No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!? – 75

EP.75 Kindness and Calculation (9)

Just because Ria wielded a sword didn’t mean she couldn’t use magic at all. She couldn’t soar through the sky like some mages, but she could at least kick off the air and run.

And—

Crack!

Ice formed beneath Ria’s feet with every step she took. That was because Gloria and Han Yu-ri, splitting off in opposite directions, were creating ice beneath her.

…Those two are practically inhuman.

Well, I suppose in this world, hunters exist in ways that would be impossible in the world I came from. Even in the middle of the battle, Gloria and Han Yu-ri kept stealing glances at each other, as if hyper-aware of each other’s presence.

The colossal beast—so massive I couldn’t even think of a proper name for it—had ice spreading across its arms as well. The path was being prepared for Ria in advance.

Bang!

I blew the head off one of the grotesque creatures sprouting from the beast’s arm and ejected the empty magazine from my gun.

“You’ve gotten a lot better at shooting.”

“…You really have the nerve to make conversation at a time like this.”

At this point, I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or just dumbfounded.

I glanced down for a moment. Though it wasn’t as thick as the ice beneath Gloria, Han Yu-ri, and Ria, the surface of the lake was continuously freezing over.

Among both knights and hunters, there were those who could wield magic. Some were even setting the middle of the lake on fire, blocking the creatures from rising.

It seemed like dumping the consecrated sand by the sackful was working—

Even from this high up, I could see the lake bubbling furiously. It quickly turned black, but between the murky patches, I could catch glimpses of clear water mixed with sand.

It’s working—

Just as I felt a bit relieved, a bright light flared at the far edge of the lake.

But unlike the divine light currently raining down on me, this one was rising from the ground toward the sky. At first, I assumed it was Sophie’s power. But the figure in the distance… was a man.

“…Lee Si-yoon?”

Even Ria murmured his name, looking slightly taken aback.

…Chocolate.

Yesterday, I had given Han Yu-ri two pieces. Everyone else—those coming with me—only got a single piece each.

As I suspected, Han Yu-ri must have given one to Lee Si-yoon.

So, was the Saintess’s power really the key to his awakening?

In the novel, it was mentioned that he had a body well-suited to receiving divine power. I had never fully understood what that meant before, but…

“Ria.”

“Ah, right.”

Crack.

The ice locking my shoulder and arm in place loosened just enough for me to move. Beneath our feet, fractures spread through the frozen surface.

“You remember how to dance, don’t you?”

Ria flashed me a grin. Though one hand was still wrapped around my waist, my feet were now touching the ice like hers.

“I’ll lead. Just follow my steps.”

“Wait—what!?”

Before I could even process what she meant, Ria took off, sprinting across the beast’s arm.

This… This wasn’t leading! This was just dragging me along!

But I had no time to voice my protest. With an arm firmly around my waist, Ria twirled us across the ice, moving as if she were dancing.

With a sound like shattering glass, the monsters broke through the ice—only to be effortlessly crushed beneath Ria’s feet as she leaped gracefully into the air. She kicked some away with ease, while others, who had managed to push their upper bodies out, were swiftly cut down by her blade as she passed.

The once-pristine white ice was now stained with dark liquid. Too many people had trampled over it, melting parts of it and mixing the filth into something like slushy, dirt-streaked snow.

I had long given up on shooting the monsters. Instead, I focused on my prayers. Closing my eyes, I entrusted my body to Ria’s grip.

Yeah. Fear aside, I trusted Ria.

The strength of her arm around my waist tightened and loosened in rhythm, but she never let go. Not even once.

My feet never slipped. I simply leaned into Ria’s movement.

The sun blazed overhead, while the ice beneath us was freezing cold. Shards of ice kept flying up, striking my face. And yet, Ria’s warmth remained unchanged.

As frustrating as it was to admit, just having her beside me helped settle my nerves.

“Nggh.”

…Okay, maybe not entirely. I bit my tongue a little when she suddenly jumped.

A bright light filled my vision. But it wasn’t just the scorching sunlight.

When I opened my eyes, white smoke was flowing from my hands. It looked like ice melting at an incredible speed, but the crystalline energy in my grasp wasn’t cold at all.

I turned to Ria.

A pair of crimson eyes were locked onto me. Unwavering. As if to say she believed in me completely.

I turned my gaze forward again.

At some point, we had soared high into the air.

It must have been when Ria leaped just moments ago. Yet even without holding onto her, I wasn’t falling.

That fact alone was more reassuring than I could put into words.

A massive magic spear—newly formed near the beast’s eye—

“Not a chance!”

Gloria’s voice rang out from afar.

A chant followed, and in an instant, a thick wall of ice rose in front of the spear.

Crash!

The spear struck the ice and shattered.

Gloria snapped her head to the side, clearly irritated. Floating in the sky beside her was Han Yu-ri, grinning smugly.

…They’d gotten oddly in sync while I wasn’t looking. Not that I’d ever say that to their faces, they’d both explode. But if the two of them ever said the same thing about me and Ria…

What would I even say?

I wasn’t sure.

