Damn Reincarnation

y got stronger, the number of strong enemies increased.

The hero party was able to fight through endless battles because three people out of the five party members could use healing magic.
However, the healing spells that the three used were different from one another.

Although Vermouth’s healing magic was very effective on himself, he couldn’t cure other people.
Healing magic could only be used by a devout priest in the first place, so Vermouth’s healing magic was more like a hero’s blessing of sorts.

Sienna couldn’t use actual holy magic either, but she knew how to use elven healing magic, having grown up in an elven village ever since she was a baby.
Since Sienna was a very talented wizard to begin with, her healing magic was as strong as most high-ranking clerics’, but it could not hold a candle to Anise — the Faithful Anise, the Saint of Light.

—Are you okay? Hamel asked.

The healing magic cast by Anise Slywood was too extraordinary to be called a mere magic spell; no, her magic was quite literally a miracle.
When Anise reconnected amputated limbs to their owner, she didn’t only connect the flesh, but she connected everything, from bones and muscle to nerves and veins.
Therefore, whoever was treated with Anise’s magic did not suffer from aftereffects, and neither did they have to go through rehabilitation.
When Anise cast her healing spells, the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, and the blind regained sight.

Even if every bone in a person’s body was shattered, their intestines were torn out, or the heart ruptured, Anise’s miracles cured any wounds in a flash.
She could fix absolutely anything, unless the person was well and truly dead.
The only people that she failed to help were the dead… and Hamel, whose very soul was dissipating due to the curse of the Lich, Belial.

—I’m not fine, Anise answered.

Eugene wasn’t sure on which battlefield Anise had said that.
Was it after they had killed the Demon King of Carnage? Was it after they had killed the Demon King of Cruelty or the Demon King of Fury? When they had been fighting against Kamash and the giants? While they had been avoiding Raizakia’s bombing? When they had been fighting against the suicidal vampires…the demonfolk army led by the Incarceration’s Blade?

He had no idea, because he had fought too many battles three hundred years ago.
In fact, he could count on his fingers the number of times he had ended a fight unscarred.
Hamel had always been busy treating his wounds after battles — no, he had even treated his injuries during battles.
People had died every day on the battlefields three hundred years ago, so of course, there had also been many wounded.
Many people who had lost someone to monsters, demonic beasts, or demonfolks had struggled on those battlefields out of hatred and desire for vengeance rather than whatever fancy belief about saving the world.

Those people were terribly weak, yet they went from battlefield to battlefield to cool their anger and seek vengeance.
Although they wanted to give their everything to achieve those goals on the battlefields, they subconsciously knew that they could never do so, so they just hoped they could die fighting.

Anise, the Saint, had never been able to sit by and watch them die.
Despite Anise’s normal unsaintly self, she was more devout and saint-like than anyone else when she had to.

When the hero party arrived before the Demon King of Incarceration’s castle, all five members were alive and able to fight.
They had encountered several crises that had almost rendered them incapable of fighting, but only unerasable scars had been left on their bodies.
For years, they had fought battles every day, but they were still in peak shape thanks to Anise’s miracles.

—You overtaxed yourself, Hamel murmured, looking at Anise.

On the battlefield, they could smell the blood…and the scent of rotting and burning corpses.

—You know, I know you’re so damn stubborn that you would never listen to anyone, Hamel said.

—I don’t want to hear that from someone like you, Anise grumbled.

When you ’re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

—Why? Is it because I’m also a stubborn bastard who never listens? Well, you’re right.
But unlike you, I choose who to save, Anise.

Hamel shrugged.

Anise didn’t answer.

Click.

Instead, she unbuttoned her priest robe, so Hamel sighed and approached Anise.

—They’re begging to be killed because they really want to die.
Letting them die will be their salvation rather than healing them, so why… why are you taking all this suffering upon yourself by going through the trouble of saving them? Hamel asked.

—Why would a cleric need a reason to save someone? Anise answered without turning back to Hamel.
The fact that they don’t want to be saved is none of my business.
I just save them because I can save them.
Not saving them when I can would mean that I’m turning a blind eye to everything.

One by one, she unbuttoned the rest of the buttons on her robe as she continued.

—I can’t — no, I won’t do that.
You asked why I suffer losses, right? No, I’m not suffering losses, Hamel.
I’ll… do many good deeds by saving many people so I can go to heaven.

Her priest robe dropped down to the floor.

—Of course, I already did enough good deeds to go to heaven.
Since God must be watching my good deeds, he’ll bestow with light as bright as the number of my good deeds, Anise calmly explained.

When a person died, the good deeds they had done before they had died became light, and their bad deeds became darkness.
If their light was bright enough to outshine the darkness, then the person could go to heaven, where there was no darkness.
All the sins in this world were created in the darkness, where there was no light, and since there was no darkness in the heaven ruled by the God of Light, there was no sin.
Therefore, no one suffered.

