Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc

27. Purification Magic (4)

Translated by: S3

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The dragon circling in the sky remained in place. The soldiers, initially afraid of the dragon, concentrated on exterminating the black slimes wriggling on the ground once they realized the creature had no intention of attacking them.

The black slimes were easy to eliminate because their movements were slow, but the soldiers' actions became hectic when several beasts began staggering out of the Nogray Forest and joining the black slimes.

Up close, the beasts had rotting flesh and gave off a terrible stench. The soldiers were speechless when they realized they were corpses—undead—parasitized by the black slimes.

「For a monster like this to appear in the Holy Aurum Kingdom!」

They had only ever heard rumors of undead being seen on the strife-ridden western continent.

They were emerging from the forest one after another, suggesting the black slimes must have parasitized the corpses and multiplied during the night. Because they were originally composed of rotten corpses and the black slimes born from the Impure Mist, the troublesome part was that, despite being undead, they moved about normally even when exposed to the morning sun.

「The numbers are growing fast. Should we call for backup?」

「My nose is going to fall off! Ugh, rotted meat on my sword...」

「It's moving even though the sun is out. Is this really undead?」

The soldiers continued to exterminate the monsters while exchanging jokes. Hearing their strangely casual conversation, Lily grew irritated.

（Snap to attention! Are you even soldiers? The old men at the western fort fight relentlessly without wasting breath!）

Still, for now, they were all she had. Looking up at the Protective Barrier (Protect Wall) in front of her, the visible area had already been entirely sublimated by the Sacred Motif. Since she couldn't see the very top, she was anxiously impatient, not knowing if the work was finished.

Into that sky, a black, clustered mass now flew past and headed toward the Nogray Forest.

（Smaller than the dragon and numerous. Migratory birds?）

Because she had been feeling dizzy for a while, she couldn't accurately discern their forms. However, when she looked back, the cluster that had flown past seemed to be hovering above the Nogray Forest.

「Lord Daniel, not yet? Gin, is he okay?」

Although she mentally wanted to keep pushing, a bad feeling made Lily pull out the hand she had inserted and squat down, resting both hands on the ground. Her gaze fell on her boots, stained with the flowing black liquid. Her clothes were dirty too, but she didn't care.

If a monster attacked now, Lily wouldn't even be able to fight back and would be easily killed. However, thanks to the casual soldiers continuing to fight nearby, there were no monsters near her. This allowed her to focus on recovery for a short while.

（I want to resume quickly, but it's impossible. I feel like I'll collapse. What on earth is happening?）

It was unnatural for undead to be moving in the daytime when the sun was out, especially in a country with 「Holy」 in its name, indicating the land itself possessed a purifying effect.

「—Is it because of the curses that were on the original Cursed Weapons / Armor / Accessories?」

Curses were said to use Dark Magic, but much about Dark Magic was unknown, with no books or legends remaining. The large quantity of cursed items in the Holy Aurum Kingdom were not mass-produced domestically but brought in by travelers from across the continent seeking to make money. In short, Dark Magic did not exist in this country's culture.

—The magic cast solely to curse people, the Impure Mist accumulated for two hundred years after the curses were stripped away, and the black slimes born from the liquid that was crushed.

The curses contained the mage's intent to 「curse the wearer.」 And when it became the Impure Mist, it also took action to avoid being purified, meaning the curse must have had a weak will from the start.

She felt she was just about to understand how these unnatural monsters were born.

At that moment, a clamor arose from the soldiers exterminating the monsters, and Lily turned around, a chill running down her spine.

The cluster of small creatures above the forest split into two, with one part gaining altitude and returning to the top of the royal capital. That clustered mass began repeatedly body-slamming the Protective Barrier (Protect Wall).

The monsters remaining above the forest began moving toward the soldiers on the ground and the weakened Lily. Simultaneously, the scattered undead and black slimes started moving in the same direction at once, causing the soldiers to begin retreating.

（Ah, so that's it.）

From the monsters' actions, she understood that they were cooperating to destroy the Protective Barrier (Protect Wall) and launching an attack to save their comrades from the one causing them harm.

They surely couldn't tolerate seeing their comrades exterminated right in front of them. Lily understood that feeling.

When her father and comrades nearly died at the western fort, everything inside her had instantly changed. That rebirth-like change brought about a miracle and saved the lives of her loved ones.

