Chapter 8: The Saint (1)
His eyes, which were on the brink of closing, abruptly snapped open.
The noise was so loud that it echoed through the hallway.
His voice brimmed with fury.
When Ray turned his head in bewilderment to look at him, he began to quiver as he spoke.
“Didn’t you promise to heal it! Didn’t you vow to save it!”
Ray was also startled by his words.
What was he referring to?
He had undoubtedly saved it.
He should have been met with praise and gratitude, not wrath!
Ray abruptly rose from his seat.
He then swiftly approached Viscount Gaid and checked his pulse, while simultaneously channeling mana.
He felt a slight tremor in his hand, and the vital organs were functioning correctly.
What in the world was the issue?
With all the curiosity and confusion he could muster, Ray looked as if he had been wrongfully accused and said,
“He’s alive, isn’t he?”
However, the commander once again bellowed in rage.
It was as if he had encountered a con artist who had duped him once more.
“How can you claim he’s alive! His heart isn’t even beating! How dare you deceive the Viscount family!”
“Why wouldn’t his heart be beating! I can hear it, even if it’s weak!”
From his perspective, the commander was making unreasonable demands.
Viscount Gaid’s heart was undoubtedly beating!
‘Is there some hidden agenda?’
He eyed the commander with a suspicious gaze.
The commander spat out saliva as he pointed his finger at Viscount Gaid.
“Look! His breath has ceased, hasn’t it! You’ve tricked us, you devilish scoundrel!”
“Oh, please! He’s breathing!”
What Ray didn’t realize was that Viscount Gaid’s breath was so faint that it could barely be considered breathing.
Moreover, the heartbeat wasn’t externally perceptible.
The body had just begun moving, so the major organs weren’t noticeably active.
It was so faint that one had to use mana to detect it, and although Ray, who was highly sensitive to mana, could sense the faint heartbeat, others couldn’t.
They were unable to discern the heartbeat, let alone detect any respiration.
Consequently, they assumed he was dead.
However, Ray, unaware of this assumption, felt immense frustration.
He had rescued a person, only to be treated as a demon and a killer.
Even animals acknowledged the favor of being saved.
Yet, it was naturally infuriating to be treated in such a manner by a human, not an animal.
He had exerted all his strength to revive a deceased individual, only to be interrogated as if he had committed a crime.
He had chosen the medical profession to witness smiles, not to face contempt and questioning during surgeries.
The situation showed no signs of calming down.
Viscount Gaid’s wife, Chloe, and Illisia were taken aback when the commander stated that he was unable to heal them.
“Surely, you didn’t…”
“You couldn’t heal them…?”
At this juncture, even Ray was weary of the conversation.
He had undeniably saved him and had brought him back to life.
The rest depended on Viscount Gaid’s will and divine intervention, but he had exhausted all his resources to pull a once dead man back from the precipice of death.
Any passerby would have concurred with him.
When he remained silent, Illisia yelled out.
“You said it could be fixed!”
“Sigh…”
He gazed at the ceiling, sighing.
The disappointment was even more profound because he had invested so much effort into saving Viscount Gaid.
He craved a drink.
No, it wasn’t just a desire for a drink, but a longing to share a drink with a friend.
Despite living here with his parents, he often felt a sense of isolation.
Having been granted a second chance at life, he considered such feelings to be minor grievances he should endure.
But now, the loneliness weighed heavily on him.
This alternate world was not as benevolent.
He was reminded once again how extravagant it was to yearn for someone who would understand him.
“You talk a good game, but in the end, you did nothing!”
People are oblivious to the inner workings of others and simply voice their own opinions.
In the end, Ray turned away coldly.
He was now exhausted.
There was nothing more to say.
As he prepared to leave the room, a figure obstructed his path.
“Are you planning to cause chaos and then just flee!”
It was the leader.
Ray regarded the leader with icy eyes.
“Move aside.”
“Do you comprehend the consequences of your actions! Repent for your sins!”
He was being ordered to atone for sins he hadn’t committed, even after he had saved the leader.
Ray’s expression remained unchanged in response to these absurd words.
In fact, it grew even colder.
At that moment, Illisia delivered the final blow.
“Are you departing? You’ve brought us to this state! You should just go perish somewhere!”
‘This is reality.’
Ray’s face contorted.
There should be a limit to one’s actions.
He shook his head.
If he lingered here any longer, he feared he might increase the patient count himself.
He attempted to quell his seething anger as he reached for the doorknob.
Then, suddenly, the leader’s scabbard hurtled towards him.
“This scoundrel!”
