Chapter 12: The excuse to run away.

“Ugh, this habit of sticking my nose into trouble needs to change.”

Muttering to herself, Suna couldn’t shake her concern as the battle escalated.

Despite her “kind” nature being partly an act, over a year of posing as a saintess had ingrained the Golden Bough Temple’s teachings.

She’d strived to follow their scriptures and oaths.

Deciding to help, Suna approached the battlefield’s edge and activated another blessing.

“Radiant Rainscape.”

With her words, golden raindrops glowed softly, falling like spring drizzle.

They splashed on the ground, blooming into tiny, firework-like golden sparks.

The spreading golden rain enveloped the area.

Injured townsfolk caught in the battle’s fallout and hunters wounded fighting the monster in the smoke and fire began to heal.

Flesh regenerated visibly as the golden raindrops touched them, and corrupted tissue tainted by ancient divine pollution was burned clean.

Suna, expecting the healing effect of [Radiant Rainscape] as an auxiliary blessing, was stunned by what followed.

The golden rain tore through the scarlet flames, and the exploding sparks cleared corrupted flesh from the ground and buildings.

The monster, shrouded in smoke and fire, revealed its massive, twisted form.

Its eight limbs—lizard legs and goat hooves—supported a bloated torso without skin, exposing black-red flesh, pale bone spikes, writhing human arms, and lashing tendrils.

Its neck bore seven beastly heads, fused like grapes, with distorted features, extra eyes, and mouths.

But its grotesque form didn’t last.

Its scarlet shield, battered by the golden rain, melted and shattered instantly.

When the rain struck the creature—a chimeric warbeast—it was engulfed in radiant golden flames.

The Corona Magic from the raindrops decomposed its body, turning it into “kindling” that burned visibly, melting flesh and bones while emitting golden particle smoke.

Despite the warbeast’s unnatural regeneration, it struggled to rebuild its defenses and escape.

Lacking sufficient intelligence, it was bound by the hunters’ restraint magic and chains, pinned in place.

Suna watched, dumbfounded, as the golden-tier mid-level warbeast burned to nothing in under two minutes, leaving no ash.

The hunters, having defeated the ancient creation, exchanged awkward glances, unsure what to say.

The scarred hunter, who’d dismissed Suna’s help, looked particularly chagrined.

His target was incinerated by her “auxiliary” magic, so thoroughly it eliminated the need for post-battle cleanup.

“Sorry for meddling in your fight.

I just thought it might cause more damage if it dragged on, so I lent a hand.

Hope you understand.”

Her preemptive words left the hunters silent.

Before they could respond, Suna added a farewell.

“Now that the fight’s over, I’ll take my leave.”

She quickly strode away.

Instead of leaving Stada immediately, Suna knew a sudden departure without a good reason would raise suspicion, despite her convincing act.

Suppressing her tension and urge to flee, she returned to her inn room, reflecting on the events.

“Radiant Rainscape isn’t just for healing—it has offensive power too.

But what determines its effect?

My subjective intent?”

Curious, she picked up a wooden cup and minimally activated [Radiant Rainscape].

A golden raindrop fell from the air, burning through the cup.

She flicked another drop at a potted plant.

With a shift in her intent, the wilted plant’s leaves perked up, sprouting new buds.

“What a strange effect.

I need time to experiment with these blessings.”

Musing, Suna planned her next steps.

[First, I need to leave this town and deal with the hunters’ wanted order.

I need a believable excuse to leave without suspicion.

I also need to hinder their tracking—probably divination magic.]

Deciding between using her pyramid device or [Veil of Truth] to disrupt divination, Suna pondered a good excuse to leave.

Unexpectedly, one presented itself.

At dusk, Suna sensed a crowd of townsfolk with various items gathering at her inn.

Curious, she left her room for dinner and descended the stairs.

The crowd in the dining hall greeted her with enthusiastic, if uneven, gratitude.

“‘Saintess, thank you for saving our lives!

Please accept our gratitude!’”

“I only followed the Golden Bough Goddess’s teachings, fulfilling my saintess duties.”

Smiling and waving with slight panic, Suna fended off their gifts, her mind sparking with a plan.