Chapter 24 - The Chase - 2

Renée felt her head spin as the situation changed without warning. She struggled to gather her sleep-fogged thoughts and make sense of what was happening, but even that was difficult.

Of course it was. She had been sound asleep when they suddenly woke her, put her on a horse, and took off. How was she supposed to know what had led up to this?

All she had been told was that their pursuers had caught up. The only thing she could understand was that they were in danger.

The galloping horse jolted her up and down. Cold night air whipped across her face, leaving her cheeks stinging. As she squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head, Bera's voice sounded beside her ear.

"Saintess, you must hold on tightly."

"Oh, yes."

His voice was lower than usual. Renée had never heard him sound like that before. Feeling anxiety swell inside her, she tightened her arms around his waist, still seated sideways on the horse, and tried to calm herself.

"I-is it very bad?"

"There is no need to worry. Whatever happens, I will keep you safe. For now, please hold on to me a little tighter so you do not fall off the horse."

He was trying to reassure her. Renée gave a small nod at his words and drew a deep breath.

'It'll be all right...'

Hadn't Norn told her? In terms of fighting strength alone, Bera was among the three strongest people in the Holy Empire. No matter how many enemies came, he would not lose.

THUMP. THUMP.

Renée's heart began pounding wildly. She thought it must be a reaction to tension and fear.

* * *

Bera continued thinking as he urged the horse onward.

'We only need to cross the border.'

There should be troops stationed there. He had spoken to Bargo before leaving, then requested reinforcements once more through Norn after arriving in Remeo. Unless the Holy Emperor had gone senile, the troops would be there.

At this speed, they should reach the border within an hour.

The problem was...

'... Of all people, it had to be the followers of the night.'

They were the ones pursuing them.

Children of Nertania, Queen of the Black Season. Recluses who dwelled in the shadows.

Of all possible enemies, they were the ones following them through this dark night.

'A fight... is unavoidable.'

No matter how fast they rode, they could not outrun them at night.

Being caught was only a matter of time. What mattered now was protecting Renée as best he could while fighting his way through the enemies they encountered.

As Bera continued turning these thoughts over in his mind, a slicing sound rang out.

SHICK.

The horse suddenly began pitching forward.

"Ne-e-eigh!"

"Aaaah!"

Bera tensed instantly, his eyes widening as he saw shadows rising from the ground and severing the horse's legs.

'Already...!'

They had caught up.

The horse toppled forward. Bera immediately released the reins, gathered Renée into his arms, and leaped off.

THUD!

Landing with Renée in his arms, Bera drew his sword, every muscle taut. His eyes rapidly swept their surroundings.

SWISH...

The wind sounded eerie. Other sounds, distinct from the wind, mingled with it.

'... They're here.'

The followers of the night.

"Saintess, put your arms around my neck. You must hold on tightly."

"Y-yes!"

Feeling her arms squeeze tightly around his neck, Bera adjusted his hold on Renée. With his sword clenched in his other hand, he watched the space ahead.

"Norn. Be ready."

"Yes."

Norn, who had remained silent until then, drew his sword at Bera's command. That was when the strange transformation began.

Shadows cast among the undergrowth rose and began taking human form. One, then two, until dozens of shadows had emerged. As Bera's tension mounted further, a voice spoke.

"Would you hand over the Saintess?"

The deep, sonorous voice filled the entire area.

Renée stiffened even more at the sound. Feeling her reaction in his arms, Bera gritted his teeth lightly and looked toward its source.

A middle-aged man stood at the end of his gaze, wearing a large cloak that looked almost comical at first glance. His striking red eyes drew attention.

'... A vampire.'

Nertania's royal guard.

'Even those bastards have come?'

Bera clicked his tongue softly at the vampire hovering in the air and looking down on him. Then he scowled and spoke.

"Utter nonsense."

"I am offering a negotiation. You benefit by handing over the Saintess and securing your safety, while we benefit by fulfilling our race's long-cherished wish. Is that not a rather good bargain?"

"That is precisely what I call utter nonsense. Who does a fucking bat think he is, getting above himself like this? Was having your skull cracked once not enough to knock some sense into you?"

The vampire flinched, his brow furrowing. Bera's taunt invoked their most humiliating memory.

Fifty years ago, they had waged war against Bargo alone, only to flee after being nearly exterminated. Bera's words struck at that very moment. Radiating an even more savage aura than before, the vampire spoke again.

"Indeed, every last one of you servants of the gods is utterly lacking in manners."

"And you are utterly lacking in brains."

With that, Bera raised his blade.

'I'd like nothing better than to fight, but...'

Having Renée in his arms restricted his movements. Moreover, the presence of a vampire meant that at least several hundred troops must be deployed nearby.

His best option now was to flee.

Having reached that conclusion, Bera signaled his intentions to Norn with a glance, then met the vampire's eyes again and murmured softly enough for only Renée to hear.

"Saintess."

"Y-yes..."

"Hold on tightly."

The moment he finished speaking, Bera whirled around and began sprinting toward the border.

THUMP!

Following the sound of Bera launching himself forward, Renée let out a long scream.

"U... aaaagh!"

* * *

Even fleeing with every ounce of his strength, Bera could not outpace the followers of the night, who traveled through shadows.

He kept running, swinging his sword again and again at the enemies reaching for him from every direction.

They attacked his back, his ankles, and from above his head. Worse still, they shot shadows at their true target, the Saintess, leaving his nerves stretched to their limit.

Bera bit down on his lip and assessed the battle.

'The border is still some distance away.'

He could still break through, but at this rate his escape route would be cut off. More than anything, he needed speed.

