Chapter 85: Turning Point (1)

The demonic energy that had dyed the sky crimson disappeared.

Only pure blue remained in the background.

Following the gentle sea breeze, a clean, shining summer scene washed over them.

The girl stood in peaceful waves.

Occasional splashes colored her toes.

Whoosh-.

Only cool echoes remained in the broken foam.

Charlotte was staring blankly at the scenery.

On her lips sealed in silence, a rosy vitality that couldn't quite melt lingered.

"......"

It was a unique form of domain.

It was beautiful.

It felt like a dream.

Until just before, it had been covered in bright red fog, with blood-filled tidal waves pouring like tears, and only terrible cacophony ringing through the crimson mist.

When she came to her senses, it had completely transformed into a different world.

-It would be good if you could draw its attention for a very brief moment.

-I'll signal.

It was in the blink of an eye.

It happened in an instant.

-Now.

The boy leaped with a short clap.

He instantly caught up to the sin and grabbed the woman's nape without a trace of hesitation.

What followed was just a simple gesture.

-Break.

But.

That was enough.

Following each joint of his grasping fingers, cracks spread in the air.

Eventually the red background shattered to pieces, and blue sky was revealed layer by layer through the gaps.

A scene of red and blue mixing.

It was simply an indescribable ecstasy.

Splash splash-.

The boy was approaching this way silently.

His nonchalant steps walked on the wide sea.

He was holding a woman in his arms.

She was sleeping with peaceful breaths.

As if her corrupted appearance had all been a lie, not even a trace of darkness remained around the nun.

Charlotte was staring at the two people in a daze.

'How.'

Just how did he do it?

Purifying a being tainted by demonic energy.

It felt like common sense was breaking.

Though the girl had experienced many things while chasing heretics, she had never once heard that this was possible.

It was truly something that seemed like it would only appear in the Bible.

'I was wrong.'

Charlotte realized she had been mistaken.

The back alley, and the class assignment test.

The boy's power she had seen then was merely a tiny fraction.

The snake was exuding a truly distant atmosphere.

Professors, the Dean, the Sword Star... Though she had met many strong people due to her position as princess, this was the first time she felt so powerless.

Was this how creatures felt when facing God at the beginning of creation?

'It's strange.'

Fear suddenly welled up, but curiosity came before that.

Charlotte didn't think the boy was bad.

It was the conclusion she had reached while watching him until now.

He wasn't greedy as he didn't want anything, he was too merciful to be cruel, and he didn't treat others carelessly enough to be selfish.

He didn't give off the terrible stench characteristic of adults either.

Only.

-I just... hoped you wouldn't get hurt.

A cleanly shining smile.

A cool winter scent.

He held only a pure atmosphere.

Though others didn't seem to know, as a girl with special vision, she could fully accept it.

About a being that hadn't forgotten childhood purity.

"......"

Charlotte gazed quietly.

Whether he knew of these complex thoughts or not, the snake was simply approaching with calm steps.

While preciously holding the unconscious woman.

'Maybe.'

Charlotte unknowingly thought.

That maybe it might be possible.

Though she had only watched until now due to lack of certainty, things were different if she directly witnessed a miracle occurring.

A ray of hope shining on a situation full of despair.

'That person might be able to cure it.'

Earnestness was embedded in her brief monologue.

As she was chewing over such a possibility like a plea, suddenly a pained voice touched her ear.

-Big sister.

The girl made a rarely shaken expression.

Between the gently blowing winds, Charlotte stood like that.

***

The concert ended like that.

As we had suppressed the thought entity which was the clear condition, and shattered the demonic energy that had been encroaching the surroundings, there were no more remaining danger factors.

I moved my steps while holding the limp woman's body in my arms.

"......"

Medro, who we had rescued, was unconscious.

It wasn't that any particular problem had occurred, she simply seemed to have run out of energy.

She would probably wake up after some time passed.

Thud thud-.

Passing through the sea flowing with tranquility, I set foot on the warm sandy beach again.

There was someone waiting for me there.

A girl with somewhat dazed eyes.

Charlotte belatedly came to her senses only after I called out to her.

"Your Highness."

"Ah."

"Shall we return?"

"...Yes."

The girl nodded her head quietly.

We moved towards the door we had originally entered through.

The girl who had been walking with a complex expression soon threw a question this way as if she had decided.

Her blue eyes were staring at the woman held in my arms.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"That... how exactly did you do it?"

"You mean Miss Medro."

She seemed shocked.

Well.

This would be her first time seeing such a thing.

Anyone who had researched demonic energy even a little would know how far-fetched purifying a thought entity was.

It was a matter that was theoretically impossible to establish.

What I had just shown was no different from a miracle transcending all natural principles and concepts.

To the point where it would be strange not to be surprised.

"I don't know. What happened or how."

Charlotte muttered quietly.

Though she usually didn't show her emotions well, this time I could tell at a glance that she was shaken.

I maintained calmness and answered instead.

"Let's talk later for now. Shouldn't getting out of here be the priority?"

We had suppressed the Conductor's thought entity.

Since we had shattered the part that became the center of the domain, this space would collapse before long.

Just when output was hitting bottom, getting trapped in a closed domain here would be troublesome in many ways.

Even if I were to explain, leaving this place came first.

It was a suggestion I made for that reason, but Charlotte seemed to think I was avoiding answering.

The girl nodded obediently and spoke.

"Alright... If you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask."

