Chapter 5: The Embrace of Light

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Lloyd’s consciousness grew dark and murky, as if sinking into a deep swamp. A burning pain scorched the very core of his body. The black flames clinging to his right arm charred his flesh, ground against his bones, and tried to drag even his soul down with them. 

It was the same as always. Whenever the Malice Glyph went out of control, this was what happened. If things went as they usually did, he would have kept harming everything around him until the rampage eventually subsided. But this time was different. Through the haze, he faintly heard the girl’s anguished voice, barely keeping Lloyd’s consciousness tethered.

“Please, open your eyes!”

A voice so beautiful, clear, and pure. Her call was desperate, yet earnest. The warmth of the small hand that lightly touched his shoulder pulled Lloyd’s senses back toward reality. A faint scent drifted close to his chest. A soft, sweet fragrance, like flowers, tickled his nose.

Lloyd slowly opened his eyes. And then… Within his blurred vision, a woman with long silver-white hair came into view. Her beautiful pale-blue eyes looked into his. Her eyes were filled with sorrow. At that moment, his awareness snapped into clarity.

“A woman… Get away from here. Right now.”

Lloyd managed to raise himself, holding his right arm as he spoke to her. On his right arm, pitch-black patterns—the Malice Glyph—were glowing. The miasma hadn’t fully receded, and the black flames still flickered faintly like dying embers.

“I don’t want to hurt you too.”

He gritted his teeth as if trying to endure something, sweat dripping down his forehead. The rampage wasn’t over. If he relaxed even a little, he might lose consciousness again and attack everything nearby. At the very least, he didn’t want to drag this girl into it. Yet she did not step back. She looked straight at Lloyd, her pale-blue gaze filled with unwavering resolve.

“This… iI’s the Malice Glyph, isn’t it?”

The girl looked at Lloyd’s right arm and asked him.

“…What?”

He couldn’t help but open his eyes wide at her words. No one had ever seen this pattern and immediately identified it as the Malice Glyph. But she neither flinched nor hesitated. Instead, with a strangely calm voice, she said to him.

“…It’s all right. Please leave it to me.”

Her voice carried a mysterious sense of comfort. Was this what it felt like to be called by his mother in a distant memory? Gentle, yet firm…Something raging inside Lloyd seemed to quiet down, even if only a little.

“O mother who governs the earth… Please grant salvation to this one. 〈Light’s Embrace—Luxuria〉.”

Murmuring those words, the girl traced a small cross before her chest and gently pulled Lloyd into an embrace. There was no hesitation in her movement at all. No doubt, no fear, not even the slightest dread. It was as if she didn’t care in the slightest that the man before her was losing control of a terrifying power. All she held within herself was the single wish to save the person before her.

And in the next moment—soft, white light spread from the girl’s arms, gently enveloping Lloyd. It was neither hot nor cold. Just endlessly gentle. Every time the black flames on Lloyd’s right arm touched that light, they calmed little by little. The burning pain slowly faded. His seared flesh, his creaking bones, even his soul that felt on the verge of tearing apart—all of it seemed to slowly return to normal.

“Please endure it a little longer. You’ll be all right.”

Her voice was filled with the same tenderness a mother used to soothe a child, and she tightened her embrace just slightly. Soon after… The rampage of the Malice Glyph came to a complete stop.

“That’s impossible…!”

Lloyd sat up, letting out a gasp of astonishment. He truly felt nothing now. The presence of the rampage had vanished completely, as if the raging beast inside him had turned into an obedient puppy. He never imagined it could be stopped. Countless times in the past, the Malice Glyph had spiraled out of control, and no one had ever been able to restrain it.

And yet now—through the girl’s embrace and her prayer of light—it had undeniably calmed. In disbelief, Lloyd looked up at the girl.

“…Have you calmed down?”

When the light covering Lloyd’s body faded completely, the girl slowly stepped back and let out a small breath.

“…Yeah.”

Lloyd stared at his own hands in astonishment. The miasma of the Malice Glyph that had been rampaging inside him was now quiet, as if it had never existed. The black flames had vanished entirely, leaving only faint scorch-like traces on his right arm.

“But…How? Until now, no one has ever been able to stop this rampage.”

Hearing his question, the girl lowered her eyes briefly, then smiled softly. Then, with a trace of pride, she answered.

“Believe it or not, I’m pretty good at 〈Dispel〉.”

“…Good at it?”

Lloyd asked blankly. He had asked countless healers and priests to keep the Malice Glyph from erupting. None of them had been able to handle it. Of course, priests had tried sealing it using Dispel, but nothing had worked. And yet this young girl had completely suppressed it? It felt like hearing an absurd joke, and Lloyd could only stare at her in stunned silence.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

The girl let out a small laugh at his reaction, placed a hand over her chest, and looked at him with those pale-blue eyes.

“My name is Lusha Catomiar. Until a little while ago, people used to call me the ‘Saint.’”

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー