Chapter 193: The Limits of Divine Grace

"What happened to her?"

"She fought a demon and pushed herself too far," Andras replied. "Her injuries are serious, and she’s exhausted almost all her mana. She needs treatment and rest."

Aurelia’s gaze moved from Seraphina’s pale face to the blood staining Andras’s clothes.

"And you?"

"I’m fine."

"That wasn’t what I asked."

Before Andras could answer, Vespera approached from the other side of the shelter. Dust clung to her academy uniform, and faint traces of blood marked her sleeves, but the Saintess retained her usual composure.

Her sapphire eyes settled on Seraphina.

"Bring her here. I’ll examine her."

Andras carefully lowered Seraphina onto an empty bed that had been set up along the wall.

Vespera knelt beside her, checked her pulse, and examined the wounds beneath her torn uniform. Soft white light gathered around her hands as she channeled **Divine Grace**.

The light was gentle, yet far more refined than ordinary healing magic. Where even high-grade potions would have taken time to close deep tissue damage and purge residual demonic energy, Divine Grace worked with quiet efficiency. The bleeding slowed almost immediately. Torn muscle began knitting together under the steady flow of purified mana, and the lingering traces of demonic corruption were cleansed before they could take root.

After several moments, Vespera withdrew her hands.

"Her condition is stabilizing. Divine Grace has closed the primary wounds and purified the remaining demonic energy, but she’s exhausted almost all her mana. She’ll need proper rest."

Aurelia released a quiet breath.

"Thank goodness..."

Andras looked at Seraphina. Her breathing had become steadier.

"Thank you."

"There’s no need."

Vespera rose and turned toward him. Her gaze settled on the blood covering his clothes.

"You’re injured too."

"It’s nothing serious."

Vespera gave him a disapproving look.

"You’re saying that while standing there covered in blood?"

Aurelia crossed her arms.

"That’s exactly what I told him."

Andras glanced between them. Neither intended to accept his answer.

Vespera stepped closer.

"Sit down. I’ll treat your injuries as well."

After a brief pause, Andras sat on the neighboring bed.

Vespera placed her hands near his injured shoulder and channeled Divine Grace once more. Soft white light spread across his body. The cuts closed, and the pain in his ribs eased quickly.

When she finished, she sat back slightly.

"Your injuries should remain stable for now. Divine Grace has sealed the worst of the wounds, but your mana is dangerously low. Avoid fighting until you’ve recovered."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

Vespera studied him for a moment longer.

"What happened out there?"

Andras gave a concise summary of the key events—the scale of the invasion, the demons that had reached the training grounds, and the professors who had engaged them. He did not elaborate on every detail.

Vespera listened in silence. When he finished, she asked quietly,

"Have you seen Lucian?"

Andras shook his head.

"Not since the fighting started."

A faint crease formed between her brows.

Before she could say more, the shelter entrance stirred.

Instructors near the door stepped aside as a figure entered, carrying someone in her arms.

Elowen.

Her green hair was slightly disordered, and her robes bore traces of battle, but her expression remained controlled. In her arms lay Lucian, unconscious, his face pale. His right forearm ended in a tightly bandaged stump, the bloodstained wrappings concealing the place where his hand had been severed.

Vespera’s eyes widened the moment she recognized him.

She rose at once and crossed the space between them.

"Lucian—"

Elowen carefully laid him on the nearest empty bed.

"He needs treatment," she said. "I stabilized the wound as much as I could, but he has lost a significant amount of blood."

Vespera was already examining him. Divine Grace flared around her hands as she assessed the damage. Soft white light gathered around the severed wrist, purifying residual demonic energy and carefully stabilizing the damaged tissue.

Her composure remained intact, though her eyes revealed a quiet intensity. She had known Lucian for years. They had grown up together under the Church’s protection, long before either had received their current title.

Seeing him like this was something she had not expected.

Aurelia stepped closer, her gaze fixed on the bound stump.

"...His hand."

Vespera did not look up.

"Divine Grace can stabilize the wound and purge the remaining corruption," she said quietly. "But I cannot regenerate a limb that has been completely severed. Not with my current abilities."

The words settled heavily over the small space.

