From Ashes To Scales

I stepped forward, my eyes narrowing as I examined the girl. “Vidia’s Lifewater would be useless,” I declared, my voice cutting through the tension in the room.

“What do you mean?” the priest asked, his hands trembling as he tried to steady the girl.

Leaning closer, I observed the dark substance with my keen eyes. It was just as I suspected. Out of all the things… I never imagined I would see this a second time in life.

“This isn’t an illness. It’s a parasite. A rare creature known as the Necrotic Leech. It rarely attaches to humans, but when it does, it causes fever, muscle and tissue pain and eventually consumes the host.”

The doctor looked bewildered. “A parasite? But we’ve been treating it as a disease!”

“And that’s why you’re all idiots,” I snapped.

“Healing magic doesn’t work on it because it’s not an illness. Applying healing magic on a living organism does nothing. In fact, it only makes it stronger. All your healing magic does is temporarily alleviate her pain.”

The priest looked horrified. “But Vidia’s Lifewater…”

“Would only make the parasite expand rapidly,” I finished for him.

“It’s not an illness, nor a curse, nor an abnormal status that can be conventionally healed.”

Alistair, who had been listening with a growing alarm, stepped forward. “Then what can we do? How can we save her?”

“The only way to save her is to separate them. However, that's easier said than done. Let's see… if I remember correctly. Yes. I’m sure of it.”

I moved over towards the desk that the doctor was using and I grabbed a piece of paper and with a quill, I started writing. And when I finished I gave the paper to Alistair.

“Please procure these ingredients for me.”

Alistair, the priest, the doctor and the scholar all looked confused at the list I handed out. After all, they were not typical potion making ingredients. So I can understand their confusion.

“Look, you want my help, or not?”

“A-alright. These are easily accessible with my status. I’ll send someone to buy them.”

In the meantime everyone was a little bewildered and once again tried to analyze the girl. It's as if they doubted my diagnosis. But I’m pretty confident that it's what I said it is.

In the meantime, Saphira got closer to me and whispered.

“My Lord, I am also familiar with the Necrotic Leech, but I wouldn't have caught on that it's the culprit behind this situation. I am very impressed and once again I would like to express my deepest admiration.

That being said… it has never been recorded that separation is possible. How are you so confident?”

“Because I’ve seen it before. And I know what I’m doing.”

“Just what scenario made you come in contact with one of these?”

“That's… a story best saved for another time.”

The truth is… I recall it as clear as day.

------

~2 years ago~

“Julius, are you 100% sure this is necessary?”

“Yes, Magnus. Our guild really needs to accept this quest. And it must succeed. And for it to succeed I can only think of you. You're basically a walking map.

The client said he just wanted help gathering rare herbs and ingredients from the surrounding areas. You know the place better than anyone else. It's just a guide mission. The client even mentioned that no fighting is necessary on your end. So what's there to complain about?”

“The client for starters. He's… scary.”

Having this agitated discussion with my brother, Julius Rodenberg, the leader of our Crimson Raid guild, is not usually my style. Julius has a tendency to pick weird quests, but in the end, we always pull through. But this time… it was a little different. More specifically, the issue was a client itself.

He gained a rather peculiar nickname during his various travels. Bennett - The Lord of Poisons. When I first saw this man, I felt like running away. He is very scary. He has a sharp appearance, with black and white hair, white hair on the left of his head, and sharp, golden eyes, with scar growths spreading from his hand to his head. He wears a jacket and black clothes, and there is a red cloth in order to hide his scars. He isn't particularly muscular and does have heavy bags under his eyes, but all my instincts were screaming danger.

Nevertheless… I reluctantly accepted because Julius said we really needed the funds he was offering. This Bennett guy… wasn't a man of many words. He just went… “Sunflower Mushrooms. Take me to them.”

I just smiled and nodded. Slowly and steadily we indeed managed to collect all the ingredients he wanted. But his list was extremely weird. Most likely because…

“Excuse me… mister Bennett?”

“What?”

“Is it just me… or… are you planning to make some sort of poison with all these?”

“That's right.”

Scary. But it's none of my business. After getting the last ingredient, we had to head back to the guild. It was part of the agreement that he would escort me back safely.

“Hey kid. Let's take a detour. I need your help with something.”

Words I didn't want to hear came out of his mouth. I could only nod my head and follow him. So… for roughly one hour we headed throw the forest, climbed a steep cliff and eventually reached a mountain cave. Inside that cave… was a dog.

Okay, I say dog, but it's not your typical dog that you find back on Earth. This was twice as big as your average wolf. But more importantly… it was suffering. His back legs were… a deep murky purple color.

“What… is going on here?”

“This is my companion and only friend. And I don't intend to let him die.”

“Is that… an illness?”

“No. It's the Necrotic Leech, a rare parasite. And we need to get it off. So stop spacing out and make a fire already. I don't have time to explain this to you.”

I followed all his instructions and watched him carefully. He prepared two sets of poisons. And let some wooden needles soak in them.

“Alright. It's time. Hey, kid, hold Sparky down. Try to restrain him from moving as much as possible.”

After I got into position, Bennett started inserting needles in the dog one by one. His vein started to glow green, sign that the poison entered his body and was spreading. At the same time… a surge of discomfort stroke the Leech. Of course, if the host was poisoned, it would kill the leech. So it rapidly detached itself from the dog. With swift movement, Bennett burned the leech with a plain torch. And then he proceeded to apply the second batch of poisoned needles on the dog.

I didn't understand anything but soon blue veins made contact with the green ones. And just like a miracle, both eventually disappeared and the dog suddenly jumped up on his feet at full strength.

To sum up the events… I got a lesson in poisons.

“Poison is apparently simple. Its use is to kill someone without much effort. But poison can also be a wonderful self defense mechanism. Animals have used it for hundreds of years. If you are attacked but you don't have an Aura or Magic, what will you do? Pray that a hero pops up?

Maybe in a fairy tail. That's why I researched poison to its extreme. In this particular case… based on the degree of dilution and by creating an opposing reaction with another poison… the poisons not only cancel each other out, but turn into a miraculous drug.”

“I see. But… that doesn't explain… why your dog is sitting on top of me.”

“Probably because you're weak. Sparky’s instincts must have kicked in. He sees you so weak that feels compelled to protect you. You sure are a weird kid.”

I could only reply with a forced smile.

“Anyway, your guild will be paid in full. I’m not used to say this… but thanks.

Now come on. Let's get you back to where you belong.”

One thing’s for sure. I won't forget this adventure very soon.