Redmont Manor,

Serisis.

9:32 p.m. 20th Banem 1092.

Kashi, Leila, and the Serian twins watched Rayatha as he crouched over Durst's visibly shrunken frame. The poison's effects had worsened considerably, causing dark, purple like veins to stick out of the orc's muscles. Durst's pallid expression, faint but quick breaths, and vacant gaze revealed the severity of his condition. If he did not get help soon, he would not be long for this world.

Rayatha took out a silver needle from his pouch, and then stabbed Durst's arm with it. He retrieved the needle after a moment, frowning when he noticed the pristine needle has turned pitch-black with clear signs of corrosion. The druid then raised his hand and a cast a spell on the needle. A beautiful green aura surrounded the needle, the pure mana attempting to cleanse the corruption. Unfortunately, even after several seconds passed, the needle's color and condition remained the same.

"It is as I feared," Rayatha stated with an excited glint in his eyes that did not match the situation. "This poison mimics the host's blood, rendering healing impossible."

Kashi raised a brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Contrary to what laymen think, healing spells do not 'heal' the body through magic," Rayatha stated as he began taking out some herbs and bottles from his pouch. "Healing spells borrow mana from the caster to invigorate the target's body's propensity to heal. In the end, it is the injured party's body that is still in charge of healing." The herbalist continued as he began grinding the herbs in a small pot to form a dark green mud. "This is why ordinary healing spells cannot regrow a cut-off body part – Such a thing is beyond a hume's natural healing capability."

"What are you saying exactly?" Leila questioned with furrowed brows. "Can he be saved or not?"

"A few days ago, he would be nothing but a living corpse, but..." Rayatha grinned as he looked up and pointed at the daeben. "Thanks to Kashi here, I do have a cure in mind." The druid pried Durst's mouth open with his left hand and then poured the slush into the orc's mouth with his right. He observed until the orc instinctively swallowed the mixture before then turning to Kashi and proclaiming, "Healing spells cannot differentiate between the target's blood and the poison; hence they will boost the poison's ability to replicate as well as healing the damage done." The druid looked at Chu Ming and the herbalist with a snarky grin. "If I'm not wrong, his condition only worsened after you started healing him?"

The color drained from Chu Ming's face as the princess realized her severe error had led the orc to his death. Fingers shaking, she made to stop the spell, but Rayatha sharply rebuked, "Don't stop! For better or worse, you're the only thing keeping him alive right now. The second you stop your healing spell, the poison will crush what's left of his body."

Chu Ming froze, but then bit her lip and continued with her spell. She did not feel right taking orders from this man she knew nothing about, but a life was on the line. Hence, she swallowed her discomfort and focused on keeping the spell steady for as long as possible.

Rudega meanwhile, was not satisfied with Rayatha's revelation. "If your words are indeed true, this is not a long-term solution." The dwarf's eyes narrowed as he watched Chu Ming's trembling arms. The princess had held that spell for over two hours now. It was no surprise fatigue had begun to set in. "In fact, it isn't even a short-term solution. What do you suggest we do? Spit it out already!"

Rayatha cast a scathing glare filled with disdain and anger at the dwarf. The druid might have sworn loyalty to Kashi, but that did not improve his condescending attitude. Luckily, the druid remembered he was still in Kashi's presence and thus did not lash out. Instead, he took a deep breath and turned his attention back to Durst, who began to spasm heavily as his veins began taking on a dark, murky green color. "The only way to defeat this poison is with a stronger poison. One that will consume poison and blood alike."

"Wait," called Kashi as his eyes widened in realization. "You don't mean—"

"Yes, it's as you fear," Rayatha confirmed with an excited grin. "I made him digest a modified version of the Blight. Its concentrated form should be strong enough to eat up all traces of the poison rapidly."

Kashi shook his head in confusion. "Won't that kill him too? Or at the very least, turn him into a Creature of Blight?"

"It should," Rayatha confirmed as he took out a new set of herbs and began grinding them in a small pot. "However, your world already produces both the disease and cure as a set of herbs." The druid raised the cup, showing Kashi the herbs as he said, "I am yet to name them, but these herbs, when mixed correctly, form an anti-blight formula."

"Then what you fed him earlier?" Leila asked, to confirm her conjecture.

"Yes. That was a blight formula," Rayatha confirmed with a wide grin. "I do not know how, but these never-before-seen plants are growing abundantly in Kashi's world." The druid laughed as he stated, "Once we have studied them enough, we will have the perfect antidote to all poisons."