Finally, Ray erupted.
“Halt!”
The mana he summoned at his command immobilized the leader’s body.
The leader tried to move in surprise, but no matter how hard he struggled, he remained frozen.
The leader’s mouth fell open.
He had read about this technique in books, but he was shocked that such a profound skill, which could only be wielded by those who had mastered mana, was being used against him.
“Mana hold…”
Among the existing magicians, only a select few could employ such a profound spell, and how could it be cast by this young boy’s hands!
Having effortlessly subdued the leader, he promptly exited the room.
Even Ray was unaware, but strands of mana swirled around his enraged form.
Watching his retreating back, the leader was flabbergasted.
“Materialized… mana…”
He had been astounded by the exceptional skill, and only now did he realize that when he had touched Viscount Gaid’s body, the mana had also been materialized, just as it was now.
What was embodied mana.
For a knight, it was the Aura Blade that everyone aspired to possess.
Of course, Ray’s situation was different from what the knight commander understood.
After departing from the viscount’s residence, Ray ascended a small hill.
He had treated someone, but he didn’t feel satisfied about it.
Even though the medicine in this other world differed from what he was familiar with, he didn’t believe it was correct to hear such words after treating someone.
It was his first time treating someone in this place, but the reality diverged from his expectations.
He sighed.
Meanwhile, at Viscount Gaid’s mansion, there was a commotion for some time.
An hour had elapsed since Ray’s departure, and Viscount Gaid’s condition had improved significantly enough for the knight commander to notice.
His breathing was regular, and his face had color, so no one would assume he was dead.
Then, they were the ones left in confusion.
After a moment, the knight commander rubbed his body, now freed from the mana hold.
“My, my god… His words were truthful…”
“……”
The two individuals who had committed wrongdoings couldn’t utter a word.
Even Chloe was present, but she remained silent as well, feeling the same as them.
The people from the viscount’s house had persecuted their benefactor and even attempted to harm him.
Their pride, believing they had upheld the proper conduct of nobility, was shattered like a broken window.
Chloe closed her eyes and commanded.
“Locate him immediately.”
“Yes……”
“……”
It was too late.
They had overstepped their bounds.
It was only natural for them to feel remorse for repaying kindness with hostility and crossing a line with their actions.
What could they possibly say to him even if they found him now?
Honestly, the knight commander didn’t wish to locate him.
But it was the viscountess’s command.
As much as he didn’t want to encounter him, he couldn’t defy her order.
Moreover, his heart harbored not only discomfort but also fear.
From the power that effortlessly subdued him to the ability to resurrect the dead.
A miracle where a deceased person returned to life? Who else could possibly accomplish this?
Could the Saint of the One Person Nation manage it? No.
Controlling death and life was the domain of God. Even the saint, born with divine power and faith to express God’s will, couldn’t achieve it.
Then what should they call that boy?
The terror he experienced when he saw those cold, lifeless eyes was beyond words.
The knight commander thought of the unidentified boy and suddenly blurted out.
“Could he be a saint… But saints can’t use mana…”
“……!”
Chloe reacted to his muttering.
‘Certainly…’
If he wasn’t a saint, then what was he? Regardless of whether he used mana or not.
If the boy who could even resurrect the dead wasn’t a saint, then there might be no saints in the world.
Before they knew it, Ray’s existence had solidified in their minds as a saint.
The knight commander collected his thoughts and said.
“Perhaps… he must be a saint. He used mana, but he’s not an ordinary saint but a saint that appears in historical records. Reviving the dead… Something that no saint or saintess has ever accomplished before……!”
His voice was filled with regret.
He lamented not recognizing such a person.
Not only did he curse him, but he even attempted to slash his hand with the sheath of a sword.
Of course, he regretted it.
If it became known in the kingdom that he could resurrect the dead, then they wouldn’t need to bow down to the Holy Nation anymore.
Rather, the Holy Nation would have to bow down to them, the Silia Kingdom.
Not only the Holy Nation but also the Empire would have to entrust their lives to them.
He couldn’t even fathom how much power that would grant them.
And the boy who brought Viscount Gaid back to life could do that.
“I know that too. But……”
At her powerless words, the commander flinched involuntarily.
Similarly, Elysia also couldn’t raise her head.
“…It’s all my fault… All of it……”
There was nothing she could do even if she regretted it.
What was done was done, and he was gone.
Her eyes, once filled with anger, instantly became unfocused.
Upon seeing her pitiful state, her mother wanted to say something, but she found herself unable to speak.
Thus, the commotion ended in silence.