"We are deeply sorry for the offense she committed! We implore your forgiveness—"
Once again, their plea was cut short.
With mechanical precision, the Nexorian's blade-arm swung down, cleaving the speaker in two.
At that instant, the final two surviving members of the Obsidian Covenant turned deathly pale. The truth finally sank in—what they had summoned wasn't a divine lord but an emotionless executioner. A mindless entity whose sole purpose was to kill. And they were standing far too close to it.
Terror seized them. Without hesitation, they turned and ran, their panicked screams piercing the night. Fear drove them forward with everything they had, but the Nexorian was faster. In mere moments, it closed the distance and struck them down, silencing their cries in an instant.
With all the cultists slaughtered, the Nexorian stood motionless. Its glowing red eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for more life to extinguish. But there was nothing. Mikael, Amelia, and Lyra were notably absent, having already escaped before the carnage began.
"Rustle."
A slight movement in a nearby bush caught its attention.
Without hesitation, the creature turned its gaze toward the disturbance, spotting a small squirrel darting through the underbrush. Instantly, it moved after the tiny creature.
And so, the massacre continued—this time upon the forest's inhabitants.
A crimson mist seeped from the fissure, creeping into the air, tainting everything it touched. The very essence of Nexoria had begun infiltrating this world, corrupting the land itself.
Meanwhile, in the opposite direction, Mikael, Lyra, and Amelia trudged forward with difficulty. Mikael was in no condition to move quickly, and though worry was evident on the girls' faces, they understood that now wasn't the time to stop so they continued to move forward.
They had no idea how strong the Nexorian entity was, but none of them were eager to find out. All they could do was push forward, hoping to put as much distance as possible between them and the nightmare that had just been unleashed.
And so, they pressed on. However, after a while, magical beasts once again attacked them.
Mikael wanted to fight, but Amelia quickly intervened. "It's my fault you're hurt. I shouldn't have blindly rushed to attack the Obsidian Covenant members…" she said, looking down in shame. Then, lifting her head, her expression hardened with determination. "But now that you're injured because of me, I want to protect you. Let me do it!"
"Me too!" Lyra added, the same look of resolve etched on her face.
Hearing their words, Mikael could only accept and let them take over the fight.
What followed was a series of fierce battles between the girls and the magical beasts. Not all of them were easy—both Amelia and Lyra suffered multiple injuries—but they persevered. Their determination touched Mikael deeply, and with every passing moment, he found himself loving them more and more.
An hour passed this way before the three of them decided to take shelter in a small cave they found. Upon approaching, Lyra immediately cast a detection spell to ensure it wasn't the lair of a powerful magical beast.
Once the initial examination was complete and they confirmed the cave was empty, they carefully inspected the interior to ensure they wouldn't be caught off guard in case any magical beasts capable of hiding from detection were present. Fortunately, their fears proved unfounded, and they were relieved to find that it was just a simple, uninhabited cave. With this, they could finally take a moment to recover, as all three were in a pitiful state.
Mikael was still suffering from his battle with Terenei, while Amelia and Lyra were exhausted and wounded from fighting the beasts.
The only sounds in the cave were their deep, labored breaths. No one spoke, but words weren't necessary—the hardships they had endured over the last few hours had brought them closer than ever.
Mikael sat on the ground, and his gaze fell on his two broken arms. A look of realization appeared on his face, immediately followed by an ugly expression. "Fuck," he cursed under his breath, too low for the girls to hear.
The reason for his frustration?
He had just realized he was screwed.
Normally, his 900+ vitality was a massive advantage, allowing him to heal 90 times faster than a regular human. Under normal circumstances, his broken arms should fully recover in two, maybe three days at most—probably even less if he used healing magic. That should have been a relief, right?
No it wasn't!
Because of his rapid healing, his broken arms were already beginning to mend. Normally, this would have been good news, but not this time. Despite his efforts to minimize movement while they traveled, his arms had still shifted, causing him constant pain. Worse because of his constant movement, his bones were now starting to heal incorrectly. If he didn't address the issue soon, he could end up with arms that didn't function properly.
The only solution was to break them again and remain as still as possible to let them heal correctly.
Mikael's expression remained grim as he came to terms with what he had to do. Then, with a deep sigh, he conjured thin threads of aura, controlling them to wrap tightly around his right arm in a specific way…
His actions caught the girls' attention as they were already looking in his direction, about to check on him. They had taken a brief moment to rest and catch their breath, but it didn't last long before their focus shifted entirely to Mikael. Ignoring the minor injuries scattered across their bodies—hidden by the self-regenerating properties of the Academy uniform—they were far more concerned about him. After his fight with Terenei, his condition looked anything but good!
"CRACK!"
A chilling, grating sound of bone snapping echoed through the cave as Mikael's aura threads forcefully broke his right arm.
His jaw tightened as he endured the pain, but not a single sound escaped him. He had grown used to pain long ago. A broken bone wasn't enough to faze him.
