Chapter 334 – Transplantation

000

In her darkness, when Lila’s screaming voice resounds, light returns to Emma’s empty eyes as she turns to her.

“…Uh?”

Then, she sees where she is now, and Lila who sees herself like that.

Looking at the mismatched tool in her hand, she loses her grip and loses the shovel.

“Uh, why are you here…”

“That’s what I’m talking about, Emma. I’ve been in this town for four years… I can’t believe you were digging up the ruins…”

At the sound of Lila’s disbelief in her voice her, Emma waved her arm her around her in denial, pushed her hand away from Lila’s, wrapped her head around her, and sat down in her seat her.

As she panics over her cognitive dissonance, her shattering headache overtakes her, with cold sweat running down her body.

“…Emma?”

As for Lila, she realizes that such Emma’s condition is not normal, and she is anxious, and she is added to another anxiety, so she uses magic poetry to check her physical condition.

When humans change from what they can normally see to what they cannot see.

Layla confirms a small but certain, alien magic nestled inside Emma.

Its magical energy, like a parasite, settled at the location of her heart her, traveled through her nerves her and stretched a very thin thread-like stalk through her body her, reaching her hands, feet, and the top of her head.

It was affecting every part of the body of her.

‘Erosion by magical power… I can’t believe I didn’t notice this…’

Emma was a human with the weakest ability to adapt to magical powers among her companions.

That is, it was a story that the amount of magical power she possessed was inevitably small.

If Emma’s amount of magical power had changed even slightly, Layla, who is sensitive to her magical power many times more than ordinary people, could not have noticed it.

If so, this magic was in Laila and Emma when they first met, or even before that.

It becomes a story that it spreads through her body and erodes her very little and minutely, so that neither Emma nor Lyla could notice.

Seven years had passed since Lila and Emma had known each other.

During that time, the magical energy eroded Emma’s body as if she had a will.

It was ominous, terrifying, and magic like sticky blood.

Suddenly, Layla recalls hearing Cleon explain about how she ended up with Emma and Illenu during the trip.

For some reason, she refrained from talking about the details of the intermediate process, but Emma was originally a woman who had been brainwashed by a vampire in a village and worked as his maid.

Brainwashing, blood, and the magic power that remained in Emma’s body her.

After the pieces of the puzzle are put together little by little, Lila immediately puts her hand on Emma’s body her.

“…Sorry, Emma. It might hurt a little.”

“Lyla…?”

Emma, ​​still oblivious to what Lila was about to do, saw her vision her suddenly darken.

Precisely, as Layla’s face her drew closer to her, she blocked all of her vision of her.

And, the tingling pain felt on the lips of her.

Could this be what Lila meant by ‘it might hurt’?

“I’m sorry…!”

Emma, ​​who had never touched her lips with anyone except Cleon, then realized that Layla had put her lips her to her own.

She panicked and tried to pull it off, but Lila’s power her, which had strengthened her body her with her magical powers her, held her body her strong, and her fangs her cut her Lila, her own lips , and her Emma’s lips. Bite-

It could be seen that they were trying to exchange each other’s blood with a kiss.

“~~~!!”

Without being able to scream properly, Emma swallows Laila’s blood as intended.

Then, a small but sure passage is created in the magical barrier that exists between Lila and her mother her, Emma.

‘…Come…!’

And, as expected, Leila noticed the flow of unclean magic inside her Emma, ​​which was trying to break through the passage and dig into herself.

As expected, the magic power nestled inside Emma was moving like a living being with a will.

However, unlike Emma, ​​who has no resistance to her magical powers her, Layla is a wizard who has honed her ability to control her magical powers by repeatedly studying them more thoroughly and desperately than anyone else on the continent.

Things like pushing her mana her that was forcibly trying to burrow into her her, into her reverse her, and injecting her own mana her.

It wasn’t too difficult for Lila.

Her sticky magic power her, like clotted blood, is pushed away by Layla’s fiery hot magic power her.

And, if she somehow pushes that magic of hers through the passage of her magical power created between her and her Emma her, Emma will have another magical power of hers that is not her her own her, riding on her limbs her. With a sense of flow.

She sat down in her seat, feeling her intense heat burning her from head to toe.

Actually, it wasn’t a lie.

It was because Layla’s magical power of flame burned and extinguished all the unclean magic that branched out from within her.

The destructive power of flames is sometimes regarded among people as a symbol of purification that burns away injustice.

It wasn’t just a superstition, it was a story with some basis.

Such a quality remains intact even in her flame magic her, purifying Emma’s body her.

Of course, the heat generated by her made Emma painfully wrap herself around her and sweat all over her body her.

