133th Chapter
“Le, Ray…?”
As the robe slipped off, revealing Ray’s face, it was nearly half-damaged to the point of being unrecognizable.
The sight of Ray with pus streaming down from his face, which was grotesquely disfigured by burns, made Johanna’s heart drop.
His upper body, exposed due to his scorched clothes, was covered in severe burns.
His left arm, having been at the forefront when countering a high-level annihilation spell, was particularly dire.
It looked like a skeletal dead tree, with his skin clinging on and turning black; it was questionable whether it could even move.
“Ugh… What, what should I do…”
Johanna stood paralyzed in panic, unable to touch Ray for fear that she might crumble him further, and began shedding tears uncontrollably.
Didier stepped forward, shielding Johanna as he examined Ray’s injuries once more.
Didier’s expression grew graver as he noticed how the burn marks had spread close to Ray’s left eye.
“We can’t stay here. We need to move immediately.”
The closest estate was Osiris Countdom.
Additionally, Osiris Countdom housed more clerics and healers of higher skill than Phillip’s County.
Even if they were to raise suspicion, Ray’s treatment took precedence over everything else at the moment.
“Get on the horse now, Ray. We’re heading to Osiris Countdom.”
“No, no. It’s fine. There’s no need.”
“Ray, areas as sensitive as the eyes must be treated quickly or they may lose functionality permanently.”
“I can see perfectly fine with both eyes. My left eyeball has already been treated.”
Templar Albert prioritized treating Ray’s respiratory organs and left eyeball first.
Albert also painstakingly restored the main blood vessels and muscles in Ray’s left arm, preventing immediate necrosis.
When Ray mentioned the templar, Didier sighed in frustration.
Even though Ray had received emergency care, the urgency of his condition remained unchanged.
However, it seemed unlikely that Ray would listen to the suggestion of heading to Osiris Countdom.
“Ray… What happened to you?”
“I got hit directly by a magic called Flare. I tried to counteract it but couldn’t manage it properly.”
“Flare? Are you talking about the 8th Circle Annihilation Magic?”
“Most likely, yes.”
“My goodness…”
8th Circle Annihilation Magic was something Didier had only encountered in fairy tales.
Flare, known for being one of the hardest spells to cast among 8th Circle magics, could vaporize an entire small town.
Surviving a direct hit from it was almost incomprehensible.
Didier clenched his eyes shut and then led a horse toward them.
“There’s no time to rest. We need to head out now if we’re going to make it to Phillip’s County.”
Time was of the essence.
Ray nodded, giving a gentle pat on Johanna’s shoulder, who was flustered and unsure of what to do.
“I’m sorry, Johanna.”
“Huh! Hiccup…?”
“If I had taken more damage, I should have at least protected your sword.”
Johanna’s face contorted like a sheet of paper upon hearing Ray’s ill-timed joke.
She immediately threw the Zephirin X series to the ground, and the sound echoed through the air as she cried out in a voice choked with sobs.
“Just tell me if you’re hurt!! Then I wouldn’t have said such things!! I… I didn’t know anything…! Hic!”
Johanna, who had tried to act tough, started sobbing uncontrollably as she stared at Ray’s charred wounds.
Ray, caught off guard by Johanna’s unexpectedly strong reaction, fidgeted awkwardly until Didier intervened, sternly covering Ray’s body with a robe.
“Ray, did you get a chance to look into a mirror during the journey back?”
“Eh… No?”
“Then just shut up and stop talking nonsense.”
Your state looks like a fish freshly pulled out of a fiery furnace, Didier thought with a sigh, as he helped Clemens onto his horse.
After confirming that Johanna had managed to mount despite her wobbling, Didier gestured toward Ray.
“Let’s hurry back.”
*
Jenkins returned to the manor with Alesya after parting ways with Ray, Didier, and Johanna.
Right after returning, Alesya met with Count Philip, while Jenkins was summoned by Mohamed and reprimanded.
Given the ruckus Jenkins caused in Osiris Countdom, it wasn’t surprising that he endured several days of scolding.
With his shoulders slumped, Jenkins opened the door after a long bout of reprimand.
At that moment, the knights gathered near the door erupted in cheers upon seeing Jenkins.
“Wowwwwwwwww!!!”
The news of Jenkins dismantling another noble family’s knights brought them immense satisfaction.
Jenkins burst into laughter, while Mohamed pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly exasperated.
Once inside the study and seated across from the count, Jenkins began recounting the events that transpired in Osiris Countdom.
Upon hearing the rough details, the count displayed mixed emotions.
The count had authorized limited operational authority to Jenkins and Didier to support Ray during this mission.
Yet, hearing about the actual events made the count uneasy.
There was anxiety over the possibility that Ray’s actions might harm Phillip’s County and guilt for not fully supporting the young man wielding his sword for the world.
As the lord of Phillip’s County, the count had the duty to protect his territory.