—Just like me, a miracle happened to the Impure Mist, too.

From her perspective, an incredibly unwelcome miracle had occurred. She tried to move out of the way to a place where she wouldn't be a hindrance, but her hands had no strength, and she couldn't stand up.

（What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?）

There was nothing to do but escape on her own. She frantically tried to stand up, but her feet tangled, and she fell over.

「Woof!」

As the sound was heard, her body was forcibly lifted and then dropped onto the dry ground. After landing with a thud, she cautiously opened her eyes.

「Gin! It's unacceptable to carry Lily by her clothes in your mouth and then drop her! I could have done that better!」

「Shut up! Lily is my master. I'm the one who saves her!」

Gin’s large body came into view, and Lily took a breath and cried.

「Gin! I was scared! I was so scared!」

It wasn't just now. Everything was scary. She'd only been able to manage because she kept up her guard, but ever since she parted with her parents, she had felt nothing but loneliness.

「Ugh... I was scar—」

Uttering the word 'scared' broke the floodgates in her heart, and tears spilled out. She wanted to see Adam and Emma. It really was too hard for Lily to stay in the royal capital alone. She had endured so much that she couldn't stop the tears now.

Lily, sprawled on the ground and sobbing, was gently scooped up by someone. Assuming it was Noah, she clung unreservedly to his neck.

「I'm late. —Are you hurt anywhere?」

But the voice wasn't the one she expected, so her tears stopped, and she moved her head to look at the person's face. The beautiful face of the Crown Prince was, for some reason, right there.

「H-huh?!」

She instinctively squirmed, but she was held firmly and couldn't move. To top it off, he scolded her to hold on properly.

「Lord Arthur. Since my plan was to burn the monsters with the dragon's fire waiting above once I arrived, I will go call it off. However, I want to incinerate the bats flying in the sky as they were the monsters that attacked the Plata Mountains.」

「Understood. I'll cast a defense over the royal capital, so burn them to your heart's content.」

「I appreciate your efficiency. If you'll excuse me.」

Saying that, Elliot flapped his wings once and shot straight up into the air.

「Alright! I'm gonna go smash those ground monsters, too!」

Inspired by Elliot, Gin bolted straight toward the monsters emerging from the Nogray Forest side.

「Now, I'll reinforce the Protective Barrier before the dragon breathes fire.」

「Um, Your Highness. I'll just be in the way, so please put me down.」

「I hear that if I take my eyes off Lily, she's immediately abducted, so just stay like this.」

「That's impossible!」

Lily was filthy all over. Her dress and boots were covered in mud from when she escaped the forest, and now she was splattered with the black liquid. Because being held with one arm was unstable, she was clinging tightly to Arthur's neck, transferring the dirt onto his white, expensive clothes.

「Your Highness's clothes will get dirty. Please, I beg you, put me down.」

「I refuse. I'm concentrating, so just be quiet for a moment.」

Arthur raised the hand not holding Lily and cast Defense Magic (Shield) repeatedly onto the Protective Barrier (Protect Wall). The moment he finished, the dragon breathed fire toward the royal capital, and the bats flying overhead vanished without a trace, turning into ash.

「Next, this area.」

The monsters that had been advancing toward the soldiers and Lily earlier had apparently been intimidated by the appearance of Elliot, Gin, and Arthur, and were observing the situation from above. Realizing Arthur had spotted them, they began to move in a panic to escape.

「Fireball Magic!」

The thrown fireball struck, and the body of the flying monster burst into flames. A screeching sound rose before it turned into cinders and scattered in the air. Since there had been no one around Lily who used offensive magic, she let out a gasp of admiration at the Fireball she was seeing for the first time.

「Well, we've largely exterminated them. Let's leave this to the soldiers and head back for now.」

Arthur calmly prepared to leave, but he showed no sign of putting Lily down. Although she could certainly walk by herself, she asked him many times to let her down.

「I hear that if I take my eyes off Lily, she's immediately abducted, so just stay like this.」

Saying that, Arthur didn't budge, giving instructions to the remaining soldiers while continuously holding Lily. After finishing all his duties, Arthur mounted his horse with Lily and galloped toward the castle. Behind them, Gin, in his adult dog form, and Elliot, flying through the air, hastily chased after them.

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