66 Gathering the Survivors

"The Death God!?", Paul and I both exclaimed in unison.

"Haha. Everyone seems to have that reaction when I tell them. Still, I didn't expect you to be so surprised, seeing as you're a fellow member of the Seven Great Powers yourself."

"Ah. So you knew."

"Of course I did. While I didn't know who you were at first, it didn't take me long to figure out that you were the mage that Alex was looking for. That's why I kept tagging along with you guys. I figured it was the easiest way to find my Uncle, seeing as he was searching for you."

"So... what are you going to do now?", I asked him.

"Well, now that I found Alex, I suppose I'll take him back home with me. I could use the extra help at my restaurant. He's not too bright, but he should be able to wait tables at least."

"Just so long as he doesn't come after me again I don't care what he does."

"He won't. I promise. It would seem my grandfather was too lax with the boy. I'll make sure to educate him properly. Perhaps it'll help me shake some rust off these old bones."

Randolph walked over to Aleksander's body and hoisted him up onto his shoulder.

"The King Dragon Realm is a long way off, I'd best get going", Randolph said as he tossed Aleksander onto the back of his horse like a sack of grain. "If you ever find yourself in the region, please feel free to stop by and visit. You're welcome in my restaurant anytime."

"I'd love to, but how will I know where to find you? The King Dragon Realm is a big place after all."

Randolph stopped and winced mid-stride when I said that. It would seem that small fact slipped his mind.

"Haha, of course. How silly of me. I own a small restaurant in the city of East Port on the very eastern tip of the King Dragon Realm."

"Aha! That's where I remember you from!", I exclaimed. "I knew I'd seen you before, I just couldn't put my finger on it."

"Oh, have you eaten at my restaurant before? I feel as though I would remember you."

"Er.. No. I just happened to see you as I was passing by. But yes, I've been to East Port before."

"Perfect! Then you'll know where to find us."

"Thanks again for praising my food", he said to Paul. "I get compliments like those few and far between, but they are what keep me going as a chef."

"You don't have to thank me for something like that", Paul said with a grin. "After all you've done for us, it's me who should be thanking you!"

"I'll look forward to meeting again", Randolph said as he climbed up onto his horse. "Take care my friends."

"Randolph, wait!", I called out to him.

"Hmm?"

"There's no need for you to ride all the way across the continent to get back home. I can get you there in a day."

"Within a day? You mean like teleportation?"

"Yes. I've become somewhat of an expert in drawing teleportation circles. I know of one nearby East Port and can take you to it if you'd like."

"That would be splendid! I'd be glad to take you up on the offer", Randolph exclaimed with uncharacteristic excitement. "I've been worried sick about having to close my shop for so long. I don't want to lose what few customers I get."

"Um... Excuse me."

All of us looked towards the unexpected interruption.

It was Princess Ariel. She peeked her head above the wreckage of her carriage. Luke and Derrick still stood in front of her defensively.

"Oh, I'm sorry princess. I forgot you guys were there!"

"What!?", Luke yelled out in exasperated annoyance.

"Don't worry. I find that quite understandable considering the... circumstances. To have met not one, or even two... but THREE people who have attained the title of 'god' in a single day. This is all a little overwhelming if I'm going to be honest."

'It would seem that the princess had been listening in on our conversation; or at least part of it anyway.'

"Yes. It's been a long day for me too", I said with a sigh. "Oh no! That's right! What about Phillip and Hilda!"

I ran over to what was left of their carriage. Thankfully, Timothy had the wherewithal to conjure an earth dome around it, so it was still mostly in one piece, even after my fireball. What was left was just the circular base of the dome surrounding a beat up carriage that had been knocked over onto its side.

I used gravity magic to slowly turn the carriage back onto its wheels and tried to open the door.

'Hmm... the door won't open'

Using gravity magic, I ripped the door off the side of the carriage and hurled it into the clearing out of the way. Inside the carriage I found Phillip, Hilda, Timothy, and Patris.

'Thank god, they're still breathing!'

All four of them had been knocked unconscious, likely due to the explosion knocking them around in the carriage, but they were all alive.

I began to cast healing magic on each of them, starting with Phillip. Before I even realized it, I was healing them without using incantations.

'Hmm? Oh wow! It would seem I've had a breakthrough!'

After healing all of them they were still resting and unconscious. I stopped to think about what exactly I was doing differently.

