Chapter 96: Scales

Ciaran was startled, but then a smile beamed on his face as he charged in for a hug, only to realize he had been sitting for days, and his legs had long fallen asleep. The boy very boldly pushed himself off the ground, but stumbled and fell down face first.

The dryad lifted him up gently before reading his memories. A frown appeared on her face when she saw him almost kill himself with the bugs.

"You never change, do you brat?" She said, grinding her teeth, her anger only cooled down after she experienced the slap Diana had given him. She played that scene multiple times, never seeming to have enough of it.

When she got to his most recent memories though, she was kicked out. The boy chose to keep them for himself for now, and although Verdania was curious, she didn't press him. If it was something serious, he would tell them when he felt ready, she was willing to allocate at least this much trust to her protégé.

"Seeing as you two have probably done more for this whole region, than all other Rangers for the last five years, I would say, you pass the inspection with flying colors." She said with a smile on her face.

The Archmage was no alchemist, but she appreciated the craft. The fact the boy was so proficient in it was a great source of pride for her.

She was about to ask them about their plans for the future when she felt something from the boy.

"You, you broke through? When? No, it must be recent, but what's with the control you have over your soul?" She demanded a peek into his memories, mostly out of curiosity.

He relented, but only showed her his practice, or more accurately speaking his experiments.

He needed extreme control to make the process work, and he had to micromanage the whole thing himself. It killed two birds with one stone. It completed their mission, and it proved to be great practice for his magic.

Diana hadn't slacked off either, she continued to hunt down Rank Fours, but she never tried to go higher after the incident with the moose.

She even tried cooking for her partner, but after one attempt he made more time in his schedule to cook. The food she made was edible, but that was far from meeting the standards of the foodie.

He could always complete his experiments, and he couldn't uneat bad food.

And Ciaran was very vocal about his capriciousness about food. To the point, Diana was very close to beating his ass, for being a spoiled little brat.

Verdania could see that there was no malice in their banter and that the two had gotten closer. She appreciated the girl, as at least she ensured that the boy wouldn't be lonely.

"Well, as much as I would like to catch up with you guys there is also one more thing I need to do before I leave. Ciaran your body is stable enough, it's time we continue our work on your treatment. Are you ready, because it's going to heart more than ever before?" She asked the boy.

If he had to be honest he had forgotten about the bleeding. If he had to be more honest, his amnesia was completely intentional. That horrifying process was more painful than when he had torn his own soul with the bug project.

Nevertheless, he nodded.

"Can Diana stay, I would be more comfortable if she was with me? Also, I feel she needs to see the real me if we are to be partners from now on." He asked.

Verdania was startled. The process was gruesome and painful. It was also when she had to shed her illusion spell, and his true appearance came to life. It was, at least by human standards, the ugliest form he could ever hold.

Not only would he look like a half-fish, half-human hybrid, but he would bleed like a cattle in a slather house. She knew he was very self-conscious about his bodily appearance during the process, so his willingly having someone witness it was a massive show of trust.

"If she wants to stay, she can stay. But, and I can't stress this enough, no puking girl. I remember you had a weak stomach, so I am warning you if you can't handle it, leave." The dryad warned.

As with all medical procedures, this one also, needed a sterile environment to be successful.

"I promise I will not be a problem for you, Ma'am," Diana said respectfully.

The woman was glad they had an understanding and teleported them to a pond of water. There she had Ciaran lay flat with his belly up in the middle of it, while she had Rank Five algae restrain his limbs.

"I don't want you to harm yourself. From now on this will be the standard." She said as he began dissecting him.

With his disguise gone, Diana could see his scales. They, just like his eyes when he used his Wind were light blue.

Diana, as well as the dryad and Ciaran, thought she would be repulsed by them, at least at first. She had never made contact with other sentient species. Sure, she talked with some beasts, but the animals never build cities, they never invented their own language, and they sure as hell never shared a kiss with her.

She thought seeing him as something so inhumane would repulse her, that she would need time to get over it, but that wasn't the case. His scales were shiny, and to her, they only added to his beauty. Her appreciation for his true aesthetics only made it more painful to watch as the light blue turned red, and then black.

He was bleeding profusely, and his blood was turning black and even grey in places. It was like Verdania was cutting away rot out of him, and the worst part of it all was the screams.

The boy was though, she knew that, but she had heard him scream like that before. From his core, and even from his very soul.

Diana looked through the tears that had formed in her eyes, as she didn't allow herself to cry. This was not about her, and she was not selfish enough to think otherwise. She would be strong for him, and suffer his screams along with his surgeon.

She looked closer at what Verdania was doing and felt her blood freeze. The dryad was cutting parts of his soul along with his body. Not much, for every pound of flesh, she took a sliver off, for every gallon of blood she would take one more.

She continued until Ciaran's body was on the verge of collapse. Then she stopped and stitched him back together.

Once the stitches were applied, she allowed him to pass out.

"His own family did this to him. They didn't know how much they fucked him up, and they did it to keep him safe from the purists, but they were the ones who chose to rot his soul and mutilate his body. As you might have noticed, I despise humans, and the only reason I tolerate your presence around my boy is that I have to. I can feel you aren't pure either. I hope that makes you more pleasant to be around."

The dryad waited until the boy was out cold before she made her roundabout threat. She hadn't threatened his friends before, because she was always there to protect him if the need arose. Now, he was on his own.

Fury was overtaking Diana. The Archmage sneered, but then she felt it. Not one bit of it was directed at her or the boy.

"What kind of people do this to their children? And what kind of people force them into it?" Diana, just like Verdania was done holding back now that the boy was no longer in the waking world.

She was crying, but her tears were born out of anger and frustration. She hated that her own nation forced this upon her partner. She hated herself even more for being powerless to help him through it.

The Archmage put a hand on her head and read. She saw how much the girl cared, and how much pain she was in from her own helplessness.

'The monsters are always attracted to the saints, and vice versa huh?' She sighed, as she thought about her own youth.

She brought them back to the base, and let Ciaran sleep.

"I will stay here until he wakes up. While we wait, let me finish his work. I am no alchemist, but I saw in detail how he made his foam, and I believe I can do the same. "

For three days straight the boy slept, and the girl kept him safe. Not that there was anything to protect him from, but she didn't feel right to stay away from him.

His grandfather had it worse, however, once he learned how bad his grandson was hurt, and when Diana explained to him what had happened, the man had a panic attack. He had a near-invincible body, but no one could protect their mind from stress. His worries continued until the evening of the third day when the boy finally opened his eyes.