Chapter 403: Precision Progress
When Kai finally limped back to their secure base, his body was aching all over from the combination of poison, exertion, and injury. The manticore was surprisingly fast, and very determined whenever it got his scent, so it required full use of Thunderbird's Wings to escape. He stepped inside and let out an expressive grunt.
"Still having trouble with the poison, huh?" Omilaena walked up to stand in front of him with a friendly smile.
"It's rough." Kai tugged out a quill and grimaced. "Surely you're not telling me this poison is no worse than others."
"No, it's definitely potent. Let me handle those." She removed one of the quills from his chest, surprisingly gently until she tugged it out. Then she extended her pendant to the injury, absorbing the remaining venom into the Prana Jewels.
That was ordinary enough, since they were both working on this manticore venom. What wasn't usual was that Omilaena bent down to the injury and sucked on it.
"The fuck?" Kai pulled her head back. "You can't actually suck out venom, that doesn't work."
"Who said anything about that?" Omilaena smirked, his blood shockingly bright against her blue lipstick. "What, you're not feeling playful after getting pumped full of poison?"
"Ugh, please just get the quills out."
She cooperated without any more teasing, removing all the quills that had been embedded in him. Kai could take on the manticore in terms of strength or speed, but it was shockingly good at choosing the right time to unleash its quills, always a moment when he would struggle to dodge. Even though he could power through the poison now, he wouldn't be satisfied until he could completely overcome the sacred beast.