Chapter 42: The Angel’s Healing Touch

However, hadn’t we already sensed the dark elemental aura gradually fading as we entered?

I voiced my perspective, highlighting that this indicated a gradual improvement in the situation, rendering the immediate discovery of the source less critical.

“If that were truly the case, it would be ideal,” Sally conceded, though her expression still betrayed a lingering unease.

I, too, found it unlikely that things would begin to improve precisely at the moment of our arrival.

“Sheila, do you recall when the dark elements—or rather, when people first began to fall ill?”

Sally had initially intended to inquire about the proliferation of dark elements in the air, but realizing Sheila was merely an ordinary person, and that elemental perception typically required a magic-related profession, she rephrased her question.

After all, even among human mages, only light mages possessed the ability to precisely sense dark elements, and practitioners of light magic were inherently rare, making their skills exceptionally valuable.

“Approximately four days ago,” Sheila replied, lifting her gaze as she briefly cast her mind back.

“Gavin was the first to collapse. He fell ill shortly after returning from gathering herbs in the mountains. That very evening, several others progressively succumbed to sickness, falling into a slumber from which they never awoke.”

“Did anything out of the ordinary occur that day?” I pondered aloud, then inquired.

“Anything special?” she echoed, sounding somewhat perplexed, yet she still deliberated before responding.

“There wasn’t anything particularly unusual… Oh, wait, except for Kane! He encountered a magical beast in the woods near town, slew it, brought it back, and even boasted about it to everyone.”

“Kane?” The name struck me as familiar, and I immediately recalled him as the individual Simon, the parish priest, had mentioned earlier, the one dispatched to deliver a letter to the capital.

“That Kane could kill a magical beast?” Sally, too, expressed surprise, wondering if such a skilled individual truly resided in this secluded, ancient mountain town.

“Indeed,” Sheila affirmed, her demeanor suggesting it was perfectly normal. “Kane is the strongest person here. He’s a hunter by trade and frequently boasts about being a Tier 3 adventurer; practically everyone in town knows it.”

“By the way, is Tier 3 really that powerful?” Sheila couldn’t help but seek our confirmation at this point.

“Haha… it’s not bad, really quite impressive,” I chuckled awkwardly, my gaze drifting to the side. Catching Sally’s peculiar glance, I swiftly redirected the conversation.

“What became of the magical beast’s corpse?”

“Because many more people fell ill the next day, some suspected the magical beast was the cause. So, they quickly took the corpse far away and disposed of it,” she explained with a sigh, then looked at us strangely, noticing our interest in the beast. “So, you also think that magical beast caused it? Kane initially thought so too, which is why he was so remorseful and volunteered to deliver the letter to the capital.”

“That’s impossible,” Sally declared, shaking her head upon hearing this. Having already determined it wasn’t a contagious disease, she immediately dismissed the notion. “A single magical beast couldn’t cause such widespread dark pollution. Not even ten… no, not even a hundred could accomplish that.”

Despite posing several more questions to Sheila, we failed to uncover any further clues.

“Ultimately, we still haven’t pinpointed the root cause,” I remarked, glancing at Sally and shrugging in resignation.

“In that case, I’ll go fetch another patient. I implore you, Reverend Priestess, to save one more soul.”

Seeing that we were unable to reach a conclusion here, Sister Sheila cautiously offered her suggestion. Her hopes now rested almost entirely on Sally, as additional aid was unlikely to arrive anytime soon.

“Very well, go quickly and return swiftly.”

Sally nodded, offering a brief instruction, then advised Simon to rest before exiting the room with me.

Sheila, too, promptly left the church to seek out the patient.

“How are you faring?” I asked, a hint of worry in my voice as I noticed an undeniable weariness etched onto Sally’s face.

“Can you still push through?”

“It should be fine.”

She leaned back on a long bench in the hall, closing her eyes to rest. The two consecutive spells she had cast had drained not only her magic but also a considerable amount of her energy.

Yet, she stubbornly insisted she was alright.

However, when some townsfolk carried the summoned patient into the church, we were both startled.

“Reverend Priestess, please, I beg you, save him!”

