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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 85 – Catalyst (1)
The black-red hue that had stained the sky faded away.
Only pure, clear blue remained, a pristine backdrop.
With the gentle breeze from the ocean came a serene, sunlit scene of summer.
The girl stood alone in the tranquility of the gentle waves.
Occasionally, a wave would lap at her feet, leaving a cool trace as it receded.
Swish—
The shattered foam left only a refreshing echo.
Charlotte gazed blankly at the scene before her.
Her silent lips held a faint hint of color, a soft, rosy hue that refused to melt away.
“…”
An unusual domain.
It was beautiful.
Like a dream.
Only moments ago, she had stood amidst a crimson fog, with waves of blood crashing down like tears and a terrible dissonance echoing through the dark mist.
Yet in a mere blink, she found herself in an entirely different world.
—If you could distract her, even just briefly, it would help.
—I’ll give you the signal.
It had happened in the span of a single eyelash flutter.
The world changed in a split second.
—Now.
With a sharp clap, the boy leapt.
In an instant, he was behind the embodiment of sin, seizing the woman’s nape without a shred of hesitation.
A single, simple gesture followed.
—Shatter.
But—
That had been enough.
As each joint in his gripping hand tightened, cracks spread across the air.
The crimson world splintered apart, and through the fractured gaps, layers of blue sky shone through.
Red and blue mingled in a mesmerizing view.
It was, simply put, indescribable.
Step… step…
The boy advanced toward her, wordlessly.
His calm steps skimmed the vast surface of the ocean.
Cradled in his arms lay a woman.
Her breathing was soft and peaceful.
As if the darkness that had once consumed her had never existed, no shadow remained around the nun’s serene face.
Charlotte watched the two, dazed.
‘How?’
How had he done it?
To purify someone tainted by Magi…
It felt as if reality itself had been rewritten.
She had faced many horrors while tracking the cultists’ trail, but she had never heard of anything like this.
It was the kind of miracle that only belonged in holy scriptures.
‘I was mistaken.’
Charlotte realized she had underestimated him.
The alleyway, the placement trials.
What she had seen of his power back then was only a fraction.
The Snake had an aura that was almost… infinite.
As a princess, she had encountered countless powerful figures—professors, the academy’s headmaster, swordmasters—but she had never felt so utterly powerless.
Was this how the first creations had felt, gazing upon their god?
Strange.
Though fear prickled within her, curiosity burned even brighter.
Charlotte did not think the boy was evil.
It was the conclusion she had reached from watching him all this time.
He showed no greed, lacked any brutal edge, and was as considerate of others as anyone she had ever met.
Nor did he possess that insidious malice that adults so often carried.
Instead—
—I just didn’t want you to get hurt.
His smile was pure and clear.
A cool, wintry scent lingered.
There was a quality of absolute purity.
Others might not notice, but Charlotte, with her unique perception, could sense it fully.
A being who had somehow retained a childlike innocence.
“…”
Charlotte simply watched him.
Whether he was aware of her tangled thoughts or not, the Snake continued toward her with calm strides.
In his arms, he held the unconscious woman carefully.
Perhaps…
The thought came unbidden to her mind.
Perhaps he could do it.
She had held back, hesitating without certainty, but now that she had witnessed such a miracle, things felt different.
In a moment brimming with despair, a single ray of hope had broken through.
If it’s him, he might be able to help.
The brief whisper carried an earnest wish.
Mulling over this possibility with something close to a prayer, Charlotte heard a faint, aching voice in her ear.
—Sister.
A rare expression of vulnerability flickered across the girl’s face.
Standing amidst the gently blowing wind, Charlotte waited.
***
And thus, the Concert came to an end.
The thought-form, the concert’s clear condition, had been subdued, and the Magi that had tainted the area shattered—no further threats remained.
Holding the woman’s limp body, I took a step forward.
“…”
Medro, whom I had saved, was still unconscious.
There was no particular problem, simply a matter of her energy being completely drained.
She would likely awaken once some time had passed.
Step… step…
I passed through the quiet ocean and stepped onto the warm sand again.
There, someone was waiting for me.
The girl’s dazed eyes cleared as I called out.
“Your Highness.”
“Ah.”
“Shall we return?”
“...Yes.”
Charlotte nodded quietly.
We moved toward the door we had originally entered.
After walking in silence for a while with a thoughtful look on her face, she seemed to make up her mind and finally spoke.
Her blue gaze rested on the woman in my arms.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“How… how did you do that?”
“You mean Lady Medro?”
She seemed visibly shaken.
No surprise there.
It was probably the first time she had seen something like this.
Anyone who had studied Magi would know just how impossible it was to purify a thought-form.
It was a concept that defied theory itself.
What I had just done was, in a way, a miracle, beyond any known law or reasoning.
Her shock was only natural.
“I don’t understand. What happened here?”
Charlotte’s quiet murmur carried an uncharacteristic tremor.
I kept my composure as I replied.
“Perhaps we can discuss it later. For now, shouldn’t we leave this place first?”
The Conductor’s thought-form had been destroyed.
With the core of the domain broken, this space would soon collapse.
My power reserves were nearly depleted, and getting trapped in a collapsing space would be a headache.
It would be more practical to get out before trying to explain.
