villagers died… I was afraid Carpeng might awaken from the scent of blood, so I raised a sealing barrier. Noah was the one who told me to.”
“That brat thought that far ahead? She’s no ordinary kid.”
“Whether she simply didn’t trust adventurers… or didn’t trust us… either way, it’s a relief.”
Heinzel and Luci both clicked their tongues, looking at Noah with quiet pity.
All I could do was hold her tighter.
I remembered the look she had worn while glaring at the fleeing adventurers—and the way she had still gone to save them. She had said it was the reason she existed, that she could not live any other way. I remembered that twisted face.
What kind of past did she carry?
The more I learned of the hidden side of Noah, the tighter my chest became.
“Let’s… go. The forge she visited earlier should do. That person… I think she’ll welcome us warmly. Probably.”
“A decent blacksmith around here?”
“Yes. Someone who bears a blessing. Though it’s a blessing focused entirely on speed.”
I continued, picturing Hepais.
“She talks a lot, but her nature is pure. She won’t turn us away.”
“Then let’s head there. Which way?”
“I’ll lead. We should leave Noah’s gear with her as well. The greatsword… is beyond saving. We’ll need to commission a new one.”
Since my arms were full of Noah, Luci gathered every piece of her equipment.
As we walked toward the forge, Luci suddenly frowned.
“Priestess. Is that barrier still properly raised?”
“Yes. Once I set it, it remains until I dismiss it. Why do you ask?”
“The flow of the wind feels… off. If you say it’s fine, then it’s fine. Let’s hurry. I’m getting hungry.”
“Is that so? I’ve got no hair left to feel anything with…”
“Pfft— ahem. Forgive me.”
I could not hold back a laugh at Heinzel’s nonsense.
Until now I had thought him merely a strange man. After watching him slaughter magic beasts, I understood—he was simply the sort who tossed out jokes to lighten the mood.
Luci, too. Heinzel, too.
They were truly good people.
And the girl sleeping in my arms as well.
I should make sure to thank them properly.
They had promised to escort us at least as far as the Karahan Mountains, even if not all the way to Cartia.
A small smile touched my lips as I prepared to offer my gratitude—
“Priestess! Spread your divine power!”
Luci’s shout rang out.
“Protect the little one first!”
Heinzel’s roar followed.
In the next instant, a strange wind swept through Roholan.
A horrific beast’s howl rose on the air.
Thick killing intent coiled around my entire body.
“What… is this…”
And from Luci’s mouth came words that should never have been spoken—words steeped in bottomless hatred and raw, choking terror.
“Carpeng has awakened.”