The moment the bundle was carefully opened and the already-armed bomb came into view, the patrol member's face went pale. Realizing the severity of the situation, he immediately contacted nearby personnel and, with extreme caution, escorted the bomb to a safe location for disarmament.
Xien felt a little bad for that Familia member's poor heart—but there was no time to care about that. They had to eliminate as many threats as possible before the enemy reacted.
But the West District was simply too vast.
Even at Xien's top speed—following the optimal route plotted by Orange Cat—sweeping every street thoroughly would still take a significant amount of time.
And yet…
No matter how fast you moved, in the face of a conspiracy that had already taken shape, it was still too late.
When Xien had finished searching roughly three-quarters of the area, the enemy seemed to notice that something was wrong.
Just as Xien was pushing himself to scan the surroundings at full tilt—
A few ominous, distant booms suddenly rolled across the district.
BOOOOM—
A pillar of crimson light surged into the sky.
For a heartbeat, the world went eerily quiet—
Then screams and panicked cries erupted.
Including Xien, the surrounding residents stared in shock at the distant scene.
"An explosion…? An attack?"
Xien clenched his teeth, forcing himself to think clearly for a few seconds.
Then he launched himself toward the epicenter at full speed.
He was a healer.
And right now, his highest rule—his only rule—was saving lives.
"Everyone, don't panic! Don't run around! Stay where you are and wait for evacuation!"
Catching sight of Ganesha Familia patrol members rushing in from the distance, Xien raised his voice and shouted once—then moved.
Along the way, he collected any bombs he happened to pass.
As for the rest…
All he could do was pray that others would find them in time.
With everything pushed to the limit—moving several times faster than an ordinary person—Xien crossed more than a dozen streets in just a few minutes and arrived at the scene.
It could only be described as catastrophic.
Collapsed walls. Merciless flames of destruction. Agonized howls. Desperate wails.
A storm of misery flooded the air without end.
Judging by the blast, it seemed several bombs had detonated together—and the source was a tavern packed with people.
For an instant, it looked like a hellscape ripped open in the middle of Orario.
No time to think.
Time was life.
They weren't dead yet—there was still hope.
And he could save them.
Gritting his teeth, Xien forced himself calm and strode forward.
He ignored the wounded who were screaming the loudest and sprinted straight to a woman whose body had been torn away—half of her gone, breath leaving faster than it returned.
He poured the greatest possible output of life force into her—
"Everyone, stay calm! I'm a member of Astraea Familia—we're here to save you! Reinforcements are on the way!"
Xien's voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"Now listen to my orders—move! Those who can still walk, those with light injuries, help the people near you! Report the critically wounded to me! Clear the area! If you can put out fires, find water and do it! Search for survivors buried under the rubble—move!"
"Y-Yes—!"
Astraea Familia's name carried weight.
Instinctively, everyone looked to Xien.
Seeing him actively healing someone—seeing proof that they could be saved—hope took root, and reason returned. They began to follow his instructions.
Almost unbelievably, this boy who appeared out of nowhere became their pillar.
His power truly was extraordinary—within just ten-odd seconds, the woman's condition stabilized.
But this wasn't regrowing a missing body.
It was sealing the wound closed.
At this rate… she would permanently lose half her torso.
Xien stared at the young woman, unable to accept what kind of darkness her future would become if that happened.
"What's going on…?"
"Your control over your ability still isn't enough, meow," Orange Cat answered. "If the severed limb were still intact, you could reattach it and restore it—but right now, your understanding and fine manipulation of Abundance power isn't sufficient to regenerate a destroyed body part from nothing, meow."
Xien's jaw tightened.
Then—
If that's the case… I'll activate One Thought: God and Demon.
He didn't hesitate.
A single shift of intent—and in an instant, his already-thin remaining magic reserves were drained again, violently.
But the result was worth it.
Like a miracle, wrapped in life-light that had undergone a qualitative transformation, the woman's missing body began to regenerate.
A few seconds later, she was restored—whole.
The crowd was electrified.
With the realization that this young man was a powerful healer, their sense of security surged. They became more determined, more willing to obey, more willing to act.
