Second Chances

Before anyone could react, the small man snatched a scabbard that was leaning against the bedside of his dying daughter. He started advancing on Finn.

Finn was reminded of so long ago when that bandit attacked him and Bryn. He remembered sensing a deep malice from him that the guild master called killing intent.

When comparing the two, Finn could tell some distinct differences. The bandit's killing intent had been more casual, almost like killing him and Bryn would have been a minor inconvenience.

The small man's killing intent, however, was purely focused. Finn could sense an unbelievably deep well of hatred directed entirely at himself.

Finn wasn't an idiot. From the burnt bodies all around him, all this pain and suffering was most likely caused by that inferno beast. This man had been sitting in front of a bed holding a horribly burnt child. It wasn't difficult to correlate the two.

The man was expressing his grief through rage, and pinning the blame on Finn. Why? Because Finn resembled the beast that ruined his daughter.

The group that had been travelling with the drake instinctively moved out of the way to avoid the man's warpath. Despite shouts from onlookers, the small man did not hesitate. He was beyond reasoning.

Finn stood his ground, frozen. His initial fear had faded away, in its place was a sense of melancholy. While the small man's killing intent was sharp and strong, his own power was lacking.

With his danger sense, Finn could tell the man was at most comparable to a rank two magical beast. He was no real theat.

The small man unsheathed a very plain metal sword that seemed too small even for him. It looked like... it belonged to a child.

Finn's sense of meloncholy grew deeper. Finally, the small man stood in front of the large white scaled drake. Finn absolutely dwarfed him in stature, having subconsciously straightened up when he first felt the killing intent.

All eyes in the pavilion were on them. Most were fearful that Selmor would cause the beast to go on a rampage, which would be terrible considering their current location.

However, the white scaled drake did nothing but watch intently as the small man approached. It was odd to say the least, to see a strong magical beast, a drake no less, not react to such provocation with reciprocated violence.

A green glow appeared on the small man's sword as he reared back. Finn looked down upon the small man sadly, sending energy through his body to his scales, causing a bright golden aura to form around them. It was Finn's defensive power.

Anya was petrified. Despite having experience working under pressure, how could she attempt to stop the man she looked up to as a kind uncle when he was grieving for his daughter? Everything was wrong, so wrong...

Selmor had also moved too quickly for most to react. Everyone watched in horror as Selmor swung his blade in a downcut which collided with the drake's front shoulder, roaring in madness. His sword, covered in earth energy, collided with the golden film covering Finn, releasing a small boom as the opposing energies reacted violently.

Silence. No one knew what would happen next. Those that were closer could see a few cracked scales falling off the drake's shoulder. A full power attack, negated with minimal damage.

However, despite being assaulted, the drake did not move, not even flinch. It stood there like a mountain, gazing down on the small man who attacked it directly.

The attack had felt much too heavy for such a small sword, which Finn immediately attributed to the earth energy. It seemed to give weapons far more of an impact. That being said, it wasn't enough to even lightly shake him.

The small man seemed unpreturbed in his madness, even after seeing how his attack had no affect. He struck again... and again.

Finally, on the fourth strike, the small sword shattered against Finn's glowing scales, unable to withstand the powerful collisions of differing energies.

Finn hadn't moved an inch the entire time, silently watching the man vent his sorrow. The small man was breathing heavily, having used up almost all his energy in those few strikes.

Anya ran over, finally breaking out of her dilemma, and held back Selmor by his arms. The man seemed intent on continuing, having already pulled out a dagger from a small leather sheath on his belt.

The group watched with a mixture of shock and sadness. Shock at how the drake was silent and unmoved, and sad for their fellow tribesman.

What can you say to a man who has lost everything?

"Its one of those vile demons! How could you let a murdering beast into our home?" Selmor sputtered as he struggled to attack the drake with his puny dagger.

"Selmor, you must stop this! This drake is not our enemy!" Anya tried to reason, but it fell on deaf ears.

Selmor would have none of it, and he continued to struggle to break free, forcing Anya to bring him to the ground, locking his arms and legs.

No one else stepped in. The surrounding group felt as if there was a delicate balance at play, and if they tried to mettle they would invoke disaster.

Finn could still feel the killing intent, and the blue eyes filled with mindless hatred glaring at him from the immobilized man gave him pause.

Lifting his head, Finn slowly changed his focus to the child of the small man, the source of the man's emnity towards him.

Tilting his head slightly, Finn started moving towards the bed.

Everyone flinched once the drake finally moved. No one knew what its intentions were, but it had yet to attack or rampage even after being directly provoked.

No one moved to stop it because no one wanted to be the spark to ignite its fury. It was a drake after all.

Stopping in front of the small figure, Finn was finally able to get a closer look, and what he saw made him internally cringe.

The little girl looked like a black mummified corpse. Every single part of her body was burnt black with the expection of a portion of her scalp. It actually made it look worse, seeing a small patch of long and slightly burnt blond hair.

This small portion was the only indication that this had once been a bright and cheerful young lady. The only thing that confirmed that she was alive was her breathing, which was shallow.

Even back in his former life, burns like these would likely spell death even with advanced medical care. It made Finn wonder... if even he could fix something like this.

