章 45: Merrier the more.

After a few minutes to fully test the [Potion of Cursed Vitality], the results exceeded Raian's expectations.

It could heal humans or nightmare creatures regardless of origin. Vitality is a vitality, after all—it fuels life. However, too much vitality was equally harmful to nightmare creatures.

Since the worm had no special attributes besides its ashen color and unique body structure, Raian deemed his experiment complete.

Feeling no hostility from the seizing desert worm, he decided to end its misery. Leaning back and charging his right fist, his hand beautifully arched in the air before it devastatingly landed ending it's life.

Dusting off his leather pants, Raian followed after Liala. He felt alright, but having no way to gauge the amount of essence left inside his core, he deactivated his aspect and rushed to follow the trail.

With agility beyond average, Raian followed the direction until he saw her silhouette.

"Found her."

Closing the distance with a leap, Raian landed near her, raising some dust. "It's finished."

However, his entrance received no reaction from Liala. She simply ignored him, continuing to dig into the ground with her hands.

Raising an eyebrow, Raian opened his mouth to ask why she was digging. But Liala gestured for him to stop, pointing toward the ground. "There's somebody underneath."

She looked at Raian awkwardly, tilting her head. "And I think your entrance buried him further."

"Shit!" Cursing himself, Raian quickly started digging alongside her.

"How did you find him?" Raian emphasized 'him' since there was no way to distinguish the voice from the underground.

Still digging, Liala replied with minimal effort, "Before you came, he could make some sound, but not anymore."

"Fuck," Raian cursed again, doubling his efforts. "I refuse to cause the death of my future teammate." Ignoring his earlier decision, Raian let his aspect burst, channeling it into his hands.

Whether it was due to unconscious effort or his desire to succeed, the amount of willpower rushing into his hands exceeded the previous peak when the jet-feet accident happened.

Stabbing the ground and tossing the sand back, careful not to hit Liala, the size of the hole increased as it deepened.

Tunnel-visioned, Raian dug several meters down until something dense caught his arm.

Liala slapped his shoulder. "You tore part of his leg off."

"He'll be fine," Raian said confidently. "After some potion, I'm sure he'll recover well."

Temporarily placing the dismembered part to the side, Raian began to pull the leg, expecting the person to be at death's door. There was no time to wait, he decided.

Pulling with considerable strength, the resistance was less than imagined, and Raian easily pulled the leg backward. To their shock, only the leg came out.

Grimacing in fear, Raian slowly turned to Liala. "Maybe we shouldn't save him."

Kicking Raian away, Liala dug further, following the torn leg. She thought Raian had dismembered the poor person and was contemplating dozens of different ways to apologize.

Following the trail of dry blood, the two managed to pull the body out.

The motionless body, missing its right limbs, plopped onto the sand. Covered with aged dark leather, one look was enough to tell a story of struggle. There were no sharp marks across the cloth, only dents made from bearing overwhelming force. It didn't take long for them to realize the culprit.

"It's those damn crabs," Raian remarked, placing his palms together in a farewell gesture.

Raising her arm with a sigh, Liala stopped him, pointing at the dried blood around the dismembered area and the leather robe still intact on the body. "Not dead yet."

Eyes widening with the realization, Raian hastily summoned his potion and neared the motionless body.

But Liala stopped him again. "Have you tried that on someone like this?" she asked.

Raian raised an eyebrow, questioning her with a look.

Gesturing at the barely breathing body, Liala clarified, "A half-step-dead body."

Without answering, Raian opened the person's mouth and prepared to pour the cursed vitality in. But before he could, the body twitched. Both eyes snapped open, staring at Raian and then at Liala, gathering information from the surroundings.

Leaning back from Raian's suspicious look, the man tried to speak, but only ashen sand exited his mouth.

Coughing with all his might, Raian turned the body face down, allowing the man to cough more easily.

As the coughing spree ended, the man softly muttered something.

Leaning closer, Raian waited for him to repeat it.

"Wa…ter…" the man softly muttered.

Turning around, Raian saw Liala already holding the leather pouch she had summoned. Grabbing the pouch, he generously poured water over the man. 'More was better than less everytime.'

From desperately needing any amount of water to almost drowning in it, the man wanted to block the flow but couldn't move his left arm. Accepting his fate, he closed his eyes in peace still chugging the water.

A few seconds later, the water stopped.

Satisfied with his actions, Raian asked, "Hi, I'm Raian, and she's Liala. What's your name?"

No longer parched, the stranger introduced himself. "I am Bumaru."

Smiling at the response, Raian softly said, "Well, Bumaru, I am sorry."

Not understanding, Bumaru looked at Liala for an explanation, only to see her smiling at him. Somehow, the smile felt sad and full of remorse.

Liala clasped her hands and apologized. "It's for the better."

Before Bumaru could question anything, Raian placed a glass cylinder inside his mouth, forcing him to drink the unknown liquid. A slow wave of warmth bloomed in Bumaru's stomach, spreading outward, soon reaching every part of his body that was still intact.

Wishing to thank them both, Bumaru opened his mouth but froze.

At the center of his stomach, the wave of warmth began to boil.

Clutching his abdomen in fear, he looked at Raian. Instead of answering, Raian cushioned the thick, dry leather of a nightmare creature between Bumaru's teeth and pinned him to the ground.

Feeling his insides boil, Bumaru just opened his mouth and screamed.