Two Hearts and Two Gifts

"Regis!? Le— mfffff!!!"

"Lower your goddamn voice down!"

Upon seeing his two friends, Greg became overwhelmed with excitement.

However, before he could shout any further, he was threatened by Lea.

"Sorry, hehe…" 

Greg laughed awkwardly as he scratched his head.

Meanwhile, Regis double checked if there was anyone spying on them with his demonic power.

'Hmmm, it seemed like the Leader stopped watching this area…'

Regis then beckoned for the other two to sit down with him, "Come Greg, we'll fill you in on what happened. We have limited time, after all."

Greg's face immediately became serious.

He immediately went and took a seat beside Regis and Lea, carefully lending his ears as he took in every bit of information they said.

The two told Greg how the demonic humans stopped giving them the soup that helped them control their minds and the other things that had been going around in the demonic camp lately.

He also learned what became of him when the demonic power took control of him, sending shivers down his spine.

This lasted for about 10 minutes, about 15 minutes before their combat training session.

"So that's what happened…"

Greg sweated nervously.

He then looked at Regis and bowed, "Thank you."

Like Lea, he didn't bother asking the details from Regis as knowing the fact that he wanted to save them was enough.

"Still, I can't believe I've done those…" Greg gagged, he almost vomited but managed to stop it.

The memories from when he was taken over by the demonic power were all fuzzy.

However, those fuzzy memories were enough to inform him just how evil he became during that time.

"I think we still have around 10 minutes before our combat training, lay down beside me and close your eyes." 

Regis told them as he prepared himself to use his Corruption Manipulation again.

"I'll go first." Lea said as she laid on the ground beside Regis.

Meanwhile, Greg turned his back towards them.

Regis noticed this and said, "There's no need to do that. You can watch if you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Greg turned around with excitement in his eyes, he was obviously curious about Regis's powers.

Glancing at him, Regis laughed before turning his attention towards Lea.

In his mind, he chanted.

[Corruption Manipulation]

Greg focused all his attention to watching the procedure.

"Huh?"

A minute or so passed by and he still wasn't able to sense anything.

All he could see was Regis holding Lea's forehead as he kept his eyes closed.

'Is something really happening?' Greg asked in his mind.

He knew that he himself was an evidence of the fact that Regis wasn't lying to them about the corruptive ability that the demonic power had over their minds.

After a few more minutes of trying, Greg gave up. 'Maybe it's a strange ability that couldn't be normally seen…'

He felt a little underwhelmed.

After all, he had prepared himself to see Regis using cool abilities to save them.

"Okay done. Greg, you're next." 

Regis spoke as he finished extracting a part of the corruption aura in Lea's mind.

However, Lea asked, "But don't you need to rest first?"

"She's right. I can wait…" Greg added on.

The concern in their eyes made Regis feel warm.

However, he insisted and said, "I'm fine. Besides, we have limited time and I can't have any of you being driven crazy by the demonic power again."

***

The following days were monotonous.

Regis just followed the routine of extracting the corruption aura on both Greg and Lea's mind.

They would raid a village, Regis would use his Corruption Manipulation, then they would have their combat training right after.

The times still seemed to be as dark as before, but the minimal amount of time Regis had with his friends made his days a little less lonely.

***

Shing– Shiing— Clank!!!

In an open ground, a girl and a middle-aged man were clashing swords.

The girl relentlessly attacked, slashing her sword at her opponent with no signs of exhaustion.

Her swordsmanship could be said to be flawless, but the little amount of aura in her sword was evidence of her weakness.

The middle-aged man, on the other hand, effortlessly blocked the girl's sword.

Tang—!!!

After a few more minutes of exchanging attacks, the middle-aged man utilized a little bit more aura as he parried the girl's sword.

This led to her sword being flung away from her hand.

"That's enough for swordsmanship training for today. We'll train your aura next." The middle-aged man said to the girl.

The girl, Dahlia, nodded solemnly as she responded, "Okay, Uncle Doron."

Doron smiled, "Then let's get on with it immediately. Sit down on the ground and empty your mind!"

Dahlia silently followed the instructions.

She obediently sat down and closed her eyes, emptying her mind as she paid no attention to her aching body.

Although she never got tired whenever holding a sword, her body still had its limits.

This meant that if she abused this ability of hers, then it could lead to her body breaking down.

Staring at her determined expression, Doron shook his head, 'Just how desperate are you to save that friend of yours…'

Dahlia seemed overly determined and disciplined on the outside.

However, this could not fool Doron's eyes.

The emotion that was fueling her discipline and determination, was none other than desperation.

He could see just how important that friend was to her.

'Though, it's not like I don't know the feeling…' Thought Doron as he pulled something out of his pocket.

He then opened his palm, revealing a silver locket with beautiful carvings.

It was shiny and had no signs of any blemishes, looking as if it was new.

He opened the locket, revealing the image of a beautiful woman holding a cute little girl before his eyes.

Doron stared at the image with eyes filled with gentleness and sorrow.

Dahlia, who still had her eyes closed, was unaware of what was happening around her as she maintained her meditative state.

After a few minutes of meditation, she began to sense the inside of her body.

Her two hearts that were both pulsating with energy, along with the two gifts that floated in her consciousness.

'Don't worry, Regis. I'll come save you…'

She thought in her heart as the image of a youth with snow-white hair and blood-red eyes vividly appeared in her mind.