Andras remained seated, his expression unreadable.

His gaze lingered on Lucian’s severed wrist for a moment.

*Interesting.*

The protagonist of the original story—the Hero chosen by the Goddess—had lost his dominant hand in the middle of the invasion. In the novel Andras remembered, Lucian had never suffered an injury of this severity so early. The change was significant.

He filed the observation away without comment.

"You have a healing talent, don’t you, Student Vespera?" Elowen asked.

"Yes, Professor."

Elowen nodded once.

"Then take care of him. I’ll deal with the remaining demons."

She did not linger. After confirming that Vespera had begun treatment, Elowen turned and left the shelter without another word, her footsteps steady as she returned to the battlefield.

Vespera remained focused on Lucian.

She carefully examined the severed wrist, the residual traces of demonic energy, and the overall strain on his body. Divine Grace continued to flow from her hands, purifying what she could and accelerating the stabilization of the wound.

Aurelia stood nearby, watching in silence. Her usual composure had thinned slightly at the sight of the missing hand.

Andras remained seated, his gaze moving between Seraphina’s still form and Lucian’s unconscious face.

Outside, another distant impact rattled the windows.

---

Elowen moved quickly through the damaged corridors of the academy.

The invasion was not yet over. Residual demonic mana still lingered in several areas, and the sounds of ongoing combat echoed from the western and northern wings. She had delivered Lucian to safety. That was the priority. Now she needed to reduce the remaining threats before more students were harmed.

She turned a corner and entered a wide corridor that opened into a partially collapsed courtyard.

Alaric Thornwood stood at the center of it.

He had finished his previous engagement only minutes earlier. After confirming his opponent was dead, he had begun searching the surrounding corridors for any remaining threats. That was when he encountered this one.

His glasses were slightly crooked, and his robes were stained with dust and faint traces of blood. Across from him stood a demon with a broad, heavily muscled frame. its body was covered in jagged crystalline growths that pulsed with dark light. Every time Alaric’s spells struck, the crystals absorbed a portion of the impact and redirected the force outward in sharp bursts.

Alaric’s formation held, but the strain was visible. Thin lines of pale light flickered under the constant pressure of the reflected energy.

Elowen stopped at the edge of the courtyard and assessed the situation in an instant.

The demon was focused entirely on Alaric. Its attention had narrowed to the mage it considered the primary threat. That created an opening.

She did not announce herself.

Instead, she raised one hand and began forming a spell with precise, economical movements. Emerald light gathered at her fingertips, compressing into a dense, rotating structure. Arcane Eyes tracked the flow of the demon’s mana, identifying the densest concentration of power near its core.

Alaric noticed the shift in the air a moment later.

His gaze flicked briefly toward the corridor, then returned to the demon. He adjusted his formation, drawing the creature’s focus more tightly onto himself.

The demon pressed forward, sensing an opportunity. The crystals along its arms flared as it prepared to release another redirected burst.

That was when Elowen completed the spell.

"Seventh Circle Spell: Severing Horizon."

A razor-thin plane of compressed mana formed in the air. Rather than travelling like a conventional projectile, it swept horizontally through the air, cutting across the space between the demon and Alaric with surgical precision.

The demon sensed the danger too late.

The plane of mana sliced through the outer layer of crystals and struck the core of its circulating energy. Several of the growths shattered at once, releasing a sharp backlash of uncontrolled power. The disrupted energy channels destabilized the crystal network. Instead of releasing another outward burst, the accumulated force collapsed inward.

The demon staggered.

Alaric did not waste the opening. He tightened his formation and drove a concentrated spear of mana into the disrupted core.

BOOM!

The combined force of the two attacks tore through the demon’s defenses. The crystalline growths cracked and collapsed. A moment later, the creature fell heavily to the broken stones, the last traces of its mana dissipating into the air.

Silence settled over the courtyard.

Alaric adjusted his glasses and exhaled slowly.

"Your timing is appreciated," he said.

Elowen stepped into the open space, her expression unchanged.

"I’ll take the eastern corridor," she said. "You should head north. There are still demons in that direction."

They exchanged a brief, understanding glance before heading in opposite directions.