No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!? – 26

EP.26

Chapter 2

Encounters and Opportunities (13)

Beyond the gate, there were still hunters fighting—a group that must have included some of the finest in the association. Though I couldn’t see them clearly, their unrelenting attacks had managed to make the massive monkey creature bleed, staining the tiger pelt draped across its shoulders with streaks of red.

A piercing screech tore through the air.

The monster, caught awkwardly in the gate, seemed unable to decide which direction to move. It wanted nothing more than to break through, but—

“———!”

There were hunters outside as well. Not just lower-ranked ones, but some of those I had managed to save, each an invaluable member of the association. Not everyone had made it, of course. Those who died instantly or were ripped apart on impact… there was nothing I could do for them. A breath of life was the bare minimum needed to heal.

Crack!

A massive rock hurtling toward us shattered in midair, much like the enormous radio device that had previously been aimed in my direction.

How on earth did they slice through that with a sword?

Such things happened in the original story too, but seeing it in person…

At first, chaos reigned on the outside of the gate. But gradually, order began to take shape around me. The injured were gathered close by, while those able to fight moved forward to shield us. Even within the gate, attacks continued to hammer against the monster blocking the doorway.

“Look…!”

A strike from inside aimed right at the monster’s shoulder, making me wonder how our hunters—ordinary people like us—could unleash such a large-scale assault.

A deep cut formed in the creature’s shoulder, creating an opening, and suddenly a bloodied figure appeared, poking his head out through the wound.

The monster let out a furious roar, slamming its hand down toward its injured shoulder—

Slash!

The attack didn’t sever its finger completely, but it was enough to halt its advance. The figure had skills beyond an ordinary hunter’s.

A first-rate hunter. A warrior who could stand among “heroes” on the front lines of humanity’s defense.

But that strike seemed to exhaust him. He slipped through the wound and collapsed just outside the gate.

Others soon followed, spilling through the same opening, one after another, from beyond the gate.

“Don’t let the monster turn back around!”

Someone shouted, and the hunters dashed forward in unison.

“Ria!”

I called out as I rose to my feet with my shield, and Ria nodded in response. Without hesitation, she slipped her hand around my waist.

“Eeek!?”

It was a sound I couldn’t control—a reflex of sorts. After all the times she had poked my ribs, even unintentionally, I couldn’t stop the reaction. Thankfully, it seemed that no one noticed. Ria simply held onto me, leaping forward.

My view tilted upward, and my feet left the ground, making cold sweat run down my back.

Gritting my teeth to stifle a scream, Ria gently landed on the ground.

Right in front of us lay the blood-soaked hunter.

The monster was close. Its massive limbs swung wildly as it tried to swat down the hunters, who looked like mere insects buzzing around it. Then it lowered its head, fixing its gaze on me.

“……!”

Instinctively, I raised my shield, but no impact came.

Slash.

Instead, I heard the sound of something slicing.

“————!”

Blood splattered over my shield, and the monster screamed. Yes, I had an unstoppable protector with me—Ria had blocked the creature’s attack.

Holding up my shield, I reached out to touch the hunter’s shoulder. Divine power I had absorbed earlier flowed from me into him, quickly mending the deep gashes from the creature’s claws and teeth.

“…Hah!”

With his wounds closing, the hunter gasped and jolted upright, strength returning to his body.

Then, he hurriedly checked his own body, eyes widening as he looked at me.

“You are—”

He started to say something to me, but suddenly, his expression hardened. The swift change was almost unnerving; the previously gentle face transformed instantly, like a hunting dog who had spotted its prey.

But his gaze wasn’t directed at me. To be precise, he was looking past me, just beyond the shield.

The Hunter jumped up, still gripping his sword tightly as he leapt forward. Instinctively, I lowered my shield, following his movement with my eyes.

Holding his long sword with both hands, the Hunter swung directly at the monster’s descending arm aimed at us.

