READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 127
127. Eventually
“[Aardacuary]!”
A blue glow envelops Meriel as the spell is cast.
──Alice’s healing continues. However, while the spell’s light briefly covers Meriel’s entire body, it quickly shatters into countless fragments.
This attempt is already the umpteenth one. No matter how many different healing spells Alice casts, their effects barely last a moment before disappearing.
We can only watch in silence.
There was nothing we could do but watch.
Meriel, barely clinging to life through the vitality unique to the Demon Generals, was slowly──inevitably weakening.
“It’s no use; I can’t heal her any further…”
Alice shook her head, tears welling up.
“No way…”
Lilith murmured in shock.
“The one you used earlier was the highest-grade healing spell, right? And still no effect?”
“The healing effect only lasts a few seconds… No matter how many times I try other spells…”
Alice’s voice broke, and she began to sob.
“Don’t… cry… please…”
Meriel whispered, her face pale.
“The scythe of Zarea… it harms one’s very life force… Even healing magic… has its limits…”
──Lilith had already told us what had happened.
How Meriel protected Lilith and Alice when the Demon General Zarea tried to kill them. How Meriel suffered a fatal wound from Zarea’s attack. How Lilith and Alice, inheriting the Demon General’s power, defeated Zarea.
And how Meriel’s injuries could not be healed beyond emergency care using magic──.
Yet Alice refused to give up.
“Please… get better… please… please…!”
She cast the healing spell over and over.
But the result was the same.
Meriel’s complexion grew paler, her life slipping away. Simple first aid was no longer enough to sustain her dying body.
At this rate, Meriel would die──.
…Wait.
“Jack, is there a way to ‘amplify’ magic?”
I asked, struck by an idea.
“Hm?”
“Both Lilith and Alice’s magic seems to have grown stronger. If your abilities can boost that even further──”
Jack, looking perplexed, turned to me, and I continued to explain. The battle was over; he had reverted from his monstrous form back to his human appearance.
“Maybe we can save Meriel.”
“But… helping a demon?”
Jack frowned.
“Demons attack humans. They kill… people like that…”
Red sparks crackled around Jack.
Wait, what…?
“Even if she’s a demon, Meriel… protected Lilith and Alice. I can’t abandon her.”
I replied earnestly, despite his wary gaze.
“…Fine.”
After a pause, Jack nodded.
“So, you want me to ‘amplify’ the healing magic?”
“Please.”
I pleaded once more.
Despite his reluctance, Jack nodded.
“[Aardacuary]!”
Jack enhanced Alice’s healing spell with his skill. A far more intense radiance filled the area.
“Ngh…”
Meriel let out a small groan, her body trembling.
“Meriel──”
Lilith gasped.
Her complexion seemed to improve slightly…
Alice cast the healing spell twice, thrice more, each time with Jack’s amplification. Meriel’s cheeks regained some color, her labored breaths gradually stabilizing.
There was no doubt; that the spell was working──.
“Ugh…”
Slowly, the Demon General girl sat up.
“Meriel, are you okay?”
Lilith asked, her voice full of concern.
“Thank you… I feel much better… At the very least, I can maintain my basic life functions…”
Meriel smiled weakly.
It seemed to have worked.
“However, immediate full recovery is impossible… The attack was from a ‘Death Reaper’ Demon General…”
Meriel said.
“I’ll have to gradually recover, slowly repairing myself… like a sort of hibernation…”
“Hibernation…?”
“It could take about ten years… This staff is my vessel, a crystallization of my magic… I will retreat into it to heal…”
Meriel looked at the staff in Lilith’s hands.
“Please hide the staff somewhere so that demons won’t find me while I am defenseless…”
“…And if it’s found?”
Lilith asked gravely.
“Then I will die… unable to resist.”
“Then we’ll keep the staff.”
Lilith spoke up immediately.
“Yes, so will I.”
Alice agreed.
“N-no, you can’t!”
Meriel shook her head desperately.
“Holding the Demon General’s staff would make you targets. I am… a traitor for defying the Demon King…”
“If that happens, we’ll just fight back.”
Lilith smiled confidently.
“You saw, didn’t you? How we defeated the Demon General.”
“We’ve grown stronger. Be it a Demon King or a General, we’ll take them down.”
Her playful tone was meant to reassure Meriel.
“We’ll protect you until you recover.”
“Yes. We won’t abandon a friend.”
Lilith and Alice smiled.
“But… that…”
Meriel lowered her gaze.
“I deceived you… endangered you… I am a demon… Why…”
“But you protected us.”
“Yes, we simply want to do the same.”
Lilith and Alice looked at Meriel.
“Besides, friends don’t need special reasons to protect each other.”
“Friends…”
Meriel whispered, as if savoring the word.
“And even if you don’t want us to, while you hibernate──we’ll protect you anyway.”
“Yes!”
The two grinned mischievously.
“So… don’t think about anything else now. Just rest.”
“We’ll see you healthy again. It’s a promise.”
The girls said nothing more, still smiling.
“…Understood.”
Perhaps she realized resistance was pointless, or that their resolve was unshakable.
Meriel let out a small sigh.
“Thank you, both…”
Her voice trembled as she spoke, as fragile as the legendary Demon General was now──so weak, so vulnerable.
“Eventually… until then… good night…”
A single tear slid from Meriel’s eye.