The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

Eva's body and something connected to her by translucent chains protruding from the ground.

They are writhing and emitting an eerie moaning sound.

"Why of all things are skeletons? ......

"A,a,......aaa!"

In chains is a human skeleton. The lower half of the body is missing, leaving only the torso and head. Around the neck of the skeleton is an iron collar, which clanks and clanks.

The way it clatters its teeth as if it is mocking me is beyond scary.

"And there are so many of them. ......!"

In addition, they are coming out of the ground and Eva's body like they are overflowing.

There are about 20 or so of them. ......?　There are some skeletons with their heads sticking out of the ground, but somehow no more seem to be coming out.

"Surrender yourselves, and be held captive for us. Go, my brothers, eat and be eaten for your release."

Come on!

Skeletons float up around Eva and rush toward me.

I quickly get into position, but I wonder if my physical attacks will work on them.

"I'll just hit them and find out!

It's the same as with the evil dragons.

We won't know for sure until we take them on.

He thrusts his fist at one of the skeletons that comes charging ahead of him and hits it directly on the skull.

"M......"

His forehead cracks open from the direct hit, but he lets out a deafening laugh, and soon returns to normal, enveloped in pale blue flames.

The attack works, but it has no effect.

He continues to cluck his tongue as he dodges the skeleton, which comes barreling toward him with its mouth open as if it is about to bite him.

The speed is moderate, the strength fragile, but it is quickly repaired.

Around her, skeletons on chains are circling like snakes coiled around a snake, and several of them are standing next to her, peering at me.

I feel an inexpressible queasiness at being stared at by these hollow, eyeless figures, and I strike down the skeletons that attack me with my sword.

"Think, think, think. ......"

How can we save her from those chain skeletons?

Is it simply a matter of removing all of them? Or should we wake her up?

But her consciousness has been taken over by the curse. How can we wake her up in such a state?　I don't think we can manage it by force as usual.

"Close!"

You roll to avoid the skeleton, which spreads its arms wide and tries to bite you.

What the hell are these guys?

They may be cursed, but they have a will. Moreover, they hate the king---probably the royal family of Samaritan and the previous heroes.

"My God! They've mistaken us for the heroes before us again! The heroes before us are a plague!

He turns his upper body backward, and at the same time, he kicks the skeleton's torso up over his head and somersaults. While he is doing this, the skeletons come at him at once.

There is no end in sight.

Zombies were ineffective against healing punches, but these skeletons are ineffective against even physical attacks, let alone healing magic. If we crush them halfway, they will repair themselves and attack us again.

Even I can't keep them from losing for long.

"If they don't go down with one hit... smash them to pieces!"

They're cursed... it won't be a problem even if we really try, like we did with the evil dragons.

Besides, they're the ones who've been eating Eva's body. There's no need to go easy on them.

I stop trying to avoid them and leap forward with enough force to step through the cobblestones of the garden, grabbing the heads of the two skeletons.

"Aa,aa......"

"a......i......ta"

"That's what my master is good at. ...... take it!"

He grabs the skeleton's head and slams it into the cobblestone pavement.

The skeleton shatters into particles with a cracking sound.

Secret technique, Rose's Iron Claw......No, Rose wouldn't go this far, but I added my own twist to it, and this is what I came up with.

"O......Oh!

You're next!

The skeleton continued to come at him from the side, and he grabbed it with a swing of his arm, letting his momentum carry him into a tree planted nearby.

The skeleton's upper body is shattered.

The two skeletons that he had just slammed into the ground seem to be regenerating gradually, but it seems to be taking much longer than before.

It seems that the skeletons will take a long time to regenerate after being crushed so much.

"Shaa......aaa!"

Oops.

He continues to crush the three skeletons that attacked him in the same manner, breaking them into pieces so that they are difficult to regenerate.

It's easy once you know how to deal with them.

Sometimes it's easier, though, because they only bite or grab at you.

"Okay, let's keep crushing them like this. ...... hmm?"

I clap my hands and look at the remaining skeletons to determine my next target, but they're floating around me.

Surrounded?　No, this is ...... a different emotion, less hostile than the one I felt earlier.

"Are you afraid?"

I nod my head at the skeleton, which is looking at me hesitantly.

...... Do they have a will?

"Well, it doesn't matter. Either way, when they attacked me without question, I knew they weren't the kind of people who could understand my language.

If they stop coming that way, I won't hesitate to help Eva.

I turn my body in the direction of the manipulated Eva, keeping an eye on my surroundings just in case.

Several skeletons are circling around Eva, just as before, and..,

"...... wait a minute."

Is the skeleton that was standing next to Eva, watching us, gone?

Did I count wrong?　No, we must have figured out how many skeletons there were during the fight.

Is it gone ......?　Did I defeat the skeletons so that they can no longer exist?　But the skeleton I just crushed is regenerating slowly.

