Chapter 67

“All members of the Rubel Knights! On my signal, aim for the gap in the center of the torso! We only have one shot, so put everything you have into this attack!”

“Yes, sir!”

Over thirty knights drew their swords in unison and took their stances. They looked solemn and determined, as if they had never staged that ridiculous scene earlier where they needed rescuing despite coming to the rescue themselves.

‘As expected of the elite combat unit officially recognized by the protagonist.’

The trust I had implicitly lost in them began to swell once again.

Screeeeeeeeech!

The lobster swayed its body from side to side, sweeping across the ground with its grotesque legs as it approached. However, no matter how much I wanted to look away, I couldn’t. The moment I confirmed the lobster had entered the Holy Relic’s range, I shouted to Darian.

“Now!”

Darian immediately signaled with an outstretched arm. The knights charged toward the lobster as one, and once they reached a certain distance, they kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.

The lobster, whose movements had momentarily frozen due to the Holy Relic’s influence, belatedly tried to swing its thick claws, but it was already too late.

Kiyoooooooo!

The knights spun in mid-air, unleashing various hues of sword energy that slammed into the sides of the monster’s torso. Reeling from the impact, the lobster flipped over helplessly, exposing its belly to the sky. Darian took that opening and dropped onto the monster’s body with incredible speed. Then, with a sharp, air-rending sound, he cleaved the monster in half!

Thump!

With a dull thud, the two halves of the body hit the dirt, kicking up dust and wind. My mouth was filled with grit, but I couldn’t just spit it out if I wanted to maintain the dignity of a Saintess. I dealt with the dust as best as I could by nibbling it down with a cough, then encouraged the returning knights, telling them they had done well.

“It is all thanks to the Saintess’s mysterious power! It is an honor!”

Well, I’m just glad it helped.

The knights surrounding me didn’t hide their fascination, eyes sparkling as they asked why the monsters were acting this way or commented that it was exactly like what they’d read about in the chronicles.

“Is anyone injured?”

“Ah, yes! I’m perfectly fine!”

“Chris, you got bitten in the side.”

“Something like this can be cured with pure spirit!”

There were clear fang marks on the black knight’s uniform. The fabric was soaked through where blood had leaked out. Without a word, I handed him a potion.

“Thank you…”

He tucked it into his uniform pocket without using it, claiming it was the honor of a lifetime. Well, I’ve done my duty, so I won’t force him to apply it right now or not.

“Now, let’s hurry to the rampart.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

With a spirited reply, we arrived at the foot of the wall in no time. The green smoke had almost entirely dissipated. This time, we ascended the rampart properly via the stairs, being careful not to touch the lingering mist, and opened the door to the shelter where Edelina and the others were waiting. I saw people huddled on the ground, trembling in the darkness.

“Is everyone safe?”

At the sound of my voice, the expressions of the people who looked up brightened instantly.

“The Saintess. It’s the Saintess!”

Edelina and the Marquis, who were in the back, approached me as the faint light filtered in.

“You’re safe!”

“Ah… O, Ralphican…!”

“I’ve brought the Rubel Knights. You may come out now.”

When the Marquis and Edelina couldn’t seem to move, their legs having given out, I reached out both hands. Each of them grabbed one of my arms and struggled to pull themselves up.

“Thank you…”

“Thank you, truly. Thank you so much.”

[ Aiden saw the light at a crossroads of life. ]
[ Aiden Peyers has been added to the Affection System. ]
system_en

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Hmm. No achievements unlocked yet. Probably because there weren’t enough people.

“I can finally see the end of this.”

With the joined Rubel Knights holding off the monsters below the rampart, we were able to restart the traps alongside the soldiers who had regained their senses. Now that things were a bit more relaxed, I placed a single-seater sofa on the battlements—at the Marquis’s tearful pleading for me to please rest—and began to watch the situation.

‘I’m just staying still, so this counts as resting, right?’

The others didn’t seem to think so; messages popped up saying my reputation had increased because they were “moved by your selfless dedication.” That aside.

‘Is there no way to deal with the demonic energy?’

Purple demonic energy from the monster carcasses was scattered through the air. I was fine because of the Holy Relic, but Edelina, the Marquis, and the common soldiers were a problem. There was a limit to how long I could keep insisting they stay right next to me…

“I don’t know why, but it feels so refreshing next to the Saintess. Is this also the protection of Ralphican?”

“Isn’t it because the Saintess is so holy that even demonic energy cannot reach her, Edel?”

The Peyers father and daughter. After I saved them earlier, they were suddenly overflowing with goodwill toward me.

“By the way, the demonic energy is too strong. We’re holding out to some extent because we have Holy Water, but I wonder if there’s a more effective way…”

Everyone was worrying about the same thing. But looking at Edelina suddenly gave me an idea. Might as well ask.

“Miss Edelina. That technology you used earlier to spray the gas—could you replicate that again?”

“Of course! It’s not a very difficult technique.”

Back in the Count’s estate, hadn’t the water contaminated by demonic energy been purified with a potion?

The Mother had even died from it. Perhaps if I sprayed the potion into the air in particulate form, the demonic energy would dissipate.

“I’ve brought them! Just fill these with any liquid or gas you want and throw them—they’ll explode and spray the contents!”

Edelina handed me a heap of ball-shaped bombs. They looked exactly like the one used as the “last resort.” Edelina prattled on, explaining that while the contents had been difficult to make, the dispersal devices themselves were kept in high supply.

“This is plenty. Thank you.”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing!”

I first filled one to the brim with a potion as a test.

‘One bomb takes five potions.’

The points were melting away, but it was worth a try. I tightly closed the lid of the device and prepared to throw.

“When you throw it, keep the button on the side pressed down, pull this pin, and then toss it!”

