"AAHHHUGH..." Thanatos vomited blood as his organs were pierced by the Elemental Lion. He was feeling an unbearable amount of pain. His stomach felt like it was boiling and his mind was about to pass out. The Beast was happy. Seeing the pain of the small human, he was about to end his suffering. The lion opened his mouth, letting his fangs shine under the sun, ready to kill the annoying prey.

Anyone would think this was the end for them, but Thanatos smiled. You bastards always think the same. It doesn’t matter if you're human or animal. When you let an opponent live for longer than necessary, you must be ready to accept the consequences. "[Retribution]"

The lion felt his stomach being pierced. No, it was obliterated by some invisible attack. The blood flowed like a river of red. "GGGHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA" It was painful. He had never felt anything so painful in his life. He refused to move, even if he didn't know how. He was sure it was this man who had done this to him. He bit with all his strength, but his fangs only reached the air. A new pain was hitting his left side.

Neo had struck with her claws at the side of the lion like a harpoon, pushing him to the side and saving Thanatos' life. That was the last of the potion of strength she had in her body.

The lion crashed to the side, writhing in pain. Neo had to jump out of the way, the beast refused to stand down. Thanatos looked to the side before he heard a voice coming closer.

"Thanatos, please drink this; it is the healing potion." It was Lia, running to his side. She pulled out one of the healing potions and gave it to him. With great struggle, Thanatos drank the potion. He felt his insides calm down. The pain was lessened, and he could move again.

"Lia, do you still have the secret weapon?"

"Yes, it is here." Lia gave him a small flask with a transparent liquid.

"Thanks, go give the other healing potion to Neo when you get the chance." He stood up, ready to join the fight again. He wasn't fully healed; these potions were only equivalent to a [Minor healing] spell. Some of his organs were still damaged and needed more treatment, but right now, killing the lion was the only thing on his mind.

Neo was dodging the hits of the lion. Even after taking all that damage, the beast refused to die. She was getting tired after moving so much, and it only took a moment for the claws to almost rip off her right arm. The gashes were profound; another strike almost hit her, but she was saved.

The undead Hydra appeared to block him using his own body. Thanatos was running with the secret weapon in his hand. The Hydra bit with his remaining 4 heads to keep the lion from moving. It was a useless attempt. Even though the heads were piercing the damaged skin, the lion could withstand the poison without a problem. That was the moment the beast realized that something was wrong.

The Hydra was biting him, but he didn't feel any poison entering his body. Why? In all his battles against Hydras, they had been trying to poison him. But now the fangs biting into his flesh were empty.

While the lion was biting the reaming heads, Thanatos took a deep breath, jumped, and threw the flask at the lion. The small bottle broke into hundreds of pieces. The transparent liquid splashed onto the skin of the lion and his face. The liquid began to burn like acid.

"GGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAA." The beast cried out in agony as his flesh was being burned by the liquid. It was a concentrated extract of Hydra poison. Thanatos had used his undead servant to make a burning concoction of pain. This was his secret weapon.

"Do you like that bastard! You can withstand Hydra venom from a couple of heads, but what about a concentrated equivalent of a dozen heads biting on the same spot! HAHAHA!" He laughed as he saw the suffering of the lion.

Meanwhile, in the back, Lia gave Neo the healing potion. Her arm healed after she drank it.

"Neo, I need you to use your power so we can finish this." Thanatos talked to her without looking away from the lion.

"O-Ok, which one should I use?"

"Mmm. The crab. Try to keep him still."

With those orders, Neo nodded her head and began to focus her energy.

"Spirit of the Giant Crab. I summon you to grant me your strength one last time." The power of the spirits inside Neo began to focus on her right arm. The light transformed into a giant white crab pincer. This was the true power of a shaman. She used the energy of all the spirits inside her to manifest the power of a spirit back into the other living world. She kept this hidden from Thanatos and Lia until the last moment before they entered the Elemental Lion territory.

This was the only chance. A move that is all or nothing. She didn't want to use it, but hearing Thanatos had made something move inside her. There was no hesitation in her mind.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH" With a shout, Neo jumped onto the lion, who had just barely managed to recuperate from the pain of the venom. She closed the pincer around the waist of the beast and pushed him down so he couldn't move.

The lion tried to break free, but he was too tired and beaten. Still, he refused to die. He clawed and bit around the pincer, taking some of the white chunks apart. Neo couldn’t maintain this for long.

Thanatos took a deep breath and began to sprint toward them. He ran as fast as his body could, his insides were hurting again but it didn´t matter he had to kill this beast.

