Three Blessings

Silence and a tepid chill waft into the prison cell, enveloping the black-haired girl with pink

highlights. Her long strands cascade down her back to her mid-spine as she sits hugging her

knees, back pressed against the wall. Her eyes fixate on the new set of food brought in by a new

demon minion. He seems even more terrified of her, having heard from the guards that the

previous one assigned to this duty was brutally murdered by the Demon Emperor for coercing

Anya to eat the food he had painstakingly brought down.

This time, the latest bowl of soup feels different, even though its appearance isn't entirely

dissimilar. It's a cloudy, viscous liquid with rice and grains soaking within.

The girl's stomach rumbles loudly, a mournful sound from being empty. She keeps her

ring-pouch in her mouth but can't open it because her wand has been confiscated. She pours all

her mental and physical effort into casting a spell with her bare hands to open the ring-pouch and

eat her emergency rations. Only then does she truly understand the difficulty, so she tries to hide

the ring-pouch from the demon minions, lest it be taken away completely, leaving her with no

hope of self-reliance except to believe in the empty promise of Nappo or someone else coming to

her rescue.

"You're not eating again today, are you?" A demon minion steps into the cell, carefully

holding a tray of food with both hands. His eyes are so black that no whites are visible. His

demeanor is composed and gentle, unlike the brutality of those before.

He places the tray on the floor and slowly arranges the new bowl of food before gently

picking up the old one. He examines it for a moment, then the girl's stomach rumbles again.

"Lady Anya hasn't eaten anything for three days. You could die if you don't eat," he warns

with genuine concern and worry, also pitying her fate and how it will ultimately end. Her body is

emaciated, her lips are parched, her student uniform is torn, and her eyes are vacant and

unfocused. "Lady Anya."

"Either way, I'm going to die tonight," Anya replies in a hoarse voice, her eyes gazing

distantly at the endless universe. "Food is no longer necessary for me."

"At least so you'll have the strength..."

"What's the point? You guys will just carry me anyway. During the ritual, I don't have to do

anything but lie still and let the Demon Emperor pluck out my heart," Anya says, forcing her voice

to be louder, her eyes still unfocused. "Don't pretend to pity me."

The demon minion stands still, lost in thought for a moment, before nodding and turning to

leave the cell.

Once the cell door is locked, she spits the ring-pouch from her mouth onto her hand and

focuses her mind, casting a spell with her bare hands, a spark returning to her eyes. Her energy

returns as if she had never played the role of a pitiful, hungry, and terrified victim.

"Apelaboza... Apelaboza... Apelaboza..." She whispers this incantation perhaps thousands

of times. Even without drinking or eating for so long, the girl's spirit remains steadfast, filled with

hope for herself and help from her beloved pet. Her right hand extends all five fingers towards the

beautiful, slender gold ring the size of her index finger. It can increase or decrease in size to fit its

owner's finger, but now it's like a safe locked with a lost key. She continues the unlocking

incantation like a madwoman, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her stomach growls frantically. "Apelaboza... Apelaboza... Apelaboza..."

......…..

"Eionna!" Raymond casts a levitation spell on obsidian rocks before slamming them with

his fists into the demon minions before they can utter a spell. Blood begins to flow from the boy's

hands as sharp edges from the dark stones pierce and embed small fragments in his wounds,

causing great pain. No matter how fiercely the three fight, the demon minions keep pouring in

relentlessly, as if they've brought reinforcements from the entire tower to stop two students and a

dog.

"Expul-simus Maximum!!" I cast a red beam spell, knocking out a few of them. Carlos has

also used a couple of large spells, which I don't recognize, but the incantations sound incredibly

complex. We begin to pant with exhaustion due to the thin air and the need to muster strength to

survive this. Only Senior Carlos knows the Disillusionment Charm.

But this place often has many limitations on its use, whether it's needing unwavering

concentration, the desired destination, or the long-range Disillusionment license. Right now, we

don't need to think about the government-issued license, but rather the boy's concentration.

Moreover, he isn't strong enough to use two spells at once like me in human form.

That's right... if I transform into my human form and fight with all my might before the time

runs out, then wait for my body and magical power to recover a bit, that should work.

So, I use my human form to take down the demon minions, knocking them all out.

Stunning spells shoot from the tip of my wand. Then, I cast a multiplication support spell, splitting

them into countless copies that rain down on the demon minions, creating a wave of hope for

Raymond and Senior Carlos. Then, I conserve my energy by returning to my canine form,

walking before running to find Anya.

