[Saintess for You - 14]
[Saintess for You - 14]
"Don't you think there are a bit too many of them?"
"I'm glad you've finally felt the sense of incongruity that I've been feeling."
"Indeed, I understand."
I could understand what Ed was trying to say.
The monsters' movements were monotonous.
They were just busy charging at us.
If giving complex commands to monsters is a measure of a Monster Tamer's skill, then their skill must be terrible, yet the monsters kept charging endlessly.
Compared to the number of monsters, the Monster Tamer's skill was utterly pathetic, so even I couldn't help but feel that something was off.
That aside.
'Ed is really strong.'
Watching him move alone with his sword, it was no wonder Eris called him Master.
Eris is also quite impressive in terms of physical ability alone, and she has surprised me many times, but it seemed like Ed was even better at moving his body than her.
If you look only at simple physical ability or performance, Eris is higher, but his fluid movements and waste-free actions were typical of Ed, designed to minimize stamina consumption.
It was like a work of art, possessing a power that made me get drawn into watching it without realizing it.
"Shaaaaa!"
"There is poison."
"Yeah."
Light shimmered and passed through the surrounding monsters as if cutting them down.
"I don't mind fighting, but there's no end to this. If the enemy isn't an idiot, they should know that sending more against us is meaningless, yet they keep sending them, which means..."
"Yes, there might be another intention. The tracking is almost finished; I'll be able to pinpoint their location soon."
"You were doing that? Convenient."
"It does consume a bit of concentration, though."
I was surprised by the fact that he could do such movements while doing something else.
Ed often treats me like I'm not human. He often calls it 'a power too strong for a single life to possess,' and sometimes he even calls it monster-like power.
I wasn't particularly uncomfortable or hurt by it.
It was the truth, and for some reason, I thought it had a cool ring to it, so I didn't think it was bad.
But I keep thinking that Ed isn't in a position to call me a monster.
After all, Ed became a Holy Knight at the young age of 10 and has an absurd 17-year career as a Holy Knight.
The experience he has accumulated during that time is proof that he is at a much higher level than the average person.
"Their movements have suddenly become ferocious?"
"Are the monsters finally running out? ...Location pinpointed. It's closer than I thought. Within visual range... Tsk!"
As many monsters jumped in, Ed clicked his tongue and moved quickly, and I also tried to defend with light.
Thung!
"Saintess-nim!"
"Huh?"
"Finally succeeded."
Someone revealed themselves.
That crest, I've seen it before.
It was the same crest that The Old Freak (The Kidnapper), who was the culprit during the kidnapping incident at my mansion a few years ago, had.
It was the crest of the Infinite Cult.
It was a religion that even I, as a child, knew about—a crazy group that desired immortality—and I knew it was a collapsed organization, so meeting their remnants twice is strange no matter how I think about it.
It's become highly likely that the remnants are banding together and doing something again.
It was natural to think that they exist as an organization at least.
"That light magic was annoying! The poison injected into it is famous for being powerful even among poison-using monsters, so you will soon lose your life..."
Zzuuk, I nonchalantly pulled out the arrow that was stuck in me.
"Have you lost your mind!? If you pull an arrow out of a wound, you'll die from excessive bleeding... Huh?"
As soon as it left my arm, the wound healed quickly, and the dirty blood disappeared.
I threw the arrow roughly toward the Monster Tamer and said.
"Are you done?"
"..."
"I'm sorry. I made a mistake."
"It couldn't be helped since the monsters attacked all at once. You mixed your killing intent with the monsters' killing intent; you used your head a bit. Don't worry about it."
In the first place, there was some distance between Ed and me.
I forced myself to follow him even though he told me not to, so I couldn't hold Ed responsible for the wounds that occurred because of that.
Above all, Ed isn't exactly my bodyguard, so even if he couldn't protect me, there was nothing to hold him responsible for.
If I had to say, it was Eris's responsibility, but since Eris didn't follow because of my order, this was also unavoidable.
If I had to determine where the responsibility lies, would it be me?
And that guy.
"You, you... What are you? Huh? The poison?"
"I detoxified it."
"Huh? B-but that's Viper's poison!"
"I said, I detoxified it."
What was a Viper again?
Ah, I remembered.
A high-level monster that handles poison quite freely.
Sometimes soldiers or knights would come to the Cathedral poisoned by Viper's venom.
