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Translator: Tsukii

Editor: Sarcasm

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 60: Awakening

In the game, the timing for Eterna’s Awakening as Saint was a bit different, but it was caused by a mostly similar event.

Eterna’s Saint power first awakened on the battle against Fara during the Eterna Route, but it was truly awakened during the 3rd period of the Academy Raid Battle.

The Greater Demon “Ogre Monkey” brought along many Demons and struck. While most students and instructors ended up becoming victims, Eterna had an Awakening event. Though since I already destroyed them earlier, said event wouldn’t trigger.

Yet, it seemed she still awakened as Saint, though for a different reason.

On top of that, maybe because she was overwhelmed by the power of her first awakening, it seemed that she was actually unconscious.

Even in the game, that was the case when she had first awakened.

Swallowed by the power of the Saint, she was driven by the Saint’s duty and automatically moved. 

Well, her berserk state soon came to an end as her comrades, including Vernell, called out to her, but… demons that happened to be in her vicinity and those who disturbed her from accomplishing her duty were mercilessly eliminated.

I didn’t think she would normally attack people when she went berserk though…

“No… Don’t take… Vernell away… don’t die… anymore… no… no… I need to destroy them… all those demons, I need to destroy them…”

She muttered something with hollow eyes.

And it seems the reason was that she saw us as demons.

In this case, she would attack.

As for why she saw us as demons… it was caused by that flower which fell near Eterna.

The Lucifero that used to be worn on Mob Girl’s forehead when she was imitating me was currently near Eterna’s feet.

Its pollen was a dangerous substance that would make people hallucinate, causing them to lose their sense of reality.

There was no side effect, but you could consider it as a drug.

Perhaps it fell from Mob Girl when Leila beat her down, and just so happened to fall nearby Eterna’s face.

One might have thought that such a thing wouldn’t be enough to affect the Saint, but… it just was a bad one.

Mob Girl, who wore the Lucifero got her body, was being manipulated by Octopus’ dark power until just now… perhaps that power also temporarily amplified the Lucifero’s effectiveness.

On top of that, Eterna was passed out until just then.

Due to that, Lucifero’s illusion that wasn’t supposed to work against the Saint ended up being effective.

As I was explaining that to Leila, I was also repelling the magic that had activated from Eterna’s staff with my hand.

You think that a mere Awakened Saint would be enough to hurt me?

Not that… actually on that staff, I set it up so that Eterna’s attack magic would be unable to deal a killing blow.

On the gemstone attached to that staff, I imbued it with my magic, so it that it would produce weak healing magic at the same time it was used.

To make it easier to understand, right after she managed to deal a killing blow, it would heal the target to ensure that would be stable with 1 HP.

So as long as Eterna wielded that staff, she would be unable to defeat anyone.

Why did I do such a mean thing? Obviously, so Eterna wouldn’t defeat Alexia by accident.

Eterna was effective when it came to fighting against the Witch, but if by some mistake Eterna ended up defeating Alexia, everything would for naught.

Yet it would be unnatural if, within the Best 8, only Eterna was not participating, and she might have come along anyway due to her worry for Vernell.

If that was the case, it’d be better to include her as a member, rather than letting her do things on her own.

Also, with Eterna participating, Vernell’s group death rate would actually fall considerably.

That was why I did set it up so Eterna would come along while preventing her from defeating the Witch.

That was the purpose of that staff. As long as she used that, she wouldn’t be able to defeat anyone.

But… just like when she managed to erase Octopus, an attack that “wasn’t through the Staff” could normally finish the enemy off.

“Elrise-sama… what was that power of Lady Eterna… Was that supposed to be the power of Saint…?”

Ah yes, as expected, one would notice that.

Well then, what should I do?

It was okay even if I was found out. In the end, I planned to reveal it and gave the seat of the Saint back to Eterna. So you could say it was as scheduled.

But, the Witch was still undefeated.

It was okay even if I got found out and exiled. But it would be bad timing to let it happen at this moment.

If I ended up leaving the stage when I was about to strike Witch, it would end up just like the game’s developments.

And so I was sorry for Eterna, but I needed to keep the lie up just for a little bit longer.

“That was what she had possessed… the reason why she once mistook herself as the Witch was due to that power. Just like Vernell possesses Witch-like power, she possesses power close to that of the Saint.”

