Chapter 7
The sun had climbed to its zenith, casting the same warm rays as yesterday through the chapel windows.
But there was no guarantee yesterday’s peace would last through today. The first to notice something was amiss was Ifrit.
Her flame-like eyes turned straight ahead. A stench that stung her nose, and dark red bandages grotesquely wrapped around its entire body.
“What is that...?”
“Could that be the Sword Demon?!”
“Tch, I can’t believe it came all the way here.”
As everyone around them reeled at the Sword Demon’s revolting appearance, Ifrit clicked her tongue in annoyance and stepped forward.
It was a good thing she’d come to the chapel just in case. She was probably the only one here who could stop that thing.
But right then, the Sword Demon’s form seemed to ripple strangely... and then it vanished from sight as if it had never been there.
‘I lost sight of it...? Me, a high ranker?!’
Shock spread across her face. It had moved so fast that even she, a high ranker—not merely a ranker—couldn’t keep track of it.
Ifrit hurriedly turned around. The blood-red sword aura left by the Sword Demon was shooting straight toward the chapel.
Too late. She couldn’t protect it. Just as a cold shadow of despair began to fall over Ifrit’s face...
Clank.
The sound of steel clashing shattered her despairing silence. A steel prosthetic arm emerged from beneath a sleeve.
Just before the blood-red sword aura could engulf the chapel, the prosthetic arm slammed upward, knocking aside the Sword Demon’s incoming blade.
Klang!!
Sparks flew with a sharp, splitting clang.
A brief silence followed. Then a calm, measured voice rang out alone, breaking it.
“Please refrain from wielding weapons in this holy chapel.”
“Zion...!!!”
The silver-haired nun Zion stepped forward, wearing a veil of black and white that contrasted with her pitch-black nun’s habit.
But Ifrit was more than surprised—she was utterly astonished. The Sword Demon had moved so fast that even a high ranker like her had lost sight of it.
Yet Zion had reacted. More than that, she’d even knocked the Sword Demon’s blood-red sword aura away with sheer force.
‘As expected, Zion isn’t just an ordinary Hero NPC.’
Hero NPCs were certainly strong. They had enough power to overwhelm most adventurers, and even rankers.
But the Sword Demon was different. She’d only faced it for a brief moment, but... it clearly had power on par with a high ranker.
And Zion had easily knocked aside the sword aura of such a Sword Demon. Hadn’t Zion’s stats even been higher than her own?
‘That’s right, Zion must be a Legendary NPC!’
Of course, there were no Legendary NPCs in this Tower. In fact, there wasn’t a single person who even used the term “Legendary NPC.”
Even so, Ifrit couldn’t help thinking that way. After all, Zion was the great saintess from legend.
But while Ifrit was marveling at Zion’s strength, the person in question was inwardly on the verge of tears.
‘S-scary! What was that just now?! I thought I was really going to die! No, if I hadn’t had the prosthetic, I might actually have died...!!’
Zion had already fought former rankers once, but the monster before her was on an entirely different level.
The noxious stench, the dark red fluid oozing from its rotting flesh... and the bandages wrapped around it like a mummy.
But more than its grotesque appearance, the overwhelming pressure bearing down on her as if she were being crushed by steel beams was the biggest problem.
“Did you come here because you need help?”
“Zion, there’s no way that’s the case.”
“You never know. How can we judge someone by their appearance?”
‘The best outcome is resolving this without a fight. Yeah.’
Of course, Zion had eyes. No matter how she looked at it, the creature’s appearance made it seem impossible to reason with.
Still, there was no harm in trying. If it really needed help, she could resolve things easily...
And even if she couldn’t talk it around, it wouldn’t be too late to subdue it then. She had nothing to lose by trying.
“Th-that... I...”
“Yes, go ahead. Take your time.”
“Aaaaaaaagh!!”
Unfortunately, their conversation didn’t last long. The Sword Demon let out a roar that sounded like a scream of agony.
The stench grew worse and worse. Zion sighed and clenched her fist. Metal scraped against metal.
Letting out a sacred battle aura that showed not the slightest tremor—at least on the outside—Zion spoke in a low voice.
“I’ll gladly deliver judgment upon you.”
