Chapter 168: Hard Times

Aside from the pungent smell of decay and his once again tattered clothes, there was no trace of what had just transpired in Lith's tent. Solus' gauntlet form had completely recovered from all her injuries, and was now brimming with power.

- "What the heck? Death Call shouldn't work like that. It was like an entirely different spell."

"Well, for what's worth, you also seemed an entirely different person. Your eyes turned inhuman, and when the energy flow reached its apex, your whole body started to pulse according to its rhythm. You had started to mutate into a…"

Solus couldn't find the words to describe the monstrous silhouette that had almost overlapped with Lith.

"…thing, but thanks heavens everything stopped before it was too late." –

Lith had no recollection of such changes, but by checking Solus' memories, he was able to see what exactly had happened. After his eyes had turned yellow, glowing from the inside with a vertical slit pupil, the dark aura around him had taken a physical form.

Instead of shadow tentacles, his body had released emerald flames, while the shadows in the tent had seemingly taken life, attacking the Talons along with the flames.

The result was sadly impeccable. Nothing had survived the joint assault, not even the weapons, leaving him empty handed for his troubles.

Lith had never experienced anything like that, so he sat cross legged on the floor, activating Invigoration in search for answers. He first scanned his body, then the mana core, finding out that nothing had changed.

Then, he did the same thing on Solus, but the results remained the same.

Everything had happened so fast that it seemed to be just a dream. Yet he felt emptier than ever, like he had grasped something meaningful just to forget it a second after waking up.

He tried several times to conjure those energies and sensations, but to no avail. More confused than ever, he wore his plague doctor uniform. Kilian would arrive any second now, and Lith was eager to iron out the last steps of the cure and get back to his life.

****

Despite their strong, almost friendship-like bond, Tyris didn't like how Leegaain had left their communication channel open, while he was discussing the anomaly with his new apprentice.

Not only because that had triggered Salaark's hilarity at her expenses, but also because it had struck a nerve. The anomaly was in her turf, adding another responsibility to her already heavy workload.

Unlike him, she hadn't slept peacefully over the last centuries, giving the middle finger to the all the problems of his country and only taking action when something major happened.

Nor she had a fine-grained control over her subjects like Salaark, allowing her to delegate at least some of her duties to trustworthy Awakened ones. Her role as a Guardian wasn't to keep, or dominate, it was to spark the change.

Tyris had triggered the unification of the Griffon Kingdom, prompting others to follow its example and putting an end to centuries long wars.

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She had taught true magic to Lochra Silverwing, who in turn had managed to adapt it in forms that ordinary people could use, spreading a ground breaking knowledge that had improved the lives of millions.

With every passing century, she was more tempted to throw in the towel and just mind her own business. Nudging a country in the right direction without directly interfering, while keeping the balance was a mammoth task.

The plague itself was proof of how desperate her situation was. She hadn't taken care of it personally not because she didn't care, but because her plate was already full. In the recent years, Tyris had noticed an increase in the number of Abominations appearing in the Griffon Kingdom.

Normally they were rarer than Awakened ones, but now they were popping out like mushrooms, two or even three each year, too fast for the phenomenon to be a natural occurrence.

The origin points were always near the borders of the Kingdom, where her senses were at their weakest, so that Tyris would notice only when it was too late. She was convinced to have understood the twisted logic behind the Griffon Kingdom being the only target.

Leegaain wouldn't have cared, while Salaark, thanks to her servants, would have found the source of the threat faster than Tyris ever could. Someone was using her to test the powers and resources of the Guardians, but Tyris had no idea why.

She would have loved to ask her colleagues for help, but Guardians were highly territorial. Even if each one of them supervised one third of the biggest continent on the planet, it was never enough, they could barely tolerate each other.

The anomaly was but a small potato, it could wait. First, she had to put an end to the Abomination threat, then she had to make sure that Arjîn was really dead and give the Corpse a new seventh member. Only then she would take a look at the anomaly.

All the while hoping that the Kingdom would still stand by her return, that her descendants would manage to avoid a civil war.

Just the thought of all she had to do, gave Tyris an headache. She sighed deeply, while Mother Earth, her Invigoration technique, informed her that another Abomination had appeared near the northern borders.

"I really need a vacation." She said before Warping away, to catch her mysterious opponent before it could flee again.

***

After learning that her treatment was almost complete, and that Lith would leave soon after he was done with her, Nindra had become quite assertive. She would often sit straight as an arrow, emphasizing her breasts, fiddle with her hair or laugh heartily whenever he would say something barely close to being funny.

Not to mention she would prolong physical contact for a couple seconds longer than it was appropriate.

"Can't you at least tell me your name? I don't think your parents were so imaginative to give you an abstruse name, so there's no harm in me knowing it."

