Chapter 37 The Black Scar: At Least You'll Always Remember Me
Heligalo wiped away her tears and said helplessly, "Why are you crying when I'm showing you this? The wound has healed, but the contamination is still there. These black scars are the accumulation of contamination, some of them from before."
He spoke of it casually, as if it were just an insignificant scar, not a stain from the demon race.
“Aerlan said you hate ugly things, is it because they’re ugly to you? Let’s not look anymore, okay?” Heligalo said, trying to pull his priest’s robe up, but Ancia stopped him.
“It’s not ugly.” Ancia didn’t look away, her throat tightening. “How do we remove the pollution?”
Heligalo looked at Ancia's expression and, seeing that she really didn't mind, said in a relaxed tone, "Suppress your emotions to avoid being corrupted and affected. Just use your emotions to fight against them."
“You have to suppress your own emotions, and you also have to pay the price of your emotions to eliminate pollution. You don’t usually have any emotional fluctuations, so where do you get so many positive emotions…” Anxi turned her face away, wiped away her tears, and then turned back.
“Yes, because of your existence, I have experienced many emotions I have never felt before, which is why I have been able to hold on until now.” Heligaluo’s tone was gentle. He guessed that Cheryl must have told Ancia all the secret techniques she knew. “You have healed the wounds that all the priests were helpless against. Leave the rest to me.”
“No.” Ancia’s face darkened. “Do you want to watch yourself become an emotionless puppet?”
“No, I will never forget the feelings I had for you,” Heligalo promised. “Trust me.”
Ancia gently shook her head. "Of course I believe you, but this isn't the best solution."
In a good game, there is no single, rigid way to pass a level. However, among all the solutions, there will always be an optimal solution that takes into account time, effort, and resources.
“I’m here to save you, not to heal you and then send you back into the cycle of using secret techniques and repairing your wounds,” Ancia said calmly and firmly. “Heligalo, I will set you free.”
In a daze, amidst the lingering smell of blood in the room, Heligalo once again caught a whiff of Ancia's light and free fragrance.
"Okay," he heard himself reply softly.
As always, Heligalo couldn't refuse Ancia.
"But before Lady Ancia saves me, could you please let me change my clothes and find a room?" Heligaluo frowned and pointed to the bed, which was covered in blood.
After the wound healed, the blood-stained clothes and the filthy environment immediately became unbearable. If he hadn't wanted to talk to Ancia more, he would have gone to take a bath long ago.
Ancia smiled for the first time in days. "Approved. You should rest well first, and we'll start tomorrow. I also need to recover my magic power."
Heligalo first found an empty room for Ancia before taking care of his own affairs. When he came out of the bathroom, his clean sacrificial robes completely covered his body, making it impossible to see the layers of black scars underneath.
He stood at the door of Ancia's room, looking at the figure who was already fast asleep from exhaustion, and smiled gently.
Good night, and may you have a sweet dream... in which I am present.
*
Heligaluo gently knocked on the door and stood respectfully in the doorway. "Good day. Do you need some time to prepare?"
After Ancia woke up, she felt the abundant magic power in her body. "Good morning, no need to prepare anymore. I've recovered more than half of my magic power. Last night, my magic power was almost exhausted."
Heligaluo's eyes held a knowing look. "Has your mental strength increased again?"
He knew all of Ancia's stats inside and out, and with the help of the temple's magic array, Ancia should have fully recovered her magic power by now.
Ancia nodded, "You can take the three-star priest exam before the New Sprout Festival."
The New Sprout Festival is a festival held at the turn of winter and spring, signifying the imminent arrival of spring and the renewal of all things.
“It seems I need to work harder to keep up with you.” Heligalo’s growth rate was already outstanding among his peers, but he still felt the urgency from Ancia’s talent.
Ancia patted her bed. "Come and lie down."
Lying in the bed where Ansia slept?
Heligaluo stood frozen in place, a faint blush creeping onto his ears. He coughed twice, "This isn't appropriate, in the temple..."
Ancia beckoned with her finger, "You've already seen it, what's there to be shy about? Your temple rooms only have a single hard wooden bed and a set of table and chairs; there's nowhere else to lie down."
That's the problem with the Holy See. Despite possessing enormous wealth, they live their daily lives according to the standards of asceticism, and even the rooms where high-ranking clergy live are extremely simple.
After hesitating for a long time, Heligaluo was pulled to the bedside by Ancia and pushed down onto the bed.
Ancia effortlessly unfastened her sacrificial robe, revealing her slender, smooth skin.
But she's not in the mood to appreciate it now.
Ancia's fingers stopped just before touching the black scar. "Did it hurt when it was transferred?"
Even though the scars weren't on her own body, and she had seen many wounds since arriving on the Miracle Continent, Anciya felt a pang of sadness in her heart.
Heligalo knew perfectly well that the girl he liked was a kind priest.
