The Road to Erebor Kingdom
Suddenly, everything in front of my eyes turned pure white. '...Divine punishment?' Of course not. The gods couldn't interfere with us anyway. 'My optic nerves must be damaged.' I thought about it lightly, but since Angelica's regeneration could heal it, I didn't worry much. Besides, it was inevitable. The human body is fragile. No matter how thoroughly I coated my insides with mana, human skin with its low resistance couldn't withstand this much current and high pressure. At least I'd wrapped myself in lightning-attribute mana beforehand and protected my organs with the circle's mana, so the damage stopped here. Without that, cardiac arrest would have killed me long ago.
"Sirmiiaaa!" Angelica's spine-chilling scream rang out. Why was she the one screaming when I was the one injured?
"S-Sirmiia! Are you all right?"
'Of course I am.'
"Kgh..." Truthfully, I wasn't. Trying to speak felt like my throat was being torn apart, so I couldn't make a sound. 'Did my vocal cords burn out?' Well, that was inevitable too. I decided to think positively. Since answering was a hassle anyway, this was actually convenient.
"I told you not to do anything reckless!" The hero shouted, veins bulging. He looked furious. I'd never seen him this angry before. But was this really my fault? 'This only happened because none of you bastards listened to me.'
Anger suddenly boiled up inside me. 'I need to beat the hell out of them to feel better.' Since I couldn't check my vision, I'd have to spread my senses to track their movements. Or just smash everything. Honestly, the latter sounded more appealing because it was less trouble. If it appealed, I should act on it. I spread my senses. Four presences total. Excluding Seria behind me, the three in front should be the saintess, the hero, and Angelica.
First, the saintess in the rear had the weakest body among them, so I couldn't attack her. She'd probably burn to ash the instant my lightning hit. Since the heal shuttle was at risk of dying, it was wiser not to attack her at all. 'Angelica... she'll survive on her own with that regeneration.' That left the two in front as targets. But could I really fight without dragging the saintess into it? Honestly, I wasn't sure. I'd only used Thunder God three times since developing it in the demon realm, and even those were just for adaptation, never in actual combat.
Still, the saintess's safety wasn't my concern. That was the hero's job. Protecting the saintess had always been the hero's duty, hadn't it? If he had any sense, he'd keep her safe. 'Anyway, prepare yourselves.' I raised both arms. A little mana had recovered in my circle. I shaped my fingers like a gun and condensed altered mana at the tip of my index finger. Then I aimed at the two of them and fired.
'Bang.'
KWAAANG! My action was casual, but the result was terrifying. The pre-condensed mana accelerated via electromagnetic force and shot straight toward the two of them. Sirmiia Original Technique [Personal Skill] Electromagnetic Projection Cannon. 'Die.'
The hero never saw Sirmiia's attack coming. He didn't even register that something had been launched. He only felt instinctive danger the moment she raised her arms. He didn't ignore it. Following his body's command, he drew his sword and swung it vertically while chanting a spell. Protective. Shield. Despite the urgency, he managed a double chant in that split second. The hero's talent was the real deal. Yet he could instinctively tell—this couldn't be blocked.
Angelica had already grasped the flow of mana with her dragon eyes. 'Sirmiia... most humans would die if they used something like this.' Of course, only most "humans." She spun her circle to check her remaining mana. Less than 1% remained. 'This should be enough.' She was a dragon. Not an ordinary one, either—a genius whose power rivaled even the Dragon Lords. Even with only 1% of her mana, it was on a completely different level from a human's. 'Still, I don't want to get hurt, so I'd better play it safe.' She tapped the air. Space cracked, and a ring fell out. She snatched it and slipped it onto her index finger. Just then, Sirmiia's Electromagnetic Projection Cannon arrived. Angelica flicked her finger. Transcendent Spell Unbreakable Shield (Frozen Absolute Defense). Crack. The moment Sirmiia's cannon touched the shield, it froze solid, vanishing as if it had never existed. 'Sirmiia... seeing you pull these reckless stunts again makes me think you need another round of education.'
The hero's holy sword clashed with the Electromagnetic Projection Cannon and was sent flying. The defensive spells tore apart like paper, utterly useless. Yet the holy sword's durability was immense—its blade remained undamaged. The hero's arms, however, were not so fortunate. Both wrists were bent at ninety degrees exactly where he'd gripped the sword. The skin on his arms had been completely flayed and burned from the inside out. His upper body was torn open from his right shoulder down to his chest. The arm still dangling from the remaining quarter of his shoulder looked ready to fall off at any moment. His lower face was so mangled it was unrecognizable, and the burns were severe.
"Kuhk..." The hero coughed up blood from what used to be his mouth. Blood was already pouring from countless holes in his body, so the amount he vomited seemed relatively small. "Kyaaa! Ian!" The saintess screamed and rushed toward him. "I-Ian, what do we do..." She examined his wounds, tears welling as she panicked. The hero, however, didn't care about himself—he just wished she'd hurry up and heal him. Even as the hero, Ian couldn't endure wounds this severe. He was on the verge of death. An ordinary human would have died instantly. Even if he miraculously survived, the pain would have sent him into fatal shock. The only reason Ian was still holding on was because he had passed the trials and received the goddess's blessing as the hero.
Heal. The saintess began casting, shaking her head. 'You idiot. A low-level spell won't heal Ian's wounds.' Instead of continuing with Heal, she knelt and began praying to the goddess. Lord... please heal Ian's wounds. Please stop his pain. Please free him from his suffering. But that doesn't mean let him die... You understand my heart, don't you? Please, Lord. Saintess's Unique Magic Perfect Healing. Fresh flesh sprouted across the hero's shoulder. The burns vanished, the gaping hole in his chest closed, and broken bones realigned. Several minutes later, the hero's wounds were completely healed. The saintess's magic was truly remarkable. Though it had consumed a portion of the hero's life force, it had revived a man on the brink of death. It was worthy of the saintess who performed the goddess's miracles.
"Thank you, Saintess Aria." "Ian... I'm so glad." The saintess sniffled and threw herself into the hero's arms. He found it rather bothersome, but pushing away the saintess who had saved his life would go against a hero's virtues, so he stayed still. 'Sirmiia...' Yet his mind was more occupied with Sirmiia, who was now facing off against the dragon in the distance, than with the saintess embracing him. "Sniff. Don't get hurt, Ian..." 'I hope Sirmiia doesn't get hurt because of that evil dragon...' Even though he'd nearly died to Sirmiia moments ago, he was worried about her instead. If the saintess could read his thoughts, she probably would have slapped him. Ian was clearly not in his right mind.
"Sirmiia, I'm here." Since I couldn't speak, I only managed a pained groan and frowned. Angelica clicked her tongue and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, I could communicate with her without words. Some kind of telepathy? Well, at least we could talk now. 'Angelica?' "Yes, it's me. Your Angelica." 'Hearing that creepy line, it's definitely you.' "Sirmiia... please stop using such vulgar language. Why must you taint such pretty lips?" 'I don't want to. More importantly, Seria's safe, right? If you did anything to her, I won't let it slide.' "Mmph, mmph..." 'Too bad. I could've killed you.' Angelica removed her hand from Seria's mouth and released her.