Chapter 8
“Cure.”
It was an utterly beautiful voice, like an angel’s, descended to save a poor, lost lamb.
The very moment Zion’s voice rang across the world, the revolting stench vanished as if washed away.
That was when a pillar of light descended from the heavens. Everyone’s gaze was drawn to its dazzling radiance.
“L-look at the sky!!”
“What in the world is that...?! ”
“It’s warm... just like sunlight.”
A cross of light was descending, forged from nothing but pure celestial radiance, without a single blemish.
Though it had no physical form, it felt harder than any steel. That must have been because it was the crystallization of faith.
As everyone gazed at it in a daze, Ifrit alone immediately recognized what the cross was.
‘That’s the Cross of Purification. But its size...!!’
The Cross of Purification normally appeared when priests cast Cure, and its effectiveness varied according to its size.
The fact that someone could use Cure at all was proof they were a veteran priest. That much, Ifrit already knew.
Yet even Ifrit had never seen anything like the enormous cross descending from the sky.
‘A Cure that powerful should be able to remove any status ailment...!! So she really is the great Saintess from legend!’
Legends were naturally prone to exaggeration. But the scene before her wasn’t fiction—it was a living legend.
The grotesque, dark-red aura surrounding the Sword Demon shrieked and evaporated the instant it touched the pure-white cross.
And at last, the moment the cross touched the Sword Demon’s body, a clear, sacred bell rang out across the area.
“……Ah.”
The cross burst with holy light and vanished. At the same time, waves of light scattered in every direction.
When the scattered light touched the dark-red bandages that had been forcibly holding the Sword Demon’s body together, they began to blaze white.
At last, the pillar of light withdrew, revealing not an evil monster, but a human being groaning in pain.
“Um... are you all right?”
A girl with waist-length black hair and youthful, porcelain-white skin lay unconscious.
Looking at her, Zion tilted her head. Judging by the circumstances, this girl had been the Sword Demon rampaging just moments ago...
She couldn’t even begin to guess what kind of curse could turn someone into that. But that didn’t matter right now.
‘Technically, this is pretty much the same as defeating the Sword Demon. If I explain what happened, I wonder if I can claim the bounty?’
Anyone else who heard that thought would have given her a thorough scolding. Of course, it wasn’t as though she’d saved the girl for money...
Still, if she could get a reward, wouldn’t it be best to take it? Especially when it was 3,000 gold, not 300...
But Zion’s mercenary thoughts didn’t last long. Ifrit came hurrying over in a single stride.
“We should move somewhere else for now.”
“Do you know her?”
“I doubt there are many adventurers in the Tower who wouldn’t recognize that face.”
“No way...”
“That’s right. She’s a high ranker, just like me.”
High Rankers.
Of the hundreds of thousands of adventurers who climbed the Tower every day, that was a title reserved for only the top one hundred.
Considering that even rankers, who were already few and far between, numbered more than ten thousand, it was easy to understand the weight of the title High Ranker.
“Hey, look over there! Isn’t that a person?”
“That face looks familiar...”
“Any adventurer worth their salt would recognize a high ranker’s face. This is bound to cause a huge commotion.”
“I-I see. Then I’ll take her to the chapel for now.”
“Leave the rest to me.”
Ifrit, the first-floor administrator and a high ranker, could disperse the crowd without much trouble. The only problem was the spies.
Everyone pretended not to know what was happening in front of them, while secretly planting one or two spies on the first floor.
Every last thing that had happened on the Starting Floor today would surely reach the ears of the masters each spy served.
‘But for some reason, I’m not scared at all. If Zion and I join forces... I’m sure we can beat anyone.’
At first, she’d approached Zion for the sake of a hidden quest. But over the past month they’d spent together, she’d come to realize something.
Somewhere along the way, she’d started thinking of Zion not as an ordinary NPC, but as a friend she needed to protect.
