Chapter 75 : Aftermath 1

A strange ceiling.

I blinked and stared at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up.

Sunlight streaming through the window illuminated the room.

I raised myself and looked around.

The place I was in was a simple room.

There was one window on one wall through which the outside could be seen, and right next to it, a bed was placed.

I was on the bed, covered by a blanket, indicating I had been lying here.

‘How long was I asleep?’

I retraced my memory, recalling the last thing before I closed my eyes.

First, I had destroyed the grand spell with all my might.

Then I tried to approach Reina to check her condition.

But my body ultimately gave out, and I collapsed.

And then—

‘I must have fainted.’

I clenched and unclenched my hand, piecing the situation together.

Having made sense of the situation, I started to assess my physical condition.

There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with my body.

Moving my hands, I was relieved to find no aftereffects from overexerting myself.

My gaze shifted to my arm. It was where rune letters had been engraved due to the sigil magic.

‘Clean.’

The arm was spotless.

The area where the letters had been etched was now free of even the slightest blemish.

The engravings that had looked like a brand had disappeared completely, as though they had never existed.

Seeing this, I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Was the price paid?’

The third condition of sigil magic requires an equivalent price to be paid.

For the stopping spell I used, the price was to lose consciousness for three times the duration of the stopped time.

This price could be paid at the user’s discretion within a day. If not, it would be forcibly collected after 24 hours. 

Once the price was paid, the runes engraved on the body disappear, signaling that the debt has been settled.

That’s why it was odd.

Unless I consented, the price shouldn’t have been paid.

Yet, for some reason, it already was.

‘I couldn’t have been unconscious for more than a day.’

I’ve been injured like this countless times before, so I know my limits.

A wound of this level wouldn’t knock me out for over a day.

I mean, I’m strong.

This kind of injury wouldn’t keep me down for more than three hours at most. If I were unconscious for longer, my title as a Duke of the Demon Race would be a laughingstock.

That’s why it’s strange.

I’m certain I was only unconscious for about three hours.

Yet the price has already been paid without my consent.

I mulled over it briefly.

The deliberation didn’t last long.

‘Well, whatever.

If it’s been taken care of on its own, that’s good for me.’

I pulled my feet out from under the blanket and placed them on the floor.

Then I stood up and took a step toward the door.

And at that moment—

It felt like my legs sank into the ground, and my body lurched forward suddenly.

Caught off guard by the shift in weight, I lost my balance.

And so, with nothing to stop me, my body began to topple forward spectacularly.

The floor rushed toward me.

Almost instinctively, I moved my hands to catch myself before hitting the ground, an effort to prevent my face and body from slamming into it.

But—

‘Huh?’

There was no strength in my arms to support my weight.

My body continued its descent toward the floor, unable to stop.

Thud!

In the end, I kissed the floor.

The floor was cold, devoid of any warmth. Its temperature was impersonal and dry.

On the other hand, my face burned like fire.

The reason was simple. First, falling forward was embarrassing.

Second, the resulting pose was incredibly humiliating.

My current position was as follows:

Because I had fallen headfirst, my upper body, including my head, was pressed against the floor.

Meanwhile, my lower body, in a desperate attempt to avoid touching the cold floor, had managed to stay aloft.

This left my rear awkwardly raised in the air.

In short, I was stuck in a ridiculous and embarrassing pose.

To paint a clearer picture, I looked like a beast burying its snout in food, devouring it without care.

Feeling my face flush with heat, I tried to muster strength to stand back up.

Fortunately, I was alone in the room. If I got up quickly, no one would ever know I had done something so embarrassing.

However, the situation started to take a strange turn.

“Why… why isn’t this working?”

I couldn’t stand up.

There was no strength in my arms to lift my body.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t gather enough energy.

“Ugh…”

Only a faint groan escaped my lips as my body remained frozen.

‘Dammit.’

I realized I was in big trouble.

The problem wasn’t just that I couldn’t get up.

Of course, being unable to move was no small issue.

But it wasn’t the biggest problem. This would resolve naturally with time.

The real issue was if someone came in and saw me like this…

Just imagine, the door creaks open, and someone walks in.

And if that someone were Reina…

“Ugh… Ughhh!”

Desperation surged through me as I struggled harder to free myself from this humiliating position.

‘I have to get out of this pose before someone comes in!’

But as if mocking my resolve, just as I steeled myself and started moving—

Creak.

The sound of the door opening reached my ears.

“Ruina? Are you awake?!”

Bliss entered the room, her voice filled with urgency.

As soon as she entered, her gaze naturally turned to the bed where I had been lying.

