Chapter 7

“A m-monster!”

“Ahhh!”

The people who had been standing there in confusion began screaming as the wyvern came close enough to be clearly seen with the naked eye.

Panic quickly spread among the believers who had been standing near the stage waiting for the sermon.

People fell into chaos.

Everyone screamed and tried to run away, but the crowd was so dense that no order could be maintained.

“Ahhh!”

“Run!”

The pilgrims standing around me were no different.

Before Samuel could grab me, someone suddenly ran between us.

Taking advantage of the moment, I crouched down as if frightened.

Some people’s hoods fell off, others still wore theirs.

But everyone was dressed in similar pilgrim cloaks, so if I blended into the commotion, it should work.

Ah—now.

The moment I released the necklace I had been holding, the unnatural aura covering my face disappeared.

The squirrel quickly grabbed the necklace from the ground and ran toward the person beside me.

That person had nearly collapsed in fear of the wyvern.

As he tried to crawl away, the squirrel slipped the necklace neatly into his pocket.

“Move!”

“Help!”

As people pushed each other aside, the wyvern descended close enough that its scales were visible.

Unable to land, it swept across the sky above the plaza in a wide arc.

Even that movement alone created powerful gusts of wind.

Cloaks fluttered violently, and people staggered, unable to keep their eyes open.

The wyvern continued circling above the plaza instead of flying away, releasing a long, piercing cry.

Each time it screeched, the panic and screams of the crowd grew louder.

Of course, everyone else was panicking.

I wasn’t.

My ears just hurt.

[Whooo~oo~ is A~ne~lli~?]

I needed to let it know where I was.

Looking around quickly, I spotted the familiar eagle perched on the sermon platform.

So I started running and screaming like everyone else.

“Ahhh! A monster appeared!”

In truth, appearance-changing magic didn’t work on animals.

Animals always saw my real form.

So if I pretended to be swept along with the fleeing crowd and then suddenly stepped out alone…

“Revived One!”

A strong hand suddenly grabbed my arm.

I turned in surprise and saw Samuel staring at me with a serious expression.

The certainty on his face wavered slightly the moment he saw my real face.

I seized that brief moment and screamed like a terrified believer.

“Help me! Oh God!”

Perhaps because my appearance had suddenly changed, Samuel hesitated and failed to grab me firmly.

I shook off his arm and immediately turned to run.

Pushing roughly through the crowd, I struggled to get as far away from Samuel as possible.

Fortunately, Samuel couldn’t shove believers aside recklessly.

Meanwhile, I had no problem pushing people out of my way as I fled.

But wait—how did he grab me even after I discarded the necklace?

I had been sure he would chase the wrong person.

The confusion left me uneasy.

What was certain was this:

If I missed this chance, Samuel would catch me with complete certainty next time.

And soon the holy knights would arrive to deal with the wyvern.

They hadn’t attacked yet because the plaza was still crowded.

But several priests and guards had already regained their composure and were quickly guiding believers out of the square.

I turned away from the outer exits.

At that moment another strong gust of wind swept overhead.

My hood, which had been tightly wrapped, was blown back.

My silver hair—hidden by the artifact until now—was suddenly exposed.

Damn it. No turning back now.

The sermon stage in the center of the plaza had fewer people around it now, making it easier to approach.

The eagle spotted my silver hair and flapped its wings.

[Here! Here! Brother!]

[Whe~ere~?]

The wyvern circling the sky descended closer to the ground.

People who hadn’t managed to escape trembled and collapsed onto the ground, screaming.

I leapt over them and rushed straight toward the stage.

When I climbed onto it, my higher viewpoint allowed me to see the entire plaza.

It was also easy to spot Samuel, who stood a head taller than most people.

He was coming.

“Here!”

I tore off my cloak and waved it wildly with both hands as I climbed to the highest point of the platform.

In the distance, I could see armored holy knights and soldiers arriving at the plaza.

“Over here!”

The wyvern’s claws spread wide after spotting its target.

“Revived One!”

[Anelli, tighten your stomach!]

The moment Samuel jumped onto the stage, a huge shadow swept across it.

I squeezed the cloak tightly and shut my eyes.

Something hard suddenly grabbed me.

