Chapter 159 157: Imbalance

'System, has the future changed for Imu?' Maria asked, not sure if she would be answered or not.

[The future has not changed. The host is advised to not try and change the future anymore as well]

The wordings were clear and undisputed. They shined right in front of Maria’s eyes without any fault but Maria was sure it could not be right. How had the future not changed even when everything else had changed about it?

They had managed to get Trisha out of the circle, the forced opening had been stopped and even the magic had been contained to a degree. What was left there for things to change?

“Everything alright? We’re going to announce what happened here to the public. What do you want to do?” Kagemoria asked as she neared Maria. Trisha had been handed over to Lady Elma while the other demoness chose to sit beside Maria.

Maria must be looking extremely pale since even Kagemori looked worried. To have something worry her enough to make her leave Trisha was a first and Maria felt betrayed by her own body.

“Hey, do you think it is all over? Is the node OK?” Maria’s voice must have sounded really worried because it gave Kagemori a pause. Whatever she had been about to say got stuck on her tongue as she gave Maria a look-over.

Maria could feel the node’s magic flowing through the demoness in front of her and it caused Maria’s instincts some backlash. She could not tell where Kagemroi began and where the node ended.

“I can’t feel anything wrong with the node but I am not an expert at sensing the node yet. I’ll let you know if I feel anything wrong” Kagemori promised. Her word reassured Maria but her worried did not flow away.

Instead, she was sure that things were bound to get even more difficult with time. The mere fact that her system had classified this situation as ‘not resolved’ had implications and Maria knew she had to talk with Lady Elma as soon as she could.

“Yeah, you’re right. There is no point in worrying about something that we prevented” Maria replied back, not wanting to worry Kagemori. If even she could not feel something wrong then there was nothing more to be done right now.

The best way for them to ensure Imu’s well-being would be to take its citizens to a safe place and have them recover. A lot of people had been caught up in the cross-fire and many of them were humans.

“What should we do with him? We cannot leave him alone and killing him won’t solve anything as well” Trisha raised a valid point as she pointed to President Rosewell.

Despite all said and done, he was a leader the people had elected. As such, he had a reputation that would not be sullied by such a scandal and those who continued to believe in him would be a hassle.

After all, opinions were one thing that was impossible to change once they had been formed. Even solid proof would not be able to undo the brainwashing of a decade and there would be people who would remain loyal to Rosewell.

Killing him would not solve anything either in this case.

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“Anyway, I’ll round up some guards and secure anyone who tried to protest. I hope they’ll stay calm if they see me as the one taking charge and we can explain the situation to everyone” Lady Elma suggested.

In a way, her being a neutral party was a good thing right now. People were more likely to listen to her and see reason than to have any royal family member but in.

“Then I’ll take Trisha and go back to the base. She needs rest and a quiet place to gather her magic back. Maria, do you want to come with me? Your companion would be there as well” Kagemori asked and Maria had no reason to refuse.

As much as she wanted to solve the mystery behind her system’s warning, she also wanted to see how Suna was doing with her own eyes. She had left her companion behind with strangers and she was worried.

She also had a lot of issues with energy and her body did feel heavier than before. Her energy had been zapped by the continuous usage of her magic and her chains had only made the matter worse.

“It would be nice to have a bed to rest in. I’ll leave it all up to you” Maria finally let her hold on her mind go and her body instantly fell. She had not realized it yet, but the only reason Maria had held on for this long was because of her stubbornness.

Now that there was no longer a reason to hold on to her consciousness, Maria let it go and so did her body. It was a mess of depravity and having too much Lifeforce.

The node had used her as a channel and Maria had no time to recover from its effects. Then she had clashed with the holy magic and the balance of her body had all but gone out of the window.

And now she was paying the price for it all. Her body was too heavy for her and she could feel everyone’s worried gaze looking at her.

“I-she just collapsed. Is she alright?” Kagemori asked as Maria felt her kneel at her side. She felt hands on her arms, turning her around and Maria wanted to protest against them. But they also relieved pressure on her chest and it felt nice to have a constant flow of oxygen down her lungs.

“She’ll be alright. You can leave her to me for now and we’ll meet you later” Maria wanted those hands back on her. She had gotten used to them and she was sure Kagemroi felt conflicted when Maria let out a whine.

But the need to help Trisha won out in the end and the demoness left.

“Give me a few moments to finish up here and then I’ll help you out. Your body’s magical balance had been shot out and you will need some private help to restore it” Maria could feel what it meant and her body shuddered in anticipation.

Maria was tired, too tired to fight her body as it became heavier and heavier. She wanted to sleep but her mind did not allow her this luxury. It wanted relief but her body could not comply with the demand.

Maria was sure she almost cried tears of joy when Lady Elma returned to her side. Maria had a feeling that things would turn out alright in the end since she had the elder here.