A Monster That Cannot Pray

“You dared to do this to our child― Know that you won’t die easily. You monster bastard.”

Looking at Mia, who had been pierced through the stomach, bleeding and with her intestines spilling out, her left arm showing signs of being eaten, and Frey, who was covered in wounds and seemed to have burns all over his body.

“Sorry I’m late. It’s okay now, you can rest. Frey.”

Bernard, who was carefully checking on the well-being of the two with a stern face.

He nodded with a gentle smile towards Frey, who was looking at him while wheezing painfully.

“This one and that one… so troublesome…!”

Seeing the man rising with an angry face, dusting himself off in a corner.

‘…A newly matured one, is it? That’s rather fortunate.’

With a serious expression once again, he quietly put strength into the hand holding his weapon.

“I don’t expect much of an answer, but let me ask one thing.”

So, towards the monster approaching him with an angry face.

“―Who is the bastard worse than a dog who let you and your companions into the city, evading the watch of the church and the guards, and removed the barrier that was set up here?”

Bernard asked in a chilling voice, pointing his weapon― a silver halberd larger than himself.

“As if I’d tell you that, you fool―!”

Right after, looking at the four blades flying towards him with a mocking cry.

“Right. I thought so.”

Bernard extended his right foot forward greatly.

Clang― Crack, Crash―!

With the shaft of the halberd in his hand, he deflected all four blades in an instant.

Whoosh―!

Towards the monster looking at him with a surprised face, with a force as if he would split it in half― he raised the halberd and brought it down.

Crash―!

The halberd narrowly missed the monster’s side and smashed the floor.

Swish―!

Right after, the blades that had been deflected by Bernard rushed towards him again.

As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Bernard easily ducked to avoid them, then quietly reached out and grabbed one of the four blades passing by him.

Squelch!

“Kyaaaargh―!”

With that, he threw the blade, piercing the monster’s stomach.

“Don’t be overdramatic. Wounds like this heal quickly for your kind.”

So, approaching the monster who was screaming and stepping back, he tripped its legs with the shaft of the halberd and knocked it down.

Crack―!

Bernard stepped on it with his leather boots reinforced with metal plates.

“I’ll ask for the last time. Which mad bastard removed the barrier to let you in here?”

“Don’t, know…!”

Quietly looking at the monster grabbing his leg with both arms, as if in pain from having its chest crushed.

“I see.”

Bernard simply took out a small bottle from his chest with a calm face.

“―I proclaim. Here lies a sinner who shall rise from the ashes to be judged.”

So, as he poured the transparent liquid from the bottle― named holy water― at his feet.

Whoosh―!

“Ky, aaaaargh―!”

“―I am the ash-maker. The guide who shall lead your way.”

A warm flame arose from beneath his feet.

“―By the guidance of the holy flame, may you find eternal rest here and now.”

The flame that arose grew large enough to engulf two or three people in an instant, but.

It did no harm to Bernard. It only burned the monster, who was screaming in pain.

“―Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

So, after the monster crushed under his feet turned to ash and disappeared.

“Captain―!”

“I told you, you’re late. You fools.”

Only then did he see the figures of the guards, including Guard Captain Wigo, who had belatedly chased after him.

“…You’ve worked hard.”

Bernard carefully lifted Frey, who had fainted, to avoid causing any further shock.

“Wigo. Get me a priest capable of healing.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already called for a skilled healer and a priest who can keep secrets.”

He made eye contact with Wigo, who was approaching him with an equally worried expression.

“And, there’s definitely someone behind this.”

“I’ve already spoken to the mayor, and we’re going to round up and squeeze anyone even remotely related to this incident.”

“Good. I’m counting on you.”

After exchanging meaningful looks with Wigo.

“Miss Mia… No…”

Bernard, along with the sun that was beginning to rise, illuminating the dark sky in the distance.

Looking at Frey, who kept calling Mia’s name and breathing painfully in his arms.

“…It’s going to be a long day, indeed.”

He just muttered in a bitter voice.

* * *

My whole body hurts.

“Ugh…”

“Don’t move, your wounds are severe.”

While I was asleep, I felt like I had a nightmare of being chased by something… It seems it wasn’t a dream after all.

“Old… man…? How long…?”

“It hasn’t even been a day yet. The scary things are all over now, so you can rest easy.”

Tap, tap.

At Bernard’s touch, gently patting my head unlike usual, I turned my head, which was hard to move.

