Chapter 18: Sorry, I’m a monster too.

As Priest Enrik and the temple acolytes prepared to move the critical patients from the main hall, he paused, turning to Suna with a serious tone.

“Saintess Flurist, go easy on them. They’re wounded, after all.”

Hearing this, the brown-haired mage, still reeling from Suna’s sharp words, snapped to attention.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

Seeing Suna chuckling softly under her veil, cracking her wrists as she approached, the mage stood and backed away in panic.

A burly, bear-like male warrior, covered in wounds and barely awake, staggered to block Suna, trying to defuse the situation.

“Saintess, my teammate spoke out of concern. If you must punish someone…”

“What are you all thinking? I’m here to heal you!”

Suna spread her hands helplessly. Golden raindrops condensed above the hall, falling precisely on the five lightly injured patients.

“Even if you doubt or question me, I won’t ignore your wounds. I’m a saintess blessed by the Golden Bough Goddess.”

The raindrops triggered rapid regeneration. With their wounds pre-cleaned by acolytes, flesh healed visibly.

The intense pain twisted their expressions, their bodies trembling.

All but the bear-like warrior collapsed under the agony. He only staggered, standing firm.

Impressed, Suna remarked, “Not bad strength and willpower. Hunters are tougher, though—they fight through the blessing’s side effects.”

Despite the pain, the warrior, Bell Atlas, leader of the Wandering Hammer adventuring team, thanked her steadily.

“I, Bell Atlas, on behalf of the Wandering Hammer, thank you for your healing, Saintess.”

“No wonder your team survived. But a word of advice: being too lenient with your teammates invites disaster. You need to lead them firmly.”

Her warning left Bell stunned and thoughtful.

As he processed, Suna headed out, instructing the acolytes.

“Their wounds should heal once the blessing fades. Monitor them and ensure they rest for a day or two. I’m stepping out.”

As she neared the temple doors, Bell called out curiously, “Saintess, where are you going?”

“To clean up the mess. Did you think a腐脓蛞蝓 is that easy to kill?”

With a laugh, Suna opened the temple doors and left.

Following the trail left by Bell’s team, Suna found the battle site two kilometers outside Sekend.

Yellow-green corrosive pus had formed foul-smelling puddles, and sparse bushes and grass were either blasted away or rotted beyond recognition.

Using perception magic, she detected multiple strange magical signatures in the muddy soil.

Corrosive pus bullets sprayed from the ground.

Unfazed, Suna stood still as a translucent golden hexagonal shield—Corona Magic’s Radiant Flame Aegis—formed around her.

The shield rippled but blocked the attack with a sizzling sound.

Simultaneously, Suna countered the hidden, fragmented腐脓蛞蝓.

“Molten Rock Javelin.”

Golden-flame javelins materialized, slamming into the mud.

Explosive golden light and scorching shockwaves erupted, raising pillars of earth.

The flames evaporated surface moisture and shattered deeper frozen soil, incinerating the蛞蝓 fragments.

Suna resolved the issue in three seconds without seeing the creatures, also neutralizing the polluted puddles.

“Done in three seconds.”

Clapping her hands, Suna suddenly felt an eerie gaze.

Yellow-green mist rose from the explosion craters, accompanied by rustling sounds.

Maggots mixed with yellow-green and white writhed in the dried soil, destabilizing her footing.

As the mist thickened, obscuring the sky, a swarm of foul-smelling flies buzzed around her.

A spatial rift tore open, its edges sprouting twisted, rancid teeth.

From it emerged a creature of viscous yellow-green gel, shifting between distorted human, beast, and formless slime-like shapes.

Facing this apocalyptic scene, head throbbing with pain, Suna activated her blessing without hesitation.

“Radiant Rainscape.”

No golden raindrops appeared.

Instead, her vision warped, parts peeling like a broken painting.

Before the illusion fully collapsed, a slit opened on Suna’s neck.

A slender tendril shot out, wielding a golden-flame dagger, thrusting at full speed behind her.

“Sorry, I’m a monster too.”

Turning to her foe, two blood-filled, menacing eyes appeared on her cracked cheeks.