Layla, too, wipes the sweat from her forehead her, feeling exhausted and tired at the same time, thanks to sparingly activating her own magic her to infuse her her magic her into her her.

“…What remained inside of you is the vampire’s magic. When Cleon freed you from brainwashing, his magic remained strong, so it seemed that the vampire’s magic had almost disappeared… In a way, it was dark magic with a similar nature. In other words, it must have been dormant as if mixed with Cleon’s magic.”

Regarding this, it wasn’t that Cleon was bad or that Emma’s insensitivity her was bad.

It just means that the vampires they dealt with are tenacious and tenacious.

“Perhaps, that magical power manipulated you to try to obtain Wilhelmina’s relics buried in these ruins. During these four years, little by little… To the point that even we didn’t notice.”

It was the result of utilizing all the trust Emma received from the people around her, as well as the skills to avoid attacks and the skills to avoid people’s eyes that she acquired during her adventures her.

“Haa…Ugh…”

As Emma listened to Lila in silence, she felt her body lighten as the heat slowly drained from her body.

For a long time, it felt as if even the lump that had lingered inside her, which had been constricting her chest, had disappeared.

Even she knew for the first time that it was the magic of a vampire.

“Uh… What should I do…? With the villagers… You guys… So many troubles…”

And what fills her head is the fact that she has betrayed everyone’s trust due to the fact that she was manipulated by the vampire’s magic.

And that’s where the guilt comes from.

If she herself had been a little more sensitive to her magical powers, she would have been able to feel her own abnormalities and seek counsel from others.

However, the vampire’s mana that existed inside her skillfully manipulated her body so that she would not feel such a sense of incongruity.

After digging in the ruins, traces were bound to remain, and the magic that was already eating away at her body her controlled her metabolism her so that she would not shed a single drop of sweat.

She made her way to the ruins, but before returning to her mansion, she changed into a spare set of clothes that had been prepared to keep them free of even dirt.

In addition, she manipulated the perception that the time she was late she was doing something else, so she did n’t even realize that Emma herself was entering and leaving the ruins herself.

Layla suddenly wondered if only the remaining magic power of the dead vampire could be brainwashed and manipulated to such a high level.

Thinking that calming her Emma down first, she put her hand on her shoulder her.

“…First of all, let’s go back to the mansion. This is something only we know about. …Illenu is waiting for you.”

Reporting the situation to the guards would be foolish.

Leila didn’t think that the guards would fully understand that she had been brainwashed by a vampire and overturned the ruins.

A criminal who has not been caught for four years.

If Emma does n’t enter or leave the ruins anymore, her tracks her will naturally be cut off and they will stop pursuing them as well.

Leila thought that far, and she looked at the shovel Emma had dropped.

It was an ordinary shovel without any features, but how many traces of her could remain.

Lila immediately snapped her fingers and the shovel enveloped in her flames.

The wooden parts burned and turned to ash, and the powerful flames melted even the metal parts on the spot and permeated them into the ground.

Then, supporting her Emma her, she floated up into the sky and returned to her mansion unnoticed by anyone.

Having kept her silenced, she did not tell Emma what had happened at her ruins her to the rest of her party.

Even in the mansion, there was concern about Illenu’s deteriorating physical condition of her, so their expressions of her couldn’t help but be bright.

I just hoped that in this state, no new troubles would appear, and that Illenu would change his mind her and drink someone else’s blood once again.

001

That wish was shattered the very next morning.

Someone knocked on the door of the mansion they were living in early in the morning.

Layla, who was very nervous about what had happened yesterday, could not sleep all night and reacted loudly to the sound of a knock, attracting Beatrix’s attention to her.

If Bea, who was about to greet the visitor, was stopped, she approached the front door in a state of alert and gently opened the door.

What I could see beyond it was a tall woman standing over 170 cm tall, similar to Illenu.

Her hair was blonde and her eyes were blue.

The platinum-colored tips of her sparkling blonde hair were also evidence of divine magic flowing from her body.

At first, Lila hadn’t noticed who she was.

However, she muttered in disbelief as soon as she noticed in the features of that face the aspect of an old acquaintance who still looked young.

“…Solina?”

“Lyla, long time no see.”

It was Solina who came looking for her.

“Why are you here…”

Lila couldn’t help but be wary of Solina, who suddenly appeared at this timing, and looked at her with her eyes her, which did not welcome her.

But as for Solina, she was just thinking of visiting her old acquaintance with her in her hometown after 3 years, so Lila’s reaction to her was unexpected, so she replied with a slightly forlorn expression.

