First aid

Ester began feeling this location was dangerous. The aroma released from the fruits might have been the probable cause for the Demonic Beast to stay in this location and the animals to invade enticed by the smell.

"So that's why the Demo... I mean, the baddie protected this area. It might have evolved after eating too many fruits and wanted to protect the tree." Ester noted.

Ester turned around to check their surroundings as the tree trunk was wide enough to completely change the scenery. No blood could be spotted in the distance and nearby, making anyone doubt the massacre behind them.

Mysteries kept piling, and the questions Ester had in her mind multiply. At least the sweet fruity scent calmed her nerves, making her feel strangely relaxed.

"Stay here with Vincent while I check the area. It's safe here, so don't worry." Ester wanted to scout the area before they wait until midnight arrived.

Ester circled around the massive wide tree. She opened her crimson eyes to pick any detail, but it soon backfired.

At first, Ester noticed the dried trees. It seemed as if the massive banana tree had absorbed all their nutrients and halting their growth, leaving dried trunks in the process.

Ester concluded that about one-fourth of the vast arena-like field had no blood or corpses on the ground. As she thought, the Demonic Beast protected its treasure, attacking anything before they could reach it.

Then her eyes picked up the human soldier corpses. The fight was over, and observing their corpses in clear view was too much for her guts to handle.

Ester puked at the horrific scene on the ground. It was her first time witnessing human corpses since Trek was eaten until bones remained.

Ester tried her best to focus on the tempting sweet scent. She glimpsed at the soldiers and noticed there were a total of two male soldiers, one female soldier, and the soldier Kass lying on the red grass.

Four dead soldiers and one alive with memories of her ten-year-old self.

"I... I need to go back and stop the bleeding. But how?" Ester collected herself and planned what to do next, but she didn't know how to help.

"Ester, I'm back." Shouted Lupa. She slowly approached with the cart behind her. It seemed she quicked her pace, becoming more tired than she previously was.

"You're back so quickly. Don't tell me you forced yourself and rushed back." Ester worryingly said.

"We need to save Vincent, so this is nothing. " Lupa replied while trying to hide her quickened breathing.

Ester nodded with a worried frown and helped Lupa pull the cart over to the other side.

Lupa became bewildered by the change of scenery. Her nose twitched, and her tail uncontrollably wagged. The potent scent made her senses go wild.

"Don't give in to temptation. This is why many animals were attracted here just to die. More might come, so we need to be vigilant." Ester warned Lupa while gently pulling her white soft fluffy ear.

Lupa nodded as the warning, and the ear nudges forcefully returned her senses back to normal.

Lupa turned her gaze at Vincent, but the female soldier Tula was gently caressing Vincent's head.

"What are you doing? " Lupa asked with a frown. It felt like her mate was about to get stolen by another female she didn't know or accept.

"My mummy does this when I'm sad or feel owie. " Tula replied with a pair of innocent brown puppy eyes ready to cry again from Lupa's frown.

Ester searched the cart for an idea to help stop the bleeding. Her hands soon found a small bag filled with Mutated Ash.

Ester approached Vincent with a small bag, a bow drill, and a few sticks. She nervously removed the bloody piece of cloth, then ripped most of the shirt, but not enough to display his Hero Mark, and applied a lot of Mutated Ash on his wound.

Lupa stared with a frown. Then asked with great curiosity, "What are you doing to Vincent? Are you going to cook him?"

Tula shivered when she heard such barbaric words. She turned her gaze at the woman who showed kindness and to hear her reply.

'This kind big sister isn't a baddie, right?' Her hands trembled from this frightful thought.

"No, and yes. I thought a lot about what to do, but closing his wound post haste is the main reason for my next action. I heard about this treatment from my father." Ester said while she lit up a stick.

"Vincent can't feel pain, but... will he be all right?" Lupa wanted to believe Ester, but she was still skeptical of this burning plan.

'How does cooking Vincent's shoulder make him better? But Ester seemed quite convinced that it will help.' She thought with a conflicted, puzzled frown.

"We need to keep Vincent alive until midnight. Later we will wake him up, and he should be able to heal himself." Ester said. Then she patted Lupa's shoulder and continued, "I know he would do anything for us. Like how he did his best to cure me."

"I understand. but let me help." Lupa nodded, agreeing with this plan.

'I can do it. I must do it. Vincent did so much to save my life that I must return the favor. I also need him to wake up and tell him never to trade his life for mine ever again.'

