Chapter 60: Spreading Sickness"... Still can’t believe that healing technique actually works," Grace said as they trudged through the forest, hoping to change the topic. Diana had, for the last several minutes, been bragging Grace’s ear off about her battle prowess.

    Diana’s lips curled into a predatory smile.

    "Oh, you mean when you had to—"

    Her saying it like that instantly brought the image back, right in front of Grace’s eyes.

    "Never mind!" Grace’s face burned hot. "Forget I asked!"

    "You brought it up."

    "And now I’m putting it back down. Forever."

    Diana shrugged, still smirking.

    "Your call. But you’re the one who’s going to need more practice eventually."

    "Ughhh.... Can we please talk about something else? Anything else?"

    "Fine. Your swordplay is terrible. You telegraph every move. How’s that for a new topic?"

    Grace sighed.

    "... Still better than the other thing."

    They walked in silence for a few minutes. Despite the verbal jabs, something felt different. The usual edge in Diana’s voice had softened, and Grace found herself less intimidated than normal.

    [When did that happen?]

    "Though... one of those moves you did back there wasn’t so bad," Diana said suddenly. "When you rolled into a thrust."

    Grace nearly tripped over a root.

    "Was that an actual compliment?"

    "Don’t get used to it."

    "Wouldn’t dream of it."

    The forest thinned out as they approached the village. Grace expected to see people working in the fields or children playing, but the outskirts were oddly quiet.

    "Hm... Something’s wrong," Diana said, her playful tone completely gone.

    They quickened their pace, emerging from the tree line to find the village in disarray. People who had been healthy that morning now sat slumped against buildings or lay on makeshift pallets in the street.

    Mara rushed toward them, her face tight with worry.

    "Thank the goddess you’re back."

    "What happened?" Grace asked, taking in the scene.

    "It started a while after you left," Mara explained, leading them through the village. "First one villager collapsed, then another. They’re burning with fever, but their skin is ice-cold to the touch."

    "But we destroyed the corruption core," Diana said. "The forest should be clearing up, not getting worse."

    "Corruption core?" Mara asked.

    "Yeah," Grace answered. "We found a corruption core nearby that was turning people into those plant zombie things. But, we destroyed it."

    Mara nodded slowly.

    "Follow me."

    She led them to the center of the village where Ivy’s massive tree stood. The barrier still surrounded it, shimmering faintly in the evening light. But now, tendrils of blue-purple energy seeped from the base of the tree, snaking along the ground like ghostly roots.

    "What is that?" Grace asked, though she already knew the answer. Corruption.

    "We don’t know exactly," Mara said. "But the corruption is spreading from here."

    Diana approached the barrier cautiously.

    "I thought destroying the core would free Ivy." Sear?h the N??eFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "So did we." Mara shook her head. "But it seems the corruption has... adapted. Maybe it’s using Ivy as a new host. A new core."

    Grace stared at the tree, trying to make sense of it all.

    "Can we get her out?"

    "The barrier is still active. None of us can penetrate it." Mara gestured to a group of angels tending to the sick. "We’ve been trying to heal the villagers, but our methods only slow the progression. We can’t cure it completely."

    Diana cursed under her breath.

    "So destroying the core might have just made things worse."

    "No," Grace said firmly. "We eliminated the source in the cave. Now we just need to deal with the aftereffects."

    [We can’t give up now. We’ve come too far.]

    "What do you suggest?" Mara asked.

    Grace studied the corrupted tendrils, the sick villagers, the shimmering barrier. An idea began to form.

    "The corruption is moving from Ivy to the villagers, right? What if we reverse the flow?"

    "How?" Diana asked.

    "I’m not sure yet, but—"

    「Quest Reminder!」

    Category: Compassion

    Objective: Heal the Rosewood Corruption:

    0/100 villagers cured

    Reward: +10 Compassion

    The notification flashed in Grace’s vision, almost making her jump. In all honesty, she’d forgotten about the quest she’d received back at the Dominion. It wasn’t just about destroying the core—it was about healing the villagers too!

    [Of course! That’s it!]

    "I think we need to treat this from both ends," Grace said, trying not to react to the floating text only she could see. "Heal the villagers while also finding a way to purify Ivy."

    Mara nodded slowly.

    "It could work. If we can purify enough of the corruption from the villagers, it might weaken whatever’s holding Ivy."

    "Then let’s get started," Grace said, rolling up her sleeves. "We’ve got a lot of people to heal."

    "Wow, taking the lead, eh?" Mara’s face brightened. "Our little Grace is so confident!"

