Chapter 64
“The crack is fading!”
Dering’s shout snapped Awhin out of his thoughts.
The deep fracture in the barrier stone glowed with holy light and slowly disappeared. While the others marveled at the scene, Awhin’s eyes stayed on Deonis.
His handsome face had changed, ever so slightly—as if he were in pain. But that was impossible. Awhin shook his head slowly.
“How long will it hold?”
Deonis had stepped closer, asking quietly. Awhin searched his expression again, but there was no trace of pain left.
“If it receives sunlight, it should take a day to function properly. Once the gap is fully repaired, it will last at least a week.”
“A week… Then within that time we can bring a priest to restore the barrier completely.”
“Yes. For now, we should clear the remaining monsters inside the barrier and return.”
If they hurried, they could reach the base before sunrise. Just then, Melody stepped between them.
“So it won’t start working until tomorrow at noon?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
She lowered her eyes, thinking for a moment, then lifted her head with determination. Her gaze locked straight on Awhin.
“Sir Awhin, will you help me clear my name?”
Without hesitation, Awhin answered,
“Of course. I will make sure your honor is restored.”
“Then… why don’t we do it in a big, flashy way?”
Confusion flickered across Awhin’s face. Melody’s eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she grinned.
* * *
The next monster attack came at dawn.
Serel rose wearily from his bed as shouts of knights filled the camp. Days of constant attacks had drained him. His old body had only joined the expedition because the Emperor had ordered it.
After the capital’s barrier collapse was revealed, the Emperor commanded him personally. He couldn’t refuse. He had to protect the temple from shouldering all the blame.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”
A priest entered, announcing the visitor. Outside stood Rayan, armor stained with grime and monster blood, waiting before Serel’s tent.
“I trust you were not asleep.”
“I was offering prayers.”
Rayan, too, was a victim of this chaos. He had insisted on leading the second wave to seize credit, but now the situation had turned against him. The barrier stone’s recovery had failed, throwing everything into confusion.
And there was more.
“How are the ones I healed?”
“They are all recovering well.”
Benedict’s plan had been ruined because of Ryan.
Mana Sickness was a disease that appeared when someone received too much divine power. At first, when the barrier began weakening, it was dismissed as mere fatigue or ringing in the ears.
But over time, the symptoms worsened—red blotches spreading on the skin, the body stiffening like stone, and finally death. No amount of divine power helped; it only hastened the end. No cure was known.
Yet Rayan, the pampered crown prince, had somehow produced a remedy. Those at death’s door recovered miraculously.
Benedict’s attempt to discredit magic tools had collapsed. Instead, Rayan’s reputation rose. People praised not the temple, nor magic, but the prince himself—though he had no idea what was really happening, only that he hated being dragged to the battlefield.
“I’ve come for the goddess’s blessing. Can’t you grant me more than the others?”
It was the ritual before entering battle. Serel knelt, pressing his lips to the prince’s robe.
“May the goddess rest upon the edge of Your Highness’s blade.”
Rayan’s hand rested on Serel’s shoulder.
“And you’ll just sit here and pray, won’t you?”
His tone dripped with disdain. With a grimace, Rayan marched unwillingly toward the monsters.
The knights roared as they charged. Steel clashed, monsters shrieked, and screams followed.
Serel narrowed his eyes at the battlefield. Rayan’s elite guards gave them an advantage, but soon the lines faltered.
“Soon we’ll have to retreat into the duke’s land,” Serel muttered, clicking his tongue.
Once inside Kalau territory, he could bide his time and perhaps return to the capital. By then, the purifying mages would have arrived here.
“Your Holiness, your shoulder…”
Following the priest’s gesture, Serel saw monster fluid smeared where Rayan had touched. The childish insult made his brow crease.
“I’ll have to change.”
He turned toward his tent—then froze.
A bright pillar of light shot into the sky.
“What is that?!”
Everyone fell silent, staring. Soon, monsters stumbled and weakened. It was the light of the barrier stone.
“Your Holiness, the barrier has been restored! We’re saved!”
“What?!”
Serel stared in shock. Impossible. Survivors, still alive in that forest? It couldn’t be.
Knights dismounted, tearing off helmets in relief. The light grew closer, streaming from the forest. Serel rushed down the slope toward it in panic.
“The light is coming toward us!”
The glow broke through the trees, dazzling them. Serel squinted, trying to see past it. Something heavy crashed before his feet.
“Arghhh!”
It was the severed head of a Grizzlyfang, larger than a man’s body. Serel shrieked, stumbling back as a massive shadow fell over him.
“It’s been a while, Your Holiness,” Deonis said, his gaze lowered coldly. Black monster blood dripped from his fingertips.
“D-Duke Deonis…!”
With priests’ help, Serel scrambled up—only to see the true source of the light.
Melody.
She held a round jewel, pouring out a glow that looked divine.
Knights who had always thought only the High Priest could show such light now stared in disbelief.
“My god…”
“That—that’s the magic tool maker!”
“She’s the one who saved us?!”
“It’s the Holy Knights! The Duke’s knights are back!”
“Then it was the magic tool maker who saved everyone…!”
“She looks like a saint sent down by the goddess!”
Voices rose from every direction. Serel forced a stiff smile, though his face twisted inside.
“Welcome back, my lord. May the goddess bless you—”
“No. Not the goddess,” Deonis cut in. “It was the blessing of the magic tool.”
“!!”
Serel’s face froze in horror.
