Chapter 16 - Poison

When the boat landed on the shore of the town, Riyugi and his companions quickly disembarked.

"I am honored to have met and accompanied you. You can visit me on the island if you need my help in training your powers, especially in controlling them. I would be delighted to assist you in your training." said the Blade Master.

Riyugi nodded in agreement. Moments later, the Blade Master sailed back to the Island of Azure. Riyugi, Banki, and the Healer immediately headed to the Inn where Yana was.

Upon arrival, they went straight to Yana's room, where she was tied to a bed in the Inn. She was still behaving strangely because she was still under the effect of the Enchanted Elixir brew.

"Remove the effects of the Enchanted Elixir brew that she drank, right now." Riyugi ordered the Healer authoritatively.

The Healer quickly prepared his herbs and potions. He treated Yana's body and gave her herbal medicines to drink. He then performed a ritual and prayer. After a few moments, they began to see a change in Yana's behavior, until she slowly returned to her true self.

"I have removed the effects of the Enchanted Elixir brew from her body. She has returned to her original self." said the Healer as he packed away his herbs, potions, and tools.

Riyugi and Banki immediately approached Yana and closely examined her to ensure she had fully returned to her true self.

"Where am I? What am I doing here? And why am I tied up? What are you going to do to me?" Yana asked in shock, looking around as if she hadn't fully comprehended what was happening.

"It seems she has indeed returned to her normal self, Leader." Banki commented.

"Calm down and compose yourself. We are going to leave now." Riyugi told Yana.

He untied her from the bed. Yana, still bewildered by the events, tried to recall why she was tied to the bed. When she remembered her actions and behavior while under the influence of the Enchanted Elixir brew, she covered her mouth in shock, her eyes widen.

She felt immense fear, shame, and embarrassment over her previous behavior and words to Riyugi.

"Are you feeling unwell? Your face is very red." Banki observed.

Yana felt her face redden even more from embarrassment, especially now that Banki had noticed.

"N-no, I'm fine. I just feel a bit warm." she awkwardly lied, while Riyugi frowned at her as if he couldn't understand what was happening to Yana.

Riyugi approached Yana, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, still embarrassed. He looked into her eyes and grabbed her arm, pulling her up forcefully, causing her to fall against his muscular chest. Her heart raced with fear and surprise.

"Ouch! That hurts!" she complained.

"You feel better now, so there's no reason to treat you as if you're sick or a child." Riyugi said sternly, looking into her eyes.

There was something in Riyugi's eyes that Yana couldn't bear to look at, so she averted her gaze. Those eyes gave her a chilling feeling, as if they pierced through to her bones. She sensed that Riyugi's eyes were filled with malevolence and anger, burning like fire.

She remained silent, too scared to speak, fearing that Riyugi might end her life in an instant. She still felt the pain in her wrists, which seemed to have gotten worse from being tied up in the Ronoru kingdom's cell, and the injuries were aggravated by being tied to the bed.

"Thank you for your help. You're a skilled healer to have removed the effects of the Enchanted Elixir brew from her body." Banki said to the Healer as they walked out of the Inn.

"It was nothing. I'm happy to help and be a part of fulfilling King Merif's goals." the Healer replied.

"Banki, hurry up and prepare the horses." Riyugi ordered authoritatively, already by the side of the Inn where the horses were kept, still holding Yana tightly by the arm.

The Healer left, returning to the Island of Azure.

Once the horses were ready, they mounted them. Riyugi helped Yana onto the horse, as she was still struggling to climb on.

They continued their journey towards the depths of the sea. It was going to be a long journey. In the middle of their journey, Yana's body started to fade again, a sign that she was waking up in the real world. They stopped and dismounted.

"What's happening to you?" Riyugi asked incredulously as Yana's body continued to fade.

"I'm waking up in the real world, and I hope that in my next dream, I won't see any of you again!" Yana shouted, her voice filled with anger.

"You fool!" Riyugi yelled as Yana completely disappeared from the dream world.

A moment later, she woke up fully, seeing the surroundings of her room. She felt a sharp pain in her wrists and saw that they were marked with the bindings, wounded and bleeding.

"I got these injuries on my wrists even in the real world." Yana said to herself in surprise.