'Ah, I think I finally get it. I've been overthinking this the whole time. What I was missing from healing magic wasn't knowledge of the inner workings of the human body, but rather strong emotions. Healing magic is guided by the heart, not the mind. It's fundamentally different from attack magic which is based on science and reason. I suppose that's why it's all the religious types that seem to excel at healing.'

That aside, I need to get them back home to safety.

Paul helped me carry them outside the carriage and then I lifted the four of them together using gravity magic back over towards Ariel's carriage.

"Woo", Randolph whistled. "That's some nifty magic. Gravity manipulation. Just like the King Dragon Sword, impressive."

"Yeah. It's useful in a variety of circumstances. It takes up quite a lot of mana though. I suppose that's why more people don't use it for day to day stuff like this."

Randolph gave me a look that seemed to say 'Are you serious? It's not like your average Joe is going to know how to do that regardless of the mana cost'

"I'm glad to see your relatives are unharmed", Ariel said, still trying to look dignified despite her being absolutely out of her wits right now.

"Yeah, so am I. One moment please."

Luke's face started turning beat red with anger due to me once again being so curt with the princess, but he had enough sense at least to realize that he was out of his league.

I walked over to where Paul had tied off our horses. Unfortunately, they seem to have been slain by one of Aleksander's stray beams of mana. I picked up our traveling gear using gravity magic before saying a quick prayer of thanks for the sacrifice our horses made.

'We may not have known each other for long, but thank you for your service. May you rest in peace'

As I said that, I burned their bodies to ash using fire magic.

I took our gear back over towards Randolph and pulled out a scroll from my traveling sack.

When laid out, the scroll was about four square meters in area and had an incredibly complex magic circle drawn on it. I made a couple minor modifications using some magic ink that I also had in my bag before motioning Randolph over.

"Randolph, I've adjusted this teleportation circle to send you to a more permanent one on a remote island just north of East Port. It's about a six hour boat ride to the port."

"Boat ride? Where am I supposed to find a boat?"

"Hmm... That's a good point actually. I usually just make one myself using magic."

Paul facepalmed at my nonchalance. I nearly just sent them to a remote island with no way off.

"I suppose I'll have to take you there myself, if that's alright with you."

"Of course. I'd be happy to have your company!"

"What about us!?" Ariel exclaimed, tired of being ignored.

"You're headed for the Academy, right?"

Ariel nodded her head to confirm.

"That's easy then. I have a house in Sharia very near the Academy. I can teleport us all to Sharia together and then take Randolph back to East Port after you all get settled. Does that work for you, Randolph?"

"That's a great idea! I've never had the pleasure of visiting the Academy."

"It's settled then! We'll all head to Sharia together!"

Before we left, we all checked the clearing for any more survivors. Unfortunately, all of Ariel's knights other than Luke had been slain, but we were able to find one more survivor. Suzanne. She had been badly burned by my fireball, had several broken ribs, and an unnatural bend to her right leg when we found her, but she was still breathing. I quickly healed her and carried her next to Timothy and Patris.

'I wonder if she'll ever forgive me...'

I shook my head to clear away unhelpful thoughts like that as Paul called out from the other side of the clearing.

"Hey, I found his sword!"

Paul was holding the magic sword Aleksander had been using. The one that condensed your battle aura and fired it as a concentrated beam of mana.

"Keep it", I said.

"What? Are you sure?"

"Spoils of war. You earned it; that's for sure."

Randolph didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, it didn't even look like he was paying attention.

I placed all of the unconscious survivors on the teleportation scroll before heading back to the clearing.

"These people deserve a proper burial", I said while specifically looking towards Sara.

"You're right", Ariel agreed with a solemn look on her face.

Using earth magic, I quickly dug several graves, one for each of the fallen. We placed each body in their respective grave and I made a tombstone for each one. Ariel gave me the names of the knights I did not know.

Before leaving, we had a moment of silence. Ariel gave a quick prayer in their honor while Luke and Derrick stood behind her. All three of them were crying. It would seem that they knew each of the knights personally.

The only body we didn't bury in that clearing was Sara's. I took her body and set her beside Suzanne. She deserved to have a fitting resting place those who cared about her could visit.

I stood on the teleportation scroll beside all the unconscious bodies and directed everyone around me to hold one another's hands to stay in physical contact. Once everyone was in place I activated the scroll sending us all to the basement of my manor in Sharia.