Ester steeled her will to burn his wound close. She picked the burning stick and stared at the Mutated Ash covering his shoulder.

"Lupa, hold the bucket of water I prepared in case of an emergency, and Tula... you turn around because you're too young to see this. " Ester ordered.

Ester gulped to muster her will. Her trembling hand, along with the burning stick, approached the layer of Mutated Ash. As the flame touched the ash, a green wildfire burst on his shoulder with intense heat.

Fortunately, her fears didn't realize. The wildfire didn't spread while it burnt the wound close. It burnt until it extinguished from the ash completely burning up in a few seconds.

"You really cooked, Vincent!" Lupa exclaimed in surprise.

"Let me clean my mate's wound; I want to help too." *Cough. "At least the burning smell is quickly going away from the smell of the yellow fruit." Lupa gently approached with a wet rag and cleaned his burnt wound.

Lupa later covered Vincent with a blanket. She sat beside him and said while yawning, "I will rest next to my mate. Will you rest too?"

"No need for now because I'm not that tired. I will wake you up at midnight, so sleep well." Ester said an excuse to let Lupa sleep.

Ester lifted the watch and looked at the time. She raised her gaze and noticed the sky gradually getting dark. The sun and the moon both appeared on the opposite side as if congratulating their victory.

"I will wake you in six hours. You can leave Vincent and Tula in my care in the meantime." Ester said with an aura of a reliable woman.

Lupa nodded a single time before her tired, heavy eyes closed shut. She started snoring a second later, revealing how tired she actually was.

The baby sitter Ester, took Tula under her wing. She wanted to light a small campfire, but the area was filled with grass. She said, "Can you help me remove some grass and make a small campfire?"

Tula nodded and raised a smile. It seemed she was happy to help. The two girls spent some time preparing a small campfire site without grass in a meter radius and surrounded by small rocks.

Ester didn't want to cause the enormous tree and the surrounding filed to get enveloped in flame, potentially burning the forest and them in the process.

Ester used the bow drill to start the fire while Tula watched in amazement.

Ester lowered her body after a few good spins, gently blowing on the hot ash created by the bow drill's friction to fly over to the Mutated Ash on another stick. A small green wildfire appeared along with intense heat and a trail of faint green smoke.

Ester raised her gaze over to Tula after she heard her gasp. She could see Tula staring at her as if it was done by magic. The campfire started without a hassle from the Mutated Ash.

"How did you do that big sister, Ester? Do you know how to use magic?" Tula asked with her brows raised in astonishment.

Tula grabbed the bow drill lifting it shoulder high. She took a closer look with one eye closed and tilted the bow drill, inspecting it from all angles.

Tula concluded that it was just a smaller version of a bow like what her father uses to practice at home. But how it worked amazed her so much that she started talking about her home.

"I have a hard time using flint rocks at home. They aren't cheap too." Tula continued after she noticed how simple and cheap it was to light a fire. But the material from Vincent's Overheat was the key to this happening.

"Ohh, you know about the flint rock prices quite well. Do you like saving money to help your family? I used to that as well, hehe." Ester chuckled, remembering good times with her family.

"Yes, big sister Ester. One time I saved enough to buy my mummy and daddy a flint rock, each." Tula sounded excited when she remembered about her parent's reaction.

They thanked Tula for how thoughtful and romantic it was. A gift that required both rocks to light a fire. She also found it strange how her parents left her with her uncle Kass for the night, leaving this memory stuck in her mind.

In the next few hours, Ester cooked a fish each for the two of them. She then turned her gaze on Lupa, but she seemed to be in a deep sleep. The smell of freshly cooked food couldn't force her to wake up.

The fish soon finished cooking, and like hungry beasts, they wolfed the freshly cooked food from their hunger. A few minutes later, Tula seemed in pain.

"Big sister Ester, can you help me? This outfit is like what my daddy wears, and it's very tight." Tula said while pointing at the chest armor.

Ester tried to help Tula remove her armor, but it seemed stuck. It was like a tightly fitted armor, yet Tula didn't eat enough to make the armor this tight.

Ester had to bring a knife and cut the straps holding the armor pieces together. A few moments later, the last strap holding the front and back torso armor together was severed.

The chest armor piece shot out, revealing two huge mounds of flesh held by a tight shirt as they lightly bounced in excitement for finally being let out. It felt as it the shirt was about to rip open.