Chapter 155 - The Personification Of Poison

"You have my gratitude for bringing me so close, old lady! Achelous: Trans-Rebuttal!" 

From his form, a pulse of aqua emanated; holding its form as it rapidly stretched out to encompass both him and the gaseous malice. The liquid seemed to retaliate against the very concept of Macheo being touched, grasping onto AKHLYS--this time not losing its form to her corruptive nature. 

Iris could only watch in suspense; no inkling of the status of the spell cast by the boy was known to her. She slapped her own cheeks to call back her own focus, once again attempting to recall AKHLYS, if only to prohibit its movements for a moment. 

The aggressive aqua latched itself onto the bony forearm of the entity--the exact same spot as which it held onto Macheo. A crushing, crunching sound resounded before the water had completely crushed the poisonous figure's forearm, snapping it away from its body and relieving its hold on the young man. 

--He did it?!

Before a feeling of relief could take place in her heart, she took notice of the black mark that had replaced the pale complexion of his exposed skin. 

Iris opened her mouth to yell to him to retreat--to go to the primorelf village to receive treatment, but she knew right now that those words would not suffice for the arrogant noble. 

"...Do it now!"

Encouragement; it was the best and only choice she could think of, fueling the mountain-sized ego of Macheo likely directly amplified his prowess. 

She could see it--he was trembling as he stood before the entity, yet he stood his ground with a smile that could not be called false. It wailed out with its haunting screech, slamming its chipped, vile teeth together rapidly as if consuming a meal so ravenously. 

"Hear me; I am the bearer of your mark on this world, the blood that runs through my veins is of your creation. There is no one in this vast world who can compare, not of your grace, strength, or authority--"

As Macheo opted for great magic, manifested a spiral of newly manifested water around himself, Iris desperately held the gaseous entity back--conjuring a pain that she felt in the marrow of her bones, feeling each of her muscles twitch as she forced herself to hold on. 

Being directly connected to it, the harrowing presence it held with it was felt directly in her heart, feeling the warmth of her strained muscles battle against the chilling despair that crawled over her skin. It was impossible for her to imagine what it felt like to be in his place, standing face to face with AKHLYS. 

"It's of your jurisdiction that evil shall be vanquished, by your call shall my hand be guided--this is the retribution that corruption must face. Poseidon: Na Staloun Tartarus!"

By his command, the humble amount of liquid shifted into a great tide, circling the region around AKHLYS and boxing the entity in with massive walls of raging aqua. The rectangular room of imprisoning liquid then melded into a sphere, releasing a wave of steam that quickly traveled the perimeter, pelting against Iris with a somewhat comforting heat. 

"Rupture and return to nothingness, vile woman."

Macheo muttered words only heard by himself and the inhuman entity, looking into the black depths where its eyes likely would have been. 

Following his own words, the sphere released its form momentarily, caving in towards the imprisoned spirit with enormous blades of water that wrapped and carved into its rotten flesh, binding it with a divine grip. 

With a squeeze of his fist, the aquatic bindings snapped with full strength, rendering the malevolent entity into nothing more than a volatile mess of black liquid, shifting its form as the boiling water forced its shape to mend to the will of its bindings, splattering across the courtyard with an ear-filling squelch. 

As AKHLYS was reduced to nothing once more, the gas it brought with it began to dissipate, leaving the musky but relieving air to return. 

"...You did it. That was amazing."

Iris stood herself up, limping on her first step as the mana strain still held an effect on her muscles. Still standing, Macheo gave her a grin that put her on her guard; stopping Iris in her tracks. 

"Worry not; I have no desire to fight anymore...As...I am quite sleepy."

Each word he spoke became drawn out longer as his eyelids drooped before finally closing all the way, the golden-haired adventurer slowly falling over face first. 

"Macheo!"

There was no time to concern herself with the qualms of assisting an enemy, rushing over to the now unconscious boy's side. The arm which had been held in the grip of the poisonous entity was completely black from the forearm down, eliciting a gasp from Iris as she drew her hand away. 

Not even his fingernails were left exempt, turned to a charcoal as was the rest of his arm from the forearm below. 

--I have to get him back to the village...Quickly! My healing magic won't work on this, it'll only speed up the poison. Even so...Will the primorelves have an antidote for this kind of thing? I doubt it…

Biting down on the tip of her thumb, Iris ran through the options in her head, finding them especially scarce. Looking at his blackened arm, there was one option that came to mind--the safest choice in retaining his life. 

Just thinking about it made her feel sick, slapping her own cheeks as she swallowed her own hesitation. 

"...I'm sorry, Macheo. This is the only way to save you. You saved me--so I have to repay the favor!"

She spoke to the unconscious boy, who held an innocence in his sleeping state with the lack of arrogant words spewing from his mouth. Grabbing hold of his bicep with one hand, she hovered her right hand above his elbow pit. 

