TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 96
After Kraush lost consciousness.
Lilish blankly stared down at her younger brother.
When Kraush said there was a way, her Eid had activated once again.
Kraush clearly said he was going to do something dangerous.
But Lilish trusted her younger brother more than her Eid’s judgment.
Her younger brother had lived a life where he could only grow stronger by facing dangers together.
She couldn’t refuse her brother’s request, who had swallowed even curses in his determination to move forward.
And she thought she just needed to protect her younger brother.
However, Lilish realized she had underestimated her younger brother too much.
Kraush’s actions had surpassed the level of danger.
As if he hadn’t considered his own life from the start.
Kraush fought fiercely, solely for the one goal he had set.
After Lilish dodged the falling arms following the collapse of the legs, she finally reached the moment she climbed up the spine.
Then, Kraush came into her view.
It was Kraush, who, after unleashing the Sky-Thundering Annihilation, was frantically stabbing his sword into Agares’s cloak as he tried to escape.
Though his eyes seemed half out of focus as if his mind was half gone.
Kraush, driven by a fervor beyond madness, thrust his sword wildly into the cloak.
That sight was so overwhelming that even Lilish held her breath.
As a result, the cloak was torn apart, and the darkness within it disappeared.
Kraush’s sword, which never stopped, finally severed Agares’s life.
However, the price was devastating.
Kraush’s insides were ravaged by the heat of Annihilation Erosion, to the extent that even his Lunar Body couldn’t suppress it.
So much so that his external skin was blistering from the heat.
But that wasn’t all.
As Ignis disappeared, the result of curses wildly seeping into Kraush’s body.
He was now afflicted with dozens of overlapping curses.
In the midst of it, he managed to neutralize the curses that could have killed him, but merely surviving was the best he could do.
The curses were eating away at Kraush in real time.
Lilish hurriedly poured every potion she had in her possession onto Kraush.
Since his throat was scorched and he couldn’t swallow, she held it in her own mouth and forced it down into him.
However, this was only enough for emergency treatment.
Proper healing was necessary.
Lilish, who was kicked by the collapsing bones, quickly brought Kraush down to the ground.
“Muriel! Come here, right now, right now!”
Then she called for a member of the Sky-Piercing Knight Order who had learned the Recovery Secret Technique.
The Sky-Piercing Knight Order member who rushed over was stunned at the sight of Kraush.
Even to him, who had saved people while traversing numerous World Erosions, Kraush looked terrible.
“Lil, Lady Lilish, this is beyond my capabilities.”
While desperately applying the Recovery Secret Technique to Kraush, his face darkened.
At this point, it was a miracle that Kraush was still breathing.
The only fortunate thing was that Ignis was reigniting within his body, burning away some of the curses.
But since it wasn’t visible from the outside, Muriel thought Kraush looked like he could die at any moment.
He also wanted to save Kraush.
Even during the battle with Agares, Kraush had saved the members of the Sky-Piercing Knight Order several times.
To capture Agares, because if the number of Sky-Piercing Knight Order members decreased, their strength against World Erosion would diminish.
He had no intention of letting even a single one of them die.
The battle with Agares was practically no different from hell.
In that chaos, they genuinely respected Kraush, who had saved them multiple times.
Not as a direct descendant of Balheim, but as Kraush, the individual.
So, Muriel poured out all his strength using the Recovery Secret Technique, but it was not enough to save Kraush.
“Stop talking nonsense. Keep treating him as you run.”
So, Lilish immediately hoisted Kraush onto her back.
She had no intention of losing her younger brother again.
As Kraush had said, she intended to take him to the Saintess.
“I’ll take him.”
At that moment, a figure arrived in front of Lilish.
“Who are you?”
He was clearly the guard who had been by Serang’s side.
When Lilish questioned him upon seeing him, Blavi spoke.
“Save your questions for later. Isn’t this more urgent?”
Due to the fierce battle with Agares, Lilish had also reached her limit long ago.
The fact that her legs were trembling was proof of that.
Blavi had also been running without rest, but it was incomparable to the stamina depletion from the battle with Agares.
Though she didn’t know his true identity, she knew he was Serang’s guard.
So, Lilish trusted him and handed Kraush over.
“I’ll go first.”
After saying that, Blavi vanished in an instant, kicking off the ground.
Lilish was astonished at his incredible speed.
It was a speed that wouldn’t be out of place even if she were at her full strength.
Just then, a crow in the sky flew off after him.
Stagger-
Seeing that, Lilish barely managed to stop herself from collapsing.
She tried to keep her composure, but seeing Kraush made her heart sink.
But she couldn’t just worry about Kraush.
Because all the members of the Sky-Piercing Knight Order, who were in a mess everywhere, were waiting for her orders.
