I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 44 - A Saint Relies on Guts and Willpower
“Ugh… cough!”
As soon as I came down the hill and entered the castle town, the miasma rushed toward me.
Inside the black smoke, I could see glowing eyes.
Monsters.
I stopped right after entering the town.
There were no people in sight.
They must have already evacuated.
I joined my fingers and formed a seal.
“Vuvooo…”
A monster growled.
A few monsters noticed me. They now saw me as prey.
“Come here… I will take away your pain.”
Monsters are creatures made from magical energy.
They release magic from their whole body, and even touching them can spread that magic to normal people.
I don’t think they understood what I said—but the moment I spoke, the monsters jumped at me.
☆
“Hah… hah… hah… hah…”
Breathing heavily again and again, I leaned my shoulder against the wall and slowly kept walking.
How many monsters had I purified since then?
Still, I could see many more all over the place.
The total number of monsters—three thousand…
Even as I tried to calm my breath, I was completely out of energy and couldn’t manage it.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
I clenched my hand tightly.
I still had holy power left.
It’s okay.
When I lifted my face again and was about to go fight more monsters—I heard someone scream.
“Kyaaah!!”
“…!!”
(There are still people left!? They didn’t make it to safety!?)
Without thinking, I ran toward the sound.
When I got there, a woman was covering some children to protect them.
It must have been a flower shop before. There were many flowerpots and plants at the storefront.
But it must have been attacked by monsters. The roof and walls had collapsed.
At that moment, I heard a monster’s growl.
I gasped and looked back. There were monsters.
Not just one.
They had surrounded the woman and children completely.
Because they had no holy power—they were seen as food.
Monsters feed on human life and grow stronger from it.
(Two, three… no, I can’t count them!)
By the time I reached them, we were already completely surrounded by monsters.
“Are you alright!?”
“A… ah…?”
The woman was shaking as she slowly raised her head.
Her face was pale. She looked completely hopeless.
I put my hand on her shoulder and tried to speak as calmly as I could.
“It’s okay now. Do you know where you are? Can you stand?”
“Y-you are…”
“I must purify these creatures.”
I was going to tell her to get out of here—but I quickly realized that was a bad idea.
If she tried to go to the city gates now, the monsters would just attack her again.
Also, I just noticed she had three small children with her. Escaping while carrying them would be almost impossible.
I thought for a moment, lowered my eyes, and looked at her again.
She looked confused.
At someone like me showing up out of nowhere.
“Don’t leave my side.”
“Holy Lady…?”
She softly spoke those words.
“—What?”
“Holy Lady… Lady Chalize…!?”
She said it out loud. She must have really believed it.
Because of how hopeless things were, she thought the one who saved her was Queen Chalize—who was supposed to be dead.
Her lost, dazed look changed. She grabbed onto me desperately.
She clung to my chest and wouldn’t let go.
“Um… please let go of me.”
“Lady Chalize, Goddess, please help us!! Forgive us… please, please!!”
“Please calm down!! Now is not the time to be saying that!!”
When I shouted, her body jerked in surprise.
I gently removed her hands and spoke slowly, looking straight into her eyes.
“You have something to protect. Right now, think about surviving.”
“Th-that’s…”
“You understand, don’t you? The only one who can protect your children… is you, their mother.”
When I looked toward her children, I saw all three of them huddled up in fear. They were leaning against each other, trying their best to endure the terror.
With holy power, I might be able to protect the mother and her children.
But I can’t protect their hearts.
Only their mother can do that.
Because I looked at her children, she must have remembered what she needed to protect.
She didn’t cling to me anymore. Instead, she gave a firm nod with a calm, strong expression.
“…Yes. Yes. Please, please.”
“Good. …Trust me.”
I made a promise to her. Then I stood up and turned around.
There were even more monsters now.
Honestly, the number was enough to make me laugh.
Before I run out of holy power, I will definitely get them to a safe place.
(It’s okay.)
Because I am the Saint of Salvation.
Even if I run low on holy power, I can make up for it with my bl00d or willpower—well, it should work out somehow.
In the end, being a saint really just comes down to guts and spirit.
(It might sound silly, but… [never giving up]. That’s the most important thing.)
Thinking that, I faced the monsters and smiled.
“Now then, come here. I will purify you.”
I formed a seal with my fingers and began chanting a holy prayer.
“Creatures of lost magic. Walk the path of light. Then, the goddess Matilda shall see you, judge you, and forgive you—”
Before I could finish, the monsters attacked.
Behind me, I heard someone gasp in fear.
I raised my hand and released holy power.
A blinding white light filled my vision.