[Vol. 9] Chapter 32: The Two in Trouble
The sea waves, carrying violent energy and broken ice, were nothing before that light. In just a blink, she broke through the barrier and rushed into the battlefield, disappearing from sight just like Moraya.
“?”
Everyone froze, their eyes instinctively turning to where Violet and her group had been standing. But they found that the two girls who seemed to be her guards had also vanished, leaving behind not even the slightest trace, as if they had completely evaporated from the world.
Although puzzled, no one had time to worry about a few outsiders who hadn’t seemed important. With anxious hearts, those on the castle wall waited. When at last the massive waves from the great battle calmed down, the sea’s surface once again revealed broken ice and chaos everywhere. But Moraya, the terrifying tentacle from the frozen sea, and the black-haired girl who had suddenly rushed in earlier. None of them were anywhere to be seen.
Seeing this, Lian’s face immediately darkened.
“Inspector, um… what should we do now?”
Finally, one uneasy priest broke the silence. But the young man in the holy robe glared at him sharply and scolded in anger without hesitation.
“Isn’t it obvious? Find them! Use every bit of strength to search! Report this to the temple and request reinforcements. And question the Inspection Office, what are they even doing? How can such a simple trial turn out so different from the intelligence reports? If something happens to the candidate for Holy Maiden, no one involved will escape punishment!”
“Y-yes, understood!”
…………………………
Pain.
Tearing, burning, unbearable pain.
Even though her mind was slipping into unconsciousness, the agony, like her organs were on fire and her bones were shattered, kept tormenting Moraya Sinong’s body and soul.
This was the price of forbidden magic. She had expected it.
Half-dreaming, the girl seemed to return to that day years ago, the day when tragedy changed her life and everything around her. The new surname she carried was both an honor and a heavy shackle that bound her, wearing her spirit down.
That honor and glory had given her many things, but had taken even more away. Family, childhood, and dreams. She was even close to forgetting what kind of person she had once been.
Her heart was already tired and hurting. She never wanted to become a mere replacement for someone else, yet she could not escape this chain.
When would she finally be free?
Would it be when she became a true Holy Maiden, ruler of the temple… or only through death?
“Haa~”
A cool breeze brushed her skin, blowing away the heavy thoughts. Moraya’s eyes flew open, and she instinctively sat up.
“…?”
She stared blankly at her pale, delicate hands. Scenes of what had just happened surged back into her mind, but in the end they turned into nothing more than a faint murmur filled with hidden regret.
“I… survived all that?”
“What, is being alive such a bad thing~?”
The teasing, lighthearted voice beside her pulled Moraya’s awareness back. She turned her head. Her slightly dazed eyes slowly focused, landing on a black-haired, white-robed girl sitting casually cross-legged on the ground, fiddling with something in her hands.
“It’s you… I think your name was… Violet. You saved me?”
The priestess glanced at her, then quickly turned her attention back to what she was holding, answering in a careless tone.
“Weren’t you the one who asked me earlier if I knew holy magic, so that I could help you in a critical moment? I did help, didn’t I? So why are you asking me this now? From the look of it, your head doesn’t seem to have taken any damage just now.”
“Cough…”
Moraya ignored the slightly sharp tone in Violet’s words. Finally coming back to her senses, she gave a small, embarrassed cough to end the topic, then turned her head to look around at the surroundings.
The place seemed to be a jungle. The plants around them were green and thick, but strangely unfamiliar to her, not the kind usually seen in the northern lands. Under the night sky, the distant forest was dark and unclear. A damp breeze blew through, swaying the small campfire between her and the black-haired girl, making the light flicker.
This place…?
Moraya felt lost for a moment.
Although she disliked her dull life without hope, she would never harm herself or seek death on purpose. If she had to die, it should be a death of value. She could not betray her family’s expectations, her people, or the divine court that supported her. That was why, even though Moraya willingly took on the most dangerous role of bait, she also asked this mysterious girl, who seemed to be a holy magic user for help.
This showed her conflicting feelings.
The evil beast tide this time had been strange, completely different from what the trial information had said. In that crisis, she could only gather all the evil beasts in one place, and let Lian lead the priests to summon the [Divine Ice and Snow Seal] to suppress them all at once.
At first, the plan had gone smoothly. But Moraya never expected that under the frozen sea, there would be such a terrifying and powerful being. Even though she could sense that the creature wasn’t complete, its strength had already far surpassed human limits.
If she had to compare, only the legendary true form of the “Northern Calamity,” or the Grand Priestess of the [Eternal Winter Temple], Her Holiness, Holy Maiden Nolan Sinong, might be able to stand against it.
For such a terrifying being, destroying a small place like Nofenburg would only take a flick of the hand. That was why Moraya decided to use a forbidden divine spell to borrow divine power, trying to push it back into the sea with the remaining strength of the seal.
But when divine power descends, the user’s mind is unclear, so she didn’t know if she had succeeded. The only thing she remembered was falling into the deep frozen sea after using up all her strength.
What’s more, the forbidden spell may grant great power for a short time, but it should also leave terrible damage to both body and spirit, even harming one’s foundation. Yet, after checking her surroundings and focusing on her condition, Moraya realized that the terrible pain she had felt in her unconscious state was completely gone. Magic flowed smoothly through her body, without any wounds or scars. In fact, she felt even better than normal.
What was going on?
She looked again at the girl in front of her, who was still focused on the thing in her hands. For the first time, Moraya’s normally calm, cold eyes showed surprise and disbelief.
“Could it be… Miss Violet healed me? Even erased the side effects of the forbidden spell…? Just who are you?”
The priestess didn’t answer her question at all. Without even lifting her head, she just waved her hand, as if to say, “Talk later.” Her other hand continued fiddling with that strange object, looking completely absorbed in her task.
Seeing this, Moraya couldn’t help but feel curious. She leaned forward a little.
“What is it that you’re…”
Violet hadn’t bothered to hide the thing in her hands, so the snow girl easily saw what it was.
Moraya had thought it must be some rare and powerful treasure, since it held the mysterious girl’s full attention. But to her surprise, it was only a small wooden figurine, about the size of a palm.