Leaving the strangely excited Edelina behind, I hurled the potion-filled bomb into the sky with all my might.

Whoosh—!

The ball cut through the air with terrifying momentum before… Bang! It exploded with a thunderous roar. Then, the potion began to fall like rain.

“Oh…”

Starting from where the potion touched, the purple particles floating in the air rapidly began to fade! The voices of the knights reached me from below the rampart…

“Uh…? The demonic energy is thinning out!”

“The monsters are faltering! We have to attack now…!”

“A sanctuary! It’s a sanctuary! The Saintess has created a sanctuary!”

A sanctuary…. Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Purifying demonic energy. I’d assumed only a Saintess could do it, but with the support of the game system and Edelina’s technology combined, it had become possible.

Once again, it hit me that nothing is impossible in this world.

‘Let’s make more.’

I detonated several more potion bombs. With this, the entire area around the rampart underwent a thorough purification.

‘Finally, an environment where one can actually breathe.’

Thanks to that, the morale of the soldiers on the wall and the knights fighting below soared even higher.

“We are soldiers protected by the Saintess! Forward! Kill all those wicked followers of the God of Chaos!”

If I’d used this from the start, things would have been much easier; I felt like I’d taken a bit of a detour.

Well, there are no casualties yet, and I’m just glad I figured it out now.

I can probably use this effectively later too…

“Casualty! Saintess!”

…The moment I say something to jinx it, it happens immediately.

I placed an additional order for potions from the shop and headed toward the spot where the casualty was reported.

“Even for the Saintess, this would be difficult…”

“We should prepare ourselves…”

“Sob! Eli, no!”

“Things were going so well, how did this…”

“Just a moment of carelessness…”

Oh boy. There was a corpse with its side torn open, collapsed miserably… no, it was still a living human.

Could a physical loss like that really be treated with a potion?

It might heal the wound, but it seemed difficult to regrow missing parts. And if it were a lost arm or leg, you’d survive as long as it healed, but if it were vital internal organs…

“Everyone, please move aside.”

“Ah, Saintess!”

“You’ve come…!”

He seemed to be a member of the Peyers Knights; apparently, he’d let his guard down just as things were wrapping up. I decided to lower their expectations first, just in case.

“I do not know if the Holy Water will restore what has been lost. However, I truly hope that it does.”

Cough!

The wounded knight coughed up blood. It looked like his breath would cut out any second.

“O, Ralphican… please save this young man.”

I poured the potion into the knight’s mouth (Edelina had even provided a funnel so I wouldn’t spill) and sprinkled it evenly over the wound.

And amazingly….

“Ohhh! New flesh is growing!”

The missing part of the body began to reconstruct itself!

The soldiers weren’t the only ones who were floored. In fact, I was the one most surprised.

‘This is insane.’

This kind of performance for a mere 10 points?

Should I take this as the system laying out a path for me to become a Saintess?

A feeling that I’d made the right choice washed over me.

Color gradually returned to the knight’s face, and soon after, he opened his eyes.

“Uh… Huh? I was definitely… attacked by a monster…”

“The Saintess has performed a miracle! She brought back the dead!”

Hey, he wasn’t dead yet.

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I should just keep quiet. For a short while, I spent time encouraging the resurrected knight and enjoying the moment of joy.

“Hereis is late…”

“They say high-grade monsters are continuing to appear. He must be holding them off at the front line.”

“Where on earth are so many monsters coming from…?”

Still, things gradually entered a lull. Judging by the fact that the number of monsters had noticeably decreased.

‘The thing that bothers me is…’

The fact that the monster Edelina mentioned hasn’t appeared yet.

Is there one more phase?

While I was deep in thought, Edelina sat down on the dirt without hesitation and spoke.

“It’s a long day.”

I felt the same way. It felt like half a day had passed, but the sun was still high in the sky.
In reality, only about six hours had gone by.

“Saintess. Here, at least eat this…”

Boom!

Wha-what?

The rampart itself shook as if an earthquake had hit, and the sandwich I was about to take fell miserably to the ground.

“Uh… Uh…”

The sentry next to me, who must have seen something through his telescope, fell backward onto his rear.

“S-Saintess… What on earth is that…?”

Edelina also looked somewhere and froze in place.

‘What I was waiting for has arrived.’

It seemed we had entered the final phase.

Thump, thump, thump.

The entire surrounding area shook with every single step it took…

No telescope was needed.

A massive creature made of stone.

‘It’s a Golem.’

But an incredibly huge one. A monster’s grade and size aren’t necessarily proportional. That’s because the grade is determined by the concentration of demonic energy the monster emits.

However, a large monster is always a threat. Just as size is one of the advantageous factors that decides victory or defeat in a fight.

And it wasn’t even just one.

‘Time to get moving.’

I handed a few of the bombs I’d made to Edelina, tucked some into my inventory, and prepared to head down the rampart. This time, naturally, I took the stairs like a normal person.

“Wait! Saintess! Wh-where are you going…?”

“To help Sir Hereis.”

“B-but…”

Edelina, the sentry, and the soldier who had delivered the sandwich all looked at me with worried eyes.

“Do not worry. As long as Ralphican protects me, I shall be safe.”

“B-but that’s….”

“If you try to stop me now, I shall take it to mean you believe Ralphican will abandon me.”

“…”

Everyone sensed a “Hell” flag¹ and shut their mouths. I sought out Darian, who was hurriedly reorganizing the knights at the bottom of the wall to prepare for the suddenly appearing Golem monsters.

“You want just the two of us to go there, Saintess?”

Darian pointed toward the Golems and kept asking if I was serious. He seemed to want to deny reality. But reality is a cold-hearted thing. I nodded firmly.