“Heal him. Quickly.”

Those were Lydon’s first words when he returned with Lumen. It was a one-sided demand with no explanation, but no one complained.

“……Lumen.”

When Lumen returned, there was no sign of life. His bloodless, white face, stiff body, and icy temperature did not look like those of a living person.

His face was a mess of blood and wounds, and there was not a trace of his usual dignity. She was ravaged, bearing the marks of a fierce battle. Cadel stroked Lumen’s cheek with a careful hand. No warmth. It was an unfamiliar touch, like touching a wax figure, and Cadel pulled his hand away quickly, like a frightened child.

His trembling eyes rolled back in his head. Fear washed over him like a tidal wave. He knew he should check on Lumen’s survival, but he couldn’t bring himself to act on it. He didn’t want confirmation of anything but that Lumen was alive.

It was Garuel who moved in Cadel’s place. Hastily unleashing his demonic energy, he tapped into Lumen’s veins and narrowed his eyes. With a nervous glance back at the others, Garuel began to deploy his healing technique.

[Let’s get out of the snowfield.]

While the healing took place, Kunra changed the path of his flight. They still needed to strengthen the seal, but it didn’t matter. In this cold, some would live, and some would die.

The Knight Order watched Lumen heal without a word. They all felt it instinctively. Lumen’s condition was more than just ‘battle wounds’. He was dry as a bone, as if all his life force had been drained from him, and it looked as if he would never open his eyes.

Van and Lydon had been arguing with Lumen for days, but they had never truly thought he deserved to die, even at the end of a fight for all of them. What they were feeling now was even more confusing, because they couldn’t imagine Lumen fighting to the death for them.

And Garuel, who was healing him, was also deeply perplexed by Lumen’s condition.

‘……It’s empty.’

Garuel had used his healing skills on countless people over the years. He had saved people with worse trauma than this. In terms of severity, Cadel’s wounds in Baskin Village were worse.

But something was different about Lumen. His wounds weren’t just traumatic or internal, they felt like something fundamental had been ripped out of him.

‘It’s like he’s just a shell of a person.’

Surely Lumen was not dead, the demonic energy coursing through his body told Garuel so, and yet it was hard to find the vitality that he should have felt from a living man, to sense it and hold onto it somehow. Thinner than a thread, it was hard to feel, let alone grasp.

A significant amount of demonic energy condensed beneath his hand on Lumen’s chest, but the healing showed no signs of progress. After struggling for a while on Kunra’s back, Garuel finally came to a despairing conclusion.

“I’ve treated all of his wounds…… but I’m not sure if he’ll regain consciousness.”

* * *

Kunra dropped the Knight Order off at the foot of a mountain bordering the Principality of Snivec. It was already the middle of the night when they arrived, and they were far enough away from the village that Kunra’s massive frame wouldn’t attract attention.

Shifting into humanoid form, Kunra pulled the dark-faced Cadel aside from the bustle of the Knight Order.

“I plan to return to the seal of the Snowfield. There’s something I want to confirm with the power I lent you, so you won’t be able to use my power for a while. It won’t be long. I’ll strengthen the seal as I go.”

“Okay.”

Cadel didn’t even seem to be listening to Kunra. Kunra stared at Cadel, who looked half-entranced, then looked back at the group, his gaze landing on Lumen on Garuel’s back.

“It seems like his limit was excessively exceeded. I’ve seen guys like that often.”

“……What happened to those people? Lumen, Lumen can live, right?”

“If he’s greedy, he’ll live, and if he’s satisfied, he’ll die.”

“What does that mean?”

“Usually, people like that go beyond their limits by sacrificing their own lives to fulfill an impossible wish, and if they’re satisfied with that wish, they’ll die, but if they want something more, the spark will fly again. So all you can do is hope that he rekindles.”

Hope. Cadel’s eyes trembled slightly when he heard that that was all he could do. Kunra lightly patted Cadel’s head and said.

“Halfling. He’s not going to be easily satisfied now that he’s left you behind. Humans are a species that dies of emotions and lives in emotions. Don’t worry too much.”

Cadel barely nodded at the dull consolation. Returning to his original form, Kunra resumed her flight toward the Inte Snowfields.

With an unconscious patient, they couldn’t camp out, so they went to ‘Yingchen Village’, a short distance away, and got a small inn room.

