I let my thread spread throughout the cavern, and I killed two more monsters. Then, I used ice magic to lower the temperature and controlled the steam to clear my field of vision. I gasped at the scene that had unfolded before me.
Kagali had fallen on her backside, but she was completely unharmed. However, Gaien was standing in front of her, and he had taken the brunt of the monster’s Fire Breath before I could kill it. He’d been badly hurt.
“Mr. Gaien!”
I ran up to him and started healing him immediately with my magic and the burn-healing potions I’d bought from Yuu. While I managed to cure most of his injuries, I couldn’t do anything about the most grievous one he’d suffered. Both of his arms had been entirely reduced to ashes.
“Dad!” Kagali jumped to her feet and hugged her father. “Ellie! His arms!”
“Calm down, Kagali.”
“A-A-A potion!” she stammered, panicking. “That’s it! We have to use a potion!”
“No. If we use healing magic or potions to close up these wounds, not even Regeneration will be able to save his arms anymore.”
“B-But...Regeneration is the most powerful healing spell. How could we—”
“Tida can cast it. Mr. Gaien, I know it hurts, but please bear with the pain. Thankfully, the fire cauterized your wounds, so you’re not bleeding much. With a bit of healing magic to maintain your stamina, you should be able to hold out until Tida returns.”
I did not have Regeneration registered in my Grimoire of Beelzebub. While that spell was technically a holy attribute healing spell, only people with a special disposition were capable of learning it. In that sense, it was closer to a unique spell than to a regular spell, so I couldn’t copy it with my grimoire.
“Stop yer racket,” Gaien told Kagali, who was still visibly distressed. “This is nothing.”
“I-I’m sorry... This is all because of me—”
“Stop. This was me own choice,” Gaien shot back.
Kagali’s hand had been reaching out to him, but she stopped her motion, taken aback. Gaien watched her hand linger in the air aimlessly for a moment before turning to me.
“Tsk! I can’t swing me hammer like that. Yer sure that lass of yers can fix me up when she gets back?”
“I am. She told me herself that she could use Regeneration.”
“Then I’ll wait.”
Despite the loss of his arms, Gaien managed to sit down cross-legged, cold sweat running down his body. I handed a potion and a waterskin to Kagali.
“Watch him closely,” I told her. “If the pain becomes too much for him, use a little bit of the potion, but make sure the wounds don’t close up entirely.”
“O-Okay...”
“Misha, are you and Alice all right?”
“Yes, Miss Ellie!”
“Kyuu!” Carol squeaked.
Misha picked up Alice, who was still sleeping, and walked over to me. They both seemed unharmed. As they approached, I noticed some mana swirling around Carol.
“It’s weak, but this spell seems to be Block Presence. Was that you, Carol?”
“Kyui!”
“You tried to protect Alice, didn’t you? Thank you, Carol.”
Carol was still young, so until now I had thought she couldn’t use magic. However, it looked like she was already able to cast some spells—albeit weakly. Suddenly, I felt mana surge within Alice once more.
“Ah!” Misha exclaimed, surprised, as Alice wiggled out of her arms.
Alice slowly walked up to Gaien. “You’ve lost your arms.”
“I’m sorry, archspirit.”
“No need to apologize,” Alice replied, before touching Gaien’s stumps with the tip of her fingers. Pale flames covered them.
“It hurts less...” Gaien said.
“This is soothing fire. It won’t give you back your arms, but it should make the pain more bearable.”
I watched Salamander cast his magic on Gaien through Alice, surprised. Fire attribute healing spells normally hastened stamina recovery or boosted immunity. I’d never heard of a fire attribute spell that could ease pain. The magic of spirits seemed to be quite different from ours.
Alice frowned, so I asked, “Is something the matter?”
“It might be because this dwarf was in the middle of transferring my excess mana into these ores, but I find controlling myself harder than usual. I’ll have to focus on holding back my mana, so I’ll give you back this girl’s body for the time being.”
As soon as Alice finished speaking Salamander’s words, she collapsed. Misha caught her before she hit the ground.
“Whew! Oh, it looks like she’s asleep again,” Misha said.
Allowing Salamander to control her body seemed to burn a lot of her stamina.
“Misha, I’ll watch over Alice, so please keep an eye on our surroundings.”
“All right!” she replied, placing the girl into my arms.
I held her with one hand and took out a bedsheet from my Grimoire of Mammon. I laid it out flat on the ground. I would have liked to sit down so Alice could sleep with her head on my lap, but that wouldn’t be wise. I needed to be able to move at a moment’s notice in case of any further danger. Instead, I took out a small bag, filled it with fabric, and put it under Alice’s head as a makeshift pillow.
Once I was done, Carol climbed onto Alice’s stomach and cast Block Presence again. Meanwhile, Kagali and Gaien were still sitting, making sure Gaien’s wounds wouldn’t worsen.
“All we can do now is wait for Tida.”