“Miss Mia… Miss Mia, ugh…!”

“I told you the wounds are severe. Don’t worry too much. Mia is safe too.”

I saw Bernard gently catching my body as it was about to fall off what must have been a bed.

“Focus on your own wounds first. This time, you were in more danger than Mia.”

The wounds all over my body… Let alone the various cuts, there were piercing wounds in my shoulder and abdomen, and my left upper arm had almost been torn off.

And because of the desperate prayer I had attempted, I had almost become roasted meat from the holy power generated from within.

“Still, you did well. Frey.”

As I watched Bernard gently stroking my head with a soft smile while carefully laying me back on the bed.

Thump, thump.

For some reason, my heart started beating, and my chest began to feel tight as if being stabbed.

“…Ugh.”

“What’s wrong, is it hard to breathe?”

“N-no… That’s not it, but it hurts a bit here…”

When I pointed to my chest, telling Bernard it hurt, as he asked with a puzzled face if there might be a wound I didn’t know about.

“……”

Bernard looked at me with his mouth open in surprise.

“Why?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Bernard said it was probably nothing to worry about, but… The way he avoided my gaze and cleared his throat awkwardly suggested that there was indeed some kind of problem.

“Well then, rest.”

So, as Bernard got up from his seat, saying he would prepare some simple food now that I was awake.

“W-wait… Old man!”

“Hm? Do you need something?”

I found myself suddenly sitting up and weakly grabbing the hem of Bernard’s priest robe.

“Th-that… Has, has Miss Mia regained consciousness…?”

“Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t mention that.”

Fortunately― though I’m not sure why I thought it was fortunate. I quietly looked at Bernard as he sat back down beside the bed.

“It will probably take a few days for Mia to regain consciousness.”

Of course, it’s true that my condition was more serious. But that was from an objective point of view.

In Mia’s case… due to issues like her arm being eaten by the monster, or her cut-out intestines, it would take quite some time for her to recover.

“Still, there’s no danger to her life, so you don’t need to worry too much. Take care of your body now, so you can go greet Mia when she wakes up. Frey.”

At his touch patting my head, saying there was no need to frown.

“Uu, uu…”

I couldn’t quite burst into tears. I just tightly gripped Bernard’s hand that was patting me with all four of my arms.

How could I tell him? That in that moment, looking at Miss Mia, I had thought she looked delicious.

“…Mm.”

In the end, unable to tell the truth… I let go of Bernard’s hand as he patted my head again, saying he was really going to get up now.

Creak―.

So, after Bernard left the room.

“……”

In the room that had become frighteningly quiet.

“Ugh, uugh…”

The cool breeze seeping into my chest, which felt empty as if something that should be there was gone, hurt so much.

For a long time, I just held my chest and sobbed quietly.

Thoughts like I shouldn’t cry, I’m not a child anymore, had long since been thrown far away.

I was scared. The reality of the monsters that eat people was more terrifying than I had imagined.

They consider eating people as natural. Just that alone, the fact that their way of thinking could be so twisted, was frightening.

And on the other hand, the fact that I was treated as one of their kind by those things, the fact that I was the same kind of being as them, was disgusting.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… Miss Mia…!”

And yet, because I didn’t want to die. I hated myself so much for running away without revealing the truth to Bernard, just because I wanted to live.

I had only dreamed of living an ordinary life, like other people. Working ordinarily among ordinary families and neighbors, building an ordinary family.

I hated this current situation where I had to live in hiding for the rest of my life with this monster’s body in a world that wasn’t ordinary.

“……”

So, trying hard to pull myself together when I felt like I might collapse at any moment, I struggled to get up from my bed to open the window a little to clear my stuffy mind.

“…Huh?”

I was shocked to see the figure of someone as I was about to open the window.

“That’s…”

Just before leaving, Bernard had said that a priest from the church might come with the guards… so I had expected it to be bustling outside.

But a little distance away from the people who had come― in the bushes, a man was hiding and looking in my direction.

“No way…”

Black hair, black eyes, yellow skin rare in this world. A height just under 180cm with a slender-looking build.

The man with the exact same appearance as the suspicious person I had seen before meeting Miss Mia yesterday looked a bit older, and it took time to recognize him because he was hiding in the shadows… but it was definitely a familiar face.

No, it would be more strange not to recognize him.

After all, the face of the man hiding outside was…

“But I’m here?”

―It was my face from my previous life.