novelraw Chapter 117 : Polaris (1)
Chapter 117 : Polaris (1)
Polaris (1)
"The power of wishes that the Saintess possesses is manifested by human will, but the choice could be made by the Saintess herself. However, the Saintess did not grant anyone's wish."
The first wish she received belonged to the rulers who held power over humanity at the time.
Naturally, the Saintess granted no one's wish.
"That's why those in power, seeking to fulfill their own desires, imprisoned her. So that she wouldn't be discovered by demons and taken away."
It might have been better if she could have simply died.
But the Saintess was someone who could not kill nor be killed.
As long as the values of humanity did not change, the Saintess was an eternal, immortal existence.
The only one who could kill the Saintess was the Demon King, and humans knew this, which is why they hid the Saintess from demons.
"And so, a thousand years passed. Locked away in darkness, unable to grant anyone's wish."
If she had possessed the power to fulfill her own wishes, things might have been different.
But the power she possessed was purely altruistic.
Possessing a power so coveted and feared for its near-omnipotence, humans kept the Saintess tightly hidden away.
For a whole thousand years.
"Even so, she saved the world. To be honest, I don't know why she made such a choice."
Was she noble enough to want to save the humans who abandoned her for a thousand years?
But Sarah could not for the life of her empathize with that feeling.
That was something only she, as a 'Saintess', could say.
"And I was the very next Saintess after her. The power I possessed was the 'wisdom' needed to restore a ruined world."
The role given to her was to remember and record so that the past would not be forgotten.
And to pass on wisdom so that the reclaimed world could be returned to its original state.
"But my era was brief."
Just 200 years. That was all it took for the values of an era to change.
Humans forgot the past in only 200 years and sought new values.
Her lonely life ended, forgotten so simply.
She died with not a single soul to mourn her.
That was why Sarah hoped her daughter would never live a life like hers.
"So... Alencia."
Sarah wished only one thing for her daughter, who was born with a Stigmata.
"Be an ordinary person."
Just like herself, who finally found happiness only after being reborn.
"You don't need to be great or special."
She just wanted her to live as a normal person.
That was the wish of Alencia's mother, Sarah Walker.
Tsk.
Leon slowly turned off the video and looked at Alencia.
"Park Jung-woo watched this and withdrew quietly. I guess he really respected Sarah's wish."
"..."
Alencia could not bring herself to refute him.
The video she had just watched made her head spin.
She could finally understand why Jung-woo had said those things to her.
'Saintess, me?'
She had always known there was something about the mark on her back.
But she had never once thought it was a Stigmata, something that belonged to a Saintess.
Sarah had never once spoken the word 'Stigmata'.
"Alencia, I want you to be happy."
It felt like just yesterday that Leon first saw tiny Alencia, cradled in Sarah's arms.
"It's not known yet, but if more people become interested in your power, could you withstand it?"
Alencia couldn't refute Leon's words.
"The grand title of Saintess... it's just a device that grants what humans desire. A power you were simply born with, without any effort... I don't think you could handle it."
Anyone would probably think the same.
Even Alencia herself felt that way.
She did not possess the same wisdom as her mother, nor the nobility of the Saintess from the story.
She lacked talent, and she did not have strong willpower.
"Dr. Baldwin! You're here!"
At that moment, someone ran into the lab.
He glanced between Leon and the stunned Alencia, then spoke urgently.
"This is no time to be standing around!"
"John, what's the matter? Explain properly."
"Monsters from the Demonic Zone are advancing."
"What?"
Monsters from the Demonic Zone?
Wondering what he meant, she looked at him, and the young researcher called John hurriedly explained the situation.
"Monsters from the Demonic Zone crossed the US border and are headed for San Diego. An evacuation order has already been issued for San Diego... It is presumed their destination is Los Angeles."
Hearing the word 'Los Angeles', Alencia snapped to attention.
"Monsters are converging on Los Angeles?! Why?!"
"I-I don't know either. Anyway, we need to evacuate, too. We've been ordered to secure the research data and prepare to evacuate in case something happens."
