Lysara had been carefully watching Serathiel the entire time, she saw the surprise on the Dragon’s face, she heard her admit that something inside her body actually felt better.
It was a big moment, even for her.
So when Kaine walked towards her with the silver-white vial in his hand, Lysara’s eyes followed it.
Kaine noticed that and for him, that alone was progress. Till now, Lysara accepted anything that happened, she would take whatever was given to her without even looking because in her mind, nothing would make a difference.
That alone was different.
But now...
She was paying attention.
Kaine saw this as a small victory.
He sat beside her as carefully as possible, then, he explained a little.
"This is meant to stabilise your Spiritual Roots and restore some of your basic vitality."
Lysara’s remaining ear twitched.
"...restore?"
Kaine paused.
That was... the first question she ever asked him.
"Yes."
He nodded.
"If the treatment works properly, your body should start recovering."
Lysara stared at him, then at the medicine.
She still didn’t believe him, not completely, but...
She saw Serathiel’s breathing change, that was something she couldn’t simply ignore.
"Open your mouth."
Lysara obeyed.
Kaine carefully applied the medicine, her body absorbed it and a few seconds later, Lysara’s remaining ear twitched again and her expression changed.
The constant dull pressure she always felt inside her head... it weakened.
Her breathing became slightly easier, even the strange heaviness surrounding her damaged Spiritual Roots seemed less suffocating than before.
Lysara slowly looked down at herself, her remaining tail shifted beneath the blanket, for a long moment, she said nothing.
Then, she looked up at Kaine and for the first time since she came here...
There was something other than resignation in her eyes.
Possibility.
For the first time in a long time, Lysara was considering that perhaps not everything happening to her was meaningless.
[Ding!]
[Restoration treatment successfully administered.]
[Lysara.]
[Stage One: Restore Basic Vitality.]
[Restoration Progress: 0.00% → 6.11%.]
[Permanent improvement detected.]
[Perception +0.21.]
[Agility +0.09.]
[Vitality +0.05.]
[Recovery Points +6.]
Kaine felt another wave of warmth spreading through his body, only this time, it felt a little different. Instead of spreading heavily through his muscles, it moved upward, through his neck, his ears and his eyes.
For a brief moment, Kaine became strangely aware of the room around him.
The faint rubbing of cloth as Serathiel moved beneath her blanket, the tiny sound of Nerys breathing, even the soft ticking of the clock suddenly seemed clearer.
He felt the sensation settle into his body, becoming... permanent.
Two treatments, both worked.
That felt... reassuring.
Thinking about it, Kaine finally picked up the third vial and this time, Nerys’s eyes immediately followed his hand.
The Shadow Demon watched everything, she saw how both Serathiel’s and Lysara’s faces changed.
So when Kaine turned towards Nerys, her body still tensed up, but this time, she did not shrink away. Her fingers tightened around Lysara’s sleeve instead as she stared at the black liquid in his hand.
"This one is yours."
Kaine spoke as he sat next to her.
"This medicine is meant to weaken the seals inside your body."
Nerys paused as her free hand slowly moved towards her chest. She knew exactly what seals Kaine was talking about and... just thinking about them terrified her.
Then, she slowly opened her mouth, without Kaine having to tell her to.
That made Kaine stop.
To think... she would do something without him telling her to...
Nerys noticed his pause and immediately started becoming nervous, she began to close her mouth but before she could misunderstand, Kaine spoke softly.
"Good."
Then, he carefully applied the medicine.
Once the medicine disappeared, Nerys remained completely still, waiting for something to happen. Then suddenly,
Crack.
Her entire body shuddered.
Kaine’s face changed.
"Nerys?"
He moved closer.
Nerys didn’t answer, thin violet lines appeared beneath the skin around her collarbone, they spread for a short distance, then one of them shattered.
Crack
Nerys grabbed her chest.
"Nerys, are you alright?"
Kaine was now even more concerned.
Nerys’s eyes widened in surprise, then, she saw Kaine panicking.
"I... I am fine."
She spoke in a low voice.
"I feel... good."
She explained.
Something did happen.
All this while, Nerys felt something wrapped tightly around her Core, something that resisted every attempt her power made to move through her body.
It had been there for so long that she had almost forgotten what it felt like before the seals existed.
But now...
One small, very small part of that pressure... disappeared.
The medicine worked.
It... it really worked.
She stared at Kaine again, this time, not in fear, but in disbelief.
[Ding!]
[Restoration treatment successfully administered.]
[Nerys.]
[Stage One: Break Outer Binding Seals.]
[Restoration Progress: 0.00% → 7.84%.]
[Permanent improvement detected.]
[Agility +0.16.]
[Vitality +0.07.]
[Maximum Mana +2.]
[Recovery Points +7.]
Kaine felt another wave of warm energy moving inside his body, and this time, it wasn’t alone. It came together with a faint current that he recognised.
Mana.
His expression changed. His body felt slightly lighter, more responsive, and somewhere deep within him, the amount of Mana his body could hold had increased.
After a short pause, Kaine stood up.
He looked at his hands, then he clenched both fists.
His muscles felt stronger, his body felt healthier, his senses were sharper than before and his Mana capacity had increased.
Three treatments, three recoveries, three permanent improvements in his own body.
Kaine stared at the three women in front of him and a small smile appeared on his face.
This...
This was really happening.
The System wasn’t lying, he really could heal them and if their recovery continued... he would continue growing as well.
Kaine’s expression slowly changed.
For eighteen years, he had trained for one thing alone.
Strength.
He wanted to be the strongest of all, someone no one in the world could hurt.
He thought that dream ended the moment he refused to Sever the Contracts and kept his summons and he accepted that.
But perhaps...
Perhaps he didn’t have to.
Perhaps... he could still fulfil his dream.
Kaine clenched his fists again as the smile on his face widened.
Then—
Grrrrrrrrr
The room went silent.
Kaine blinked.
Serathiel froze, Lysara’s ear twitched and Nerys immediately lowered her head in absolute fear.
Her stomach made a sound.
She didn’t even know why. Her stomach hadn’t made a sound in years. After being left without food for days at a time, at some point, it had simply stopped asking to be fed.
But whatever it was, she made a sound she wasn’t supposed to. She slowly looked up at Kaine, looking to see what he would do to her and Kaine...
"I apologize."
He apologised.
"I was so focused on finding a way to heal you that I completely forgot the Protection Period had ended... and that meant you would need food again.
You three must be starving."
He then looked specifically at Nerys and...
"Please, forgive me for being careless. It won’t happen again, I promise."
And Nerys...
She just blinked in surprise, unable to understand what was happening.
She was the one who made the mistake.
Why was... he apologizing?