Vanda didn't know how long she passed out. But the moment she regained consciousness, she was met by the stern gaze of her big brother.
"Big brother.." She spoke with a raspy voice. Argo summoned a glass of water immediately, offering it to Vanda. "Thank you."
A silence descended onto the room as Vanda took the water from Argo's hand and drank it pretty quickly. However, the stern gaze and the silent treatment she got from her big brother are quite unnerving, making her slightly feels uncomfortable.
"Big brother…." She speaks carefully. "Is there something wrong?"
Argo took a deep breath before he replied,
"You made two mistakes in the last battle. Do you know what it is?"
Vanda couldn't help but flinch at that tone. It was not her usual calm big brother. No, it was the same tone he used when he taught her how to control her magic more than sixty years ago. She knows what will happen next, and to be honest, she is not looking forward to it.
"Nothing?" Argo's voice snapped her back to reality. However, Argo didn't notice that and started talking. "Okay, I will tell you what is your mistakes. First, you used experimental magic that you haven't tested before and don't know what is the impact of it. Do you know that you killed almost 400 living being, including humans, Weres, and even several elves that are coincidently in this city, and even pollute the air with your magic? Now I really need to find out how to cleanse your mess."
Vanda flinched, didn't really expect that her magic would cause that much impact.
"I thought so," Argo said after watching Vanda's reaction. "If it was just that, I wouldn't care that much, considering we really need some cleansing for this city. However, you also put yourself at risk! Who the hell uses magic that would affect badly to the user? You are lucky that I found you and managed to brew the elixir of death in time, or you will be under six feet right now."
"Oh…" Vanda was speechless after hearing what Argo said. "That bad, huh?"
"Yeah, it is really bad." Argo nodded his head. "You know how hard it is for me to brew the elixir of death, right? You have to thank your luck that I still have enough ingredients to make that earlier."
Vanda nodded her head. Of course, she knows about this elixir of death. It is Argo's masterpiece that he created during his journey to become the first-ever level-5 alchemist in the past. It was an elixir that cleanses your body from any malicious things that could potentially harm you in the future with a success rate of almost 90 percent.
If you ever had this elixir, you don't have to worry about any bloodline illness or poison as it would cure you in a second. And the most important thing, it would also help you cultivate your magic to the next level, as the mana barrier inside your body would be opened after consuming that elixir.
However, brewing the elixir of death is definitely not an easy task. You need a lot of rare ingredients, including Grim Lily which only grows during the full moon, and even the venom of white-eyes viper, the most poisonous snake that only lived in a place in Saria Mountain, the coldest place in the world. And that is still not including the very long and arduous work that was needed to brew this elixir.
That is why the elixir of death is labeled as the hardest potion to make by the alchemist organization.
So, yeah, if her big brother really needs to brew this elixir to keep her alive, Vanda knows that her condition is really bad.
"I am sorry, big brother." That was the only thing she could say right now. Hearing the meek tone of Vanda's voice, Argo let out a long deep sigh as he raised from his seat and engulfed his little sister in a warm hug.
"Please, don't do that again." He spoke under his breath. "It was so close that I am afraid I almost lose you."
Vanda nodded; a little smile formed in her mouth. Even if her big brother would always act tough, she knows he really cares a lot about her. The fact that he didn't hesitate to spend all the rare ingredients in his stock to save her tells a lot about that.
"How long I have been out?" She asked after Argo released the hug.
"Ten hours, give or take," Argo answered. "It is almost seven in the morning now, and I need to prepare breakfast for the kids and explain to them why they cannot go outside today. So, if you have any questions, ask away."
Vanda nodded before she fired another question,
"What about your battle? How about the slaves? And what is your plan now?"
"Hmmm…" Argo hummed for a while before answering, "It is like this…"
-----Little flashback------
"Halt!" One of the Weres raised his sword at Argo and Gavin right after they left the room. "You are intruding on Lord Suran's territory! Surrender yourself or die here!"
Gavin just snorted at the Weres.
"Only five of you and you think you can stop us?" The demon asked in a mocking tone. "My Lord, let me use them as a warming up. Just have a seat and enjoy the show."
