In the early morning in the fort after last night's victory, Prince Querin was waiting, along with the other leaders of the raid, for Yulio who was missing to start the meeting, until after a time when they had all met, he asked.
"Where's Yulio?" Asked the prince in a command room at the fort early in the morning after his victory.
"May I speak, Your Majesty?" Captain Lier asked.
"I allow it," the prince conceded.
"Yulio, he left me a message in case someone asked about his location, he told me that he was very sorry, but he couldn't get it out of his head to make sure that there were possibilities that Monterio was still alive and hiding in the forest of death, so he went alone to the forest to check it."
"But what the hell is Yulio thinking about, everyone here knows that this forest is full of poison in the air and that he knows what is sinister" the prince criticized Yulio's madness.
"His majesty, about that, he also told me something about it, he explains that he has a gift that makes him immune to poisons so it will be fine."
"And he believes that we would believe him?" Said the prince angrily, but a soft voice calmed him saying.
"Querin, I think it tells the truth"
"Litia?"
"Yes, look, when I was in the infirmary, I found his healing magic strange and he confessed to me that he had a gift and that it had to do with increasing one's defenses and regeneration, so it should be possible for him to resist toxins 'I explain Lithia.
"I .., I see ..., I understand ..., but even so, irresponsible of him, aff that to do ..."
++++
While in the fort they were arguing about Yulio, already inside the forest in the middle of a toxic mist was Yulio trotting to the deepest part of it.
"How much more uf uf, hell this place is huge," he said as he stopped to rest and think about his options.
"If I continue like this it will take me a long time if I take into account the immensity of this, it seems that I will have to try harder."
It was then that he closed his eyes and then breathed heavily making his mana move throughout his body filling him with energy and it was then that he shot out into the deep forest.
He ran and ran, among the withered trees and on the snow, absorbing and purifying the poison in the air in his body, until he finally reached his destination.
"Uff I suppose that it arrives, ahh my legs as they hurt, since it shows that I am failed in the reinforcement magic, but it was worth it, this must be the place."
Yulio said tiredly as he looked at the dark ruins that were rising in front of him, to then take a short break while using his gift in it to speed up the resting process and then carefully start venturing into the ruins.
There were several minutes of suspense for Yulio who was pending any attack in the midst of so much silence and calm in the ruins as if no one was living in them or even the animals, but he never trusted himself by taking the advice of his beloved that he never relax in these situations. Until I finally reach my destination.
Climbing up some stairs, he found himself in the great hall of a shattered temple in such a way that most of the center of its roof no longer existed, as well as walls and columns scattered in the form of rubble. And there was a person behind a pit that was overflowing with toxins and mana.
"Monterio?" Yulio asked, but as he approached more cautiously when he saw it better, he couldn't help but reiterate the question adding "Monterio is you? What happened to you?
And this was that as he got closer he noticed that the person who was ignoring him even when he was in front of him, is impregnated with putrefaction, looking more dead than alive.
"Yes, it is Monterio, but it seems that he died mummified on his feet, as the spell did not go well."
But even so, Yulio continued to approach slowly, until he was 2 meters from the pit, and it was then that his head, cracking his neck, in a single movement looked towards him, scaring him and grabbing him to jump backwards.
"This is a joke, don't tell me you became undead? Although apparently a weak one."
But in response to his question, a macabre voice slowly came out of his mouth.
"Death..."
It was then that the grounds began to temper.
"This is bad," Yulio said, walking backward quickly as he watched what was happening.
When Yulio was already at the entrance again, the toxins and the mana of the grounds came out of him, in such quantity and force that he created a column that reached the ceiling with no signs of fading, causing it to rain with liquid and toxins.
In this rain, part of the liquid mana around Monterio defied gravity and was attracted to it, to later function, and after a few seconds, his eyes began to glow green, as did his veins and finally his holes and pores began. expel liquid and toxins mana.
"This is bad, very bad," said Yulio.
And affirming his words, Monterio shouted.
"Kill!."
And after that, his body regaining its flexibility, he leaped through the column of toxins, falling in front of it and in front of Yulio, then running towards him as green energy spheres formed on top of him.
Then Yulio when seeing such a thing, escaped where he came from, fortunately dodging the mana balls and noticed for his fortune, that Monterio after leaving for a while returned to the temple.
"Return, how strange, umm thinks, thinks, why he's coming back, let's see, ah I know, it's the sediment, it must be that it gives it vitality, obvious and it can't get away from it ..., This is crazy, but what to do, ahh yes, what to do is defeat him, that's why I came, that's why I practiced so much, what to do has not changed, but Monterio's body yes ..., yes, his body has changed ... and there is no going back for him.
Finished reasoning, Yulio after breathing and sighing, with a sad expression returned to the temple even with the well in full swing. And the moment he entered, he saw Monterio where he was when he first arrived, but this time, shouting the same words, he launched himself at once to Yulio.
"Sorry ... but I must."
By his side, Yulio sadly apologized to then run towards him and when the moment of his shock arrived, Yulio extended his arms to give him a hug, immediately and immediately began to use his gift at maximum power, absolving all the energy and wells of Monterio, from the rain and toxic environment, turning all this into nutrients and energy that cured him of the continuous and hard attack that Monterio fiercely delivered like a maddened beast.
And so he spent more than an hour in this continuous and exhausting cycle of regeneration and injury until Monterio's body lost all movement and finally turned to dust in the arms of Yulio, who staggered dizzy due to mental fatigue and then sat down. resting for a long time until the sky turned orange, it was then that Yulio stopped from where he was, walked to the ground, and dropped into it.
++++
It had been 2 days since the final battle and Desparamo was now in a festive atmosphere due to the fact that recently, the water from the river began to arrive increasingly clean, implying that Yulio was able to complete his mission and had returned, but this Happiness was not shared by the entire population, since the truth, only known to high officials was that Yulio had not yet returned.
The morning of the fourth day arrived at Crystal's office, where there was an air of sadness.
"That idiot, completed the mission, but has not returned yet ..." said Crystal furiously insulting the missing to hide his concern
"You'll find out when he comes back, I'm sure that he's still alive, that cockroach is surprisingly resistant, I'm sure ..., I'm sure ... that she will return.
And it was these phrases and others that she said a few times a day in private during these days as if it were a summoning ritual, but little did she know that when she finished saying her spell, someone knocked on the door.
"It can happen," Crystal said, restoring her mood to the guest.
But this was thrown when losing to see, being behind the door, because he was nothing more and nothing less than Yulio in a miserable state but with a smile on his face, and then said that his wife stopped in amazement.
"Hehe, I'm late but I'm back Crys."
But instead of receiving a quality reception, Crystal, whose face changed several times in amazement and happiness, finally changed to one of anger and it was then that she summoned several ice stakes and threw them at them saying.
"you do have the courage to be late!, you'll see."
"Crys no, wait, I can explain it, no!" Yulio finished screaming at his wife's attacks.
It was then after a while, that both of them could sit facing each other, to talk about what had happened.
"Come on, what happened in the forest?" Asked Crystal.
"What happened was, in summary, that Monterio became undead, I defeated him and then I spent a long time purifying the nucleus of toxins."
"Aff I see ... that was it, then we will have a meeting with the captains, where you will tell it better, and by the way, how did you survive without eating 4 days?
"Ah that, my gift replenishes the nutrients and energy of my body so not eating is not a problem, but if a nuisance, Crystal, tell me, what has happened these days."
"Not really, the allies left and there was a party in town.
"I see..."
"Yulio."
"Yes?"
"Welcome back."
Crystal finished saying with a genuine smile and tears in her eyes at the return of her husband.