CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN: SAINT AMELIA

New Scene - Serena POV [https://cdn.novelpets.net/amelia_thornheart/serena.png]

The plateau lift belched steam as its massive gears turned, carrying Serena and Amelia towards the lowlands. Stretched across the horizon before them were the developing lands of towns and farming communities. Serena had been gone from Asamaywa for only a year, but even in such a short amount of time, the amount of industry that had sprung up was astonishing.

While the sight of the beautiful lowlands, bathed in blue hues from the enormous moon above, along with skies striated with travelling transports and military ships, would normally have Amelia asking a hundred questions while squealing about how amazing everything was…

For now, she was quiet. Both of them were.

“You understand why he wanted you to come with me?” Serena asked.

“...Yeah,” Amelia replied, her voice quiet under her rainhat. They were both wearing hats and coats to cover their uniforms. This wasn’t a time to be visible or flashy.

“Keep it… discreet.”

“I will,” Amelia replied.

“And you can’t just help everyone, remember? You might want to, but it’ll cause untold problems and-”

“Yes, alright!” Amelia tutted. “You don’t have to tell me everything!”

“Sorry,” Serena said. “I’m just… tense.”

“So am I.”

Serena wanted to discuss the Lord Guardian with Amelia, but the time and place felt inappropriate. So, with Serena mentally vowing to conduct a thorough cheek-pulling session later, they rode in silence down towards the lowlands. 

Stepping off, she was treated to what could best be described as disorderly order. A bustling market, targeting the travellers moving to and from the train station, produced a symphony of sounds as stall owners fought with their voices to catch the attention of passersby. People were well dressed, and she saw happy smiles on the faces of many.

She could see half a dozen guards and station employees maintaining order and keeping the lift queues moving. She saw people clambering on the rooftops, placing wooden sheets over the tiles to prevent damage from the incoming moon rain. The storefronts were also boarding up their glass and paper windows. The trains would stop soon, and air traffic would shut down for the night. 

“Come on, come on, keep it moving!”

“No ma’am, the last train to Nachon left half an hour ago.”

“Speak to us if you need shelter tonight! Don’t get caught out! Cheapest rates!”

“Papa, the moon’s so big! Catch a big crystal for me!”

They turned off the main street and headed toward the orphanage. The first few streets they passed were lit with aetherlights, with clean cobblestone pathing. However, as they continued, the amount of people walking became fewer and fewer. The streets became narrower, and aetherlights no longer lit their way. Here, the building style started to change; the homes relied heavily on jettying to maximise floor space on their upper floors. In fact, after walking further into Asamaywa’s shadow, the jettying became so egregious that the upper floors of each side of the street were less than an arm's length apart. Not only did this invoke a strange sense of being trapped, but it limited the amount of sunlight reaching the ground.

“Huge fire hazard…” Amelia muttered, looking up.

“This doesn’t seem so bad,” Serena intoned. Looking around, she didn’t see anything that couldn’t be found in the less affluent districts in the city above. The streets looked like they were still swept occasionally.

She soon came to regret those words.

As they walked deeper, a change occurred. With the light barely reaching the ground, it was as if the world was slowly rotting away. Shop windows no longer used glass, and many were boarded up with wooden planks. The cobblestone paths gave way to gravel and dirt and the drainage channels on the sides of roads were filled with debris, looking like they hadn’t been cleaned in months.

They didn’t see a single guard patrol.

The atmosphere became ever more sullen. People stopped smiling or nodding as they passed; instead, they hurried past, casting wary looks. Although Serena’s and Amelia’s raincoats - borrowed from the Old Guard’s Headquarters - had plenty of signs of wear and tear, they were still noticeably better maintained than the patchwork clothing worn by the few residents they saw.

