Chapter 136: Are You a Saint or a Devil?
A smooth metal surface reflected the figure of a man.
Come to think of it, this appearance was about seventy to eighty percent similar to his original one—and also about seventy to eighty percent similar to his counterpart in the Valkyrie world.
But when comparing the appearances of his identities across both worlds, they didn't look all that alike.
The body he currently possessed could essentially be considered his own, unlike the typical concept of possessing someone else's corpse.
It was more like playing a game—taking a character he had created and transferring its data directly to another game under a different ID.
It reminded Renji of an anime he'd watched in his past life—something like Sword Art Online, where you could transfer your character from one game to another.
Speaking of which, that rather naive nun, Asia Argento—her name and her image as a blonde, blue-eyed nun were quite intriguing. Did that mean this world might be from a story he knew?
"Miss Asia, you shouldn't have healed this man."
"This man deserves to die."
"Saving this scoundrel's life is meaningless!"
Some people were saying to the sister with great resentment.
The reason was that this overly compassionate nun had saved someone who shouldn't have been saved.
Of course, that person wasn't him.
Regardless of whether someone was good or bad, if they were injured before her eyes and looked pitiful, she couldn't just stand by. So she healed a man who had been caught in an explosion.
From the surrounding crowd, it was clear that while this person hadn't committed major evils, he was constantly involved in minor misdeeds.
And these minor evils had piled up—honestly, someone like this deserved to be eliminated.
Hmm? The rescued man's eyes flashed with exceptionally vicious malice as he glared at those who cursed him most hatefully.
Interesting. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to teach this nun a lesson.
In the blink of an eye, it was around four in the morning.
"Asia, wake up."
"Mmm?"
Slowly opening her eyes, Asia saw a hazy face calling out to her.
Who was it?
Was it already morning?
As her vision gradually cleared, Asia finally recognized the person before her.
"You are—"
Who was this? He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place him at first.
After a moment of hesitation, she finally recognized him by his clothing.
"Mr. Renji~"
He was a somewhat mysterious young man she had recently met.
"Ah—mmph!"
She gasped in surprise, only for her mouth to be covered.
The reason for her shock? She realized she was currently being carried princess-style by Mr. Renji.
"Shh."
He raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. Asia nodded like a chick pecking at rice, and he gently set her down.
Looking around, she realized they were no longer in the shelter but outside in the town.
Everything was eerily quiet—the sudden attacks seemed to have stopped.
The town was mostly dark, though a few houses still had their lights on. Perhaps some people had chosen to stay home instead of going to the shelters, leaving their lights on.
"Asia, look over there."
He pointed in a direction—what was she supposed to see there?
Squinting, Asia spotted two figures faintly writhing on the ground in a shadowy area.
Standing over them was another person, who seemed to kick the two fallen figures again.
Suddenly, a malfunctioning streetlight flickered with a crackling sound, illuminating the darkness.
The moment her vision cleared, Asia's pupils dilated, and her expression froze.
Her mind went blank for a second.
The two fallen figures lay in pools of blood, their lives hanging by a thread.
The standing figure held a bloodstained dagger, his sinister face splattered with crimson as he gazed down at the two with delight.
As if sensing their presence, the dagger-wielder suddenly turned his head toward them—and froze.
Asia's pupils contracted violently. She recognized him—he was one of the people she had healed.
Looking closer, the two lying in blood were the very ones who had urged her not to treat him.
W-what was this?!
Asia's brain felt like it had been violently stirred with a stick, thrown into complete chaos.
"Die!!!"
Suddenly, a sinister voice snapped Asia out of her daze. The assailant had already arrived and was lunging toward Renji with a blade.
This was a murderous attempt to silence him—the tip of the knife was mere inches from piercing his chest.
But just as it was about to connect, it seemed to stop abruptly?
In reality, Renji had caught the attacker's wrist. Then, with a faint smile, he twisted—crack—the sound of bones breaking echoed.
The assailant, still stunned by the sudden fracture, hadn't even registered the pain yet.
"Bang—!"
Renji kicked him away, sending him crashing into a crumbling wall. With a scream, the wall collapsed on top of him.
He wasn't dead yet, but without immediate medical attention, he wouldn't survive.
"What are you standing around for? Aren't you going to save them?"
"Ah? R-right!"
Yes, she had to help!
Asia stumbled toward the two injured men and immediately activated her healing ability...
Seeing their grievous state, she bit her lip hard.
When she sensed her healing no longer had any effect on them, she continued for a while longer before stopping.
No reaction didn't mean they were dead—it meant they were fully healed, with no remaining wounds to mend.
"H-help… me… Please… Sister… I was wrong…"
A hoarse plea came from beneath the rubble—the would-be murderer, now sobbing in pain, as if genuinely repentant.
"O-okay…"
"Are you really sure, Miss Asia? Can you guarantee he's truly remorseful? If you save him now, and he kills again later, what will you do about the innocent lives lost? Wouldn't that mean you are taking lives from good people to give to a murderer?"
The gentle voice delivered words that stabbed at Asia's heart like a knife.
"Are you stealing lives from the good to give to the wicked?"
"N-no, that's not… I…"
"If I hadn't brought you here today, Sister, you would have saved a man who should have died—only for him to kill two innocent people. Are you saving lives, or are you taking them? Are you a saint… or a devil?"
"I… No, it's not like that…"
Asia's voice grew hoarse, her eyes brimming with tears of guilt.
Her pale lips trembled as she tried to say she didn't know—that she never meant for this to happen. But the truth left her powerless, choking her voice into silence.
The nun was breaking.
"Hey, kid, don't talk to her like that!"
"Asia isn't that kind of person!"
The two men she had just healed couldn't bear to see her crushed like this and spoke up in her defense.
But their kindness only deepened Asia's guilt.
"Damn it… damn it all! I curse you! If this is how it's gonna be, I'll drag you all to hell with me!"
The perpetrator, seeing no hope for his own survival, muttered something sinister under his breath, offering his soul to summon something.
His blood-soaked hands had already painted some kind of array on the ground with blood.
"Let's go to hell together."
As his venomous words fell, the blood array began to glow, and an ominous aura seeped out.
By the time Asia realized what was happening, her face had turned even paler.
"Everyone, run!"