Chapter 124: 124. Not Enough

 As Gilbert wrung out the water out of a towel, his eyes became proof that his mind was clouded. The energetic warrior who braved even the fire of a Dragon had grown thinner.

His body was void of motivation and strength. His gusto was nowhere to be found. The act of doing the dishes which he used to love was no more. He was a different man compared to when he was a teacher.

But his senses were still as sharp as before. 

“Ngn—ack! AhhhHHHH!” 

A subdued groan that transformed into a scream of pain reached Gilbert’s ears. 

In haste, he ran and grabbed a vial on the kitchen table behind him. In a rush, his pinky toe stabbed the doorframe—destroying it in the process—he hurried along and reached the bedroom where a sick woman lay.

A woman with purple hair and a spiraling horn on the left side of her head twisted and turned on the bed. Interconnected purplish veins protruded all over her body. 

“Elpyie!!” screamed Gilbert as he hurried to her side. He opened the vial of Evergreen Antidote he had with him and quickly held down his wife.

He tried giving it to her through the vial but failed. He quickly downed the Evergreen antidote and gave it to his wife through the mouth. 

Elpyie’s four limbs thrashed about, her now extended claws cut through Gilbert’s unprotected skin. Only after Elpyie drank the medicine did she show signs of calming down, “How do you feel, Elpyie?”

Gilbert asked as he slowly retreated and touched his wife’s face. Elpyie smiled at his words, “Of course, I am. We demons don’t bend over such a minor affliction. Your wife is strong, ngn…” 

Elpyie showed a strong front, but that proved difficult as her words were followed by coughing a mouthful of blood.

“Elpyie, please, don’t push yourself.” Gilbert panicked as he moved aside. His eyes showed nothing but anxiety, softness, and pain.

Elpyie, however, smiled at her pain, “Don’t frown, I thought…you became a brave warrior…seems like my little Gil… hadn’t grown up after…all.”

“Haha, don’t worry, I was just talking to Elder Zartract in town earlier. He told me the legend of the Guardian Behemoth again. It just…made me cry is all.” 

Gilbert touched Elpyie’s weak and tender hands. He showed her a wonderful smile, Gilbert pushed down every other emotion other than happiness from his eyes—he tried to look happy, but what appeared was nothing but desperation.

His voice trembled, and as Elpyie’s mind grew weary by the second, she did her best to grasp his hand. With a voice even weaker than a child’s, Elpyie stated, “I’m okay.”

Gilbert tried his best to smile as he weakly nodded his head, “Of course…of course, you are.”

Elpyie closed her eye. As she slept against the pain, it just goes to show how much pain she was in. 

Gilbert touched Elpyie’s hands on his forehead. For ten minutes, a silent whimper escaped the man who once claimed the life of a Dragon. 

When he raised his head, he lowered Elpyie’s hand and stood up. As he closed the door as silently as possible, Gilbert went to the kitchen and thew vial he had with him.

He went to the medicine cabinet and found the remaining three vials of Evergreen Antidote. Inside the medicine, there was a bundle of papers. Fifteen pages worth of detailing his wife’s unique conditions he himself wrote today laid out before him.

He took out another piece of paper and began writing once more.

‘Week 1, Day 4 of her new symptoms and complications. The purple veins she developed on the fifth day had become darker in color, and with this change, so does the increase of the pain. The Evergreen Antidote thankfully still works, but the previous three days of pain relief it is used to provide before this sudden mutation turned to a mere twelve hours.

‘I only have three more vials, and I fear that I’ll burn through the vials soon. I may be being too shameful for this, but may I ask for more? You don’t have to give it to me for free this time around, I’ll pay for them no problem.’

Elpyie was just like the other infected a week and a half ago. Because she had a healthier body than humans, Elpyie wasn’t as hindered when it came to Red Vein disease. But when Gilbert returned from hunting a wild game, he found Elpyie on the floor with purple-colored veins.

Unlike the red veins where she only felt uncomfortable and mild pain, this time, it made her scream.

Gilbert didn’t know what to do, and he went to the Tiger Manor to inquire what was happening, but even they had no idea what to do. 

In the end, Jin could only prescribe to take Evergreen Antidote and inhibit the pain. Now, after the passage of weeks and days, his reports about Elpyie’s condition remained constant as per Jin’s request.

As Gilbert finished the letter, he took the other fifteen papers and rolled it together. He called upon a Hawk from the ring that he wore. The hawk was about twice the size of an ordinary one, and its color was as red as magma.

“You’ve grown thinner since I last saw you, Gilbert.”

Gilbert could only smile at the worlds of his Soul Partner. He passed it the letters, and it didn’t even ask what to do. The hawk flew off without so much as a word.

