“Rosal, Mr. Midir? How are you...?”
Blake, supported by Rosal as he walked, was the picture of shock. He truly couldn't fathom how the three of them had suddenly appeared like gods descending from the heavens.
By this time, Aila had finished hacking the black monsters on the outer perimeter into pieces. She returned to the group, leaving the few remaining monsters struggling on the ground to be finished off by the guards of the Duke's estate.
As she tucked her weapon back into her waist bag, she spoke with irritation.
“It’s because we were worried about you, you idiot! If the entire Azure City-State is in crisis, what good would bringing a hundred men back do? With your current strength, are you just rushing back to provide a midnight snack for the magic creatures? Couldn't you have discussed it with us or waited for the main force?”
Blake turned slightly red at Aila’s barrage of questions, not daring to utter a word of rebuttal.
Beside them, Rosal played the peacemaker. “It’s also thanks to you giving Kiteclaw to Mr. Midir. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to reach you so quickly. It’s just good that you’re all alright now.”
Midir didn't join their argument. Instead, he leaned down and picked up a frozen, shattered piece of a corpse from the ground, speaking with a hint of confusion.
“Based on their behavior... they’re somewhat like the Demon Race. But why are they all species I’ve never seen before? And they don't seem to possess any intelligence; they act entirely on instinct.”
The three of them turned to look at the small fragment of the monster in his hand. Finally, Rosal was the first to speak.
“The one we encountered on the road earlier looked a lot like a giant lizard. As for the part Mr. Midir is holding... I think it looks a bit like an earthworm?”
“An earthworm? Do earthworms spit acid? And are they that big?” Blake asked in astonishment, pointing to his scorched lower leg. The area touched by the acid had turned a vivid, angry crimson.
“Now that you mention it, these creatures do share features with small animals we see every day... but they’ve been magnified several, even dozens of times. However, it’s still too early to draw a conclusion.”
Aila stood quietly with her arms crossed, her deep gaze lost in thought. After a moment, she pondered the point Rosal had raised. Finding no reason to disagree, she continued.
“Oh, right! When I was dealing with the monsters on the outside, I noticed that the red fleshy lump on their heads seems to be their weak point. Once that lump is destroyed, their vitality is clearly not as strong as before. But the sample size is too small to be certain.”
“What I’m more concerned about is the situation inside the Azure City-State. Blake, have you contacted your father?” Midir asked, no longer obsessing over the monsters' species.
“I was in contact with him around noon today. My father told me the inner city is still fine for now, but the situation in the surrounding districts is not optimistic. These black monsters have appeared everywhere, and he’s already organizing the evacuation of the citizens into the Azure Fortress.”
Upon receiving some useful information, Midir nodded. It seemed to be as he expected; the magic calamities in the Azure City-State were caused by these black creatures. Moreover, they appeared to be quite numerous, though the exact scale wouldn't be clear until they arrived.
What concerned him even more was where that nearly imperceptible black aura had gone after these creatures were destroyed.
...
After a period of rest and inspection, the group discovered that Blake’s hundred-man unit had been very fortunate; they hadn't lost a single man, and even the horses were mostly accounted for. However, after over an hour of combat, nearly everyone was injured.
Strangely, the wounds inflicted or corroded by the black monsters healed exceptionally slowly, as if something at the site of the injury was preventing recovery.
“Master Blake, the situation is not looking good. We brought too few medicines and supplies for this journey. I’ve applied medicine to everyone’s wounds, but they won't heal properly. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
As the group rested, the captain of the guard squad approached and reported the status of the unit to Blake.
“Then what should we do? We basically brought nothing in our rush to move quickly. There are no priests or healers in the team. Scratches are one thing, but if those deeper wounds won't heal, they’ll bleed to death.”
Hearing the bad news, Blake couldn't help but feel a surge of panic. He ran his hands through his brown hair in frustration. The burn on his own lower leg refused to recover, and the constant searing sensation kept him on edge.
“If there’s no other way, have the team rest where they are. I have plenty of supplies here. Once the reinforcement unit arrives, they should be able to get proper treatment,” Midir suggested, glancing at the frustrated Blake. “Also, stretch out your leg. Let me see it.”
Blake hesitated for a moment, appearing to struggle internally. Eventually, he unwrapped the tight bandage on his lower leg. As the bandage fell away, it revealed a shocking, crimson mark on his skin.
Midir crouched down to observe the wound closely. He condensed a strand of water element on his finger and traced it over the injury.
As the water element formed a ring-shaped bubble around Blake’s leg, the cool sensation made him feel significantly better. The burning heat in the wound seemed to gradually dissipate.
“You know healing magic too?” Aila and Rosal leaned in, asking curiously as they watched Midir’s movements.
“No, this isn't a healing spell. I’m just simulating the treatment for a burn by using the water element to alleviate some of the pain. You can think of it as an ice pack. In reality, his wound shows no sign of actual improvement.”
As he spoke, Midir withdrew the water ring. The moment the water element left his leg, the burning pain returned, forcing a groan from Blake.
“What exactly is the principle behind this? What should be done...?” Midir muttered softly, his voice carrying a trace of hidden concern.
“Mr. Midir, Sister Aila! Quick, put on your goggles and look at his wound through the filter!”
Just as everyone was at a loss, Rosal noticed something strange.
On a whim, she had pulled down her goggles. Looking through the filter—whose function she hadn't quite understood before—she saw wisps of black aura rising from the edges of the wound on Blake’s leg.
The two of them quickly pulled down their goggles and saw the faint black mist rising from the wound. It was remarkably similar to the wisp of black aura that drifted away when the monsters died.
“This... I feel like it’s some kind of curse. Are you saying their wounds won't heal because of a curse effect?”
When Aila witnessed the eerie black mist that was invisible to the naked eye, her tone betrayed a hint of uncertainty and vigilance. She knew that such an aura usually heralded hidden danger or magical traces.
“If it’s a simple curse, that would be for the best...”
Midir condensed elemental power at his fingertips once again, but this time, a warm orb of light appeared.
The light orb followed his finger and drifted toward Blake’s injured leg, sliding gently over it.
With the help of the filters, the group saw the white light element slowly passing over the black aura at the edge of the wound. As the two diametrically opposed colors collided, the black mist began to vanish at a slow pace.
Seeing that this method worked, Midir immediately controlled the light orb to continue rolling toward the remaining black mist. Finally, five minutes later, the black aura on Blake’s leg was completely purified.
The medicine Blake had applied earlier finally seemed to take effect; the redness on his leg began to slowly recede.
“That’s it? Mr. Midir, please, hurry and help the brothers who are more seriously injured!” Blake shouted in surprise and joy as he felt his injury begin to improve.
“It will take too long if I go one by one. You three, give me a hand.”
Midir checked Blake's condition one last time. Once he confirmed everything was fine, he stood up and pulled a pile of materials from his storage space.
Under his direction, the group gathered the more seriously injured guards into a small area. Using the materials he provided, they drew a circular mana maintenance array around the wounded.
After checking that everything was correct, Midir began to manifest the light element. Using the circle they had drawn as a boundary, a hemispherical light barrier formed, enveloping the wounded like an eggshell.
Rate on N.U.