But Charlotte seemed to take my suggestion as an attempt to avoid the question.
She nodded softly.
“All right… if it’s something you don’t want to discuss, I won’t ask.”
“That wasn’t quite what I meant.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not foolish enough to get on your bad side.”
“Hm.”
It seemed she had misunderstood, but this was an easy exit.
Besides, there was only so much I could explain right now.
The Snake and the Little Prince.
The two of us quietly crossed the sandy shore, side by side.
As we reached the threshold back to reality, the first person to greet us was Irene.
She had been crouched nearby, waiting.
“Ah.”
Seeing me, her ears perked up.
Her eyes, which had been dim, brightened.
Irene came running over and gently took the unconscious Medro from my arms, casting a concerned look my way.
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Perfectly fine.”
“You didn’t overdo it, right?”
“Not at all. This one went smoothly. There was no real danger, so you needn’t worry.”
“That’s a relief.”
Had she been fretting while waiting?
Even as she nodded, the fox circled around me, as if making sure I hadn’t been wounded.
I found her fussing endearing in a way.
As I patted her head, other members of the team approached as well.
The first to speak, of course, was Neria.
“Well done, Master.”
“Deputy Commander.”
“We’ve finished clearing the basement. All survivors have been transferred to Astro’s direct hospital, and the mutated children marked for quarantine were sent to headquarters.”
“Have you confirmed the death toll?”
“Of course. In this attack, 128 priests lost their lives, with 37 survivors and 23 quarantined mutants.”
“…A high toll.”
I sighed bitterly.
Though sadness threatened to well up, I pushed it aside, issuing further instructions.
There was still work to be done.
“For now, let’s clear the area. It’ll be dawn soon. Let’s get out of here before anyone outside notices anything unusual.”
“As you command.”
The team moved quickly, following my directions.
I took a quiet breath and walked out of the basement.
***
The cleanup wasn’t complicated.
The cult’s attack had already left the place a wreck.
There was no need to erase evidence of our presence.
The lingering Magi had tainted the air so thoroughly that it would be hard to distinguish anything clearly anyway.
Our focus was simply to attend to the bodies.
“…”
At the cathedral’s center.
Beneath the tall, unyielding cross, those who had died lay at rest.
A white cloth covered each of the victims, arranged with care.
Someone’s life, being quietly put to rest.
I stood there, silently watching.
‘So many.’
There were so many I couldn’t save.
One hundred twenty-eight, to be exact.
Feeling the weight of that number, I let out a sigh I hadn’t meant to release.
The calm air carried a faint scent of blood.
It’s the same, every time.
The same feeling every time.
I had saved people.
I had prevented a disaster that could have led to unimaginable horror.
I had acted like a hero, saving the world.
Yet, there were always some I couldn’t save, a regret that clung persistently.
Perhaps it was just the foolish desire to save everyone.
‘You can’t save them all.’
I knew that.
I wasn’t a god.
I wasn’t omniscient enough to foresee everything, nor omnipotent enough to save everyone.
The future I could foresee was only what I knew from the original story.
And the miracles I could perform were bound by my remaining reserves.
So, I couldn’t stop every tragedy.
No matter how extraordinary I might be, a mere human cannot surpass their own limits.
In that case—
‘Next time.’
I resolved to do better.
To notice sooner, act more decisively, respond more wisely, and save more people next time.
This time was no different.
“…”
I stood in silence, pondering.
As I lingered, a girl approached me, her platinum hair swaying with each step.
Her blue eyes met mine with quiet intent.
It was Charlotte.
“Your Highness…”
“Yes.”
She stood beside me.
She had mentioned she would explore the basement a bit more and had just now returned to the surface.
After a moment’s pause, Charlotte spoke.
“I owe you a debt. Thanks to you, we found the missing people.”
“It was nothing.”
“I’ll handle the cleanup from here. The case may be closed, but there are still tiresome procedures to follow. I can wrap it up easily with my authority.”
“We’ll protect the surviving priests for the time being.”
“Yes, that’s wise. If cultists find survivors in a branch they thought they’d eradicated, they’ll certainly be suspicious.”
“Such nuisances, aren’t they?”
“Indeed.”
Charlotte’s familiar, calm response.
As we discussed the aftermath, the first hints of dawn began to light the horizon.
It was time to return to headquarters.
“Well then… I’ll be on my way.”
With a polite nod, I turned.
The others waited for me, ready to depart.
As I started toward them, Charlotte suddenly reached out, catching my sleeve.
I turned back to her.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“There’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
“What is it?”
Her sudden request was unexpected, so I listened patiently.
It seemed she’d been gauging my reaction, hesitating for a while.
Was it something important?
After a brief pause, she seemed to gather her resolve, and finally spoke.
Her voice wavered slightly—a rare occurrence.
“I need your help.”
“Pardon?”
“If it’s you… maybe you can save me.”
Her blue eyes blinked, reflecting nothing but my image.
In a soft whisper, her pink lips pleaded.
“Please… save us.”
“…”
Hearing her words, I stood frozen for a moment.
A faint, twitching smile tugged at my lips.
I covered my mouth with one hand.
And then, with a dark smile spreading, I thought—
Savoring the thrill that raced down my spine.
‘As expected.’
She took the bait.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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