At the same time, Ria, who had been shielding me, also swung her sword. Coincidentally, the two strikes met in a flawless cross, forming an X.

Crack!

This time, the monster’s wrist, which Ria’s first strike had failed to cut off, was sliced clean through, bones and all. With a solid breaking sound, the beast’s right hand fell to the ground.

The blood that followed wasn’t a pleasant sight.

“Is everyone out!?”

The First-Class Hunter shouted. Voices replied from different directions as he quickly scanned the area, counting heads.

“Close the gate!”

He shouted.

The monster didn’t seem to understand human speech, but it wasn’t about to ignore those who had cut open its body and made holes in it.

Crack!

The sound of something being torn was heard. It was the sound of the leather helmet on top of the monster’s head ripping. Perhaps it had snagged on the thin edge of the Gate and torn.

The monster, with its black fur soaked in red blood, roared again. Its eyes were on me—

“Close it!”

The hunter shouted again with all his might—

And then, just like that, the shimmering, mercury-like surface of the Gate vanished.

For a split second, the monster’s head hung suspended in midair, its last expression frozen in fury.

Then, it fell to the ground.

Not just the head but also various other severed parts of the monster’s body, which had been forced halfway through the Gate, dropped down, scattered across the ground.

…It wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight.

Gasping for breath, I let the shield fall from my hand and struggled to stand.

Everyone stood frozen, staring blankly at the abrupt end to the crisis.

A tense silence settled over us for a brief moment.

Only after confirming that the Gate wasn’t reopening and that the severed monster remained lifeless did people slowly begin to sink to the ground, sitting down with exhaustion.

There was no cheering, just a collective sigh of relief that we no longer had to fight for our lives.

I raised a hand with effort.

“Injured!”

The people who had been sitting in a daze turned their attention to me.

“If anyone is injured, please come here—”

But I didn’t get to finish the sentence.

Strangely, my vision tilted upwards. Wait, I was sure I was standing—

Thud.

Only when I noticed someone’s arm supporting my back did I realize I’d collapsed backward.

I saw Ria’s face.

“Aren’t you the one who’s injured?”

“No, I don’t think… there’s anywhere that’s… hurt.”

There wasn’t any injury… but…

The arm I had raised high suddenly went limp, dangling uselessly. My legs, too, felt as if they had turned to jelly, all strength rapidly leaving my body. Not just my arms and legs. It felt like every muscle in my body was melting away.

My body refused to move.

“…Using divine power puts strain on the user’s body. You poured all the strength from your own body into others. It’s no surprise you’d end up like this.”

“What about you, Ria?”

“I’m fine. I’m the one receiving the power, remember? So actually—”

“…”

Is that… really how it works?

I thought I’d shared my strength with them—well, technically, it was strength that I had “given” them, so that made sense. I wanted to say something, but my tongue wouldn’t cooperate. Even just lifting my head to look at Ria was too much effort.

“Just get some rest. You’ve done more than enough.”

“The injured…people…”

“There are plenty of others to take care of them. There should be enough holy water, too… And, well, everyone who barely escaped with their lives owes it to you.”

I hadn’t seen all the people who made it back from beyond the Gate—there might still be people injured inside—but in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to say that out loud.

It was as if my mind decided it had reached its limit and, halfway through, everything went black.

The last thing I felt was the hum of people gathering around me, their murmurs fading, and the warmth of Ria’s arms holding me as I slipped away.

*

“Gasp!”

I thought I had just closed my eyes for a moment, but it was already dark outside. Judging by the shortened days, I must have been out for a few hours at least.

I heard a rustling sound nearby and turned my head—

“Mmmp!?”

Something was shoved into my mouth, making me jolt in surprise—it was sweet.

I realized a bit late that I was incredibly hungry. After using so much divine power, it was no wonder I was starving.

As I chewed and swallowed the chocolate in my mouth, I looked at the person who had done such a rough thing.

