Chapter 109
○○○
The air at Angie’s feet shimmers.
It’s the precursor to a massive flame.
A deafening roar—a pillar of fire engulfs her.
○○○
I forcibly reactivate Autostrada del Sole by pouring in mana—it’s not fast enough—I brace myself and plunge into the flames—I grab Angie and set her down next to Sensei.
She’s unconscious. But breathing—
I let out a sigh of relief at that.
—Then it should be manageable.
But her burns are severe, especially on her legs. I remember hearing once that if burns cover more than 10% of the body surface, it can be life-threatening.
Also, if the lungs or esophagus are burned, it can affect breathing and be fatal.
I’m not sure how accurate my memories or knowledge are, but it seems there isn’t much time to spare.
What I can do now—I douse Angie’s entire body with a potion, unsure if she can swallow it.
From here on, I have no room for error in the procedure.
I take out a certain item from my magic bag.
I never thought I’d have to use this thing so soon.
I grab the lantern-shaped object—Absolute Freeze—and immediately designate the effect area centered on the source of Fire God’s Throw, then toss it. Here goes nothing.
Saint Mika is protected by a strong barrier.
I leave Eris and Angie’s recovery to Sensei.
Ash will act as a defensive pillar to protect them.
And I, to convey this to Sensei and Ash, deactivate Autostrada del Sole once more.
Just as I’m about to speak,
—Crack! Crack! CRACK!!
The ice spilling from the lantern begins to invade the surroundings with explosive force, as if devouring the flames—but the flames also start to supply—no, oversupply the surrounding fire mana—expanding their influence—neither giving an inch as they intertwine, and well, with clearly dangerous sounds like CRACK-SNAP-BOOM-CRASH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH, the space itself screams.
「Uwooooooooooooooooh!!」
I scream too, for good measure.
This is bad! This is bad!
I might have made things even worse!
「Son-in-law!」
Sensei looks at me with a slightly exasperated expression.
「What in the world are you doing……」
Seeing me panicking and flustered, Sensei lets out a light sigh.
「Well, never mind. Leave this to me. I’ll clean up after you…… Well, look forward to our little chat after this is over.」
Sorry, future me! I’m counting on you!
I shove all the blame onto my future self with all my might. And then—
「By the way, Ash! I’m leaving the defense of this place to you! And Sensei—Sensei is」
Sensei, whom I was about to ask to handle recovery, now wears a serious expression as she starts dealing with the aftermath of the ice and flame disaster.
Recovery role…… What should I do……
As I rack my brain for a moment—
「Sanctuary Genesis」
Ash’s voice activates the skill.
Sensing something, Sensei, her hands full, lets out an astonished exclamation.
「What…… I never imagined it would be to this extent」
What do you mean 「to this extent」!?
If you’re going to explain, at least finish it!!
Reluctantly, I consider the situation before me while trying to escape reality—however,
There’s only one optimal solution in this situation.
So, as usual, I steel myself and let out a sigh.
○○○
「Saint Mika, I want to entrust you with the recovery of these two.」
She should be able to handle burns of this level (as long as they’re not dead) easily.
Or so I thought—but what’s the reality?
Saint Mika, with a pale face, keeps her eyelashes lowered. Her slender shoulders tremble so much it’s visible even through her equipment, looking like she might collapse at any moment.
「I’m, sorry, I can’t…」
Her response is vague, but it’s understandable why she’s in this state.
「I, can’t, I…」
This might be what they call psychological trauma. I’ve heard that normally you forget, but the moment you see the object, the fear from back then resurfaces.
When Saint Mika and I delved into the Mirror Dungeon before, I executed a zombie attack against the Crystal Doll.
It was only possible because of her healing, which exceeded a hundred times over. After all, it was just the two of us in that decisive battle.
She healed me countless times.
But I, the one in question, had my guts spilled out, bones protruding from twisted legs, being cleaved in two diagonally—my state was beyond words.
She must have endured, holding her breath, all the horrors—visual, olfactory, auditory—that could only be described as gruesome.
Above all, if I had fallen, she wouldn’t have made it back alive either. There’s no way she didn’t feel fear.
That’s right.
It’s not strange for Mika to have suffered some kind of mental wound.
And before her eyes now stands the Crystal Doll, a symbol of that terror.
But even so, I—
「Pull yourself together, Mika!」
I can’t help but wish.
「Who else can treat these two?!」
I might be doing something cruel.
But I keep repeating 「but」 to Mika, wishing she would fulfill her role as the healer who saves everyone—a role that should be heavy and painful, but I believe she can do it.
I can’t help but long for her past radiance.
「Mika. Choose one.」
No need for thought.
「Either remain as the pitiful trembling lamb you are now. Or—」
What’s needed is a sincere feeling overflowing from the bottom of your heart.
「Become a singular entity standing alone before God, not as Saint Mika, but as Mika the healer」
It’s not because she’s a saint that she heals, but because she’s Mika—that’s the kind of person she used to be.
「It’s okay. Whatever you choose, I’ll figure something out.」
I should be able to handle it somehow…… I think.
「I—」
Even so, she—
「Who are you calling a trembling, pitiful lamb?!」
It’s a cry from her very soul.
○○○
The situation is set.
All that’s left is the Crystal Doll.
Unlike last time, this is a perfect one-on-one match.
「Oh-ho, you’re all fired up, aren’t you? This time, we’re gonna beat you to a pulp, so just you wait.」
I ready the Magic Sword Gram, fully transitioning into battle mode.
────────────
BGM: MEGALOMANIA
If you enjoy it and wish to see more, please consider giving it a 5-star rating for the series on NU. Click Here.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link