And Ganesha Familia personnel arrived as well.
For a moment, everything seemed to be moving in a better direction.
Xien wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and immediately turned toward the next critical patient without stopping.
The life force expenditure itself was negligible—
But what had "leveled up" just now wasn't raw output; it was micro-control—precision work on the level of life itself.
For a first attempt at such an insanely delicate operation, it taxed his mind heavily.
Worse—
He had enough magic left to cast One Thought: God and Demon only one more time.
Yet there were dozens of severely wounded people missing limbs and body parts.
He couldn't afford to waste even a second.
He had to save as many as possible before the effect ended.
And then—
Reality turned cruel again.
BOOOOM—
In the midst of everyone's stunned expressions, another detonation hit—bringing with it a wave of scorching air.
In the distance, a thick column of smoke rose.
Xien's teeth ground so hard they felt like they'd shatter.
That direction—
Was the old couple's home.
It wasn't over.
That second explosion nearly collapsed the fragile order Xien had just built.
Many couldn't take it. Terrified that the next blast might detonate beside them and claim their lives, they went mad—fleeing wildly.
Even the Familia members hadn't reacted in time.
If that panic wasn't stopped, it would spiral into a chain reaction.
A brutal choice appeared in front of Xien.
He drew a deep breath.
His eyes hardened.
He kept his hands moving—kept healing—while shouting with everything he had:
"Silence! Don't panic!"
His voice rang like a commandment.
"People of Orario—this is the moment you become heroes! Remember your first desire—why did you come to this city? Right now, if you defeat the fear in your heart, you are heroes!"
"Don't waste your eyes on those who run. Pick up your courage—keep helping the people who need it!"
"I am with you. Lady Astraea is with you!"
Green light surged around him—
And within it, a blaze of crimson rose: the color of hope and justice.
On the blessing carved into his back, a skill flickered—
Firelight (昭然心火).
For an instant, the force and conviction in his words infected everyone.
They looked at the boy who seemed to burn like a living flame—
And under his aid, his presence, his refusal to yield, their reason and courage overcame fear.
The order that had been on the verge of breaking—
Was pulled back together again.
But Xien knew:
There wouldn't be a third time.
Before the next unpredictable cruelty arrived, he had to do everything he could.
Far away, Lady Astraea—already returned to her room—seemed to sense something. She turned her head toward the West District…
Toward the direction where Xien was.
In her eyes, a single spark of justice was blazing bright, bursting with its own radiance.
She smiled softly.
"Next…"
"Over here!"
With Xien at the center, an emergency order took shape. At his command, rescue operations continued—steady, efficient.
With Orange Cat providing basic disaster-response organization knowledge and techniques, the scene became an astonishingly effective first-aid operation.
A healer saving lives—giving everything he had.
On the other side, Alise and the others arrived with detection equipment—just in time to collide with the second explosion. The red-haired captain didn't hesitate for even an instant, issuing orders immediately:
"Ryuu, Lyra, Kaguya, Neze—one direction each. Search with me for the remaining explosives."
"Everyone else—rescue!"
"Understood!"
The group scattered at once.
But Alise and Ryuu, without even needing to speak, moved toward the same direction—
Because ahead of them, there was a boy.
In under ten minutes, Xien finished treating the critically wounded. His magic was completely depleted; he couldn't cast another spell in the short term.
What remained were light injuries.
But time was too precious.
He ignored wounds that could be treated later and wouldn't leave lasting consequences.
After nearly ten minutes of nonstop work—treating dozens of those he judged truly needed immediate care—he gave a few quick instructions to wait in place for further rescue.
Then he ran again, rushing toward the next "battlefield."
The outcome was, in one sense, merciful:
By the time Xien left, aside from those directly burned to death in the initial blast, no one else had died.
Even so, the situation was already vicious enough.
He was relieved that it hadn't escalated into a full-scale deployment by the Evilus—nothing like the worst-case nightmare—
But the reality was still bad enough to make his stomach turn.
This was still the era before the two great Familias fell apart.
He didn't even want to imagine what Orario would become once that day truly arrived.
At this moment, Xien felt a profound helplessness—
The helplessness of being stretched thin in a massive disaster.
