Chapter 90
Chapter 90
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Living Flame (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
With everything remotely rideable already burned to cinders, the flames guttered out easily once even the mana fuel vanished.
Whoosh!
Water streams gushed from the spirits as they darted about, pouring down like rain everywhere to extinguish the lingering embers.
The heat washed away with it. The battlefield cleared up in no time.
"Phew."
Galen wiped the sweat soaking his brow and let out a long breath.
It wasn't exhaustion—it was the heat. Even with constant dousing from water, the temperature had been anything but ordinary.
With the surrounding flames finally snuffed out and visibility restored, he could at last survey the situation elsewhere.
Not that there was much to see.
Before anything else, it meant everything had been reduced to ash piles, and even eyesight struggled to function properly.
They'd arrived at the mining village around sunset, so after all the chaos, night had fully fallen.
It felt like the pitch-black depths of a mountain at night, making the desolation all the more eerie.
And amid it all, a platinum glow shone alone in the distance—the one color that now put his mind at ease just by looking at it.
Soon enough, Lilia returned, using her Radiant Spear like a lighthouse beacon.
Slung over her opposite shoulder, like so much baggage, was the limp form of Ventis.
"Good work out there."
"Eh, this was nothing."
It was the expected outcome, so Galen wasn't surprised, and Lilia acted like it was no big deal.
And rightly so.
Ventis's estimated strength was a notch above Veron's, though the gap wasn't huge.
Lilia had already been at that level back when she was just a bishop who could only use Radiance. Now she was an arch-bishop who wielded blessings too.
In status window terms—not a perfect match, but the former would be mid-50s level, the latter high-60s.
In short, without magic weapons, Lilia would win in a straight fight.
Besides, Ventis had been injured to boot. No way he could've escaped her.
"But isn't that guy still alive?"
"Yep! Though he did lose a leg."
"Isn't that dangerous, then? What if he wakes up suddenly..."
"It's just temporary transport. The injury wasn't severe enough to keep him out that long."
Ventis's leg had been barely stanched. A body that mangled was beyond even miraculous healing anyway.
Lilia was the expert on patients, so Galen didn't argue. As long as she wasn't being careless, it was fine.
The two hurried to the open square at the village entrance.
"Everyone! The evil wizards are all dealt with— you're safe now!"
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The villagers, who had huddled in the dark trembling without knowing how the battle had gone after the fires died, wept with joy.
While Lilia soothed the residents, Galen summoned Veron's two escorts.
"Even when Lord Veron wakes, he'll say the same, so I'll tell you now: keep silent about the magic weapons. The Church doesn't want any more chaos. If word gets out from you two, it'll drag down not just Lord Veron but the Steelwall family too."
"You have our word. Our lips are sealed."
"Please. And though it's dark now, one of you should head to Jamila right away. The village is in ruins."
"Understood."
"Just say a few mad wizards went on a rampage. Request reinforcements to help the villagers, and update the Kalia merchant caravan that came with you."
"Leave it to us."
Fortunately, the horses they'd ridden here were intact.
One escort departed immediately.
The other helped Galen distribute food and water to the villagers.
"Food" amounted to just the rations the five of them had brought—not much, barely a snack—but even a little to fill the stomach brought reassurance.
Water, at least, they could provide in abundance. It was the most urgent need for those scorched by fire.
Meanwhile, Lilia zipped back and forth across the nearby hills.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sight of a seemingly fragile girl uprooting entire trees and stacking them in rows was utterly surreal.
Those trees were then sliced into firewood like tofu under her Radiant Sword.
"This should last us through the night, right?"
"More than enough."
A subtle cast of Proud Flame Burst on the green wood would light it effortlessly.
Villagers gathered in small groups around the bonfire.
Luckily, it was the tail end of late spring. Nights before early summer were mild enough outdoors.
They lacked even blankets for covering, but that couldn't be helped.
Honestly, they'd done all they could. The villagers expressed gratitude to an almost burdensome degree.
With measures complete...
"Keep a good watch."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Galen and Lilia dragged Ventis a bit further into the village.
Far enough that even Silver-rank guards' sharp ears wouldn't catch anything.
Lilia roughly propped Ventis against a suitable wall.
Splash!
Galen doused his face with water.
"Gah! Blub blub!"
Nothing woke a sleeper like that. Ventis regained consciousness forcibly.
"Wh-what?"
After coughing up the water that had flooded his lungs in his daze, he spotted Galen and Lilia.
His face twisted as he reflexively tried to leap up.
"Ack!"
He toppled sideways instead, providing unintended comedy.
With one leg gone, trying to spring up as if it were still there was bound to tangle him.
Only then did he fully recall the events before blacking out. Half rage, half despair in his eyes, Ventis ground his teeth.
