"A m-monster!"
"Eek!"
The people who had been standing dumbfounded began screaming in surprise as the wyvern drew close enough to be visible to the naked eye. Chaos spread among the believers who had been standing near the stage, waiting for the sermon that was about to begin.
People plunged into panic, and everyone without exception screamed and struggled to flee. However, the crowd was formidable, and no order could be established at all.
"Kyah!"
"Aaack!"
The pilgrims standing around me were the same. Before Samuel could even grab me, someone ran between us, and taking advantage of that gap, I also crouched as if startled.
Some had their hoods fallen back, while others still wore theirs, but everyone was dressed in similar pilgrim attire, so I could just blend into the commotion like this.
Ah, now's the moment.
The moment I released the hand gripping the necklace, the unnatural energy cloaking my face lifted. The squirrel quickly grabbed the fallen necklace in its mouth and ran into the pocket of the man beside me.
He happened to be nearly collapsed from fright at the wyvern. The fallen man crawled his body as if hurriedly trying to escape. The necklace had successfully landed in his pocket.
"Move!"
"Ack, save me!"
As people nearby shoved each other, the wyvern drew close enough that its scales were visible. Unable to land, the wyvern traced curves in the air as it crossed above the square.
That movement alone brought strong winds rushing in. Everyone stumbled with their eyes closed as their cloaps fluttered violently.
The wyvern did not fly away into the sky but circled widely above the square while letting out long cries. Each time its sharp cry echoed, people's screams and confusion grew.
Of course, only the people were like that—I wasn't confused at all. Just my ears stung.
[An~ne~li~i~is~who~o!]
I needed to let them know I was here.
Quickly looking around, I spotted a familiar eagle perched on the platform stage that had been set up for the sermon. I screamed like the others and ran wildly.
"Kyaaah! A monster appeared!"
Actually, magic like appearance alteration didn't work on animals. Animals had always seen my true form.
So if I pretended to be swept away by the crowd hurriedly leaving the square, then separated myself and revealed my form...!
"Resurrected One!"
Startled by the strong grip on my arm, I turned around to see Samuel with a serious face.
Samuel's expression, which had been filled with certainty, shook slightly the moment he confirmed my face. Not missing that instant, I screamed like a frightened believer.
"Please help me! Oh God!"
Perhaps because of my instantly changed appearance, Samuel didn't grab me forcefully. I shook off his hesitant arm and quickly turned to flee.
Forcing my way through people violently bumping into my shoulders and body, I tried my best to get as far from Samuel as possible. Fortunately, while Samuel couldn't recklessly shove believers aside, I could push people away indiscriminately and escape.
But still, I'd discarded the necklace, so how did that man catch me? I had naturally believed he would go find someone else, so frustration welled up.
What was certain was that if I missed this chance amid the current commotion, that man would catch me with conviction this time.
Moreover, holy knights would soon come to deal with the wyvern. There were still many people in the square so they couldn't launch any proper attacks, but already a few priests and guards who had regained their senses were quickly guiding believers out of the square.
I turned my body that had been heading outward. At the same time, another strong wind blew from above. The hood I had tied firmly couldn't withstand that wind and fell back.
My silver hair, which I had been hiding with a magical device all along, fluttered defenselessly. Damn it, all or nothing now!
Near the sermon stage set up in the center of the square, many people had already evacuated compared to before, making it easier to approach. The eagle, having spotted my conspicuous silver hair, flapped its wings.
[Over here, here! Brother!]
[Wh~ere~are~you~sa~ying?]
The wyvern, which had been drawing large circles in the air, grew closer to the ground. People who hadn't managed to escape were trembling and prostrate on the ground, screaming.
Quickly leaping over their bodies, frozen with fear, I climbed onto the sermon stage in an instant. As my field of vision rose, the situation in the square came into view at once.
It was also easy to spot Samuel, a head taller than others. He was coming this way.
"Here!"
Taking off the cloak I was wearing and shaking it wildly with both hands, I jumped up to the highest point of the stage platform. In the distance, I saw armed holy knights and soldiers arriving at the edge of the square.
"Right here!"
The wyvern's talons, having confirmed its target, spread wide open.
"Resurrected One!"
[Anneli, brace your stomach!]
The moment Samuel climbed onto the stage, a large black shadow swiftly swept over it. With the hand gripping the cloak clenched tight, I squeezed my eyes shut.