Since he had been born into this new world, Finn had wondered about his purpose. He had lived a full and blessed life already, which was already more than anyone could ever ask for.

Recieving another seemed like an unnecessary sequal to a good movie. Not that he wasn't grateful, but Finn had oftentimes pondered about he should be doing with it.

Seeing all these poor souls in great pain, and knowing about the power he had been given, Finn felt like another puzzle piece had finally fallen into place.

Right here... right now... with the gifts he had been given, a simple thought bloomed in Finn's mind as he looked down upon the broken form of a child that once had so much to live for.

I can heal them...

As he stood over the bed of the burned girl, Finn opened his mouth revealing rows of sharp teeth. Energy started pooling in his throat...

Others looked on in reluctant fear, itching to intervene, but knowing they lacked the strength to do anything. What was this beast doing?

Selmor once again lost his mind. In his eyes, seeing the beast open its mouth over his little girl was unacceptable.

Anya, unprepared for Selmor's sudden burst of energy, lost her grip. Had she been using her own, there was no way he would have been able to break free. Alas, she was too afraid of hurting him.

Selmor sprinted full speed, attempting to impale his dagger through the drake's eye, the eye being a natural weakness of any creature.

Finn glanced out of the corner of his own, pausing his flow of energy. Coiling his tail back, Finn waited until the right moment.

Thwick!

Just before the small man reached him, Finn released the tension in his tail, causing it to slam into the man's side, propelling him across the pavilion before he crashed onto the floor.

Even without using any light energy, Finn's physical prowess as a magical beast was more than enough to briefly incapacitate the small man. Finn had made sure to not use too much force.

Yells of confusion and anger sounded out at the sudden retaliation. Fears that the drake was beginning to rampage spread instantly.

However, Finn did not continue his attacks. He simply brought his focus back to the little girl. Once the energy in his chest bypassed the natural mechanism in his throat, it became a softer and warmer type of light energy.

A stream of this golden yellow light energy spilled from his mouth, envoloping the girl. Like a sponge sucking in water, her body began to absorb the flowing gold colored energy.

At first, nothing noticeable happened. Everyone watched with apprehesive curiosity. Anya, who had gone over to check on Selmor, watched with rapt attention.

Her eyes lit up as the realization dawned on her face. Could it be...

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" A screech of agony caused all those watching the scene to jump. At some point without anyone realizing it, the girl laying on the bed had woken up.

A girl that resembled a mummified corpse was shouting in agony. It caused eveyone watching to get goosebumps. Despite their fears, several warriors couldn't take it anymore, and moved to attack the drake, believing the beast to be the cause of her pain.

They were right in a sense, but Finn was not trying to hurt her. However, there was no way they could have known that.

Just before a warrior struck with a spear, a gust of wind blew him away. Anya had appeared and used her magic artifiact just in time.

"Halt your attacks!" Anya roared at the members who attempted to stop the drake.

"But lady Anya, it is hurting her!" The disgruntled warrior shouted back in defiance. The girl was still screaming bloody murder, and the others around could barely contain themselves from jumping in as well.

Anya simply held her ground and repeated her demand. There was no room for discussion. If her hunch was correct, then maybe Selmor's daughter would actually have a chance.

Despite not showing it outwardly, Finn had also been surprised when the girl started screaming. He began to wonder if maybe her injuries were too severe to be healed even with his light energy.

However, he continued on regardless of his concerns, because in the end, this was the girl's only chance for survival.

Finn continued to pour his healing energy onto the girls body, which greedily soaked it up despite not showing any substantial changes. At least, not at first.

After about a minute of pained screaming, Finn finally saw cracks forming on the burnt husk where her skin used to be. Slowly but surely, chunks of blackened skin began falling off, revealing layers of rejuvenating muscles and other tissues.

Finn's eyes lit up. It was working! The third degree burns on her skin were peeling off, revealing muscles, tendons, and skin tissues regrowing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Everyone who had been watching was absolutely astonished. After witnessing such a miracle, they had slowly gathered around the girl's bedside, watching her body fill with vitality.

The girl had stopped screaming at some point and fell asleep during the healing process. Only now as he watched her wounds peel away revealing fresh pink skin did he realize that the rapid healing was the cause of her suffering.

When burns go deep enough, they burn away the nerves as well. By healing the girl, he was also forcibly regrowing those burnt nerves. It probably caused a lot of pain.

After some time had passed, Finn finished. What was once a barely alive mummified black corpse was now a small little girl.

A... very naked small little girl. Being the decent old man that he was, Finn grabbed the bedsheet with his teeth and pulled it up to her chest. The action was not lost to those watching.

Looking up, he noticed the surrounding people all looking at him with strange expressions. Anya just stood at the girl's side, rubbing her bald head. Although the drake had restored her body with his power, her hair was not included.

There was still only the small patch of blond hair remaining from before. Anya checked the girl's body, confirming that she was only in a deep sleep. Every other injury, gone, seemingly as if she had never been burned in the first place

Tears streaming down her face, she slowly hugged the girl to her chest. Her hunch was correct, the arrival of this beast was truly a miracle set up by the godesses!