The emperor addicted to magic.
The emperor, so deeply addicted to magic that it was questionable how he was still alive, was gasping for breath.
For an ordinary person, just a touch would melt them away with magic.
But the golden holy power that filled this space kept the emperor alive.
“How is it? Can you treat…”
“It’s unpleasant.”
“Uh, huh?”
Whoosh!!
The holy power of destruction spread from my body.
The holy power of destruction crushed the unpleasant holy power permeating the emperor’s bedroom and began to take its place.
To me, the golden holy power that helped treat him was more bothersome than the magic that could kill the emperor.
Caught off guard by the sudden change of holiness, Ruslan looked around with a dazed expression.
“What, what did you do? The energy has changed—”
“How long has it been since the emperor became like this?”
“He’s had that chronic illness since before I was born. But it’s only in recent times that it became this serious.”
“Recently?”
“…Two, three months? From that point, he hasn’t been able to move and has been lying down.”
In the past, he could at least move…
Ruslan spoke like that, looking at me anxiously.
What he said implied that this wasn’t just because the demon race appeared; he had been ‘originally’ addicted to magic, and with the awakening of the demon race, his symptoms worsened.
As can be seen with the Kraken and Scorpio, ‘disasters’ do not suddenly drop from the sky.
These beings have existed since a very long ‘past.’
For some reason, they were sealed or subjected to death, or perhaps a deep sleep, and they have now been released in time.
I slowly approached the emperor.
“If you come closer, it’s dangerous—”
The thicker magic aimed at me as if it were wary of an enemy it had fought since the beginning.
Simultaneously melting away my holy shield, the magic tried to infiltrate my consciousness.
‘Compassion.’
Boom!!
As the compassion of the saintess activated, the magic was blocked by the powerful healing light, growling away from its host’s body.
A mass of magic that looked like it could kill the host at any moment was acting fiercely.
“Hmmm…”
I pierced through all the layered magic and placed my hand imbued with holy healing on the emperor’s forehead.
Zing—!
“…!”
[?]
[Lily, are you okay?]
[???]
[I just felt a jolt]
[What’s going on?]
[Did the saintess activate something?]
[You look unwell]
“Oh, Extreme Holy. That surprised me for a moment.”
The contact between Magic and Holy creates a considerable backlash.
The two powers try to kill and devour each other just by existing in the same space.
Just by ‘contacting’ Magic with my hands full of Holy Power, I take significant damage.
Blood flows from my mouth.
“…! Are you alright? Blood…”
“Oh, it’s nothing. The Magic is surprisingly calm, so the purification is a bit difficult.”
Damage from Magic cannot be easily healed.
Those affected by Magic sustain tremendous physical and spiritual harm, and at this time, using Holy Magic purifies the Magic.
In simple terms, it’s like erasing the cancerous cells called Magic from the world.
Of course, it would be great if we could just erase the cancer cells, but the fundamental property of Magic is ‘erosion.’
Holy perceives every eroded part as ‘a type of Magic’ and erases it all…
“If I use Holy Magic in this state, my body will melt away. The body and Magic have already become one, so I can only directly absorb the Magic.”
“H-Absorb…? No way.”
“Yes.”
Drip, drip…
“I’m absorbing the poison called Magic into my body and purifying it.”
My body is filled with the Holy.
No matter how dense the Magic is, as long as I absorb and purify it little by little, there shouldn’t be a big problem.
I might get some internal injuries from the backlash, but it won’t be enough to damage my soul.
‘It shouldn’t be a big problem.’
I’m used to this method since I’ve tried it several times.
“……”
[? Hahahaha]
[Lily…]
[It’s been a while since I’ve seen Lily bleed]
[Wow]
[……]
[At this rate, I might have to control the Empire, right?]
[Look at how moved Ruslan is hahahaha]
[Lily looks like she’s in so much pain]
[Blood, blood]
Ruslan was trembling.
He heard he would help, but he never expected it would be like this.
He probably thought a few hand gestures would make everything better, so he bowed his head with a very overwhelmed look.
“Th-thank you… I won’t forget this kindness.”
“If you’re thankful, how about giving me a Holy Artifact? I’m risking my body here; there should be a reward.”
“D-don’t worry about that. I’ll definitely give it to you. Ah! Just wait a moment!”
Ruslan momentarily reached out his hand into the air, then suddenly shook his head.
It seems he was trying to open a gap in the air.
If he had done that, it would have been a troll move worth hitting him on the back of the head, but thankfully he didn’t do something like that.
After a moment of hesitation, Ruslan took off the golden cloak hanging from his chest.
I removed the curtain.
