Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Living Flames (4)
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The open space at the village entrance, now blocked off again by surging flames, was a chaotic scene shrouded in gloom.
“Hic... Hic...”
“It's no use... It's all wrong...”
Sobbing people, those slumped in despair, and others who couldn't even muster that much energy.
Having hope snatched away after it was given was the worst feeling of all. They'd thought they were rescued, only to be trapped again—draining what little strength they had left.
Fortunately, the area Galen had secured was spacious enough for the number of rescued villagers, so the heat didn't reach them directly, preventing any major panic.
“Just hold on a little longer!”
“The Young Master will catch the culprits soon!”
The two guards Galen had left behind were proving their worth in this crisis.
They might have been treated like extras when escorting Gold-rankers, but judged on absolute terms, Silver-rankers were elite enough.
They could slaughter dozens of armed commoners without breaking a sweat.
And as attendants to a high noble, they seemed like grim reapers to ordinary villagers.
Thanks to them, order was maintained with just a glare.
Tadak!
It was around then that Lilia burst through the flames into the clearing.
The guards approached curiously at the sight of her carrying one person on her back and cradling another, only to pale in horror.
“Y-Young Master?!”
“We're going straight into surgery.”
Lilia cut right to the chase.
“Spread some clothes on the ground at least. Get clean cloths and bandages ready.”
“Y-Yes!”
The guards hurriedly rummaged through their bags, dumping supplies onto the ground and laying out a makeshift surface.
Lilia carefully laid Veron down on it, then glanced toward the villagers.
The already dismal mood was now digging toward rock bottom.
The guards had just been reassuring everyone in the Young Master's name, and now here he was, half-dead on a stretcher. The backlash was inevitable.
If desperation deepened further, control would slip away. Realizing this instinctively, Lilia stood up.
“Brothers! Sisters!”
Her clear voice rang out brightly across the entire clearing.
At the same time, a brilliant light erupted from her raised right hand.
Paaah!
The staff forged by the Miracle of Radiance materialized.
“O-Oh!”
“I-Is that a bishop?”
Even commoners unfamiliar with miracles knew creating a staff of light was no small feat. Anyone could see that.
Lilia slammed the staff into the ground and shouted.
“You're all safe, so don't worry! The culprit will be caught soon! Just hold on until then!”
The words themselves were no different from what the guards had said.
But the speaker was.
From cradle to grave, ordinary folk bound to the church their whole lives held immeasurable trust in clergy.
Especially from a high-ranking priestess shining brighter than the deacons or priests they saw occasionally—her declaration rang like absolute truth.
“Got it!”
The villagers regained their calm in an instant.
Lilia flashed a benevolent smile, then quickly sat back down.
It had taken less than a minute to soothe them. The guards had finished preparations in the meantime.
Resuming a grave expression fitting the situation, Lilia tore open the clothing around the wound site like ripping a drum skin.
Mangled flesh intertwined with shattered bone fragments and embedded armor shards came into view.
“Th-This is...”
Even battle-hardened guards who had killed more than a few felt their stomachs churn at the gruesome injury. A faint-hearted person might faint just looking.
“It was a sneak attack. We didn't see it coming at all, so we couldn't react.”
But Lilia didn't blink. She replied calmly while her hands kept moving.
Pit! Pit! Pit!
As the Miracle of Purification disinfected the wound, large visible fragments were removed in seconds.
Soon, she picked up a small knife and glanced up at the guards, speaking rapidly.
“One of you, watch the guy I carried here closely. Make sure he doesn't cause trouble or harm himself. We need him talking later.”
“Y-Yes!”
“The other, keep an eye on the villagers. Patrol the perimeter too.”
“B-But can't we help—”
“Letting me focus without worrying about the surroundings is helping.”
“U-Understood!”
Her usual sunny smile gone, replaced by a poised demeanor radiating authority. The guards straightened instinctively and barked their replies.
That was when it happened.
Kuwaaaang!
A massive roar echoed from afar.
All eyes naturally turned that way.
A water giant towering far higher than the flames engulfing the village, visible even from a distance.
And something resembling a fire giant emerging, matching its size.
“Wh-What in the world...”
“What is that?”
To villagers whose strongest frame of reference was Silver-rank warriors, it looked like a monster showdown. Some even closed their eyes in prayer.
“What am I supposed to do if even you two gawk? Do your jobs.”
The calm rebuke fell on the guards, who had been staring blankly too.
They snapped to attention and turned away.
Surgery was already underway. Lilia had sliced open Veron's abdomen, meticulously inspecting, cleaning, and excising necrotic tissue from his organs.
Young as she was, she had led several surgeries at the church clinic. In the Abaka diocese, only Myra handled knife and miracle better.
Not modern Earth's precision with cutting-edge machines, but her simultaneous Miracles of Purification, Vitality, and Healing infused life force in real-time.
With someone hyper-focused on operating, her attendants distracted elsewhere? The guards felt ashamed.
“S-Sorry!”
“You two know how strong Brother Galen is, right?”
Veron's flank guards had been there for the first Ankanxa encounter and the ruins expedition. They'd seen Galen pummel the mud dolls firsthand.
“True, but...”
“Still worrying...”
“I get it. He's alone without escorts right now. But no need to worry.”
Lilia declared it without a shred of doubt, utterly composed.
“The odds of Brother Galen losing are lower than me botching this surgery.”
Her hands moved with such expert fluidity.
As if asserting those odds were near zero.
A serpent-like blaze with jaws agape raced ferociously along the path.
Its target at the end of that path was, naturally, Galen.
But a diagonal jet of water shot down from the sky, roughly blocking its path.
Chiiiiiik!