This was the story that the citizens of the Yuras Empire believed in.

—God doesn’t bleed on behalf of young sheep.
Although God is a bright enough light to outshine all the darkness, he isn’t lighting up the darkness that is now trying to swallow up the world.”

Anise’s long hair was the only thing covering her bare back.
She lifted it up as she continued to speak in a bitter tone.

—I’m the Saint of Light, and as God’s saint, I have to outshine the darkness in this world if He isn’t doing so.
I should shed holy blood and brighten up the darkness with my light on His behalf, Hamel.
I… think that not everyone who has died after living in this horrible era can go to heaven.

Anise’s back was bloody.
Because he had seen it multiple times, Hamel had been used to it already.
Whenever Anise used too much of her divine power or performed great miracles too many times, Anise’s back always turned bloody.
Every time it happened, she called Hamel, but he was sure that she hadn’t planned to do that in the beginning.

There had once been a time, a long time ago, when Vermouth, Sienna, and Molon had gone off to take care of nearby remnants of the demonic forces after they had finished a battle, but Hamel and Anise had stayed behind because he had been too injured and she had been too tired.
Instead of asking the already tired Anise to use her healing magic on him, Hamel had tried to give himself first aid, but while he had been taking care of his injury, Anise had fainted.

—I’ll become the second brightest light, next to the god I serve.

Anise handed Hamel a wet towel.

Holding the wet towel, Hamel carefully wiped Anise’s bloody back.

—So I’ll also light the people’s darkness who couldn’t go to heaven.
Not all the people who have died in this generation will be able to go to heaven, but I’ll guide as many people as possible there.

When Hamel wiped the blood, her wounds were revealed — no, not wounds, but divine writing carved into her entire back.
Any time Anise performed a great miracle, the divine writing dug deeper into her skin, making her bleed.
The writing was thus growing bigger little by little.
The first time Hamel had seen Anise’s back, the divine letters had only been carved near her shoulders, but every time she performed a miracle, the divine writing became longer and wider.
The divine writing that Hamel could see now had already reached her waist.

—It’s interesting how you can’t cure your own back when you can use all sorts of miracles.

—That’s my stigmata, which in and of itself is a miracle, so wouldn’t it be absurd to treat a miracle with another miracle?

Putting the holy water bottle on her waist to her lips, Anise sat down, so Hamel could wipe out the blood more easily.

Hamel usually aimed for Anise’s holy water, but not in times like these, because he had found out why Anise was drinking the holy water non-stop.

—…Tell me if it hurts.

—It doesn’t.

Anise laughed and drank the holy water like usual.

Since she was good at hiding her feelings and thoughts, she always said something totally different from what she was thinking, and she always smiled, no matter how grievous her pain.

After wiping up all the blood, Hamel applied ointment on her deeply carved tattoos.
Since her so-called stigmata couldn’t even be cured by a miracle, the ointment obviously couldn’t cure the wounds, but they bled less if Hamel applied it.

—I’m glad you’re the one who found out about my stigmata, Anise mumbled as she put down her holy water.
I don’t want to show this to Vermouth, and Molon… would start fighting passively, giving up his strength.
As for Sienna… heh, she’d physically restrain me to stop me from doing anything dangerous.

—What about me?

—You try to understand me.
Anise chuckled.
Although you say ‘don’t do anything dangerous,’ you understand why I’m being stubborn, so you don’t stop me.
You know that the more violently you fight, the more I bleed, but you always fight in the same way.

—That way’ll be better for you.

When Hamel finished wiping up the blood and applying the ointment, he wrapped Anise’s wound in bandages.

—You won’t listen no matter what I’ll say, but battles will become longer if I fight passively.
Then, finishing the battles quickly will bring us less damage overall, even if it’s dangerous.

—Hehe, and you’re skilled at treating injuries.
You wrap the bandages really well, so I don’t feel uncomfortable, and you don’t feel any physical lust when you see my naked back.

Hamel frowned.

—What kind of bastard would feel lust while looking at someone’s bloody, scarred back?

—I appreciate how you consider a fellow comrade like a comrade instead of a woman, but why don’t you think about other matters for a change?

Anise giggled.

—…About what?

—Well, you know, how I might be painfully bleeding because of you.

Anise’s tone was playful.

—I told you it’s better to fight aggressively than passively….”

Anise burst into laughter at Hamel’s remark.

—Don’t we have Molon for that? Hamel, the amount of blood I shed would have halved if you and Molon got less injured.

—…Umm….

Unable to say anything, Hamel just finished wrapping the bandages.

—…I’ll try.

Recalling this conversation from a long time ago, Eugene thought of Anise, whom he had last seen with eight sets of wings.

“…There are fewer wings.”

Eugene observed Anise’s divine statue in Yurasia, the Holy Empire’s capital.
A statue that was sporting only one set of wings