"You filthy foreigners!"
"Quit whining over one measly leg."
Galen sneered.
"How many in this village alone did you kill?"
"Shut up! Those worthless—"
Ventis's words cut off.
Crack!
Lilia had kicked his head without mercy.
His arms, still intact, reflexively shielded his face—but Lilia outclassed him regardless.
The price for saving his face: cracks in his arm bones.
"Guh!"
"Be quiet."
Lilia said coldly—a rare flash of anger from her.
Like with the pirates, she treated villains as less than human. No mercy for Ventis, who ranked below vermin. Her strikes held none.
"We didn't spare you to hear nonsense."
"Damn bitch..."
Ventis glared at Lilia, arms trembling in pain. He spat in fury.
"Can't fathom how a clueless brat like you became a bishop."
"What did you say?"
"Not noticing the magic weapon user right beside you. Or do you know and just roll with it?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The wizard next to you! I saw it with my own eyes! Aren't you ashamed, priestess of the gods?"
Ventis pointed accusingly at Galen. Lilia glanced at him in confusion, and Galen shrugged.
"No idea what bullshit he's spouting, but he said it when I used fire magic earlier."
"Oh, he thought that was a magic weapon?"
"Maybe the water magic. Either way, I got lumped in as one of his kind."
"Aw, that must've hurt your feelings."
Seeing their casual banter, Ventis realized something had gone terribly wrong.
If they were unaware, it would've been a bombshell to drive a wedge between priestess and wizard.
Even if they knew, it could've shaken her faith.
Instead, they chatted amiably, utterly unfazed.
His last desperate ploy melted away.
"Sorry, but magic weapons don't interest me at all."
"Wh-what?"
"Why bother with all those restrictions? I can just use my own magic."
Galen grinned and flicked his hand.
The ground on Ventis's left and right churned.
Spotting the wriggling in his peripheral vision, Ventis whipped his head around—eyes bulging.
Shlrp!
Earth puppets sprouted from the dirt. How could he not be shocked?
Whatever it was, it screamed bad news. Instincts screaming, Ventis swung his arm with all his might.
Smack!
The cost was brutal.
Golden qi fortified his body to armored toughness barehanded, and his punch could've pulverized a dirt clump instantly.
Unfortunately, Galen's earth puppets were "special" specimens from Oklane's ruins—crafted with care.
"Gurk?!"
Not an earth sprite but a human warrior, Ventis's punch barely dented the special model's torso.
The rebound crushed his hand bloody and jolted his already cracked arm bones.
As lightning-like shock paralyzed him to the brain...
The two completed special earth puppets seized his arms from both sides.
Once gripped, it was over—even Aron or Veron never faced them head-on.
Ventis was utterly immobilized. All he could do was pathetically buck his hips and flail his remaining leg.
"This a magic weapon too?"
"What... is... this..."
Ventis's eyes spun. Physical agony and mental collapse both.
Fire magic, now earth. This enigmatic wizard sowed chaos.
One certainty:
No escape hatch left.
All faint hopes extinguished, his mind filled with death.
His fate: dragged to the Church, tortured until he spilled everything, then dismantled.
"No...!"
In that instant, realizing he'd broken the taboo, Ventis screamed.
"No, no! This can't—"
His own voice faded fast.
Struggles meant nothing. Consciousness drowned in black.
"No kidding—you've kept us from a proper night's sleep. Just open up and... Huh?"
Galen, oblivious to Ventis's inner turmoil, scolded—then frowned.
Ventis had gone abruptly limp.
"Whoa, his breathing's off."
Sensing wrongness, Lilia rushed close.
Wary of tricks, but his state was too bizarre to fake.
"Brother, change your grip! Secure him!"
"Right!"
Ventis hit the ground flat in seconds.
One special model pinned his arms, the other his leg—like restraining a thrashing patient.
Yet he only twitched faintly, no real response.
Fwoosh!
Platinum radiance poured into Ventis's body.
Arch-bishop healing that had saved even Veron from near-death.
But.
Splurtch!
Ventis's skin split wide, blood spraying.
Galen's eyes widened. Lilia gritted her teeth.
Pop pop pop!
Blessing flames enveloped him, burning away corruption to infuse holiness.
Still futile.
Splooosh!
His body tore apart worse.
Lilia's holy power drained from full-force blessing.
"Hah... hah..."
Even scraping the last dregs for healing...
Ventis lay not just bloodied—a cold, mangled meat lump.
He'd seen plenty of gore, but this grotesque twist chilled him.
"...Lilia?"
Galen called cautiously.
Blood-soaked herself, Lilia stared blankly at him and murmured.
"This man... was a demon contractor..."