Beggars started appearing in most corners, their eyes devoid of any spark of life. More than a few had the shakes - a symptom of Dust addiction. They were seemingly content to rot away with the rest of the world. No, not the world. Slums. These were the slums. Where was the energy? It was winter, sure, but even in the poorer parts of Asamaywa, the winter markets would continue throughout the season, only stopping if they were truly snowed in.

They turned a corner to see a man being beaten by two others. His assailants were using their fists but carried crude bludgeons on their waists. Serena couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Where were the guards?

“You there!” she shouted, striding down the alley. The two thugs stopped their assault, letting their victim fall into a crumpled heap where he lay shaking and unconscious. “On whose authority are you punishing this man?” She narrowed her eyes, glaring at the men.

“Authority?” one of the men questioned, his head tilting.

“This ‘ere is Marlos’s turf,” the other snarled, jabbing his finger to the floor. “Don’t stick yer pretty nose into our business, ladies.” He peered forward so he could see their faces better. “Oh! Yeh are pretty. Look at yer eyes! Born proper, were we?” He bent back up, tapping his bludgeon with a finger. “Highborn women like yeh should be careful. Why don’t yeh come with us ‘ere? We-”

Before Serena could break the thug's hands, Amelia fired off two spells, causing the men to collapse into a magic-induced sleep. Her girlfriend looked at her and shrugged.

“Sorry,” Amelia said. “Did you want to speak to them?”

“...No,” Serena eventually answered. This wasn’t the right time for her to run about clearing out criminal gangs. While she had certain legal rights to do so, as a Speaker and a fully-sanctioned Cascadian Lord, it was considered offensive to do too much without consulting the lord responsible for the area.

“Hello, I’m going to take your pain away, okay?” Amelia bent down. A tiny thread of golden light with dancing flecks of blue reached out from Amelia and entered the shivering, bloody man.

She’s much better at control now.

The man’s cuts and bruises healed, leaving only dried blood on his body and clothes. Amelia’s magic took care of that, too. The man slowly stood, touching his clean body in disbelief.

“I… Who…” the man stuttered, his face full of confusion.

“I suggest you leave,” Serena commanded. The man took a few hesitant steps back before turning and running down the road, his now immaculate patchwork clothing standing out against the dirt and grime of everything else.

“I don’t like this place,” Amelia mumbled. “It feels… oppressive.” She shuddered, rubbing her arms. “Should we do something?”

“Can’t just heal the entire slums,” Serena said, looking around. “This is beyond a quick fix. I’ll have to report this to Greatlord Oshiro. The conditions here are worse than I thought.” 

The residents thought they were subtle, but their attempts at hiding were no challenge for her aura-enhanced perception. They spied on them through little cracks in the doors and walls. When Serena made eye contact, they hurried away. She shook her head, saying, “Let’s go; we must have taken a wrong turn.”

“What about these guys?” Amelia poked one of the thugs with her foot.

Serena dragged them into a side alley and had Amelia release the sleep spell. It was cold, and they risked frostbite or worse if they stayed asleep. They would wake up in a few minutes confused, but other than that, no harm would come to them.

Although, perhaps some should.

Continuing, they eventually came across a guard patrol. Although the guards seemed less interested in patrolling and more interested in chatting with each other, drinking alcohol from a flask. Their uniforms were mostly clean, but worn haphazardly. As if they didn’t value the duty that came with a uniform.

“You there!” Serena called. She strode towards them, slightly releasing her control over her red aura, allowing it to be easily visible. The guards reflexively placed their hands on their swords, but as she approached and her red aura became clear, their eyes took on a tinge of fear and awe. She gave them a quick description of the orphanage. “It should be nearby. Do you know it?”

“...Aye, we know it,” one of the guards eventually answered, his voice hesitant. “A squad was sent there earlier. Who are you?”

“Speaker Halen. I have business at the orphanage. Orders from my Lord Superior. Take us there.” At her words, the guard's eyes widened at the word Speaker.

“Wh-”

“Tsk!” She clicked her tongue. Where was the discipline? “Do you talk back to all your superiors, man?”