*cough* *cough*

Durst's spasms worsened, causing him to cough out black, clotted blood. Seeing this, Rayatha nodded as he announced, "The Blight's forced out the last of the poison. Now, all we have to do is cure it."

Kashi moved to raise his hand, but Rayatha shook his head. "One moment, Kashi. Let's see if the antidote works." Under Rudega and Ragnaf's pensive gazes, Rayatha declared poured the new mixture into Durst's mouth.

Boom!

Massive torrents of ki exploded out of Durst's body, sending Chu Ming and the herbalist flying. Luckily for the princess, her sister, Chu Ling, dashed behind and caught her before she hit the ground. The blast almost sent Rudega flying, but Ragnaf held him in place with a steady hand on his shoulder.

Kashi and Leila held their ground, watching Rayatha, who had firmly planted his staff into the ground as if in anticipation. The druid's narrowed eyes exuded a focus and concern utterly foreign to his usual demeanor. Kashi followed his gaze to Durst.

To Kashi's surprise, although Durst was indeed convulsing and foaming at the mouth, the green veins sticking out of his arms were slowly receding. The orc's skin was rapidly regaining its shine and health with each passing moment. Unfortunately, the Blight was not a poison that was easy to get rid of. The battle between the anti-toxin and the Blight wreaked havoc in the orc's body, causing him to convulse in shock.

No one paid as much attention to the raging battle as Rayatha, whose eyes seemed willing to bore into the orc's chest to see the fight for himself. However, with each passing moment, the druid's brows furrowed in a tighter frown. The anti-toxin was taking too long! At this rate, Durst might perish before the blight was purged entirely from his system.

On any other day, Rayatha would have waited it out. There was valuable information to be had from knowing if the orc perished before or after the toxins were removed. Unfortunately, Durst was seemingly crucial to Kashi, and thus, the druid could not risk the orc's life.

Rayatha took a deep breath, closing his eyes in regret as he said, "Kashi if you please."

"You'll get your chance," promised Kashi as he stepped forward and crouched over Durst. He placed his hand on the orc's chest and then proceeded to bathe him in Yggdrasil's healing aura.

The effects were instantaneous. Ever since it absorbed the blight, Yggdrasil had become the most potent anti-blight toxin – so much so that the blight could not exist in its proximity. The pure aura swiftly swept through Durst's systems, purging, and then healing the damaged organs.

Unlike the antitoxin, it only took a minute until the green veins completely receded from view. Durst, meanwhile, coughed up a dark-green clump of corrupted blood which Rayatha quickly swept into a bottle and then immediately corked. No one paid attention to the druid's strange action, however, as their gazes were affixed to Durst, who was going through a rapid transformation before their very eyes.

Yggdrasil's aura did not just rid the orc of the disease, but it began refilling his lost vitality too. Durst's muscles glowed as they expanded, returning the shrunken orc to his original glory.

Princess Chu Ming and the herbalist both stared at the daeben in shock, disbelieving their own eyes. Like Rayatha explained earlier, healing spells only pushed the body to heal itself. They were incapable of restoring lost vitality. However, Kashi was breaking this established rule. Yggdrasil's aura was rapidly filling the orc with life! At this rate, it would only be a moment before—

*Cough* *Cough*

A series of loud coughs interrupted everyone's thoughts as they turned to look at Durst. The fallen orc's eyes slowly opened, blinking several times as they struggled to regain clarity. Eventually, Durst's gaze stabilized, and he frowned as he took in the strange assortment of people around him.

Durst groaned as he forced up, so he sat on the floor. Wincing, he looked at Ragnaf and Rudega as he questioned, "...Where am I?"

"Serisis," Rudega answered with relief in his eyes. "You were poisoned, so we were forced to flee."

Durst groaned, shaking his head as he tried to refresh his memory. "Poisoned? Who would—" The orc paused, and his eyes instantly turned red with rage as the memories started flooding in. "Renark!" Durst roared as he shot to his feet, "Ragelock, you bastard traitor! Wait till I get my hands on you!"

"Stop!" Chu Ming shouted as she rushed in front of Durst before he had a chance to run off. "You have to rest. You might worsen your condition."

Durst glared at Chu Ming but made no move to attack her. Instead, he warned, "Move aside, woman. Who knows what Ragelock might do while I heal." Gritting his teeth, the orc pushed past the young woman as he declared, "I must stop him."

Unfortunately, he didn't go far before someone else stood in front of him. Chu Ling glared at the stubborn orc and questioned, "How exactly are you going to do that? As you are now, you can barely truss up a chicken, let alone fight another orc. My sister and I have expended too much, and unnecessarily earned our country a new set of enemies while nursing you to health, to watch you go off yourself. You owe us your life. The least you can do is answer some questions while you heal."