A woman, presumably the patient’s mother, desperately clutched at Sally’s clothes, sobbing and pleading.

I looked at the person on the stretcher, who was actually quite young, perhaps in their early twenties, but in a far more dire state than the elderly Simon.

Their entire body was blackened, and much of their skin was festering, oozing black pus and blood. They gasped for breath incessantly, yet seemed utterly unconscious.

The sight was truly repulsive; I could only glance at it before instinctively turning my head away, struggling to suppress the discomfort it evoked.

“He… he is truly at death’s door.”

Sally gazed at the patient’s mother, a look of profound difficulty even appearing on her usually resolute face.

However, with the woman clinging to her relentlessly, Sally had no choice but to agree to at least try.

“Are you sure you can do this?”

I could sense that the dark pollution within this patient was many times more severe than that in the parish priest, likely making them one of the very first individuals Sheila had mentioned who fell ill.

“There’s no choice. Even if it’s difficult, we must try to cure him. If he turns into a zombie, it will be far more troublesome.”

Sally cast a glance at me, then rose, grasping her staff.

Immediately after speaking, she began to cast her spell, but this time, the halo of light, upon touching the patient, inexplicably failed to expand, merely flickering a few times before vanishing.

“It’s no good!”

Sally, having released the spell, collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Seeing her lips turn pale, I instantly panicked. Without waiting for Sheila, I rushed over and helped her up.

“This… this is at least three or four days’ worth of accumulation. My remaining magic… it’s simply not enough.”

“Never mind, don’t speak for now.”

I first helped her to a chair, then turned my gaze back to the patient.

Though the dispelling magic had offered some minimal effect, its impact was akin to a drop in the ocean; at best, it would merely postpone their final breath by a few hours.

The patient’s family members exchanged bewildered glances, unsure how to proceed. With their only hope, the priestess, now incapacitated, what other recourse did they have?

And then, astonishingly, they turned to me as their last straw.

“Me?”

I pointed to myself in surprise.

“You also came from the capital, didn’t you? You must know magic too, please, I beg you, save my child!”

The patient’s mother now desperately clutched at my shirt. Feeling my clothes stretch out of shape, I couldn’t help but offer a wry smile, realizing the irony of the situation – ‘fortune turns like a wheel, and in desperation, one clutches at any straw.’

“This… I’m not sure I can succeed.”

Scratching my head, I had initially intended to claim I couldn’t use magic. Yet, I considered that the Purification spell hadn’t been used in a long time, and perhaps after my recent advancement, it might just work.

Moreover, I simply couldn’t bear to watch this person die; I had to at least try. After all, there was nothing to lose if I failed.

“It’s alright, even treating a dead horse as if it’s alive is fine.”

It seemed the family was resolute, having uttered such words. I had no choice but to be forced into action, attempting the Purification spell once more.

Following the memories etched in my mind, I extended my palm towards the still-ghastly patient on the stretcher. I felt the light elements within my body slowly shift under the guidance of my consciousness, gathering at the center of my palm…

“Hm?”

“E-e-e-e-e-e-eh—”

My eyes widened as I watched the light elements emanating from my palm. As if drawn by the dark elements within the patient, they slowly emerged from my body, coalescing into a sphere of pure white light…

‘It worked! It actually worked!’ This was the first time I had ever witnessed myself casting light magic. ‘Could it be that the Purification spell required the guidance of dark elements to be effectively unleashed?’

Overwhelmed with excitement, I couldn’t help but let out a joyful shout.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” The patient’s family, seeing my outburst, feared a major problem had arisen, their already anxious faces now contorted with panic.

“No, nothing at all!”

I quickly reassured them with my words, then took a deep breath. Mimicking Sally’s actions, I guided the white orb of light towards the patient’s body.

Regrettably, the orb of light vanished the instant it touched their body. Simultaneously, I felt as though my own body had been completely drained, collapsing onto the ground with a soft thud, in a scene almost identical to Sally’s just moments before.

“Haa—haa—haa—haa—”

I gasped for air, great gulps of it. A sudden, overwhelming fatigue surged through my body, rendering me utterly immobile for a time. My entire being felt terribly weak; even lifting an arm was a struggle.