“I’m back with a mission from the Order of the Holy Knights. Early this morning… So, I wanted to greet you guys too… By any chance, do you still have the incident from 3 years ago in your mind?”

What’s the story, Lila thinks for a moment, then she recalls that three years ago, she thought Solina thought she was the perpetrator in her ruins her.

“…Sorry, it’s not like that. It’s just… I was getting a little nervous.”

Judging that if she maintained her thorny attitude, she could buy her suspicions her from her, Lila shook her head with her light apology.

“…I heard from Reese. Mr. Illenu, your physical condition has gotten worse…”

“…Well, that’s right.”

Certainly, Illenu’s poor physical condition was also a factor that made Layla’s mood sharper now.

But, more than that, what Layla couldn’t understand was Solina’s figure of her.

When she left her village three years ago, she had the same brown hair and green eyes as her brother her.

Blonde hair and blue eyes, isn’t that the same appearance as the symbol of the royal capital and the nobility?

Her appearance her, as if her race itself had changed, and her height her had grown so much that she had become like a different person.

Even within her, traces of her old self her remained to some extent, so even Layla could barely recognize it …

Perhaps noticing Lila’s gaze her on her, Solina put her hand through her own hair while making her bitter face.

“…Do you care, too, this hair?”

“It’s not just her hair. The color of her eyes is the same. As far as I know… She went to the capital to take the ‘Order of Holy Knights’exam and joined the ranks. Did she undergo plastic surgery?”

At Lila’s words her, Solina shook her head from side to side.

“He talks the same way as Reese… He had surgery, but not plastic surgery.”

“…Then?”

At Lila’s question, Solina looked around her for a moment before speaking quietly.

“…I have a little advice for you. I’ll talk with you, so can we talk inside the mansion?”

At Solina’s words, Lila shut her mouth for a moment.

In her head her, a calculator was running fast as to how she should respond.

The personal relationship between Solina and Lyla could not be said to be very good, but it was only the two of them.

Veana, Emma, ​​Illenu, and Solina were building friendly relations within the village.

Layla’s gaze went to Solina’s waist her.

There, he could see a sword for decoration, which he hadn’t seen three years ago.

Even if it was for decoration, it was one of the official weapons of the Order of the Holy Knights, and it was manufactured so that it could be used in ordinary combat.

Layla knew that the only ones who could wear it on a regular basis were the Holy Knights who were recognized for their skill and activity.

‘Because of being alert, rather than being suspicious-‘

Finally, Layla nodded and let her into her mansion her.

When the door closed, Beatrix, who had been watching Layla from behind, also turned to Solina with a surprised face.

“Solina…?! You’re back in town!”

“Bea. It’s been a while. Bea recognizes you right away.”

When her Solina smiled as if she was a little happy about that fact, Bea greeted her with a kind reply, saying ‘Of course, her face her is still the same’.

“Emma and Illenu…”

“Emma went to work at the inn early in the morning. Illenu… Hasn’t woken up yet.”

At Layla’s answer to her, Solina’s face darkened a bit, as if she was also worried about Illenu.

“…If it’s okay, can I take a look at the condition? I learned some healing magic from the Holy Knights.”

“You know that it’s not a condition that can be cured with healing magic, right?”

When Lila spoke clearly, Solina nodded her head heavily.

In reality, Illenu’s physical condition could not be resolved without vampirism, and the healing magic containing a large amount of divine magical power was no different from offensive magic to Illenu, who was mixed with vampire blood.

“You didn’t come here to see Illenu’s condition? What’s the request? What was the color of her hair and eyes of her?”

Lila was about to get straight to the point in order to get her back quickly.

Seeing Layla like that, Beatrix gave her a slightly strange look, but for the moment, she brushed it aside, thinking that the two of them hadn’t gotten along that well.

It was because Beatrix herself was also concerned about Solina’s change in her.

“… This is the effect of the ‘protective transplant surgery’.”

“… Blessed transplant surgery? It’s a term I’ve never heard before.”

Both Lyla and Beatrix naturally focused on her words, as if their curiosity her as scholars, which could be said to be their duty her, was stirred.

“Yes. It’s a technique known only recently within the Saint’s Protection Church… Making an imprint that reproduces the protection of a person with outstanding divine magic… And transplanting it.”

Hearing her words of her, Beatrix and Layla looked at her with her surprised eyes.

Solina sighed, raised her hand and showed the nape of her neck her.

There, for sure, there was something like a light golden scar like an inscription.

“If you receive a divine protection… It is said that you will have a similar appearance to the original owner of the divine protection. In particular, the better the compatibility with the divine protection is, the better.”

