Prayer

A few minutes ago...

"OUCH!"

Bernice clenched her abdomen in severe pain while on her butt.

"Are you okay Bernice?!" Melissa yelled in fright and ran over after witnessing what had happened.

"Y-Yeah?" Bernice looked at her blood-stained hand before looking up at Melissa in confusion.

"What the heck just happened? Why was I shot?"

"Now's not the time for that!" Melissa got on her knees to inspect the wound and checked her back.

Seeing the exit wound on the other side as well and a bloody hole in her clothes, Melissa bit her lips in frustration and anger while she pressed against the wound.

'If only I wasn't so slow!'

She had exhausted most of her energy and did not have the time to react fast enough. She did not know Bernice would run up like that and attempt to talk to the enemy.

"Sorry. This is my fault." Melissa channeled her remaining shadow magus to form a faint wall against the entrance of the hole to stop the bleeding.

"It's not your fault." Bernice's face was pale and sweaty from the pain, and yet she still smiled back at her.

"C-Can you use your healing skills?"

"I forgot about that. [Advanced Healing]." Bernice casted her skill.

A divine-like halo appeared above her and descended down like a hula hoop, creating a gentle golden radiance around her for a few seconds.

During that time, the entrance and exit wound on her body visibly healed before closing off entirely. The injury disappeared like it had never happened. Not even a scar was left.

"Thank god!" Melissa sighed in relief and rubbed her temples in frustration.

"Anyway, what the heck is going on? Who was Abe fighting? What's all that chaos in the distance and those explosions?" Bernice had a ton of questions after waking up beside an unconscious Emma and Hester.

After healing the two but seeing nobody around except for the fighting at the top, she carried the two halfway back up before she had to put her down out of sheer exhaustion. Her plan was to head up and see what was going on before getting help.

After seeing the severely injured Abe and unknown person, she had yelled for the fight to stop only to get shot in the abdomen.

"I'll explain later. For now can you bring me over to Emma and Hester?"

Too many things were going on that Melissa felt a little overwhelmed. For the time being, checking up on Emma was the best option with her current stamina.

"Y-Yes!" Bernice slowly stood up.

"Are you okay to get up?" Melissa reached over to help her up.

"No problem! I didn't lose much blood."

After she got up, she brought Melissa over to Emma who was just outside her [Assassin's Sense].

Melissa bent down to inspect Emma and saw no external injuries. On a positive note, her pale white face had returned to normal which meant the healing had worked. Hester also looked perfectly fine and healthy.

She grunted as she placed the two on her shoulders.

"What do we do now?" Bernice asked with a concerned look.

"For now let's just wait at the top. I need to recover my energy." Melissa answered with a grim face.

At the moment, just holding the two of them is somewhat of a chore. Attempting to go down the mountain and see what is going on is impossible right now.

The best choice of action is to wait and hope George arrived on time to defeat the legendary mercenary.

Melissa gently put down Emma and Hester in a relatively flat area void of any snow and not damaged by the fighting. She nearly collapsed as she fell to a kneeling position.

"Melissa?! Are you okay?!" Bernice grabbed Melissa to hold her steady.

"I'm fine. I'll be praying to recover energy. I suggest you back away a little so you aren't affected." Melissa gently took Bernice's hand off her and gave her a stern look.

Seeing the seriousness of the situation, Bernice nodded with a "Mn" before backing away.

Melissa nodded in relief seeing her back away enough.

She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.

"I, Melissa Stamper, pray to the God of Shadows Umbra. I beg of you to respond to my prayer."

She expressed her firm faith through her words, triggering a change in the environment.

The entire area around Melissa began to darken as the natural light was being absorbed. The laws in the area began to subtly shift towards the dark magus energy. The clouds in the sky moved towards this area to block out even more light.

If an adventurer with dark magus were to fight in this area, they would find their dark skills massively amplified without as much energy needed to use them.

Bernice could not help but back away more and widen her eyes in shock.

Most gods will receive the faith of their followers but most will not respond to their wishes due to the amount of energy it would take. Rather, only a small fraction of their followers that are of a much higher rank within their religion will be qualified enough to receive a response.

That is why most religions throughout the realm are run through hierarchies.

Bernice was shocked to see this because this is a rare event outside of churches.

Even when she occasionally prays, she never receives a response except for feeling mentally and physically better. Even in the Holy Church she attends with her family, this stuff only happens once a year mainly to attract new followers.

Melissa could not see what was happening outside because her eyes were closed, but she felt a pleasant feeling wash over her body and soul.

Before she knew it, she felt her soul leaving her body and ascending to the heavens.

She saw the mountains shrinking and becoming tiny dots as she rose high into the atmosphere.

Confused and scared, she looked above to see a rapidly approaching sea of darkness that makes up outer space.

Abruptly, the scenery changed to a giant palace made of blackness and flames.

The flames were pitch-black and made up the pillars that ascended far into the sky. The ground and everything else was a slightly lighter dark that barely made it invisible.

A sea of grey souls high in the air gently moved between the pillars, creating a sense of traffic.

[Your prayer has been received Melissa Stamper]

A divine deep voice full of darkness reverberated throughout the seemingly infinite palace of pillars and entered Melissa's soul. She felt a strange sensation of comfort and warmth wash over her.

"L-Lord Umbra!" Melissa unconsciously tried to get onto her knees to bow only to remember that she is a soul in a spherical form. She looked around but saw nobody or any change.

[You are too weak to withstand my existence. Your mission I gave you qualifies you to see my palace. Answer me child of the Shadow Hive, what is your desire?]

"I..."

Melissa pondered for a second before speaking out her true desire at the moment.

"..."

A silence followed soon after for a few seconds that felt like minutes to her.

[The importance of my mission cannot be stated in mere words. You are in dire straits, so I will lend you a tiny portion of my strength for a period of time. I will handle the cost of your first wish, but the second will require a price to pay. You have been warned.]

"I-I am incredibly honored Lord Umbra!" Melissa expressed her shock through her gratitude in full sincerity and faith. She really did not expect her wish to go through nor be summoned.

After all, only high level priests in most religious organizations are qualified to receive the blessings of their god or even communicate with them. Even then, most gods are quite stingy in peaceful times unless their organization is under dire threat.

[Go. Grow your faith and ascend to the peak.]

The voice faded and the surroundings turned blurry.

When Melissa opened her eyes, she was back in her body still kneeling.

"I'm bac-"

The words in Melissa's throat became stuck as an overwhelming amount of dark magus flooded her veins and open magus nodes. The sheer amount was anything she had felt in her life, feeling her with an intoxicating sense of overwhelming authority.

"Kyaa!"

Bernice screamed as she was pushed back by an overwhelming wind. When she opened her eyes, she put her hand to her mouth in numb shock.

Melissa's aura had exploded out of her and extended several hundred meters in all directions. The sheer density was altering the laws of reality in the surroundings like a domain without her even needing her [Shadow Domain]. Her aura was absorbing most of the light and creating an entire area of darkness that almost concealed her within.

Black lightning snakes made of laws moved around her with ferocious speed and energy.

Additionally, Melissa's eyes had turned entirely black with a glowing radiance that could cast shadows upon every surface. Her hair gently floated around her and into the air.

The same could be said to the nearby rocks, pebbles, boulders, and snow that were lifted into the air as if gravity had turned off.

Melissa's rank seems to have surpassed rank S.

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Notes:

* N/A