13. Companionship and Escape

Pure white feathers were left floating in the air as the area of light completely disappeared. At the same time, a severe weakness overwhelmed Davey. ‘Rebound sure is merciless.’

“Phew…” Davey glanced around him with heavy eyes. It seemed the ‘Blood Polis’, the red fog made by the vampires’ sacred item, was all gone. ‘Yeah, it’d be odd if there was a lingering trace after a 9th level holy magic spell. It was a transcendent magic spell that brought the will of God onto this land.’

After a hollow chuckle, Davey saw that people were slowly starting to open their eyes. He then turned to glance at [Caldeiras], who was placed upside down in the ground. He thought, ‘I should really get back.’ But he soon shook off that thought and just collapsed against the sword.

[Caldeiras], who had suddenly lost most of her holy power, was silent. She was a sword with consciousness, so she might have been in a state of shock from the sudden loss. After all, there was a big difference between knowing and not knowing something beforehand.

‘I guess I’ll be a little nicer to him if I see him again.’ Davey slowly closed his eyes. The strange status bar that popped up in front of his eyes also bothered him, but all Davey wanted to do right now was to just let go of everything and sleep. Davey felt his powers recover incomparably faster than before. And just before he lost consciousness, he saw a blond girl slowly approaching him…

***

It had been so long since Davey was able to sleep without any worries or concerns. His rest was a lot shorter than when he was training, but Davey hadn’t slept properly for the last six months, so this short break was pretty nice.

“…Brother…”

“Sorr…”

In his sleep, Davey could hear people talking. He was still in a slight daze as he woke up, looking at the clean ceiling of the small mansion he got to as soon as he arrived at the Duchy of Felicity. “Ah…” Davey automatically let out a groan. He hadn’t felt this refreshed in a while.

“Oh! Brother!” Winley, who seemed dissatisfied by something, came running when she saw Davey. “Brother! Are you awake?”

“Winley.”

“You’re okay, right?! You’re not hurt anywhere, right?!” Winley spoke with tears in her eyes and a worried look.

“How long was I asleep for?”

‘What happened? Why does she look like that?’

As Davey vacantly asked, Winley burst into tears and rushed into his arms. “You didn’t wake up for two days. I… I thought you might never wake up again… Sob.”

‘Ah.’ Since Davey had a history of not waking up, Winley was right to be worried. Davey stroked her back as she sobbed in his arms. He could hear a faint weeping and feel a light tremble from Winley as he quietly comforted her.

“I… I had a dream.”

“A dream?”

“Yes. A dream where you protected me…when the red fog took over.” It seemed like Winley didn’t have a clear memory of what had happened. Davey thought it was a relief, as she didn’t have to witness any ugly things.

“What about Baris?”

“That is…” Winley frowned with an anxious expression. “Brother, please tell me the truth. Did you really get rid of the red fog?”

“Um…”

“Actually, I saw the mark when I was checking you over. The mark… It’s a stigmata, right? The mark of God,” Winley mumbled.

Davey realized that a few things were no longer a secret. The large stigmata on his back was a problem; considering that a normal stigmata was about as wide as one’s wrist, this large stigmata was about three times wider than that.

Stigmata, the mark engraved with godly powers, was a scar so unique that it was impossible to recreate with anything worldly. It was the mark of God, and it showed that the recipient was a virtuous being who was loved by God.

“Hm…”

“Is…something wrong?”

“Is it really noticeable?”

“Since it’s on your back, it’s not really noticeable from a glance, but it definitely looks like a stigmata if you look at it.”

It seemed that everything other than Davey’s holy power was still concealed.

“I heard from the priest, who found the place, that all the red fog was cleansed. They couldn’t find out who was behind it…but I thought that you might have been involved.”

“Hm, is that so?”

“Yes. Although, if you don’t remember anything, that might not be the case.”

It seemed like Princess Illyna, who was the only one who could’ve seen everything, was keeping quiet. To be honest, she seemed like the type to immediately grill Davey about it, but perhaps not.

“Actually, the high-ranking priest, who was treating you, found it. Since it seems like you were given a stigmata while you passed out where the divine aura was, people are making a big fuss over it.”

The story was probably going to spread inevitably, since a stigmata was a gift of love from God. Unlike other normal faithful priests, it was proof of being a saint or saintess.

“Brother, you’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

“I don’t feel too bad.”

“Phew…”

Davey didn’t feel bad at all. ‘If anything, I’ve gotten so much better.’