The impact felt like being punched in the chest.

My breath stopped, and my body lifted into the air.

[Got her!]

[Is this the one, little brother?]

[Yes, brother!]

Amid the rushing wind, I heard the eagle and the wyvern talking.

When I opened my eyes, the central plaza was rapidly shrinking below.

Archers had aimed their bows at us, but none of them fired.

With just a few flaps of its wings, the wyvern quickly widened the distance.

Someone below seemed to be shouting something, but it was too far away to hear.

It was far more dramatic than I had imagined.

But I was satisfied.

Exhausted, I finally released the cloak I had been gripping so tightly.

The pilgrim cloak fluttered down toward the ground.

Watching it fall, I couldn’t help but laugh quietly.

…At last, I was free.

* * *

“At this distance we can hit it!”

“No! Someone’s been abducted!”

“If we let it escape, more people could be harmed! Please give the order!”

The bows aimed at the wyvern were drawn tight, ready to fire.

If they were ordinary arrows, they would simply fall in useless arcs.

But the archers holding these bows were skilled warriors capable of wielding divine power.

At this range, they could tear the wyvern’s wings and bring it crashing down.

A monster appearing in the city of God.

To prevent panic and absurd rumors from spreading among the citizens later, it would be best to eliminate it immediately.

Even knowing that, the captain of the city guard could not give the order to attack.

Because a holy knight stood in opposition.

“You must not!”

The captain could not ignore him.

He was Samuel, a holy knight favored by the High Priest and known for unmatched skill.

“She must not be harmed!”

“But—!”

“That person is the Revived One!”

“The Revived One?”

“The one chosen by God?”

The captain and the surrounding holy knights stared at the wyvern flying away in confusion.

Samuel also clenched his teeth as he glared at the distant wyvern.

“Something fell!”

Something black had fallen from the wyvern, now far beyond arrow range.

The fluttering black cloth looked like the cloak the Revived One had been wearing.

Samuel’s face turned pale.

For a moment he feared she had been dropped.

But fortunately, it was only the cloak.

“Sir Samuel, are you certain that person was the Revived One?”

Someone grabbed his arm anxiously.

Samuel nodded silently, watching the wyvern until it became a tiny dot in the sky.

“My God… the Revived One sacrificed herself for us.”

“She threw herself at the monster to protect the people!”

“God truly sent us a Revived One to defeat evil!”

The murmuring crowd began crying out in awe.

Some people knelt and prayed.

Others shouted that they must rescue the Revived One immediately.

The guard captain quickly sent someone to the Grand Temple to report the abduction.

The wyvern was now completely gone.

Samuel stood frozen before finally turning away.

Silver hair fluttering in the wind.

Mysterious purple eyes.

That must have been the Revived One’s true appearance—hidden all along behind the temple’s artifact.

As she stood on the platform, staring at the sky without flinching despite the strong wind, the back of her neck had been clearly visible.

There was a distinct scar.

The mark proving she had once been the empire’s villainess who was executed by beheading.

“Anelli Roam.”

The name slipped from Samuel’s lips.

He had never spoken it before.

Compared to the title “Revived One” that he had repeated so often, it felt strange and unfamiliar.

But once spoken, it felt strangely fitting.

“I guess you’ve never heard the rumors about me. I was famous for being vicious.”

Her careless voice echoed in his mind.

At the time, he had simply brushed aside her words.

Her intention to avoid staying at the temple had been obvious.

Her spiteful remarks were surely born from that frustration.

He believed that no matter what he said now, he could not erase her hostility.

So he had chosen to ignore it and focus only on protecting her.

“My name isn’t Revived One, Sir Samuel.”

He had known her name from the beginning.

He simply hadn’t considered it important.

To Samuel, it didn’t matter that she had once been called a villainess.

She was the Revived One chosen by God.

And it was not his place to question why God had chosen her.

Perhaps he should have approached things differently from the start.

Finding Anelli had been so easy that he never imagined he might lose her right in front of him.

“Why? Afraid I’ll run away? With your abilities, you could catch me even in a crowd this big.”

He admitted it.

He had overestimated his own ability.

He had always been able to track anyone he pursued.

So he believed that this time too, his calm judgment would quickly resolve the situation.