“That’s clearly a lack of magic,” Sally remarked, unable to resist a mocking tone as she observed my state. “Speaking of which, how can *you*… possess such meager magic? Truly, you’re so weak!”

“Oh…”

Suddenly, as if a thought had struck her, she reacted instantly, her face transforming into an expression of dawning realization.

“Ah, no, that’s not right!”

“Lo… Lord, what’s happening? Are you also unable to help?”

Upon witnessing this, the family members turned ashen, their faces etched with utter despair as they sought confirmation from me.

“That’s right, I almost forgot!”

Ignoring them, I slapped my forehead, the crucial point of the problem simultaneously clicking into place.

Immediately, I forced myself to stand, using the last vestiges of my strength, and unfurled my wings. Instantly, the already small chapel was filled with the radiant expanse of white feathers, occupying a significant portion of the space.

As expected, with my wings fully extended, I immediately felt the light elements within my body being ceaselessly replenished, and my physical strength rapidly recovered.

“Well, you exposed yourself, you know,” Sally commented, her expression full of meaning as she saw my wings, clearly eager to distance herself from the revelation.

“I tried my best to keep your identity hidden.”

“It’s alright, saving lives is paramount.”

I smiled at her. If I could save someone on the brink of death, exposing my identity felt entirely worthwhile. Besides, in this remote mountain town, it wasn’t such a big deal; not many people would ever know.

By this point, everyone else present was utterly stunned. Sheila even knelt on the ground, her hands clasped before her chest in prayer.

As for the family members, who did not appear to be affiliated with the church, they seemed to be witnessing an angel for the very first time. They stood dumbfounded, clinging to each other, no longer daring to make any gestures like tugging at my clothes.

“Let’s try again.”

This time, filled with renewed confidence, I extended my palm towards the patient lying on the stretcher.

Light once again bloomed from my palm. I didn’t even need to consciously make contact; the orb of light in my hand automatically floated towards the patient, bursting open and scattering into myriad shimmering starlight that infused their body.

With just that single spell, I felt the repulsive aura on the patient completely vanish. Now, the patient’s reactions were entirely normal, and they quickly regained consciousness.

“Gavin!” the family members exclaimed, moving to rush towards him.

But Sally immediately halted their advance. “His wounds haven’t healed yet. You must keep your distance and avoid touching him carelessly.”

Sally, having rested for a while, was now in much better condition, and she swiftly prevented their actions.

The black blood on the patient’s body was purified along with the dark elements, so although they were still bleeding, it was now fresh, red blood.

Even Sheila, who had been kneeling in self-imposed prayer, finally snapped back to reality. She quickly retrieved gauze and other medical supplies from the inner room and began to bandage the patient.

“How about that? And I didn’t even need to chant!” I grinned triumphantly at Sally. The Purification spell’s effect was surprisingly potent; I almost envisioned a lucrative career as a healer.

“It’s… passable,” Sally conceded, though she seemed reluctant, uttering what was ostensibly a word of praise.

Yet, in her very next breath, she didn’t forget to disparage me with a hint of disdain.

“An angel *should* know Purification. You act as if it’s some grand accomplishment.”

“Hmph…”

I knew she wouldn’t yield so easily; I was quite accustomed to it. With a disgruntled huff, I merely turned my face away, choosing to ignore her.

“Lord Angel, can you save the others as well?”

Seeing my relaxed expression after casting the spell, Sister Sheila mustered her courage and asked if I could continue.

“Of course! I can save ten.”

I declared with a burst of confidence.

My mood was exceptionally buoyant. Having finally mastered a spell, I naturally wished to use it several more times, and having more patients would provide the perfect opportunity to practice.

Soon, Sheila and the others had brought in nearly all the severely ill individuals from the town, and the chapel quickly became packed with people.

“Once these are all treated, I suppose we can finally leave.”

Sally surveyed the crowd around us, then cast a skeptical glance my way, her expression clearly questioning my capability.

“I suppose so…”

I offered a sheepish smile. There were at least fifteen or sixteen stretchers piled up here, more than half again the ten I had promised. Instantly, my confidence began to wane.