The wound was healed, but Garuel continued his healing to awaken Lumen’s consciousness. The others waited in the room for Lumen to wake up.

But even after a day, two days, three days, four days. Lumen did not wake. There was no light stirring, only faint, barely audible breathing.

However, it was not possible to act separately while leaving Lumen behind. The Scarlet Scales Knight Order chose to remain stagnant in the village with Lumen.

In the meantime, Cadel has written to the Emperor about the situation. The sealing of the Snowfields had been left to Kunra, and a key member of the Knight Order was unconscious. Not even the Emperor could order the next mission. Even if he did, Cadel had no intention of complying.

“……Sorry.”

At the sound of the voice, Cadel shifted his gaze from Lumen. Garuel was there with a stern expression, looking genuinely sorry.

“What are you being sorry for all of a sudden?”

“I come in as a healer and can’t even save one of my comrades. That’s disgraceful.”

Garuel had been at Lumen’s side day and night, unleashing his demonic energy and performing healing techniques. If they didn’t bring him a meal, he’d forget about it. If Lumen didn’t wake up, it wasn’t because Garuel was less skilled or not trying harder. If it weren’t for Garuel, Lumen would have bled to death before he ever regained consciousness.

“Don’t say that. Things could end like this because of you. ……It must have been difficult to keep using demonic energy. Why don’t you rest a bit?”

“It’s okay. Knight Commander, why don’t you take a break? If you continue to sit, your legs will stiffen.”

“It doesn’t matter―”

“Having two patients is exhausting, even for me. Knight Commander is an encouraging presence, but you don’t need to be in front of me all day.”

In Garuel’s eyes, Cadel looked as if he might collapse at any moment. While he had been working day and night to heal Lumen, Cadel had been right beside him, watching everything. If Cadel wasn’t resting properly, it was no wonder he could faint at any moment.

Eventually, unable to overcome Garuel’s concerns, Cadel stood up.

“Then I’ll take a short break.”

“It’s okay to rest a lot.”

“I don’t want to do that.”

Stubbornly, he smirked and opened the door.

“When I get back, you can get some rest, too.”

Cadel was thinking of closing his eyes for a moment. If he stayed up all day without doing what Garuel said and then collapsed, he would become a burden.

But lying in bed, Cadel couldn’t sleep, and his mind kept wandering. In the blackness of his vision, he kept replaying his past choices.

If only he had been on the top floor instead of Lumen. Lumen didn’t need to be awakened. It didn’t matter what his grade was, because Cadel wanted everyone to survive healthy. If this was the price he paid for abandoning his sacrifice and trusting his comrades, he’d rather…….

‘……Yeah. There’s no way I can sleep.’

If he stayed in bed, he would gnaw at himself with thoughts that would do him no good. Cadel decided to leave the inn and go for a walk.

“It’s night already.”

Cadel mumbled to himself as he looked up at the brightly shining moon. He had been in the inn all day, and he had no idea how much time had passed. He rubbed his stiff eyelids and paced aimlessly. The crisp breeze awakened him as he walked, though his body grew heavier as his mind became clearer.

Should he buy some food and return to Garuel? Because it was late at night, not many stores were open, but if he looked hard enough, he could find one. With that thought, Cadel turned onto the main street.

“……Commander?”

A familiar puppet approached from the other side. It was Van. Lightly dressed, he had a greatsword slung over his shoulder. Cadel realized that Van was on his way back from training.

“You’ve been working yourself to death again?”

Van smiled awkwardly at Cadel’s question and rubbed the back of his neck. Garuel and Cadel stayed by Lumen’s side the entire time as they waited for him to wake up, but not Van or Lydon.

Lydon disappeared without warning, only to reappear and shove some herb of unknown origin into Lumen’s mouth. Then, after kissing Cadel’s scolding face, he left somewhere again. It seemed like he was hoping for Lumen’s recovery in his own way.

Van, on the other hand, was responsible for Cadel’s meals and Garuel’s share and spent all other time training. He trained tirelessly as if Lumen’s battle had stirred something within him. Today was no different. Van bore the marks of hard training.

“Where was Commander going at this time? It’s dangerous to walk alone at night. I’ll take you there.”

“I’m strong, you know.”

“That’s irrefutable.”

“I was just, you know, walking around.”

Cadel paused for a moment, then tapped Van on the shoulder.

“Want to walk with me?”