"That wasn't my intention."

"Don't worry. I don't want to fall out of favor needlessly either."

"Hmm."

She seemed to be misunderstanding something, but it was good that she backed off so cleanly.

It wasn't something I could properly answer anyway.

The snake and the little princess.

The two people simply crossed the sandy beach side by side.

When we reached the threshold leading outside the domain like that, the first to welcome us was none other than Irene.

The girl had been waiting crouched nearby.

"Ah."

The fox perked up her ears when our eyes met.

Light entered her extinguished pupils.

Irene ran over just like that, then took over Medro's unconscious body.

Even in the midst of that, she asked after my well-being.

"You're not hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"You didn't overdo it again?"

"Well. This time was a comfortably successful one. It wasn't particularly dangerous so you don't need to worry."

"That's good then."

Perhaps she had been anxious while waiting?

Though the fox nodded her head, she couldn't stop hovering around for a while.

She seemed to be checking if I had been injured.

Should I say that reaction was endearing?

As I was quietly stroking her head, the other members standing behind also approached.

The first to open her mouth was, of course, Neria.

"Good work, Master."

"Vice Commander."

"The situation in the basement has been cleaned up too. All the survivors have been transferred to Astro's direct hospital, and the young mutants you ordered to be isolated separately have been sent to headquarters."

"Have you grasped the number of deceased?"

"Of course. A total of 128 priests died in this attack, 37 survived, and 23 isolated mutants were identified."

"Many... died."

I tasted bitterness in my mouth.

Though I seemed to sink into melancholy for a moment, I shook it off and commanded the situation.

It was still a moment when we needed to maintain tension.

"Let's clean up the surroundings for now. It will be time for the sun to rise soon. We'll leave this place before outsiders discover anything strange."

"As you wish."

The members moved busily right after.

I calmly caught my breath and moved my steps outside the basement.

***

Though I said to clean up the surroundings, it didn't hold any particular meaning.

It was a space that had been ruined by the heretics' attack from the start.

There wasn't even a need to erase traces of our visit.

Due to the terribly remaining demonic energy, it would be difficult to properly distinguish anyway.

What we cleaned up was none other than the corpses.

"......"

The center of the cathedral.

Below the upright standing form of the cross, those who met death were resting.

White blankets were laid over the neatly laid out victims.

Someone's life being organized one by one like that.

I stood blankly watching it.

'Many.'

There were many people we couldn't save.

As many as one hundred and twenty-eight.

Freshly realizing the weight carried by that number, I let out a sigh I hadn't been able to utter.

The calm breath flowed down, riding the smell of blood.

'It's like this every time.'

It was a similar impression every time.

We saved people.

We prevented an accident that could have led to a catastrophe.

We acted like heroes saving the world.

But even so, the people we couldn't save to the end nagged at my heart every time.

Perhaps it was due to a foolishly remaining greed.

'We can't save everyone.'

I knew.

Because I wasn't God.

I wasn't omniscient enough to see through everything, nor omnipotent enough to accomplish everything.

The future I could see through was only the content I knew through the original work.

The miracles I could achieve were limited according to the given output.

That's why I couldn't prevent all tragedies.

No matter how excellent, a mere human cannot exceed their own abilities.

Then.

'Next time.'

I only resolved.

That I would produce better results next time.

Resolving to notice faster, move appropriately, respond wisely, and save more people.

It was the same this time too.

"......"

I chewed over my thoughts while standing silently.

As I was letting time pass like that, there was one girl approaching from the side.

Platinum blonde hair swaying with her steps.

Blue eyes gazed this way with quiet eyes.

It was Charlotte.

"...Your Highness."

"Yes."

The girl stood beside me.

She had said she would look around the basement a bit more, so it seemed she had just come up to the ground floor.

Charlotte, who had been keeping silent for a moment, soon spoke.

"I'm indebted to you. Thanks to you, we were able to find the missing people."

"It was nothing."

"I'll wrap up the aftermath on this side. Though the incident is over, there are still annoying procedures left here and there. I should be able to resolve them quickly with my authority."

"We plan to protect the surviving priests on our side for the time being."

"Yes. That seems good. If there are survivors in a branch thought to have been annihilated, the heretics would find it strange."

"They really are nothing but troublesome."

"Indeed."

Charlotte letting out her characteristic plain answer.

As we were exchanging opinions on the aftermath like that, the sun gradually rising outside the window came into view.

It was time to return to headquarters.

"Then... I'll be going now."

I turned my back with a light greeting.

The members who had finished cleaning up and were waiting by now.

Just as I was about to take a step towards them, Charlotte's suddenly moving hand grasped my sleeve.

I turned around.

"Um."

"Your Highness?"

"I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

Though it felt somewhat abrupt, I quietly lent my ear to the girl's words.

She seemed to have been gauging my reaction since earlier.

It seemed she had something to say.

Was it important content?

Charlotte hesitated for a while, then soon parted her lips as if she had decided.

The girl's voice was rarely shaking.

"I need help."

"Hmm?"

"You might... be able to save me."

Blue eyes blinking.

Beyond her transparent pupils, only my figure was reflected.

Her rose-colored lips pleaded quietly.

"Please... save us."

"......"

After hearing the girl's words, I remained frozen for a while unable to move.

My lips twitched faintly.

I covered my mouth with my palm.

Then I thought with an ominously splitting smile.

While chewing on the thrill running down my spine.

'As expected.'

You took the bait.