Eliza was done treating the last soldier; it was relentless. The problem wasn’t that she was tired of using the healing magic; it was the feeling she felt as she healed someone; it was like a link between the two formed, and that came with a cost of mental fatigue. She leaned against a tree; Edmund saw this as he aided her.

  ‘What is the problem, Eliza?’ He looked at her, concerned.

  ‘You never told me it would be like this; in the duchess' mansion last time, it wasn’t this bad, but I didn’t need to use it in this intensity; the link is just too strong.’ She looked up and closed her eyes.

  ‘What? Link? What are you talking about?’ Edmund came closer to her, confused.

  ‘What do you mean? I always felt bonds forming when I healed, but now it is stronger than before, and I also realized that I can heal faster now.’ She massaged the sides of her head.

  ‘Well… that is new, but now that you are saying it, yes, you were healing faster. Interesting. Hmm…’ He held his chin while leaning on his sword.

  ‘Eliza, we need you inside the fortress; there are survivors, ' Alon said as he approached her.

  ‘Ah, ok… no problem.’ Eliza gave him a quick smile.

  She stood up and walked toward the fortress. Edmund and Alon were by her side, and a squad of soldiers always surrounded them, maintaining a distance. The mortar squad followed behind.

  When she emerged from the forest, she was horrified by the open carnage of the monsters' corpses. She covered her mouth and looked to the ground, trying not to look ?at the bodies. It was not that she hadn’t seen the monsters before, but the small number of them and the smell of iron in the air made her uncomfortable.

  Inside the structure, she saw only parts of it, not bodies. The smell wasn’t that strong, and she could breathe again. One reason was that the platoon leaders made the soldiers cover what they could with dirt, which improved the smell.

  Up front, A-Dam males and females were getting out of a pile of rocks. One by one, they looked at the soldiers with fear. Most didn’t even dare look up. Their eyes fixated on the ground as the medics gave them aid and some rations.

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  ‘Let me help you.’ Eliza kneels next to a young lady.

  The young lady looked at Eliza and was startled by the fact she was a chatzi. Eliza understood her reaction but didn’t care; she would be like this. How many Chatzi will this young woman see in her entire life? This thought made her smile as she healed her injured leg.

  ‘What are you... Ah, it isn’t hurting anymore, and this light is warm…’ The young lady looked surprised at Eliza’s hand.

  ‘Don’t worry, it will be fine, but is it healing slower than before? I wonder if it is because you are too weak or that I used too much power.’ Eliza spoke, now putting her two hands on top of the wound.

  This action captured the prisoners' attention. The ones who were close enough were impressed by how her wound was closing by itself, saying it was a miracle that the gods were with them, that a saint was with them.

  Edmund looked at the commotion forming and was surprised that they first claimed some godly intervention, even to the point of saying Eliza was a saint.

  ‘A goddess indeed; she ordered us to come here and save you all, strike evil at its core, and correct the mistake that mortals committed. Who had the bright idea of pushing these monsters into one area?’ Edmund opened his arms while raising his voice.

  Alon looked at the white-haired young man, intrigued by his objective with all of this, but around him, all the soldiers did the salute, closing their eyes and lowering their heads for a moment. Noticing this, he followed without thinking, like before the duchess.

  ‘This soldier around you had the power to fight against the overwhelming force of those monsters; she has the power to heal, and I can sense magic; that is how we found you all, thanks to the goddess's blessings.’ Edmund walked among the people.

  Eliza was healing the ones with more serious wounds while the medics bandaged the ones with more light injuries; they were already eating the rations; some even mimicked the salute the soldiers did.

  ‘What is her name?’ One man held Edmund’s hand.

  ‘You are not ready yet, but I will prove her blessing is real.’ Edmund pulled his radio.

  He showed the device to the man, grabbed his hand, and pressed the part that activated it, but nothing happened. He smiled, and the man looked at him, confused.

  ‘Your faith is not strong enough and is understandable, but…’ Edmund used the radio.

  His voice was heard on Alon’s radio. Their eyes widened with the display of magic, but Edmund looked around and saw a woman coping with what the soldiers had done before, murmuring to herself from the corner of his eyes. Still holding the man by the wrist, he walked to the woman. She opened her eyes and saw the white-haired young man give her the strange object.

  ‘Put your finger on its side like this and talk; give it to him.’ He pointed at the man at his side.

  Following his instructions, she talked into the device, and to everyone's surprise, her voice was heard on Alon’s radio, making the majority lower their heads. Edmund pointed at the man to his side; she gave him the device, and he tried to do the same, but like before, he failed.

  ‘Give it to her.’ Edmund looked at him with a calm expression.

  She got the device and again talked, and her voice was heard on Alon’s device. She gave it back to Edmund right after this, which caused the others around her to lower their heads and murmur among themselves. While this was happening, Eliza was still treating the wounded, with some touching her hands and thanking her with a big smile on their faces.

  ‘When you return to your homes, maybe you will hear about her, what she can do for you, and the devices that do amazing things. Just follow those who spread her word; just think a little. Do you think those in power would want everyone to use magic?’ Edmund looked into the people’s eyes.

  He walked to Alon’s side, closed his eyes, and turned his head like he was trying to hear something in the distance. With his eyes open, he looked at Alon with a serious expression.

  ‘Velvent is coming.’ Alon pointed to the northwest.