Bera looked toward Norn.

'He's starting to reach his limit.'

Norn was not like him. He had neither a sacred mark nor the physical abilities to make up for its absence.

As those thoughts ran through his head, another shadow flew toward Bera's right thigh.

He thrust his sword toward it, deflecting the incoming shadow and sending it flying in the opposite direction. Resuming his sprint, he spoke.

"Saintess, are you all right?"

"Y-yes! I'm fine, so don't worry about me. Just keep running!"

"Then please excuse me."

After those words, Renée felt Bera shift her in his arms and clung more tightly to his neck.

Her body was trembling. She tried to calm herself, afraid her shaking might make Bera more anxious, but it was impossible.

That was what it meant to face one danger after another without being able to see a thing.

All she could hear were the sounds of something being cut and screams, overlaid by the rushing wind.

All she could feel was the cold air enveloping her and liquid occasionally splashing against different parts of her body.

Because she could not see, could not confirm any of it with her own eyes, those things took on forms more terrifying than reality, tightening their grip on her heart.

Renée clenched her fists tightly. Gritting her teeth, she clung to Bera as a thought came to her.

'Before, too...'

Before they left the village, on the day Bera had reeked of blood, he must have fought a battle like this. The battle he had fought without her knowledge had been this terrifying.

A small pang of regret rose inside her.

'If only I hadn't been so stupidly stubborn...'

If she had not behaved that way simply because she did not want to go, none of this would have happened. As that thought left Renée feeling choked inside, an explosion rang out.

BOOOOM!

A thunderous blast filled the air, loud enough to burst her eardrums. The vibration made Renée stiffen further.

"It's all right."

Bera's words followed.

After soothing Renée, who lay rigid and trembling in his arms, Bera looked toward the source of the blast.

He saw a stretch of ground where every tree had been swept away, the surface torn open to expose the earth.

'This isn't the vampire's doing.'

The ground had clearly been torn apart by an explosion.

'... Magic.'

A suspicion came to mind.

Still running, Bera widened his gaze and scanned his surroundings. He checked the ground, searched among the distant trees, then looked up at the sky. Moments later, far off at the edge of his vision—

"Skreeee!"

A flock of wyverns was flying toward them.

Bera narrowed his eyes at the wyverns that had suddenly appeared and examined their backs.

'Draconians.'

Their exposed, nearly naked bodies were covered in densely packed scales.

The Draconians had come in pursuit. They must have noticed the commotion here and followed it.

'... This is bad.'

Under other circumstances, he could have set them against the followers of the night and escaped, but with the border so close, that was impossible.

Unless they were fools, they would know. If they fought among themselves and let the Saintess cross the border, all their efforts would be wasted.

"Tch."

A brief click of the tongue escaped Bera as he continued thinking.

Would he have to fight? As that thought arose, Renée spoke.

"W-what's happening?"

"It's all right. You have absolutely nothing to worry about, Saintess."

"B-but..."

"It is dangerous, so would you hold on a little tighter?"

The way Bera brushed aside her question made Renée realize just how bad the situation was.

She knew he was saying those things to reassure her. This rigidly earnest man was certainly capable of doing exactly that.

Once again, Renée clenched her fists tightly.

'This...'

She could not accept being this helpless. She could not accept herself like this.

Someone was fighting so desperately for her, yet all she could do was tremble. She felt utterly pathetic.

It was her fault. She was the reason things had become so dangerous.

Negative emotions surged within her. Feeling the stifling frustration that had filled her all this time rise into her throat, Renée thought of something she could do.

She was blind, a useless fool who could not even walk on her own, but there was still something she could do.

'My divine powers...!'

Renée had a sacred mark. She had the Supreme God's divine powers.

Without hesitating, Renée brought forth her divine energy.

"Saintess!"

Bera's voice pierced her ears. Gritting her teeth, Renée gave a short answer.

"Run."

She heard a sharp intake of breath beside her ear and focused once more on gathering her divine energy.

She knew how to use her divine powers.

'Wish with all my heart.'

Wish and wish again, twisting reality and the future. Reweave fate, and make a future bordering on the impossible into an established reality.

Renée brought her wish to mind.

'What I want most right now is...'

For Bera, Norn, and herself to escape this place safely.

To reach the border unharmed.

HUMMMM...

Her divine energy resonated. The energy confined within Renée's body spread outward in every direction.

"Stop heeer!!!"

"Aaaaargh!!!"

Cries like screams rang in her ears. Renée let them pass and concentrated once more on manifesting her divine powers.

She did not know what would happen when those powers manifested.

But all she could do now was wish, so Renée continued her prayer.

The divine energy bursting from her body reached its limit. The longer she sustained her powers, the more she felt as though her head were burning.

The pain grew worse with every moment their manifestation continued.

Amid it all, Renée thought of the Supreme God who had bestowed these powers upon her.

'If you can't even fix my eyes...!'

Shouldn't you at least grant her this?

HUMMMM...

Her divine energy spread in every direction, its presence growing denser.

As Renée continued praying, the spreading energy began to cover the ground, the undergrowth, and the sky.

Not knowing what the energy she had summoned was doing, Renée focused only on her wish and drew more of it out.

Then, when she had drawn it out to the limit and no divine energy remained in her body—

SNAP.

With that sound, Renée's thoughts cut off.

Her mind sank into a haze. Strength drained from her entire body.

The burning pain in her head vanished in an instant.

The last thing Renée felt before losing consciousness was—

RUMMMM...

A tremor that shook the entire earth.

[ROOOOAR!]