From afar, the Green Wave Knight Order, who had been dealing with the Erosion Species to reduce Agares’s Lord’s Command even slightly, was also approaching.
They had only started coming after Agares’s death.
She was the commander here.
She had to see her duties through to the end.
Believing that Blavi would take good care of Kraush, she straightened her back.
A commander must remain a commander until the end.
“Everyone, join the Green Wave Knight Order and return immediately.”
It was time to return.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Ha, I’m sick of being stuck in this cage.”
Inside the temple, which seemed overly painted in white.
A woman took a step and let out a quiet sigh.
Underneath a white dress embroidered with gold thread one by one.
Her figure, disproportionate to her age, was revealed.
On her beautiful face,
she slowly brushed back her hair that reminded one of the sun.
Then, the stigmata on the back of her hand shone brightly, catching the light coming through the window.
That stigmata signified her status.
The pride of the Holy Kingdom, monopolizing the love of the gods.
Astria Stigma Freeman.
She was the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom Freeman.
Born as a Saintess, she had matured into an adult body at an unprecedented speed, and today, her face was as bored as ever.
“Diona, is there nothing interesting happening today?”
“If there was, you would have found it first, Saintess.”
“Look at you. What kind of way is that to speak to the Saintess?”
The Holy Knight called Diona, who had been following behind her, gave a bitter smile.
Until last year, she hadn’t grumbled like this much, but recently her tantrums had increased noticeably.
The reason was simple.
Upon hearing about Rahelrn Academy, where her peers gathered in droves, she suddenly felt a desire to attend, but her request was promptly rejected.
After being rejected without any consideration of her opinion.
Recently, she had been complaining more often, referring to her situation as a cage.
‘Even the Saintess can go through puberty.’
Though it might be blasphemous, despite the Church’s daily efforts to mold her into the perfect Saintess, she was still human.
Diona, who had been serving her all her life, knew this fact very well.
That’s why she also felt sorry for her.
She was someone who could not freely enjoy what she wanted because of her position.
“Come to think of it, I heard of a strange occurrence recently.”
“If it’s about a new Saintess appearing, it’s nonsense, so you should ignore it.”
“Why? Isn’t that exactly the kind of thing I should be paying close attention to? I’m the world’s only Saintess, after all.”
Even though she knew everything, she wore a face full of mischief.
Diona sighed inwardly.
“As the Saintess said, there is only one Saintess in the world.”
“With so many gods in this world, why only one Saintess? Shouldn’t everyone who receives a god’s blessing be considered a Saintess or Saint?”
“No. The only person in the entire world who can receive blessings from multiple gods is the Saintess. A new Saintess means ultimately a fake Saintess. She cannot replace the Saintess.”
Upon hearing those words, Austria opened her eyes slightly.
“Does Diona really think a Saintess is such a noble person?”
Diona did not respond to that question.
No matter what she said, it wouldn’t be the answer Austria wanted.
“I wouldn’t mind a fake Saintess. If I’m not the only Saintess, I could become a canary flying freely outside the cage.”
“Saintess.”
When Diona advised her that her words were too much, she gave a bitter smile.
Then, as was her habit, she slowly twirled a strand of her hair beside her ear.
“Well, I suppose I should learn the law first.”
Leaving those words behind, Austria resumed walking.
It was because the time for prayer was approaching.
“Saintess!”
That was the moment.
Just before entering the chapel, a figure appeared from behind her with urgent footsteps.
He was a middle-aged man, one of the Church’s High Priests.
Upon seeing him, Austria was filled with curiosity.
He was originally a High Priest in charge of the Church’s diplomacy.
The fact that he was running here, sweating profusely, meant that some incident had occurred.
“The scent of an incident.”
As Austria’s eyes sparkled, Diona gave her a look.
It was a reminder that it was okay in front of her, but not in front of others.
Austria had no choice but to adjust her posture and soon wore a compassionate smile befitting a Saintess.
“Priest Melfiore, what is the matter?”
She earnestly hoped that it would be a new event to alleviate today’s boredom.
She wished fervently inside.
“Se, Serang Sephira, no, the Balheim Direct Line.”
He seemed unable to organize his thoughts properly, stuttering over his words.
As Austria began to lose patience, Melfiore finally shouted.
“In any case, there is someone who needs the Saintess’s healing!”
“Really, you should have said that from the start. Lead the way.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Austria urged Melfiore to guide her.
Whether it was an event to alleviate her boredom or not, it no longer mattered.
If someone requested her healing, it meant their condition was serious.
So, when a healing request came in, she set everything else aside and rushed there first.
That was the kind of person Austria was.
That’s why she could be called a Saintess.
