No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!? – 76

EP.76 Kindness and Calculation (10)

That sight—

Perhaps, for those who had witnessed it firsthand, it would be etched into their memories forever.

Heaven and earth had become one.

A sacred light, like the gentle warmth of spring sunshine, streamed down from a noble presence above, illuminating a single girl.

The magic that had surged into the sky lost all meaning and fell back as pure water. In a land where not a single drop of rain had fallen for centuries, rain was now descending.

The priests forgot their prayers. The hunters forgot to fight. All they could do was stare up at the sky in awe.

As the rainwater flowed into the lake, the surface began to bubble and churn. The monsters born from its depths writhed, their bodies boiling away—vanishing as if they had evaporated.

A clear barrier formed over the lake’s surface, and purified water continuously surged upward, spilling over as if a spring had burst forth from the tainted land.

Beneath the waters, countless relics—each too small to count, each a sacred artifact in its own right—were purifying the lake.

And then, in an instant, it was all over.

Blink, blink.

Like a failing lightbulb in a place with unstable electricity, the divine radiance trembled—

And then, it was gone.

The monster, which had been dissolving under the cleansing force, remained standing.

The falling rain once again turned into raw magic.

Though the priests quickly gathered their divine power to contain the damage—

Somewhere amidst the chaos, someone thought they heard a scream.

*

For a moment, Ria couldn’t comprehend what had happened.

With her keen reflexes, she sensed the incoming danger almost instantly.

But it moved so fast—so impossibly fast—that even she couldn’t react in time.

It was faster than any bullet she had ever seen.

She had managed to lean back slightly, just barely shifting her position.

She had raised her arm instinctively, as if to block it—

But even if she had, it wouldn’t have mattered.

The attack would have pierced through her chest before she could even bring her arm up.

And yet—

The gentle radiance had vanished.

The sky had darkened.

Just moments ago, it had been a brilliant, piercing blue.

Or… was it just Ria’s perception that had shifted? Was it only the monster’s looming hand that cast its shadow?

None of that mattered.

What mattered was—

How?

How had Anna appeared in front of her in that split second?

How had Anna taken the spear in her place?

Ria had no way of knowing.

“…Anna?”

Anna should have been up there—high above the battlefield.

She shouldn’t have been caught in this at all.

And yet, the spear had gone straight through Anna’s abdomen.

No, not just her abdomen—

It had pierced just below the diaphragm. A fatal wound, no matter how one looked at it.

It might have even grazed her lung.

“Anna!?”

Ria rushed to her side.

“I’m… fine.”

Even with that massive spear impaling her, unable to sit or collapse, Anna still managed to speak.

Only now did Ria notice—

There wasn’t just one spear.

Spears had shot out from all directions, meant to kill with absolute certainty.

Only Ria's position, pushed away by Anna, was barely safe.

Anna’s blood poured out.

Like a drop of water sizzling on a scorching-hot pan, the magic that had pierced through her was being purified. But this time, instead of turning clear and transparent, the purified magic was a deep, crimson red.

“Ah… I guess… changing reality itself isn’t possible after all.”

“Anna!!”

Anna spoke as if she had just realized something, but Ria didn’t care.

With her sword in hand, she sprang to her feet and swung it wildly. The spear that had impaled Anna was pathetically cut down in an instant.

Something like this—just this—

Gulp.

Anna coughed up blood—bright red blood.

As she collapsed forward, Ria caught her, feeling the warmth of her body. But that warmth sent a shiver down her spine. It wasn’t just body heat—

It was the warmth of the blood spilling out.

The ground around them was crumbling. This monster’s body would soon collapse as well.

“…Not yet…”

“No, Anna. Don’t say anything.”

Anna’s half-lidded eyes barely stayed open as she coughed up more blood. Ria grasped her hand tightly.

Another shiver ran through her. Unlike the blood, Anna’s hand was cold—far too cold.

“I’m… fine.”

“The hell you are!” Ria shouted.

What should she do? If it were just one wound, she could stop the bleeding. But there were too many. She pressed her hand against one, only for blood to spill from another—

“…I think… I understand now.”

“Don’t talk, Anna.”

“The reason I came here…”

Ria’s vision blurred.

With Anna resting on her lap, she desperately tried to recall everything she had ever learned—

The first-aid treatments hunters used in the field.

But nothing she could think of would be enough—

Except for one thing.

Holy water.

If she could just—

As Ria fumbled in her pocket, Anna slowly raised a trembling finger toward the sky.

And at her fingertip—

The heavens parted once more.