"Sure." Argo nodded with an amused expression, raising his hand to create a temporary seat with his earth magic. "Just don't waste too much time, okay?"
"Yes, My Lord." Gavin nodded.
Their casual conversation seems really pissed the Weres off. They started moving, circling Argo and Gavin to not let them escape.
"Come on, boys!" The leader of the Weres shouted to his subordinates. "Let's get them!"
With their leader's command, they attacked Gavin at the same time from all five directions. However, Gavin didn't show any panic reaction to that. Instead, he dodged one from the left and parried the one on the right at the same time. When the third attack comes from behind, he jumped right before it could stab him and do a backflip before he kicked the third attacker right at his back.
*Braak!*
"AARGH!"
The one he kicked was thrown far away, up to three meters, shocking all the Weres in the room.
"What the hell?! Why is he so strong?!"
"Don't worry about it! Just hold on until Lord Fendar comes and we will be okay!"
Argo raised his eyebrows slightly at the mention of that name.
'Isn't that the name of the Were that I killed earlier?'
But before he could think about it further, he felt a lot of weak presence coming from the outside. However, two of those presences gained his attention.
"Gavin!" He called out his companion. "There are about fifty Weres and two high-level demons outside. Do you want to take care of them?"
As for the answer, Gavin showed a feral grin that makes all the Weres sweat profusely.
"Sure, My Lord."
And without waiting, he dashed outside quickly, leaving Argo alone with four Weres. If it was any normal person, they would flee without hesitation, considering how dangerous the Were pack is. However, Argo is not a normal person. Instead of running away, he grinned, his killing intent exploded to the sky, weakening all the Weres in front of him.
"So, any of you want to play?"
The Weres are so petrified that they couldn't move their body. They felt that if they blinked their eyes, they would get killed instantly, and that was not exaggerating. However, before Argo could do anything on them, an explosion suddenly could be heard from the building beside them.
*BOOOM!!*
When they all turned around, Argo couldn't help but curse out loud as he saw the cause of the explosion, the golem that Suran created.
"Fuck! How could a mere master mage possess that magic? This will destroy half of this city!"
He raised his hand quickly, drawing some pattern in the air before he shouted,
[Rune: Barrier]!
After that, an invisible barrier was formed in the air, separating the battle area between Vanda and him. Argo is not really worried about Vanda as he knows the elf could handle that golem easily. He just doesn't like the presence of the golem because it was a walking disaster to his surroundings.
"So, what should I do to you, guys?"
He turned back to the Weres who is shaking in fear, couldn't really run away because they were suppressed by Argo's killing intent. "It is ironic, right? The Weres that run away to escape from the enslavement seventy years ago now is helping the slave traders. How many pups from your own kin have you been sold?"
"Shut up!" The leader of those five yelled. "Don't talk as if you know what we have been through! You don't have any right to judge us!" There is a tear on the corner of his eyes that threatens to fall. However, Argo just looked at them with a pity gaze.
Honestly, Argo feels bad for them. They were just normal humans that survived a very painful experiment from the Musia Kingdom that wanted to combine animal traits into a human body. The animal that they chose at that time was a wolf and a bear, considering how strong and agile both animals are.
At first, they were projected as the elite knight for the Musia Kingdom to go to war against the Hell Kingdom. However, because they couldn't control their animal instinct, they were locked inside the prison. But that was until one of the nobles had a stupidly brilliant idea to use them as entertainment. And after that, they were treated just like a gladiator, forced to fight against their kin every day.
Time flies, and their treatment is getting worse. They were treated like a slave; getting collared every time they went outside to show they were owned, forced to walk in all four, and sometimes they were even used as the transportation for those lazy nobles.
Argo doesn't know what happened in the past fifty years. But somehow, the population of the Weres grow this much and they helped slave traders' business that he knows their first generation hated so much.
"Don't worry, everyone!" The leader's shout snapped Argo from his thought. "We only need to survive this until Lord Fendar or Lord Suran kill the intruders! Don't give up!" He tried to encourage his subordinates. Unfortunately for him, Argo doesn't really want to fight right now, so he just raised the pressure in the air until they couldn't move again.
