Both Anon and Queen Derein rushed back to the healer camps, their faces grim with determination. There, they found King Arthur lying on a large bed, surrounded by a circle of healers casting continuous healing spells.
As Arthur caught sight of Derein, he spoke in a soft and weakened tone, “Hello, My Love.”
“No, Arthur. Save your strength, don’t speak,” Derein pleaded.
“I don’t have much time. I can feel it, my body is fading,” Arthur spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.
Cough-cough He suddenly coughed, vomiting a handful of blood.
“No, No, No… Healers, do something!” Derein shouted in desperation.
“Queen Derein, can you come here for a moment?” The Great Mother called for her.
Reluctantly, Derein approached, but Arthur grabbed her hand to stop her. “Don’t go, she will tell you what I already know. My time is running out.”
“No, that’s not it, Arthur-” Derein tried to reason, but the Great Mother interrupted.
“King Arthur is right. His end is near, and there’s no easy way to say it. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth,” the Great Mother said somberly.
“How can he die? There are over sixteen healers here, and you’re saying he will still die?” Derein asked, her anger seeping through her words.
“Derein, please calm down,” Grok intervened as he grabbed her hand.
“I understand-” Grad began, but Derein’s rage turned on him, her eyes glowing bright blue.
“Shut up, You don’t know how it feels to lose someone, you love. This guy over here didn’t even got married and you, your wife is still alive, right ? But i lost many things and I can’t lose him.” Derein spoke as she looked at grad and grok.
“Ma’am, this is the harsh reality of life. One who is born must die, and today is King Arthur’s time. No matter what we do, it cannot be altered, it’s written by the gods. You can’t change fate of the one that the god wrote for him.” the Great Mother spoke solemnly.
“Enough, don’t tell me if he will die or live. Just tell me the problem in healing him,” Queen Derein asked one of the healers.
“My Queen, King Arthur has been affected by Negative Mana. It’s consuming his original mana, turning him into a demon from within. Our healing powers can only slow it down, but we can’t reverse or destroy it,” the healer responded.
“Is there any artifact or magical medicine that can help? Maybe we need more experienced healers? Call more experienced healers feom my kingdom.” Queen Derein asked, her eyes fixed on Arthur.
“Time is precious, my love. Come here; I want to talk to you and make the gods jealous, knowing I spoke to the most beautiful woman in my final moments,” Arthur stretched his hand towards Derein.
“We should give them some privacy; everyone out of the tent,” the Great Mother commanded.
“Can I take a look?” Anon asked, directing his gaze at Derein.
“Who are you? What are you doing in this camp?” The Great Mother asked with an air of suspicion.
“Ma’am, he’s the one I was telling you about,” one of the elite knight commanders whispered to the Great Mother.
“Oh, I-I apologize, dear sir. I didn’t know who you were. Please forgive my rudeness,” the Great Mother’s tone shifted.
“May I take a look at him, Queen Derein?” Anon asked again as he closed his distance.
“Sure, go ahead,” Derein replied, standing up as she understood his powers and hoped that he can heal arthur.
“Hello, Sir. I am King Arthur, and I owe you more than I can express. You came as an ally and helped us win this war. You are like a god’s mercenary to us. Please meet my son after this ordeal, and one more thing: If you don’t mind, can you kill me when I start turning into a demon? These healers won’t do it until I kill one of them, so please,” Arthur spoke emotionally.
“Quiet,” Anon said as he placed his hand on Arthur’s chest, where a dark energy was decaying his body.
“Ahhh…” Arthur winced in pain.
[Dense Negative Mana Has been Detected]
[Would you like to Absorb The Negative Mana?]
Two screens appeared in front of Anon.
‘Yes.’ Anon answered without hesitation.
The black negative mana started leaving Arthur’s body, forming a ball of dark matter on Anon’s fingertip. As it departed, the healing process accelerated, and Arthur’s chest began to recover at an astonishing rate.
“This is absurd. How is he manipulating Negative Mana? Only demons can do that,” one of the knight captains said, gripping his sword’s hilt.
“He’s right, Queen Derein. I think your new friend here is a demon,” the Great Mother added.
Chk
Chk
Two swords were immediately pointed at Anon, one by Grok and the other by Grad.
“The healing is working. Look, King Arthur is healing,” one of the healers exclaimed.
“Put your weapons down. I will count to three, and if any swords are pointed at this man, I will point mine at him. Now, 1, 2…3.” Before Derein could reach “3,” all the swords were lowered.
“But he’s a demon. He can control Negative Mana. Are we now friends with a demon?” Grok argued. 𝘰𝑣𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
“At least he’s not killing you, and he’s helping Arthur. So, if you use your brains, you’ll see that he’s a friend, not an enemy, you fools,” Derein snapped.
[Negative Mana has been absorbed completely]
Anon stood up, holding a basketball-sized sphere of black matter in his hands, and walked out of the tent.
“Let’s see what you can do.” Anon said as he threw the Negative Mana sphere towards a nearby tree.
As it touched the tree, the Negative Mana enveloped it, decaying the tree into nothing within seconds.
“That’s toxic, i can’t imagine what would’ve happened to my body if i were to use it.” Anon remarked, looking at the tree.
Anon then looked at his finger and noticed that his bone was visible because the black matter of negative mana has eaten away his finger’s mass.