"I will not allow you to go down to the sacrificial offering," a demon appears, firing a purple

beam spell at us. Senior Carlos casts a golden lightning spell, and the two collide, creating a green

spark in the middle along with flArshaes of light and a gust of wind. The boy clenches his teeth,

gripping his wand and pointing it at the enemy. Its appearance is that of a dark-skinned man with a

muscular build, a small face, a bald head, and black eyes. There's a scar near the corner of his

mouth, as if cut by a sharp object, making him look gruesome. Senior Carlos flicks his wand

upwards once to deflect the spell towards the ceiling, causing it to crack and black stone

fragments to fall. The large demon stops them with a spell before letting them drop to the ground

with chilling composure.

"This guy looks strong. I'll stop him myself. You guys go find Anya," Senior Carlos says,

holding his wand up in front of his face in a challenging gesture, his intense gaze fixed on the

enemy whose dark aura surges forth, indicating a vastly different level of power. "As the top

duelist of Escuria, I'll handle this one."

"Let's fight together, Senior!" I vehemently object, pointing my wand to face the enemy.

"There won't be enough time," Senior Carlos raises his hand to block and push me back,

his determined eyes fixed on the opponent, his eyelids unblinking. "Today is the Crimson Moon

Sacrifice. We don't know when the Demon Emperor will perform the ritual. Right now, we need to

get to Anya as quickly as possible."

"But we don't even know the way!" Raymond protests.

"Exactly," Senior Carlos smirks. "Traveling with fewer people is faster. Take care of each

other. Run forward and don't look back, no matter what. Even if I fall unconscious, don't stop."

I clench my teeth, my short legs still trembling. But Raymond doesn't think that way. He

grabs me and propels himself forward, bursting through the enemy with incredible speed. The

large demons are about to cast a spell, but Senior Carlos manages to conjure a golden glowing whip spell, catching its wrist just in time, buying us time to narrowly escape behind the enemy. The

demon turns back to see Carlos holding his wand in his mouth, glowing whips sprouting from the

tips of all ten fingers, pulling and restraining the enemy.

"Can use magic without relying on a wand?" the large demon smirks with satisfaction.

"Now this is more like a worthy opponent."

The muscular demon yanks the boy's body, sending him flying through the air towards it. A

heavy fist slams into his torso with a sickening crack, as if an ice block has shattered. Crimson

blood gushes from his mouth. Pain shoots through his body like a thousand needles piercing him.

"Ugh!!"

"Such a weak body. This is the top student of Escuria?" the large demon snorts derisively.

"I don't think so."

The limp body falls to the ground. A moment later, a golden aura envelops him. Organs and

even bones are healed and restored to their original state. The boy smirks, straightening up, greatly

shocking the large demon.

 "I smArshaed your bones with my fist, and you're still alright?" it says in a low voice. "Then

it's even more worthwhile for one of the Seven Deadly Sins, 'Chaos,' the Sin of Envy, to get

serious."

"Sounds like something out of a cartoon," Carlos says without further ado, flicking his wand and firing a spell. Chaos raises its own wand and deflects all attacks, still smiling mockingly even though it's suspicious of the healing power that can recover from such severe injuries. Carlos unleArshaes a relentless barrage of attacks while muttering something under his breath, which isn't clear. Chaos teleports behind the boy and slams its fist into his spine.

Crunch!!

"If you get up again, I'll keep hitting you until you die," Chaos says with a flat expression. As the golden light envelops his body again, Carlos rolls away just in time to avoid Chaos's attack before firing a yellow lightning bolt unexpectedly. The large demon feels a sharp sting where the spell hits, but it's just a minor scratch, not life-threatening.

"So, it's the 'Three Blessings' spell," Chaos deduces, grinning widely, its teeth stained with red. Its black eyes gleam. "An ancient, lost spell. A spell that allows the user to receive three desired blessings. But it requires sacrificing half of one's lifespan. I never thought I'd see it with my own eyes. So, the reason your body recovered to normal must be because of those two blessings."

"You know too much," Carlos says with a wry smile, the wand in his hand trembling. Chaos leans closer, its dark shadow completely engulfing the boy. At first glance, it seems impossible to defeat easily, but little does it know that he is muttering something under his breath.

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To Be Continue Ep.34