"DAMN!"
Their leader gritted his teeth, trying to move his body. However, the pressure is too much for them that it makes them kneel down to the ground.
"Don't worry about your leader. I have killed the same Were with the name Fendar earlier this day, and I doubt this Fendar is stronger than the earlier."
They all widened their eyes in shock.
"You are the one who killed Lord Fendar!" One of them shouted in anger. However, Argo just raised his eyebrows slightly.
"So, there are two Fendar in your pack. His son, maybe? But that doesn't matter. Anyway. Gavin would kill all of them in a minute."
He sits back in his seat, ignoring the Weres that squirming on the ground. However, suddenly, all the Weres suddenly choked and seems like they have a hard time breathing before they passed out, causing a frown to pop up on Argo's head.
"What happened? My pressure is not that strong to make them lose their consciousness."
That was when he noticed the air suddenly darkened, hiding the sight of the moonlight in the sky.
"What is this? Is this Vanda's or Suran's doing?"
After observing the Weres and analyzing particles in the air, Argo widened his eyes in shock before he called out to his demon companion.
"GAVIN!"
The demon appeared immediately in front of him, kneeled down on the ground.
"Yes, My Lord?"
"How is your battle?"
"It went quitter boring, My Lord. Those two fire demons could only last five minutes before I slaughtered all of them, including fifty-six more Weres that are their reinforcement." The demons reported to his lord.
"Good. Now, I don't have enough time to explain the detail. I don't know if it is Vanda or Suran, but one of them poisoned the air, and if any normal human breathed it, they would die in a minute. Isolate our home from the air and protect the children. I will check their battle."
"Yes, My Lord!"
After the demon vanished, Argo opened his barrier to check out Vanda's condition. Unsurprisingly, the destruction from their battle is really massive, almost destroying all the terrain that he didn't cover with his barrier.
However, he is not really worried about his surroundings. Now, his priority is to check if Vanda is still alive, considering how long she has been breathing this air since the battle begins.
"Damn! Who would have thought I would find this here? And why the hell is this damn particle multiplied rapidly? I need to be quick!"
He rushed forward in a hurry, trying to find the whereabouts of his little sister. And he has the right to panic, considering how much those damn particles are in the air right now, it could kill any normal person in a minute. He doesn't know how many people died already right now.
"Shit! I only know that this is carbon monoxide, but I don't know how I could cleanse it! Does my wind magic work?"
Yeah, this damn particle that caused so much trouble for him right now is something very common on Earth, carbon monoxide. It was produced mainly when fossil fuels burn without any oxygen and it could be very poisonous for any living being if they were exposed to too much of it.
He didn't know how this much carbon monoxide could be formed so quickly. But right now, he knows he needs to act quickly or all the people in this city would die within five minutes.
"Okay, let's try it!"
He formed a quick hand sign before he shouted,
[Wind Magic: Hurricane]!
The wind blows furiously, trying to sweep away all the malicious particles from the air. However, it did the opposite of what he wanted. Instead of vanishing the particles, his magic only fuelled the particle, making it multiply even faster. His face turned ugly after he realized what happened.
"Damn! It was fuelled by the mana ambiance in the air! Let's grab Vanda first and think about it later!"
That was when he found the whereabouts of his sister, right when she explained her ultimate magic.
"Damn! So, it is really Vanda's doing, huh? I really need to scold her after this shit is over." He cursed inwardly at his little sister. However, it changed quickly as he suddenly saw the mana inside Suran's body concentrated in one point, ready to explode.
"If he does that, it would make the air polluted more! Shit!"
Fortunately, Vanda acted quickly, engulfing Suran's body in vines and reducing the impact of the explosion.
*BOOOM!*
Argo has to take cover as the ruins from the explosion are flying away in all directions randomly. When the situation is better, he opened his eyes just to find his little sister passed out on the ground.
"Damn it!"
He rushed forward to check Vanda's condition. After scanning her body, he let out a relieved sigh as she is far from the death door. However, when he scanned the air around him, his face turned ugly.
"What the hell?! It even touched ten thousand PPM? How in the hell should I clean this mess?!"