"Lord Rein! The next wounded man is here!!"
Even after the gate was forced open from the inside, my job remained the same.
The only thing that had changed was my location. Advancing right up to the gate with our shielded carriage, Big Sister Therese and I continued healing the casualties behind its cover. I had already treated over a dozen men.
"Treatment complete. Next, please."
A knight was carried over, a savage slash running from his chest down to his abdomen. It was severe. As the fighting had devolved into a chaotic melee, the wounds had shifted from arrows and burns to deep lacerations.
"I don't think I'm going to make it... Please, take my final words..."
"Quiet down."
With a wound like this, he could still be saved. He wasn't going to die. Sure enough, when I invoked my healing magic, a flash of green light washed over the injury, rewinding the damage until it was completely mended.
"All done. You lost a lot of blood, so you're not going back to the front line."
With that, I handed the knight—who was blinking in utter disbelief—off to Anton to be escorted to the rear.
"Every time I see it, the speed of your healing magic astounds me..."
Big Sister Therese, who had been watching from the side, murmured in awe.
"I just hated having the pain drag on for so long..."
I answered, recalling the days when I first learned healing magic and desperately cast it on myself.
"—Ah!"
"At first, it took me a really long time," I continued. Feeling praised, I suppose I was a little happy. "Anyone would get fast if they had to do it every single day."
When I looked over at Big Sister Therese, she looked as if she were on the verge of tears.
"...Ah. Sorry, did that sound like bragging?"
Without a word, Mira gently placed a hand on my shoulder from behind.
Lina squeezed my hand tightly.
"?"
None of the three said a word.
◇◇◇
After I had spent some time treating the wounded, a man's furious shout echoed from deep within the fortress.
It was booming, but I couldn't make out the words.
"...What was that?"
When I looked up, fire streaked across the sky toward the mountain side.
Fire arrows. A volley of them traced high arcs through the air, plunging into the center of the fortress. In rapid succession, several fiery masses came hurtling down as well.
The flames spread out from the impact points far faster than I had anticipated. The cords holding earthenware pots beneath the eaves burned through, sending them crashing down and scattering fire over a vast area.
In an instant, the inner compound was swallowed by a sea of flames.
The blazing crimson seared the back of my eyes, threatening to dredge up a memory of a different red. The color of scorched iron. The sickening sizzle of burning flesh—
Suddenly, my vision went dark.
It was Mira's arm. Pulling me against her, she covered my eyes with her palm.
"Lord Rein. Are you all right?"
Her voice was as steady as ever. Pressed against her chest, I could hear her heartbeat. That alone brought me back to reality.
"...I'm fine. Thank you."
More importantly, there was something I had to know.
"What about Katia and Mr. Lutz? And the other knights?"
A Laufen knight waiting nearby for treatment answered, his eyes fixed on the inferno.
"The Vice Leader and Lady Katia pursued what appeared to be the enemy commander deeper in... toward the mountain trail. There may be other knights trapped behind the lines as well. The two of them might be able to break out using Physical Enhancement, but in this situation..."
He didn't have to finish the thought. The path back was completely consumed by fire.
"No..."
Katia's smiling face flashed across my mind, and the strength drained from my limbs. I sank to my knees.
Seeing me like that, Lina stepped forward and spoke.
"...I might be able to... move the fire."
Everyone turned to look at her. Lina was staring intently at the flames. In her eyes, it felt as though she were tracking something invisible.
"Lina, please. I want to save Katia and the others..."
"Yes. If it is for your sake, Lord Rein."
Lina walked right to the edge of the blazing path and thrust out both hands.
The fire wavered with an unnatural shudder.
"...Please."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Please, move!"
The fire parted.
As if shoved aside by an invisible force, the flames pulled back to the left and right, carving out an opening just wide enough for people to pass through. The fire hadn't been extinguished; it continued to roar like towering walls on either side. But directly over the path, a clear corridor had opened up.