“Is such a thing possible…? For one who was not a Saint, yet possesses their power, there’s no precedent for that ever happening.”

“Everything that ever happened in the world was thought of as “having no precedent” when it first happened. The first time Witch appeared, when the first generation’s Saint Alfrea-sama appeared back then, it was considered as something that “had no precedent”… The world system that involved Saint and Witch, perhaps something abnormal had happened in this generation.”

I answered Leila’s question by lining up absurdities.

I was quite scared this talent of mine, that allowed me to fluently say such random things.

Perhaps my life calling was supposed to be as a swindler.

Hello, mom. It’s me, me, it’s me. Yes, me, me.

I got into a traffic accident due to “Hard Luck” and “danced,” and I need to get payment by tomorrow so please prepare some money, please¹.

…Eh? The one who was currently talking was not a mom but a dad with a crossdressing hobby…?

Or something like that.

“Anyway… we need to calm her down first.”

I left the barrier in place to surround Leila and Mob Girl, then went outside the Barrier.

Then Eterna expressionlessly held her palm up, and fired magic.

A silver colored ball made of light sparked and went straight for me, but I caught it with my hand and crushed it.

What was that…? Just now…?

Even if your Saint’s power was strong, it was not enough to surpass me!

“…Don’t come.”

Then she started firing rapidly. Her attacks then became beams that shot 7 times at the same moment.

The Saint’s power shone with silver flashes and it bent as it approached me from all directions.

If this situation was made into an example… Yes, it was like an eggbeater.

It approached me to beat me up into raw cream.

But muda muda. As I spread light magic with me in the center, it erased everything.

Even if you were the true Saint, you were still merely a chick who had just woken up.

For me who had leveled up greatly from bullying demons unreasonably, it was a piece of cake.

This gap in capabilities was like that between a beginner player with new equipment who tried to fight against a Level Capped player who had already reincarnated several times; it was impossible to beat!

“No… NOOOOO!”

Eterna turned half crazed, as she threw away her staff and raised her arms. Wait… don’t throw that away.

Then a huge ball of light formed; it was imbued with a large amount of mana.

Oh —… this was slightly dangerous.

It was something that only those who had just awakened without understanding what battle was would do; she didn’t consider her circumstances after this attack and just imbued in all the MP she could.

Eterna’s remaining MP should be around 1000 considering her lack of Level.

If all of that was used up, with the Saint’s power added on top of that, it would possess quite an amount destructive power.

… Well, that thing could easily destroy a school building and kill every student that happened to be in its trajectory.

I could block it easily, but if I merely stood still, then even though I would be alright, the school building and students would be caught in it.

“Elrise-sama! You can’t do that!”

Leila seemed to say something, but I ignored her and flew to the sky.

This way, it would only shoot toward me, no damage would occur.

Eterna also directed her aim toward me and the ball of light followed.

Yes, you’re a good girl. Go ahead and shoot.

“Stop it, Eterna!”

But just then, the rooftop door opened and Vernell jumped over.

Oi, oi, he came in again with another instance of bad timing.

But it seemed that Vernell’s presence affected Eterna since her shoulder shook.

“Ve, Ver…nell…?”

“Stop this Eterna. That’s not something you are supposed to shoot toward a person. Please! Come to your senses!”

Vernell’s appearance made Eterna regain light of reason in her eyes, and the power grew weaker.

Fumu, it seemed this case was closed.

All that was left was for Vernell to say a smelly sentence to comfort Eterna and raise her favorability, then return the to route and he could make a reversal back to the Eterna Route and reach the Happy End…

…No wait, this was no good. It was bad for her to gain her senses back right at this time!

“Eterna… please go back to your usual self.”

“No good Vernell-kun! Do not let her back to her senses right now!”

Vernell, you fool! Don’t return her to sanity when there’s a huge ball of light energy hovering right above her!

Eterna managed to control it, because she unconsciously managed to use the Saint’s power when she managed to awaken.

In addition, this time, Eterna was hallucinating while in a dream-like state.

But once she returned to her senses, she would be forced to face reality.

If she panicked, the magic would run wild!

“Vernell… What did I… eh? Huh? Eh? Wa, wait, what is this? What is this! Wa, wait, what is this!? What is this!? Why am I carrying this thing!?”