Of course, getting a hidden quest from her too would be the icing on the cake.
◇
After all sorts of twists and turns, Zion managed to carry the girl to the chapel. Of course, it drew unwanted attention...
At least Ifrit stepped in and handled the crowd so neatly that Zion was able to steer clear of the uproar.
Only after laying the black-haired girl on the bed could Zion finally breathe a sigh of relief. What on earth was all that commotion?
‘I was just planning to get by with a quick tap of Heal. Then the Sword Demon suddenly showed up, and when I saved her, it turned out she was a high ranker?’
To top it off, the enormous cross that had appeared in the sky moments ago was something even Zion had never seen before. That was Cure? Seriously?
In Dungeon and Soul, Cure was nothing more than a basic skill. Naturally, there was no way it had such a grandiose effect.
Could Cure have been enhanced when she came to this world...? Just as Zion was formulating a theory on her own...
“……Ugh.”
A faint groan came from behind her. Zion spun around in surprise and saw a pair of red eyes slowly opening.
The girl, with waist-length black hair and skin as lovely and white as jade, stared blankly at Zion.
Zion hadn’t expected her to regain consciousness so quickly, and was a little flustered, but she soon composed herself and resumed her act.
“Are you awake?”
“Where am I...?”
“This is the Nameless Chapel on the Starting Floor.”
The moment the words Starting Floor reached her ears, the hell she’d briefly forgotten came rushing back to her.
The pain of her blood vessels seeming to burn throughout her body, the screams that tore at her soul... All of it had vanished without a trace.
The girl slowly sat up. She could control not only her thoughts, but even her body, according to her own will.
‘At the very moment I was in so much pain that I gave up on everything... I saw a dazzling light in the darkness.’
Only then did the girl realize that the nun before her was the one who had saved her from that dreadful pit of agony.
The instant she realized all her pain had finally ended, tears began to well up in the girl’s eyes.
When the girl suddenly started to tear up, Zion was the one who felt flustered. What was going on? Why was she crying?
“Sob...”
“It’s all right, it’s all right. You’re safe here.”
“Waaah!!”
Zion had tried to soothe the girl with a gentle voice, but that only made things worse.
The girl finally burst into tears and threw her arms around Zion. She’d been through far too much over the past month.
However high her rank, what she’d endured was far too cruel for a girl who was only eighteen.
“*Sniffle.*”
“Are you feeling a little calmer now?”
“Yes, um... I’m sorry. I should be thanking you for saving my life, not...”
“It’s all right. Anyone would react that way.”
Zion gently stroked the girl’s head. She was startled, of course, but she understood.
If your body suddenly started to rot and moved against your will, anyone would be terrified.
If anything, Zion was impressed by the girl’s determination to find a way to break such a horrific curse.
“Ah...”
“Oh, my. I didn’t even realize I was doing that.”
“Th-that...”
“Yes?”
“If you don’t mind... could you do that a little longer?”
“???”
Looking at the girl asking with tears still welling in her eyes, Zion found she simply couldn’t refuse.
Zion reached out and gently stroked her head once more. Only then was the girl finally able to smile.
Watching her, Zion tilted her head. She’d thought the girl might be offended at being treated like a child, but apparently not.
“……Please forgive my rudeness. I’ve suffered under that curse for so long that...”
“It’s all right. Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes. Thanks to the Saintess of Beginnings, the curse has vanished without a trace.”
The girl climbed out of bed, her face still flushed. In truth, she wanted to keep leaning on Zion like a child, but...
Though she was only eighteen, the girl was still a bona fide high ranker. She knew she had to keep her personal and professional lives separate.
The girl straightened her clothes as best she could, then knelt on one knee and bowed her head to Zion.
“I’m Rin, the <Sword Dragon>, ranked 95th in the Tower. I will devote the life you saved to you alone. So...”
“Yes?”
“C-could I call you big sister?”
That day, Zion gained a little sister who was rather obsessive.