“The Captain needs-”

“I’ll have the Captain

before an Imperial Court for failing to maintain discipline amongst his guards!” Now, she was really channelling her captain persona.

Soon to be her commodore persona!

Her threats worked, and the guard’s insubordination ceased. They lead them through the narrow, dark streets, casting the occasional glances at her and sometimes towards Amelia. With the rainhat, Amelia’s golden hair was hidden, and they wouldn’t necessarily assume she was a human. Demon horns came in all shapes and sizes. They would likely have assumed hers weren’t large enough to poke through the rainhat.

The darkness lifted as they entered an open space, where half a dozen stalls circled a long-defunct fountain. A few guards lingered around the square, and she even saw a gaggle of children running through with sticks, rolling wooden hoops. Despite the cold weather and their thin clothes, they were laughing. They looked skinny but not malnourished.

Still, it didn’t give her much hope.

“That there is the guardhouse, S-Speaker Halen.” The guard pointed at one end of the square, where a large building stood, one of the few around with sweeping roofs and decorative inlays. “It’s where the Captain's office resides. Are… you sure you don’t want to meet him? I-”

“The orphanage,” Serena reiterated.

“...Yes.”

From the guards she’d seen, not one of them was capable of aura. She knew the demands of the war had pulled aether-users from their positions into more suitable tasks, but to think an entire area like this would be stripped of guards capable of actually fighting. What would they do if they encountered an ochimusha?

As they exited the square, Serena asked, “Why is the rubbish left to pile up?”

“There’s no money,” the guard answered.

“I see.”

After turning a few corners, they reached their destination. It was just as Noburu described. The orphanage was a dilapidated building with a patchy roof and broken windows. It sat at the end of the street, with a wall extruding from it that enclosed some private space. Perhaps a garden. Smoke billowed from its chimney, and a bored-looking guard leaned in the entranceway.

Inside, she could hear the sound of things being broken.

Children yelling.

And crying.

Serena strode up to the door, prompting the guard to step forward, his hand on his sword. The man’s eyes met hers before drifting to the guards guiding them.

“...Who’s this?” he asked, directing his question to his colleagues.

“She calls herself Speaker Halen,” her guide answered, his voice unconfident.

The door guard laughed, shaking his head. “You must be mad. No Speaker is going to come here.” He narrowed his eyes. “Who are you really, then? This is an official investigation! Don’t think about lying… to me…” He trailed off as Serena allowed her aura to be visible again, pushing it into orange.

He swallowed audibly.

“You’re conducting an investigation?” Serena asked, peering past the man. She could sense Amelia at her side, itching to run in.

“T-that’s right. Captain ordered us to secure this building. Keep the occupants, umm… secure.”

“Why then,” Serena asked, keeping her voice flat. “Do I hear the sound of crying children?”

“Umm…”

Serena didn’t wait for an answer. “Come on,” she said to Amelia. “Wait outside,” she commanded the guard. “All of you.” She turned and pointed at the ground. “Stay.”

She stepped into the hallway, the floorboards creaking under her footsteps as she and Amelia were drawn to the sounds. They came to a door. Before entering, Serena closed her eyes for a moment, focusing on the aetherfield.

No threats.

She let her aura dip down to red, where she could keep it almost imperceptible to a normal person. Before she met Amelia, she might have burst into the room with orange or even yellow. Now, with her girlfriend’s layers upon layers of protective wards, she could be more conservative with her energy.

After all, Amelia never seemed to run out of the stuff, did she?

They stepped through the door just as something wooden and heavy was thrown against the far wall, accompanied by the screams and yelling of numerous children. The pieces of what might have been a chair fell to the floor, and with it, a sudden silence spread across the room as the inhabitants noticed her and Amelia’s presence. It was as if a symphony of destruction had just ended, the performers waiting for her to clap.

She didn’t feel like clapping.

“Oh…” Amelia whispered.

