Chapter 3.8 - Saturday, July 16th, 2.09pm

"Hreinsaðu líkamann, lækna sárin." (Cleanse the body, heal the wounds.)

Fenrir's daughter, under my guidance, casts a purifying spell and healing spell that is similar to her father's on this man.

His wounds closed after the spell was cast twice.

There isn't any excessive blood loss for now. However, the poison is still in him— and unless we know what type of poison is inside his body, or else merely casting purifying magic on him would've purged something unnecessary instead and killed him.

But there's no way I could just leave it like that. Once the poison reaches his heart, he's as good as dead.

"Good. Now freeze his body with your ice magic." I told Fenrir's daughter.

Lowering his body temperature should help to slow down his blood flow… this way, I had more time to process and analyse his poison.

All I need to do is to apply the necessary antidote for him… I hope alpha Fenrir can bring me the right magical herbs.

“Kaldur, frostaður Ís, frysta líkamann.” (Cold, frozen Ice, freeze the body.)

"Hey— not the head! Are you trying to suffocate him…!?"

Fenrir's daughter accidentally froze his whole body, including the head.

"Growl…!"

Fenrir's daughter glared at me.

"Huh? What is she trying to say?" I asked Restia.

"She says it's too difficult to suppress her magic on such a tiny thing."

Tiny…?

I can't blame her since she's so gigantic.

"Restia, take her place and dispel the magic ice from his head."

I might as well take this chance to teach Restia magic.

"Eh…? Big brother, I…"

Restia is worried. She's worried that she might kill him.

"Would you hesitate if he's Ruby instead?" I told her.

"…Big brother, what do I need to do…?"

Good, she's willing to try.

"…Carefully control your mana on your hands and wrap it around the ice on his head. You need to make sure to overwrite Fenrir's daughter's mana on her ice magic with yours."

"………………"

Restia closes her eyes, extending her hands carefully as if she's holding a ball. Then she slowly approaches that man, kneels down and places her hands on both sides of his head.

Because I can't see or feel mana, I can't tell how well Restia is doing.

So I look at Fenrir's daughter instead.

"How is it…?" I ask her.

Fenrir's daughter nods her head.

I guess that means an okay.

"Now, you need to be careful, Restia." I remind her. "You need the 'First key' and 'Third key' for this, if you failed— his head would explode."

"Eek…!?"

"Growl…!?"

Why is Fenrir's daughter reacting to it…?

"Why not only the 'First key'…?" Restia nervously replies.

"Yes, if you do just that, his head would explode."

"T-Then, why are you telling me to cast only the 'First key' when I was injured…?"

"Because that's your own body, Restia. You can feel your mana flow in your body but not on him. That's why you need the 'third key' for better control."

"…What about the 'Second key'?"

"Magic circles can't be used for precise control. If you use that his head would explode."

"…Ngh…"

Not only Restia looks nervous, but she also seems depressed.

I guess I should give her a push.

"Don't worry, I believe in you— and you need to hurry, I think it's about a minute already since his air supply was cut off."

"…I— I can't…!" She shakes her head.

"If it's Ruby instead, would you really hesitate and say that…!? Do it…!!!"

“Glacies, expurget!” (Ice, purge!)

CRAK!

Once she casts, the ice on that man's head explodes. Thankfully his head still remains.

"Hah— Hah—"

"Well done little sis…!"

I cradled Restia on her head.

"…N, I can't do it without big brother…"

OWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!

Suddenly, a howl could be heard coming from afar.

This— is that Alpha Fenrir's howl…? Seems like it's coming from my house—

"OWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!"

Gyaa— my ears…!!!

Fenrir's daughter immediately made a reply with a howl— it was so loud that I needed to cover my ears.

"…She says her father is back," Restia told me.

"Let's hurry, then. Now, cast a levitation spell on him with the 'second key' and 'third key'."