"...It is safe. We can go."
Lina's words were brief, but her tone was resolute.
"I will go in your stead, Lord Rein. Please wait here," Anton said, moving to block my way.
I immediately pushed back. "There might be wounded men trapped in there. If I go, I can heal them on the spot....I'm going."
"Then I'm coming with you. Two healers will be faster," Big Sister Therese chimed in.
Anton let out a heavy sigh. Drawing his sword, he stepped in front of me.
"...Understood. I will lead the way. Lord Rein, do not leave my side under any circumstances."
Mira took her place beside me, while several knights of House Werl formed a protective escort around us.
We ran.
Embers swirled violently overhead. I sprinted with my eyes locked onto Anton's back. Both flanks were engulfed in towering walls of flame, yet breathing wasn't nearly as difficult as I had feared. It felt as though we were wading through the dry bed of a river whose banks were ablaze. When I glanced over my shoulder, the corridor behind us remained open, held back from closing in.
"Lina, are you holding up?!"
"Yes."
Her answer was clipped, but she wasn't even out of breath.
Along the way, we came across a man collapsed beside the path. A Laufen knight, suffering from leg burns and choking on the smoke.
"Don't move. I'll heal you right now."
Rushing to his side, I laid my hands on him. The fresh burns closed in seconds. Anton hauled the man to his feet and passed him to the knights behind us.
"Fall back along this path! Keep straight!"
Near the gate of the inner fence, another soldier was huddled on the ground. Big Sister Therese saw to him. Having inhaled too much smoke, he couldn't speak, but he was quickly escorted out by another knight.
"Lina, are you really all right? If it gets to be too much, tell me right away."
"...I am used to it."
"You're incredible..."
The praise slipped out before I could stop myself. A rare, genuinely happy smile touched Lina's lips.
At the dead end of the path, we found them.
"Rein?!"
Katia whipped around. She was covered in soot, her hair plastered to her cheeks with sweat. But she was on her feet and appeared unhurt. Mr. Lutz stood beside her in a similar state.
"What are you doing here?! It's dangerous!"
Even as she barked at me, Katia's hands shot out to grip my shoulders tightly.
"Well now, Lord Rein....Honestly, you're a lifesaver. I was just about to sling Milady over my shoulder and charge through the flames at full tilt."
Mr. Lutz offered a casual joke, though his voice was noticeably lower than usual. He jerked a thumb toward the mountain.
"The bastard who looked like their leader slipped away. Beyond this portcullis, down the mountain path....Sorry about that. I misjudged their strength. Thought I was hot stuff among the realm's top fighters, but look at me now..."
A massive portcullis constructed of heavy timber and bound in iron bars blocked the exit leading to the mountain pass. Its surface was still smoldering.
When Lina aimed both hands toward it, the lingering flames slid smoothly to the sides, scattering and dying against the ground.
"Lina, can you keep going?"
"Yes....I will keep the path open."
"If it starts closing, tell me immediately. We'll turn back at once."
"...Understood."
Lina remained standing, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the fire.
I stepped up to the portcullis. The flames were out, but the charred wooden core glowed red like hot coals, and the iron bands radiated a dull, crimson heat. You didn't need to touch it to know it was scorching.
Mr. Lutz looked at it grimly. "If a few of us used Physical Enhancement, we might be able to heave it up, but with this heat... our hands would cook to the bone before we even got it off the ground....We're in a proper bind here."
"If we get this open, can we catch them?"
"Not much time has passed, and that mountain trail's barely wide enough for one man at a time. They're bound to be bottlenecked. If we can get through, I'd say our chances of running them down are pretty high."
In my mind, the horrific scenes from the clinic flashed before me.
Beyond this gate were the monsters who had spread that poison.
I looked down at the palms of my hands. Then, I looked up.
"Katia, Mr. Lutz."
Both of them turned to me.
"There's something I want to try....If this portcullis lifts, I need you two to break through to the other side."