23 Give up anger

Ian only opened the door slightly, enough to peek inside through the gap, but he closed it immediately after seeing what was inside.

On the other hand, I wasn't able to see anything from where I was standing.

"Whose blood was that?" I looked up to him and asked. His reaction wasn't his usual one, but I wasn't sure if it was from the situation or someone that he knew. It was most likely the latter.

He replied expressionlessly, "Let's continue our search. We need to find Father."

"But the blood—"

"Ignore it, I'll tell you later. We have to hurry," he interrupted.

We turned around a few corners, and every now and then, Ian checked some of the rooms.

'Thankfully, they were all empty,' I thought until Ian opened a door and there was actually someone inside. It was a person completely covered in black, so it was safe to assume it was not friendly.

'Why did I have to jinx it?!' I complained to myself, 'I'm still injured.'

I entered the room and took a stance, walking in a circular path around the person. I couldn't be as fearless as last time, I still had to keep my injury under control.

At first, we just observed each other, looking for any weaknesses. He could obviously see my stab wound, but I could find none. So I decided to probe him a bit.

I ran forward at half speed and bluffed, as if I was going to attack his legs, and dodged at the last second, landing on the side of the room opposite from the door.

I was doing whatever to get all of his attention, hoping that he didn't notice that there was someone outside of the room.

And I also realized a severe weakness I had, ranged attacks. I wanted to fix it as soon as possible, but I put it in the back of my mind since it was not the time, I had to deal with the fight and not get distracted.

I once again rushed toward him and concentrated magic throughout my body. When I was close enough, I passed by him and struck his abdomen with my left paw, landing behind him. Meanwhile, he was able to stab my shoulder.

'Ugh. These stabs hurt like hell, why do I keep doing that? It's already the second time,' I complained. 'I'm so not used to fights. I should also fix this as fast as I can.'

Ian, who was just outside the room, threw several wind-blades his way, ripping both his clothes and back.

Although I was injured, I pushed my body to jump on his back and purposely landed on his injuries. Then I bit his nape with lightning magic and killed him once it for all.

"Ian," I said with my voice getting weaker. "I doubt I can take another stab wound without healing."

"I can see that."

"Could you at least deal with the next one? You are plenty strong and more than enough to handle one!" I complained.

To stop my injuries for growing any larger, I returned to my small form and had Ian carry me on his shoulder while I focused on my blood magic to increase my self-regeneration.

I sighed, 'I'm so not used to fighting...'

We continued walking until we found a room that was lit inside.

I jumped down quietly and sneaked closer. Then, I placed my head against the door and attempted to listen.

"What are they saying?" asked Ian.

"Hm... Yes... They are talking about— What's the point of asking if I can't even understand them?!" I said to Ian.

"Oh... right," he remembered, "Are you at least able to tell who it is?"

"All your language sounds like gibberish to me, so no," I replied. I couldn't outright tell him I would soon be able to understand thanks to the System.

'Not being to understand anyone but Ian is starting to get tiring...'

Ian got close and slowly opened the door. Inside was Hafsah intensely staring at the door while holding a sword.

Once he noticed that it was Ian and me, he asked, "{Ian, thank goodness you are alive! We are under an attack! However, I don't know where your mother or siblings are, have you seen them?}"

Ian shook his head, "Father... Ava and Alex are no longer. As for Mother and Lia, I have not seen them."

Hafsah opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but no words came out. He then closed his mouth and covered his face with his free hand.

"Father, why are they attacking?" Ian asked.

"{I... The Erifu Kingdom has been preparing.}" His answer made Ian frown.

"Ian, what did he say?" I asked him.

"The neighbouring kingdom, Erifu, might be preparing for war," he replied seriously.

'Uh oh. This doesn't sound good.'

While they continued conversing and I was immersed in my thoughts, I received a system notification.

[To gain, you must sacrifice.]

'To gain, you must sacrifice...' I repeated in my head and came to a probably illogical action.

'Oh System, since you reside in my brain and I wish to become stronger, I want to increase your power by giving you more of my brain. To start... wish to give up on anger.'