"..."
Seeing his anxious expression, Raul immediately replied, "They say it was the last warrior left from the Zeus Familia."
'A warrior? Was it Zald?'
"Anyone else?" Rayleigh asked again.
"N-No, that's all."
Stared intensely by Rayleigh, Raul grew a little scared and his tone became cautious.
'Alfia didn't make a move? Does that mean she actually took my words to heart?'
'Sigh... i don't get it, but at least it proves she was swayed.'
'As for Zald… he killed dozens of Adventurers last night.'
This was the sheer cruelty of Erebus's plan.
Only Adventurers with truly outstanding talent could survive.
Ordinary ones would simply be sacrificed in large numbers. For those victims, the moment they died, the future of this world and the survival of Orario no longer had anything to do with them.
In the end, the Gods have only ever truly expected "heroes."
"The Captain said we can't let a hero go without even a comfortable bed to sleep in, so he had you use our Familia's private room at the Guild."
'That Pallum.. he's quite considerate.'
"Unfortunately, although we tried our best to turn the tide, three Gods were still sent back to Tenkai. Hundreds of Adventurers lost their Falna as a result and were..." Raul didn't finish his sentence.
But Rayleigh already understood perfectly.
Three Familias in the city had been completely wiped out.
It couldn't be helped.
Orario was one step behind, constantly chasing after traps the enemy had already laid at every turn.
"How is the Hephaestus Familia? And the Astraea Familia?" Rayleigh asked with some concern.
Raul replied, "Your Familia's blacksmiths have all been gathered at the Central Plaza. They've set up work sheds to ensure the logistics are kept in order. The Astraea Familia has also successfully regrouped and is currently safe as well."
"Is that so? I see, thank you." Rayleigh breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Not at all. That's is really all I can do..." Raul's face darkened as he spoke with a deep sense of inferiority.
This war had simply been too much for him to handle.
Human lives were treated like disposable weeds, whether they were friend or foe. Even without being on the frontlines of the battlefield, just being busy with logistics and seeing the horrifically wounded was enough to make him tremble uncontrollably.
If Orario lost, what would happen to everyone?
Would they be able to survive?
Or would they all just die?
Seeing Raul's pathetic state, Rayleigh raised a hand and clapped him firmly on the shoulder.
"Pull yourself together. You're a member of Orario's strongest Familia. Puff out your chest, do what you can right now, and don't let your future self be ashamed of who you are today."
Raul's heart was deeply stirred by his encouraging words!
The Loki Familia.
The fact that someone ordinary like him could join the Loki Familia still felt like a distant dream.
Captain Finn often encouraged him, saying he was chosen for his specific skills.
This was the only real experience in his life he could boast about.
As a member of the Loki Familia, his own honor, and the Familia's honor—these two things had become his most cherished treasures.
"I'm sorry, Rayleigh-san... you end up encouraging me, I'm really am useless," Raul first belittled himself out of pure habit.
But then he immediately added, "But I'll work much harder from now on! I'll work hard to become just like you, Rayleigh-san!"
Rayleigh was completely speechless.
He opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.
He actually wanted to say, 'Don't learn from me. I have cheats!'
The poor kid was probably thinking he might miraculously awaken some amazing Skill in the future!
But it was fine.
Even as an ordinary adventurer, as long as he had one of Rayleigh's swords, he could still have a very bright future ahead of him.
The real question was whether this young man could actually earn the recognition of a Zanpakuto.
If Rayleigh forged a sword using half of Raul soul like Lyra did, Raul wouldn't just end up with a blank sword with no abilities, would he?
One even more pathetic and useless than Hozukimaru!
That... probably wouldn't happen, right?
At this sudden thought, Rayleigh felt that Raul was simply cursed.
In this bustling city of countless heroes, to be this incredibly ordinary—a random friend A, the ultimate commoner—his reputation was definitely well-deserved.
"It seems like there aren't enough healers around. I'll help out," Rayleigh said as he rolled up his sleeves.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Before Raul could ask for clarification, Rayleigh had already crouched down in front of a heavily injured person.
He aimed his open palm at the wounded man, activated Kaidō and channeled spiritual power from his hand directly into the man's body.
Under the restorative power of the reiryoku, the patient's injuries began to visibly heal.
The dried bloodstains flaked off bit by bit, revealing the fresh wounds beneath. The jagged edges of the wounds then began to close smoothly.
Wounds healed by spiritual power were not repaired by simply enhancing the body's natural healing ability, so there was no scabbing or scarring during the treatment process.
In about a minute, the patient lying before him—who had two severe bone fractures, two deep sword wounds, minor skin burns, and bleeding in his left eye—was fully healed.
Raul stared, completely dumbfounded. "A-Amazing. So you know Healing Magic too, Rayleigh-san."
After healing the person, Rayleigh frowned.
'It was too slow.'
Although this person's injuries looked horrific, they weren't actually life-threatening.
Taking over a minute to carefully treat him was very inefficient.
And there were still two or three hundred people lying here waiting for treatment.
"Raul, help me. Move the injured into tight groups of six, as close together as possible."
"Ah, o-okay."
Raul obediently sprang into action.
Soon, the very first group was arranged on the floor.
Rayleigh stood before them, extending both hands out.
He touched the index finger and thumb of his left hand to the index finger and thumb of his right hand, forming a hollow triangle shape between them.
He intended to cast Kaidō over a certain area, treating all the targets within it simultaneously.
Although Rayleigh was just trying it on a whim, it went surprisingly smoothly.
An eight-sided, cube-like construct of spiritual power enveloped all six of the wounded who were gathered together on the floor.
The cube was a pale gold, its sharp edges shining even more brightly.
The wounded inside the cube soon began to physically relax, a clear sign that their intense pain was being alleviated.
Although he was treating six people all at once, the Reiatsu consumption wasn't six times that of treating a single person.
It was only about 2.5 times as much effort.
"Ugh."
One by one, the wounded regained consciousness as they were treated.
When they saw Rayleigh healing them, they forced themselves to speak.
"Thank you."
Rayleigh nodded at them and said, "Don't push yourselves too hard. I can't heal you completely in one go for now, because there are other wounded waiting. Once you can move around, please help fill the gaps in the support staff."
The treatment was complete.
Rayleigh wiped the sweat from his forehead and began the next round of healing.
There was a severe shortage of healers everywhere.
It wasn't just here, the Central Plaza was likely in the exact same predicament.
If he wanted to change this terrible situation, he needed a much more efficient method of healing.
After providing emergency treatment to everyone present, Rayleigh immediately rushed toward his workshop.
As a blacksmith, Kaidō alone couldn't turn this situation around for him.
So he decided to forge a new sword!