“…That’s why the hair and eyes are all changed…”

Beatrix muttered admiration, unable to hide her surprise at the fact that such a technology had been created while they were living almost cut off from the world.

“…It’s not something that’s just so admirable, Bea. Didn’t you say that the ‘Divine Protection’ would be reproduced and transplanted? It’s what magicians call ‘magic nerve.’ It’s impossible to reproduce it artificially with human technology.”

“Oh, I see…Then-“

Beatrix also listened to Layla and looked at Solina with a slightly dark expression, as if realizing something about her.

Solina, as if she knew what the two of them were talking about, she darkened her face and nodded her head.

“That’s right. The divine protection used for the implantation imprint – I heard that the ‘magical nerve’ you mentioned is made by dissecting the body of the person to be recreated.”

“…A corpse, I mean…”

When Lila leaves her meaningful words behind, Bea and Solina look up to her.

“…No, it’s because it’s the Order of the Protection of the Saints. I wonder if they’re going to create imprints by capturing high-ranking clergymen who are in good shape to mass produce people like you.”

“Lyla!”

Bea’s accusatory voice made Leila shut her mouth, but Solina couldn’t refute that she didn’t think of it, or she couldn’t deny it.

“…That was an irrelevant story. …So? Whose divine protection did you receive?”

“You didn’t tell me your name or identity… But when I received the divine protection, a little memory of the original owner of the divine protection flowed into my head. It felt like I was trapped in a high tower somewhere.”

“You meant you weren’t a priest or a paladin?”

When Lyla asked about an unexpected fact, Solina nodded her head.

“That’s all I know. Her’s order is not to search for anything about her…”

“No matter how much I think about it, I can only smell disgusting…”

Beatrix agrees with Lyla’s words and shows a trembling reaction.

No matter how much she hates to be suspicious of others, when she hears such a story, she can’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.

“However, it is certain that the power to handle divine magic has increased after receiving the protection. With this, more people could be saved-“

“…That’s okay. Not really, I’m not trying to blame you. But she’s got enough recognition within the Order of the Holy Knights to get an operation like that.”

It was a bit of an unconventional operation for a young girl from a rural village to receive.

But it’s not just that, Solina says with a somewhat guilty face.

“…I just volunteered as a test subject to establish a surgical method.”

“…Are you stupid!? If you receive an imprint from someone else’s nerve and get a rejection reaction… You’ll become paraplegic or die in the worst case!”

Lila slams her table in her rare tantrum her, and Solina looks at her in a little surprise.

“…What is that expression?”

“No… Now, I wonder if you’re worried…”

“It’s nothing to worry about! …Haa. That’s all right. About that part, I know roughly what happened… Next, the main topic. What is the request?”

At Lila’s words, Solina nodded and opened her mouth.

“…Nothing else, she gave orders from the Holy Knights to ‘completely seal’ the ruins that used to be in the vicinity of this town.”

The complete sealing that the Order of the Holy Knights is talking about is not simply putting a lid on a dangerous thing and leaving it to rest, but it is a word that refers to completely eliminating the dangers that will arise after that by completely destroying the contents or opening a special seal that will never be opened. Was

“…Sudden.”

“Because I kept asking. Of course, because I couldn’t afford to divide the number of people into the ruins on the outskirts of the country…”

“…Therefore?”

“I was promoted and given assignments until I reached a rank where I could carry out my duties alone.”

She was Solina, who displayed her guts in odd corners.

…No, actually, it’s not even a strange corner.

Three years ago, the fact that someone was going in and out of the ruins, she was constantly concerned.

And, as a result, that her own brother her, Rhys, might be in danger.

If the relics of the vampire Wilhelmina left in the ruins are seeds that will endanger people.

Getting rid of her seed was the most reassuring thing for her as well.

“I am the only member dispatched.”

“Could it be that your request is to help seal the ruins?”

Solina nodded her head.

“Of course, I’m going to pay for it.”

Lila listens to her story her, and she thinks a little.

Seeing that she appeared at this timing, she was worried that the fact that it was her Emma her who was going in and out of her ruins her would be discovered.

If the ruins themselves are completely sealed, the search for the perpetrators of the ruins will no longer be carried out, and work can proceed naturally to protect her Emma her.

“…Is it too hard?”

Seeing Lyla’s thoughtful expression, Solina said that, and Beatrix shook her head in response.

“Of course I’ll help. We also want the townsfolk to be safe, right? Layla?”

“…Yeah. Well. I can do that much.”

Lila speaks in a way that she is not very interested in the end.

But, this should be fine.

The story related to the loathsome ruins ends with this.

Thinking that way, when the opportunity came, Lila accepted Solina’s offer with a raised corner of her mouth.