Chapter 368 : Blessing of Full Healing

"Senior Rid?!?!?!" Elaina exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, it's me. I came here to save you and everyone else," I said.

Meanwhile, at the same time Rid was rescuing Elaina, Irene had arrived on the scene and was battling the demons surrounding Duke Louis. She attacked them using her own rapier along with six other rapiers that hovered around her.

~Spetuplets Advanced Glacier Strike~

Irene unleashed a devastating slashing attack against the demons using her rapier and the six surrounding ones. The demons were blown back, their bodies shattered in places by the impact of the strike. They were successfully defeated. After taking them down, Irene turned to face Duke Louis—her father.

"Father, are you alright?" Irene asked.

"Irene?! Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for saving me, Irene," Duke Louis said.

"You're welcome, Father," Irene replied.

-

Back to Rid and Elaina.

Elaina looked startled when she saw me. I decided to ask her about her reaction.

"What is it, Elaina? Why do you look so surprised?" I asked.

"That technique you just used... isn't that my father's technique? How are you able to use my father's technique, Senior?" Elaina asked.

"Ah, about that—I can use your father's technique because I learned it," I said.

"Learned it? Did my father teach you, Senior?" Elaina asked.

"No, I learned it on my own. I picked it up by watching your father fight the demons during the attack on the courthouse two years ago," I said.

"You learned it just by watching him?" Elaina asked, surprised.

"Yes," I replied.

As I was speaking with Elaina, the demons surrounding us began to attack again. They weren't just targeting us; they had resumed their attack on the other people present as well.

"I'm sorry, Elaina. We can't keep talking; the situation here won't allow it. We need to defeat those demons immediately. Plus, I have to heal the wounded right away," I said.

After saying that, I turned toward Irene, who was standing near Duke Louis, and spoke to her.

"Irene, can you hold off those demons for a moment? I'm going to start healing the wounded here," I said.

"Alright, Rid. But are you serious about only holding them off for a moment? There are so many injured people here; healing them is bound to take a long time," Irene said.

"It would take a long time if I healed them one by one. But if I heal them all at once, it won't take long at all," I replied.

"Heal them all at once?!" Irene said, looking slightly surprised.

Just then, I saw that the demons were closing in to attack us.

"They're coming, Irene. As I said, please hold them off for a moment," I said.

"Alright," Irene replied.

Immediately, Irene attacked the demons closing in on us. She wasn't alone; several others who were still standing their ground joined the fray against the demons. While they were engaged in combat, I raised both my hands into the air and closed my eyes. I kept them closed for only a brief moment before opening them again.

~Blessing of Full Healing~

White, snow-like particles began to stream from my raised hands in great abundance. They shot outward, darting toward the people gathered there. The crowd looked puzzled by the tiny particles emerging from my hands.

"What are those?"

"I'm not sure, but they look like snowflakes."

"They're heading right for us—is it dangerous?" people murmured.

Then, the particles made contact with the people. Upon impact, their bodies instantly healed from their injuries. It wasn't just those with minor wounds; even those who had been critically injured—left bedridden and in severe condition—recovered immediately after being touched by the white particles. The people present looked utterly astonished when they realized that the wounds they or those near them had sustained were completely healed.

"What is this? The wounds on my body have suddenly healed."

"Me too."

"Impossible... is this some kind of area-of-effect healing magic?" they exclaimed.

Then, those who had been lying unconscious due to severe injuries began to wake up as their bodies recovered. Among those who awoke were Noa, Kotaro, Julie, Lillian, and Duchess Arlet.

"What’s going on? Was I unconscious before?" asked Noa, just waking up.

"Where am I? I don't recall being in this place before," said Julie, who had also just woken up.

"You’re finally awake. Don't you remember? You were facing a large number of demons. They wounded you so severely that you lost consciousness," said Leandra.

Lily nodded in agreement with Leandra. Leandra and Lily appeared to have recovered as well; the wounds on their bodies had vanished completely.

"Ah, I remember. Yes, I was fighting a large group of demons. I got injured while facing them, but I never expected to lose consciousness," said Noa.

"I didn't expect it either," said Kotaro.

Afterward, Noa, Kotaro, Julie, and Lillian examined their bodies. They looked bewildered and surprised to find that they were no longer injured.

"My body is completely uninjured. Did someone heal me while I was unconscious?" asked Noa.

"Yes, Noa. The person who healed you all is Rid. He just arrived here and immediately healed everyone who was wounded. Lily and I were also just healed by him," said Leandra.

"The person who healed us was Rid?! Where is he?" asked Noa.

"Over there, near Elaina," said Leandra, pointing toward Rid, who was with Elaina.

Noa, Kotaro, Julie, and Lillian immediately turned to look at Rid.

"It really is true; Rid is here," said Noa.

-

Meanwhile, near Duchess Arlet.

The knights stationed near Duchess Arlet looked surprised to see her regain consciousness.

"It seems I was unconscious for a moment there," said Duchess Arlet, having just woken up.

"Lady Arlet, are you alright?" asked one of the soldiers.

"Yes, I feel like my body has fully recovered. Did someone heal me?" asked Duchess Arlet.

"Yes, Lady. The person who healed you is Rid Archie. That’s him over there," the knight said, pointing toward Rid.