"Mikael!" Two worried voices resounded in the small cave as Amelia and Lyra quickly approached him.
After a brief explanation, the girls understood why he was doing this. As Mikael's aura threads wrapped around his left arm, Lyra turned her gaze away, unwilling to watch him hurt himself. Yet, knowing it was necessary, she remained silent.
"Mikael…" Amelia broke the silence, her voice low, tinged with guilt and shame.
Mikael raised his head and gave a playful smile. "No need to be so gloomy. It isn't your fault, so don't blame yourself, okay?"
Amelia met his gaze and saw the sincerity in his eyes. She felt touched, and a small smile appeared on her face. "Yeah," she responded.
Crack!
Mikael's left arm snapped as well, causing the girls to flinch. But Amelia didn't look away. While Mikael had told her not to blame herself, she still felt responsible. The least she could do was bear witness.
Mikael remained silent as his arm broke and, as if nothing had happened, immediately cast Heal on both limbs. A bright light engulfed them, followed by the clicking sound of bones shifting and mending.
Once the initial healing on his arms was done, Mikael turned his attention to Amelia and Lyra, using Heal to mend the injuries they had sustained while fighting magical beasts. He was the only one in their group capable of using healing magic, making it his responsibility.
Two hours passed as they took time to rest and recover. Throughout this period, Mikael remained the trio's focus, the girls watching over him attentively, hoping he would heal quickly and suffer less.
After the initial healing, Amelia and Lyra refused any further treatment, insisting that Mikael focus on himself instead. Despite his protests, their determination left him with no choice but to comply.
By the end of those two hours, his internal injuries had significantly improved. They were still painful, but not as debilitating, allowing him to fight without much hindrance. He was weaker than usual, but not nearly as much as before.
As for his arms, they were in better condition, but expecting them to fully heal in just two hours, even with his high vitality, was unrealistic. To prevent further damage, Mikael created aura 'casts' to immobilize them, ensuring they wouldn't worsen as they traveled.
Though he still wouldn't be able to use his arms, at least his condition wouldn't deteriorate further.
At that moment, the trio stepped out of the cave, ready to move forward. They were exhausted—more mentally than physically—but they knew they couldn't afford to linger. The propagation of Nexoria was nearing their location, drawn closer due to the portal the Obsidian Covenant had opened.
As they left the cave, the first rays of the rising sun bathed them in light, welcoming a new day. For a fleeting moment, it almost felt as though the horrors of the past day had been nothing more than a nightmare. But they knew the truth.
Without wasting any more time, they ventured deeper into the wilderness. As expected, magical beasts attacked them frequently, but through their combined efforts, they either repelled or slew them.
Amelia let loose precise arrows, each shot swift and deadly. Lyra weaved water and earth spells in a masterful display of control and finesse. And despite being injured and unable to use his arms, Mikael was still a force to be reckoned with, using quick, powerful aura-infused kicks to take down their attackers efficiently.
Time slipped away in a blur of travel and combat. As the moment of their extraction from this world drew closer, a sense of unease settled over them. The closer they got to their escape, the more they feared that something would go terribly wrong.
But, in an almost anticlimactic fashion, nothing unexpected happened. The magical beast attacks persisted, but there were no sudden disasters, no last-minute crises.
Time continued to pass.
Less than a minute remained before the space lock would lift, finally allowing them to leave this world.
"Fifty-eight seconds before the space lock is lifted, and five minutes and fifty-eight seconds before we're out of here," Mikael declared.
At his words, relief washed over Amelia and Lyra. However, while Amelia smiled, there was also a flicker of sadness in her eyes. She tried to hide it, but she failed miserably.
Even so, the trio remained on high alert, standing in a triangular formation, their backs to each other, prepared for any last-minute ambush.
Each second crawled by agonizingly slowly until—
[24 hours have passed. Space barriers lifting...]
[Space barriers lifted. Extraction from this world is now possible.]
[Detection of the presence of a Private (Rank 1) on the world of Dirarnia. Initiating automatic extraction. Confirm? Yes/No]
Mikael was about to instinctively accept when a sudden thought hit him, causing him to stop. 'What if the extraction only applies to me…?'
The idea sent a chill down his spine. He immediately asked the Records, "Does the automatic extraction you're referring to include Amelia and Lyra, or is it only me?"
[The automatic extraction only applies to you, as Amelia and Lyra do not possess the required military rank. However, it is possible to extract them as well. Unlike the automatic extraction, which would have been instant, the normal extraction requires all three of you to remain still for the next five minutes.]
Mikael let out a relieved sigh as he read the last message. The first part had given him a serious scare.
After recovering from the initial shock, he quickly warned the girls, "We'll be extracted in five minutes. During that time, we need to stay completely still and avoid any fighting."
Without wasting more time, he accepted the Records' extraction request.
[Extraction will commence in 5:00... 4:59...]
Author Note:
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