The Priest Wants to Retire

EP.233 A Song for the Remaining Ashes (4)

”What an honor for a noble soul like you to personally attend such a humble gathering! Haha! I am truly overwhelmed!”

The woman’s voice, wrung out through a cracked throat, was soaked in a grim melancholy and hatred.

”Why are you not answering? It’s me! Raiza! I tormented you so much while hiding from your eyes in the monastery! Have you really forgotten everything? If not! The noble Saintess chosen by the gods wouldn’t want to associate with the likes of us, right? How regrettable!”

Her wailing, reminiscent of a soul’s anguish, continued for a while.

She was the only one to voice her emotions.

The other Saint Candidates surrounding me, forming a circle, bore hearts filled with just as much, if not more, feelings of resentment.

Yet amidst the intense currents of animosity piercing through the flesh, the Saintess remained calm as a serene lake.

Not only that.

The Saintess, preoccupied with tracing the deep scars marked on my cheek with her fingertips, seemed utterly indifferent to their fervor.

”Here, you’re hurt. Here too. And here. Also here.”

”S-saintess. This isn’t the time for…”

I tried to divert the Saintess’s gaze elsewhere from time to time, but it was futile.

Through my past experiences, I had unwittingly realized it.

When the Saintess had that look in her eyes, no words would sway her.

Those Rubellite-colored eyes, where it felt like my soul could be sucked in if I touched them.

From that mysterious hue, I could find no hint of the warmth of life, the sparkle she was supposed to possess.

They were merely dull and dark.

Even I, who had shared gazes with her hundreds, thousands of times, could not fathom what emotions were stirring within.

”Then let me remind you! Who I am! No! Who we are!”

Bwooong!

The woman’s arm shot high into the sky, suddenly slicing through the air.

Right after that.

Two unfamiliar figures loomed above my head, signaling the start of a fight.

”Kya-haha! A Saint! It’s the Saint! I’ll kill her! Excuse me! Seek! Pai goes first!”

”No. The Saint will be killed by Seek. And that wicked liar too. I’ll kill them.”

They were the two Saint Candidates who had confined and restrained me right after I was trapped in the dungeon.

The one who called herself Pai had a hearty smile while swinging a hammer larger than her body toward the Saintess.

The girl who called herself Seek pointed her sword not at the Saintess, but at me, her face twisted with betrayal.

It seemed I had really gotten under her skin for abandoning her with some nefarious scheme.

A fleeting guilt brushed through me, yet that momentary feeling was swiftly pushed aside by the looming sense of crisis directly affecting me.

”─!”

Paaat!

Just as Bigtim was blocking the Hero’s way, he quickly stepped in between them and me.

”Ugh!”

Thanks to that, the Hero who had been caught by Bigtim fell flat on the ground.

But the instinctive leap of Bigtim as the front line of our party didn’t afford him the luxury of observing the pitiful state of my sister rolling on the floor.

While Bigtim’s intention to protect me and the Saintess was noble enough,

Thinking about the impending backlash that would soon befall him made my heart feel uneasy.

Though, regrettably, Bigtim’s swift response turned out to be utterly without value, a so-called action that meant nothing at all.

Boom!

Right before the attack from them hit Bigtim’s shield.

Two chains shot up from the Saintess’s feet, striking faster than a snake seizing its prey.

Crack! Crrack!

Having received a portion of power from the Saintess, and having dealt with her abilities several times before,

I could instinctively perceive just how ridiculous the energy contained within those chains was.

Her previous miracle seemed inexperienced, clumsy, compared to this seamless movement.

When the chains moved once, the battle was already over.

When they moved twice, the air around, heated by the fierce intent, became chillingly cold as if a storm had rained down.

”Kuu… Huh…!”

”·····”

Both were left dangling in mid-air, having been pierced through the abdomen.

Yet only Pai let out a moan.

The girl called Ksi was powerless, already having lost her consciousness.

”W-what…!”

The woman’s eyebrows, who had risen in arrogance, began to tremble violently.

The other Saint Candidates, who were watching us from all around, were similarly shocked.

They suddenly froze like frogs facing their nemesis, seemingly ready to leap at us at any moment.

Some took steps back unconsciously, while others slumped down, their legs giving out.

And such graceful unrest from those women transformed into pure horror the moment the two pierced by the Saintess’s chains fell to the ground, splattering blood everywhere.

Snap!

”Huh!”

”Huh?”

Suddenly awoken from a nightmare, the two opened their eyes wide in disbelief.

Just moments ago, they had been pierced by the Saintess and transformed into cold chunks of meat, yet here they stood, arms and legs intact.

I was so surprised I couldn’t close my mouth, how much more so were they?

Their terrified faces were drenched in cold sweat, swirling with a fear that was hard to measure.

”T-there won’t be a next time.”

At the Saintess’s short whisper, their entire bodies trembled like a candle in the wind.

What on earth had just happened? They couldn’t even begin to fathom.

Had they collectively hallucinated?

No, that entire spectacle was far too vivid to be just an illusion.

It was a definite reality.

They had faced death once, only to be resurrected instantly.

By the hands of the Saintess.

”What are all of you doing right now─!!!”

In that moment, time resumed its movement with the woman’s soul-piercing scream.

”Our enemy! The detestable source of our hatred has now appeared before us with its own feet! Now! Recall the pain of that day! The screams! The despair engraved deep within our souls! And remember! We have nothing left! That everything was taken from us by that person!”

Thus, fueled by her call, the other Saint Candidates, who had been frozen like mannequins, started to unleash their Holy Powers.

”Y-yeah, that’s right! Saint! I hate her! I’ll kill the Saint!”

”It hurt… It was agonizing… Because of the Saint… Yes! All because of the Saint…!”

”We’ll reclaim it! Our mom and dad! Everything that was taken from us!”

Chachak! Clatter!

With their desperate wishes unified, they sharpened their blunt animosity into a deadly point.

Like ghouls crawling up from their graves.

The number of former Heroes rising from the ground at the feet of the Saint Candidates vividly illustrated just how immense their longing had become.

Grin.

Just as the already intense power disparity widened dramatically once more, the woman wearing a mad smile confidently looked down upon us.

It seemed she was certain of their victory.

Her intuition didn’t seem misplaced at a glance.

The highest miracle of a Saint, the Hero’s Call.

Considering the capabilities of the former Heroes summoned by that power, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we were surrounded by dozens of Heroes right now.

”·····!”

Even Bigtim, who rarely showed his emotions, couldn’t hide his confusion this time.

In this dire situation, the only one maintaining composure was the Hero, who was quickly checking the numbers with his busy eyes.

But for some reason.

Although this situation should have felt perplexing, I didn’t find it frightening.

And it didn’t take long for that vague feeling to transform into certainty.

”Sit down.”

Thud─!

As soon as the Saintess casually parted her lips, every former Hero in this place dropped to one knee in unison.

That synchronized movement was reminiscent of noble knights faithfully obeying their master’s command.

”Huh…?”

Suddenly, the woman let out a futile sigh, yet the other Saint Candidates could not even muster a weak breath.

”Hmph.”

The Hero, who had made a disgruntled sound, sheathed his sword.

Though his demeanor was filled with dissatisfaction, the Hero seemed to have already known the truth.

The moment the Saintess appeared, the tide of battle had completely tilted in our favor.

Swipe.

The gentle hand of the Saintess caressed my cheek for a moment before pointing somewhere.

”You will die.”

With a declaration of death that carried not an ounce of mercy or pity.