His actions had mattered.
But it still wasn't enough.
Even with the power to change outcomes, even exhausting himself completely—
He could only protect one place at a time.
He couldn't be everywhere.
All he could do now was pray reinforcements arrived quickly.
And since no further blasts had happened… maybe support was already closing in—
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
A sudden surge of danger made every hair on his body stand up.
A warning from Flow—
His neck.
At some point, he had wandered into a quiet, deserted corner.
He reacted on instinct and twisted away.
RIIIP—
A slash opened across the side of his neck—nearly ten centimeters long.
It seemed to have nicked an artery.
Blood poured out.
His training screamed at him to move—he retreated several steps and immediately clamped his hand to his neck while using life force to heal the wound.
Normally, an injury like that, without immediate treatment, would lead to catastrophic consequences.
But for Xien, the wound itself wasn't the most terrifying part.
The most terrifying thing—
Was the one in front of him.
"Oh? You dodged it?"
A voice—light, amused.
"No wonder you managed to kill so many of our people. Looks like you really do deserve this 'special' treatment."
"Just Level 1… and my strike still didn't take your head off."
Xien's entire body trembled.
For the first time, he had been so close to death.
Fear surged—
Then rage.
Rage that his life had nearly been taken so casually.
Rage burned hotter than fear.
Xien steadied his shaking hands and drew his weapon.
Breathing method—active.
Sharingan—fully open.
Roaring, the boy charged forward in his strongest state.
He would make this bastard pay.
Crimson flames erupted—an attack that could reach the peak of Level 2 power, scorching the ground—
And the enemy avoided it effortlessly.
Even with the Sharingan, Xien couldn't see the movement.
That extreme speed—
It was absolutely beyond Level 3.
And worse—
He couldn't feel any presence at all.
"Oh? You've got tricks."
The black shadow's tone was almost satisfied.
"Then you really are a huge threat. If we let you keep growing, those women will become even harder to deal with."
"And they're almost here."
"So I won't waste time."
"Kid… go to hell and wait for them."
"It won't be long."
With only that single sentence, the figure vanished from Xien's sight.
Xien's internal alarm screamed.
From the darkness—
A lethal strike arrived.
Flow did what it was meant to do, letting Xien understand the enemy's intent.
The target this time was his heart.
The life-force defense he'd instinctively raised earlier was pierced like paper—though it managed to slow the attack by the tiniest fraction.
Xien's body reacted on its own—weapon snapping back to defend, forcing the blow slightly off-line.
I can do it… I can block it—
Hope flickered—
And then—
"Oh? Really?"
The shadow's voice was playful.
"Just kidding."
Xien's mind went blank.
He had been played.
From the start, that "heart strike" was a feint.
"Eh…?"
There was no time to react.
This was pure experience and overwhelming power.
A movement he never saw—
The dagger flipped into a reverse grip.
A destructive pulse of violet magic wrapped around the blade.
Then it ripped upward—
With thunderous force, carving a wound from Xien's chest up to his right shoulder—
A gash so deep it almost split half his body open.
Armor that could withstand a full-force Level 3 assault for a time—
Now tore like paper.
Hidden runes flashed wildly—
And shattered.
The cut surface was smooth as glass.
If time weren't still moving, it would have looked like a perfect specimen.
A killer's perfect specimen—the instant of execution.
Not only was the assassin monstrously strong…
That dagger was no ordinary weapon.
"Cough—"
Xien's eyes went vacant.
He spat out a mouthful of blood that surged up from his chest—
And collapsed.
For a normal person, this was fatal.
For him, right now…
It was fatal too.
He couldn't understand it.
Was the gap between them really that enormous?
Even if he gave everything…
He was still instantly erased?
Ignoring the dying boy's thoughts, the assassin stepped forward to finish the job.
"Haa… that was annoying."
"If I don't use real strength, he actually might dodge."
"This kid's freakish."
"And he's a healer. Who knows what other methods he has."
"Better be safe… I'll cut off his head."
"That should make sure he's dead for good."
The killer crouched, preparing to strike.
And then—
"Bastard—how dare you!!"
....
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