When Bliss didn’t see me lying in bed, a flicker of confusion crossed her face before she started scanning the room.

As her gaze wandered around, it gradually lowered.

Eventually, her eyes stopped.

Our eyes met.

In that instant, the urgency on Bliss’s face disappeared entirely, replaced by an expression of pure bewilderment.

“Ruina…?”

Bliss asked, her face full of questions.

Feeling my face heat up in real time, I answered in a barely audible voice.

“Help me…”

The words sounded like the whisper of an ant crawling in the room.

With Bliss’s help, I managed to get back into bed.

Once safely back in bed, I listened to Bliss recount what had happened while I was unconscious.

The things she told me were astonishing.

But the most surprising thing was—

“I was unconscious for three days…?”

“Yes, three full days,” Bliss confirmed.

‘No wonder my body feels so weak… I can’t believe I slept for three whole days.’

“What happened during that time?” I asked.

“Well…” Bliss began.

While I was unconscious, the rest of the group worked to manage the situation.

They divided responsibilities to handle things more efficiently.

Olivia, the mage, used magic to trace and eliminate the lingering effects of the spells and mind control magic I had destroyed.

Bliss, Agnes, and the Hero worked with the clergy to deal with the remaining enemies.

Lastly, Artorius took charge of converting the remaining adversaries to their cause.

Starting from the central area, which had suffered the least damage, they began restoring order step by step, moving outward. The process was ongoing.

After getting this general update, I asked Bliss the question that had been nagging at me the most.

“What about Reina? Is she okay?”

“Reina is fine. However…” Bliss hesitated.

She explained that Reina showed no signs of illness after waking up—her fever dropped, and her coughing stopped.

But something else became a problem.

Bliss told me that during the three days I was unconscious, Reina never left my side.

At first glance, it didn’t seem like an issue.

However, the real problem lay in the fact that Reina had refused to eat or sleep during that time.

She spent the entire three days simply staring at me.

As days passed and Reina’s exhaustion became apparent, others tried persuading her to eat and rest, but she declined every time, insisting she couldn’t leave my side, not knowing when I might wake up.

Eventually, Olivia resorted to using a sleep spell on Reina, forcing her to rest. Reina was now asleep in another room.

Upon hearing this, I tried to rush to Reina immediately. However, Bliss stopped me.

“Where do you think you’re going in your condition? Reina has only just fallen asleep. Let her rest properly, especially after not sleeping for days. And you need to rest and recover too.”

“But—”

“No buts. You have plenty of responsibilities to deal with later, Ruina. So for now, rest and recover properly. When you’re ready to move, let me know.”

I gave her a silent look of rebellion, narrowing my eyes in protest, but it seemed to have no effect.

Attempting to go alone would only lead to another disaster, like earlier.

In the end, I nodded reluctantly.

Bliss seemed satisfied with this and smiled before standing up.

“I’ll be heading out to take care of some tasks.

Stay put and rest until you’re fully recovered, okay?”

She left, speaking to me as if I were a child, and the sound of the door closing left the room in silence.

Alone again, I carefully placed my feet on the floor.

I hesitated for a moment.

‘Should I try again…?’

The thought swayed me.

But then, the memory of my earlier fiasco came flooding back.

That mortifying experience froze me in place.

I stared intently at my feet on the ground.

The internal scale that had tipped in favor of trying again now balanced evenly.

I continued to stare at my feet for a while before sighing.

“Ugh! This is so frustrating!”

With an exasperated groan, I flopped back onto the bed and pulled the blanket over me irritably.

A sense of defeat crept in.

I pulled the blanket over my head.

Thankfully, my recovery was quicker than I expected.

After about half a day of focusing on moving my limbs, I regained feeling and control over my body.

With restored senses, my recovery progressed even faster. Before long, I was moving well enough to manage my daily activities.

Bliss, overjoyed to see me up and moving, quickly told me there was a place I needed to be.

Despite my doubts, she explained it was a meeting regarding the recent incident.

Relieved by her explanation, I followed her willingly.

However, as I sat down and Bliss stood to start the meeting, I immediately regretted my decision.

“Since Ruina seems to be mostly recovered, let’s take this time to summarize the incident and plan for the future,” she announced.

Honestly, I regretted following her here.

Not just that—I regretted recovering so quickly.

If I had known this would be my task, I would’ve stayed in bed longer.

“First, let’s address the most important question,” Bliss said, drawing everyone’s attention.

With everyone’s focus on her, Bliss turned her head to look directly at me.

In a clear, steady voice, she asked:

“Ruina, just what exactly are you?”

I stared back at her, thinking:

Ah, I really should’ve stayed in bed.