After defeating the snake-dragon, I tried saving the people who could still be saved. Unfortunately, most of them were already dead—some died in the cold, others were bitten by zombies, and a few got caught in the destruction.
I used healing magic to heal their wounds and reconnect their broken bones, flesh, and tissues. I feel a little bit better being able to help. Sometimes I think that healing suits me better than fighting.
"Thank you so much, sir," an old woman said after I healed her wound in the leg. A sweet smile appeared on her wrinkled face. She stood up and suddenly wrapped her arms around me.
"I..." I'm about to say something, but I didn't say it and let her hug me. I've never felt this way before. Helping someone is the best feeling in the world. It lightens up my heart. How this old woman smiled at me. I can see how happy and grateful she is. She finally let me go. "Don't think about it, ma'am. I just did what I could."
"I saw how you fought with that dragon. You were so cool. Are you a hero?" The old woman asked.
I scratched the back of my head and smiled awkwardly. "No, I'm not a hero. I'm just an ordinary boy who wants to help people ease their pain," I said.
"Then you are a hero," she said. "Only heroes want to ease other people's pain."
Maybe I got so focused on my mission that I forgot who I really am—an ordinary boy who wants to rid this world of all evil. I should lighten up a little bit and enjoy this life. As a traveler in this foreign land, as a soul who owned nothing in this world that already had everything before he got here, what a privilege it is to be alive.
Kindness doesn't only help others. It helps us too. It makes us feel better. It lightens up our burden. It tells us that we're not alone in this world, that no matter how cruel this world feels, there are still people out there who have beautiful souls and are willing to share our burdens.
"We should go now," Cain said. "We've done what we need to do here."
"But what about the people? There are zombies out there who might hurt them," I said.
The old woman looked at me. She seemed confused about who I was talking with, so I just smiled at her and walked away, letting her think that I'm such a weirdo who talks by myself.
"They aren't our problem anymore. Remember why we're here. You're not here to play the role of a hero; you're here to kill your enemy, and that's all," Cain said.
"You said earlier—"
"Forget what I said," Cain interrupted. "We have to go now."
"Oh, come on. You're such a dork," I said.
"Say whatever you want. Your last fight is coming. You should be ready, you shouldn't let anyone hold you back, and you should, most of all, focus on your mission and not let emotions control your actions," Cain said.
"Okay, sire." I just don't have the energy to fight. People will always have something to say about whatever you want to do with your life, so why not just do what you want?
We teleported to the church. I'm glad I wasn't burned. I do have a lot of sins and things I shouldn't have done, but I never regretted a thing. I choose this path, and I'll be accountable for the consequences. If ever I'm going to hell, that's fine by me. I love playing with fire anyway.
The pews are long and empty. There's complete silence except for our footsteps as we walk toward the altar where three men in priests' attire are standing. They are holding a long, golden staff with reddish orbs. They are wearing white robes with hoods that covered their faces. They looked strange. I can sense their evil intentions.
We stopped many meters away from the altar. The man between the other two held his staff and raised it, pointing at me. The reddish orbs glowed brightly, so bright that it almost blinded me, and then a laser came out. I would have been dead if I didn't dodge it instinctively.
The clergyman seemed surprised at how I managed to dodge his attack despite its speed. The truth is, my eyes can see through anything, even bullets and lightning. The things that the ordinary eye considers swift aren't so fast to me, so it's easy to predict where the attacks are going, and therefore I can easily dodge them.
"Hahahaha!" The clergyman laughed out loud and smiled as if there was something crazy in his mind. His two friends stood beside him and pointed their staffs at me and attacked me with lasers.
It became a little bit difficult to dodge their attacks since there are three of them. They aren't good priests at all, as they didn't care if they could destroy this church just to get me. I used dash to dodge their attacks, trying to find an opening.
They continued attacking me. I couldn't find an opening at all, not until one of them stopped to replenish his mana. I realized they are using magic and can't attack if they run out of mana, just like Cain. There's only one way to get through this: let them attack me, drain their mana until they get exhausted, and that's my chance to end them.
I thought my plan would work, but things don't always go as planned. These pretentious priests are smarter than I anticipated. They have called for reinforcement—three more clergymen came to their rescue. Now, there are six of them attacking me simultaneously. I could barely dodge. My legs, my arms, and my clothes—they got torn. I know I have to change my strategy.
I could hear their leader's laughter echoing amidst the sounds of lasers hitting the walls, floor, roofs, and pews. Those lasers were so destructive that they have made holes and sliced the concrete walls and floors. The church itself got demolished.
Standing on the brink of death, with my torn clothes and my body full of bruises, I tried countering their attacks with mirror magic. It's a skill that reflects every attack and damage that the enemies sent to me. The more damage I got, the more damage they got in return as well.
It was too late already when they figured out what was going on. They were all on the brink of death. I transformed my arms into a machine gun, pulled the trigger, and showered them with bullets. They were dancing in my sight before everything turned black.