The state of the room was atrocious. Cabinets were torn from the walls. Furniture had been flipped and destroyed. It looked like a storm had passed. Half a dozen mattresses had been carved open, their contents spewing out. Blankets had been shredded, and bowls were smashed. What might have once been a beautiful dining table now lay broken in two pieces. Someone had taken an axe to it. Recently, judging by the debris around.

The wood burner was the only redeeming feature. As Serena eyed it, she again noted the mattresses and remembered what Noburu had said about them only being able to heat one room of the house. Did they really live in this one room together?

Could demons live in such conditions? 

She’d seen shelters on the battlefield with more amenities than this!

She turned her attention to the room’s occupants, who were all staring at her and Amelia. In one rickety chair sat a young woman. Her features were instinctively recognisable. This would be Kiku, the one with a chronic illness. As if her thoughts were heard, Kiku coughed quietly, covering her mouth as if to hide the noise. Then she coughed again and again, and soon, the only sound breaking the silence was the noise of her hacking cough.

Amelia took a step forward.

“Wait,” Serena said. “Not in front of the guards.” Near Kiku stood one guard who was the one breaking things, judging by his sweat-lined forehead and reddened face. On the far side of the room, four children were lined up under the supervision of two more guards. They were all crying, their faces marked with welts. Had the guards struck them? Struck these children!?

No, not guards. These were thugs.

Noburu had been right. Of course, from the truth-telling crystal, Serena expected this to some extent, but a part of her had hoped his mind had exaggerated the corruption. Now, that hope withered away. From seeing the gang members openly assault people on their ‘territory’ to the attitude and discipline of the guards, to… this. He was right. They might be wearing the uniform, but these men were nothing but another gang.

Was it a result of a lack of aura-enhanced warriors to keep things in order? Her father always said demons worked best when they had superiors to obey and subordinates to command. Was this what society turned into when that system fell apart? Who was holding these men responsible?

Serena walked further into the room, taking slow, methodical steps. The guards visibly tensed at her movement, their hands touching their sheathed swords. To them, she was a stranger, an unknown force. They must have realised she’d either fought her way past their colleagues or been let through.

“Identify yourself!” barked the red-faced man nearest to Serena. His demand sounded confident, but his posture and actions betrayed his unease. Serena ignored him, instead picking up a nearby cup of water and bending down on one knee in front of the coughing girl. She lifted her rainhat so the poor girl could see her face clearly. “Here,” she said, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

Kiku took the water. It took a few attempts for her to drink it. She kept coughing into the cup, spluttering the water over herself. Eventually, she was able to drink, and her coughing calmed down.

“I said-” the red-faced man angrily began. His face contorted in an ugly fashion as he realised he was being ignored.

“Quiet,” Serena whispered. “I’ll deal with you in a moment.” She turned her head, looking at Amelia and then nodding towards the room’s exit. Amelia understood the intention and shuffled her way into the door, blocking any hope of exit. Not that the men in this building could escape from either of them, even if they gave them a hefty headstart. It was merely to prevent the idea from forming in their heads in the first place.

Turning her attention to the recovering girl, she asked, “I take it your name is Kiku?”

“...Yes.” Kiku’s eyes were no longer full of the fear Serena had seen when she entered the room. Now they were full of worry. Good. That was an improvement. “How do you know?” she whispered.

“Noburu told us all about you. He-”

“Noburu is a good man!” Kiku suddenly blurted out. “I swear on the moons! He wouldn’t harm anybody! He’s only ever looked out for us! Please don’t take his hands! We’ll starve without…” The girl trailed off as another cough formed in her throat, forcing her to drink more water.

“I know,” Serena said. “No one will be starving; you have my word on that.” If Kiku hadn’t been so frail-looking or if she had insulted Serena, then she likely wouldn’t have spoken so softly. Instead, she would chastise the girl over her ridiculous idea that a career criminal and thief could be considered a good man

.

