Turning
chapter-298

"Specifically, there are two forces: venom and amplification."

Yuder felt the tips of Kishiar's fingers gently wrap around his index and middle fingers.

"The monster absorbed the amplification magic circle, crafted by the mages of the Western Mage Union. The magic it absorbed affected the monster's flesh, which meant......"

"You're implying that it seeped into its bodily fluids as well."

"That's correct."

Then, Yuder recalled the moment when he was soaked in the liquid, which had absorbed those two forces. He vaguely remembered the black and cold fluid that had covered his body when he cut off Pethuamet's tongue.

"Even though I keep pouring in divine power, the venom that seeped into your body doesn't disappear, but keeps returning, even expanding. I think that's because of the influence of the amplification. You can understand why the abilities that should have recovered with rest have not yet returned, it's probably because I'm spending more energy on blocking the roots of the venom that have burrowed into your body."

True to his words, Yuder was still far from fully recovered. It was a bit better than the first time when he barely summoned a drop of water, but it was still just a few more drops, barely an improvement. It was even hard to say that he had recovered at all.

"So I met with the mages and reviewed the records they had left when they created the amplification magic and its overall structure."

After a few days, Kishiar, who had reappeared, asked the mages for information about the structure of the amplification magic. Micalin thought that the time had finally come. He had been worrying about what to say if the Duke of Peletta, filled with anger, ordered to eradicate the very existence of the amplification magic from this world. But after the conversation, Kishiar, who had been lost in thought for a long time, spoke unexpectedly.

"...I asked them to find the answer to the question that you wanted to know that night."

Kishiar, briefly explaining what he had said to Micalin, spoke with an entirely different stiffness in his voice than Yuder had ever heard before. Would he have spoken in such an emotionless voice even in front of the mages? Yuder tried to guess Kishiar's attitude, which he had not seen, just from his voice and slowly questioned.

"That night, you mean..."

"The task of exploring the traces of magic that remained on the monster's tongue that you gave them and finding a way to neutralize it."

Micalin hadn't finished that task until Yuder had killed Pethuamet. He had to stop and hadn't resumed the work because he had to deal with Kishiar and the Cavalry after that. The mages, who had thought that task would remain useless and had forgotten about it, were surprised as if their eyes would pop out at Kishiar's request to resume the task.

"If the problem is the amplification force interfering while trying to eliminate the venom that has penetrated your body, finding and eliminating the traces of the amplification magic within might be the solution."

That was the conclusion Kishiar had come to while watching Yuder's treatment. Yuder thought about the words he had just heard while firmly holding his body in his arms. Kishiar knew more about magic than him, so his words could be the solution, but there was a bit that bothered him.

"It's true that I've absorbed energy before, but back then, I could clearly see and feel what I was doing. But I didn't feel the red energy leaking from my hands until the end of this battle..."

"Isn't it a different law for attack and defense even in the same battle?"

The soft voice continued to speak.

"Think of it this way. Your body is a battlefield, where the internal forces you possess are fighting off the toxicity of the monster that has invaded from the outside. Right now, it's a fierce struggle of survival between the reinforcements of amplification and divine power."

Yuder recalled something Enon had once said. There was a strangely consistent part in Kishiar's explanation with Enon's words that the process of detoxifying with divine power is not to erase it, but to weaken and harmonize it.

'But even so, I don't know whether the answer found by the mages will definitely have an effect on me.'

Was it really the right path to make the mages touch the Amplification circle and Pethuamet's tongue again for an uncertain outcome? Thinking that Kishiar might be doing unnecessary work because of that, he felt a suffocating sensation in his stomach.

As Yuder let out a small sigh, Kishiar asked him quietly.

"Do you think my decision was wrong?"

Kishiar's choice. The weight of those words pounded heavily on Yuder's chest.

Since he returned from death, he had never doubted Kishiar's choices. However, this time it was related to Yuder himself, the greatest cause of differences between his two lives, and a choice about an event that had not occurred in his previous life.

After hesitating for a long time, Yuder spoke.

"Isn't there another option besides this method?"

"Such as?"

"Maybe...we could reveal it to others and seek more sufficient answers."

What flitted across Yuder's mind was Enon. He wondered if Enon's insight and knowledge could give a more unique and clear solution to this situation.

"Well... I have called the only remaining medical officer in the Cavalry. That was one reason why I called for the second dispatch early. But even if they come as fast as they can, we still have to wait for a few more days, and there is no guarantee that they will immediately provide a solution."

At the unexpected words, Yuder, who turned his head, suddenly felt a much stronger grip on his hand than before.

"Then isn't it better to try something we can do more quickly? I..."

His calm words trembled oddly at the end.

"I don't want to see you suffer in front of me any longer."

He felt as if something had dropped heavily inside his heart.

"So...please don't call that a wrong decision."

His arm, which had been holding him, grew stronger, pressing their bodies closer than before. The body that was touching him conveyed a strange heat and pain at the same time. Listening to the dark voice as deep as the bottom of the deepest sea, Yuder recalled his painful breath in his dreams. With gritted teeth, Kishiar continued as if he couldn't bear it anymore.

"Even more than when I felt my vessel was gradually breaking every hour, in some ways, I feel it's harder to endure now. If you don't get better soon, I don't know what I'll end up doing. Even though I try to be patient, it seems like this is my limit..."

A whisper pleading not to reject him if he cared about him even a little echoed in his ear. Yuder said nothing, suppressing his boiling emotions.

The soft touch of the arms that embraced him evoked feelings he could hardly put into words. The pull he felt was irresistible, the heat he felt then was far stronger than the one he felt when their lips first met, and it felt like his breath was taken away multiple times over.

Rational thinking would have him distance himself a bit and try to calm Kishiar down. After all, he seemed to have lost some of his usual calmness due to excessive worry.

But, so what?

All the countless holes inside him that caused him worries and fears, the anxiety that would creep in when he thought about the past and future, all of that disappeared into the distance when he was close to Kishiar. The situation where Kishiar, who didn't hide his distressed state caused by worry for him, held him so tightly that he could barely breathe was strangely comforting. It seemed that he, too, had lost his sense of calm...

Yuder forgot about the worry of someone coming in. Maybe it was okay to keep being like this.

It was the first time he was aware of this desire since he felt the pull toward Kishiar.

Perhaps thinking that the trembling mixed in with his bewildered breath was due to pain, Kishiar loosened his tight hold on him and moved away a bit.

"I'm sorry. You must be hurting..."

At that moment, Yuder managed to raise his arm and embraced him. Even without seeing, he knew exactly where to hold him. At Yuder’s words, Kishiar's body stiffened, and his speech stopped altogether.

"When did I ever say that your choices were wrong, Commander?"

Even though it felt incredibly hard to utter a single word, he didn't stop.

"I don't care if you cast a magic spell to release the amplification power, or whatever you do. Do anything, but... stop doing this. My heart keeps hurting... I think it would be better to face it."

Usually, his tongue moved effortlessly, but at that moment, it struggled to convey what he wanted to say. But, he didn't need to worry.

Soon after, Kishiar, who had been rigid and still, held him even tighter.

"...Right. I can't do that."

Kishiar whispered with a smile.

"Because it won't do if I hurt you more when you're already in pain..."