41 Chapter 40
Being carried by a knight, the commander looks horrified at the scene unfolding around him. The blood on the walls, the torn bodies, and the fear on the faces of all those who personally saw Elizabeth.
"You... Was this really necessary?"
His eyes wander in all directions, but no remorse arises in his heart. And, swinging the sacred sword, Elizabeth sheathes her blade after all that filthy blood has been shed from it.
"Clean the castle and throw all the garbage somewhere where it won't bother anyone else's life."
With the knights, Ethan entered the lord's chamber.
"This..."
That scene is quite familiar to him, something he had witnessed firsthand before. However, that specific body lying in the center of that place. For some reason, the man whose head was crushed against the ground by Elizabeth's feet seemed a bit different from those seen before.
Despite the visibly gruesome deaths, it is evident that everyone in that castle had suffered a quick and painless death up until now. However... the hands and then, soon after, the back, moving to the legs and ending at his head... That man certainly did not have the same luck.
"For aiding demons, I thought I was the 'traitor'... But now you're even killing your own...?"
Elizabeth turned immediately. Her gaze serious and endowed with a strange unshakeable will that does not seem to be weakened even by her fear in front of Ethan... anger also seems to be mixed in those threatening eyes of hers.
"Never repeat that again. These... none of them could even be considered human."
She turned again, observing the reluctant and trembling knights, who stood still near the destroyed door.
"Didn't you hear me?! Hurry up! Clean this place!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Promptly putting the commander on a fragile wooden chair, the knight quickly ran with his companions, and they all began to remove the bodies from the castle.
"You." said Elizabeth, pointing to the knight closest to her. "While the others finish cleaning the blood, look for the supplies of this place and see how much is still available."
The knight left immediately and, moments later, returned.
"In the warehouse, there are thirty bags of rice, twenty of wheat, twenty-five of oats..., seven of rye and..."
"Is that all?"
"...I believe so, ma'am..."
Elizabeth looked around. The knights were mingling, some leaning against the walls of the room, others sitting on the floor, sighing, and a few stretching constantly.
"I believe you have finished cleaning the entire castle by now, right?"
The knights rose immediately, their bodies trembling, and they all formed up quite quickly.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Great. Now go to the town and gather all the citizens who are still alive. Bring them all here."
The knights left, leaving only the commander, Elizabeth, and Ethan in that place.
"I think I understand what you're planning to do. But just having food won't make them completely well. The cold will still persist."
"Indeed... So it means I just need to fix that too."
Elizabeth raised one of her hands and, shaping the flames into a sphere, she threw that fire towards the center of the room.
"Is that your plan...? Miss, excuse my lack of delicacy, but... I don't think this will work very well."
The cold continued to decrease gradually and quickly, that's a fact. However, something like this couldn't be sustained for long. The larger and more complex the magic, the more mana it will take to create and maintain it. However, something that many do not realize is that the distance between the creator and the magic also interferes with the amount of mana needed to keep it active.
"Yes, that's true... I understand what you mean..."
Analyzing that fireball, Ethan could immediately see why the commander was so confident in her words.
The mana line that connects the creator to the created magic shines brightly and remains thick and strong, running from Elizabeth to the flames. However... how thin would it become after a few kilometers? And how much mana would be needed to maintain it in this case?
"Indeed, doing it this way doesn't seem very practical. But why not use the ambient mana in another way?"
"...Excuse me...?"
Elizabeth and the commander looked confusedly at Ethan.
"Is doing something like that really possible?"
"I don't know... From my perspective, trying to use two 'elements' would only delay its evolution, so I focused solely on using aura. Magic is not something I understand very well..."
Ethan raised one finger and pointed it at the calm and controlled flames.
"It's simple. All you need to do is make sure the flames keep consuming the mana around them, not your own."
Placing one hand on her chest, Elizabeth felt something suddenly disconnecting from her. She couldn't say why, but for some reason, a certain internal warmth she felt thanks to the flames had just disappeared from within her.
However, despite her connection to the flames apparently being interrupted, somehow, they still burned as brightly and strongly as before... or perhaps even more so...
"How did you do that..?"
"I really can't explain that. Is it just... natural? I just see the mana and interfere with it, that's all."
"Impossible! Can he see it? The mana...?" the commander wondered, open-mouthed and wide-eyed.
Soon the knights returned with all the villagers they found in the town. Not much more than two hundred people. Which, for a small town with approximately two thousand inhabitants, would mean a survival rate close to ten percent.
Other fires were made in different parts of the castle, and as they left, Ethan looked at the people bidding them farewell with tears in their eyes.
He sighed as he changed the direction of his gaze.
With the carriage distancing itself, something strange seemed to be happening around the castle.
What minutes ago were tears of farewell, suddenly turned into tears of joy. For, as everyone joyfully jumped on the snow beneath their feet, for some reason, unlike what happens outside the castle gates, now nothing else fell upon their heads.