But, given the situation, she couldn’t bring herself to educate Noburu’s younger sister.

They really had nothing. How could they bear to live like this? Their clothing was threadbare, and the mattresses and blankets that might have offered sufficient warmth in the winter were now destroyed by the very guards who were duty-bound to protect them. 

“The children,” Serena intoned, standing up and pointing towards the four young demons lined up. Under her finger, they tensed, so she quickly put her hand down. “There are four. I was told Kiku and her brother were looking after six. Where are the remainder?”

“...They ran,” one of the guards eventually said. Of the three guards in this room, this was the only one who had removed his hand from his sword. Had he realised who she was? Had he seen a glimpse of her military uniform underneath the raincoat? Maybe he realised it from her eye colour. If he was smart he might have realised from her boots. “Scampered over the wall when we broke, ahem-” he coughed into his hand. “When we came inside.”

“Is that so,” Serena answered, narrowing her eyes and glaring at the man. He struggled to meet her gaze. “And who might you be?”

“Keishi Nagata,” he answered. “Twenty-first guard squad under Captain Koyama.” He hesitated before sheepishly adding, “Ma’am.”

“And you?” she turned her gaze to the other guard in the room.

“...Ikki,” he eventually replied, casting looks between her and the red-faced guard. “Twenty-first guard squad under Captain Koyama.”

“Family name?”

“Just Ikki.”

“I see.”

She slowly turned her attention to the remaining red-faced guard. She stared at him for a while, well aware the more she stared, the more uncomfortable he would become. At first, he tried to glare back, but her long-practised, battlefield-hardened gaze would never lose to a mere thug dressed in a guard uniform. The man broke eye contact after a dozen seconds, glancing at his colleagues. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Serena interrupted.

“And who are you?”

The man took a deep breath as if trying to fill his body with confidence. “Yasuji Obara!” he half-shouted. “Squad leader of-”

“One moment,” Serena raised her hand, cutting him off. She looked towards the guards Keishi and Ikki. “You two, move over there.” She pointed to a space near the recently-broken dining table.

“...Why?” Keishi asked.

“You’re scaring the children.” Serena clicked her tongue. “So move.”

“...Yes.”

The two guards shuffled over, casting glances in her direction. She was about to bark at them to run but didn’t want to shout for fear of troubling the children further.

They’d been exposed to enough noise already.

“Now, where were we,” she raised an eyebrow at the remaining guard. “Squad leader of…?”

“Squad leader of the twenty-first guard squad!” He snapped, his face slowly becoming a better and better impression of the red moon. “Under Captain Koyama! Now, will you explain who you are and what you’re doing!? This building is under my control!” Spittle flew from the man's mouth as he struggled to keep his anger under control.

She shook her head. Who was he to make demands of her?

Suddenly, Amelia piped up from the door, “Another man arrived! He’s talking to the outside guards. They’re calling him Captain Koyama!”

“Is that so?” Serena smiled. Chesterfield obviously wanted them to do things discreetly, but with the corruption this deep, there would be a certain amount of blowback. Or maybe… Chesterfield had seen the truth-teller react to Noburu’s statements. He probably realised it was truly this bad, which meant if they caused a scene, it was likely something anticipated or perhaps even desired.

Tsk! He wasn’t using them both for some means unseen, was he?

“Go outside,” Serena said to Amelia, “Inform Captain Koyama and any men he has with him that you are exercising your privilege and rights as a Speaker and a Lord-Prospect. Inform him you are detaining him and his men, and they are not to move from their location until instructed.”

“Oh! Okay!” Amelia's eyes widened. “Will he… obey me?”

“Probably not,” Serena admitted. “But he has no right of refusal. Use whatever means you want to make him comply.”

“Right!” Amelia nodded, punching her open hand with the other. Her face was deadly serious. “I’ll be right back!” She turned and began to move out before swivelling around and asking. “And then, I can… you know?” She gestured to Kiku and the children.