He had thought of using his overlapping scars to win her heart, but when she was really sad because of it, he was not as satisfied as he had expected. He was only anxious because he was afraid she would cry.
Those bright black eyes are meant for smiling, not for crying.
After more than ten years of steadfast adherence to religious doctrines and rigorous self-cultivation, Heligalo experienced for the first time what it meant to be preoccupied with gains and losses.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Heligalo said with a smile.
Ancia sighed; it was so hard to get the truth out of Heligalo about himself.
She immediately cast a high-level healing spell; a golden light flashed across the black scar, leaving no trace.
The result was as expected.
Last night's healing spell completely healed the wounds; the remaining contamination is not a chronic problem related to healing.
The attacks of the high-ranking demons are rife with corruption, and that corruption is humanity's greatest enemy.
Even though the Holy Light Church possesses secret techniques capable of transferring damage, these can only be used to save high-ranking clergy, ensuring that the Church's strongest forces remain on the front lines against the demons.
As her star rating increased, Ancia gained a deeper understanding of her own talents.
Light magic is the nemesis of all dark magic, not only dark magic, but also the corrupting energy of demons. The key to completely eliminating pollution lies in light magic.
But before anything begins...
Ancia took a deep breath. "Heligalo, do you believe me?"
The price of the secret technique that the Church of Light has been unable to solve for thousands of years, the pollution that countless high-ranking priests and light mages have been unable to deal with, do you believe I can solve it?
“I believe you.” Heligalo turned his head and took Ancia’s hand. “It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. You can do whatever you want to me.”
"Because Ancia will definitely succeed, your future is blessed with light."
Ancia tried all the light magic she knew: healing spells, damage reflection shields, cleansing spells, life restoration spells...
Without exception, all of them failed.
Faced with this result, both Herigalo and Ancia remained calm. The former was mentally prepared, knowing that no one had ever succeeded on this path before, while the latter had become accustomed to failure while studying the magic circle.
Wait, a magic circle.
Ancia took out a magical material from her system inventory and began etching a fixed-type Starry Protection Array.
However, she only etched half of it. Before adding the remaining activation and node inscriptions, the unfinished magic circle in her hand could only absorb negative energy.
As the crystal approached Heligaluo, the nearest black scar on his body suddenly twisted, emanating a considerable amount of contamination towards the crystal, and even the wound showed signs of reopening.
This change elicited a muffled groan from Heligaluo, "...What's going on?"
"There's hope! Heli, there's hope in this direction!" Ancia tossed aside the crystal and happily sat down on the bedside. "I know what to do!"
She stood up again, muttering to herself, "The world of magic is fair. In my hometown, this is summed up in four words: conservation of energy. That's why mages can transform elements into one another, and the Starry Protection Array can absorb impure energy and convert it into light magic... If we consider pollution as a kind of energy that needs to be transformed, then we're in my area of expertise!"
Ancia forced herself to calm down, pacing back and forth in the room before finally walking to the bedside and cautiously speaking, "Heli, I have an idea that hasn't been tested yet, and it might be dangerous..."
"Will I die?" Heligallo asked.
“I don’t know,” Ancia said honestly. “Array scholars have only ever etched arrays on magical carriers, and there has never been a precedent for etching them on the human body. But I think that since a mage’s body can contain magical power, it should also be considered a magical carrier.”
“If I don’t die, no matter how dangerous it is, I believe you will save me,” Heligalo said gently.
"What if I die?" Ancia asked nervously.
"That's okay..." At least you'll always remember me.
But seeing Ancia's eyebrows gradually furrowing, clearly indicating she was about to get angry, Heligalo immediately changed his tune, "There are many life-saving magic arrays on the robe, you can try them without hesitation."
Ancia still trusted the foundation of the Holy See of Light. Just because the Holy Son of Light was the only one who could currently perform the secret arts, they would not let Heligalo die outside of the secret arts.
Mental state is stable.
Magic points are full.
The magic array exists.
The Starry Protection Array diagram exists.
After checking the necessary conditions, Ancia studied Heligalo for a long time and finally chose the black scar on his heart, which was the only one that existed independently and was not superimposed on other black scars.
All magic arrays can be divided into three types: offensive, defensive, and supportive. Magic arrays of the same type have similarities in their general structure.
Ancia boldly chose the initial structure of the fixed Starshine Protection Array and quickly began etching it onto the black scar.
Golden magic transformed into a carving knife, etching into the most vulnerable parts. The bone-chilling numbness and pain penetrated the flesh and seeped into Heligaluo's soul.
He was panting heavily, his body temperature was rising, and cold sweat had soaked his blond hair, but Ancia, who was in a state of flow, was completely unaware.
Having reached a crucial point, with no magic array to refer to for the next steps, Ancia, wanting only to get closer to the half-finished magic array, leaped onto the bed and straddled Heligaluo's waist.
"Ugh!" Heligalo craned his neck, trying to get away from Ancia, but the bed behind him blocked his way.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