Davey’s intention for casting the 9th level holy magic [Saint Sanctuary] was to get rid of the red fog, but it was also a calculated move. To live a long and happy life, these kinds of calculations were necessary. Davey tried to accelerate his recovery speed by using a large amount of mana at once and emptying his mana storage. It was easy to attempt, but the results weren’t so minor.

‘My mana storage drastically increased.’ As if it responded to the holy power, Davey’s mana and devil mana increased by a significant amount. He could feel the change. It was even enough for him to temporarily cast [Auror Blade]. He hadn’t gone through ‘Metamorph’, but he had reached the point where he could use [Auror Blade], which was exclusive to the ‘Master’ level. Before, Davey used to maintain his power with enlightenment and experience, but now he had recovered enough to use [Auror Blade].

The most improved out of them all was the sluggish holy power. ‘I guess it is really a stigmata.’ Davey chuckled. He felt like the amount of holy power in him drastically increased because of the stigmata engraved on his physical body, something that he wasn’t able to have as a soul in the Hall. Now, the holy power, which was the slowest to grow, was the most developed out of them all. ‘A power that needs an opportunity to grow. Damn holy power.’

As Davey subtly clicked his tongue, he patted Winley on the head. He said, “Go and rest for a bit. I need to think about something, and you probably need rest after taking care of me.”

“Do you know how big of a deal it was when you collapsed?” Somewhat angry, Winley puffed up her cheeks. “Also, Princess Illyna started insisting that you be moved to her lodging…”

“Princess Illyna?”

“Yes, she said she had a proper doctor… When she came here a little while ago, she said that you weren’t going to wake up here and tried to take you. I could barely get her out of here! Hmph!”

It was obvious why Princess Illyna acted like that. She wasn’t stupid; she would’ve seen and remembered everything that happened that day. Of course, Davey wasn’t going to tell her everything just because she witnessed it all.

Davey found it a little odd that Winley had her claws out toward Princess Illyna. He wondered why, but he didn’t feel the need to ask her. “It’s fine now that I’m awake.”

“The competition was stopped on that day. The entire duchy is in a state of disorder because of it.”

Since a demonic monster had appeared, chaos was bound to happen.

“Probably.”

“Then I’ll be on my way. Rest well, brother.” Winley giggled. Then, she gave Davey a big hug and scuttled out.

Left alone in his room, Davey silently reached his hand out toward Winley, who was leaving. ‘Hm… Like this? [Check information].’

Beep! With a beeping sound, a translucent black box appeared in front of Davey. It wasn’t a hallucination.

-Name: Winley O'Rowane.

-Age: 14.

-Sex: Female.

-Title: None.

-Status: Tired

-Notes: 3-circle mage

-Current Emotion: Worrying about the caster; surprise; weakness in the mind

“Wow…” Davey was rather impressed. It didn’t show much, but this weird status bar-like window showed some information that would otherwise be difficult to know. “It’s literally like a game.”

Being a discerning person was crucial, and it was a huge asset in human relationships.

‘Why did this show up all of a sudden?’ Davey wondered. Perhaps it was because he prayed to Freyja, the King of the Gods, or because Davey used the method he previously used as a soul in person. Whatever it was, it was complicated.

‘Let’s not think too hard. It’s a good thing anyways.’ Davey wasn’t going to let it sit if it was going to help him in the future. Davey then thought, ‘I hope it doesn’t cause any misunderstandings.’

As he glanced out of the window, Davey could see the bright night sky of the Duchy of Felicity. He couldn’t decide whether it was best to keep his powers a secret. No one knew what would happen, and if he caused a big scene, the people around him could suffer.

‘Is there a reason to keep my powers a secret?’ Davey knew that his stigmata was already revealed, but no one knew the full story. There was an amphitheater surrounded with a divine aura, and in there Davey was found with a stigmata. There were rumors about him going around because of that chatty priest who treated him, but ultimately, no one had seen Davey run wild. People could think that Davey did it, but they were just assumptions.

-It’s new to you, but it seems that you like having the ability to see through people. Anyways, what are you thinking about?

While deep in thought, Davey heard a strange voice of a girl from his silent room. She talked in an elderly manner, but her voice sounded like a girl his age. Her voice seemed like it wasn’t physically being heard, but was being communicated to him by her will.

“Who’s there,” Davey mumbled with a frown, noticing the voice had reached him without a presence. He knew that it was near impossible to approach him under his nose, so he felt concerned, since no regular person could pull this off. Davey, who was staring blankly, squinted and gradually began releasing his powers.