"I hope the events in my dream won't come true. I don't want to see those terrifying beings again, especially that Riyugi." she added.

Since it was a Sunday and there were no classes, Yana got ready to visit Lexa at the hospital. She told her parents what had happened to Lexa, and they were saddened.

She asked for permission to go to the hospital. She wore a long-sleeve top to hide the injuries on her wrists from her parents.

"Take care, dear." her father called out.

"Yes, Dad, I will." Yana replied and left for the hospital. While sitting on the bus, she felt sleepy. She tried to fight it, but eventually, she succumbed to sleep.

The next thing she knew, she was in a forest-like area by the roadside, realizing she was dreaming again.

"Darn it, I fell asleep on the bus, and now I'm back in the dream world." Yana said in frustration.

She then saw Riyugi and Banki approaching from a distance. Her heart pounded with fear, knowing she had yelled at Riyugi before waking up. She was also annoyed that the events in her dream continued.

The exact spot where she woke up was where she would return when she fell asleep and entered the dream world. She felt hopeless about escaping Riyugi and Banki.

"You insolent fool." Riyugi said seriously and angrily as he approached her.

"Forgive me, hehe, I didn't mean it." Yana awkwardly said, but she was genuinely scared.

Riyugi restrained his anger towards her, knowing she was a crucial part of fulfilling the king's mission. Even though he wanted to punish her, he tried to calm himself.

They decided to continue their journey, so they mounted the horses and traveled on.

They stopped by a river for a break. Yana had been complaining about the pain in her wrists, so Riyugi checked them once they dismounted.

"My wounds hurt." Yana said.

"Why do your wounds seem to be getting worse? It's impossible for it to be just because of the bindings." Riyugi replied.

"I don't know, it hurts so much. It feels like my wounds are burning." Yana responded.

Banki immediately approached and sniffed Yana's wounds like a dog.

"Her wounds... I can smell poison." Banki said, as one of his powers was an acute sense of smell.

"What? H-how did that happen?" Riyugi asked.

"I think the rope used to bind her wrists was tainted with poison. When her wrists got injured, the poison mixed into her wounds." Banki explained.

Riyugi couldn't believe it; he couldn't understand how the rope he used to bind Yana got tainted with poison.

"Leader, have your hand wounds healed?" Banki asked.

"Yes, my hand wounds have healed." Riyugi replied.

"I suspect there's a traitor among the ten Veneras, Leader, and they thought your wounds hadn't healed yet. They poisoned the rope, aiming for you, but unfortunately, this woman got affected." Banki said.

Riyugi had wounds on his hands from training, but they have already healed.

Riyugi's anger flared at the thought of a traitorous Venera trying to kill him. His eyes turned blue, and his fangs emerged. Yana was shocked, but she felt extremely ill, losing strength rapidly. Suddenly, she collapsed, but Riyugi caught her immediately.

"This is bad. It seems the poison has spread throughout her body." Banki said.

Riyugi touched Yana's forehead and was shocked to feel it burning with fever. He quickly carried her to the river and hastily washed her wrist wounds.

"Tell me, am I going to die?" Yana asked weakly, looking at Riyugi.

"No, I won't let you die." Riyugi answered.

"But I don't think I can h-hold on." Yana struggled to say.

"You can't die. You need to live for the King's purpose." Riyugi replied while continuing to wash her wounds. Yana's wounds turned green, indicating that the poison had spread throughout her body.

"Leader, it seems washing her wounds won't help anymore. The poison has already spread through her entire body." Banki said fearfully.

Banki was also nervous that Yana might die, knowing they would face severe consequences from the King.

Riyugi removed his thick top garment and put it on Yana, who was shivering from the cold because of high fever."Why didn't the healer who removed the Enchanted Elixir brew notice the poison spreading from her wrist wounds?" Riyugi asked in confusion.

"I think the poison hadn't spread yet when the healer was treating her earlier. That healer might only be skilled in removing the effects of strong potions, not dealing with poison." Banki replied.

"If that's the case, we need to hurry and find a healer who can remove poison from the body." Riyugi said seriously.

"Yes, Leader." Banki replied, and they mounted their horses to search for another healer.