While controlling her mana on her fingertip— Restia extends her forefinger, drawing a circle on thin air. This circle is drawn with her mana and is golden in colour. At the centre of the circle, she adds the necessary symbols for levitation magic.

She moves the magic circle with her mana control, placing it below the man. Then expands the circle with her mana till it's large enough to cover his whole body.

As Restia lifts her forefinger upwards, the magic circle below the man floats up, along with the man.

"I… I did it— E-Eh…!?"

Though the magic circle stops moving once her finger stops… but that man on it continues to float upwards without stopping.

And there are two reasons why it happened.

The first reason is mana absorption— because there are no restrictions added on the magic circle, the magic circle will continue to absorb mana from the surroundings and activate unless Restia doesn't have the necessary mana to maintain the circle anymore. What Restia needs to do is to add restrictions symbols on the magic circle to prevent it from absorbing mana other than hers.

The second reason is the circuit of the magic circle— it only contains power. Without range, that man, for now, would only go up to who knows where like an elevator. For that, she needs to add range inside the magic circle for now.

"You forgot to add range and restrictions," I told Restia.

After reminding her, Restia carefully and accurately adds in the symbols for the levitation's range and mana absorbing restrictions.

After adding those, the man falls and stops just right above the magic circle.

"Phew……" Restia heaves a sigh. "How did I do…?"

I didn't do much. All I did is just remind her what she lacks, and Restia solves it in an instant.

"Genius…!" I inadvertently murmured. "I'm so proud of you…!"

I am so happy that I squeeze Restia on her cheeks.

"Arf!"

"Ow."

Fenrir's daughter suddenly pushes Restia from behind with her nose.

"Big brother, she says 'hop on'."

Fenrir's daughter knows this is an emergency, huh. I will gladly take her offer.

"Let's go!"

Handling the man with care, we leap and ride on Fenrir's daughter back, hurrying back to home.

………………………………

After passing through the barrier, we saw Alpha Fenrir— which he is sitting and waiting by the front yard.

He greets us with an intense glare.

After letting us jump off from her back, Fenrir's daughter immediately laid down with all fours. She trembles and whimpers with a terrified look.

Though I don't really know the reason why Alpha Fenrir is so angry, perhaps it's because we went out without his permission, or maybe he's worried about our safety— either way, I could only apologise first.

"Don't blame her." Saying that to Alpha Fenrir, I stood in front of his daughter. "I'm the one who wanted to go."

"What if the snow leopards were there, child!?" He yelled.

"I cast detection magic before going there." Restia suddenly interjected. "So I'm sure there aren't any nearby."

Such boldness.

I can't believe Restia lied to him.

Do you have any idea how a magical beast hunts? They are experts in detection magic! There's no way he wouldn't know if you cast one.

"Utter foolishness." Alpha Fenrir steps closer to Restia. "If you are going to lie, you better pick a better one, foolish little child."

"E-Eek…!?"

Facing such a scary presence, Restia quickly hid behind my back while trembling.

"…Sorry. That's a bad habit of hers…" I replied to Alpha Fenrir.

"Hmph. At least that was out from goodwill." He uttered. "And…? What's with that human over there?"

For some reason, Alpha Fenrir is glaring at me now.

"I want to save him. I'm sure he would be a great help for us to find Ruby."

"Kuhahahahahahaha…!!!"

Hearing my reply, Alpha Fenrir raises his head and laughs as if he is ridiculing me.

"W-What's wrong…?"

"FOOL…!!!" Alpha Fenrir howls at me.

My hand reflexively moves in front of my head to shield me from the pressure of his howl.

"GREAT HELP…? HE'S DANGEROUS— HE NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED OR ELSE…!"

"Wait— why!?"

I immediately step in front of that man, stopping Alpha Fenrir.

"He could kill us all if he wants. Give me a good reason why I should not kill him…?"

I know very well.

Even in that state, I know how well this man I'm currently protecting has the power to kill us all if he wants. After all, he seems more than confident enough to defeat a Fenrir wolf with just his martial arts.