Strangely enough, though, I didn’t think I’d be angry.

I’d probably pretend to be—

Ria kicked off the air and spun, shifting my body into the perfect position for a clean throw.

I clenched the divine crystal in my hand.

Then, with all my strength, I hurled it toward the beast’s eye.

…Ria once told me I had talent.

Back in the world where no matter how hard I worked, I could never be the best at anything.

Even this throwing technique of mine was probably nothing compared to some of the nuns in the church.

But still…

For some reason, I kept replaying Ria’s words in my mind.

Maybe it was just that reassuring—to have someone like her say that to me.

Seriously.

She really is the heroine, huh?

Crack.

The monster swung its arm, trying to block the crystal—like a tear falling from the sky.

At some point while my eyes were closed, Han Yu-ri must have frozen it again. The outer layer of the monster’s skeletal, leathery arm shattered, flaking off in chunks.

But even that wasn’t enough to stop the tiny crystal.

"Anna."

Ria called my name softly as the crystal pierced through the monster’s hand.

"You trust me, right?"

"How many times are you going to ask that?"

I sighed in exasperation.

She just grinned.

Ah.

For some reason, I knew exactly what she was about to do.

Not because I had read it in the novel. Not because we had some kind of secret signal.

It was just… the look on her face.

The way her fingers tightened around her sword. The strength in the arm supporting my waist.

Somehow, I could tell.

Was I just getting better at reading her?

Or was Ria making it easy for me to understand?

Or maybe—just maybe—it was because I finally trusted her.

Ria gave a small nod.

And then, she hurled me toward the sky with all her strength.

This time, I didn’t scream.

Above me, there was something that wasn’t the sun—yet it shone, casting its light upon me alone. It was too far to see clearly, but…

I reached out toward it.

…If I kept passing things off to them like this, they would come through every now and then.

And just as expected, the presence above answered, sending down a flood of light.

For a fleeting moment, I felt weightless.

Not because Ria was holding me.

Not because Gloria or Han Yu-ri was using magic.

But because, for the first time, I had risen on my own power alone.

Was this the miracle I had read about in the novel?

The energy gathered at my fingertips.

I clenched my hand around it.

Then, twisting my body in midair, I looked down at Ria.

She had thrown me as high as she could, and now she was falling—sword pointed downward—toward the monster.

Its hand had a gaping hole. Its eye was half-destroyed.

It let out an agonized shriek.

And I…

I tossed the crystallized energy in my hand toward Ria’s back.

Tap.

Like an arrow piercing straight down, the energy struck Ria’s body—absorbed completely, without a single fragment bouncing away.

Even though I could only see her back, I could feel her smirk.

Just as I trusted Ria, she trusted me.

We both knew—we would never let the other fall.

Thud.

Ria’s sword buried itself deep into the monster’s eye.

Boom!

Its head exploded. A surge of black energy erupted in all directions, as if it were about to rain down and taint everything in its wake.

But it wouldn’t.

Ria’s sword, already consecrated, now overflowed with the divine power coursing through her. It burned through the darkness, purging every last trace of it—

“…Huh?”

And yet.

A single thought flashed through my mind.

—It’s not over.

“…Not yet.”

The words slipped from my lips before I even realized.

I could see it clearly in my head—Ria pulling her sword free, leaping from the monster’s collapsing body. Even from this distance, the scene played out in my mind like a vivid premonition.

And after that—

A black spear, piercing clean through Ria’s body.

Even with the magic core destroyed, the lake remained untouched. That spear, its sinister energy, came from the depths of that abyss. The monster, the magic core—it had all just been an extension of the lake itself.

“…Ah.”

But the vision—no, the premonition—vanished in an instant.

“No.”

I whispered.

The light from above still poured down, illuminating only me.

—How?

“…How?”

Again, the words tumbled out, unbidden.

How? There was only one answer.

I had to save her.

That was it.

I could heal any wound. No matter how much someone bled, no matter how deep the poison ran—

Even if they were on the verge of death.

But…

I couldn’t reverse instant death.

If a heart was completely destroyed, there was no bringing them back.

No matter how much power I had—Ria’s body was still human.

But—

“…I’m not, am I?”

I knew.

Maybe this wasn’t how the original Saintess was supposed to be.

But at this point, did that even matter anymore?

Yeah.

Since the very beginning, I had been an existence that appeared in this world out of nowhere.

I don’t remember what I said or did in those hazy, distant memories. But surely, there must have been a reason why that entity placed me here, in this form.

I must have said something.

“I mean… I’m someone who just appeared in thin air, after all.”

Whether I was created from nothing or sent by someone—

I had come here with a purpose.

Forever bound to that entity above.

—Are you sure?

Are you really okay with this?

That presence was asking me, truly concerned.

And at that, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Of course.”

I answered, once again.

“If you want me to pray, then I will.”

That, at least, was the truth.

“Please—”

I believed in Ria.

And Ria believed in me.

“Let me be worthy of that trust—”

As I fell, I clasped my hands together.

“Help me. Please.”

And then—

The world before me changed.

In an instant.