章節 29: Plague II
After entering the facility, both Leon and Lith were escorted to a large tent. Before being given masks and gloves, they received a particularly amusing mask resembling a crow's beak. Every time Leon spoke, it sounded like a hiss.
Though one couldn't deny its efficiency, as the moment Leon put it on, he lost his sense of smell; the air smelled only of disinfectant.
As they entered the area, they saw many tents with different flags on each of them, probably indicating their purpose. They were led to one such tent, which was spacious as if someone had forcefully expanded the space. It was well lit by a mana crystal hanging like a chandelier.
The floor was entirely covered by a thick carpet that muffled their footsteps. Seated behind a hardwood desk was the man Lith and Leon had previously seen in the hologram.
To his right stood a man, around 1.9 meters (6'3") tall, with shoulder-length pitch-black hair and ice-blue eyes. He wore a corps uniform identical to the one Velagros used. Leon deduced he must be a captain too.
"That's it? We are getting two kids against this horror?" the blonde man said, enraged.
Velagros shook his head and said, "Leave it, Colonel Varegrave. They are the second best after the God of Healing."
"Who the heck is second best? I'm better than that Mad Professor," Leon said, hearing the Captain.
The Captain ignored Leon's childish rant while Varegrave looked at him and felt he was unreliable.
"Was that necessary?" Luna asked.
"Yes, I want to let them know I'm just an eccentric genius," Leon replied.
Luna nodded, and then the other Captain in the room called the King from his amulet. As the King's hologram appeared, everyone kneeled except Leon.
Captain Kilian looked at Leon and frowned. "Why aren't you kneeling to His Majesty?" he asked.
"How would I know he's the King? It's not like he ever came to Lutia to see his subjects or even ask how life is in the village," Leon retorted. "Even if this guy is the King, he'll only get my respect when he earns it. It seems like a distant dream to me when he needs the help of two kids."
Hearing Leon, Lith felt the urge to slap him. 'Well, what can you do? He isn't like you,' Solus giggled and consoled him.
While the Colonel and Captains felt enraged by his words, the King was angry too, but as Leon said, he needed their help, so he sucked it up.
"No need for formalities. You all are esteemed guests who can save the kingdom from impending doom, at least until we find Manohar," the King said in a cold voice. It was unclear whether he was angry at Leon's words or Manohar's disappearance.
"Kilian, take Mage Lith and Leon to the hospital. Captain Velagros, stay; we need to talk." Everyone nodded as Kilian took Lith and Leon to the hospital.
As they left, the King said to Kilian, "Your report, Captain."
Velagros nodded and began to report, "We know he is strong enough to defeat an Archmage, but it was all speculation without proof. But after hearing your report, it seems this Leon is really strong."
"But, Your Majesty, I don't think he will be a problem. He's basically like Manohar..."
"Don't say that bastard's name," the King said with displeasure.
"...a certain genius who always went missing at the time of need. But unlike Manohar, he is too prideful, and we can use that to keep him in check. Basically, he's like any other S-rank genius."
"So, basically, you mean to say he's eccentric, Captain?" the King asked.
"Yes, that's the word, Your Majesty," Captain nodded.
"Explain more about the spell he used against the ambushers," the King said.
"It's better if you see it," Captain said, taking out his amulet and showing everything.
The Colonel also looked at Leon's fight and commented, "Not much could be seen, aside from his first attack, which says 'Mist Breath First Form: Mirage Steps.'"
The King nodded and added, "There's also a second form that says 'Mist World.'"
"According to him, it's a combination of sword and magic," Captain said.
"You mean a Magic Knight?" the Colonel said.
"No, more like a Magic Swordsman. Unlike a Magic Knight who uses a sword in one hand and a spell in another, he swings his sword as if making hand signs while chanting," Captain explained.
Both the Colonel and King didn't believe him, so he pointed at specific parts of the video he was showing. "Look at his hand movements and his mouth," he said.
The King and Colonel looked closely and indeed found it.
"He really fuses sword and magic, seemingly," the King muttered in disbelief.
Then he left for a moment and returned with the Queen.