The moment he wakes up— he couldn't tell which of us is friend or foe. That's why he chose to pull out a non-lethal attack first to the weakest one.

Because if it's a foe that's going to kill him, surely the other accomplices would come for the kill.

But if it's a friend instead, they would surely tell him to calm down.

…He made the right choice.

"Because he did not kill us and decided to put his life on my hands. Is that good enough…!?"

I refused to move an inch.

Alpha Fenrir knows my stubbornness too.

"Kuh…… Very well, I will allow it just this once…!"

"Guh— spurt…!"

Crap, that man is starting to cough black blood.

"He's— poisoned…?" Alpha Fenrir looks surprised.

"Restia— go and take my phone, three cups of water and a tiny funnel— you can find it in the kitchen…!" I told her.

She immediately rushes into the house.

Then I look at Alpha Fenrir.

"W-Where are your magic herbs!? There's not much time for him…!"

"Barf—"

Alpha Fenrir spits out a ball of herbs out from his mouth— filled with lots of salivae.

"………………Eww." I inadvertently reacted to it.

"My saliva is infused with my mana, that should help with the quality."

I see... it could even disinfect.

"…Thanks. This should help…"

Wasting no time, I searched for the necessary herbs that person needed from that disgusting, enormous ball of herbs.

Crushing and compressing them with my palms, I roll the mixture into a small pill.

"Big brother— water, phone…!"

Restia came just in time.

As I take my phone, I give her the pill I just made.

"Throw this pill into a cup, after it dissolves, feed it to him," I said.

That pill contains anaesthetics, recuperation effect and also blood circulation lowering effect. I have yet to figure the poison that was inside him. If I simply gave him a dose of antidote herbs, it could probably have a terrible chemical reaction that could kill him instead.

Taking my phone as I activate the blood testing app, I take a small amount of his black blood on his mouth with a piece of grass and place it at the centre of my phone.

"Scan for overdosed poisons and toxins for humans."

'SEVEN FOUND:

ATROPINE.

SCOPOLAMINE.

HYOSCYAMINE.

CYTOTOXINS.

NEUROTOXINS.

HEMOTOXINS.

RICIN.

SOURCE IDENTIFICATION: ATROPA BELLADONNA, SNAKE VENOM, RICINUS COMMUNIS.

NO CURE COULD BE FOUND.'

Atropa Belladonna, Venom, and Ricinus Communis…!?

"What!? How is he still alive!?" The poison in him made me inadvertently yell.

He's still alive even if there are seven types of poison in him. He really has one hell of a body.

If there's no cure, then I need to stimulate his body's protective systems and destroy the poison one-by-one.

First, I need to stimulate and strengthen his organs— mainly kidneys and liver.

God, I need to put my hands into that disgusting ball.

How many herbs did you find anyways— there are a lot and many different kinds...!

Milk Thistle, Marshmallow Root, Parsley, Gynostemma, Beetroot, Ginger— adding Alpha Fenrir's condensed mana, I think he would be able to withstand the atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine.

Cutting off the necessary parts from their stem, roots etc. with dad's dagger, I crush and compress them to a small pill with my palms, throwing them into a cup to dissolve.

Second, I need to extract the ricin from his blood. This delicate work could only be pulled off by a skilled doctor…

"Restia! I need your help!" I yelled.

…or a genius.

While disinfecting dad's dagger with Alpha Fenrir's saliva, I give my phone to Restia.

"Wash and wipe off the blood from the screen with your cloth. Don't touch the blood, okay?"

"What do you want to do…?"

While wiping off the blood with her shirt, Restia looks at me with a dazed look.

"Expand the picture of ricin scanned from his blood," I told her.

"Okay?"

"Eh…? This is— ricin pollen…?" I inadvertently murmured.

Great, this ball-like structure would make things easier.

"Ricin pollen…?" Restia tilted her head to the side, looking confused. "What is that?"