At the moment something hard snatched me up, I felt an impact like being hit in the chest. My breath caught and my body felt like it was floating.
[Got it!]
[Did I catch the right one, little sibling?]
[Yes, brother!]
Between the sounds of wind brushing past my ears, I heard the conversation between the eagle and the wyvern. When I opened my eyes, I saw the central square rapidly receding into the distance. Archers were aiming this way but hadn't loosed their arrows.
The wyvern covered the distance in just a few wingbeats. People below seemed to be shouting something, but they were too far to hear.
It was much more turbulent than I had imagined, but I was satisfied enough with this. Exhausted as I was, I exhaled long while desperately gripping the cloak.
Then without any hesitation, I let go of the pilgrim's cloak. Watching it flutter and fall downward, a silly laugh escaped me.
......Finally, freedom.
* * *
"At this distance, we can hit it!"
"No, a person has been kidnapped!"
"If we let it escape, even greater casualties could occur! Please give the order!"
The bows aimed at the wyvern looked ready to loose their arrows at any moment.
If they were ordinary bows, they would simply fall in a futile arc, but those holding bows now were skilled archers who wielded divine power. At this moment, they could tear the wyvern's wings and bring it down.
A monster suddenly appearing in the holy city. To prevent the endless anxiety and absurd rumors that would spread among citizens afterward, they needed to deal with it now.
Having judged so, the guard captain protecting the city couldn't order an attack on the wyvern. It was because of the opposition from the holy knight with a grim expression.
"We cannot!"
He couldn't ignore that opinion. He was Samuel, the unparalleled holy knight favored by the High Priest.
"That person must not be harmed!"
"But...!"
"That person is the Resurrected One!"
"The Resurrected One?"
"The one sent by God, you say?"
The guard captain and the holy knights around him looked with confused eyes at the receding wyvern. Samuel also grit his teeth and glared at the departing wyvern.
"Something is falling!"
From the wyvern, now completely out of arrow range, something black fell. The black cloth fluttering and plummeting from the sky resembled the cloak the Resurrected One had been wearing.
Samuel's expression turned pale. His heart sank for a moment, wondering if the wyvern had dropped her. But fortunately, what fell was only the cloak.
"Sir Samuel, is that person really the Resurrected One?"
Someone grabbed Samuel's arm and asked urgently. Samuel silently nodded without taking his eyes off the wyvern until it became a small dot.
"Good heavens, the Resurrected One sacrificed herself for us."
"To throw her body against a monster to protect the people!"
"Ah, God truly sent a Resurrected One to eradicate evil!"
The murmuring people gradually exclaimed in lamentation. Some knelt and prayed to God, while others raised their voices again saying they must quickly go save the Resurrected One.
The guard captain quickly sent someone to the Great Temple to deliver news of the kidnapped Resurrected One.
The wyvern was no longer visible. Samuel, who had been standing stiffly with a hardened face, pressed his lips firmly together and turned his body.
Fluttering silver hair, mysterious purple eyes. That must have been the true appearance of the Resurrected One who had been changing her looks with God's treasure all along.
On the back of her neck as she stood on the platform gazing at the sky without shaking even in the strong wind, a distinct scar was positioned.
That was evidence that she was the empire's villainess who had once been beheaded.
"Anneli Roam."
A name he had never once spoken flowed from the tip of his tongue. Compared to the title "Resurrected One" he had always used, it was very unfamiliar and awkward.
But once he called it, nothing could have suited her better.
「You must not have heard my rumors. My name is quite infamous for being wicked.」
The nonchalant voice came back to life in his head. Back then, he had dismissed her words roughly.
Her intention to not stay at the Great Temple was clear, and her mischievous words must have all stemmed from such feelings.
Now, no matter what he said, he couldn't remove her hostility, so he had planned to let it slide appropriately and focus only on guarding her.
「My name is not Resurrected One, Sir Samuel.」
He had known her name from the beginning. He just hadn't considered it important.
That she was called a villainess in the past wasn't important to Samuel. Because she was the Resurrected One sent by God.
Because discerning God's intent in whom He chose wasn't his job to do.
Perhaps he should have approached differently from the start. Because finding Anneli had been so easy, he had never imagined he would lose her right before his eyes.
「Why, afraid I'll run away? With your ability, surely you can catch me even in a crowd like this.」
He admitted it. He had overestimated his ability. He had always been that way whichever he pursued, so he had thought his cool reason would quickly judge the situation this time as well.