Parallel Memory

***Before Zero lost his consciousness***

-CLUG! -CLUG! -CLUG!

The legendary grade elixir was as effective as it was rumored to be. The moment the first drop of Elixir touched Professor Mia's body, Professor Mia's consciousness had already started to form.

( Huh?)

Professor Mia could not move or open her eyes but her consciousness had returned to her. Her body was still being healed by the Elixir.

( Weren't I dead? What happened? )

Professor Mia remembered that she had died at the hand of Ice Griffin. She had a gaping hole in her stomach.

She tried to remember her last memory. The last thing she remembers was seeing Zero just after getting stabbed by Ice Griffins' claws.

( Zero! Is he fine? I hope he didn't do anything stupid. )

Whether it was an illusion or real, she was worried about seeing Zero there. She specifically instructed Zero to hide and not come there until she killed the Ice Griffin.

It looked like Zero didn't listen to her instructions.

However, she would still be worried even if she saw Zero. Zero's body was not in a stable state, and without properly healing him, he was bound to die. With her not finishing her job, Zero could not escape from the Gate.

( If I am fine, then did the reinforcement come? Zero, should also be fine then, right? )

She thought that if she is still alive after getting such a severe injury then that means that she was healed right after she was injured. In any other case, it would be impossible for her to recover.

That means that reinforcements had come to save them right after she was stabbed by the Ice Griffin.

She felt a little relieved after thinking that her conjecture was most likely true. Getting help from the reinforcement team was the most likely scenario in this situation.

She might have been healed within two or three minutes, though she didn't know how the reinforcement team arrived so quickly right after she was injured.

I mean she would have detected them even if they were one km away. So to come right after she was on the verge of dying seemed unrealistic.

( I could not move. )

She could still not move or hear anything. Though she sensed someone next to her.

She thought it was the healer since she was regaining her strength. She knew she was being healed right now.

Though she was surprised by how quickly she was recovering.

From being able to feel her stomach which had been destroyed by Ice Griffin to her arm, she could feel that she was being healed at ridiculous speed.

Every part of her body was healed as if she had obtained a new body part rather than being healed. Her body part, which had recovered, was feeling much better than before.

( Who could it be? )

Professor Mia can't help but wonder who was healing her. As far as she knows, there was nobody who could heal her at that speed. Even the Rank-S healer could not fully restore a destroyed body in a second.

( Could it be Saintess? )

Saintess, a person who has one of the highest positions in the church. Even when they are low-rank their healing power is superior to Rank-S healers.

They would become the best healer in the world, the moment they inherit the title of Saintess. The method to inherit Saintess's power was a secret but the moment someone receives the title of Saintess, they will gain the most powerful healing skill.

Although, if Saintess rank is low, due to their low mana stat, they cannot maintain a high healing rate for too long, so they are inferior to the higher rank healers in some ways, but due to their healing effect being so much more effective than other healing spells, they are considered to be the best healers.

( She shouldn't be here.)

However, Professor Mia knows that it was not the Saintess that was healing her.

A Saintess is a being who is protected by the church as they consider the saintess position to be just below that of god. They would not easily allow the Saintess to leave. There is a strict restriction on the Saintess movement.

Saintess's magic is also an absolute nemesis of Demon beings, so Saintess is being watched by Demons. As long as they get a chance, they will deploy every elite demon to kill the Saintess. Therefore, Saintess only appears in critical situations.

( However, even if she is here, the speed is still not something she could achieve.)

She knows how amazing the Saintess is but still, she didn't think that the Saintess would have such amazing healing power. Unless Saintess uses her forbidden healing spell which she knows is impossible.

( Anyway, it looks like I survived. )

Professor Mia was very curious about the healer's identity but more than that she was glad that she was getting healed. She could already move her hands though her upper part of the body was getting delayed in healing compared to her stomach areas.

It was due to Zero pouring the Elixir on her stomach, so the part around her stomach was getting healed first.

-PLINK! -PLINK! -PLINK! -THUD!

Zero had finished pouring every drop of the Elixir and collapsed on the ground. At the same time, Professor Mia was fully healed.

"ARG…"

With head-splitting pain, Professor Mia woke up. She slowly opened her eyes.

"What?"

She was surprised to find that she was still inside the Gate. The environment where everything was still covered in snow was visible.

( Didn't the reinforcement team defeat the Ice Griffin? )

She thought that she was already back in her old world. She didn't think she was still stuck in the Gate.

(???)

She was stupefied to find that the Gate portal was there but she was still stuck in the Gate. If reinforcements have arrived, she should be transported to the hospital right now.

Then her eyes started to open wide. She was currently staring at the body next to her which was smeared in deep cuts and blood.

-GULP!

"Zero…Zero…ZERO!!!"

She instantly became nervous as she thought of something which sounds impossible but could explain everything about the current situation.

Ice Griffins' dead body and portal. Only she and Zero were present there. She could immediately imagine what might have happened after she passed out.

"H-ow can this be?"

Professor Mia looked as she quickly checked Zero's pulse and his breathing which had both stopped.

Rather than thinking about what had happened here or whether her conjecture was right, Zero's life was far more important.

"Th-this c-an't be…"

Professor Mia can't believe that Zero is dead. It was not just her assumption this time, she had even personally checked his body.

Even just looking at the state the body was in, everyone could tell that Zero was dead.

Professor Mia who had regained all her strength and was more powerful than ever instantly lost all her strength and fell on her knee.

Tears overflowed from her flawless face. But she didn't stop thinking even when her eyes had become red and wet.

( How am I still alive? )

She thought she could use the same method that was used to save her to save Zero too.

Previously she thought that she was saved by a reinforcement team but now she knows that there is no reinforcement team to help her. But she was still saved despite receiving that horrible injury.

She then noticed the Elixir bottle near Zero's hand.

"Th-this is…"

She knew, just by looking at the appearance of the bottle, what that Elixir was. A golden ring on the neck of the bottle.

Gold means that the item is a Rank-S item. So that Elixir was Rank-S Elixir which is said to be able to heal any damage no matter how severe.

"Idiot, idiot, If you had gotten such an item, you should have used it on yourself."

Tears naturally fell down her cheeks when she found out how she had been saved. It would have been impossible for any other lower grade Elixir to save her from that wound.

She knew that Zero could have used that potion on himself and saved himself, but instead, he chose to save her. She could not understand why he did it? It was her duty to save Zero, not the other way around.

She thought she had failed as a teacher. She not only failed her task but also made Zero sacrifice his life for her. There was no bigger failure than this.

Her emotion that she tried to hold back overflowed. Sadness, anger, and regret, every emotion Professor Mia felt had turned into a droplet of tears.

However, she didn't keep on grieving,

There is still time. It is not too late. As long as I can get her to heal Zero."

Professor Mia was not someone who would give up just because there was a small chance of success.

She was determined to save Zero, even if she had to search for the Rank-SS Revive potion. This was how she was intending to repay her debt.

She carefully released her Ice energy and froze Zero's body. It was to delay Zero's body getting damaged.

If she used her first method to save Zero, the chance of saving Zero becomes lower as time passes.

She could earn herself some time if Zero's body was frozen.

"Just wait, I will give you a thorough lecture when you wake up."