Esmond:
And that was the end of his story before we got attacked by a horde of monsters. He couldn't finish the entirety, but his last words before he ended were, "He died." I didn't really know the details, but that was all I knew. I'm sure he said some other things, but that was a few years ago, and I honestly forgot about it.
"Paisley! Are you betraying the empire right now? Don't act brave here; the emperor would be disappointed in you," Luke was striking a conversation with Arnold.
"I'm not betraying anyone, and me standing up for a friend is much braver than hiding behind a wall of shields."
"You trash!" With a wave of Luke's hand, the army charged towards Arnold.
"Tsk tsk, I'll only immobilize you since you have families to return to, but don't expect this to be painless."
Arnold stepped back and took a deep breath before vanishing into thin air.
Immediately, the men stopped and froze in their spots. Their eyes wandered in every direction, looking everywhere for him.
Even a blow of the wind made them freak out, and a slight touch from each other scared them. Their reaction was only natural.
Arnold Paisley, known as the Silent Death, couldn't be seen even with the best detection magic. They couldn't sense his mana because he couldn't use magic.
So maybe being talentless at magic is a blessing to Paisley.
"Esmond... Why is your friend circling the enemies?"
"Huh?" Gesine came up as she pointed towards the air, and I could see a slight movement because of my magic, but how could she see him?
Even I can't see Paisley right now.
"Why and how can you see him?" she's having a sudden power up? Wait, now that I think about it, how did she find me in that random house as well?
"Well... You see, I got a blessing."
"Eh?"
"Well, more like a temporary blessing since it has a timer, but it did help me to find you so I guess it was a big help."
So it was a sudden power up, well at least it wasn't a permanent one since there will be heavy burdens along with a blessing.
"I'm guessing it must be the goddess of hunters."
"Yeah, she's the one. How did you know?"
"Haiya, she's one of the gods who gave me their blessings, but then she took it back. I guess she predicted that Cassandra would tell you and ruin our relationship."
"Oh! Then she's a sly goddess!" she chuckled before staring at the ground.
"You shouldn't insult a goddess like that, though."
"Uhm, she took back her blessing..." She had a teary look in her eyes. She seems pretty sad that her cool powers are now gone, but that's what happens when a goddess gets mad, I guess.
But I wonder what happened to Solais.
"Argh!"
"Gaaagh!"
A sudden sound of men being being stabbed, slashed, and falling to the ground was heard in front of me. I guess he has started.
He told me his tactics one time, and he said that.
"Confuse your enemy, scare them, and surprise them. That's when they let their guard down and openings will be made."
That's probably why he took his time encircling them and creating a gust of wind using his speed. He improvised instead of using wind magic; he used his speed to create a tornado-like area.
One by one, the soldiers fell to the ground, their armors clanked as they hit the ground. Some were crying out in pain, and some were unconscious.
They are not dead; they just couldn't handle the amount of damage they took and had to shut down.
"Isn't this quite eas– gurgh!" For a moment, when Arnold's guard was down, he was hit by something hard and heavy.
A group of men huddled together with shields, covering each other.
They must have figured out Arnold's weakness. Even though he's a fast man due to his weapon being light as well, he mostly thrusts and slashes enemies that don't have full-body armor.
He can't pierce through heavy armors and thick shields.
"Do you need help, Paisley?" I called out. He was outraged when he fought a demon that had a thick outer-layered skin a few years back.
So, other people had to take care of the demon while they took Paisley back to camp.
"I can do this, just trust me. Though I guess I do need a little help."
"What is it?"
"Enchant my weapon with wind magic since I don't have magic myself. You can just put mana on my sword and I'll use it."
He disappeared again and appeared in front of me, handing me his sword.
"You're unfamiliar with magic, though. Your weapon might not be the same if you use it."
"Trust me, that's all I gotta say. As I trust you for healing Albrecht, though... His complexion looks worse than before..."
I tossed his weapon back at him, enchanted it with wind magic, and gave it a weaker mana so Arnold can handle it. But even with less mana, it is still strong since it's my mana.
"J-just go. Albrecht will be fine," I said that so that he wouldn't worry while fighting, but Albrecht's situation is worse than I thought; he already lost too much blood.
And with my healing magic, his wounds slowly close, but that doesn't mean the blood will go back.
His life is in my hands, and that's very worrying since these hands kill.
A gush of dust and smoke rushed towards us. I covered Albrecht's face, and as the dust slowly disappeared, I saw Paisley grinning again as he looked down on the trampled knights.
Their heavy armor and thick shields didn't prevent his attacks. He must be pretty happy.
"Useless, those useless pawns. Oi, is it ready yet?" Luke was enraged at what he saw, and he screamed at the group of people behind him.
It's suspicious that the knights who didn't attack covered those people. Their guards weren't down when they are protecting them.
"Almost ready, Marquess, just a few more minutes," I could hear them talking. It seems like Luke is buying time for their secret weapon.
I should check it out—huh? I felt something grab my arm; it was shaking. I looked and saw Albrecht grabbing me.
His hand was shaking, his eyes were barely open. One stab that went through his body was enough to have him in this situation.
He doesn't have the healing capabilities and durability that I have; he's just human.
[Do you want to save him?]
Huh?
[I feel like I can't continue supporting you.]
"Wait, wait, what do you mean? Okay, I want to save him, but what do you mean you can't continue supporting me?"
[It is what I said. I, Mere, the goddess of wisdom, will take back my blessing, and in exchange, I will heal your friend.]
"So you're leaving just like that?"
I wasn't particularly close with Mere, but we had our time as well. She had been supporting me a few years after I got here, but I suppose everything has its end.
[I'm sorry, but... There are reasons, and I can't tell you.]
"I see. Then heal Albrecht and... Never show up in front of me again."
[....]
Albrecht's body started to glow green as his wound closed immediately, and the blood on the ground disappeared. His complexion, which had a pale face, returned to normal.
He was breathing more steadily.
"Farewell, Mere"