A few of the many skeletons generated by the curse have vanished---a minor anomaly, but not something to be ignored.

There is a possibility that they have escaped from here and attacked Eiri and the people in the castle.

Thinking of this possibility, I was about to step toward Eva to rescue her as soon as possible, when suddenly a white arm shot out from the ground and grabbed my leg.

"---?

"a......haha......"

Two skeletons emerged from the ground as if passing through.

They grabbed my legs tightly with their thin arms and started laughing.

No way!　I didn't think they could attack through the ground from such a distance. I had thought that the curses were coming out from under Eva's feet, so I wasn't paying attention to her feet at all.

d*mn, by making me immobilized, the skeletons floating around me started to move again. ......!

"You're good at surprise attacks, aren't you? ......!　But don't be screaming when we catch you!"

He stomps on the leg he's grabbed and rips off the restraints.

But while I was distracted by the skeleton on my leg, one of the skeletons grabbed my arm and bit me with its rattling teeth.

I feel a squeezing pain on my trousers.

---help me.......

---Let me help you.......

---I want to stay, I want to stay.......

"G-G-Gh, ah, ah!"

What, I have the same headache as before......!

And something else was pouring into my head. ....... Don't tell me that these guys were aiming to bite me instead of attacking me from the beginning. ......!

The pain in my head makes me lose the strength to unshake the skeleton. As if they had seen the opportunity, the skeletons that had been watching me around the room all intertwined with my body at once and bit me vigorously.

As if my vision was splitting, several images and voices were forcibly projected onto the screen, and I screamed in anguish.

"Ugh,ugh,...... get away from me,......"

The force of the bite is not that strong.

The nausea and the headache are more intense than the voices rushing through my head and the scenes I've never seen before---it's as if I'm being shown dozens of different views at the same time.

"Oh no, this could be bad. ......

The first attack I've ever had...

They're going to weaken me mentally.

The way I've been fighting, I can't ...... win.

What are you obsessed with?　You're a handful!

A voice like the ringing of a bell falls from above my head, as I'm knocked back and forth by my blurred vision.

Something rests on my shoulder.

The next moment, a familiar purple pattern runs across my body.

"Yeeee!

"Hee-hee!"

The pattern spread throughout my body, and the skeletons that were clinging to me were blown away.

With that, the headache vanished as if it were a lie, and his vision returned to normal.

Shaking my head, I stand up and thank the owl on my shoulder --- her.

"Huh, huh, huh. ...... Thank you, thank you for saving my life. Thanks for the help.

"What's more, how could you let this happen when I wasn't looking at you?　What did you do to activate the curse?

That's what I want to know.

Nair, who pointed at Eva with his wings and appealed for an explanation of the situation, laughed bitterly and breathed a sigh of relief.

If you hadn't come along, it would have been really close .......

"I'll explain in a minute. But that's..."

"Ah, ah!"

"Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh!"

Fighting them, though.

I caught sight of the skeleton, which glared at me and Néa and snapped its chains and teeth angrily, and I regulated my ragged breathing and readied my fists.

Saved by Nair, I explained what had just happened as I dodged the skeleton's attack.

During this time, Nair was casting a spell on my body, so that every time I was attacked by a skeleton, a purple pattern would appear on my uniform.

The skeleton that had been biting me earlier had been flipped off, so I wondered if this was some kind of liberation spell.　I had thought inwardly that it would be useless, but it turns out to be useful in unexpected ways.

"I see... I see..."

"If you have found a solution, I wish you would tell me about it right away!"

I say desperately to Nair, who is quietly pondering on my shoulder, while I am fighting off a large number of skeletons that are attacking me with my fists. I mean, why aren't you moving at all even though you're on my shoulder ......!

You're moving pretty fast, but you don't seem to be falling at all.

"Usato, the solution to this is simple. Just cast the spell I'm currently casting on Usato into the girl.

"...... is it that simple?"

Yes, the corpses with bad taste are summoned here through the medium of the girl. Once we disable her, we're all set.

"So you're saying that if we can get her, the relay, away from the curse, they'll disappear?"

"That's right!　Come on, you know what I'm talking about!

Why do I get a compliment now?

Do I look that stupid to you, me?

But this is a solution I would never have thought of. Once again, I'm glad she's here.

...... If Eva is the relay, is it safe to assume that the main curse is somewhere else?

"But it's your job to cast the spell."

I thought you were going to do it!　...... I can't do magic."

"I know that. But not if you're one with me now. Raise your hands, Usato.

Once I have distanced myself from the skeletons, I do as she asks and raise my hands.

Then a purple pattern of magic travels from Néa's small body to mine, down my arms and gathers in my hands.

"This is ......."

"I activate the magic and channel it into your body. All you have to do is shake your fist without thinking. The binding spell should disable any skeletons that get in your way for a short time.

"This is exactly what the devil's gold is ......!!!"

He clenches his magic-covered hands and stares at the skeletons in front of him.

