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"Ma... Ahhh... Master, h... Help. P-please... We are u... Attack."

'What was that? That was Deirdre's voice. She... She was with Lilian...' I think at full speed, confused, as a cold hatred and fear begin to build up in me as I come to understand.

"NOOOGRRRRUAA" as soon as I fully realize what's going on, I scream at the same time as Azur roars as we kick off the spiritual fusion, and a single idea echoes in our two consciousnesses until they become one.

'Not Deirdre!'

When the fusion is complete, our voices become a single roar.

"Xelean, what the-" Gell starts to say, but recoils in fright at the sight of my semi-draconic appearance, with black eyes with vertical pupils and bluish energy covering my body.

I rush to the only window in the room, while I see how its owner and his two companions look at me with wide-eyed gazes, the first one with curiosity and the two women with panic.

The window is too small to be able to get out of it, but it doesn't matter. The only thing I need to know is that on the other side is the sky. I don't have time to get lost in these little concrete and stone caves created by the orcs.

I prepare myself, and, raising my fist and channeling all my strength into it, I begin to strike the wall of the window.

The first blow cracks the surface.

'What had Deirdre said the name of the orc smith's family was?... Armstrong'

The second blow deepens the cracks and widens them. But the rage and impatience at not being able to get rid of the wall blocking my passage to Deirdre are huge, and so I generate a giant claw of bluish energy around my fist, and at the same time a terrible roar escapes again from deep in my chest.

'It's supposed to be an important family of the empire, so its location should be among the new information on my interface map, right?'

The third blow causes a good section of the wall to crumble, creating enough space for someone to pass through. At the same time, I hear Garnuk's voice behind my back saying "You see, Gell, that's the real strength."

'Good. If it's on my map, that saves me having to ask the orc flying wizard.'

I leap across the space I opened and begin to fall as I see that I'm several stories up.

I spread my wings to stabilize myself in the air and look in the direction indicated on the map. In the distance, I can see a small pillar of golden light stretching skyward, already beginning to fade.

'That's Lilian's sacred magic; its color is unmistakable. And, in a city where there are almost no mages, she is the only one that can be responsible for the pillar of light.'

I fly in that direction at all the speed my wings allow me while trying to boost my speed even more by throwing fire from my palms and hind legs, mimicking what I had seen Gell do.

As I fly, my anger and hatred become stronger and stronger, boosting my magic. Which increasingly allows me to fly faster and faster and causes the edges of my field of vision to turn bluish.

When I reach the approximate area where I saw the pillar of light, I activate my radar ability to find them. But no enemy appears on my radar.

'What does this mean... I need to think fast. If they are Lilian's or Deirdre's enemies but not mine, it stands to reason that they won't show up.... at least not until they show hostility against me, but then... Then I can only rely on my vision and ears.'

I try to ignore the noise I make as I flap my wings, stop emitting fire from my limbs, and concentrate on the sounds as I begin to fly in wide circles over the area.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of gunfire to my right, and I head in that direction.

Below me, I see a narrow alley, dimly lit by the evening light, with only thirteen people in it.

The first one I see is Deirdre, standing and on guard, both daggers in hand, opposing a group of 10 soldiers to protect what's left of two people I can't recognize due to the amount of blood on them.

The wounded bodies are at the bottom of a small crater that has formed in the pavement, probably due to an explosion, and that is why the blood they have lost has remained stagnant, concentrating in the center of the crater.

'I guess that's what's left of Lilian and Sebastian...'

As soon as I see them, I descend in a hurry to get between my companion and the soldiers.

When I reach the ground next to the little therian, she tries to speak upon seeing me, "Xe.... I'm s...sorry" but she faints. I hold her in my arms, standing with my back to the soldiers and using my wings as a shield against their gunfire, though they have stopped being heard since I arrived.

Deirdre is not wearing armor and is dressed only in a short blouse, which leaves her abdomen exposed, and tight jeans. And, for that reason, her whole body is covered with horrible wounds produced by the soldiers' bullets.

'That's the reason why you should never let your guard down. But I suppose it's normal that she felt weird wearing her armor after returning to live with her parents for a few days.... The weird thing is that the soldiers are humans, but they are using orc rifles. Also, why didn't anyone come to intervene despite the sound of gunfire?'

Quickly, a series of fleeting and meaningless thoughts crossed my mind, but I don't have time for that now.

'I have to concentrate! Deirdre has too many bleeding wounds.... It would take too long to apply a potion externally, and at this rate, she'll die before the potion takes effect.'

I try to get her to drink a potion with a shaky hand due to my nerves, tilting the uncovered vial over the girl's mouth, but she coughs and the contents spill on the floor.

