The battlefield near the guild was chaos. Screams echoed through the air as monsters swarmed the outer streets, breaking through the city's defenses. Many adventurers and guards had already fallen, their bodies covered with strange black wounds that bled smoke instead of blood.
Lumiel stood tall in the middle of the panic. His silver hair caught the dim light of the burning torches, his robes glowing faintly with divine aura. With one hand raised, a shimmering barrier of golden-white energy spread around the injured. His Shield ability pulsed outward, forming a dome that kept back the monsters trying to finish off the helpless victims.
"Stay behind me!" Lumiel's voice was calm but firm, echoing with authority. "No demon nor monster shall cross this line."
Behind the barrier, the wounded groaned. Many were shivering in pain, clutching at blackened wounds that normal healing magic could not mend.
At that moment, a warm glow appeared beside Lumiel. It was Yuki, his small figure stepping into sight. Normally, most people couldn't see spirits—but because of his contract with Shellia, Yuki could choose to let others witness him. Now, as the cries of the injured filled the night, Yuki's form became visible to everyone inside the shield.
Gasps rose from the victims. "A… a spirit?"
Yuki's golden-white light surrounded him, soft but powerful. His youthful face carried a serious expression far older than his appearance. He knelt beside the first wounded adventurer, whose arm was nearly frozen black from Kyren's corrupt ice.
[Do not fear. I will heal you.]
His voice rang inside every ear, gentle yet commanding.
---
The adventurer flinched when Yuki placed his small hand on the wound. Everyone expected pain. But instead, warmth spread like the first rays of sunrise. The black ice melted away, not dripping water but vanishing like smoke consumed by light. Flesh knitted back together, smooth and whole, as if the wound had never existed.
The man stared at his healed arm, trembling. "It… it doesn't hurt anymore. It's gone…"
Yuki smiled faintly, though his eyes remained serious. [My healing does not only restore flesh. It restores what should never have been broken. The demon's corruption has no place here.]
The other injured men and women cried out, begging for help. "Please—over here! My brother! His leg!" "My wounds won't close—please save me!"
Lumiel glanced at Yuki. "I'll maintain the shield and keep the corruption contained. You heal as many as you can."
[Understood, High Priest.]
---
While Yuki moved from one victim to the next, Lumiel lifted his staff. A circle of divine glyphs spread under his feet, glowing brighter than the moon. With his other hand, he traced the wounds of the fallen with light that seeped into them like rivers of gold.
Where Yuki's power was warm and beyond nature itself, Lumiel's was precise and refined—born of long training as a High Rank Priest.
A young woman coughed, her chest blackened from an ice spike that had pierced through earlier. Lumiel placed his palm above her heart. His voice was steady, his prayer like a command:
"Divine Light, banish the corruption. Restore this soul to purity."
The blackened veins retreated under his touch, the corruption pulled out as if unwilling to resist. Her breathing steadied. Her eyes fluttered open. Tears slipped down her face. "Thank you… thank you…"
Lumiel nodded gently. "Save your strength. Live, and let that be your gratitude."
---
Yuki, meanwhile, reached a group of young adventurers barely past their first missions. One had lost his sword arm to Kyren's frost.
The boy shook his head desperately. "No healer can restore a lost limb… I'll never fight again."
Yuki's expression softened. [Do not underestimate the bond of spirit and mortal. I will give you back what was stolen.]
Light flared around his small form, far brighter than before. His hand hovered above the stump of the boy's arm, and golden fire—soft, living fire—wrapped around the wound. Gasps filled the shield as the light shaped itself, forming flesh, skin, bone. Slowly, impossibly, a new arm grew where none had been.
The boy fell back, speechless. He flexed his new fingers, tears streaming down his face. "I… I have my arm back. This is a miracle…"
Yuki's smile held quiet pride. [Not miracle. Justice. No life should be broken by corruption.]
---
The more Yuki healed, the more visible strain showed in his body. Though he appeared like a boy, the light that flowed from him was vast, ancient, and heavy. Still, he never faltered, never hesitated.
A little girl clutched her mother, who had been struck in the stomach by black frost. The mother's lips were pale, her breath weak. The girl sobbed. "Please, please save her. Don't let her die."
Yuki knelt, his eyes soft. [Do not cry. I will not let her go.]
He placed both hands on the mother's wound. This time, the corruption fought back, black tendrils hissing like snakes, but Yuki's light flared brighter. It wasn't just healing—it was rewriting the injury itself, removing every trace of demon influence.
The mother gasped as her color returned. She sat up, pulling her daughter into her arms, both crying freely.
Lumiel watched silently, his usual composed expression softening with respect. "Truly… you are a spirit unlike any other."
Yuki looked up at him, his youthful face glowing. [And you are a priest worthy of your rank, Lumiel. Together, no corruption will stand.]
---
Outside the shield, monsters clawed desperately, shrieking against the divine barrier. But none could pass. Every time a shadowy beast hurled itself against it, the shield shimmered with brighter gold, burning the creatures back.
One monstrous wolf, twice the size of a horse, broke through with a snarl. It lunged at the nearest wounded man.
Lumiel raised his staff high. The barrier shifted, forming a smaller dome around the monster, trapping it. The wolf howled, biting at invisible walls. Then, with a gesture, Lumiel filled the dome with divine fire. The beast dissolved into ash before it could harm anyone.
He exhaled, gripping his staff. "So long as I stand, none shall reach them."
---
Soon, whispers spread among the wounded, even as they were healed.
"A spirit… I saw it with my own eyes."
"That boy healed wounds no magic could touch."
"And the priest—his power felt like the hand of the gods…"
Some reached toward Yuki in awe. "Are you… truly a spirit?"
Yuki paused, tilting his head, his eyes glimmering faintly. [I am Yuki. Spirit, yes. But more than that… I am Shellia's partner. And through her, you can see me. Never forget—this gift of sight comes from her bond with me.]
The survivors looked at one another, silent in wonder.
Lumiel's voice cut gently through their awe. "Then you understand. Spirits are not legends, nor are they untouchable. They fight beside us—if we are worthy of their trust."
---
The night stretched long, but little by little, the cries turned to silence—not because lives were lost, but because wounds were healed. Where once despair clung heavy, hope now flickered in every eye.
At last, when the last victim's corruption was purified, Yuki sank to the ground, his glow dimming slightly. Lumiel knelt beside him, offering a hand.
"You've done enough for now. Rest, Spirit of Healing."
Yuki gave a faint laugh, closing his eyes briefly. [Perhaps… I pushed a little too far. But it was worth it. Every life saved is worth any effort.]
Lumiel helped him rise, steadying him. "Your strength is beyond nature itself… but your heart, Yuki—that is what truly heals them."
For the first time in hours, the wounded smiled. Survivors clung to one another, tears streaming not from pain but relief.
---
Outside the shield, the battle between Shellia and Kyren still raged, the ground trembling with every clash. But within Lumiel's protection, no more lives were lost. The people had seen the power of a High Priest and a Spirit working as one.
And in their eyes, the seeds of faith and courage began to grow.
Because now, they knew.
Even against demons… they were not alone.