Chapter 73
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While Ceres was casually snacking in the kitchen, she sensed an enormous amount of magical energy. She immediately realized it was coming from far above.
"You lot, stay close to me!"
Ceres moved closer to the three people in the kitchen—Ragvela, Jeevy, and Deena—and deployed a barrier of light with all her strength.
Immediately after, a blinding and overwhelming light filled the world.
Ceres quickly understood that it was an attack using Holy Magic. At the same time, she was relieved it was Holy Magic. While effective against Monsters, it had little effect on ordinary humans.
(A surprise attack aimed at Yuurai, huh? If she hadn't gone to the Eyeless Tribe's town, she might've been in real danger. But... Aquell will probably be annihilated.)
Aquell was probably in the library of the east wing. He still lacked the energy to do anything proactive, but he spent most of his days reading.
Maybe Aquell was mistaken for Yuurai and got attacked. In a way, he might have ended up taking the hit for her.
The dazzling light didn't subside easily.
If it had been Holy Magic of a normal level, Ceres's light barrier should have been enough to block it. However, the attack was so powerful that she felt her entire body burning. It was enough to cause burns, like being doused with scalding water.
(...If it's just burns, they can be healed with magic or Recovery Potions. It's not a problem. Debris is flying too, but not with enough force to blow away the barrier. ...I can hold out!)
Ceres's Magical Energy was ninety-five thousand. In contrast, it seemed this Holy Magic contained several hundred thousand units of magical power. It wasn't easy to block, but not impossible either.
It probably took about five minutes for the light to subside. But since Ceres had been maintaining the barrier at full power, it felt much longer to her.
Once the light faded and she could check her surroundings, Ceres released the barrier.
"...Tch. The whole castle's blown away."
All around, there were heaps of rubble. The once-impressive castle had completely collapsed.
"Are you all okay?"
Ceres turned around to check on the three girls. They had burns, but all three were alive. Ceres let out a sigh of relief.
"Y-You're more badly burned than we are, Ceres!"
"...I'm fine. I'm used to injuries like this. I'll heal them later."
"But..."
"More importantly, the problem is them."
Ceres looked up at the sky. Floating above were five winged suits of silver armor.
"...What are those? Angels...?"
The angels descended to the ground. Ceres readied her sword, but the angels didn't seem hostile.
After surveying the area for a while, the angels ascended again and flew off somewhere.
"...So they were only targeting the Undead? Still, are they with the church? If they had that kind of power, they should've used it in the last battle..."
Ceres sheathed her sword.
Looking around again, she saw that all the buildings in the town center had been completely destroyed. Probably more than half of the town's buildings were severely damaged. But thanks to it being Holy Magic, the buildings in the outskirts were unharmed.
"...Ugh. Doing something half-baked like this is just going to make the Demon King rampage again."
Originally, this attack was probably meant to annihilate Yuurai. But because she happened to be away, it failed.
Maybe they couldn't give the angel specific instructions, which is why they didn't precisely target the Demon King. It had a similar aura to the Fiends summoned by the Demon King.
"Well, if the Demon King had been here, she might've just absorbed the magical power and ended it... Huh? Is that charred figure over there Gilka...?"
A short distance from the Lord's Castle grounds, there was a humanoid figure completely blackened and two swords lying nearby. Since Gilka couldn't use defensive magic, maybe she couldn't withstand that light.
"...Dead? If so, she'll either join the Undead or get resurrected at the cost of another ten thousand lives."
Ceres ran toward Gilka. Deena tried to follow.
"Deena, just in case, go find a Recovery Potion and bring it. There should be one somewhere. Ragvela and the others should be able to find it even under the rubble."
"Ah, okay! Got it!"
Ceres headed toward Gilka alone.
Even up close, the charred thing didn't look like Gilka. Her skin, hair, and clothes were all burned to a crisp. But the swords lying nearby were unmistakably Gilka's, so this had to be her.
"Hey, are you still alive?"
Ceres crouched and held her palm over Gilka's mouth.
It was faint, but she was still breathing.
"Heh, you're one tough cookie. Still alive after all this? Maybe you're already an Undead or something?"
Naturally, there was no reply. Even if she were conscious, she probably couldn't speak.
"If I move you carelessly, your body might fall apart and you'll die... I'm not good at healing magic, but..."
Ceres used her dwindling magical power to cast a healing spell on Gilka. Ceres specialized in combat magic and wasn't good with healing. At best, she could heal cuts, but it was better than doing nothing.
"Gilka!"
Deena caught up and shouted with a tearful expression. She had several Recovery Potions in her hands.
Deena used the Recovery Potions to heal Gilka's wounds. The burns were severe, so she couldn't be fully healed right away.
Even so, with time, Gilka gradually regained her recognizable appearance. From completely charred, she now looked like someone with severe burns. It was still painful to look at, but at least she looked human again.
However, normal Recovery Potions could only heal so much at once, so they had to leave her like this for now.
"...Well, at least she won't die. But we can't let our guard down yet. Let's move her somewhere indoors."
"Okay..."
Ceres picked up Gilka's body. A moment ago, it had seemed like she might fall apart if touched, but now it was holding together.
She carried Gilka to a relatively intact house and laid her on a bed. She also used a Magical Tool to warm the room.
"Deena, stay here and keep an eye on her for a while. Well, she's probably not going to die, so don't worry."
"Okay..."
"I'm going back to the castle to check the situation. ...Well, I don't really care what's going on with Fia and Aquell and the others, though."
Ceres returned to the ruined castle. There, she found Fia casually walking around.
"You're okay?"
Even when Ceres spoke to her, Fia showed no expression. She looked like a completely different person from when Yuurai talked to her.
"...The Demon King allowed me to use magic to protect myself."
"I see. Well, I'm glad you're safe."
Fia walked off somewhere. Ceres wasn't particularly interested in her, so she let her go.
Then she found Ragvela and Jeevy near the east wing. They were trying to move rubble, but compared to Ceres, they were too weak to make much progress.
"Gilka's alive for now, so don't worry. So, is someone buried there?"
"...Yeah."
"...Already dead, though."
The Eyeless Tribe perceived their surroundings without sight. They could at least detect what was buried.
"I see. Well, let's at least give them a proper burial."
Ceres helped clear the rubble, and they found three charred corpses.
They were huddled together as if trying to protect someone, but the body of Aquell, who should have been protected, was nowhere to be found.
He had probably been completely annihilated by the Holy Magic.
"...He had finally come to terms with living as an Undead, and now he's just gone. Poor guy. Those three attendants also ended up dead... Well, they were clearly suffering, so maybe it's better this way."
Even if it was for someone important, those three had killed many people. Ceres knew they had been tormented by that. It was doubtful whether they could continue living properly.
Maybe ending it before something broke was a salvation for them.
"...So, the biggest damage is the castle, the town, and Gilka. Gilka's wounds will heal eventually, but the castle and town are beyond saving..."
Ceres had spent a long time here and had grown used to the place. She felt it was a shame it was gone.
"Now then, I wonder how the Demon King will react to this situation...?"