"Don't move yet."
In the living room, Leo had just been pressed down onto the sofa by Yukino when Asuna spoke softly, placing her gentle hands against his chest.
A faint ringing sound followed.
A soft, luminous green light suddenly bloomed from Asuna's hands. It wasn't dazzling at all—just warm and soothing.
As the glow flowed along with her demonic power into Leo's body, warmth spread through him. The pain from his injuries eased, and his whole body felt lighter, more refreshed.
Under that gentle light, the wounds on his body slowly began to heal.
Leo stared at Asuna in surprise.
"When did you learn how to use healing abilities?"
This was something he'd had no idea about.
"Recently," Asuna replied, her eyes focused intently on Leo's wounds rather than his face. As she continued healing him, she explained, "After the last attack, wasn't everyone hurt?"
"Especially Yuuto-san and Nimura-san— their injuries were so severe that they couldn't be treated without Phoenix Tears. That really worried me."
"Maybe I was overthinking it, but I kept wondering… if something like that happened again, and someone close to us was seriously injured, what would we do?"
"So after we got back, I started looking through books on healing whenever I had time after sword practice."
And then?
You just… learned it?
Leo was at a loss for words.
He looked at Asuna's delicate, flawless face and genuinely didn't know what to say.
As he already knew, healing abilities were considered top-tier talents. Very few people could use them, especially the kind capable of regenerating lost limbs. Unless someone used extremely powerful forbidden techniques or something equivalent, that level of healing was nearly impossible.
That was precisely why healers were so rare—and so valued.
In any team, someone with healing abilities was always in the highest demand. Everyone wanted one, yet few could ever obtain one.
And yet—
Asuna had just read a few books after coming back… and learned it?
"We didn't expect it either," Yukino said. Aside from Leo, she understood these matters best. Seeing Leo's stunned expression, she added, "Maybe Asuna really does have a talent for it. She only tried it once and succeeded."
Yukino was the one who spent the most time in the study. When Asuna went looking for books, Yukino had not only been there but had also pointed out which ones were related to healing.
That meant Yukino was the very first person to witness Asuna successfully use healing abilities.
It had left her stunned at the time.
"Honestly, even I was surprised," Miyamoto Musashi said from the side, unable to hide her amazement. "I never imagined it, Asuna. Aside from swordsmanship, you'd have such talent in healing as well."
Musashi's words made Leo recall something important.
In Asuna's own story, besides being known as the lightning-fast swordswoman, she later gained another title—Berserker Healer.
That was from another game entirely. In that world, she had chosen a water Spirit race skilled in healing magic, gaining healing abilities. But because she constantly abandoned her role as a healer to charge into the front lines with her sword, she earned that rather inelegant nickname.
Leo found it genuinely astonishing.
"So what, now even side stories from the original have started coming true in reality?"
But Asuna shook her head.
"It's not just me. Mahiru can use healing abilities too."
That single sentence drew everyone's attention to Mahiru.
"I can use it, but I'm not as skilled as Asuna-senpai," Mahiru said softly, her caramel-colored eyes lowering in embarrassment. "So I didn't dare try healing senpai myself. I'm sorry."
She looked at Leo uneasily, clearly worried that he might think she was useless.
"It's fine. Just being able to use it at all is impressive," Leo said without hesitation, even praising her. "We've only been back how long? A few days at most. The fact that both of you learned healing abilities in such a short time is already a huge surprise to me."
That was the truth.
Leo was surprised, yes—but even more than that, he was delighted.
As the King piece of the Eligos servants and the leader of the team, he understood better than anyone how valuable healing abilities were. He'd even briefly considered whether he should somehow recruit Asia Argento, who was originally meant to belong to another devil's servants.
He never expected that his own servants would produce people with the rare talent to learn healing abilities.
And not just one—two at once.
That was beyond surprising.
Then again, Asuna, the Berserker Healer, had shown this potential. How could Mahiru—often likened to an angel—possibly lack it?
While not absolute, healing abilities were usually a very positive power, somewhat incompatible with devils by nature. That was why such abilities were more commonly found in the Underworld's counterparts—the Church or the Heavenly side—and rarer among devils and fallen angels.
Mahiru was a devil, but she was also the holder of the Incinerate Anthem, possessing strong holy and purification powers. Healing abilities suited her surprisingly well, making her aptitude far from strange.
"Why can't I learn it at all…?" Utaha muttered to herself.
She'd been frequenting the study lately as well. After seeing Asuna and Mahiru succeed one after the other, she'd tried herself—but no matter what she did, she couldn't make it work.
"You can't envy talent," Yukino said calmly, thinking of her own sister. "It's cruel and straightforward. Either you have it, or you don't."
She herself had tried—and failed as well.
"I can only treat light injuries for now," Asuna quickly added. "Anything more serious would require much deeper study. As for regenerating lost limbs… there's no way I can do that right now."
To achieve something like that, she'd need to learn forbidden-level Magic Formula.
That wasn't something achievable overnight.
And at the moment, she only had an interest in learning—she had no intention of making it her main focus.
Right now, swordsmanship was still her priority. Healing was just something she wanted to dabble in for the time being.
"When you've finished your sword training, you should consider studying it more seriously," Miyamoto Musashi said to her. "Healing abilities are invaluable in both team and solo combat. Especially in prolonged battles—a healer is the lifeline of any team. Even the Maou place great importance on that."
"It'd be a waste to abandon such talent," she added. "You've achieved this much in just a few days. If you have the time later, going deeper into it would benefit both you and the entire Eligos servants."
Asuna naturally accepted Musashi's advice.
She had no intention of giving up on it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken the initiative to learn in the first place.
Once her swordsmanship reached a mature stage, she fully intended to seriously study healing.
For now, though, healing would remain a side pursuit. Sword training was still Asuna's main path.
"All done."
After a while, Asuna withdrew the soft green light from her hands and smiled.
"That should take care of it."
Under her treatment, Leo still looked terrible—his clothes in tatters, bloodstains everywhere—but his injuries were mostly healed, and the pain was completely gone.
"Yeah, I'm good," Leo said after testing his body and finding no difference from normal. He gave Asuna a thumbs-up. "As expected of our Asuna. That was thorough and careful."
Asuna narrowed her eyes and smiled brightly, taking his words as straightforward praise.
"Good thing your injuries weren't too serious," Miyamoto Musashi laughed. "Otherwise, we'd probably have had to request Phoenix Tears from the Underworld again."
Then her tone shifted slightly.
"It's about time you told us everything, isn't it?"
This wasn't just about them. The Underworld was waiting as well—for Leo and Miyamoto Musashi's report.
"It's nothing too complicated…" Leo said after a moment's thought.
He then recounted everything that had happened between himself and Cao Cao.
There was no need to hide anything. He explained the entire experience in detail.
As he spoke, everyone's expressions grew solemn—then shifted again and again.
The sheer amount of information was overwhelming.
The mastermind behind the attack had been human—Descendants of Heroes. That alone was shocking.
On top of that, they had formed a faction, seemingly tied to the Old Maou Faction as well.
The previous attack on the three major servant teams also bore their fingerprints. Even if they weren't the main instigators, they had clearly been accomplices working from the shadows.
And yet, that wasn't the most shocking part.
What truly unsettled them was the power those people wielded—
"The True Longinus…" Miyamoto Musashi murmured.
"…This is going to be troublesome."
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You can read up to chapter 170 on patreon.com/NiaXD.