I myself know well the power of the binding spell. If I can cast this on the skeleton, I can seal it even if it regenerates.

"But the moment I cast the spell, I have to break the spell I'm casting on you. At that moment, you will be defenseless."

"...... don't worry about me. The pain is not unbearable."

"That's a crazy thing to say. ....... Well, here they come!　It's our first attempt, but let's make it work!"

"Yeah!"

I respond to her pep talk and leap out as fast as I can in the direction Eva is.

I strike one of the skeletons floating in the air like a wall with my left fist, drawing it in wide.

"Huh!"

The skeletons, which had been blown away with shattered particles, were bound by the binding spell and began to shake and twitch as they hit the ground.

The magic of the left hand that hit the skeleton was consumed by the previous blow, but Nair replenishes it immediately.

I mean, this is, well....

Combined with the healing punch, I can make an amazing technique that combines restraint and healing. .......

"Ugh, eww..."

Concentrate on your magic!　The next one is coming!

I thought that too, but don't say it out loud.

But this way, even if it regenerates, it can be immobilized without question. Even if it's only for a short time, it's more than enough for me.

I charge forward in a straight line toward Eva, swinging my fists and dropping the attacking skeletons like they are winged insects. I close the distance to Eva at once and call out to Néa, who is continuing to use her magic next to me.

"Néa, get ready!

"I know, I know!

Néa tilts her small head slightly at the sound of my voice, but Eva's figure is already close at hand.

The skeleton that I first hexed is probably on the move, so let's get her out of this curse quickly.

He opens his left fist, which is not accompanied by the binding spell, and puts his left hand on Eva's head as soon as she stops in front of him.

Now!

"Let's go, break the spell!"

As soon as Nair activates the spell, the magic covering my body disappears...?　Why do you put a spell on a spell?

I question Nair's action, but my thoughts are forcibly interrupted by a skeleton approaching from behind, entangling my body and biting me.

"Ku,gu......ne,a."

"Set the target to <!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!　I will use the art of defiance to repel it!　With this..."

The magic invoked by Nair flows into her from her left hand, which is touching Eva's head in her headache-stricken, shaky vision.

When the magic spreads to cover Eva's entire body, the skeletons around her disappear to the ground as if something is dragging them down.

The one that had been biting me likewise removes its teeth as if it were losing its strength, and then it weakly disappears.

"...... Eva!"

With the skeletons gone, she is freed and falls forward.

As I lay her on the ground in my arms, I noticed something was wrong with her.

"Her hair has turned ...... blue,......Nea, this is ......."

Eva's pure white hair turned blue and fresh, as if she was regaining her color.

And the magic that Néa had cast on her still hangs on.

What's going on, what's happening to her? .......

As she is just puzzled by the scene in front of her, Nair jumps down from her shoulder and looks at Eva thoughtfully.

"Maybe it's because I ripped off the guys who were sucking the existence out of this girl ......."

"So why does your hair change color ......?"

"I guess that means it was blue to begin with."

Was it because of the curse that her hair was pure white?

Can we assume that she is now free from the curse?

Is she safe now?

"...... No."

"Why?　Didn't you exorcise Eva's curse?"

At my words, Nea, who had been standing beside me, shakes her head slowly.

"No, I didn't. I cast a spell of resistance. She's only resistant to the curse now, and once it's lifted, the ones from before will ...... come back."

"...... that this is only a stopgap ......?"

So they're not going to let it end so easily.

I guess there's nothing else to do but to strike at the root of the curse.

We've finally got them by the tail. I won't let them get away with this! I'll break the curse and save Eva!

"...... I think I'm getting the idea. I think I've figured out what this curse is.

What?　Nair, it's...

Usato-sama!

""!!!""

I was about to ask her about the curse when Eiri-san, dressed in his nightgown, came running out of the door of the house with a bloodthirsty look on his face, and she and I both shut our mouths.

I think to myself, this is not like him, who is always so calm and collected.

"Eiri-san, ...... this is..."

Oh no, under the circumstances it could look as if I had harmed Eva.

I don't know how to explain it.

I was upset, but I was thinking of some way to explain to Eiri, when he came running toward me and stopped in his tracks.

"...... Eliza, sir?"

"What?"

He looked at Eva's face and mumbled something like that. He immediately looked up and rubbed his eyes and looked at me who was holding her close to me.

"......, I saw what was happening from the window!　I know that Usato-sama saved the princess!　Anyway!　Take her to her bedroom!"

Yes, yes!

I picked Eva up and walked toward the house as Eiri instructed,

"...... Oh, shit. Those bones. ......"

I look at my shadow created by the moonlight and swear in a way that is unlike me.

There is nothing wrong with my own shadow.

But the shadow of her that I am holding is more than half of her body gone.

The few remaining shadows seemed to point to the rest of her life, and I couldn't help but realize that things were going to get worse.