The water giant had fired a water cannon from its mouth, melting the fire serpent.
A conical blast of flame then poured toward the giant's face like a flamethrower.
Attacker and defender swapped roles, but the result was the same as on the ground. Thick steam rose as the giant's face evaporated away.
Its head was mere ornament for an elemental being, but losing body mass wasn't ideal. The water giant irritably swung its arm.
Whoosh!
The fire giant split from crown to base, its upper body cleaving apart left and right.
But this foe wasn't even an elemental—just flames gathered into form—so the damage was irrelevant.
In exchange for slicing the fire torso, the water arm boiled away too.
Both sides regenerated their missing parts as if by agreement.
But their speeds differed. The water giant regrew its arm by filling the void like pouring water, while the fire giant simply reignited whole.
Mid-regeneration, the water giant drew back its other arm and slammed the ground.
Part of the fire giant detached abruptly, raining down like meteors—only for the water arm to rise as a wall and block them.
Chik! Chik! Chiiik!
Anyone skilled enough to follow the battle visually could roughly gauge the scales.
At best, evenly matched.
Ventis clearly held offensive initiative.
“I told you—water doesn't always beat fire.”
Ventis smirked.
“Impressive how it keeps producing water even in these mountains, elemental or not... but this is your limit, eh?”
“Guys who spout lines like that always lose in the end.”
Galen replied indifferently.
“Well, I'm learning a thing or two watching you, so it's fine.”
“Such gem-like bravado. I can't keep up with youthful spirit.”
“For real, though. You're not controlling the entire village blaze yourself, are you?”
“A fact too trivial to call insight.”
“Important info to me. Making fire serpents, giants, cloaking yourself, igniting distant spots. You handle fire over a wide range, freely.”
He sounded like he'd uncovered something profound, but really just recounting observations.
Ventis sneered at Galen.
“And your point?”
“It's good.”
“...Good?”
“One thing I'm curious about. Earlier, you said something about gold rivaling gems.”
Galen tilted his head, genuinely puzzled.
“Is this Gem-rank?”
“Hah, even on the back foot, your mouth never yields?”
“Seriously wondering. Blindly dumping mana without strategy is just magic armament sacrifice traits. No clue what sets it apart from Gold otherwise.”
“What sets it apart?”
Ventis scoffed incredulously.
“If you can crush a Gold water mage ignoring affinities, that's Gem.”
“Doesn't feel crushed.”
“You think so?”
Ventis curled his lip and thrust his arm forward.
Pung! Puung! Puuung!
The air ignited in rapid succession.
From left, right, rear—every direction.
Fiery beasts like wolves and serpents emerged.
Not as massive as the front-facing fire giant dueling the water one, but still huge, shoulder height taller than humans.
“You love shapes. Must cost mana to sculpt.”
“Plenty of charged sacrifices left.”
Ventis grinned slyly at Galen's mutter.
“Was going to squeeze slowly, but if you crave quick crushing...”
“With those?”
“Let's see how long the one struggling to block frontal assaults lasts.”
Ventis snapped his fingers.
The encircling beasts charged from all sides.
And—
Shwaaa!
A fierce wave swept them all away.
“What?!”
Ventis's eyes bulged, his victor's smirk vanishing.
He'd expected the elemental to block flanks, weakening the front for a breakthrough.
But the elemental stood idle as a sudden whirl of water blocked instead.
“Why assume only you held back?”
Galen chuckled.
The magic armament's power outstripped the elemental's, no doubt.
This one was stronger than the Dawn Archipelago mage.
Short burst? Outgunned. Prolonged? Even more so—its sacrifice battery dwarfed Galen's.
But that held only for Spirit Creation.
Galen wasn't average Gold, and his ace synergized brutally with water elementals.
“Don't get cocky!”
Ventis bellowed.
Unleashing full throttle without restraint, the armament spawned flames everywhere.
No shapes—just a mass assault. Vision filled red, blotting the sky.
Whoosh!
Yet—
As if an uncrossable line existed, flames couldn't approach beyond a certain distance.
While the water giant matched the frontal fire giant as before.
A relentless downpour hammered only around Galen, extinguishing flames nonstop.
Chiiiiik!
Evaporating flames versus dousing raindrops—like a pride contest.
But raindrops were winning. Flames couldn't reach Galen, their goal.
“Wh-What is this?!”
“Sorry, this is my real specialty.”
Water Flow Manipulation normally drew from ambient air if scarce.
He just hadn't lacked water post-spirit.
With massive evaporation, the gathered water was immense too.
“...Still a stalemate!”
Ventis gritted his teeth, regaining composure.
Confusing at first, but his mind analyzed coolly.
Opponent's water volume spiked suddenly.
But so had his flames—going all-out.
Hidden powers? Advantage his. Unleashed? Even. That's it.
Outlast to prolonged war: magic armament victory. Sacrifices ensured mana superiority over mages.
As Ventis adjusted tactics and they traded blows fiercely—
“Ugh.”
Galen grimaced softly, body swaying slightly.
Shwaaa!
The downpour faltered briefly. Flames exploited the gap.
Not reaching him, quickly repelled—but the iron wall cracked. Encouraging for Ventis.
“Hahaha! Tired already? Hasn't been that long!”
Ventis laughed, regaining poise.
Galen pressed his temples.
“Getting tired, in a different way. Feels almost like a refit... maybe that's why.”
“Hm? What're you on about?”
Instead of answering, Galen eyed Ventis.
Ventis frowned, locking glares, uncomprehending—then felt abrupt heat.
The armament's flames spared him directly, but ambient heat persisted.
This new heat felt... off—
Kwaaaang!
The evolved Vanity Inferno upheaved the earth in a massive blast.