The Possessor Mistook the Genre for 20 Years

5 – The Wizard Struck the Saintess.

In front of the makeshift relief center, about ten people were lying down.

People without arms, people without legs.

Each had different injuries, but all were gravely wounded, teetering on the edge of life and death.

Other minor injury patients waited in line to receive treatment when their turn came.

The divine power that bloomed blue from the hands of the clergy filled the flesh and stitched the torn skin together.

It was a miracle of God, inexplicable by modern science.

However, the process was not as smooth as it appeared.

Healing someone with divine power required a great deal of physical stamina.

The more severe the injury, the more divine power was needed, so even those treating minor injuries had fatigue etched on their faces.

And the Saintess was no exception.

Sweat beaded on her forehead, and rough breaths escaped her lips.

Still, she did not rest.

True to her name, she sacrificed her body to heal the patients.

The problem was that the treatment was meaningless.

“Please, please…!”

Divine power bloomed golden from the Saintess’s hands.

It was a pure and noble color permitted only to the Saintess.

True to her alias as God’s representative, the Saintess’s divine power was incomparable to that of other clergy.

People said it had the power to save even the dying.

Even Franz, who disliked the Saintess, could not help but agree with that statement.

When he faced the Demon King, it was none other than the Saintess who saved him from the brink of death.

However, that was a story limited to those who were on the verge of dying.

No matter how divine an agent of God may be, they cannot bring back someone who has already died.

“Why on earth…!”

The divine power that bloomed from the Saintess’s hands scattered without being absorbed into the patient’s body.

In other words, the patient had already left this world.

The surrounding clergy already knew this.

Only one person, the Saintess, could not accept reality.

The Saintess could not give up.

Again and again, she summoned her divine power.

Sweat dripped from her forehead.

Blood droplets formed at her nose and fell.

The clergy tried to dissuade the Saintess, but they could not act strongly.

For a mere believer to question the actions of God’s agent was unthinkable.

Thus, it was Franz.

He had been with the hero’s party for a long time.

Above all, his unyielding fight gave the clergy confidence.

Franz, receiving the gazes of the clergy, pressed his forehead.

Thinking, ‘Why is there never an easy way out-‘.

‘I can somewhat understand.’

Isn’t a Saintess someone who sacrifices herself to help others?

What she was doing now was close to a desperate attempt to save someone, so it couldn’t be said to be wrong.

The problem was that this ideology had taken too deep a root.

Ideals remain ideals because they cannot be realized.

Sigh-.

Franz took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Ignoring the gazes of the clergy was not something he could do.

Soon, Franz’s hand grasped the Saintess’s shoulder.

“Let’s stop here. You know it won’t work.”

“…I can do it.”

The saintess once again summoned her divine power.

However, the brilliant golden light lost its way and scattered into the air.

Franz furrowed his brow.

It wasn’t just one or two people; several had already said the same thing, yet she insisted on her stubbornness.

Words alone wouldn’t suffice anymore.

Franz grabbed the saintess’s arm and forcibly lifted her.

The saintess struggled and shook off Franz’s arm.

Her bloodshot eyes, filled with sharpness, turned towards Franz.

“You, what do you know to interfere?! Do you want to take another life? Why are you so desperate to kill others?!”

“Is it my fault that person died? And if possible, I’d like to leave idiots like you alone. But if you want that, at least don’t cause trouble for others.”

“How can you give up so easily? Is a life unrelated to you so light? If you’re going to weigh lives like that, why don’t you become a god?! Great!! Then I guess I’ll die soon! My life must be lighter than a feather to you!”

Smack-!

Unable to listen any longer, Franz slapped the saintess’s cheek.

Her head turned at an incredible speed.

“Sa, saintess?!” “Are you alright?!”

The shocked voices of the clergy echoed from all around.

The saintess was the most noble being in the goddess’s church.

Naturally, the surroundings began to buzz as such a person was slapped.

But the furious Franz couldn’t hear any of it.

The saintess turned her head and glared at Franz.

Then, she spat out a small white lump.

It was a tooth.

Franz flinched for a moment, but he couldn’t stop now that he had come this far.

Having struck her, he had no choice but to somehow fix the saintess’s mind.

“Are you coming to your senses? When someone speaks, listen properly. Stop being so stubborn.”

The saintess bit her lower lip and clenched her fist.

She wasn’t someone who would back down out of fear of being hit, so it seemed she understood for now.

As silence began to linger between them, Franz belatedly realized the situation.

Everyone, from the villagers to the clergy, was looking this way.

In the end, only Franz, who had taken the lead, felt awkward.

Regardless of right or wrong, it was inherently impossible for the person involved to feel at ease.