Durst glanced at Ragnaf, who nodded in confirmation. Following the approval, Durst's gaze softened somewhat, adopting respect and gratitude. The orc then explained with a softened attitude, "I am truly grateful. Believe me, I am. But every second I spend here is another which Ragelock can use to garner more people to his side. If I do not make it back in time, it will be too late." The orc sighed as he pointed at Rudega, "Tell them. Tell them why we must return at once."

Rudega took a step forward under Durst's injunction and said, "I already told the princesses this, but there is a Summoned Guild based out of Ederwood who intend to start a war between the orcs and dwarfs, only to swoop in and steal the spoils after both forces have exhausted themselves. They are despicable and cruel, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goal. Renark is working for them right now. I shudder to think about what they have planned. We cannot delay."

"And what, exactly, is your plan when you return?" Kashi asked as he stepped in front of Durst. The daeben revealed a mocking smile as he taunted, "Rally the orcs to your cause? Do not kid yourself. You and I both know the first thing this Ragelock character will do once he returns, is challenge the Orc leader to an Uruk-thai – following which he will publicly denounce and then name you an outcast."

Durst's eyes trembled, but the orc retained his composure as he stared at the daeben. "Who are you? Why do you know of Uruk-thai?"

"You can call me Kashi." Kashi shrugged, and then said, "Let's just say a brother of mine dealt with a lot of or

s in his time." The daeben ignored Durst's frown as he said, "I used up a lot of my vitality to heal you. I do not know how quickly I will recover, but now, you want to go off half-cocked and get yourself killed?" The daeben folded his arms, a challenging glint in his eyes as he said, "No, thank you. But you know what? Let no one say I am not fair." Squeezing his fist, Kashi looked at Durst with a taunting gaze. "Let's do it this way... One punch. If you can withstand a single blow from me, I will be convinced you are strong enough to get home and accomplish your mission unscathed."

"A single blow?" Durst questioned with a ridiculous gaze. He looked around, noting the same skepticism in everyone's eyes – well, all except Leila, whose head was hung, hands covering her face.

Kashi grinned as he raised his fist. "A single blow."

Durst hesitated, but then nodded and braced himself. "Let's do that." The orc crossed his arms in front of him and took in a deep breath. His muscles instantly hardened as he did, adopting a hardness akin to that of metal. Durst glared at the smug daeben across from him and then roared, "Come!"

"I'm coming," replied Kashi, sporting a sinister grin as he slowly walked toward Durst.

Durst measured Kashi's aura, feeling confident in his ability to tank at least a single punch. But just as he was assuring himself, Kashi's aura exploded when he was less than ten steps away. It was not a matter of a few tiny notches, but an exponential increase! Unbeknownst to the poor orc, Kashi just activated [Ferulic's Technique].

But that was not all.

Before Durst could react, he felt his world instantly darken until only the daeben remained in his sights. What's worse, the orc could make out thousands, no millions of Maggots rushing towards him from all directions, with the sole intention of making his body their new home. This overwhelming pressure arose from Kashi's awoken [Bloodlust].

Kashi still was not done!

Durst nearly bit off his tongue as he watched scales begin to grow along the daeben's arm and legs until even his head had turned into that of a dragon. The mighty humanoid, obsidian dragon stepped within two feet of Durst, red eyes blazing hot as it drew its arm back.

"W-w-w-Wait!" Durst shouted, but it proved too little, too late as the fist rocketed toward his face. The orc's life flashed before his eyes as he watched the fist grow increasingly larger in his vision till it was all he saw and knew. His entire existence, everything he had achieved, all seemed to have been for the sole purpose of meeting this fist on this day, at this time.

BOOOOM!

The onlookers ducked for cover as a massive shockwave blasted through the compound and shattered a wall to smithereens. When the worst had passed, they raised their heads, stunned to see Kashi standing in front of Durst with a lazy smile. He had returned to his daeben form and looked as harmless as the child next door. But the last few seconds proved this to be a total lie.

Kashi, seemingly oblivious to the commotion he caused, looked at Chu Ming and then said with a bright smile, "Have someone see to him. He needs the rest." With that, he turned around, winked at Leila, and then walked back toward the manor.

Leila and the rest turned to look at Durst, who as if on cue, suddenly toppled over, glazed eyes indicating he had fainted from shock.

Chu Ling looked from the unconscious orc to the daeben's back, challenge, and a desire to fight evident in her sparkling red eyes.