They would beg to be saved, saying the detoxification was quite difficult, but honestly, I could detoxify it with a flick of my finger, so even if they were serious, I wasn't serious at all.
I once thought I wanted to test if I could detoxify someone poisoned by Hydra's venom, which is said to be the strongest poison, but Ed said there's no way someone poisoned by Hydra's venom would have the luxury of making it to the Cathedral.
"I thought you knew who we were before attacking, but I guess you don't."
"That bracelet, it's flashy."
Bracelet?
Following Ed's words, I also looked at the bracelet the man was wearing. I could definitely feel powerful magic, and it seemed like strange magic was flowing through it.
"Indeed."
"Ed, don't just keep it to yourself, tell me too."
"To put it simply, he's getting a buff from a tool."
"A buff?"
"He doesn't originally have this power, but he's forcibly growing himself because of that bracelet. It's called growth, but it's a method that eats away at his lifespan."
Indeed, he doesn't originally have that much talent, but he was forcibly grown to use power he wouldn't normally be able to use because of that bracelet?
Then I could understand why his taming skill was terrible compared to the number of monsters.
In the first place, he didn't have the capacity to handle this many monsters; he just gained power for no reason and was handling them.
"Besides, that crest, it's the Infinite Cult. If you surrender quietly..."
"You, a Holy Knight?"
"Hmm?"
It seems he saw the Holy Knight crest at Ed's waist.
The man's pupils shook violently.
"Holy Knight!! Holy Kniiiiiight!!"
"My, it seems he had a grudge against Holy Knights."
"Could you not analyze it like it's someone else's business?"
Seuseuseuseuk, it felt like killing intent was being felt as if all the monsters in the forest were moving.
"Hahaha! I sent the monsters toward the village!"
"...What?"
"This guy is a total lunatic."
I was also momentarily surprised and wondered what he was talking about.
"I only sent the poison-using monsters, so it'll be a living hell in an instant! Don't worry, there are plenty of monsters left to deal with you! Holy Knight!!"
I'm not a Holy Knight.
Is there no point in saying that to a guy who's already lost his mind?
He was acting strange even before he heard the word Holy Knight.
Does that bracelet have some kind of drug-like effect?
It also looked like it was taking away some of a person's ability to think. I fell into thought for a moment, then soon put my hands together.
"Ed, please."
"...Yes."
I like that he's quick to understand.
Huuuuung, a loud sound rang out, and the surroundings were dyed with light, and the sky began to be dyed with yellow light.
"W-what? What is this again...!"
"I cast a barrier over the entire forest."
"Y-you cast a barrier over the entire forest... A barrier? A barrier over the entire forest!?"
Honestly, this is a bit tough even for me.
If I had a little more time, I would have made it properly, but since monsters are spreading in real-time, I made it in a hurry, so the efficiency is bad, and it consumes concentration.
If I had made it properly, I think I could have done the barrier and attack at the same time, but it can't be helped.
"What are you!? What are you really! Why is a monster like you in a place like this...!"
"Your voice is grating on my ears..."
"Ugh..."
"Ed."
Black shadows starting from the bottom of Ed were gradually seeping into the ground.
It was dominating the entire floor around him like a puddle. The man opened his eyes wide at the sight and looked down at the ground.
The surroundings were already dyed by the shadows.
"I-I don't know what you're trying to do... Kill them all!! Against this number of monsters!!"
"Hunt."
Ssuuk! Ssuuk! Ssuuk! Ssuuk!!
In an instant, thorn-like things made of shadows popped out from the floor around him and pierced through all the monsters there.
The man went "Eek," looked around, and opened his eyes wide when he realized that all the monsters had been pierced by the thorns and died.
Ssuuk!!
"Keuk!"
As his own legs were pierced and entered, the man fell forward, and without stopping there, the shadows changed shape and restrained the man like a rope.
"Convenient."
"Can you maintain it? It seems it will take a little more time to catch the monsters that went to the village."
I shook my hand slightly.
"No problem, it just consumes a lot of concentration. Making a barrier of this range on the spot is definitely a bit difficult."
"..."
"Why?"
"Saintess-nim."
Ed looked at me and said.
"Why do you go that far?"
"Huh?"
I was slightly taken aback.
I answered that question without realizing it.
"People are dying."
"..."
At that answer I gave without realizing it, Ed opened his eyes wide, looked at me for a moment, and then smiled.
"That's right... You're right, Saintess-nim."