37 MASTER LIRIUS: PART III

Lirius was all flustered, Serfred was filled with rage with the man as they watched the helpless girl screamed in agony.

"Ah- Lirius it hurts." Athena screamed in agony. Her inside were all burning as she couldn't handle the pain she was feeling.

"Nerd! What the heck is going on, didn't you say this was the only way to save her." Serfred grabs hold of Lirius by his collar as he glares furiously at him. He glanced at the girl then went back to questioning the man.

"This will work, she just needs to endure all the pain..." Lirius anxiously replied, not knowing if what he did will actually save or kill the girl.

As Athena continued to scream in agony, Fuji aura resurfaced as the place soon turned cold.

"F*ck, Nerd!" Serfred stared at the man worried witnessing what was happening.

A couple of hours before all this happened...

Lirius was busy working in his study, piling himself with different scrolls, books, and old notes. He took a quick break as he removed his glasses and signs.

"Those old geezers, they could have at least labelled all the book than making it this hard for me." He sighs as most of the records left by the previous owner of the estate were not labelled well, making it harder for the man to find what he was looking for. He sat back in his chair as he thought things through…

'Why isn't it working? I've used all known enchanted plants, materials, and even fruits that should normally restore one's mana, yet, why hasn't worked for her. Did I miss something important? Could it be, could it be because she is a Saintess and such method does no work for her.'

Lirius was left moping in his desk as he couldn't think of a solution at all. Frankly speaking, he has read all the books in this tower library of his.

The room was spacious and filled with all sorts of books, plants, materials, elements, and so on. It used to be just a library, but Lirius converted it into his study and lab. As to why, it's because he has been lazy going from one place to another just to get what he was looking for. The room is the tallest part of the house, when Athena first saw it, she thought the mansion had a tower at the back, but it was actually attached to the estate.

Moments later someone came knocking on the door.

"What is it?" Lirius was not in the mood to be speaking to anyone, especially Serfred, for nothing good comes out of that man's mouth. Well, intellectually speaking, nothing useful comes out of his mouth.

The girl waiting outside didn't wait for his approval, he walked in with a tray of snacks and tea for the man. "Lirius, it's late already. I brought you some tea."

When Lirius turned around, he saw the girl with the food accompanied by her little puppy wolf. The pup was growing extremely well, especially since it gets to hunt its own food all the time. Seeing the pup all ease and tamed by the girl despite she doesn't have any control of her aura meaning she can't dominate the pup has always surprised him. To think all this time, the pup has acted like a real puppy in front of the girl instead of killing her for being so weak.

As he contemplated on the thought more, it suddenly struck him.

"Could it be?"

'Impossible, could Fuji be the reason why Athena's mana is not restored and her aura is not manifesting again? Could this ridiculous pup be the reason for everything, why all the potions, elixirs I've made has not worked at all? Could this stinking pup be eating all her mana?'

But then, another thought came into mind which confused him even more.

'When has a beast shared mana with its master?'

He was left clueless again, but to find out the truth, he needed some answers.

"Tina, how long have you had Fuji for?" Lirius asked with such great curiosity as he was conducting his experiment at that moment. He didn't even give the girl a warning that he was doing it.

"I'll be three to four months I guess, since I had Fuji, why?" It dumbfounded the girl as to why the man was suddenly curious about Fuji when he has always displease the idea of her having one. Since, any moment, the pup could kill her.

"Tell me, how much do you know about Twilight Wolves?" He asked astound that what he thought could be right.

"Well, from what the people in House Adolphus told me. A Twilight Wolf is like a familiar of House Adolphus and other noble families. They are good for hunting and bring along in battle, they will only serve one master and will only share a bond with that master which means they can sometimes also..."

Athena was taken aback as she realized something that she never had thought.

"Since they are normally brought into battle, they would normally share the same aura with their master, which is why they only acknowledge one master in their life." Lirius felt he just discovered something so important which none has. But, he was the type who would rather keep everything a secret than receiving praise from two faced people.

Athena was dumbfounded and could not believe it. "Are you saying I'm sharing my aura with Fuji? Does that mean, he-"

Lirius nodded as he continues explaining things to the girl in more details, "As you know, Fuji is but still a pup. A Twilight Wolf pup needs its master's aura to grow. It stuck me as to why he was growing at such a rapid rate than normal, while leaving you all weak lately. However, your case is special. You were born without an ounce of mana nor did you possess any aura. An aura normally manifests once a child learns to control its energy. Which is why it's been bothering me how you've survived till now. I mean, a Twilight Wolf needs to be dominated for it to acknowledge you as its master. Seeing, it hasn't killed you, could mean he must have already acknowledged you."

Athena only understood half what Lirius explained. No one has really explained to her about Fuji, how to train it, how to dominate it and so on. It was a gift, which she thought was an ordinary puppy.

"So what should we do?" Athena wonders for she hopes she can have her mana back.

Lirius sighs for he still has no clue of how to fix it, "I'm not sure yet, but, I think I know of a way. However, I'm not sure if it will work. I've only read about it… At least, it will help restore your mana at the same time, Fuji will get the necessary aura he needs from you."

The man left his desk as he started checking on the shelves, as he tried to find the book he read before about what he was speaking of. However, since none of the books have been arranged nor properly label, it was a challenge to find.

"What are you looking for?" Athena asked, seeing Lirius grabbing a couple of books. "Can I help you?

The man nodded and replied, "The formula for the magic circle."

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