"I've always hated teleporting rats," Martilde spat, his eyes focused on empty space.

Down below, cheers erupted. The divine young man, Martilde, looked down at the villagers.

"Martilde!" Rudda yelled. "There's a young woman with tentacles fighting off the last of the monsters!"

"And then come back!" Domaz yelled. "Your mother's hurt, but that young woman has the gift of healing!"

"What!?" Martilde yelled. He spotted Dorthaunzee and went toward her immediately, riding on his companion.

Dorthaunzee only had one large monster left to deal with, and was extremely pleased when the giant serpentine dragon came from above and ate it.

She recalled her tentacles and rubbed her forehead, happy she could finally take a moment to rest. Martilde jumped from his companion and ran toward Dorthaunzee, much to her surprise.

"Miss! My mother! She needs help!"

Dorthaunzee reacted with surprise and ran toward the village without sparing another moment.

Meanwhile--

"Bring all the injured together! The most injured will take priority regardless of age! The healer can save everyone that's still alive!"

"I got someone barely breathing here!"

"Put out the flames but try not to get burned!"

Many of the Marrazzo Dee were scrambling to get the situation within their burned home under control. While that group prepared for Dorthaunzee's arrival, another group tried to keep the light in one's eyes.

"Dehlia, hold on!" Domaz yelled as he held Dehlia's hand.

Her breathing was shallow, and her eyes were barely open. Elma had stopped holding on to the woman out of fear her mana would push her toward the grave faster.

Many Marrazzo Dee--children, elders, and warriors--were crowding around her, many with tears flowing and lips quivering. A few paces behind them was Kanae, and she was looking up toward the sky.

"Those clouds don't look normal..."

"Your eyes are on them too, huh?" Rudda asked. He wore a stern expression. His heart hurt for Dehlia, but he, too, did not think they were completely out of the woods.

The clouds over their heads were ominously dark, having formed after the black flame snakes had been extinguished.

"If those clouds let out a rain even half as painful as those flames..." Rudda said with a shudder.

"Can your Martilde deal with them?" Kanae asked.

"Blowing away clouds should be within his power..."

Clamor came from behind the group as Dorthaunzee rushed toward them. The warriors cleared the path for the Hero Hub's holy woman, many of them having been healed by her, and many of them with desperate hope in their hearts.

Dorthaunzee dropped to her knees as soon as she reached Dehlia and started applying her magic. It had not even been five seconds when Dorthaunzee looked up from Dehlia and exchanged a look with Elma.

Elma closed her eyes, recognizing what Dorthaunzee conveyed... Healing magic cannot restore organ function. It cannot reject damage. It can only close wounds.

Dorthaunzee was not a doctor. Dorthaunzee was not a miracle worker. She was not an alchemist nor a necromancer.

"Mom..."

That faint whimper called the eyes of the tearful warriors. They all--Elma included--looked over to Martilde as tears streamed from his face. He fell to his knees next to his mother. Dehlia didn't react. She just kept struggling to breathe.

Elma looked on, understanding the situation. Martilde, even though he had divinity, could do nothing. Elma understood that gods were limited. Martilde, most likely, was a war-oriented deific figure. He, most likely, could not infringe on the realm of death, nor could he heal someone. It was similar to her gods. Svilran was limited outside of the Hub, and even then, Svilran's powers were limited by the structures they had. And then Fainn--

Elma's eyes went wide. She looked at Dehlia one last time, confirming she was very, very, barely breathing.

Elma looked to the skies, her eyes desperate. "FAAAAAINN!" she roared.

Dorthaunzee looked up at her, startled. Kanae, however, realized what Elma was going for. The Marrazzo Dee, meanwhile, looked on stunned.

"There's no way!" Elma yelled. "There's no way she's anything less than a Hero!!!" Elma belted out her assertion as powerfully as she could, panting after she did so. She looked back down at Dehlia and saw the moment the final breath left Dehlia's body.

The warriors around the body hid their faces, and the child Dehlia protected started bawling in his mother's embrace. Martilde, too, cried, though he tried to hide his tears.

Rudda, a tear rolling from his eye, had his eyes on his hand and on the single drop of water that fell from the sky above.

"That stings..." He went over to Martilde and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Martilde... We need you to blow those clouds away. The water they carry--it's not going to bring life to anyone."

Martilde looked up and nodded. He stood up and heaved a painful sigh. Then, he looked at Dorthaunzee and Elma, and then at Kanae.

"Warriors... Were you the ones who answered my desperate plea? The one I cast into the heavens above?"

Elma took the role of the person who would speak. "We... just couldn't let good people get hurt."

"I see... Thank you... Do you think my mother will have a good afterlife?"

Elma wanted to tell him 'yes,' but that matter was still unclear... In truth, she herself didn't fully understand what made someone a good person and another a Hero. So, she tried to give him the best answer she could concoct.

"I think your mother's efforts... I think her efforts are what will dictate her next life."

"I see... Then, in that case, I hope Death will look upon my mother's life with a fair eye." Martilde turned his back on Elma. "Marrazzo Dee... allow our friends to do what they need to do, and allow them to leave as they wish. They've helped us enough."

Martilde rose into the sky, and with a wave of his hand and a show of radiant power, he dispelled the ominous clouds above.