Chapter 308

“What, marriage—?!”
Iril’s eyes widened. The fuzziness in her head flew away.
Marriage? Did you just say marriage? That I know?
It was another minute or so before she was able to speak again.
“Well, look—so—so, yeah, I don’t dislike Mr. Schlieffen by any means, but I have to say it was a little too abrupt—.”
Iril stammered. Her pure white face flushed like a peach. Schlieffen was still holding her, not letting go.
“That—what’s the good of a plain girl like me in the first place? I don’t have a pretty face, and I’m not sparkling like the nobility—well, I’m a lot older than Mr. Schlieffen, for one thing, and I’m sure you’ll get tired of me very quickly—.”
“No, I felt it from the first time I saw you—the owner of my heart—you are the only one.”
Schlieffen muttered drunkenly, the blow as powerful as his swordsmanship. The blood that had escaped in near lethal doses allowed him to blurt out whatever came to mind, bypassing his brain.
“Ah, aye chaam—.”
Iril cupped her cheeks with both hands. I never thought I’d hear this from my sister’s friend. Unable to overcome her embarrassment, she buried her face in Schlieffen’s shoulder.
“Well, where did you learn that, you’re the same age as my Ronan at best—you can’t make fun of an older woman!”
“I love—.”
“Not again, not again—!”
Impatient, Iril slapped Schlieffen across the chest. If he listened any longer, his face would heat up and he would burst. The Savior, watching the two of them, clenched his fists.
“—This is another novelty, and for some reason, it makes me want to kill that Schlieffen guy.”
“You’ll have to wait.”
Adeshan stopped him. The reaction was not unlike the soldiers she had served with in the past, men with daughters. The Savior stammered.
“I know. I don’t deserve it, and it’s a good thing for him that I’ve never been a father figure to Iril.”
No matter how high the quality of his lover, he wanted to break her leg first. Unable to bear it, Iriel threw Schlieffen away.
“Hey, okay, okay, first of all, let’s treat it! Oh my God, how can you do that with a wound like this?”
I was feeling pretty good, but I couldn’t go on like this forever. Shuffle. Schlieffen slumped to the floor as soon as he was off Iril.
“Uh–Schlieffen?”
Iril panicked. She felt like a puppet with a broken string. It was a far cry from the expectation that she’d stand up with a smirk on her face. She blinked and shook Schlieffen urgently.
“Shu, Mr. Schlieffen, wake up, Mr. Schlieffen!”
Schlieffen didn’t answer, his consciousness already racing from the blow to the chest from Iril.
It was dark.
Still, he seemed to have said all he had to say, and one of his faces was tearful as Iril sat him down with a grunt.
“Oh my God, look at all this blood! Lord, you can’t die—!”
His breathing was so faint it was almost inaudible. A pool of black blood pooled where he sat. The wounds from the fight with the archbishops were large and deep.
Pushed to the limit, Schlieffen’s body was no longer willing to match his master’s bravado. Iril was about to rip off his clothes to try and staunch the bleeding.
Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over their heads.
“Not dead.”
“—Huh?”
Looking up, Iriel raised an eyebrow. A massive weartiger stared down at them. Iriel’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the familiar face.
“Zee, Zippa!”
“It’s Zaifa. Glad to see you’re okay.”
Jaifa sighed. He’d rushed to the sound of their voices as soon as he’d awakened from his reverie. Zaifa looked at Iryl and nodded, realizing what was happening.
“—I see. That was your ability.”
I remembered him as a beautiful human being, but I hadn’t expected him to possess such immense power. After a moment of silence, he spoke.
“Thank you.”
“What? What—?”
Iriel shook her head at the sudden gratitude. She hadn’t even realized she’d been putting people to sleep.
Zaifa didn’t bother to explain that it was a thank you for allowing her to spend a few happy moments with her late son.
“There is such a thing.”
“Well, I don’t know what it is, but—I’m glad I could help, and I’m even more glad that Mr. Schlieffen—!”
“Don’t worry about that. The medical team is already here.”
As he spoke, Jaifa pointed behind him with his thumb. She could see people waking up from their visions, and like them, Sita, who had just awakened, was stirring.
“Powwww—.”
“Hey, bird. When you’ve had enough sleep, heal my apprentice.”
Zaifa said. Animals were quicker to wake up than humans. Seeing the wounded around her, Sita spread her four wings wide.
“Bam!”
Red ripples spread out. All the blood on the battlefield turned into droplets. The blood was sorted by itself and began to return to its owners’ bodies.
“Ewwwwwwwww.”
“Blood, is the blood—?”
One by one, the dying began to wake up. The seriously wounded, those with unusually deep wounds, were given special treatment.
A wound-healing red aura enveloped Schlieffen’s body. The trauma healed and the bones rejoined. Iril sighed as his breathing stabilized.
“Dah, thank goodness—thank you!”