Queen Sylpha looked at the video and nodded. "Yes, he indeed has fused sword and magic."
"You know what this means, right?" the King asked.
"Yes, it means he has discovered a branch of magic unknown to everyone," the Queen replied.
The King took a deep breath and sternly looked at the Colonel and Captain. "No word of this should be leaked outside."
The Colonel and Captain solemnly nodded, and then the Colonel asked, "My Queen, doesn't this mean he can be called a Magus now, or rather a Sword Magus, for his discovery? Like it happened to all mages who shared groundbreaking secrets like this one?"
"Indeed, Sword Magic. It even has a nice ring to it," the King laughed and said.
"But only if he willingly shares it," Queen Sylpha said, pouring cold water on their excitement.
"Damn it, if only that damn Linnea was in my hands, I wouldn't have tortured her before killing her," the King bellowed furiously. It was Linnea's policy that gave Leon an excuse not to attend the academy.
"The past is the past. However, I still remember your promise, Your Majesty. For every success of Leon's, a head will roll," the Queen said coldly.
"Not now, my dear. Let him solve this plague. If he can solve it, we can roll two heads," the King said with undisguised killing intent.
Both the Colonel and Captain shivered at his words.
They looked at each other and decided to stay silent.
At the hospital, both Lith and Leon arrived. On the way, Kilian also explained about Kandria, where a royal treasure called Small World was deployed. It could distinguish friends from foes, leading to the army being the true rulers here. It also prevented the use of magic other than Light magic.
After passing through security, Kilian brought them to Block Two's largest tent. It was big enough to accommodate a whole circus. It was a field hospital, the interior of which was completely white.
Instead of walls, it had countless curtains arranged to create corridors and define the space for each patient's room. The first thing Lith and Leon noticed was the silence.
Aside from the conversations between the mages coming and going into the various rooms, the hospital was completely quiet. One could hear the patients' moans and complaints only when a curtain was opened.
"All the field hospitals have curtains enchanted to be soundproof," Kilian explained. "It's necessary for security and morale. Despite being heavily sedated, some patients are in constant pain. Their screams would disturb the healers and stress the other residents. Avoiding escape attempts and mass hysteria is a priority."
"All the field hospitals?" Lith echoed. "Do you mean there's more than one?"
There had to be hundreds of patients in that tent alone. Lith had underestimated the scale of the plague.
While Leon already knew about the scale of the plague, since, unlike Lith, he didn't just skim over the file.
Soon, Kilian brought them to a middle-aged man whose leg was open like a watermelon. Despite constant healing, the bleeding wouldn't stop, and statistics showed he had less than a few hours left before he would die.
Both Lith and Leon used their spells on him. They acted as if they were chanting while checking him.
After checking him, both Lith and Leon separated and went to other patients. After checking more than ten patients, they returned to Kilian while pondering.
Kilian then took them to different tents at their request. While in the last wing, he warned them, "These people are the official reason you and we are here. Off the record, though, reality is far more cynical. If word spreads that we have a disease capable of stripping a mage of his powers, our neighbors would join forces and burn the Griffon Kingdom to the ground.
I believe that most mages, nobles or not, would run away at any cost to avoid losing years of painstaking work and dedication. That's why the final wing of the hospital officially does not exist. Is that clear?"
Only after they nodded did he open the curtain.
Inside, many noble-looking individuals were sitting with hopeless expressions. Lith and Leon went along to do their diagnosis and then returned to Kilian.
"Did you two find anything?" he asked, without much hope.
Lith nodded and began, "It isn't a plague but something intentional," he said.
Kilian's eyes widened. "Did you crack it?"
"Cracked is a big word. Understanding its nature is one thing; curing it is another entirely," Lith tried to curb Kilian's enthusiasm.
Kilian seemed to not have listened to a word he said, dragging him and Leon away by the arm at full speed while frantically speaking to someone with his communicator amulet.
Soon they recahes back to Tent, where they find King along with Queen.
Once again everyone kneeld except Leon. But the news of Lith identifying the plague was too big that Leon disrespect was ignored.
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