Chapter 167 - 12
Hikaru's five-colored fireball and Princess Irene's fifty-layer barrier collided. Even though the barrier could withstand Hikaru's attack, the heat impact spread throughout the battle area. The ground around the place started to melt.
Princess Irene looks overwhelmed by the fireball. She was bleeding from her nose, mouth, and ears. But she still tried to hold it with all her might. Not long after, a small crack formed in the barrier. The cracks gradually spread, and the barrier shattered into pieces. Princess Irene vomited blood from the backlash from her shattered barrier.
"Irene!
" Prince Viron gritted his teeth. Princess Irene is the proud Princess of the Demon Kingdom and is highly valued by King Redis and Queen Triana. If King Redis finds out that Princess Irene is injured, he will be severely punished. Prince Viron couldn't imagine what would happen to him later. But he couldn't think about that at the moment. He first had to defend against the five-colored fireball that was already before his eyes.
Boooooooooommmmmmmmmm!
The five-colored flames filled half of the sparring area. The trees burned, and the ground around them melted. Prince Viron was hit hard by the attack. He was currently at the center of the flames and was trying to survive. However, it didn't last long.
"Ahhhh! Please help me! Stop it! I admit defeat! I admit defeat! Help me!
" Prince Viron screams in pain and admits his defeat to Hikaru. His body was engulfed in flames, and several burns were visible on his face.
Hikaru quickly extinguished the five-colored flames upon hearing Prince Viron's scream. However, Hikaru can't kill him because it will create an international conflict between the Demon Kingdom and the Cirlus Kingdom or even a conflict on a larger scale.
"The winners are Hikaru and Kyouka!
" Princess Rinne announced the winner of the sparring.
After hearing the announcement, Hikaru quickly ran towards Kyouka. He had to reconfirm her condition. Not long after that, Megumi and Sintaro came over to Hikaru. Clara and her group also ran towards that place.
"Hikaru! How is Kyouka's condition!?
" Megumi shouted with a worried face.
"Did Kyouka get serious injuries!?
" Sintaro also asked after that.
"She is fine. Right now, she's just unconscious. Please heal him quickly, Megumi.
" Hikaru answered Megumi after checking on Kyouka's condition. After learning that Kyouka only suffered minor injuries, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I understand!
" Megumi nodded and cast a healing spell on Kyouka.
Major Heal
A warm golden light enveloped Kyouka's body. The minor wounds on her body disappeared in an instant. Kyouka's body started to heal. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around her.
"Ugh! What happens with me?
" Kyouka tried to stand up while holding her head, still feeling dizzy. She almost fell again because her body was still unstable.
"You better not move around much, Kyouka! Your body is still weak from being healed.
" Megumi held onto her as Kyouka almost fell.
"What's going on? The last thing I saw was the entire sparring area covered in black fog. After that, I don't remember what happened next.
" Kyouka looked at Hikaru and asked for an explanation.
"What happened to you is...
" Hikaru tells her what happened to her in the fight. He also said that they won the sparring match.
"He is a coward! Luckily the guy lost. By the way, how's his sister doing?
" Kyouka suddenly remembered Princess Irene.
"Ah, she fainted after forcing herself to withstand my attack. I don't know how she is right now.
" Hikaru shook his head and pointed at Princess Irene, lying not far from them.
"Please help me walk to her place.
" Kyouka asked Megumi to take her to Princess Irene.
"What are you doing, Kyouka!? Didn't she almost hurt you earlier!?
" Sintaro is annoyed with Prince Viron and Princess Irene. Those two were the cause of Kyouka getting hurt like that. Even though Princess Irene didn't manage to hurt Kyouka at that time, she still had a hand in what her brother had done.
"it does not matter. Unlike her brother, I feel she is a good girl. After all, we have to heal them. Otherwise, the Cirlus Kingdom will get into trouble later. Come on, Megumi.
" Kyouka ignored Sintaro and urged Megumi to help her walk quickly.
"But...
" Sintaro still couldn't accept what Kyouka had said. However, his words were cut off first by Hikaru.
"Sintaro. I understand you're worried about Kyouka. But, what she said was true. We've won, and that's enough. We need to heal them so that no trouble will occur in this kingdom because of us in the future.
" Hikaru tried to calm and advise Sintaro. After that, Hikaru walked after Kyouka and left Sintaro silent behind him.
Hikaru knows Sintaro cares about Kyouka. But sometimes, his concern turns into selfishness, making him no longer see other people around him. Hikaru was afraid that Sintaro's affection for Kyouka would become an obsession and blind his eyes.
"I understand.
" Sintaro accepted Hikaru's explanation with a heavy heart. He gritted his teeth in disapproval of the lecture Hikaru gave him. He did all this for Kyouka's sake, but they seemed to see him doing the wrong thing and wouldn't listen to him. He was annoyed with Hikaru, who seemed to understand Kyouka better than him.
(Kyouka is mine, after all! I will get rid of anyone who gets in my way! Even if that person is you, Hikaru!)
Darkness slowly enveloped Sintaro's heart. He stared intently at the Hikaru in front of him. But he quickly changed back to his usual facial expression. He was afraid that Hikaru would realize the look he gave him earlier. Sintaro let out a sigh of relief seeing Hikaru keep walking and didn't notice.
Ziel accidentally saw the argument between Sintaro, Kyouka, and Hikaru earlier. He saw Sintaro's gaze on Hikaru full of evil. Sintaro didn't know that someone else had noticed his evil gaze on Hikaru. But Ziel just kept quiet and wanted to know how strong the friendship between heroes was.
