The Girl Who Hacked The Magic System

PoV: Aurea

The scene around us is truly ugly. Several people are injured, and some are already dead.

Lovelace is focused on the most injured person, who is lingering by a small thread. In the meanwhile, a healer from the fox beastkin is treating Yaci.

He isn't as adept at healing as Lovelace, so it's taking a while.

To be honest, nobody in this world is able to heal the same way Lovelace does. She is the only one who can fully recover anyone as long as they are still alive. It doesn't matter how mangled the body is.

And that's why, in situations like this, she has to prioritize the ones at a higher risk of imminent death.

Which Yaci is not.

It's something we all agreed on since the beginning of the war. No nepotism in the healing process.

Yaci's injuries are ugly but not deadly. To be honest, it's already at a point where if we didn't have Lovelace, she would be incapacitated for the rest of her life.

Rare are the healers able to fully recover a leg that is in this state, because the bones and tendons are shattered and torn beyond repair.

Healing normally requires intimate knowledge of anatomy and precise commands to direct the aria to repair the damage by rebuilding it from the pieces.

Lovelace, though, doesn't do that. She simply eats the injury away.

After all, the Dark element is the pure concept of ending. And Lovelace is an elemental being of pure Dark energy.

Everything has an ending, as long as it exists. Even concepts and ideals. Even injuries.

By ending the injury itself, the body acts like it never existed in the first place. So it is 'healed.'

It's not a simple thing, though. It's a delicate manipulation of the very structure of reality, so she needs focus and some time to pull it off, one patient at a time.

I understand all that. I really do. And I agree that for her to be focusing on the ones at risk first is the right thing to do.

And yet... Seeing Yaci's leg like that, seeing the pain in her face as the healer tries to at least bring her some solace, is heartbreaking.

:::

"Erm, Aurea... I think that you should look at that."

Kwarah calls me, pointing to the enemy's army below.

The sun has already set, and the night is already darkening the scene, but with my senses and darkvision, I can see far into their ranks.

"They are mobilizing for an assault. Call everyone to man the walls, now!"

As someone opens a portal to the office to pass on my orders, I keep scanning the scene.

I've never faced an assault on a fortress before, but the signs are very clear. The whole army is getting into battle formations, and the command is out and in the open.

Princess Urraca is donning an elegant military uniform, mounted on a horse, flanked by the three angels. Or should I say the three Roman girls?

They probably sensed the advantage and decided to strike while the iron is hot, huh?

"I see that that annoying girl found herself a loophole."

"Mother?"

"Saint Lily?"

She appeared at my side out of nothing, her whole body enveloped in a godly presence.

Everyone who was standing fell immediately on their knees, with the exceptions of the healers, who couldn't interrupt what they were doing, and myself.

"Hey, no need for all this. We are in a battle situation. go to your positions now!"

She might be the goddess of compassion now, but she is still an experienced military commander, after all.

She then made a gesture with her hand, and all the injured fully recovered in an instant.

"Whoa, Mom! Since when can you do that?"

"It's my first time trying, actually. Is everyone okay?"

As she checks with everyone to see that the spell went right, Lovelace comes to me.

She gives me a look that didn't need words to convey its meaning. It was a 'what the hell was that?' kind of look.

Mom soon comes back, chatting with Yaci, who seems to be fully recovered.

"I'm sorry, Aurea. I failed utterly there!"

"No, it's okay, Yaci. That was a tough opponent that even Ingela and I together had trouble with."

"You... Had trouble with her? Both of you?"

She was unconscious when we came back, so she didn't hear anything about our battle.

"Yes. She fought both of us, and the result was a stalemate."

"Those three are the personal servants of Juno. Almost like familiars, but they are enslaved to her."

"Enslaved? That Juno really loves them slaves. But that explains why they are so powerful."

"I am not allowed to divulge the details, but she is barred from intervening directly in this war. So she spotted the loophole and exploited it by sending her servants in her stead."

"I see. Does that affect you as well?"

"No. That's why I'm here. But, as a goddess of compassion, there are hard limits on what I can actually do."

"Limits?"

I thought of gods as near omnipotent beings. Hearing about hard limits is weird.

"Yes. The emotion that defines my divinity is compassion. Do you think that you can truly strike down a foe while overwhelmed with compassion?"

"That... Makes sense."

"It seems that I became a healer, in the end. Hehe."

Lovelace was a bit to the side, listening in, and she took the occasion to ask what was bugging her.

"Lady Lillian. That wasn't common healing, was it? How does it work?"

Lily's answer came first in the form of a warm smile as she looked at Lovelace.

"My dear daughter-in-law. First, let me officially welcome you to the family."

"Huh?"

"What??"

But before we could ask about it, she continued her explanation.

"No, it wasn't any ordinary healing. You see, gods hold a higher authority over the world. That's the actual definition of divinity. We can simply wish things upon the world, without arias or elements, as long as they are in accordance with the emotions and desires of our faithful."

Wow! Gods are amazing...