Gilbert stared at its disappearing figure and whispered, “I’ll leave it to you.”

Gilbert cleaned the house and placed a vial on the kitchen table to ensure he’ll be able to get it when he hears Elpyie. Gilbert walked outside, the moon was hanging really low, and as his house was on top of the highest hill three kilometers north of the Kingdom, the moon seemed closer.

As he sat down on the steps of the porch, Gilbert wished that this nightmare would end. 

“Goddesses, please, help me get through this…help Elpyie, please, she’s the only one I have left.”

At the age of 49, Gilbert had no children, neither did he have any of his parents left. Elpyie was the only he had left. He had companions and friends, but they do not hold the deep connection he had with Elpyie.

Thinking more about it, Gilbert felt complex emotions more and more. He held onto a white wing pendant he wore around his neck and wished for Elpyie to get better.

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‘Goddess Light, please, help us through this. Please, give her your light, heal her, rejuvenate her life energy. Elpyie had always been devoted.

Gilbert stared at the moon that was said to be one of the many personifications of the Goddess Light.

“Might I ask if you are Sir Gilbert, the Dragon Slayer?”

Gilbert raised his head and saw a young man dressed in a priestly robe. An odd expression surfaced on Gilbert’s face. As he wiped away the forming tears, Gilbert asked, “Yes, that would be me…Father? How may I help you?”

“Oh, that’s lovely, Horus is my name, and I am a priest from the East. I have heard that the Heroic Gilbert’s wife had contracted a disease.”

“…Yes, that is correct.”

“I came here to offer my prayer to the Hero’s wife, but it appears like you were already devoting yourself to the Goddess.”

Gilbert nodded his head as the two of them stared at the moon. An awkward silence pervaded the atmosphere that lasted until Horus suddenly asked, “Do you wish to save your wife?” 

From the bottom of his heart, Gilbert nodded his head, “Yes, I’d do anything to save her.” A melancholic smile blossomed on his face.

Indeed, he was prepared to do anything for Elpyie. After all, she was his life.

“What if I say that I have a way for you to save her?”

“Really!? Please, tell me!”

Gilbert immediately jumped on the thought of hope.

Horus showed Gilbert a genuine smile, “I would love to tell you, but I have a tiny bit of problem that I need to be fixed. If it can just—”

“Tell me, and I’ll do it! Just help me with anything you ask of me, Sir Priest.” Gilbert didn’t need to hear what he needed to ask. He accepted oh so quickly without a hint of doubt. 

He was blinded, but as Horus showed Gilbert a smile, “That’s great, then, please bring the Apothecary Jin and Colt Edgeworth’s head.”

“What? You must be joking, right?” Gilbert’s smile cracked.

“No, no, I am not. I am in fact, serious. Jin and Colt Edgeworth had done something really bad to me.”

“Leave.” Gilbert turned his back on Horus. Disgust appeared in his heart, not for Horus but for him as he considered in actually taking the offer, “Leave now and never return, you damn Priest.”

Horus casually glanced at Gilbert and whispered to himself, “I knew doing this too quickly will not convince you otherwise. Such a tough psyche you have. But you should really think over, Sir Dragon Slayer.”

Gilbert sensed a massive amount of Mana brewing overhead. He looked up, and he saw a dimly lit giant circle hiding from him from beyond the clouds.

“I didn’t want to come to this but—”

Without missing a beat, Gilbert made his move. His fist was already just seven inches away from Horus’ face. 

‘The Supreme Spell has not been completed. If I kill him, it will deactivate.’

Gilbert aimed to blow Horus’ head off with a single punch. But he had to agree, this Horus person was not the sharpest in the group. After all, actually went face to face against a Warrior without proper preparation.

If Gilbert’s fist was to hit Horus, then everything would end. 

“Gilbert?”

“Elpyie!?”

But then, saw Elpyie appear before him. The trajectory of his fist would hit her.

“Shit!” With all his strength, Gilbert forced his fist to move to the side. He crashed to the side as he dislocated his shoulder.

But he didn’t care as he quickly turned to look at where “Elpyie” stood, and the only one he saw was a hand radiating with a Healing Mage’s Mana.

A tight grip caught Gilbert’s head. He became unable to move for odd reasons.

Gilbert and Horus locked eyes, and Gilbert saw Horus laughing, “Oh, how much your mind has deteriorated, Sir Dragon Slayer. To be caught in such a minor illusion.”

A white light devoured his Gilbert’s sight.

But he didn’t fail to see it, from above, a young man clad in black aura descended with a sword in hand.

Slash!

Colt had arrived.