Diary of Guarding Monster Girls

Luhier could accept sacrifice.

She was not the kind of person who was sentimental and soft-hearted.

As an archangel who had fought for countless years, she had seen too many sacrifices, and her heart had long become as cold and hard as the ice blade in her hand.

No, even colder and harder than that!

The "Fallen" angels she personally dealt with numbered over a hundred; she executed her former comrades herself, returning them to the embrace of the Sun.

Not to mention those comrades Luhier personally buried and sent off on their final journey, which had long become uncountable.

Those who once walked with her but fell along the way.

If the other’s wounds were irreparable, if the other’s soul was corrupted by evil beyond salvation, then... Luhier would be their undertaker.

Ending their pain by her own hand, allowing their souls to find eternal peace.

Even though most of them were qualified to be reborn in the Sun God’s Divine Kingdom, at that time, the Heroic Spirits were no longer the comrades they once knew.

Death might not be a permanent end, but it is the conclusion of a journey.

And while performing such funeral rites, she never felt a hint of hesitation, never bore any psychological burden, nor felt any delay.

Because both Luhier and the sacrificial victims they buried knew from the start — death had always been the destined conclusion.

For people like them, death was never far away.

To live alongside death, to walk with death.

Facing enemies far stronger than themselves, even directly confronting those noble Divines.

Sacrifice was a topic they could never avoid.

But people like them were just that way.

Even knowing the final outcome from the start, they still chose to embark on the journey.

For faith, and more so for the beliefs in their hearts.

In this world, becoming a Holy Professional is not a title you can simply claim.

Not everyone is qualified to become a Holy Professional, and the world’s Law easily reveals impostors.

And everyone who can become a Holy Professional has a reason in their heart.

Perhaps it’s perseverance, or maybe an obsession, or possibly someone they cannot forget.

Most of them have been hurt by the dark side of this world.

And to protect more innocent people from experiencing the pain they’ve endured, they resolutely choose to walk this harsh path against evil.

On the path of purifying evil, too many companions have already sacrificed.

Luhier had long grown accustomed to the departure of comrades and had become numb to their sacrifices...

But!

The current situation is different!

Completely different!

Luhier could not accept the sacrifice of innocents.

Moreover, it was entirely meaningless, a completely unnecessary sacrifice.

Just wait a little longer!

Those people... they could have survived.

The giant had already left willingly, not dodging further but choosing to accept deserved judgment.

Once away from the village, Luhier could take action without concerns.

But why?

Why couldn’t they wait any longer!!?

Those innocent mortals, they didn’t have to die!

They didn’t have to be killed by the bodies of their beloved Guardians... no, it wasn’t the giant who killed them.

Nor was it the impulsive Angel.

Because, the moment the Angel made the mistake that led to the death of innocent villagers, he was punished.

He had also committed the "sin of slaughter."

Thus, the Sun decided to purify him.

He — became the next target to be purified.

Upon realizing this, the Angel did not let his companions take action but instead lifted his blade with a reverent expression and killed himself.

Using the power bestowed by the Sun, under its gaze, he took his own life with his own hands.

At that moment, what filled Luhier’s heart wasn’t even anger.

It was absurdity.

Look!

The guilty, dead.

The innocent, dead.

The one who caused the death of the innocents, also dead.

All evil had been purified, all dissipated under the Sun’s light.

So, does everything end perfectly like this?

Luhier looked at her other companions, saw them calmly accepting such an outcome, even some shedding tears of emotion.

Tears for the Angel who willingly "sacrificed" himself, bearing all the guilt.

They gathered, singing hymns, praising the sacrificer for not betraying the expectations of the Divine, for not choosing to Fall out of fear of death.

They also mourned for those poor villagers, lamenting their unfortunate fate.

Turning this sorrow for their companions, this sympathy for the innocent, into anger against evil.

As usual, Luhier did not participate in their activities.

This wasn’t the first time it happened.

But this time, she felt a strong sense of discord.

She stood aside silently, watching.

At that moment, the archangel, seen as an extension of divine will, kept questioning in her heart.

Is this right?

Is this the right way?

It has always been like this in the past, but is this truly correct?

...No.

This is not right.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no...

No!!!

Luhier screamed in her heart, finally letting out a silent roar.

This is wrong.

It’s me.

It’s my hesitation that killed them.

If I had driven away the giant from the very start, they wouldn’t have had to die.