Chapter 238 - 237: Revolving Lantern
Once the Healing Potion went down his throat, it became a warm current of life.
Within seconds, the bleeding from the ghastly hole in Maki’s shoulder blade visibly slowed.
Inside the puncture wound, the stark white of his shattered bones was clearly visible.
Under the effects of the Healing Potion, they too began to mend.
But because Maki’s injuries were so severe and the Healing Potion was no miracle cure, his recovery was much slower than Gray’s had been previously.
Still, his life had been saved.
"COUGH, COUGH..." Maki coughed a couple more times.
"How on earth did you guys let this happen?"
Gray carefully peeled away the fabric stuck to the wound.
He then slipped Maki’s heavy Scale Armor off his other shoulder, allowing him to rest a little more easily.
"Look at this. A hole straight through your body. How did it get this bad..."
"How should I know...? You didn’t see it. That bastard centaur’s self-healing was monstrous! No matter how we hit it, it recovered instantly."
Having caught his breath, Maki started cursing.
"Plus, it was like a rabid dog, only focused on Charging Zelir. If you gave it even a little space, it was impossible to hold back."
"In the end, we had no other choice. If things kept going like that, we were all going to die."
"Zelir seemed to be casting some incredibly destructive Magic, trying to finish it in one shot, so Marcus and I had to go up and buy him enough time."
"Who knew it could throw a spear? Good thing it didn’t hit my head..."
Maki glanced at the bloody hole in his shoulder with lingering fear.
He suddenly remembered something. "By the way... is the Bone Centaur dead? Did Zelir succeed?"
"Dead. It’s definitely dead."
Gray said with absolute certainty.
"After taking that hit from Zelir, if it’s still alive, then there’s no point in us fighting anymore. We might as well just pack up and head to the afterlife together."
"Whew... That’s good."
After hearing Gray’s words, Maki finally let out a sigh of relief and lay back down.
"That was truly the hardest battle I’ve ever fought in my life..."
"You can say that again..." Gray’s gaze shifted to where Zelir had rushed off.
...
"Marcus!"
Zelir slid to Marcus’s side on his knees, brushing aside a pile of small rocks.
Zelir’s heart sank when he saw Marcus’s condition.
His condition could only be described as horrific.
The Armor Marcus wore was completely destroyed, like a crushed tin can.
The Heart-Protecting Mirror over his chest was caved in deeply, forming a terrifying hoof-shaped indentation that pressed tightly against Marcus’s sternum.
Furthermore, shattered metal fragments had pierced Marcus’s flesh, and fresh blood was pouring from the gaps.
Just moments before, when Zelir saw the Bone Centaur land a bucking kick on Marcus’s chest, his own heart had trembled violently.
It was truly hard to imagine what excruciating pain that must be.
Marcus’s injuries were definitely more severe than Maki’s; his internal organs might have even been crushed by the kick.
"COUGH, COUGH..."
Bloody foam, mixed with bits of flesh, trickled from the corners of Marcus’s lips.
He seemed to be trying to inhale.
But every effort only brought more excruciating pain to his chest, making breathing itself a struggle.
Marcus’s eyes had been somewhat unfocused.
However, after seeing Zelir arrive, some light returned to them. He opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something.
"Don’t move, and don’t talk!"
Zelir’s tone was unquestionable as he immediately began to cast his Healing Skill.
Thankfully, leveling up five times had restored much of his own strength.
Otherwise, given how exhausted Zelir had been before, he would have only been able to watch helplessly as Marcus died.
’As long as he’s still breathing... I can bring him back from the brink.’
A gentle green light entered Marcus’s body. Zelir did not hold back his Magic Power, pouring copious amounts of it into him.
Under the effects of the powerful Empowerment Magic, a series of "CRACK, CRACK" sounds echoed from Marcus’s chest.
It was the sound of his fractured bones rapidly healing.
His damaged internal organs were also being rapidly repaired, and the bleeding was stanched.
After a good while, the green light gradually faded, returning all to silence.
This was as much as Zelir could do.
Marcus’s condition was now much better than before. He finally exhaled the breath that had been caught in his chest.
It was also fortunate that his Constitution was stronger than an ordinary person’s, and he had the added protection of his Fighting Qi, which was why he had stabilized.
If a more fragile Junior Warrior had taken that bucking kick from the Bone Centaur head-on, there would have been no point in even attempting a rescue.
Their chest would be caved in, their organs pulverized—they’d be sent straight to the grave.
Marcus greedily gulped down the cold air, his wide eyes fixed on the ceiling dome.
It was the first time he’d ever felt how wonderful it was to be alive.
When the Bone Centaur’s kick had connected, Marcus hadn’t even been able to feel pain. It was as if his consciousness had been jolted out of his body.
He wasn’t sure if it was a hallucination, but Marcus even remembered observing himself from a third-person perspective.
It wasn’t until Zelir arrived and cast his Healing Skill that he slowly came to his senses.
"How are you? Feeling any better?"
Zelir dismissed the Healing Skill and helped Marcus sit up slowly.
"I don’t know..."
Marcus was still a bit dazed. "I think... I just relived my entire life..."
"Huh?"
"It’s true. I even remembered things from when I was one or two. I can’t recall any of that when I’m normally awake."
"Your life was flashing before your eyes."
Zelir patted Marcus’s back. "In any case, you’re not dead, and that’s what matters."
The two of them looked at each other, saw the wretched state they were both in, and couldn’t help but smile.
The relief of having survived the ordeal washed away all other feelings.
After Zelir helped unfasten Marcus’s battered Armor, the Linen tunic underneath was revealed.
The bloodstains on the tunic had already congealed and dried, turning a dark-red color.
There were numerous bloodstains not only on his chest where he’d been kicked, but on his back as well.
Those were the marks left from when he was struck by the Bone Centaur’s halberd.
Once the tunic was off, Marcus’s naturally sallow skin was now covered in large purplish-red patches.
It was all pooled, bruised blood that had yet to dissipate.
"Wear this." Zelir took a clean tunic out of his Storage Pouch.
It felt a bit tight after Marcus put it on; after all, his frame was much larger than Zelir’s.
"Right, what happened to that centaur?"
"It’s dead."
Zelir’s reply was concise. "I blasted it into smithereens."
"Leave it to you..." Marcus said with a sigh of admiration.
When Zelir had unleashed his Magic earlier, the near-death Marcus had no chance to witness it firsthand.
But he had still been aware of the earth-shaking boom.
And now, looking at the state of the circular, arched hall...
The collapsed walls, the fallen dome, and the massive, deep crater that looked as if it had been carved out by a meteor...
Tsk, tsk...
’Where else could you find a Mage like him for a teammate?’