Curse Changes

“What were you thinking, Tina! We almost died back there!” Miranda scolded.

But as soon as she saw Tina curled up on the ground, she apologized in shame. “I'm sorry. What's wrong with your body?”

“...”

“Let me see your arm.”

The Astral Sage sat on the ground and gently took hold of her arm. Tearing open the special bandage, she finally noticed the problem.

The black scar that had been there just moments ago had actually vanished?! Yet Tina was still in immense pain. Something must have happened!

She looked closer and saw a crimson cross on Tina's neck, still emitting a faint, eerie glow.

Had the wound moved? No, could the curse have already seeped deep into her body, leaving only this mark visible on the outside?

If the person before her weren't the Tina who had once defeated her, the Astral Sage would have already assumed she was a goner.

By now, Tina didn't seem to be in as much pain. She propped herself up against the wall.

“I'm fine. I feel much better now.”

“Were you just waiting to die back there?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!”

“Yes.”

Tina's white tights were covered in dust, and her maid outfit was in tatters, leaving her looking rather disheveled.

It seemed something had caused her to stop putting pressure on the curse, which finally made the pain stop.

I misjudged Sathya's movements. I didn't think things through. I suppose this is my punishment. Tina thought to herself.

“Where are we now?”

“The library's underground storehouse. I'm not sure if it's safe. Once your body is up to it, we need to leave immediately.”

Tina nodded. Ever since a moment ago, she knew this matter was far more difficult to handle than she had imagined.

Because she had heard it.

Right before the Spatial Transfer spell whisked them away to safety.

If Sathya hadn't held back, they might have actually died in that place.

Tina knew why Sathya had stopped her attack.

Just as she was waiting to accept her fate and die at Sathya's hands, Sathya had spoken her name.

“Sister Tina?”

Could it be...?

...

Once Tina recovered, she took Miranda to an inn outside the Holy Academy.

After tidying themselves up, Tina went out to buy two black cloaks and draped one over her.

“What is this for...?”

“Ulrich's sphere of influence extends across the entire metropolitan area, even to the Tower of Stars.”

“I see.”

Miranda suddenly understood. If nothing went wrong, Ulrich had already begun a manhunt for her on all fronts.

She put on the cloak. The hood was large enough to cover her entire face, and the hem even dragged on the floor... on the other hand, it fit Tina quite well.

Seeing this, the Astral Sage had no choice but to use magic to do a simple trim.

“Are you going to keep using that Chaos Mask?”

“Yes. I'll return it to you when I'm done.”

“Alright. The material is quite rare—it was left behind by my older sister. Make sure you don't break it.”

Tina wanted to say “Don't worry,” but thinking of the enemies they would soon face, she chose to remain silent.

Normally, Miranda would only need to fly out of the city. However, all teleportation magic scrolls had been rendered useless, and flying would make her an easy target for other paladins.

Moreover, Ulrich controlled the defenses of the entire city of Huelda. His authority spanned the whole city, making Miranda nothing more than a flea right under his nose.

But Tina knew of someone who could help the Astral Sage escape. At least, she would be safe until Ulrich was put on trial by the Church.

Instead of taking the main roads out of the city, they boarded a sightseeing boat on the artificial canal, traveling all the way to the southwestern corner of the city. The Holy Academy was in the east, over thirty kilometers away.

By now, the sun had already risen.

After getting off the boat, they walked up the mountain, arriving at a temple located about three kilometers up, on the mountainside.

A light morning mist shrouded the mountain, casting a hazy light inside the temple. On a stone bench sat a man cradling a tachi. He was humming an unpleasant tune while fiddling with some beads in his hand.

Upon seeing Tina and Miranda, he slightly tilted up his bamboo hat, his clean-shaven chin still carrying a faint scent of alcohol.

“Magnar, I need you to get her out of here.”

“You know me? What's my reward?” The man bit down on a cigar, seemingly shocked that the young girl before him knew his name.

“Is Roserosa's illness cured yet?”

Hearing those four words, Magnar suddenly stood up. Drawing his blade in one fluid motion, it came to rest against Tina's neck with a sharp clank.

“Who are you?”

To his shock, Tina remained completely unfazed. She even took a step forward, tossing an image crystal into his free hand before pulling out a letter.

“This is your reward. Get this girl out of the city without being spotted by the Church.”

“I can help cure Roserosa's illness. But in exchange, I need an assistant in the White Dusk Forest.”

“Give her the letter, and she will naturally send someone to help me.”

Hearing this, Magnar immediately sheathed his blade. Squinting, he carefully inspected the letter.

Once, a faction within the Church had been personally punished by the Pope due to a wrongful judgment. Their leader subsequently broke away from the Church, even spreading negative propaganda about them throughout the streets, which ultimately led to them becoming targets of the Church's suppression campaigns.

They harbored a deep hatred for the Church. Their organization had now spread to every corner of the world, known as the Rebel Army.

Magnar, a general of the Imperial Capital's Rebel Army.

Here, he was practically the highest-ranking person.

Meanwhile, the supreme leader of the Rebel Army, Roserosa, had fallen gravely ill years ago and had been bedridden ever since.

The letter and the image crystal contained records of medicinal herbs compiled by Tina. After all, in another lifetime, Roserosa's illness was nothing significant, not to mention there was magic to accelerate wound healing. In the past, she had earned Roserosa's trust through this and had received a great deal of care from them.

Right now, she didn't have the time to make a separate trip to find that woman.

“...You're quite something,” Magnar said, carefully sizing up the cloaked girl before him.

“Where am I taking her?”

“The Tower of Stars. You should be quite familiar with it.”

“Understood, young lady.”

By now, the Astral Sage standing to the side was completely dazed.

The man before them looked extremely dangerous. The sheer speed of his blade draw was on par with a paladin instructor. Was this how a mere carriage driver was supposed to look?

Roserosa... who was she?

But if they were all people Tina knew, then it made sense.

Ultimately, Tina was an existence that far exceeded her imagination. She possessed strength rivaling Ulrich, an unimaginably vast network of connections, the ability to make calm judgments in the face of danger, and the power to slay magical beasts single-handedly.

In her heart, she grew increasingly curious about who this young girl before her truly was.

In any case, without her help, she really would have died back at the Holy Academy.

“I'm sorry. You're the one who got hurt, yet I'm still causing you trouble.”