“Missing, huh? So that’s what the Alliance told you?” The prince spoke as though he was quite intrigued by the news. “She took part in the assault on the Demon King’s castle eight years ago.”
Charlotte had heard a rumor about that. It went that the white dragons had cooperated with the Alliance to launch an attack directly on the castle of the Demon King. But just seeing Liliana’s current condition before her more than answered how that attack had gone. As such, it made sense that the Holy Church hadn’t divulged the results of their effort. And considering Liliana had disappeared from the front lines around that same time, and had been designated as having “gone missing” by the forest elves...
“She was in the night elves’ care for quite a while.” For eight years. The prince rubbed the elf’s head as he shared that horrifying fact. “I took a liking to her, so I went ahead and adopted her. At present, she thinks she’s a dog because her mind is a wreck. So it’s like I said, right? She’s my pet.”
Once again, a shudder went through the crowd. Meanwhile, Liliana gave a soft whine, confused as to why the people in front of her were making such scary faces. The frightened high elf pet scurried behind the prince’s legs.
She was afraid of them. That earth-shattering realization made Charlotte feel like the world was collapsing around her. The only thing that prevented her from dropping to her knees was the nearby wall offering some semblance of support. The mere sight of her was enough to break the heart of any soldier that had stepped foot onto the battlefield. And seeing her like this, it was abundantly clear that no trace of her former self remained. If any forest elves had been present, they likely would have died from sheer anger alone.
Suddenly, the mystery behind this supposed healing started to become clear. If the prince had a high elf under his control, healing of this nature would be easy.
He’s going to share the blessings of a brainwashed high elf with us...?!
The rage and humiliation Charlotte felt was hard to express. But that blessing was undeniably a boon to the people of the autonomous zone. The most humiliating part of it all was how desperately they needed this aid. They didn’t have the strength to refuse the gift. While under the guise of showing them mercy, the prince was once again trampling all over their pride. Truly, this was befitting behavior for a savage.
“Okay, let’s get started, shall we?” the prince said, before turning to one of the beastfolk nearby. “Get me a bucket or something, will you? The bigger the better.” The citizens of the autonomous zone shared a confused look, wondering what he needed a bucket for. In the blink of an eye, a large barrel had been brought out.
“This is perfect. So this guy’s missing two legs and an eye? Is that all?” Zilbagias nodded in the direction of a man on one of the stretchers.
“Um, yes, for the most part.”
“For the most part? Is there more? Just so you know, I can heal anything except birth defects.”
“He...also has a deep wound on his chest.”
“Okay. Me Ta Fesui.”
Suddenly, a wave of pressure emanated from the demon prince. Charlotte instantly tensed up, her head suddenly flooded with memories of that night in Evaloti. And in no time at all, the suffering soldier blinked in surprise. His missing legs and eye had returned, healthier than ever.
In contrast, Demon Prince Zilbagias blurted out a very unroyal cry of pain as he dropped to the ground. As if rotting as they watched, both his legs and one of his eyes withered and fell off, dropping into the barrel. Liliana gave a mournful bark before she started licking the prince. With a hiss, divine light enveloped Zilbagias, and in short order restored his missing body parts. It was as though they were never missing in the first place.
“What...was...that...?” Tafman moaned as if trapped in a nightmare.
The prince chuckled. “My family’s Bloodline Magic, Transposition,” he replied smugly.
“Transposition?!”
“That’s right. It allows me to transfer any injury or illness from one person to another. So I take on the wounds of another person myself, then let Liliana heal me. As it stands now, she can only heal someone by licking them. And I’m certainly not allowing my beloved pet’s tongue anywhere near the likes of you. When was the last time any of you took a bath anyway?” the prince asked, overly serious. A number of the wounded looked a bit disappointed at that.
Meanwhile, while Charlotte engraved the name Transposition into her memory, a fresh wave of fear washed over her. He had said that was the magic of his family. Though she’d had the sneaking suspicion before, that confirmed this wasn’t a unique magic to the prince. There were plenty of demons with the very same ability.
It’s...incredible.
Even Charlotte felt her heart start to wither at the unbelievable strength the demonic forces wielded. How many of them could use this power? Thousands? Tens of thousands? How could the Panhuman Alliance ever stand a chance? While she fought with that realization, the healings continued. Something she should have been happy about...
“By the way...do you remember when I mentioned how keeping energetic humans like you around has its uses in the demonic kingdom?” Zilbagias asked as he used his freshly regrown arms to throw the scraps of the old, shriveled ones into the barrel. “The anatomy of humans and demons are remarkably similar. Aside from your lack of horns, all of our organs are in basically the same place. That’s what allows Transposition to work between us.”
Charlotte gulped. Another use for humans. She had assumed he meant as slaves, but...
“No way...!”
“It’s the truth. Healthy humans can be used to heal any injury a demon receives except for broken horns.”
“And...what happens to the person who takes those wounds?”
“Isn’t that obvious? They die.” The prince tilted his head, as if baffled by the naivety of the question. Charlotte had to avert her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she could keep her rage suppressed before it boiled over and reached her face.
And so the healings continued, the demon prince taking on the wounds of the humans and turning himself into a ragged mess, only for Liliana to then heal him back to perfect health. The humans watched as their injuries were all immaculately healed, over and over, like some sort of never-ending nightmare.
The strangest part was not the unique magic that the demons possessed, nor the saint acting like a dog. It was the prince himself, taking on unspeakably brutal injuries left and right, yet never so much as flinching in pain.
“That’s the last one. Everyone’s happy and healthy thanks to you, Liliana. Good job.”
Liliana replied with a happy bark, shaking her rear slightly as if trying to wag a tail.