“This is all I can give you right now. I’m sorry…”
“What is this… Ugh. I’m sorry. I’m bleeding. What is it?”
“…It’s a holy artifact. Only the royal blood can possess this. You can obtain a powerful shield within the empire. It’s rechargeable and…”
“Oh.”
I extended my bloodied hand.
The moment Ruslan placed the curtain on my blood-stained hand, he wore a truly confused expression, but I accepted it with a smile as if it was nothing.
‘Indeed, this must also be made from Metamor.’
It was the same material as Besk’s ‘Twin Crescent Sword,’ which was the original material for the White Guardian.
Since it’s the same holy artifact, it must have been made using the same Metamor technique.
By the way, a characteristic of Metamor is that it can change its shape freely.
“Cough. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those. Hmm. Cough. Where on earth did you get this?”
“Um… You don’t have to say if it’s hard….”
“Excuse me?”
[LOL]
[Lily looks like she’s in serious pain]
[Let’s just rob the empire LOL]
[I’ve never seen so much blood before, yikes]
[Da Lily]
[Is healing really this hard?]
[Can’t we just kill her?]
[Why is Lily being so nice?]
[Breaking news) Seems like we’re facing a mid-boss of the alliance]
[Lily is too kind, oh noㅠㅠㅠ]
[Is Lily okay?]
“Eh. I’m fine.”
“…Well, if that’s the case.”
“For an ordinary healer, this is a wound that would take thousands of lives to heal, and the pain is even worse, but don’t worry about it too much.”
It’s nothing compared to healing the great Emperor.
“……”
“Uh-huh.”
I shook my head while looking at the tearful Ruslan.
Surely, thanks to the Saintess’s compassion, my heart feels much more peaceful.
Even though I’m bleeding profusely, it doesn’t feel too difficult or catastrophic.
With a gentle expression, I removed my hand filled with holy power from the Emperor’s forehead.
Swoosh…!
“Haah…”
As I pulled my hand away, a mass of black magic followed behind.
I completely purified it, then used holy magic on myself.
A pure white radiance spread beyond me throughout the entire Emperor’s bedroom.
“Is it, is it over?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. If it were that easy, it wouldn’t be called magic. It’s not just some random power.”
“…?”
“What I absorbed was literally just a part of it. The state has improved a little, but the poisoning remains.”
Above all, the magic and the Emperor were in a unified state.
I filtered out some magic and absorbed it, but from the Emperor’s perspective, it’s like ‘a part of himself’ has been taken away.
If I proceed carelessly, the powers sustaining the Emperor could all escape at once, leading to sudden death.
“I can do it.”
“Killing the Emperor now is magic, but at the same time, it’s also a way to bring him back. So, I’ll need to absorb it slowly over time.”
“……”
“Normally, I’d just kill him and then resurrect him…”
“W-What do you mean, kill him?!”
“Yes. Usually, that’s the quickest and least painful method.”
Why do we choose to format a computer when it breaks for no reason instead of actually fixing it?
It’s kind of like that.
‘Instead of suffering through this body and mental pain, killing and reviving him would be faster.’
I’ve blocked the sensations of the Emperor’s body, but the pain of losing a part of yourself is a concept separate from sensation.
He’s probably feeling pain just like I am.
“……”
“However, the magic is sticking to the soul as well. That’s going to be a bit tricky.”
“Is that… really the case?”
“Yes. For now, let’s just take care of this. I’ve cast a life-sustaining spell, so focus on recovering your body. I plan to do another treatment next month.”
“Is that it?”
“No? You’ll need about ten of them.”
As I said this as if it were obvious, Ruslan turned pale.
Ten.
Can the Emperor really hold out for that long?
“Anti-magic treatment is a miracle. A miracle. It’s forcibly trying to revive something that’s supposed to be dead. It’s definitely not an easy path.”
“……”
“From what I can see, Duke Huangyeol and Nea wouldn’t have done something this insane; they would have just maintained the current state, suppressing the magic within him.”
Honestly, what I’m doing is indeed insane.
Who in their right mind absorbs the poison to cure that same poison?
‘Especially when it’s the extreme poison known as “magic.”’
Doing that would probably cost me multiple lives.
[In other words, Lily has performed a miracle.]
[Wow.]
[Great Lily.]
[Angel Lily, who calls forth miracles ☠️]
[Just how much are you trying to milk the Empire for?;;]
[At this rate, it’s starting to get scary, right?]
Ruslan nodded heavily.
“I understand. I trust you. If you can save my father, I’ll do everything to help you.”
“Then let’s start helping right now.”
“? Right now?”
“Yes.”
What Ruslan has to do right now.
“Where is the Empire’s secret storehouse?”
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