As Eterna regained her sanity, she panicked and started flailing as she looked at the ball of light she produced.

That was why I told you so.

Ball of light magic that she’d lost control of was dragged down by gravity toward Eterna. No good.

I hurriedly dove down, but I had flown too high to prevent any unnecessary damage.

I flew at full speed. Could I still make it…? No, I had to. If this went on, it would become a Bad END.

But the ball of light was way too close to Eterna… nay, it has not reached her yet.

Vernell used his dark power and guarded against it.

Good, you did well Vernell! As expected of the protagonist, to awaken at the last minute.

To be honest though, all of this was your fault, but I’ll look the other way since you managed to awaken.

I then slipped below the light magic ball and stood beside Vernell.

“We will push it back. Vernell-kun, match my movements.”

“Yes!”

I actually could do it all by myself, but since he has awakened I decided to let Vernell help me out.

This was my generosity to let him learn how to use his power.

My mana and Vernell’s dark power shot forth at the same time; black and white magic spiraled and blew away the ball of light.

It kept on going until it went beyond the sky… then safely exploded.

Okay, we somehow managed to settle the incident without any damage.

Well, that was dangerous.

But it was currently settled, with both Eterna and Vernell managing to awaken, and the Octopus was also taken care of, so let’s call it a plus.

Nice one, nice one.

---

Eterna met Vernell for the first time when she was 14 years old.

Terracotta village, where she was born and raised, was where Elrise, who called the Greatest Saint of all time, was born. As such, there were many young people who aspired to become Knights, and people who were saved by Elrise came to consider it as a sacred place for pilgrimage. However, the village itself was a simple one with only farmland.

The lord who had this village as territory, had thought that it was better to expand the village and reshape it as a holy city, but considering the budget, it was still something in the far future.

It was still merely a small village. Before Elrise spread the knowledge about potatoes, children dying from starvation was still a common occurence. 

Because it was that kind of village, most of the young people left for the city., Those that remained were old people and children.

Eterna had no friends of a similar age, and also longed for the city.

For her, the first friend she made of a similar age was Vernell.

She still remembered their first meeting in detail even then.

That day, Eterna brought pigs as livestock along to the forest.

The wind felt cold, as the season was one step away from winter.

In the village Eterna lived, this was always done when winter approached every year, to fatten up the pigs, they were brought into forest and fed acorns.

And pigs that grew fatter and rounder were processed into food before the winter arrived, so people could last through the winter.

But that day, she had bad luck.

She happened to meet a bear which had patrolled the forest to gather food in preparation for winter. 

For bears, who sought nutritious food, Eterna and her pigs must’ve looked very delicious.

The bear ran intimidatingly and suddenly attacked Eterna with its sharp claws and fangs.

Normally, one would die from that, but Eterna managed to escape without dying this time due to the Saint’s characteristic that she possessed.

But during this time, Eterna had no leisure to notice the fact that “she received no damage,” she was just frightened by the huge bear.

The one who saved her then was Vernell.

Vernell, who heard her scream, boldly jumped toward the bear and stabbed his tree branch into the bear’s eye.

In addition, the pigs, unaware they would be turned into food later sensed their master was in danger and tackled bear’s leg with their sturdy noses, which made Bear fall over as it was upset by the pain. 

Then Vernell stabbed its remaining eye with his tree branch, then he used the big stone nearby to hit the bear’s head over and over.

When the bear finally stopped moving… Vernell too, looked at it then fell unconscious.

She found out later that Vernell had been driven away from his house and hadn’t eated or drunk anything for days while he wandered through the forest until his physical strength hit its limit.

After that, Vernell was welcomed to Eterna’s house as he had saved her. As they heard the details, Eterna’s family treated Vernell as family member.

Eterna was also attracted to Vernell due to being rescued. However, she noticed his eyes always looked toward someone else.

She knew he yearned for Saint Elrise, and longed to be her Knight so much so that he trained every day. 

She wanted to support his dream but she also slightly hoped that his dream wouldn’t manage to come true.

If his dream didn’t come true, then he would stay as a common villager, and he could stay with her forever… She wished for that to happen, even when she was aware of how shallow it was.

But despite of Eterna’s wish, Vernell did possess talent.

He managed to successfully enroll into the Knight Academy, and ever since he was accepted, his battle prowess only kept growing.

