Chapter 90

The treatment room, sealed off from the outside world, was illuminated by the light of luminescent moss lamps. Inside, the distinction between day and night was blurred, and even the weather outside was uncertain. That was why Ayane was momentarily distracted by the thunder that echoed loudly from a distance.

"Thunder...?"

She spoke the word, but immediately negated it, knowing it couldn't be. The battlefield music of magic, played by the mage soldiers, had reached the Lagga Cape many times before. On one hand, she wondered what there was to be surprised about now, but on the other, the ominous sound of destruction highlighted the abnormality of the current situation. Perhaps it was like a slow-acting poison, gradually numbing her senses and sensibilities. The person she used to be, who would flinch at the sound of attack magic from the rear, was no longer there. Whether to call it adaptation or degeneration, Ayane couldn't tell.

"Ayane, I've removed the foreign object from the laceration."

"Uh, sorry."

Mya, whose sleeves and even elbows were stained with blood, brought Ayane back to reality. The patient before her, blood seeping from the abdomen. After the fire element magic, earth element magic, especially the open wounds caused by earth projectiles, were particularly troublesome. Fireballs, classified as fire element magic, damage the human body through a combination of pressure, heat, and shrapnel. In contrast, earth projectiles, which cause both open and closed injuries, are dangerous, but their real trouble lies in the contamination of the wound. Gravel and clumps of earth must be removed and washed away to prevent serious infections from soil. Mya had removed this element with water element magic.

She channeled magic into the laceration. The sensation of grasping the damaged area with magic was like slipping her hand into the wound, a strange feeling. She healed the broken ribs and reconnected the damaged blood vessels and nerves. Concentrating all her nerves, she struggled to breathe. Fortunately, the broken ribs hadn't pierced any organs. She released her hand, which had been pouring magic, and exhaled the fatigue she had been holding in.

"It's okay, everything is fine now."

"Thanks. How long until they can move?"

The injured soldier, breathing heavily and sweating profusely but not losing consciousness, asked.

"As long as the blood loss is replenished, they should be able to move around in a few days."

"That's good. Can they return immediately?"

Ayane, with a vague smile, calmed herself, telling herself not to think any further. She had already made peace with it. Healing people who would return to the battlefield, people who would fight against the country they once served, and even childhood friends who had become enemies.

"Ayane, why don't you take a break?"

Mya, who had seen through her attitude, smiled kindly. She had guided the surgical procedures and was more exhausted from the water element magic treatment than Ayane. She couldn't let Mya worry unnecessarily or burden her further.

"Just a little longer, I'll keep going."

"Understood. Let's keep going a little longer."

Ayane had chosen this path, wishing for the lives of her neighbors. She couldn't admit to being tired. She couldn't say whether she was good or evil. The ambiguous standards could flip depending on the person and the place. Therefore, she could only move forward on the path she believed in, no matter how weak she was.

When she had finished with the thirteenth patient and helped them off the operating table, Ayane heard an unusual sound. It was a voice stripped of emotion. Not the groans or screams of the injured, but a clear and directed intent to kill.

"What is—"

Before Ayane could react to the unusual situation, Jusitan's voice, who was commanding the guard outside, reached her.

"Enemy attack!! Prepare to defend!"

"Don't let them through!!"

An uninvited visitor. The intensity of the battle could be felt even through the walls. The house they had borrowed as a treatment center shook from the impact of magic or skills.

"Ah, ah!"

Part of the ceiling collapsed, and Ayane clung to the operating table. With a sound like a toy box being overturned, the outer wall opened like a revolving door. The sealed room was exposed, and fresh air flowed in. The new entrance was formed by a large, inorganic arm, not a human or a monster's arm.

"An, earth golem!?"

Made from gravel and fallen leaves, it was an earth golem created by earth element magic. It swung its head, which was wrapped with twigs and arrows, and after confirming the room, it raised its giant arm again.

"Ahh, ah!"

Just before the massive weight could be unleashed, a healer who had stepped in front of Ayane released the magic she had been building up. The water projectile caught the misshapen head. The solid head exploded from the impact, shattering like a sugar sculpture. Sunlight leaked through the broken wall, revealing the outside.

"How could they enter here without warning—what's happening at the front lines!?"

Mya lamented the situation. Even Ayane, who was almost powerless in combat, could understand the gravity of the situation. The fact that enemy soldiers were sent to the treatment center without warning was, to put it bluntly, an abnormal situation. A Clayst soldier who saw the stunned girl shouted.

"There they are!!"

"They're inside the wall the golem opened."

The guards tried to stop the enemy soldiers, but there were too many. One man cut down the Myaard soldiers, deflected a spear aimed at him, and charged straight into the treatment center.

"Lady Ayane, be prepared!!"

"Ahh!"

Ayane recognized the man. It was a training exercise or a mock battle within the Rehazen Knights. She had healed a cut on his cheek and neck from a sword. He was young and somewhat embarrassed, repeatedly thanking her. That unusual behavior, rare for the Rehazen Knights, must have made an impression. Two years had passed, and he had grown into a man. But his mouth, closed in a straight line, said nothing. It was closed as if to suppress his emotions.

Mya, without hesitation, fired a water projectile at her former comrade, but it only grazed the shadow of the Rehazen knight. Mya, skilled in water element magic, was still a healer.

"Too fast!"

The difference in combat experience and training between a knight and a soldier was too great. The attacker, moving in a low, irregular pattern, easily dodged the second shot. The scattered droplets were deflected by a magic barrier. Even the aftereffects were neutralized.

"Trying to interfere, traitor!!"

The Re