Ifrit and I can handle this.
◇
The Sword Demon.
With a bounty of 3,000 gold on its head, it was clearly no pushover, but they could win if they fought together.
But contrary to Zion’s calculations, Ifrit had taken a step back instead of joining the fight, mulling over Zion’s words.
[You never know. How can we judge someone by their appearance?]
‘She can’t mean I should show mercy to a monster... Could it be...’
Appraisal.
A skill that let you see information about your opponent. Of course, you couldn’t use it if your stats were lower than theirs.
But even with lower stats, you could at least tell whether your opponent was an adventurer, an NPC, or a monster.
‘I thought something was off. To think it wasn’t a monster, but another adventurer...!!’
At last, all the pieces fell into place. Zion had realized the truth as soon as she saw it and reached out to help.
Because she was a hero. Before she was an adventurer who killed monsters, she was a hero who saved people.
Realizing Zion’s intentions belatedly, Ifrit chose to leave the Sword Demon to Zion and protect the people around them.
‘I don’t know how she ended up like that, but Zion must have a way. I have no choice but to trust her and wait.’
‘Why aren’t you helping me fight?!’
Meanwhile, Zion, the person in question, was inwardly cursing Ifrit, who stood behind her watching with a crestfallen look.
She’d made that declaration believing Ifrit would fight alongside her. But wouldn’t you know it—the dependable high ranker was just standing there watching.
She hadn’t accounted for this at all...!! But the Sword Demon gave her no time to voice her grievance.
‘Shit!’
The ominous pitch-black sword traced a crude path through the air. It was closer to being swung wildly than wielded with proper swordsmanship.
Even so, there was one reason it was given the grand title of Sword Demon... its overwhelming speed.
A sword strike so fast that even Ifrit, a high ranker, would have to give ground came mercilessly swinging toward Zion.
“Look out!!”
Shocked cries and screams erupted around them. The Sword Demon’s savage blade seemed about to carve Zion to pieces.
But an unexpected turn of events occurred. Crack! It wasn’t the sound of flesh being torn, but of bones breaking.
The moment the sword struck the prosthetic arm, force from the left arm spiraled through her waist and into her right arm.
‘Counter.’
A counterattack skill that, when used at the right moment, lets you avoid taking damage from an enemy and instead reflect some of it back at them.
Crunch!! Zion’s steel fist landed squarely on the Sword Demon’s jaw. The overwhelming impact sent its body flying through the air.
“S-she took down the Sword Demon!”
“Isn’t that person a healer?! How can a healer fight the Sword Demon head-on...?”
“This isn’t the time for that. We have to tell the guild right away!”
Healers had excellent support abilities, but their combat prowess was low. Of course, there were exceptions like <Miracle>.
But those were only a very small number of exceptions. And one of them had just appeared... Of course everyone would go into an uproar.
A healer who could even stand on the front lines and hold her own? Naturally, she’d be a top-priority recruit.
“Wait. Don’t just approach her.”
“You have no right to stop us!”
“That’s right. Don’t selfishly keep her to yourselves!”
“That’s not it. It’s not over yet.”
Where Ifrit pointed, the Sword Demon was writhing grotesquely as it struggled to get back to its feet.
The people fell silent and backed away, as if they’d never been arguing in the first place. Ifrit clicked her tongue at the sight.
She’d expected other guilds or clans to send spies, but... she hadn’t expected them to be so blatant about it.
“Zion, this looks like a curse, doesn’t it?”
“A curse...?”
“Yeah. A very powerful one, too. It’s rare for an adventurer to end up like that.”
It wasn’t uncommon for adventurers cursed by monsters to become puppets or end up in a state worse than death.
Meanwhile, it was only after Ifrit told her that Zion finally caught on. That thing wasn’t a monster, but an adventurer.
If Ifrit hadn’t told her, Zion would never have realized. Anyway, a curse... a curse, huh.
‘Isn’t a curse just another status ailment?’
There was just one thing.
There was a way.
A basic Priest skill in Dungeon and Soul that removed every status ailment, and was extremely cost-effective.
“Cure.”
Before long, a cross began descending from the sky, scattering pure white light.