Thus, maintaining distance from Ray was a reasonable judgment for a lord, but it occasionally brought feelings of shame.
Pushing these thoughts aside, the count spoke.
“So, is Ray currently moving to infiltrate the ship?”
“Yes, he mentioned securing an insider to assist.”
Ray’s mission had two objectives:
Securing or destroying relics.
And creating discord to prevent families suspected of worshiping evil gods from exerting influence within the empire.
The count nodded and issued orders promptly.
He instructed the knights to enhance their guard duties and prepared reserve forces in case of emergencies.
Additionally, under the pretense of apologizing for Jenkins’ rudeness, he dispatched a few employees to Osiris Countdom to accurately monitor and report the situation.
Fortunately, Ray, along with Didier and Johanna, successfully returned according to schedule with Clemens.
Didier, who returned discreetly to the county, immediately sought out the count upon entering the manor.
“Lord Count, we need all healers and clerics here immediately.”
“Knight Didier?”
The count asked in confusion, but Ray, standing beside him, waved his hand.
“It’s not that urgent… Ugh!”
Ray stopped mid-sentence, knelt down, and began retching.
Having ridden injured all the way to Phillip’s County, Ray’s body was sending out distress signals everywhere.
Instead of explaining, Didier removed the outer robe and robe covering Ray.
Upon seeing Ray’s condition, the count shouted immediately.
“Bring healers and clerics capable of using holy power here right away! Hurry!”
A knight guarding the count rushed out, and Didier swiftly lifted Ray and carried him to a prepared bed.
The hastily gathered healers and clerics swarmed around Ray, who had passed out.
What exactly happened to cause such extensive injuries?
The knights explained that Ray had an accident while dueling a mage.
The healers and clerics accepted this explanation without question.
None of them could imagine that Ray had survived a direct hit from an 8th Circle Annihilation Magic spell.
During the hours-long treatment, Ray occasionally woke up to exchange a few words.
As Ray repeatedly alternated between unconsciousness and consciousness, the healers and clerics left to take a break.
Lifting a handheld mirror, Ray inspected his own face.
Just as before, his face was completely ruined.
“Oh my…”
No wonder Johanna panicked.
While marveling at the state of his face, Ray heard the door open.
Looking up, he saw Jimy.
Despite the pain stabbing his entire body, Ray managed a smile for Jimy.
“What brings you here?”
“I heard you almost died, so I came to check it out.”
Approaching with a grumble, Jimy let out a deep sigh upon seeing Ray.
It was clear that Ray had literally crawled back from the brink of death.
“Looks like your whole body got burned. Is there any part left untouched?”
“At least I kept my hair. Look.”
Twirling his hair, Ray elicited a hollow laugh from Jimy.
“Crazy bastard. Lucky you’ve got so much hair.”
Dragging a chair over, Jimy sat next to Ray and carefully examined his ghastly wounds.
Not even during his mercenary days had Jimy seen someone survive such severe injuries.
“…Is recovery possible for all of this?”
“I won’t have any issues moving. Also, I decided to remove the facial scars this time.”
Since the burns covered old scars, they decided to take the opportunity to erase them during treatment.
However, the probability was high that the burns on his left arm and parts of his torso would remain as permanent scars.
Due to the overwhelming number of critical areas needing immediate attention, less priority was given to the scars on his skin outside of his face.
Jimy rubbed his face repeatedly, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed deeply.
“Ray, there are many people waiting for you.”
“I’ll meet them once my face treatment is done. Looking in the mirror was terrifying.”
“Yeah… That’s probably for the best.”
Jimy also didn’t want Bella, Lea, and the other children to see Ray’s current appearance.
Gently gripping Ray’s relatively intact right arm, Jimy spoke with a troubled tone.
“Ray… Please don’t get hurt like this again. The people who love you will be deeply hurt.”
“Where did this sudden mushiness come from?”
“I’m serious.”
“…”
Ray closed his eyes, looking at Jimy with half-open eyes.
He felt pain, exhaustion, and drowsiness creeping in.
It would take a few days to restore his face to a somewhat human appearance.
Until then, he planned to rest quietly.
*
Count Phillip requested the healers and clerics to keep Ray’s injuries confidential.
As this was a direct request from the lord of the county, none of them dared to speak out of turn.
By the time rumors would spread in a few weeks, Ray’s wounds would have healed significantly.
However, Karen and Luna learned about Ray’s injuries much earlier.
This was because Johanna returned late at night with swollen eyes.
Though Johanna had been warned to keep quiet, she couldn’t hold back her tears upon seeing her long-time friends.
“Waaaahhhhhh!”
Johanna’s sudden flood of tears shocked Karen and Luna.
Surrounded by the two, Johanna continued to cry uncontrollably.
“I didn’t even know Ray was hurt…! We were arguing moments ago…! Waaaahh!”
Without any explanation, Johanna first unleashed a torrent of tears and snot, causing Luna’s eyes to coldly narrow.
