Chapter 75
With Yuurai's help, Lipia cast healing magic on Gilka.
That reduced the burn scars, but it wasn't enough for a full recovery.
Apparently, standard healing magic doesn't endlessly heal wounds. Once someone recovers to a certain extent from a severe injury, the body lacks the nutrients and mana to continue healing.
To achieve full recovery, Gilka would need to be nourished and allowed to rest for mana restoration.
However, since Gilka wouldn't wake up, she lacked the necessary nutrients. Something like an IV drip would've been ideal, but unfortunately, it didn't exist. Yuurai considered using Marionette magic to force Gilka's body to move and feed her, but decided to wait a bit.
Once there was nothing more she could do for Gilka, Lipia healed the others' wounds. Minor burns were fully healed in no time.
Incidentally, Fia was almost unscathed. The moment she sensed an incoming attack, she apparently shielded herself with a thick wall of earth. Since Holy Magic is less effective on anything but Monsters, it seemed to have blocked most of the damage.
While waiting for Gilka to wake up, Yuurai searched for a new place for them to live. What caught her eye was a spacious house in the Southern District.
It was a stylish brick house with three stories. It seemed to have belonged to someone wealthy and was spacious enough for about twenty people to live comfortably. It wasn't as absurdly large as the Lord's Castle, but it was more than enough to live in.
Gilka was also moved there.
Even the next morning, Gilka still hadn't woken up.
Yuurai wasn't too keen on the idea, but decided to use Marionette magic to force Gilka's body to move and feed her. Simply moving her body was one thing, but making her swallow something was difficult—still, she managed.
"......Why won't Gilka wake up?"
Standing beside the bed where Gilka slept, Yuurai muttered. Claire and Lipia were at her sides, and right now there were only four of them in the room, including Gilka.
"......Maybe she's being eaten away by some kind of curse."
Claire said, looking pensive.
"A curse......? I don't sense any strange mana though...... Lipia, do you feel anything?"
"Mm... not exactly, but maybe there's something off about the mana flow...?"
"Like what?"
"Hmm... It's like there's mana mixed in that doesn't belong to Gilka...?"
"Is it the effect of that magic...?"
It was unclear what the armored Angel-like beings had done. All they could guess was that it was some form of Holy Magic.
If that effect still lingered, how were they supposed to investigate it?
(If only I had some kind of appraisal magic... The best I can do is Spirit Sight? Guess I'll give it a try...)
Hoping to find a clue, Yuurai activated Spirit Sight.
"......Huh?"
The soul overlapping Gilka's body was wrapped in a sparkling mist. It emitted an unpleasant light, and Yuurai frowned.
"......What is this?"
Yuurai tried to touch the mist with her right hand, but her fingers passed through it like air.
"......Would it disappear if I channeled mana into Gilka?"
She poured mana into Gilka, trying to dispel the unpleasant mist.
Crackle.
Her right hand was repelled.
"Ow!"
"Yuurai......"
"My fingers!"
"Huh...? Oh, my fingers are gone."
Her index, middle, and ring fingers on her right hand were gone up to the first joint.
If Yuurai were a normal human, channeling mana might not have been a problem. But whatever clung to Gilka clearly rejected the power of Monsters.
"That hurts... It'll heal, but it'll be inconvenient for a while..."
An Undead's body doesn't heal instantly. Even so, she had enough regenerative ability for her missing fingers to gradually recover. Healing magic would speed it up. Even with her fingertips gone, Yuurai wasn't panicked.
"I'll heal you! Don't worry!"
"Yeah. Thanks. That helps."
Lipia quickly cast healing magic. The bleeding stopped immediately. It would probably take half a day for the fingers to fully heal.
While Lipia was doing her best, Claire asked suspiciously.
"Yuurai, what happened?"
"Something weird clinging to Gilka's soul repelled me. I think it's a remnant of Holy Magic. Claire, any idea what it might be?"
"......I don't know. At the very least, it's not the kind of Holy Magic Emeralda uses."
"So it's an unknown force... I'm the only one who can see it, but touching it is dangerous... Could I absorb it with Absorption...?"
She tried activating Absorption magic with her left hand. She managed to take in a small portion of the mist, but trying to absorb it all would likely damage Gilka's soul as well.
"It's hard without precise control... I might end up killing Gilka. Hmm... Would killing that Angel fix this...?"
"......Or maybe someone who can use the same Holy Magic could do something."
"So, should we ask Emeralda?"
"That might be best."
"Emeralda's in the Holy Capital, right? Should we take Gilka there, or bring Emeralda here...?"
(No, there's also the option of borrowing the Blessed Child's power... They can probably use Holy Magic too.)
Either way, they'd have to go to the Holy Capital.
She had no intention of letting it end with them being the only ones hurt, so it was perfect timing.
"......Claire. Lipia. I'm heading to the Holy Capital for a bit. Want to come with me?"
"I'm going."
Lipia answered immediately.
"......Why don't you just order me to come along?"
Claire still wanted to be commanded.
"Then it's an order. Come with me. I'm scared to go alone. ...I want to avoid destroying the entire Holy Capital. Minimum destruction is fine."
"......Yuurai, did you just black out a little?"
"T-That was kind of weird just now...?"
Yuurai snapped out of it and shook her head.
"I-I'm fine, I'm fine... I'm okay..."
As Yuurai took a deep breath, Lipia hugged her.
"I'll always be by your side, so don't worry. Even if it's just me, I'll stop you if I have to."
"If it's just Lipia, I'd be worried. I'll stop you too."
Claire hugged Yuurai as well. Sandwiched between the two, Yuurai's heart quickly calmed.
"......I'm counting on both of you."
Yuurai smiled and steeled herself for the journey to the Holy Capital.
It was the place that hated the Demon King the most, so a battle was likely inevitable.
She would avoid killing and minimize damage as much as possible.
Gilka's recovery was the top priority.
Excessive retaliation wasn't acceptable.
"......If they'd just leave me alone, I'd stay quiet. But they keep messing with me, so I have to act..."
Yuurai let out a deep sigh.
She prayed that never again would tens of thousands of people die.