'But she can't drink while unconscious either.... Shit, what do I do...'

While I'm thinking, I hear a voice I recognize behind my back. It seems that the identity of one of the soldiers is Victor, Lilian's cousin. "Hello, Mr. Champion. Look. Those people have committed crimes against our kingdom, and we're just following the law..." says the man in a nervous tone, and in the absence of my response, he keeps talking "I-it's not our fault that your partner got in the way… come on, don't be like that because of that bitch. Look, Mr. Champion, I've got it covered."

As I still don't answer him, he tries to change tactics, while I desperately think at full speed about what to do with Deirdre and try to heal some of her wounds with a potion to buy time.

"We're going to get paid handsomely for taking out those two people in that crater, and you could be a part of it. The prize money from the tournament will seem like peanuts compared to what they'll give us. With that money, you could buy other therian slaves. Lots of them.... We even use these orc weapons to make it look like it's their fault..."

'The blond soldier is wasting his breath uselessly. From the moment they damaged what is mine, they had already signed their death warrant. But... So that's the reason why no one is coming.... Joaquín was right. They are all mercenaries. Anyway, that means I can't expect any kind of help to cure Deirdre'

I think, annoyed by the noise of Victor's voice as I try to find a solution for this situation.

'The externally applied potion takes effect, but… Deirdre still has too many wounds, and her breathing is getting weaker and weaker.'

"...But, if you don't want to change your mind.... it's a pity... Guys, the situation is the same as what happened with that fucking animal. No matter how strong he is, he can't move if he wants to protect those scumbags, so let's just keep shooting," Victor says, finishing speaking and firing the first bullet against my back.

The rest of the soldiers, who had stopped shooting when I arrived, immediately started shooting again, following Victor's orders.

'Luckily, their aim is lousy. Otherwise, I might not have made it in time.'

I think, as only a few bullets hit my body and most are lost in the distance.

They keep shooting, but the bullets from the orc rifles can't do much to me in my fused state. My defense and health are too high. They only take a point or two of health from me, and my health is 1720.

Suddenly, I come up with an idea that might work. I take out another health potion and drink it, holding its contents in my mouth.

I open Deirdre's mouth with one hand while holding her with the other. I lean down to bring my lips to her mouth and, helping myself with my breath, force the contents of the potion into her stomach.

'Good, I made it'

I think, relieved, but then I notice something strange.

'The wounds.... They are not healing. Is it too late?'

At this thought, anger explodes inside me with an intensity I haven't felt since Joseph's death, and the air around me begins to heat up as I lay Deirdre's body carefully on the ground.

I slowly turn and walk away from the body of my fallen companion as tears begin to form in my eyes and evaporate as they fall down my cheeks.

As I look in the direction of the soldiers, I witness an extraordinary and strange phenomenon. I see energy floating in the air, swirling, and connecting all things. The energy covers all things and is inside all things at the same time....

'Where does all this mana come from? No, that doesn't matter. What matters now is that these people have to suffer.'

And, instinctively, I feel that I can use that energy for my purposes. Molding it and altering its nature.

'What would happen if I tried to burn the energy inside the soldiers from here?'

Suddenly, four of the soldiers begin to burn, their entire bodies suddenly covered in bluish flames. The horrible howls of pain they emit make it immediately clear to me that my goal of making them suffer is being accomplished.

'Well... Fire purifies... and they are impurities to be erased from this world.... Now for the remaining 6...'

The six soldiers are trying to flee as they see the fate of their companions, but, just as the idea of burning the energy of the four soldiers came to me, the inspiration comes to me to try to twist and compress the energy in their bodies with my energy, extending it out of my body to reach them.

Before my eyes, the bodies of Victor and his five companions begin to fall to the ground and writhe in pain without emitting the slightest sound, while blood begins to spurt from all visible orifices of his body.

By this time, of the first four soldiers, only four black spots remain on the ground, with remnants of ashes and melted metal.

And the six soldiers who tried to flee are not much better off, as their bodies begin to dry out and contract rapidly as the last drops of blood leave them.

Suddenly I feel very tired, and I stop noticing the energy in the air. After which, the images before me begin to disgust me.

So, not taking it anymore, I turn to what's left of my companion and approach her body, as anguish and helplessness run through me and tears begin to blur my vision.

'H-her wounds… seem to be in a little better shape... but that's surely a figment of my imagination, which is trying to delude me with illusions. After all, she doesn't seem to be breathing...'

I lean towards Deirdre's corpse for a closer look, and as I'm leaning over, suddenly Gell's voice is heard from behind me "Xelean, what have you done?"