"His mana is completely depleted, and he has a piercing wound in his abdon. The wound is being corroded by a residual magic. With just a human constitution, it will be difficult for him to survive."
In an elven village, an elven physician, after a careful examination of Rhodes's injuries, ca to this conclusion. In all his thousand years of healing, he had never seen such a strange wound. The residual magic was like a maggot, clinging to the bone, constantly eroding his life force. If not for the incredibly dense holy aura of the magic, he would have suspected they had been attacked by a demon. But such a dense holy power... had this group fought with a powerful Sky-Winged warrior? It was the only explanation. And this adventuring party... an elf, three humans, and a dwarf who didn't look like a dwarf. Strange, indeed.
Aren't we all allied now? Why would there be a conflict? The physician didn't dare to ask. The elf who had brought in the wounded human, the one called Serie, was truly intimidating. She looked as if she would make him pay with his own life if he couldn't save the human.
"Is there no other way?" Serie asked, her fists clenched.
"No. Not unless you can find a priest. Only their healing magic can cure this human's injuries."
Hearing his words, the group looked at each other. Priests were exclusive to the Sky-Winged; only they could interpret the holy scripture. And they had just been in a battle with them, a battle in which Rhodes had dealt them a heavy blow. The physician's suggestion was impossible.
"I'll go to the Heavenly Kingdom now," Serie said, as if she had made up her mind.
"Miss Serie... you..." Norne began, but trailed off. He knew what she was planning. She was going to launch a full-scale assault on the Heavenly Kingdom and seize their holy scripture. With her magical talent, she could surely decipher it, and then use its healing magic to save Rhodes. But the plan was just too insane, and he had to try to stop her.
"It's the only way!" she said, shaking her head. After the physician had left, she continued, "Rhodes has the residual mana of that false god in his body. Only the healing magic of the holy scripture can remove it."
"Is there enough ti? The Heavenly Kingdom is on the far eastern side of the continent, isn't it?" Som asked, his voice filled with worry. It would take years to reach it. Young Rhodes wouldn't last that long. It was a testant to his own resilience that he had even made it to this elven village.
"It's fine," she said, taking out the stone slab. "There's a residual magic circle in it. We can reverse-teleport."
Both the demons and the Sky-Winged had used the vast power within the slab to open a super-large teleportation circle. As a result, there was a residual magic circle within it. The demon's had long since faded over the centuries, but the Sky-Winged's was still there. It was weak, but it was enough to teleport the few of them. "And the remnants of the Sky-Winged army can't have made it back to their Heavenly Kingdom yet. This is our only chance."
The Sky-Winged had deployed their entire army, including the Council of Thirteen. Their ho base was likely being guarded by the old and the infirm.
"Is there no other way?" Norne was not unwilling to save Rhodes, but he was a cautious person. He couldn't just agree to such a reckless plan.
"It's our only option!"
As they were at a stalemate, a commotion was heard from outside. Eirik drew his longsword, and a mont later, the elven physician appeared again. "Honored guests, a Sky-Winged warrior is here to see you." He had told them she was looking for a strange party of three humans, an elf, and a dwarf. It could only be them.
"Damn it! They've caught up to us!?" Eirik cursed under his breath. He had thought that after the beating Rhodes had given them, they wouldn't dare to co back. And now, just a short ti later, they were at their doorstep.
"Sothing's not right," Serie said. "If they were really after us, why would they send soone to announce their arrival?"
"Indeed," Norne nodded. It had been a week since they had left the dwarven ruins, and Rhodes had been unconscious the entire ti. If not for the protection of Org, and his own incredible resilience, he would have never lasted this long. But even now, he showed no signs of waking up.
"Let her in. But be ready to fight."
In the end, it was Serie who made the decision. They all prepared for battle.
A few monts later, a pitiful-looking Sky-Winged woman walked in. Her white wings were stained with dried blood, and her left wing was completely gone.
"You!?" Serie recognized her. It was the youngest mber of the Council of Thirteen, Olivia. She had seen her once before, from a distance, but she had rembered her face. And she had seen her in the last battle, though things had been too chaotic at the ti to think about it. Now, seeing her here, she was surprised.
"Serie? No wonder..." Olivia recognized her as well. "You're still alive."
She had seen her in their formation during the battle, but even if she had recognized her then, it wouldn't have made a difference. The Sky-Winged would not disobey the Goddess's command. Even though she had felt it was wrong to attack an ally, she couldn't have changed the minds of the other council mbers. But now, with a new oracle from the true Goddess, she had only one mission.
"The human who was acknowledged by Org... where is he?" she asked, leaning against the doorfra, her voice weak.
"What do you want!?" Eirik said, imdiately moving to stand in front of the unconscious Rhodes. "Are you here for revenge?"
"No, that's not it," Olivia said, shaking her head painfully. She took a difficult step forward, and the others tensed. "It's the true Goddess... I have received an oracle from the true Goddess!"
What a cruel joke. The Sky-Winged, the self-proclaid most loyal servants of the Goddess, had been deceived by a false god and had been led to a disastrous defeat. And now, she had no one of her own kind to tell. How sad, and how pathetic.
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