"Ken, what should we do now?
" Clara asked Ziel. She felt relieved after seeing that Kyouka was fine. However, she's still worried about Princess Irene. She wanted to follow the heroes there, but she was afraid of disturbing them.
"What do you want to do, my lady?
" Ziel asked her back. He had to put Clara's wishes first as her butler.
"I… I want to see the girl's condition. But, I'm afraid to disturb the heroes.
" Clara lowered her head sadly. She hesitated to say it because it was just her selfishness. Clara thought she might be bothering Ziel and the other girls apart from disturbing the heroes. Clara felt that way because she knew Sintaro was deliberately looking for trouble with Ziel earlier. She was also sure that the other girls could notice it too.
"I understand. Then we have to look at Princess Irene's condition so that your mind will be at ease. I'm sure Princess Iris and the others will agree with you.
" Ziel looked at Princess Iris and the others. Clara also turned her gaze to them. She saw them smiling and nodded at her.
"Let's see her. We are also worried about her condition. I'm sure that girl isn't bad.
" Princess Iris holds Clara's hand. She didn't know why Clara was worried about Princess Irene, but she didn't like seeing Clara's sad face.
"Iris, Miss Kalya, all of you… thank you.
" Clara was touched, and her eyes became wet because Princess Iris and the other girls were willing to accept her selfishness.
"Alright… alright… right now isn't the time to cry. Let's see how the girl is.
" Princess Iris grabbed Clara's hand to stop her from shedding tears. Clara nodded and followed her. Ziel and the others walked behind them.
When Clara and her group arrive, they watch Megumi healing Princess Irene with her magic. But strangely, Princess Irene's condition did not improve. On the other hand, Prince Viron is taken care of by his men. He was in an unconscious state and suffered multiple burns.
"Megumi, how is she?
" Kyouka asked Megumi. Even though Princess Irene was her previous sparring opponent, Kyouka still worried about her. As for Prince Viron, Kyouka doesn't care at all.
"That is… I've tried to heal the injury as best I can. However, the flow of mana within her body was extremely messy. Many of her internal organs were damaged. It seems that this wound is an old injury that has accumulated. Moreover, I feel that the wound cannot be healed by magic. It's like there's an active barrier preventing any outside magic or aura from entering her body.
" Megumi explained Princess Irene's condition to Kyouka with a sad face.
Kyouka, Clara, and the other girls were stunned after hearing Megumi's explanation. They couldn't say anything and felt sorry for Princess Irene's condition.
"Old wounds? So the injury was because she was constantly exceeding her limit while using that ability? what kind of cruel thing have the people of the Demon Kingdom done!
" Kyouka gritted her teeth in anger. She couldn't see a girl her age being treated like a tool.
"So, her appearance that looks fragile is not to cover her ability. She had been suffering from internal injuries from the start.
" Hikaru said his opinion after hearing Megumi's explanation.
"So, what should we do to cure her?
" Kyouka put away what she was thinking before. The most important thing was to find a way to cure her.
"That… Princess Irene couldn't overuse her abilities anymore. It's the only way I know of to prevent the wound from getting worse. But to cure it completely, I don't know. I'm sure the Demon Kingdom has also been looking for a way to heal Princess Irene since she's important to them. But they couldn't find a way. Otherwise, her condition wouldn't be this bad. Unless I have an extraordinary true god-level healing ability or can go back in time before she suffered all these wounds, I can't heal her right now.
" Megumi concluded Princess Irene's current state. Megumi was sad that she couldn't do anything for her.
"What!? That's the only way available? Finding a true god with extraordinary healing abilities was simply impossible. Back to the time before she got injured? It was equivalent to controlling time, and it was even more impossible.
" Kyouka sighed heavily and felt helpless after hearing Megumi's answer.
(Rewind time?)
Kalya raised her eyebrows and glanced at Ziel. He is the only person in that place or maybe in the Clorius continent who can heal Princess Irene. But Ziel just kept quiet and didn't say anything at this time. So Kalya also keeps quiet and respects his decision. Kalya is the only person who knows Ziel's true abilities. That's because Ziel hasn't had time to tell Princess Freya yet. In addition, Princess Freya also never inquired about Ziel's true abilities any further.
"I know that. So, we can only wait for her to wake up. Her condition will probably be worse than before the sparring match, but there's nothing we can do about it. At least she didn't die in the sparring with you. It's not your fault from the start, so don't feel too guilty.
" Megumi tried to calm down the depressed Kyouka.
"Hmm... I know. But still, I feel a little guilty for not being able to convince her beforehand.
" Kyouka felt she should have tried harder to convince Princess Irene.
"Nothing will change even if you keep regretting what happened. Maybe you can find a way when you get back and rest for a bit. We can only hand the girl over to her brother lying there. It looks like we should also heal him
" Hikaru entered into their conversation. He felt Kyouka would sink into guilt for a mistake she didn't commit.
"I understand.
" Kyouka nodded at Hikaru's words. She may not be able to do anything for now, but not necessarily she can't find it in the future. Sintaro gritted his teeth as he could only stay silent and let Hikaru take on the role of calming Kyouka down. He could only hold back his jealousy for now.
"Is there nothing we can do for her?
" Clara mumbled sadly through the crowd. Even so, Ziel and the other girls could hear her voice.
"I thought I could do something to make the girl's condition better. Can you leave this matter to me?
" Kalya finally spoke.. She wasn't talking to Clara and the other girls but Kyouka and Hikaru.