The lion saw the man that had caused him so much pain running at him. He gathered the last of the mana inside him, and a ball of lightning appeared.

Fuck, he still has magic left on him. Is he going to shoot at me? No wait! Thanatos reached the most logical conclusion. If it were a dumb animal, he would shoot at Thanatos. Unfortunately, it was smart. "Neo, he's going to shoot you with lightning. Run!" He screamed at her, but Neo was too focused on the task to keep him still.

Thanatos was running at maximum speed; he wasn't going to make it in time. The lion turned his head and shot. The ball exploded right beside Neo, missing her by only a few meters. He missed... no, someone hit him and made him miss.

The lion looked at the broken pieces of glass on the ground. He felt a slight pain in his face. A bottle had hit him at the last moment and caused him to miss. He managed to see a silhouette in the back. It was a woman. Since when was a third person here? She threw something at him. Those were the Elemental Lion's last thoughts as his head went flying.

The battle was over. Thanatos decapitated the lion with his hands. The head went flying to the other side of the battlefield. The body lay motionless, bleeding from the neck and multiple wounds.

"YES HAHAHAHA."

"YOU DID IT."

"FUCKING FINALLY. WE WON."

They were ecstatic. The hard fight was over. Screams of happiness filled the forest. All that effort and pain was for something.

Neo felt the spirits leaving her body. This was the price of shamanism: once the task is completed, the spirits move to the next world. Her body felt tired, but she was alive. That alone was a cause for celebration. "You saved me." She looked at Lia. "At the last moment, that attack would have killed me, but you saved me."

"It was nothing like saving you. I just distracted him for a moment. Thanatos was about to save you too." Lia tried to deflect the gratitude.

"No, I couldn't make it. It was you who saved Neo." Thanatos interrupted her.

"E-Even if you say that... I'm still useless compared to you or Neo-"

"AAAHHH, SHUT UP. I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE" Neo screamed, leaving the other two surprised. "No more lies, please. My heart can't handle it anymore. Talk to each other, just tell the truth. What you guys really feel. You guys are tired of carrying that weight alone, right? So just let it out for the spirit's sake."

They tried to make sense of what Neo was saying, but the only thing she could be talking about was their secret feelings. They stood in front of one another for what felt like a very long time. Thanatos was the first to speak.

"Lia, I don’t think you're useless. You try to pass the credit to me or downplay your own achievements. I don’t like it. You're amazing. The only reason I made it this far is because you were around me supporting me"

"T-Then if you don’t think I'm useless, then why did you get tired of being around me?"

"I'm not tired of being around you. Why do you think that?"

"You have been avoiding me since we went to the Capital. I thought that I had become a nuisance to you."

"The reason I was avoiding you was because... I was afraid of something happening to you"

"What? Something happening to me?"

"I´m afraid that being around me is going to put you in danger. It almost happened in the forest against the Hydra. If something happens to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself because…" Thanatos grabbed his face, hiding the shame.

"You already saved my life when we met for the first time. I'm the one who does dumb things to be around you because…"

"I- I like you, Lia. I'm in love with you" They both blushed as he said those words. "That's why I can't cut you out of my life, even if it is for the best. I'm sorry."

"I-I want to be part of your life. Because I-I-I I like you too" They blushed even more. "I love you too, Thanatos. That's what my heart told me."

"T-Then you don’t like Silver? When I saw you two at the party, I thought…"

"You thought that I liked him? I just met him at the party. He helped because I was sad after I made you remember unpleasant things. I'm sorry for making you sad." She looked down to hide her tears.

"Haha then can I tell you something…" Lia looked at Thanatos. He was crying with a smile on his face. "I'm so happy right now that tears are falling from my eyes. Sometimes people cry when they're happy. They also cry when they're sad. I should have told you this in the Capital when I saw your sad face. Please Lia, don’t force a fake smile on your face."

"A fake smile?"

"If you feel sad, then cry your eyes out. Cry till you let all the bad feelings out. Don't listen to other people about whether it is worth crying or not. You're your own person. No one else can tell you about your feelings. If you feel it is worth crying, then cry till your heart's content." He stopped for a moment.

"I… I lost someone precious to me because she hid her pain. She hid it so much that she became a ghost. Please Lia, I don’t want you to disappear too." His expression was one of both sadness and happiness.

"Sniff... Okay... I promise I won't leave. I won't disappear from your side... sniff." With quiet tears rolling down her face, Lia hugged Thanatos.

They stood there for a long time, holding each other in silence. Neo sat down at the side, exhausted by witnessing the conversation.