The Priest of Complete Dispel ~ Every Time I Save a Cursed Beautiful Girl with My Status Abnormal Cure Skill, For Some Reason Her Dependence on Me Maxes Out ~ - Chapter 61: The Morning of Awakening

Chapter 61: The Morning of Awakening

“――The barrier’s been breached!”

“Push them back! Concentrated fire!”

“No good, they’re coming from this side too!”

The advanced light magic <Sanctuarium> that Iris had deployed was barely holding the front line under the pressure of thousands of monsters.

But the limit was close. The momentum of the surging monsters was tremendous, fine cracks ran across the barrier, and finally a section broke.

From there poured in troublesome monsters of B-rank or higher.

They weren’t opponents ordinary adventurers could handle. But――there was no retreating either.

“Doraaaaaah!!”

“Haaaaaaaah!!”

The battle axe of former A-rank adventurer Berg severed a monster’s neck in one breath, and Seira, captain of the Clover squad of temple knights, pierced its thick torso with her knight sword.

In front of those two, even powerful enemies collapsed helplessly.

Yet the number of strong monsters only kept increasing.

“Everyone… just a little longer, please hold on just a little more…!”

Iris raised her holy staff with trembling arms and poured mana into the broken section.

But even as she repaired it, new cracks spread, and the barrier shattered one piece after another.

The west gate had not yet been broken through. But it was only a matter of time.

And then, finally――

“…!?”

The entire <Sanctuarium> barrier shattered like breaking glass.

A furious black wave surged toward the adventurers.

“Uwaaaaaaaaah!!”

Amid cries of despair, Iris bit her lip and closed her eyes.

“Shu-sama…………”

That was the moment.

The barrier that had shattered――began repairing itself as if rewinding.

“Huh…?”

Heavy, earth-shaking footsteps approached from behind.

A specially made black-leather-bound holy scripture held in one hand.

His priestly robes were stained with blood, but his body was perfectly fine, stepping firmly on the ground.

“You held out well, Iris Carnelia… as expected of a saint candidate.”

A low, resonant voice. Iris gasped and turned around.

“A-Alaster Landrace… Cardinal…!”

“It’s been a while. The last time we met face-to-face was at the grand cathedral in the royal capital, wasn’t it?”

“Yes… I never imagined you would be here…”

“I’ve been taking care of my daughter for a while now…”

The conversation was calm, but it was clear that he was the one who had rebuilt the barrier.

“I’ll hold them off from here. Drink a mana recovery potion. When the barrier breaks again――slaughter those enemies.”

“…Yes!”

“In a little while, the person we’ve been waiting for will arrive――”

Those words made Iris’s eyes waver.

He didn’t say the name.

Even so, she knew exactly who he meant.

“Everyone! Just a little longer――just a little more! We will definitely win!!”

There was no basis for it, but her words carried real power.

Encouraged by those words, the adventurers steadily took down the monsters that had broken into the barrier.

――And then, after several dozen minutes.

“Kh… even for me, this is as far as I can…!”

“Cardinal Alaster!”

“Pig old man! Abandon the weak spots! I’ll cut them all down!”

At Seira’s shout, Alaster deliberately weakened the mana at the point that had reached its limit.

The barrier broke, and monsters poured out.

Seira charged straight into the swarm.

“I will not fall. On this sword――!!”

She raised her sword with a shout――but her knight sword never reached the monsters.

Because――

“――Hey, guard. If I collapse, carry me to the saint candidate down below.”

“Huh…? Who the hell are you!?”

On top of the west gate.

A boy wearing a dark gray robe had appeared at some point.

“Yeah, from here I can see everything――”

He raised his right hand.

The pale blue ring glowed faintly.

“――<Perfect Clear・Reversal>”

In the next instant.

The horde of monsters that had been roaring like an earthquake all froze at once.

Their bodies stiffened, foam bubbled from their mouths, their eyes rolled back.

Gradually, life faded from them――and the area in front of the west gate fell silent.

The adventurers were speechless.

The first to raise a voice was one of the guards on the gate.

“Uooooooooh!!”

That shout sparked it.

Joy spread across the entire battlefield.

“Thank goodness…”

The boy collapsed as if all strength had left him.

“Hey! Kid! Hang in there!”

Supported by the guards, his consciousness sank into darkness.

◇◇◇

“Nn… ah…………”

A white ceiling. A familiar room.

This was――the treatment clinic where I had worked until a little while ago.

“――Good morning, Shu.”

“…Mariel, huh.”

When I opened my eyes, gentle eyes behind glasses were peering down at me.

The collar of her nun’s habit was slightly wrinkled, probably from nursing me all night.

“Can you sit up?”

“Yeah… somehow.”

I put strength into my arms and slowly raised my upper body.

I opened and closed my hands while checking my body’s condition.

“I heard you used up all your mana and collapsed. You were… on the battlefield, weren’t you?”

“…Yeah.”

I gave a short answer and lowered my feet from the bed.

I was still unsteady, but not so bad I couldn’t stand.

“You pushed yourself too hard.”

“Maybe… thanks, Mariel.”

Mariel probably didn’t know the full truth of what I had done.

The Bulldog incident hadn’t reached her ears yet either.

But today, she felt even kinder than usual.

“Then――let’s head to the church.”

“Huh?”

As she said, I followed Mariel’s lead to the church next to the clinic.

When the door opened, dazzling morning light poured in. Birds chirped pleasantly.

I must have slept for quite a long time.

As we stepped into the dimly lit main hall of the church――several figures were sleeping under blankets on the chairs lined up there.

The moment I saw them, I knew who they were.

“These people said they wouldn’t leave until you woke up… We couldn’t exactly put them to bed in the clinic, so we let them stay here.”

“…Geez. These guys worry too much.”

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Shu. You’re… really loved, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know… I can’t tell from my side. But… I’m grateful.”

Mariel smiled softly and turned her gaze toward the statue on the altar.

The white goddess statue was bathed in the morning light from the stained glass.

“Goddess Artemisia surely blesses you too.”

Mariel’s gentle murmur slipped smoothly into my ears.

“Nn… ugh…”

“Good morning, Iris.”

“…! Shu-sama!? Shu-samaaa!”

The moment Iris opened her eyes, she threw herself into my arms.

Her arms were trembling.

“Sorry I’m late. You held out well, Iris.”

“…Yes… I… I managed…”

When I patted her head, Iris shed small tears.

“Medina did her best too, huh.”

“Munya… gyumu…”

“…Yes. Medina-sama also fought desperately…”

Medina was curled up small in her chair, still asleep.

Given her level, it must have been incredibly tough.

But from Iris’s words, it seemed she had done everything she could.

“…Shu, I’m relieved you’re safe.”

“Glen――you guys too.”

Next, the members of Silver Blade slowly woke up.

They could have just slept at home――but their feelings made me happy.

“…Thank you, Shu-san.”

Erina and I had gone through a lot with the dispelling. This thanks probably included all of that.

“Yeah, Erina too…”

Risia and Garo were safe as well.

Seira wasn’t here, but――I felt she was fine.

Eventually we thanked Mariel and decided to go eat breakfast together.

――But on the way to the restaurant.

I suddenly felt something nagging at my chest.

It was like I had forgotten something…

◇◇◇

“Master… still not coming… heh-choo… cold…”

In the middle of the grassland.

Almost completely naked, the demon race Dorotheia hugged her knees, shivering―― and simply kept waiting, and waiting, for Shu’s return.