"A pollen from nature's most poisonous plant in the world. If left alone, you will die of high fever within one to three days if consumed."

"Eek…!?"

"Growl…!?"

Why is Fenrir's daughter listening to our conversation…?

"Anyways, remember its structure, you are going to extract it from his blood."

"W-Why me…!? Big brother— even if it's Ruby, it's impossible…!"

"But I'm sure you would try at least once, no?"

"……N." She nods.

I grab Restia on her hand.

"Now give me your finger."

"My finger…?" Restia murmured. "Are you going to cut my finger with that dagger…?"

"Yes."

"Ow—!"

Before Restia could retreat her hand, I made a small cut on her forefinger.

"W-What are you going to do with my blood…?"

"'Third key', Restia," I told her. "Pour and concentrate your mana on this one drop of blood, then cast the 'Third key'."

"Imagination…?" She murmured. "No chant, no magic circles…?"

"Yes, for most people, this will be the toughest key to cast. But you are talented, so I'm sure it would be easier than the 'First key' and 'Second Key'—"

"… I'm done."

"—Wow, that was fast." I inadvertently murmured. "Now, control it with your mana and imagine it to float and swirl around."

"Like this…?"

With precise control, Restia's blood flew off from her forefinger and swirled around me at a breakneck speed.

"Good. Now dispel the ice on his wound like just how you did earlier."

“Glacies, expurget!” (Ice, purge!)

CRAK!

God, she dispels it so easily. And she was struggling earlier… Is she a monster or something?

"I'm going to stop his mana from flowing in his body with acupuncture. It should last about ten minutes. This means you have ten minutes."

"Why?" Restia asked. "Is it essential to stop his mana…?"

"If his mana interferes with yours, you will have a hard time controlling your blood."

I will start with the front first.

Lung Meridian 1 and 2, left and right.

Kidney Meridian 27 (Left), Ren Meridian 22, Kidney Meridian 27 (Right).

Kidney Meridian 21 (Left), Ren Meridian 14, Kidney Meridian 21 (Right).

After striking the acupuncture points with my finger, his body shook a little. Judging from it, it seems to work.

"Help me flip him to the side."

The back.

Small Intestine Meridian 11 and 12, left and right.

Bladder Meridian 41 (Left), Bladder Meridian 11 (Left), Du Meridian 14, Bladder Meridian 11 (Right), Bladder Meridian 41 (Right).

Bladder Meridian 46 (Left), Bladder Meridian 17 (Left), Du Meridian 9, Bladder Meridian 17 (Right), Bladder Meridian 46 (Right).

Flipping him on the front again, I slam my palm on the centre of his chest where the core of a human's mana is located— as the final point to lock his mana.

"Ack-------------"

He leaks out a painful voice and twitches for a moment.

"How is it, Restia? Can you feel any mana flowing in his body…?"

"…Only the centre of his chest," Restia replied. "Did you stop his mana from flowing from his mana core…?"

"Yeah. Now I'm going to cut a small hole on his wound, Restia. I want you to drop that blood into his body and extract the ricin from his bloodstream, okay?"

"…N."

As I gently cut open his wound with dad's dagger, I reopen his wound, letting Restia's blood enter into his bloodstream.

"Close your eyes, Restia. Concentrate and feel the position of your blood inside his veins. You just need to remember what you need to extract with your blood… the ricin pollen."

After Restia closes her eyes, I seal the wound with the Cinnamon herb and Aloe Vera that I mixed with my hands.

Placing his head on my lap, I insert a tiny funnel in his mouth, gently pouring the liquid with the dissolved herbs.

Good, he could swallow.

After ten minutes, his mana will flow again, and Restia should be done by then. The medicinal herbs inside his stomach would react with his mana.

Then… all that's left are the venoms…

With that in mind, I look at Alpha Fenrir in the eye.

"Say… If all three types of venom are inside his body— do you think The White Snake would have all three of the anti-venom…?"