“Of course.” Serena smiled.

“Mmm! I’ll be a minute!” Amelia vanished, only to return a moment later. “Uh, do I need to inform them of their charges?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Serena replied, glancing towards the guards. “You’re only detaining them. Charges will come later.” At her words, the guards’ jaws clenched.

“Understood!” Amelia gave a quick bow and vanished once more. While keeping her perception open to Amelia’s outside antics, Serena snapped her head towards the guard called Yasuji.@@novelbin@@

Wait a minute, wasn’t Yasuji the one Noburu was worried about harming Kiku?

Had Serena arrived just in time?

She eyed Yasuji. “This… destruction,” she waved her hand around, gesturing to the destroyed furniture. “Your doing, I presume? Why have you destroyed what little these people have? They clearly have no valuables.”

“T-they are thieves!” Yasuji spluttered, his attitude suddenly changing after hearing Amelia be referred to as both a Speaker and a Lord-Prospect. What would he be thinking? Perhaps he was wondering who Serena was to be able to command Amelia to go and detain his captain.

“Thieves?” Serena asked, raising an eyebrow. “What thieving do you think this girl can do? She can barely walk, isn’t that right?”

“No, I mean, look at this!” 

Serena’s attention was directed to a winter coat the occupants had apparently stashed away. It was the kind of cloak you could find anywhere in the city shops if you were on a budget. Yasuji tried to argue this was stolen, but Serena was having none of it.

“It’s her brother!” Yasuji hastily changed his approach. “You’ve interrogated him, right? Then you know what kind of man he is! It’s not just him!” He cast a finger towards the four children. “They’re fingersmiths! They’ll slip a purse from your person the moment you look away! They-”

A flurry of protests erupted from the children.

“Liar!”

“You steal from us!”

“Tell her, Kiku!”

“It’s.. it’s true!” Kiku exclaimed. “We pay him money for protection, but he always asks for more and more! He always threatened to turn this place over and take anything of value, and that’s what he was doing! He’s destroyed everything! He said if Noburu didn’t return, he would take me to bed and-”

“Stupid girl!” Rage blossomed again in Yasuji’s face, spittle flying everywhere. He stepped forward, raising his hand to strike her. Serena’s eyes widened. What was he trying to do!? Knock her head off!?

Serena manifested her aura, blossoming it into a bright orange.

It was more than enough to intercept the strike with her hand, snapping Yasuji’s arm before he realised she’d even moved. It wasn’t a clean break, either. Letting her subdued anger come forth, she crushed his bones as she snapped them. He would never use that arm again. He’d probably need it amputated.

Unless Amelia healed him, which she sincerely hoped she wouldn’t.

She kicked Yasuji across the room, where he collided with the broken dining table, collapsing into a heap next to his stunned colleagues. Amazingly, he wasn’t unconscious. Instead, he threw up before clutching his arm with a face of agony.

“Ah… ah…”

“If you scream, I’ll break the other one.” Serena walked over to him and then spat on him. It was an action she’d only done a few times in her life and one she’d never do in proper company, reserved only for when she wanted to establish her utter distaste for someone. “You two,” she glared at Keishi and Ikki, their faces white. “Take him outside. Under my authority and rights granted to me by Imperial Law, I, Lord Halen, am detaining the three of you.” She raised her voice slightly. “Amelia, I’m coming out!”

“I heard! I’m almost done!” came the reply, easily picked up by Serena’s enhanced perception.

Serena removed her rainhat and coat, revealing the immaculate black and gold officer uniform underneath. She wasn’t sure how, but when the guards saw the uniform, even more blood drained from their faces. Yasuji had gone from being as red as the red moon to as white as the white one. Even the children couldn’t resist uttering their surprise.

“Whoa…!”

“She’s glowing orange!

“That’s aura, Reo! Remember I told you about it!”

“So pretty!”