Bang!
“Where is the patient?”
Opening the door to the room usually used for treatment, Austria asked.
She was breathing heavily, having run there without regard for her dignity.
Inside, several figures caught Austria’s eye.
Most of them were people she was seeing for the first time.
In one corner, a girl with white hair was crying and struggling, nearly exhausted.
A woman of the Sephira 3rd Class was barely holding onto the girl.
Beside them, there was a suspicious-looking guard with black hair and a woman with peach-colored hair wearing a veil.
And Austria knew exactly who she was.
“Serang.”
“Austria.”
Since they were acquaintances, they exchanged a brief greeting before Austria moved further inside.
As she pulled back the curtain that had been drawn, Austria instinctively covered her nose.
The stench of a powerful curse was wafting out, so much so that it was a relief she hadn’t grimaced.
The intense scent of the curse, which made her nose tingle, was strong enough to cloud her mind.
On the bed lay a boy.
However, his condition was severe.
His outer skin and insides had melted as if completely burned by fire.
The only fortunate thing was that, being a Lunar Body, the effect of the fire had been reduced.
His body was not in normal condition, likely from having been overworked for a long time.
More than anything, the amount of the curse was the problem.
‘What on earth could have done this?’
Could a human possibly hold so much curse within their body?
She thought that the one who should have been called here first was not her, but a Curse Master.
She could handle low-level curses, but a curse of this magnitude was more suitable for a Curse Master.
Everyone has their area of expertise.
‘Enough. Let’s stop thinking about it.’
From the moment she arrived here, her task was already decided.
It was to heal the boy who looked like he had just been pulled out of a fiery pit.
Immediately, she placed her hand on the boy’s body along with the curtain.
Then, she began to draw up her Divine Power.
She, who was imbued with the blessings of the gods, was evaluated as the world’s only multi-skill user.
She used a total of seven skills.
All seven were related to healing, acquired solely to save people.
Some priests suggested that she should learn at least one skill to protect herself.
But she paid no heed and only learned skills related to healing.
With so many guards to protect her.
She thought there was no need to waste time learning offensive skills.
Thus, she was evaluated as the greatest specialist in the Healing Arts among all Saintesses in history.
‘I need to regenerate the soft skin, reassemble the broken bones, check the internal organs, continuously supply stamina, and weaken the curse as much as possible. How much potion did they pour in? The emergency treatment was done, but the bones and muscles are set awkwardly. This part is soft, and it needs to be redone.’
While assessing Kraush’s condition, she used both her Divine Power and skills simultaneously.
Drip drip-
Given how severe the boy’s condition was, sweat dripped from her forehead.
As she did so, she gradually began to realize one thing.
The curse residing in the boy’s body was not harming him.
It was simply flowing as gently as an aura.
Although she was taken aback by the unprecedented situation, it was fortunate that it did not hinder the healing process.
Though the large curse forming his body was concerning, she managed to complete the healing after much difficulty.
After wiping the sweat from her face, she was finally able to see the boy’s face properly.
Black hair tinged with blue.
Thick eyelashes and sharply defined eyes.
An appearance that seemed mature for his age.
During the healing process, she realized that he was not much different in age from herself.
‘He’s handsome.’
She was surprised to find herself evaluating someone else’s appearance.
She had felt no particular interest even when the maids whispered about the handsome holy knights.
To think she would call a boy her age handsome.
‘Was this my type?’
Upon reflection, the sharp eyes seemed to detract from his appearance rather than enhance it.
She let out a cough, wondering what she was thinking about a patient.
The healing was completed with this.
With blessings related to stamina recovery applied, he should recover quickly.
Just as she felt the stiffness in her shoulders and was about to inform the people outside about the boy’s condition,
“Ah, Stria.”
A voice suddenly called out her name from the boy’s mouth.
Though they were not acquainted, and it was audacious of him to call out the saintess’s name so casually, she glanced back at him.
Despite not being in a state to regain consciousness, the boy was looking at her with faintly blue eyes.
It was an incredible mental strength.
“I didn’t skip the date on purpose, I swear.”
And at the moment she heard the boy mumbling, doubt crept into her eyes.
A date? He didn’t skip it on purpose?
What was he talking about so abruptly?
She blinked, then soon saw him breathing raggedly and brushed her hair aside.
‘It must be sleep-talking.’
What were the odds that her name would come up in his sleep-talking by chance?
She averted her gaze from the boy and drew back the curtain.
There stood the white-haired girl she had seen earlier.
Seeing her eyes red from crying so much, Austria smiled.
It was also her favorite time.
“The patient is safe. Please check on him.”
It was the most rewarding time, being able to bring relief to the family who had been more worried about the patient than anyone else.