He managed to become the strongest student in their year, and currently, he has become the greatest amongst the students across each year.

As she watched Vernell’s back move farther ahead, Eterna felt an unspeakable frustration and loneliness.

This feeling got especially stronger after the battle to protect Billberry Kingdom.

Vernell became a shield to protect Elrise… and died.

Elrise performed a miracle to bring him back to this world right after, but even so, it was a fact that he did die once.

It was frightening. So much so that it made her mind blank out.

Her precious person would no longer laugh. His breathing had stopped, and so did his movements… She understood it as she had seen livestock get slaughtered several times.

She didn’t intend to put it lightly.

It was just that the reality was heavier than what she had thought; it made it hard to even perceive it as reality.

No, if Elrise didn’t bring Vernell back to life, she might not accept it even then. That was how big the shock was for her.

From then on, she was just scared.

She was scared that next time Vernell would truly die… Even if she knew it was a foolish feeling to have, she hated Elrise for taking Vernell away.

Finally, she said the place she would bring them to was a place where one ‘s life would certainly be in mortal peril.

No, don’t take him away.

Don’t take Vernell away from me.

Don’t let Vernell die anymore.

All she could see in her mind’s eye were the scary demons that tried to kill Vernell.

So I have to eliminate them, she thought.

Yes, I just need to eliminate all the demons.

As she aimed her hand toward the “demon,” her hand released light.

But the “demon” easily repelled the light and approached Eterna.

Eterna was scared by that, she held her hand out to repel it away.

Then this time, several beams of light bent toward the “demon,” but this was also ineffective and the demon made them disappear.

This “demon” somehow looked like Elrise, thus it further increased Eterna’s fear.

She had flashbacks of the moment when Vernell died. She saw the “demon” before her as a Reaper who tried to take Vernell away.

I need to repel this reaper. If I don’t manage to do it, Vernell won’t be saved.

Within Eterna’s hazy consciousness, she condensed mana above her hand to repel the Reaper.

Then the Reaper tried to escape, as it flew above the sky.

Like I will let you get away. I will definitely defeat you here.

I won’t let you bring Vernell away.

”Stop it, Eterna!”

What she had heard then was her family member that she had feelings for.

This quickly turned her thoughts cold and brought her to reality from the land of dreams.

As if her will, that was inside mist, got cleared, her sight that was uncertain before as if being inside of water was now brought above ground.

What she thought of as Reaper was actually Elrise and she was currently on Academy’s Rooftop.

Why was she here? Why was she fighting against Elrise? She didn’t know what was going on.

She didn’t know which was the dream, which were things that she really did in reality… Why was she forming out a huge mass of light? It was something she was unable to understand.

“Vernell… What did I… eh? Huh? Eh? Wa, wait, what is this? What is this! Wa, wait, what is this!? What is this!? Why am I carrying this thing!?”

The things she had managed to control unconsciously, for Eterna who suddenly brought back to reality, she had no way to control it.

She lost control of the mass of light, thus it dropped down toward her, the person who had summoned it.

Eterna felt confused as she couldn’t understand anything, she crouched and to instinctively protected her head.

If the caster, Eterna, totally released control like this, there was no other way for it but to run wild, but it would be cruel to blame Eterna in this situation.

Because she herself had no awareness that she had summoned this mass of light.

That was why, she was unable to grasp the situation. Eterna closed her eyes as the ball of light magic dropped down.

But the shock wave she had expected didn’t come no matter how she waited.

She wondered why. As she opened her eyes… what was there in front of her was Vernell’s back. He stood there with both of his hands open to hold back the ball of light to protect her.

From both of his hands came something like a black mist, he desperately tried to protect Eterna.

It was definitely not an easy thing to do.

The blood vessels apparent on both of his arms. He clenched his teeth and his expression quite fierce.

His palm burned and terrifying sounds echoed, as he was slowly pushed back.

But Vernell, who had bought just enough time, allowed Elrise to reach them. She slipped under the ball of light.

Then she raised her arms, released mana from of it.

“We will push it back. Vernell-kun, match my movements.”

“Yes!”

Elrise’s hand overflowed with a shining white light, while from Vernell’s hand came out black light. Both shot up.

Those two lights intertwined and formed a spiral as it pushed the ball of light magic back up to the sky.

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