Barrios!
The notorious “Viper” of the royal capital’s aristocratic circles, a scoundrel obsessed with Forbidden Magic and skilled in schemes and deceit, favored by princes and nobles alike, yet despised by all upright Paladins and Clergy!
“Tsk tsk tsk, such touching camaraderie,” Barrios sneered in a contemptuous tone that provoked fury.
“But the farce ends here, Miss Hilvia. The lords of the royal capital have no patience for your melodramatic antics.”
“Barrios! You despicable scoundrel!”
Leon’s roar thundered like an explosion. His holy sword spear instantly pivoted, the sharp tip aimed directly at Barrios!
His golden hair seemed to bristle with fury. “Who gave you permission to interfere?! Attacking her with such a cowardly sneak attack?!”
Forgetting the previous battle entirely, Leon only wanted to stab this nauseating man through.
Vidal said nothing but took a heavy step forward. His massive greatsword lowered its tip toward the ground at Barrios’s feet, radiating an icy, palpable murderous intent that immediately enveloped the man.
Margaret rushed to Hilvia’s fallen side. At this moment, Sairi was already half-kneeling, holding Hilvia in her arms and casting a low-level healing spell she had learned from Hilvia’s book.
Margaret knelt on one knee before Sairi, ignoring the dust and blood on the ground as she swiftly pressed her hand onto the wound on Hilvia’s back.
Soft Holy Light flowed from her palm, attempting to dispel the malicious Dark Purple Energy seeping into Hilvia’s body.
But the moment her Holy Light touched the energy, a corrosive “sizzle” erupted. Margaret’s face grew paler, cold sweat beading on her temples.
“S-So poisonous! It’s eroding her Vitality!”
Her voice trembled with urgency and anger as she looked up fiercely at Barrios. “Barrios! How dare you use such an evil Forbidden Spell!”
Facing the wrath of these three top-tier Saint Hall elites, Barrios showed no fear—instead, he smirked proudly as he stroked his mustache.
“Evil? Forbidden Spell? Ha! In the end, it’s all about the victor and the vanquished. I’m merely following orders from higher up to ‘retrieve’ this disobedient hero. The method? Effective is what matters.”
He cast a disdainful glance at Leon, Vidal, and Margaret, who were desperately trying to save Hilvia.
“The royal capital’s order is to bring her back. Yet you dawdle here and lecture me about methods? Are you trying to shield a Heretic?”
“She is not a Heretic!” Leon roared, his spear trembling with rage. “She is our comrade! Forced away by those bastards! Barrios, stop your lies! Hand over the antidote immediately, and get lost!”
Vidal stepped forward again, his greatsword slightly raised, the oppressive murderous aura making the surrounding air seem frozen.
Margaret, struggling against the corrupt energy inside Hilvia, looked up with rare burning fury in her gray eyes.
“Even if carrying out orders, there’s no need for such despicable behavior! The Glory of the Sanctuary must not be tarnished!”
Then Margaret invoked the power of the nuns, using Saint Hall Magic to ease Hilvia’s wounds.
Barrios’s smile finally stiffened.
He hadn’t expected such a fierce reaction from these three, even willing to clash with him, the “Envoy,” over the severely injured Hilvia.
His gaze darkened as it swept over the trio, lingering on Vidal’s cold, ice-like murderous intent, then on Margaret’s resolute gaze and Leon’s nearly fiery eyes.
“Hmph, stubborn fools!”
Barrios snorted coldly. Behind him stood powerful backing, and he felt no fear toward the anger of the three or Hilvia.
He gave a sinister smile.
“This is all royal command. You three, as Envoys, should be loyal to the kingdom, not sympathizing with a Heretic. I guess you don’t want to live! I’ll report everything truthfully to the lords of the royal capital! As for this hero…”
He glanced at Hilvia, still twitching painfully and pale under Margaret’s Holy Light.
“She’s been struck by my Eroding Bone Demon Miasma. Without a special antidote, even with a nun keeping her alive, she can’t be saved. If you want to save her, obediently bring her back to the royal capital to beg for mercy! Hahaha!”
“N-No, I won’t go back…”
Weak and trembling, Hilvia forced out a few words, her voice faint but resolute.
Opposite Hilvia’s pain was Barrios’s nauseating, triumphant laughter. Leon, burning with rage, suddenly lunged forward, his trembling spear aimed at Barrios, but stopped just before him the next second.
Barrios arrogantly produced the kingdom’s specially issued Knight’s badge, its gleaming emblem a sharp contrast to his sly and sinister demeanor.
“Why stop? Afraid? Worried the princes and nobles back home will give you trouble? Ahahaha!”
Barrios waved the badge in front of Leon’s face, knowing full well it was awarded by the prince.
“Bastard!” Leon slammed his spear into the ground, scattering stones.
Margaret bit her lip hard, pouring Holy Light more desperately into Hilvia’s body to fight the corrosive dark energy.
Seeing Hilvia’s pale, agonized face, recalling Barrios’s cruel curse and the broken trust among the three, an overwhelming wave of helplessness and grief surged within.
On the grassland, the gentle breeze stirred the grass with a faint “jingle.” But this time, it carried no happiness—only anger and pain. Mr. Autelanz was right.
Sairi now understood the meaning behind Mr. Autelanz’s words.
The severely wounded and unconscious hero, and three former comrades frozen in betrayal, rage, and despair—the sneak attack by Barrios was like a poisoned dagger, severely wounding Hilvia and tearing apart the last thread of their friendship.