Of course, there was little chance the threat would reach as far as Denver.
But it wouldn't hurt to be prepared for the worst.
"Have the people in Los Angeles evacuated? What about my dad?"
"Calm down, Alencia!"
Her father, James, was imprisoned in a penitentiary in Los Angeles.
She doubted they were taking the trouble to worry about the prisoners there, let alone the civilians.
"It'll be alright. I should be off to handle the situation as it is."
Leon spoke, moving as if to pat Alencia on the back, but then withdrew his hand.
Seeing the tears well up in her eyes, Leon felt a heaviness in his heart.
"... So you should go back as well. It would probably be best for you to leave Denver, too."
He figured it would be better to leave the dejected Alencia alone for a while.
After everything that had just happened, her mind was bound to be in turmoil—she needed time to sort it all out.
"John, let's hurry up then."
"Yes, sir!"
Leon left the lab, glancing back at Alencia several times.
Unable to say anything more to the devastated girl.
"..."
Left alone in the laboratory, Alencia slowly wiped away her tears.
"... Are they gone? They're gone, right?"
She could no longer sense Leon's presence.
He must have gone to quickly deal with the situation.
"Alright."
Alencia slapped both her cheeks with her hands.
It would be a lie to say the video Sarah left didn't affect her.
But even so, she couldn't just sit still.
Nothing had been resolved.
If she just went back now, Jung-woo would surely reject her again.
"There's no way Mom only left a message like that."
Besides, her father, James Walker, was still on her mind.
So she had to find the "original" of the video she had just watched.
If she truly was a Saintess, her mother must have left a way to overcome this situation.
'The video was definitely cut off.'
She felt like Sarah's final words had ended awkwardly.
There wasn't much playtime left, so there would have been no need to stop it manually.
It was as if there was something after that which could not be shown.
"Like I'm just going to give up like this?"
Alencia murmured and began searching through the lab.
Thinking there must be an answer in the missing part of that video.
***
Eugene Garland, the fastest man in America.
Yeon-ji was experiencing in real time that this title was no lie.
Given how quickly the scenery flashed by, she couldn't even guess how fast he was running.
"Hold on properly! If you fall, it won't end with just a minor injury!"
Being carried like luggage as Eugene ran, Yeon-ji half-screamed.
Of course, Eugene Garland didn't even blink.
As if he heard nothing at all, he just narrowed his eyes and stared straight ahead.
"Caught up."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm going to throw you, so find your way on."
"What... kyaaa!"
Only then did Yeon-ji realize that Minerva was right in front of them.
'Is this guy crazy? He actually caught up to a train?'
She'd heard he was fast, but she never imagined he'd outrun a train that had a several-hour head start. And it wasn't even an ordinary train—it was Minerva, running at nearly 300km/h.
'Besides, can you just throw a kid like this? Isn't this the US?'
She wondered if it made sense to just toss a child because they saw Minerva.
Wasn't there a culture of absolutely protecting children in America?
Then again, if that were the case, she wouldn't have ended up here in the first place.
'My luck, seriously.'
Hurled into the air, Yeon-ji stretched her hand out toward the rapidly approaching Minerva.
Black chains shot out from her hand, piercing through the train's roof and burrowing inside.
Chwaruruk!!!
As the chains reeled in, Yeon-ji's body was yanked right into the wrecked roof. She bumped into this and that on the way in, but thanks to her sturdy body, it didn't even leave a scratch.
"Honestly, what a hassle..."
"Were you a mage by any chance?"
"Kyaak!"
She leapt at the voice from the side.
"How did you get in here?!"
"I just broke in from the back."
When Eugene pointed his thumb behind him, Yeon-ji saw the neatly cut exterior wall and doors of Minerva.
Thanks to that, the loud noise of the train pouring in probably kept her from noticing Eugene's approach.
"You certainly have the skills someone would recommend. A mage with that kind of physical ability... Impressive."
"That's all good, but was it okay to break that?"
"The government will compensate anyway."
