This was the city closest to the underground ruins.
The monsters' assault had already continued for over an hour. After the desperate resistance of the kingdom's soldiers, the city had not yet fallen.
Soldiers kept collapsing, and new ones rushed in to take their places. A war of attrition had begun.
Yet the endless tide of monsters surging in from the distance still filled the soldiers with despair.
Once the will to fight weakened, morale would visibly decline.
The number of allied troops was also dwindling, and no one knew when reinforcements would arrive.
They could not see even a shred of hope for victory.
The army defending this city simply did not possess the strength to repel those monsters.
There was only one person here who had just stepped into Level 2. Trying to withstand such a monstrous army was impossible.
Do not think that Level 2 was weak. In this kingdom, a Level 2 was already considered a rare powerhouse.
In certain stories, there were so many Level 5 and Level 6 adventurers because that place was Orario—a city with a Dungeon.
It was precisely because of the Dungeon, that sacred ground for leveling up, that their levels rose so quickly.
In an ordinary nation, where would you find so much time to train? And each level required remarkable achievements to attain.
Thus, outside of Orario, high-level powerhouses did exist—but they were exceedingly rare.
At the very least, this small city had none.
The greatest thing they could do was stall for time. But did stalling even have meaning?
When the monsters first attacked, they had already sent out a request for reinforcements. So how much longer would it take for aid to arrive?
Calculating the distance carefully, even at maximum speed, it would still take nearly an hour for reinforcements to reach this place.
Setting aside whether reinforcements could even make it in time, could the soldiers in this city hold out until then?
They had barely endured for an hour and a half, and they were already in such a miserable state. How could they possibly last another hour?
No matter how one thought about it, it was impossible.
Moreover, the monsters' offensive had changed. If before they had attacked from only one direction, now the innumerable monsters had completely surrounded the city.
Whether kingdom soldiers or townspeople, none could escape.
Falling morale, failing stamina, and the endless tide of monsters crashing toward them—every second, it battered the hearts of the people within the city.
This was clearly a dead end.
If death was inevitable no matter what, then one might as well conserve some strength.
Some people truly gave up. They threw down their weapons and slumped to the ground.
"O God, please save us!"
In this world, gods truly existed. So when mortals prayed to them, it was not entirely meaningless.
But the gods of the heavens rarely responded, and the gods who had descended to the lower world had their divine powers sealed. Sometimes, they were not even stronger than ordinary people.
Could such prayers truly work?
The answer was...
Yes!
"Although I am not a god, I have heard your wish!"
A melodious female voice echoed throughout the city. Everyone looked up—those still fighting, those who had abandoned resistance, and even those desperately seeking escape—all turned their eyes toward the sky.
"Is that... the sun?"
Though it was night, a radiance like the sun illuminated the heavens.
Golden and white light intertwined, dazzling to behold. Even the monsters paused in their assault, their attention drawn upward.
Roar—
The monsters bellowed at that sun, attempting to charge forward and tear apart the enemy in the sky, only to halt helplessly, unable to fly.
"Sorry I am late."
"From this moment on, not a single person will die!"
The woman's voice descended from the sky, and the sun grew ever more brilliant.
A wave of light shot downward. Yet its target was not the monsters—but the soldiers and townspeople within the city.
The death they had imagined did not arrive. Instead, countless people stared in astonishment as the wounds they had suffered in battle began to vanish. Even the pain gradually faded.
Those with minor injuries were restored to normal. Those gravely wounded found their injuries reduced to light ones. Beneath the golden radiance, it was as if all misery and suffering had never existed.
Roar—
But do not forget—the monsters had not disappeared.
They still charged madly at the city. Though the monsters at the front were slain, those behind instantly filled their places.
Such ceaseless combat was unbearable for the soldiers.
But it ended here.
A dark violet flash kicked up massive clouds of dust. A shockwave swept down from the sun in the sky, cutting horizontally through the monsters.
Any monster touched by it was annihilated in an instant.
Only the stronger ones—such as the Minotaur—could endure for a single second before turning to ash like the rest.
The dark violet beam circled the city once, eradicating every monster surrounding it, before finally fading from the sky.
"We... survived?"
The soldiers stared blankly at the sun above, their minds unable to catch up.
"The monsters... they were really all wiped out!"
"We survived! That's wonderful!"
"The gods must have heard our prayers and sent a messenger to save us!"
At that moment, the "sun" gradually descended. A golden-haired girl slowly stepped out from within the light.
She looked at the stunned crowd around her and smiled gently.
"Since the monsters here have been eliminated, I will be taking my leave."
"Wait!" Some soldiers reached out, trying to stop her. "May we know your name?"
"My name?"
The golden-haired girl lightly tapped her lips and replied,
"Just a passing messenger of justice."
"Other places are still suffering monster attacks. I cannot remain here long. If I arrive one second sooner, I can save one more life."
"So I will be going now."
As her words fell, Elise transformed into a streak of white light and flew toward the distance, until she vanished completely from sight.
"What a beautiful person... as beautiful as the gods themselves!"
"Is she... a messenger sent from heaven?"
"She is practically a saintess!"
That night, countless cities suffered monster attacks.
But all of them witnessed the "sun" descending from the sky.
All beheld that beauty and power.
And thus, the title of saintess began here.