Cradling Hilvia’s pained whimpers, Sairi couldn’t hold back the agony inside and let out a heart-wrenching cry.
Her scream caught Barrios’s attention, making him notice the stranger present.
“Hey, whose little girl is this?”
“She’s Hilvia’s friend.”
Leon turned, struggling to contain his anger as he answered.
“Oh?” Barrios sized up Sairi from a distance. “Not bad-looking. The princes and nobles would like her. Of course, if you ask me nicely, I could even let this girl join your new knight squad.”
Barrios continued to rub salt into the wound. Leon lowered his head, taking deep breaths, his hands trembling as they gripped the spear tightly, teeth clenched hard enough to bite through.
“Hypocrites.”
In this dangerous situation, Sairi spoke her judgment once again.
“You hypocrites, calling her a good friend, yet dealing such a heavy blow to your own comrade. And you, disgusting old bastard, you really are the worst of the worst, a cursed freak.”
Compared to Leon’s earlier insults, Sairi’s words carried a sharper bite, which stirred Barrios’s temper.
“What’s that supposed to mean? You little girl, who taught you to talk like that? Come with me back to the royal capital—I’ll teach you some manners!”
Barrios’s veins bulged as he spun his skull-shaped magical artifact, threatening Sairi.
“You three, take Hilvia and this servant back to face justice.”
Without hesitation, Sairi summoned the Rainbow Sword, embedding it into the ground with a surge of power that sent tremors through the earth, raising a cloud of dust.
Through the smoke, Sairi kicked Margaret aside and shoved her back toward Leon.
At the same time, she lifted Hilvia in her arms. Hilvia’s bleeding had stopped—Margaret had already healed her wound—but the internal organ damage was very real.
Sairi tried to compress Hilvia into her hairpin. To be honest, she had long wanted to try this.
After discovering how much her hairpin could contain, Sairi was curious whether it could hold a living person—and what the world inside might be like.
Without hesitation, Sairi cradled the weak Hilvia, glanced at her condition, and her face twisted in anguish.
This broke Sairi’s heart. Remembering the sweet everyday moments with Hilvia and seeing her in such pain, it felt like her heart was being cut to pieces.
Taking advantage of Hilvia’s slightly dulled consciousness, Sairi leaned down, stirred her emotions, and gently brushed Hilvia’s hair, leaving a tender kiss upon her.
“Now, I’m coming back, Hilvia-nee-san. I’m taking you away!”
She whispered, then silently recited the spell to compress Hilvia into the hairpin.
Sure enough, Hilvia’s body sparkled and gradually vanished.
At the last moment of dispersal, Hilvia forced her eyes open, meeting Sairi’s determined gaze.
Surrounded by that light, Hilvia felt a strange, warm sensation.
“This light… so familiar, so warm…”
Before she could finish speaking, she slipped into Sairi’s hairpin world.
***
The grassland breeze swept away all the dust and smoke, and the reinforcements behind caught up, forming ranks behind Barrios.
The vast grassland was filled with countless soldiers—it was truly one against many.
The four looked around and found Hilvia was no longer by Sairi’s side, puzzled by what had happened.
Just thinking about the prize vanishing right before his eyes infuriated Barrios.
Leon, Vidal, and Margaret were equally stunned.
“Where’s Hilvia? You ungrateful bastard! You hid her, didn’t you? Find her for me!”
Barrios barked orders at Leon and the others in anger.
Unbeknownst to him, Sairi was already advancing toward the group.
“You vermin! Hilvia-nee-san was talking about all of you!”
Surrounded by fury, Sairi summoned her full strength and appeared before Barrios, gathering energy to strike a powerful punch.
Barrios reacted swiftly, casting magic and pulling a soldier from behind to shield himself from the blow.
Sairi’s punch shattered the unfortunate soldier’s bones in an instant, folding his body like a broken screen. A massive spray of blood burst forth as he collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
“Don’t just stand there—attack! Leon, you and the others, move! In the name of the kingdom’s Envoy knights—” Barrios shouted, raising the gleaming golden badge high.
A roar of assent.
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers behind Barrios charged forward, their swords and spears buzzing, swarming like a black tide toward Sairi.
Sairi placed her hand on the Rainbow Sword’s blade, causing it to gleam and then extend an illusory sword several dozen meters long.
Clutching the hilt tightly, she swung with all her might into the advancing crowd.
Dust flew everywhere. Each slash sent countless soldiers flying or crashing down.
Although the soldiers were numerous, their morale collapsed under Sairi’s onslaught, and they retreated to a distance, no longer daring to approach.
Thankfully, Margaret continuously cast wide-range healing spells to keep the soldiers from dying outright.
Still, Margaret’s magic wasn’t omnipotent—it could only prevent death and ease pain. The severe fractures and breaks caused by Sairi’s mighty force were real and brutal.
Moreover, sustaining such a large-scale advanced healing spell was exhausting for Margaret.
“Damn it! Attack! Take down this lunatic and throw her in a cell for interrogation!!! You monster!”
Barrios screamed hoarsely, pointing at Sairi, signaling everyone—including Leon, Vidal, and Margaret—to press forward.
Leon, Vidal, and Margaret exchanged glances; they didn’t want to fight, nor did they like Barrios.
Then Sairi leapt into the fray, spinning the Rainbow Sword as if dancing on stage, each turn a deadly strike.
Every swing felled or wounded dozens of soldiers. Though the enemy had the numbers, their spirit was shattered by Sairi’s relentless assault, forcing them to retreat and keep their distance.
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