He answered coolly, surveying the area.
It seemed to be a freight car at the rear of the train, likely used for cargo.
"Well, the cargo has flown out too."
"The government will compensate for that as well. It doesn't matter."
S-rank Hunters are really convenient, Yeon-ji thought, nodding her head.
"The really important cargo is in the secret safe at the center of the train. If anyone hijacked this train, that's probably their target."
"You seem to know a lot. It's almost like you know what's in that cargo."
She said it suggestively, and Eugene glanced at Yeon-ji.
But that was it. He immediately turned his gaze forward.
"Let's hurry."
From Eugene's attitude, Yeon-ji realized that the cargo on this train must be very important. If it weren't, a man like him wouldn't be so guarded.
"There aren't any passengers... as far as I can see."
"At least they don't seem to have killed anyone. If they had, bodies would be everywhere."
"Can you talk a little less harshly?"
She never dreamed she'd ever say those words to anyone besides Ah-yeon.
And this guy's way of speaking was trashy in a different way from Ah-yeon's.
"... Hang on."
As they moved slowly, surveying the area, Yeon-ji raised her hand at a faintly familiar sensation.
"I sense magic power."
"Magic power?"
Eugene asked, puzzled, but Yeon-ji instead quickly traced the residual magic.
After passing about three passenger cars, Yeon-ji finally found the owner of the magic.
"Hunter Kim Seung-hyun?!"
The magic belonged to none other than Kim Seung-hyun.
She'd wondered why she hadn't seen him at the Challenger filming site—it turned out he was on Minerva all along.
Looking down at the motionless, collapsed Kim Seung-hyun, Eugene muttered to himself.
"Is he dead?"
"He's alive, you know!"
Yeon-ji replied in exasperation as she examined Kim Seung-hyun's condition.
'Come to think of it, he supposedly left during the middle of Challenger's filming.'
She heard he'd made an offer to Jung-woo and was turned down.
She didn't know why he came to Minerva afterward, but maybe he packed up to return to Korea separately.
He'd only participated in the variety show for Jung-woo in the first place.
'Terrible luck.'
He must have gotten caught up in the incident as Minerva departed.
'At least there aren't any major injuries.'
There were no fatal wounds, though he had quite a few bruises and cuts all over his body.
Judging by the lump on the back of his head, he must have been knocked out here.
"There's another presence."
While Yeon-ji was checking on Kim Seung-hyun, Eugene strode toward a pile of luggage where he sensed another presence. He roughly slashed through it with his sword.
"Wait a second!"
Suddenly, a man with a naïve look popped out from between the luggage.
Yeon-ji instantly recognized his face.
He was one of the filming staff.
"... Why were you hiding there?"
"I heard screams nearby and—instinctively hid myself."
The staff member staggered to his feet, muttering with a pale face.
Eugene looked him up and down and spoke.
"I see."
He nodded as if it was no big deal.
"Then, die."
"Excuse me?"
With those decisive words, Eugene swung his sword at the staff member.
He was so fast that the sword's arc came first, followed by the whooshing sound of wind.
"Kh...!!"
The staff member reflexively tried to dodge, but realized that both his feet were bound by black chains, and managed to block the attack with his arm.
Kaaang!!
Even though the man had no special armor on his arm, there wasn't a single scratch.
"... How did you know?"
He was sure his disguise was perfect.
And yet, both of them had seen through it right away.
"You don't think someone who attacked this train wouldn't sense your presence?"
It made no sense for an ordinary person to hide from Awakener.
Yeon-ji gave a cold smile, rising to her feet.
Eugene quietly marveled at her words.
"Pretty smart for a little kid."
"You too."
"I only noticed because I know him."
Eugene then looked at the disguised man standing calmly in front of him.
"Long time no see, Victor. Mind telling me why a member of UnderStellar like you is involved in this?"
Victor Garcia.
He'd do any job for money, but something was odd about this incident.
No matter how notorious UnderStellar was, they didn't have the ability to pull off such a large-scale stunt.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Some info about the other world.
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