Chapter 129
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The feelings I harbor towards her are not just aversion. I feel a strange, heart-wrenching nostalgia for this girl I’m supposedly meeting for the first time.
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The girl gains attention as an exceptionally gifted healer after treating the paralysis of a nobleman’s daughter.
Upon hearing the rumors, the Crater Church immediately dispatches personnel to recruit her.
It’s hard to imagine given her later status as a Saint, but initially, she shakes her head at the church’s recruitment efforts.
The girl is still young. The prospect of leaving her family to become a Sister is extremely difficult for her.
However, she is truly moved by the words of the church envoy: 「By studying at the church, you’ll be able to help even more people than before.」
After much deliberation, the girl engages in lengthy discussions with her family. Driven by the pure motive of wanting to save as many people as possible, she decides to become a Sister of the Crater Church.
From her early days in the church, the girl possesses far greater mana reserves and more powerful Heal spells compared to the other Sisters. However, the intelligent girl never becomes arrogant or acts haughtily.
On the contrary, she is extremely humble.
Of course, she shows proper respect to her seniors, but more than anyone else, she approaches learning and training with the utmost sincerity.
By this time, she has already become the clergy member with the 「robotic expression」 that the young man who will be summoned later describes her as having.
Many of the young Sisters belonging to the Crater Church are dispatched to places with numerous injured and sick people, such as guilds and hospitals.
There, they use Heal, curse removal, and detoxification magic to cure many people.
The church has various intentions behind these actions.
Of course, there are financial benefits from providing treatment and opportunities for the Sisters to practice, but there are several other reasons as well.
Regardless of the church’s motives, there is a constant stream of daily users who come for Heal spells, even if they’re not free, as the prices are relatively reasonable.
However, for the Sisters, this training period known as the 「healing pilgrimage」 goes hand in hand with suffering.
Even in peacetime, this world is full of monsters and adventurers. It’s only natural that many people rush into town with injuries.
As a result, most Sisters on healing pilgrimages routinely use Heal spells to the point of near mana exhaustion.
As one approaches a state of mana exhaustion, the feeling of lethargy becomes intense. In fact, when one reaches complete mana exhaustion, the lethargy becomes so severe that one can’t even stand. Many who have experienced it unanimously declare that they never want to go through it again. That’s why many mages—in this case, the Sisters—never consume their mana to the point of complete exhaustion.
However, there is one Sister who uses every last drop of her mana to heal the people.
That Sister is none other than the girl.
Even for the future Saint, her mana reserves at the time are within a normal range. No matter who she is, if she overuses her mana, she will naturally fall into a state of mana exhaustion.
However, when someone needs healing, she casts Heal spells without hesitation, disregarding her own wellbeing.
Moreover, in addition to the healing pilgrimages instructed by the church, she always volunteers to accompany them of her own volition.
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As time passes, she gains the respect of those around her, and after a year and a half, she is promoted to the position of Sister attached to a cardinal in a certain region.
Although it’s an exceptional promotion, she continues her usual healing pilgrimages without reducing their frequency. On top of that, she even handles minor secretarial work, spending her days in a constant bustle.
This story takes place during that time and becomes the catalyst for the girl’s journey to becoming a Saint.
Rumors begin to circulate within the Crater Church that the Archbishop is stepping down.
There are two potential candidates to succeed him.
One is the girl’s superior, named Odyssey.
The other is a devout believer in the Crater Church, known for being strict and uncompromising—a man named Cole.
Both are renowned cardinals, so it wouldn’t be strange for either of them to become the next Archbishop.
However, an incident occurs.
Cole, the rival candidate to the girl’s superior Odyssey, resorts to drastic measures. Lobbying? Spreading scandals? He chooses an even simpler method.
The physical elimination of his rival candidate.
If one of the two candidates dies, the Archbishop position will naturally be decided—Cole chooses the most primitive yet effective method.
However, both are capable individuals. Half-hearted attempts would fail. And once an attempt fails, it would put the target on high alert. There’s also the risk of being exposed.
Considering all this, Cole opts to use a 「forbidden curse.」
Now, in Japan, there’s a curse called 「kodoku.」
In its original form, 「kodoku」 involves starving the creatures used and forcing them to engage in cannibalism, exponentially amplifying their feelings of resentment.
However, the 「forbidden curse」 that Cole uses here subjects the pitiful sacrifices to a hellish torment, not only starving them but also forcibly cutting off their mana during the starvation process.
He places them in a cage that absorbs mana and deprives them of food. By forcibly inducing not only starvation but also mana exhaustion in multiple prepared sacrifices, he then releases these creatures pushed to their limits into the same cage.
The last survivor of the cannibalism is released from the cage, and its neck is severed when it lets its guard down.
This method produces a 「curse」 even more potent than a simple 「kodoku.」
In essence, this 「forbidden curse」 is an extremely evil adaptation of the 「kodoku」 curse, which was originally brought by transferred individuals and is now a popular curse known to many in Japan.
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Although Cole, the rival candidate, uses this dangerous 「forbidden curse,」 it does not harm Odyssey. This is because the girl, who has been on high alert, protects Odyssey with a barrier far beyond Cole’s expectations.
No matter how powerful the 「forbidden curse」 is, it cannot break through the girl’s barrier. However, this is not the end of the matter. The repelled 「forbidden curse」 returns to its caster, corrupting him with even greater force than when it was cast.
「Kill… me…」
Rasps the old man on the bed.
No, he wasn’t originally an old man.
Until a few days ago, he was a stern-looking man in his late forties. This is Cole.
When the girl and her superior Odyssey rush to his side, Cole, corrupted by the rebounded 「kodoku,」 is already in a state that can only be described as skin and bones.
His arms, so brittle they seem they would break at a touch, his cheeks stripped of flesh to the extreme, and his sunken eye sockets all indicate that he is beyond help.
In fact, Odyssey covers his mouth with his hand upon seeing this horrific sight. He senses Cole’s inevitable death before him and simultaneously gives up on saving him.
「What are you—」
Odyssey watches as his subordinate, the girl, takes the hand of the man lying on the bed and closes her eyes.
He couldn’t say it was too late. It was obvious without saying.
「God, please save this pitiful man.」
As she does, miasma seeps out from her frail body, eventually taking the form of a 「wolf」 and lunging at her.
It happens in an instant.
A dazzling light envelops the girl’s body, temporarily blinding both Odyssey and Cole lying on the bed.
Eventually, when the two open their eyes, they see the girl collapsed by the bedside.
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From that day, she remains unconscious for a month. The girl’s curse removal is not perfect. The 「kodoku」 is too powerful, and she takes on the remaining 「curse」 herself.
Nevertheless—Odyssey reflects—it’s a miracle that she was able to remove the curse, even if incompletely.
The light that emanated from her at that moment was more divine than any light Odyssey had seen in his entire life.
「She truly is—」
Odyssey, who safely becomes the Archbishop, resolves to appoint the girl as a Saint.
At the same time, Cole, who used the forbidden 「kodoku」 curse, develops an extraordinary faith in the girl who risked her life to attempt his curse removal.
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