"Ragna! Ragna!"
I opened my eyes to Alicia calling my name, her voice thick with panic.
"Alicia."
"Ragna! You suddenly burst into flames and collapsed! I was so worried!"
As I pushed myself up, she yanked me into a fierce embrace. She was surprisingly strong, but the sensation of her pressed against me was so soft I felt like I was dreaming.
"That man who was on fire vanished... are you really alright?"
"I'm fine."
So while I was duking it out in the mental world, that was what my body was doing in reality? That was some horror-movie level stuff right there.
"Thank goodness..."
"This is how mages who use chantless magic fight. What did you think?"
"To be honest, I couldn't really tell what was happening through all those flames. Did you win?"
"No, he got away."
"I see... but your life is more important, Ragna."
"Thank you."
While she held me, I glared toward the exit. That made twice I'd let him escape; I was starting to feel a bit pathetic. But how do you kill something that won't stay dead? I’d never dealt with a demon-possessed freak who had assimilated so thoroughly that he could turn into ash and drift away. He was becoming a massive headache.
Usually, the way to defeat the demon-possessed was simply to kill the host, but I had no idea how to handle someone who wouldn't actually die. Should I just become immortal myself? No, that probably wasn't the answer. If this turned into a stalemate, the surrounding area would suffer the consequences.
I needed to think. How was I supposed to kill him? I couldn't even analyze him with my Barrier. Since the magic power he was using belonged to Jelasis, I couldn't peel the two of them apart, either. Could I trick him into an encounter by pretending to form a contract with a demon? I could give him a demonstration... or rather, a demon-stration?
"What are you muttering about? Hurry up and stand up."
"Ah, right."
Alicia had already released me, so I stood up with a pang of regret. For now, I needed to head home and think things through. I wondered if Onyx could tell me anything. It might be worth asking him next time.
"Alicia-sama, Ragna-san, is it over?"
Mariana approached us, dragging a still-unconscious Edward by his heels.
"Is the treatment finished on your end?"
"Yes. I lacked the magic power to remove the burn scars from the rest of his body, but I managed to restore his important face, at least," Mariana replied to Alicia’s question.
His entire upper body had looked like a mass of keloid scars, but she had indeed managed to fix his face. His eyelids had been peeled away, his eyes crushed, and his cheeks charred until his teeth were exposed—he’d looked like an anatomical model. Yet, she had somehow restored the face. Recovery magic in this other world was truly incredible; I wondered how it actually functioned. Since she had to reconstruct something that far gone, it was only natural that she’d exhausted her magic power.
"However..." Mariana continued, looking deeply apologetic. "I just couldn't do anything about the hair."
"It's as smooth as a polished stone..."
"Completely bald..."
"I figured his appearance mattered, so I made sure the skin healed cleanly, but I’m afraid it’s over. His hair follicles have passed away."
Ah, so it would never grow back. The follicles were gone. He’d been demoted from Stupid Prince to Bald Prince. Well, he could probably manage with a wig.
"He was almost dead, so he should just be glad he’s alive," Alicia remarked.
"That’s true."
It was exactly as Alicia said; life was the most important thing. They say great generals of the past would offer their hair in place of their lives. Edward simply sacrificed his hair to stay alive. Let’s go with that.
"Mariana, I’ll ask just in case, but is your trauma okay?"
"Regarding His Highness Edward, the goriness of his injuries won out. The nausea is stronger than the fear... urgh, I'm sorry, now that I've calmed down, the nausea is... blurgh!"
Mariana couldn't hold it back anymore; she doubled over and retched right there on the spot. The place where she’d been treating His Highness was a total disaster. Would she vomit every time she saw Edward’s face from now on? I actually felt a little sorry for him. Just a little.
But I suppose he got what he deserved. If this cured his incognito habit, a great many people would be saved.
"Well then, let’s go home."
"Yeah."
"Yes! Oh, that's right! Since Alicia-sama was able to use chantless magic, I made sure I could use it too so I wouldn't lose! I failed a few times and ran low on magic power, but I’ve caught up to you two!"
...Mariana. God, she really was something else. I was reminded of that once again.