“Thank him when he wakes up. He literally risked everything to save you.”
“That, that—.”
Zaifa turned away from the stunned Iril. There was still work to be done. On the rejuvenated battlefield, the fallen were rising again.
“Is it so—Balzac. Was it a dream.”
【Khahaha! How’s that, Navarordje? I can see that this Orse is a true loser— Hmm?
“Heh heh–this is the first time I’ve been completely unconscious since I reached Circle 9.”
One by one, the main forces of the Alliance awoke. They joined the battle against the giants, too frightened to think straight. Asel screamed as he realized he was under the protection of a giant star.
“Heeeeeeeee, is this what I’m doing?!”
“Oh, great. Arcel.”
It didn’t take long for them to regroup. Adeshan helped them regain their composure, gave the necessary orders, and withdrew the Shadow’s mana.
“—that’s enough.
Her head was dizzy from using so much of her power. She paused to catch her breath, and the Savior next to her let out a fierce cough.
“Kulk! Kulk—!”
“Are you okay?”
The amount of blood he was spitting up was alarming. The savior, whose upper body jerked repeatedly, raised his hand to indicate that he was okay. Barely able to calm down, he turned to Adeshan.
“That’s it–whoa, you’re dating my son, aren’t you?”
“—Huh?”
Adeshan’s face lit up at the out-of-the-blue question. How to answer this. She bit her lower lip as she hesitated.
“——, yes. Though it’s not exactly me.”
“Blood doesn’t fool me. Hmph, I used to be crazy about my wife’s long, dark hair too—.”
“—Why do you ask that out of the blue?”
“I just wanted to tell you to take care of my son. I don’t think he has much time left.”
The Savior smiled. Adeshan’s lips twitched in an oddly rueful laugh.
It didn’t look good when I first saw it, but that’s how it goes. The Savior spoke up.
“I’m going to the battleship, and I’m going to make good use of what I’ve got. What are you going to do?”
“Me too–I’ll be right there.”
Adeshan replied, not making eye contact. The Savior smiled again, then stumbled to his feet. The grounded battleship Dynhar roared as if it were about to take off at any moment.
Beyond them, the battle had intensified. Elemental storms spewed from the dragons’ mouths, sweeping across the sky and earth. Every time a spear of light streaked across the sky, a few dragons fell.
“—that’s it.”
Adeshan sighed as she watched the Savior’s back. When she was sure no one was watching her, she leaned back against a nearby rock. Her legs were shaky and she could no longer stand.
“Thank God, I can do my part before it’s too late.
Adeshan smiled weakly as he watched the giant battle. It seemed to be a close call, but it would soon be a decisive one. A steady roar announced that the fight had reached its climax.
There seemed to be nothing more he could do. Adeshan swiped at her face as if washing her hair. She placed a hand on her chest to steady her breathing and muttered, “I’m sorry.
“You’re running out of time–and so am I.”
She was in no position to worry about her savior. She could feel her consciousness slipping away. The cloudless night sky was brilliant with stars. Fixing her gaze on the brightest star, Adeshan chanted quietly.
“Senniel—is that enough?”
****
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
The King of Giants muttered. He could sense that there were fewer than a dozen giants left, including himself.
“What doesn’t make sense doesn’t make sense.”
Then a familiar voice sounded at his feet. The king, his greatsword reversed, took a defensive stance. A sharp metallic sound rang out.
“What the hell, blocking again?”
Ronan clicked his tongue. He didn’t like the way he’d gestured while they were all dying. With the king down, he was fighting the battle on ground that favored him.
Kagagak! The greatsword and the ramancha flashed again, and dozens of embers rose from the air. The king took an involuntary step back.
“How dare you mortals—!”
The king gritted his teeth. Unlike himself, Ronan was growing weaker and weaker. As time passed, the curse on his body was slowly melting away like a snowfield in the spring.
[Blow it, Ronan!
Then Navarordze’s voice rang out from the heavens. She was alone against hundreds of the king’s summoned minions. As crimson flames swept across the sky, the beasts of light burned into particles and vanished.
They were so different from the other giants’ steeds, it was amazing. After a few more blows, the king grabbed the hilt of his sword.
“Cheeky—.”
If he kept pushing, he had no answer. Ronan was still sticking to his strategy of bleeding out, and the longer it went on, the more he was at a disadvantage.
“—I wonder if we should retreat.
It was shameful to think about, but there was nothing I could do about it. With the power I had gathered on my home planet, I could take care of these bastards in a heartbeat, but it was too much to use to swallow a small star.
The tortured king was about to make a decision. An eerie sensation came over him, as if someone was stroking his heart.
“What?”
The words were unintelligible. Someone was tampering with his source power. Gulping, the king lifted his head and looked up at the sky.
Something was happening beyond the magic circle that connected them to their homeland. The king, who soon realized the intruder’s intentions, sighed.
『Abel—!』