Raphael did not stop after ending the life of the spider queen, for, without the slightest mercy, he executed each and every member of the cult.
He decapitated one after another, lighting their bodies ablaze with flame magic.
From the ones who avoided the hellish fate, most got caught up and drowned in his water spells, their gargles left unheard, while others had their breath stolen by wind magic.
These branches of the elemental arts had no offensive spells in their nature, yet, through sheer insanity, he forced them into submission.
It was as if he could bend the very force of the world to his will, the mark glowing on his finger flickering a golden hue.
By the will of the sun itself, he had become the heir to the Ghostship of Wishes, destined to take over after the current owner when their time came, whether it be death or retirement.
And as such, at this intersection of fate, he was granted immense powers, gracing the world with his presence as the one true Prince of Sunlight.
Elemental magic bent to his will while the Holy Arts he had trained throughout his life denied his call.
The rule of the sun was absolute over nature itself, yet it bore no sway against the force of good or evil.
Neither Holy nor Dark magic could be used by the boy again, as the four natural elements were unable to be bound by morals.
It did not matter to him, though, as his spells invoked misery and pain beyond what he could previously inflict.
Each soul he took only widened the insane smile arching across his pale face, which—for one of the first times ever—showed traces of true joy.
When a man attempted to stab him, he simply controlled the air to choke him from the inside out, giving the human no chance to fight back as he lacked the mana to do so.
Watching the life drain from the cultist's eyes, Raphael thought of Ashly's death once again, rage filling his heart.
There, he vowed to get revenge, whether it broke him or not, he would kill those who had wasted her life.
And that he would, as for the next seventeen hours, he would obliterate those who lived within the caverns.
Men, women, and even children who wore the cult attire were slain by his staff, an endlessly wrathful being only satiated by the blood of his enemies.
Before leaving the ritual chamber, he gazed down at the corpse of the orange-haired woman slowly, a sad frown appearing on his face.
He did not speak as he raised his staff to the ceiling, only casting one final spell before leaving the blood-stained caverns.
『Eternal Sun』
There was a wave of mana that surged forth from his core as he cast the newly acquired ability, a ripple in light itself appearing throughout the cavern.
Then, an orb glowing as hot as the sun burst to life, floating towards the center of the altar.
It hovered over the woman's corpse for a moment, then, without a sound, it dropped down, exploding into a ball of flaming brilliance that consumed all.
Raphael had already vanished, crawling his way out of the pit and back to the world that basked in the real sunlight.
Inside his head, he could hear the whispers that echoed out of the tattoo engraved on his finger.
The words were mostly nonsensical and impossible to decipher; however, they revealed to the boy one thing that made him pause.
"Y o u w i l l d i e f r o m t h i s p o w e r."
…
"Ouch…"
Akari's cherry hair fell over her face as she sat up and attempted to open her eyes, the world spinning like a rotating disc.
"What the—"
A girl stood at the foot of her bed, long strands of wispy blonde hair falling from her head and gray pupils that looked like fog.
Reaching out her hand in confusion, the image vanished, only to be replaced by a full-grown woman who shifted nervously, looking over Akari with startled eyes.
"H-Hello, miss."
Bowing her head slightly, she handed Akari a small box that rattled with every move of her hand.
"Eh?"
Looking up and down repeatedly, the girl finally remembered what had happened to land her bedridden.
Directing her gaze towards her fingers, she noticed thick bandages covering the tips, the pain noticeably less intense than before, almost as if everything was fine.
"Are you a healer?"
Pursing her lips lightly, Akari waited for a response that came quickly.
"Yes, miss."
Hearing this, the girl attempted to sit up once again, letting out a quiet grunt.
The older woman hurried to her side, helping her straighten up, and rearranging the pillows behind her back, before passing her a glass of water.
"Thank you…"
Taking a small sip, she realized that this had been her first drink since she had left the Bay of Thorn, her dry throat begging for the cold liquid.
Chugging it down as fast as she could, Akari placed the empty glass on the table next to her, taking another glance at her doctor.
The woman had long curly brown hair that drooped down to her shoulders, her brown eyes resembling a puppy's.
Why did I see that girl before…
Pushing the thought aside, she spoke aloud.
"Please don't feel like you need to speak formally. I'm not royalty or anything."
Shifting to swing her legs to the side of the bed, intending to stand up, she realized with a frown that, in truth, she could barely even feel her toes.
"Paralysis?"
Watching the woman nod her head in response, she sighed gently, following up with another query.
"How long will it last?"
Pressing her lips into a thin line, the healer turned her gaze towards the ground, avoiding the girl's gaze.
"How long will it last?"
She posed the question again, a slight seed of worry seeping into her heart.
"I-If today is the 12th, then you could be walking again after seeing a healer in the Bay of Thorn on the 14th…"
Letting out a sigh of relief, Akari wiped her face with her hands slowly.
Has it only been a day? Plus, I'll be able to walk again in two more. That's not terrible… But how am I supposed to get—
"Umm, miss?"
The woman reached behind her, pulling out a small bag that sagged low in her hand as if something was holding it down.
"Yes?"
Akari's blue eyes scanned the bag closely, watching the woman as she reached inside and pulled out a few spherical objects.
No way…
In her hand rested three identical cores, a fourth, larger, and more vibrant core still residing in the bag.
Staring up in awe, Akari noticed a slight blush coloring the healer's cheeks as she began explaining.
"O-one of the women had been trained in butchery and risked her life to collect the cores since you saved ours…"
Bowing her head and shoving the heavy bag into Akari's hands, she quickly receded from the room, closing the door behind her.
She left just like that? How can she be so shy that she can't even wait for a thanks? Or is she scared of me…
Scowling slightly, she shrugged off the thought and tried to analyze the situation with a clear mind.
Three low-level terrors and a mid-level one as well. Granted, Krakens are one of the weakest of the mid levels, but it's still immensely valuable… If today is the 12th and we'll return on the 14th, then I'll still have 26 days left for questing. I wonder if Raphael and Aaron have completed their quests already…
She paused, thinking of her blond friend who was suffering from critical amnesia for an unexplained reason.
He must be done already since he's the top-ranked out of all of us. Raphael sounded wary of the Church of True Earth, even going as far as to call it a cult… Hopefully, he hasn't been worked half to death in helping them prepare…
Licking her dry lips and leaning back in her bed, she turned her thoughts towards the white-haired noble whom she disliked openly.
That spoiled noble is probably already done. Why should I even care? This exam is the first hardship he's likely to face, and it'll also be the last. He needed Aaron to save him on his first mission, and has now resorted to cave diving.
Sighing lightly and rolling her eyes, she deepened the frown.
Eh, that's not fair… There must be all sorts of weird cave creatures down there wanting to eat him alive. God forbid he's injured, but it wouldn't hurt him to face a little hardship every so often…
Closing her eyes slowly, she wrapped her arms around the bag of cores, attempting to fall asleep with the treasures held tightly against her chest.
Her thoughts were misguided, each distorting the truth, yet not entirely detached from reality.
And in the end, all three of the challengers completed their first quest in the second part of the exam, and they would soon reunite at the hotel where they had promised to meet.