Franz scratched his head awkwardly and said,

“Priests, please take the saintess with you. She seems exhausted.”

“I, I…”

“Just go and cool your head. We’ll handle things here.”

The saintess couldn’t say anything.

Because she knew better than anyone that she wasn’t in good condition.

Soon, the holy knights took the saintess away.

Franz watched them and reached into the small bag at his waist.

He wondered if it was right for the dispatched wizard to do this much.

But since he was here, he had to do something.

“Does everyone know about elixirs? If you drink just one sip, new flesh will sprout. It’s not a joke. It’s real.”

Grape-flavored elixir.

It was something he had secretly stolen from the Demon King’s castle.

The effect was full HP recovery.

There was also a cherry-flavored version.

* * * * *

A hill overlooking the village.

The saintess gazed at the village with unfocused eyes.

Most of the buildings had been restored, but even so, they couldn’t be said to be in good condition.

The sight reminded the saintess of her childhood.

A village where the only intact building was a small chapel.

The saintess, Justia, was with her parents during her childhood.

Justia’s father was a tenant farmer who rented land from a noble’s estate, and the taxes were so high that even if he worked all day, the family couldn’t eat for a day.

Even in such poverty, Justia was happy.

Because she could be with her mother and father.

She could endure hunger as much as she wanted.

Still, with a heart that didn’t know, she went to the chapel every day to pray.

Hoping that someday her prayers would reach the heavens.

Goddess, please make our family happy.

Goddess, please let our family eat lots of delicious food.

The Goddess watches over everyone in the world, so surely if my prayer reaches the heavens, she will grant it.

It was pure.

A child who was simply satisfied with eating delicious food with family and being happy.

However, the world was not pure.

No, it was filled with evil.

For Justia, that day was a bit happier than usual.

It was because her mother had bought a small piece of meat with the money she earned from working at the restaurant.

Justia tasted meat for the first time in her life.

Although it was of poor quality and just a small piece in a watery soup, the taste brought a smile to her face.

She was happy.

To be able to eat meat with her family.

However, that happiness did not last long.

Unfortunately, the house was raided by bandits who were lurking nearby.

The saintess still vividly remembered that day.

“Justia, keep your mouth shut and no matter what happens, do not come out.”

Following her mother’s words, Justia hid in a small box, tightly covering her mouth with clothes.

But, there was a small gap in the shabby wooden box.

Through that small gap, Justia watched everything that happened outside.

Her mother hid the dishes Justia had been eating from outside.

Meanwhile, her father’s shout was heard.

“You, you b*stards! What are you doing! Ugh…”

The sharp blade reflected the candlelight, flickering.

Red blood splattered everywhere.

“P-please spare me. I’ll do anything you say.”

The bandits roughly stripped off her mother’s clothes as she pleaded desperately.

Then, after satisfying their desires, they stabbed her in the abdomen.

Tears flowed from her mother’s eyes.

Blood gushed out from her belly.

The bandit’s expression was calm, without a hint of guilt.

As if such things were nothing.

Eustia trembled all over.

Tears flowed from her eyes, and her shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Nevertheless, she kept her promise to her mother.

She clamped her mouth shut and made no sound.

She was lucky.

The thieves, who were looking around to see if there was anything to steal, left without opening the box.

They thought there would be nothing valuable inside because it looked so poor.

After the thieves left the house for a while.

Eustia cautiously slipped out of the box.

And ran to the cathedral.

Of course, Eustia’s parents were already dead, but how could little Eustia know that?

She just ran, believing that the clergy would heal their wounds.

However, even though Eustia begged earnestly when she arrived at the cathedral, the clergy coldly refused.

Money.

It was because she had no money.

Even the clergy of the Goddess Church did not work for free.

In the end, Eustia could do nothing.

She could only helplessly watch her parents’ dead bodies.

She hated humans.

She hated those who took lives without guilt.

She hated the clergy.

She hated those who turned away even though there were people seeking salvation.

After that, Eustia grew up in an orphanage and went to the cathedral every day.

And she prayed.

Why did you let them die?

If you are omniscient and omnipotent, why didn’t you save them?

Ironically, God gave power to such Eustia.

A contradictory saint who hated God but could not leave those seeking salvation.

Anyway, that’s why.

The saintess couldn’t give up on the woman whose life had ended.

Because she looked exactly like her mother.

The image of her mother dying before her eyes overlapped.

And this time, she had no choice but to watch again.

The saintess looked up at the sky and thought.

Why, why did you give me this power?

It was then.

Grrrrr-.

A bizarre sound like scraping metal came from behind.

It was a monster.