    "I mean, uhm... Yeah..."

    Mara led them to a large barn that had been converted into a makeshift infirmary. Rows of pallets lined the floor, each occupied by a villager in various stages of sickness. Some merely looked pale and tired, while others thrashed in fever-dreams, blue-purple veins visible through their skin.

    "There are nearly a hundred affected so far," Mara explained, her voice hushed. "And more falling ill by the hour."

    Grace swallowed hard. A hundred people. Just like her quest specified.

    "How should we do this?" she asked.

    "I’ll take the severe cases," Mara said, already moving toward a child who lay frighteningly still. "I’m not quite as good at this as you are, but perhaps I could give it a try. You start with the milder ones."

    Grace glanced at her.

    [Actually, could Mara learn Aura Cleanse? I mean, if she doesn’t have it already.]

    Grace nodded and approached a middle-aged woman who sat up against the wall, looking dazed. Blue-purple lines traced up her arms like twisted veins.

    "Hi," Grace said awkwardly. "I’m Grace. I’m going to try to help you."

    The woman nodded weakly.

    "Thank you, angel."

    Grace knelt beside her and took the woman’s hands in her own. They were ice-cold, just as Mara had described. Closing her eyes, Grace focused on channeling her divine energy, picturing it as golden light flowing down her arms and into the woman.

    「Aura Cleanse Activated」

    Warmth spread from Grace’s chest, down her arms, and into her hands. She felt the corruption in the woman’s body—cold, slithering, wrong—and pushed against it with her light.

    For a moment, nothing happened. Then the corruption began to recede, the blue-purple veins fading as Grace’s energy purified them.

    The woman gasped.

    "It’s warm," she whispered. "I can feel my fingers again."

    Grace opened her eyes to see the corruption had completely disappeared from the woman’s arms. Color returned to her cheeks, and her eyes cleared.

    「Villagers Healed: 1/100」

    "Rest now," Grace told her. "You’ll feel better soon."

    The woman smiled gratefully.

    "Bless you, angel."

    Grace moved to the next patient, a young man with similar symptoms. The process was the same—golden energy pushing out the cold corruption, warming the body from within.

    「Villagers Healed: 2/100」

    As she worked, Grace glanced across the room to where Mara tended to a severely ill child. Mara’s hands glowed with blue-white light, and her face was a mask of concentration. Even in this dire situation, Grace couldn’t help noticing how the light illuminated Mara’s features, making her look even more beautiful than usual.

    [Focus, Grace. People are sick. This is not the time to be distracted by Mara’s... everything.]

    She turned her attention back to her work, moving from patient to patient. Each healing drained her a little more, but seeing the relief on their faces made the fatigue worthwhile.

    「Villagers Healed: 5/100」

    Diana appeared at her side, startling her.

    "How’s it going?" the warrior angel asked.

    "Five down," Grace said, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Ninety-five to go."

    Diana frowned.

    "You’re pushing yourself too hard."

    "I’m fine."

    "You’re swaying on your feet."

    Grace hadn’t noticed, but Diana was right. Her vision swam slightly, and her legs felt unsteady.

    "I can’t stop," she insisted. "These people need help."

    Diana sighed in exasperation.

    "At least take a break. Eat something. You won’t help anyone if you collapse."

    Before Grace could argue, Diana pressed a water flask into her hands.

    "Drink. That’s an order."

    Grace took a sip, then a longer drink as she realized how thirsty she was. The water revived her somewhat, clearing the fog from her mind.

    "Thanks," she admitted grudgingly.

    Diana nodded, then glanced around the infirmary.

    "There has to be a better way than healing them one by one."

    "If you have any brilliant ideas, I’m all ears."

    "Not yet," Diana said. "But I’ll keep thinking."

    Mara joined them, her own face showing signs of fatigue.

    "How many have you healed?"

    "Five," Grace answered. "You?"

    "Two. The severe cases take much longer." Mara pressed a hand to her forehead. "At this rate, it will take days to heal everyone, and more are falling ill every hour."

    [Hm... Strange,] Grace thought. [The number of villagers healed hasn’t changed. Maybe it’s only tracking which ones I heal.]

    "We need to stop it at the source," Diana said. "The tree."

    They all turned to look out the barn door, where the massive tree loomed in the fading light. The barrier around it shimmered, and the ghostly tendrils continued to seep outward.

    "First things first, though," Grace replied. "Let’s make sure everyone’s okay first. Then, we can worry about Ivy."

    "Agreed," Mara said. "Let’s get to work."