A warm light cascaded down onto Anna’s face.

She smiled gently.

“Ah… I see now.”

Unlike the light they had always seen before, this one was thin—like a fragile thread.

That thread stretched all the way up into the sky, connecting her to something far beyond.

But today—just today—

That light felt ominous.

Never before had it seemed that way.

Ria had always thought that Anna belonged in the church, that it was the best place for her.

A girl this innocent, this pure, had no reason to step into the cruel world beyond.

The church might not have been completely safe—there was politics, power struggles, hidden dangers.

They had said she only needed to help from the sidelines.

She never planned to stay forever. She would settle in for a while, and later—eventually—they could just be friends.

For the first time, she doubted.

If that god was truly watching over Anna, then why?

Why now?

She had always assumed it was simply because Anna, despite her unusual ways, had unwavering faith—far stronger than anyone else’s. Because she was someone who could believe so purely, someone who never considered this power her own, the god had chosen to respond to her.

The chocolate in her hand didn’t melt, even as she ran with it clutched in her palm. If anything, it felt colder—so cold it almost stung. The light radiating from it was like the chill of something fresh out of a freezer.

She couldn't use it on the wound like this.

So Ria shoved it into her mouth and bit down.

“…I see. So that’s how it is…”

Anna’s voice was barely a whisper.

Tears spilled from Ria’s eyes before she could stop them.

No.

No, it couldn’t be.

If—just if—

Anna had been burdened with this fate from the start.

If all she ever wanted was to escape from it.

Then what if…?

What if Ria had been the one to push her back in?

—I believe in you.

“……”

The light from above gently wrapped around them.

The monster’s body crumbled, melting away. The surrounding area, bathed in that light, was slowly purified.

Despite the destruction, neither of them fell. The lake remained still.

The sacred artifacts they had cast into its depths had finally done their work.

The monster’s form collapsed like a sandcastle, disintegrating grain by grain.

Ria ground the remnants of the sacred object and pressed them against Anna’s wounds.

But the bleeding didn’t stop.

The wounds were healing—slowly—but far too slowly.

Anna’s hand slipped from her grasp, falling limply to the ground.

Her body was losing its strength.

“No.”

Ria bit into another piece of the chocolate.

She wasn’t ready to let go.

The fastest way to absorb holy power was to drink it directly.

In emergencies, they could pour it onto wounds, but that only healed surface injuries.

This wasn’t something she could just sprinkle on.

It wasn’t even water to begin with.

If she wanted to force this sacred power into Anna’s body properly—

There was only one way.

Anna’s face was serene, her eyes gently shut—

As if she had done everything she needed to do.

What the hell are you smiling about?

Who gave you permission to be at peace?

—You said you believed in me.

Anna had always trusted Ria completely.

Even in the harshest battlefields, in the face of death itself, she had placed her life in Ria’s hands without hesitation.

Then this time—

She would trust her again.

Ria lifted Anna’s chin.

There was no time to think.

Later, when she looked back on this moment, she would realize—

Back then, she hadn’t been in her right mind either.

A faint softness.

And an overwhelming, endless sweetness.

For the first time.

*

“……”

The sunlight filtering into my vision is a little blinding.

I raise my hand and wave it in front of my face. The light doesn’t disappear, so it seems the light falling from the sky was literally sunlight.

“Ugh… ugh…”

And then, I feel it—the warmth, no, the heat that’s beyond warmth.

My body feels sticky. I’m soaked through. It doesn’t seem like it’s just from being in the lake.

“……Ria?”

When I ask, my vision shifts slightly.

Ria, who had been holding me, pulls away a bit, her face full of surprise.

Her red eyes, drenched and bloodshot, look at me.

“Anna?”

“Ria.”

Seeing Ria’s face, I call her name again.

Ria hugs me tightly once more.

...Hmm.

It seems like I really almost died.

Before me lies the lake.

I’m lying down, and Ria’s sitting, with the water only reaching her knees.

...Maybe it’s because it was purified? The remains of that monster?

I’m not sure. People who’ll see the situation later will probably explain it all.

“……”

There’s a lot to think about.

The sweet taste of chocolate lingers in my mouth. It must have been the chocolate I gave as a favor. It seems Ria fed it back to me.

...

I guess I have to start thinking about things like calculations.

Not about the people who use my power.

...But about the one who made me use it.

That existence up above, I feel like I’ll have to settle up with them later.

Later.

For now...

Well, for now, maybe I should just rest.

Both Ria and I—and the people calling out to us and running from a distance—we all probably need to rest for a bit.