Well, of course, it was Ria.

“What are you doing to someone who just woke up!?”

I protested after swallowing the chocolate, and Ria held up the half-unwrapped chocolate she had.

Then she slowly waved it from side to side, watching my eyes follow it with a slight smirk.

“Oh, poor thing. Here I was, thinking about my roommate’s health and preparing a snack you could eat right away.”

“…Ugh.”

I gritted my teeth at Ria’s words.

Offering a sweet-smelling snack to someone who was obviously hungry was unfair. My body was already screaming for sugar.

Ria chuckled and handed me the chocolate. I took it, trying not to seem too eager, and carefully took a bite.

The crisp snap of the chocolate breaking filled my mouth with a sweetness that immediately made me feel more alive. I’d need more than this, of course, but it was a start.

As I slowly let the chocolate melt in my mouth, I leaned back against the bed. It seemed to be a patient bed, with the back slightly raised, so it didn’t look too improper.

“What about the injured?”

“Almost all treated. I mean, the Saintess candidates may not be at your level, but they’re still capable enough. They were able to treat most of the serious cases. And the ones they couldn’t handle were already healed by you. The Hunters were grateful.”

“I see…”

I exhaled.

If someone had died while I was unconscious, I wouldn’t be able to sleep properly for a while.

“No one’s blaming you for passing out, you know? What are you so worried about?”

Ria seemed to read my mind, watching me with folded arms.

“Well, how can I not worry?”

I muttered, pouting.

Ria looked at me thoughtfully, arms still crossed, and finally spoke.

“I don’t think that’s what you should be worried about right now.”

“What else could be more important than people’s lives?”

“I heard you sent a letter to the cardinal saying you don’t want to become the Saintess.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Well, you know that two Saintess candidates were there to witness your work this time, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…Do you really think nothing will happen?”

“Uh…”

Honestly, I was a bit worried.

But—

Well, I’m not sure.

Wouldn’t this cause some kind of political trouble? Or maybe some sort of conceptual problem?

The heads of religious groups are often inevitably conservative, especially when it comes to their faith. Religious doctrines have crucial, untouchable elements—especially anything that threatens the core beliefs. No matter how capable someone is, they can’t change those fundamentals. From a religious institution’s perspective, challenging those beliefs is extremely risky.

That’s why I felt comfortable voicing my thoughts so freely. If anything I said could actually change anything, it would have done so long ago.

“So, you stirred up the saintess candidates before anything else happened. Did you do that on purpose?”

“…”

Well, I hadn’t meant to, but that’s pretty much how things turned out. If nothing had happened beyond the Gate, they might have brushed me off as clueless and let it go.

“So, you must have expected Sophie, the candidate who heard you, to head straight for Myeongdong afterward?”

Hearing Ria’s question, I shrugged.

“What, was she going to report me as a heretic or something?”

“Of course not. After seeing what you did.”

“…What?”

“She left saying there needs to be another ‘opportunity,’ and that maybe she needed to seriously consider what she believes in.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Wow, you really lack common sense, don’t you?”

Ria said, clearly annoyed.

“Hey—”

“Didn’t I tell you? The scriptures are constantly being revised. If a problem arises that requires a complete overhaul, what else can we do but overturn it?”

“…”

Wait, what?

“Those people abandoned a thousand-year-old faith over a decade ago to establish a new doctrine. Do you think they’ll just sit by this time?”

Staring at Ria, I found myself at a loss for words.

What… does this mean?

I mean, in the original story, the Saintess did things like this.

…Ah.

Right. The Saintess did.

She was already the Saintess in the story, not a mere candidate. There was no mention of how she made the jump from “candidate” to “Saintess”…!

Only now did I truly realize what I’d done, and I ran my hand over my face.

“Well, let’s hope the cardinal is much more stubborn than we think.”

Ria said sympathetically, patting my shoulder.

It didn’t do much to reassure me.