She led the men outside to find Amelia dragging an unconscious body into a line of a dozen others. It looked like they’d tried to resist Amelia’s detention, but her magic had put them to sleep before they could achieve anything.

“Hello!” she chirped. “That one’s the Captain,” she said, pointing towards one of the sleeping demons. “Those are the two that came with us, that one is the guard who was at the door, and… the rest are men the Captain brought with him!”

“Quite the collection,” Serena nodded, turning towards the three guards. “Sit down,” she ordered. 

They hastily obeyed.

“Mind adding these three to your collection?” Serena asked.

“Mmm, mmm!”

Amelia put the three men to sleep and then warded the area so no one could interfere. They returned to the destroyed room to find the four children crowded around Kiku, fussing over her. They backed off a little when they entered, their eyes wary.

But not hostile.

Serena didn’t have time to say anything before Amelia pushed past her, practically falling to Kiku’s side as she grabbed the demon's hands and spluttered, “Hello! I’m Amelia! It’s nice to meet you!”

“It’s…” Kiku looked confused. “Nice to meet you, but…” she pulled her hands away. “I’m so dirty, and I don’t want to make you unwell, umm, Lord-Prospect…? Are you crying?”

“No!” Amelia replied as tears bubbled up and fell down her cheek. “Never mind that I can’t get ill anyway! How long have you had your condition?”

“Almost… four years, Lord-Prospect,” Kiku smiled weakly. “I don’t know what it is, but I can’t walk very far, so I stay in this room.”

“Four… four years?” Amelia echoed. She wiped her tears and, in the process, knocked her hat off, revealing her golden hair that seemed to shine in the drab and dreary room. No, her hair was actually shining. Amelia was spooling her magic up. “I used to be ill for so long as well. I couldn’t move at all some days, and I cried so many tears at how unfair it was! I can see you’re a beautiful demon with a beautiful soul…” Amelia sniffed. “It’s not fair this happened to you!” Amelia sniffed again as more tears were pouring from her eyes.

Kiku started crying, yet she was also smiling. She gave a weak laugh and thanked Amelia.

Tsk! Even Serena felt something in her eyes. She turned away to dab her face discreetly. As she did, she heard the children squeal in excitement.

“She’s shining!”

“Is it aura!?”

“She doesn’t have horns!”

“K-kiku! It’s the human healer I told you about! It is, isn’t it!? She’s come for you!”

“That’s right,” Amelia blubbered. “I’m that healer, and I’m going to make you all better!” She reached forward and pulled Kiku into a hug. “I’m going to make everyone better! Can I do that for you, Kiku? Please?”

From over Amelia’s shoulder, tears flowed freely down Kiku’s face. “Yes,” she croaked, her voice weak. “Please fix me. I want-” She choked up with emotion, unable to continue.

Amelia just kept crying, and as she did, she glowed even more. The room was filled with golden light. The children cheered and threw themselves into the hug, wrapping their arms around both Kiku and Amelia.

Wait a minute…

How much aether was she cycling right now!?

Serena thought Kiku was being healed, but Amelia hadn’t activated the spell yet! All this glowing was just from her spell formation! How much aether was she putting into it!?

“Amelia!” Serena called. “Discreetly, remember!?”

“I… I can’t do this discreetly!” Amelia cried out. “And I don’t want to! I can’t stop it!”

Serena hurried into a position where she could see Amelia’s face better. “No, really!” she stressed. “Keep it down! Think of the problems this might cause!” She could tell already this was going to be at least a magnitude more powerful than the healing Amelia cast when she covered the entirety of the Vengeance.

“I’ll fix those problems as well!” Amelia cried, sniffing heavily. She opened her eyes. Gone were her crimson pupils, instead they shone a bright golden blue, with raw aether misting off them. It was as if she’d Spoken a Word!

“Third-circle,” Amelia spoke.

Serena sent a quick prayer to the Empress.

“Divine Healing of Aseco.”

With that, Amelia’s magic activated.

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