She said while Lith was removing the last parasites from her arms. After that, she would be completely healed, and after giving his final report to Varegrave, Lith would be able to go home.

He couldn't wait to get out of the tent. With the excuse of privacy, Nindra had convinced him to close the curtain, and was whispering every word in his ear.

Being subject of a woman's affections that wasn't his relative or a kid, was arousing ancient instincts, of which the rumours about their death had been greatly exaggerated.

"I'm sorry, but that's classified." Lith replied with a husky voice, like he had a tennis ball stuck in his throat. In another life and other circumstances, he wouldn't let such an opportunity go to waste.

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Alas it was the right person but at the wrong time.

"Also, miss Luce, despite I'm flattered by your attentions, I'm afraid that without this mask, you would discover I'm a little too young for your tastes."

She giggled, making her hair tickle Lith's skin, making him almost wish to throw away the mask and experience a true kiss after over thirteen years of abstinence. Almost.

The situation was quite different from his mad crush for Professor Nalear, his emotions were in check and his priorities straight.

He realized that even if Nindra were to accept him despite his age, which according to the new world moral customs was farfetched, would mean violating every security rule of the camp.

It would likely cost Nindra her life and him all the reputation and trust gained so far, branding Lith like a lustful idiot. So, he quickly finished his work and pulled back the curtain, regaining some personal space.

"Nindra Luce is officially cleansed." He told to the guards.

"Escort her to the third block for the final check-ups before her release. Miss, I'm sorry we had a rocky start, but it was a pleasure to meet you." Lith extended his hand like during their first meeting, only to have it ignored again.

Nindra hugged him tightly.

"Thank you so much doctor. I spent my days here waiting for death before your arrival. I really hope sooner or later I will be able to make it up to you." It was just a subtle movement, but she managed to rub her hips against his during the hug, with predictable consequences.

"If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me." She said with one last whisper before letting him go.

The guards and Kilian extended their hands too, but much to their disappointment, she just shook it while smiling.

"Ready for your last report?" Kilian asked with a tinge of envy in his voice.

"Yes. Now that the last cure has been perfected, there is nothing else for me to do here."

The two men walked in silence, but Lith and Solus talked all the way to Varegrave's tent.

- "It's really flattering for such a woman to be attracted to me without even seeing my face. It means she really appreciated me as a person, instead that for my looks."

"Yeah, but I'm inclined to say it's more likely to be just the suspended bridge effect. Not to mention you are the only decent man she met during her imprisonment. Loneliness is a cruel beast. I know it well." Solus replied.

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"Aren't you being a little sour with jealousy on top?" Lith sent a soft mind smile in her direction.

"Well, duh! Of course I'm jealous. She has everything I dream of." Solus sighed, her life in stone form was getting too little for her by the day.

"Can you imagine what would have happened if I took out the mask?" Lith changed topic, trying to cheer her up.

"Of course I do!"

Solus projected the image of a closed door, and a voice screaming:

"Open up! FBI!"

Before busting it open and make them both chuckle. –

After their arrival, Varegrave used the blue gemstone, opening the channel with the Kingdom's royals.

Lith gave them the good news, explaining how to cure the mana blocking parasite in the details. They weren't as happy as he had expected to, though. Kilian's words were still ringing in their heads, the idea of Lith hiding his skills was reinforced by his masterful analysis.

"It's of the utmost importance to start the process from the abdomen, letting the patient rest for at least three days before continue the treatments."

Nindra's core was the strongest among the last infected, and only needed a day and a half to completely recover. Lith extended the timeframe to remain on the safe side.

"I have noticed that all the patients affected by the mana blocking parasites have an erratic behaviour, probably caused by the toxins messing with their minds. To avoid withdrawal syndrome after the cure, liver and kidneys must first recover their full capacity.

Otherwise they may turn violent, harming themselves or others, like it happened to Garith Senti. His death taught me better to not underestimate the problem."

Lith was really pleased with the excuse he had come out with. Professor Marth was already stressing out the idea of fusing medicine and healing magic, Garith's death was the final push he needed.

"Outstanding work, Mage Lith." King Meron said.

"The Griffon Kingdom is indebted to you. If there is anything you wish for, before leaving, feel free to ask."

Lith needed not to be told twice.

"I'd like to ask for leniency in the matter of Colonel Varegrave. He was grief stricken at the time, but he is a good man, and a loyal servant of the Crown. After this experience, I am thinking of following my brother's lead, and perform the voluntary military service. I would love to serve under an officer that I know and respect."

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- "More importantly, under someone that owns me big time. Having someone in the military could always prove useful in the future, whatever I actually decide to do." -

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