"So, it was Rid who healed me. He has saved me twice now," said Duchess Arlet.

As Duchess Arlet looked toward Rid, she sensed someone hurriedly approaching her.

"Dear, are you awake?" the person asked.

Duchess Arlet turned toward the speaker. It was Duke Louis; he was now standing right beside her.

"I am, dear. I apologize for the trouble I caused while I was unconscious," said Duchess Arlet.

"It’s alright, dear. I’m just relieved that you’re okay now. We owe it all to Rid," said Duke Louis.

"Yes, dear," said Duchess Arlet.

-

Back to Rid and Elaina.

After healing everyone present, I lowered my hands. Then, I grasped the sword I had previously returned to my waist. As I gripped my sword, I heard Elaina speak beside me.

"Not only can you master my father's techniques just by watching them, but you can also cast area-of-effect healing magic to heal everyone here. Senior Rid... who exactly are you?" Elaina asked.

The wounds that had previously marked Elaina's body were gone; she had fully recovered.

I turned to look at Elaina, who was standing beside me.

"Why do you ask that, Elaina? Isn't it obvious? I'm a fourth-year student at San Fulgen Academy and the chairman of the Elevrad," I said.

Elaina fell silent at my words; it seemed my answer hadn't satisfied her. I then turned my gaze toward Irene, who was still battling a massive horde of demons.

"Since I've finished healing everyone here, I need to go help Irene right away," I said.

With that, I dashed rapidly toward Irene.

"Irene, thanks for holding them off," I said.

"Rid," Irene said, even as she continued to fight the demons.

"I'll help you," I said.

I raised my sword with my right hand and imbued it with magic resembling lightning.

~Lightning Sword Art: Consecutive Lightning-Speed ​​Slashes~

I darted toward the demons before me and instantly cut them down. They perished immediately, their bodies mangled and severed by the impact of the attack. After dispatching them, I dashed toward another group of demons on the other side and took them out as well. I repeated this process over and over.

Meanwhile, Elaina stood motionless, watching Rid defeat the demons.

"Senior Rid can actually use Father's technique," Elaina thought.

It wasn't just Elaina who stood there in stunned silence watching Rid; everyone present was doing the same. They still couldn't believe that Rid had healed all their injuries in one go. Even after healing them, he was still capable of fighting the demons attacking the area.

While everyone remained frozen in place, Duke Louis suddenly spoke up in a loud, commanding voice.

"What are you doing? Why are you just standing there while two people fight off the demons attacking this place? I wouldn't mind if you were still injured, but you’ve all just been healed, haven't you? So why are you doing nothing? Take up your weapons and keep fighting the demons attacking us!" Duke Louis declared.

With that, Duke Louis charged straight into the horde of attacking demons. He wasn't alone; Duchess Arlet and the knights who had been guarding her joined the fray as well.

Seeing Duke Louis and Duchess Arlet move to engage the demons, the others finally snapped into action and joined the battle against the demons.

-

Meanwhile, on the first floor of the central building.

Charles and Chloe lay on the floor, their bodies covered in numerous wounds; the stab wound on Chloe’s chest had reopened. Nearby, several black, serpentine tree branches writhed in the air.

Not far from where Charles and Chloe lay, Queen Kayana was being strangled by Duke Remy’s right hand, which had elongated unnaturally. From their prone positions, Charles and Chloe watched the scene unfold.

"Mother..." Charles whispered.

He tried to move to save her, but he was unable to—and neither was Chloe.

"Let... me go, Lord Remy," Queen Kayana gasped as she was strangled.

She then directed her right hand toward Duke Remy. Initially, her palm was open, but it slowly began to close. As her hand clenched, cracks appeared on Duke Remy’s armor, steadily widening. Seeing his armor cracking, Duke Remy smiled.

"It seems you are attempting to crush my armor using pressure from all directions—your gravity magic. But before you can destroy it, you will be the one to die, Your Majesty," Duke Remy said.

He tightened his grip on her throat. Queen Kayana tried to pry his hand away with her left hand, but the hold remained unbreakable. As the pressure intensified, she struggled increasingly to breathe; she no longer had the strength to continue crushing his armor with her gravity magic. Her eyes slowly began to close as she started to lose consciousness. Seeing Queen Kayana beginning to lose consciousness, Duke Remy intended to tighten his grip and kill her instantly.

"This is the end, Your Majesty," Duke Remy said.

But before he could increase the pressure, a tree branch shaped like a sword suddenly burst from the floor beneath Queen Kayana. The branch moved instantly, slicing off Duke Remy's right hand—the very hand that had been strangling Queen Kayana. Freed from his grasp, Queen Kayana collapsed onto the floor.

Duke Remy was momentarily stunned by the sudden appearance of the sword-like branch. While he was distracted, two figures suddenly darted toward him at high speed. He was shocked again when he saw who they were.

"You two?!" Duke Remy exclaimed in surprise.

While he was still reeling from the sight of them, the two figures launched a swift attack.

~Plant Sword Art Secret Technique: Manchineel Death Slash~

~Flower Sword Art Secret Technique: Oleander Blossom – Death Slash~

Caught off guard by their sudden appearance, Duke Remy had no time to react. He took the full force of both attacks.

-To be continued