"...Licht: Arrow."

The incantation came out with hesitance and fear, dulling the effect as the arrow shot out into the designated spot, only somewhat rending his flesh. A mixture of thickened, clotted blood as a result of the poison seeped out, causing her to scrunch her nose as she turned her head to gag. 

After recalling her resolve once more, she tried again--"Licht: Arrow!"

Calling forth the arrow of light, it shot through the pit of his elbow, separating the portion of his arm corrupted by the mist from his untainted appendage. 

The squelching that was released from this action caused her eyes to water as she held the hasty bile within her throat. Not wasting any time, swallowing her disgust, Iris tore a piece of her silver cloak off, tightening the severed end of Macheo's arm to halt the rapid departure of blood. 

The front door of the forgotten temple was kicked open, scaring Uylia half to death as she watched with wary eyes--Iris walked in, carrying Macheo by the shoulder, crimson dripping from the space his left arm should have been. 

"Let's go! Now...Hurry or he's not going to make it!"

Desperation masked Iris' voice, giving no opportunity for the primorelf girl to question the nature of this situation as she hesitantly went to Iris' side. 

The hasty traversing of the ravaged courtyard felt like an arduous journey of itself, listening to the rugged, fast-paced breaths that weakly left his lips as no more than minute puffs of air. 

"He's burning up! We have to hurry!"

Iris called out, adjusting her hold of Macheo as she picked up the pace, looking over to make sure Uylia was keeping up properly. 

"...There is a doctor in the village. He'll be able to help."

"Alright...Alright!"

It was a bit of hope; that little spur was enough to allow Iris to forget the agony that plagued her exhausted muscles, pushing onwards as she now reached the grasp of the tunnels. Every step taken was lined with the unnerving sound of blood leaking from his fatal wound. Listening to this sound as she walked through the dark cave--everything else became blocked out, her vision becoming shaky as the only action she could focus on was moving one foot over another. 

"Here!"

Uylia called out, pressing her palms against one of the rocks lining the wall to their left. In her hazed state, Iris didn't even consider she might've passed the secret entrance to the village, watching as the small primorelf guided the hidden door open, revealing the hidden village. 

Entering the boundaries of this isolated land, Iris followed behind the girl she had rescued, moving past the stunned villagers as their shocked eyes watched the unconscious boy she assisted, knowing full well that his existence came at the price of their peace of mind. 

It wasn't just Macheo; the shock of the present villagers was amplified further as they saw Uylia, running past their gazes as if they had seen an apparition of one lost. 

--Just a bit more, Macheo. A little bit further. 

It was a humble cottage--tucked away behind thick, bountiful trees full of silver leaves, waiting as Uylia pounded her fist against the door of redwood. 

"Mr. Kerull! Mr. Kerull!"

The door swung open, a primorelf boasting a rather tall height for his kind inhabited the doorway, holding wide yet speculative yellow eyes behind his circular lenses. 

"Uylia? Is that really you?"

The tall primorelf asked, leaning down a bit and adjusting his glasses to get a better look before stroking his long, thin beard between his fingers. 

"That doesn't matter right now, Mr. Kerull! We're running out of time! You have to help him!"

Uylia's forwardness took the doctor out of his trance, bringing his gaze up to see the half-dead boy being held around Iris' shoulder. One look at the desperate expression on the blue-haired girl's face was enough that no questions were asked as he nodded his head, gesturing for them to follow them inside. 

The interior of this abode was no doubt one belonging to a scholar specializing in medicinal knowledge--books inhabited most of the space in an unkempt manner, not secluded just to the main, cobweb-covered bookshelves. 

"Place him here."

Mr. Kerull commanded, pushing the clutter of stained books off of one of the tables, clearing it as he made his way to one of the stands. 

The lack of hesitation left Iris paused for a moment, only being moved once again as the hasty doctor gave her a sharp glance. Gently, the boy was laid flat on the table, wincing in his state of unconsciousness from the change of position. 

"Quite messy work, but it saved his life."

Standing by the table, Mr. Kerull commented on the handiwork of the cloth used as a tourniquet, pressing his glasses up his nose as he got a closer look at the wound. 

"I'll need your assistance."

"...For what?"

Iris asked with a bit of worry, already feeling sick being near such a gruesome sight--the memories of what she had to do still replaying vividly in her mind. 

"Hold him down."

"But he's unconscious."

"That won't matter for what we're about to do."

The way the doctor spoke was with utmost rationality and calmness, clearly having been in a plethora of similar situations--his head remained cool. It didn't take a psychic to see that Iris was clearly not sitting right in her mind, sweating her anxiety through her pores as she attempted to avert her gaze from Macheo.