"Screams…?"
Jin tilted his head in confusion as Misha picked up Murakan.
"Meow?"
[Mya?]
"And don't come into the room."
Jin wondered how the recovery would proceed, but he didn't bother to ask. Since she was the only one who could treat Murakan, he didn't feel the need to worry.
'I guess it's a painful process. Best of luck, Murakan.'
Murakan playfully swatted the air, clueless of what was in store for him.
"Thank you, Miss Misha."
"See you later."
The sound of the door shutting seemed especially heavy. Shurry looked rather confused.
Not even ten seconds went by before he heard a screech.
Surprised, Shurry dashed to the door and began to scratch at it. The noises did not sound too pleasant.
[Mya….!]
"Oh, Shurry. Miss Misha is fixing Murakan, so don't worry."
"And so she begins."
Quikantel approached from the hallway.
Although Jin told Shurry to not fret, he himself remained anxious.
He wanted to ask Quikantel about the process. Surely she would know since she had spoken with Misha.
However, Quikantel's expression looked grim.
She looked as if she committed a heinous crime.
"Miss Quikantel?"
"Hopefully he survives."
"Survives?"
Jin's anxiety grew.
"Ah, did she not tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"This is not only to help him recover. She's going to return his former strength as well."
Kraaaaa!
Screams and screeches continued. Then came the sound of a grinding saw, but not a single sound came from Misha.
"Do you mean that Murakan can die during this process?"
"Oh, no, not at all. If that were the case, she wouldn't have proceeded without your approval."
"Then what…?"
"If the recovery fails, then he loses everything. His health will be fine, but he'll lose all his power."
Jin's eyes widened in a rush of anger.
He believed Misha should've discussed this with him or Gilly prior to performing this recovery process.
However, on the other hand, he understood the situation.
'Murakan would definitely take the offer, no matter the risk.'
His ancient power was incomparable to his current state. The most feared dragon of his era, the one who stood up to Temar Runcandel.
Earning the title as the 'legendary black dragon', he stood over every other dragon. His power when he took down Julien was a mere fraction of his true form.
The present Murakan appeared to be weaker than Quikantel and even the contractor he needed to protect.
If they were in a dire situation, Jin would protect Murakan.
So, he would definitely go through with the recovery process.
Although guardian dragons didn't need to be stronger than the contractor, they at least didn't want to be a burden.
Quikantel added on.
"It might look like she hates her own brother, but she came immediately when she realized something was wrong. I'm sure she's trying her best, so let's give her a few days."
"What's the probability of success?"
"About fifty percent."
"Not too low."
"My goodness, what is this noise? It seems a cat is in pain, is it Sir Murakan…?"
Gilly passed by.
Quikantel quickly explained the situation to her, and she lost all color in her eyes. Jin held her shaking hands.
She had the same thoughts as Jin, thinking that she deserved to know prior. She then realized that this would be what he truly desired.
None of them could leave the door.
"Oh my, Sir Murakan…! Even I feel terrible hearing your screams."
"Milord, Miss Gilly. I'm sure he'll come out just fine."
"At least have some of these cookies."
Everyone had gathered at the door.
The screams continued. Sounds of bones and scales breaking apart echoed throughout the halls.
At last, they finally heard a human scream.
It was completely different from the screeches of a cat.
As tensions caused the air to feel heavy, the door finally opened.
They peeked through and saw blood splattered everywhere, along with splotches of spirit energy. Murakan was nowhere to be seen.
"Whew!"
Misha exited confidently, wiping sweat off her forehead.
Everyone cleared the path for her, only to quickly surround her.
"Something fun happened while I was busy? It seems Quikantel told you already. If you have anything to say to me…"
"We don't hold anything against you. You would know Murakan better than us, so I'm sure you made your own conclusions. Is he okay?"
"For now. However, we have to do this again. He's not in the clear just yet."
Her mischievous grin was gone, and she looked rather tired.
As Solderet's contractor, Jin knew how much spirit energy she expended that day.
The powerful aura she once possessed had diminished. He knew that she was giving it her all.
"I'm tired. I'll take a break after my meal."
"We will prepare it promptly. Is there anything you're craving?"
She gave a surprising answer.
"A strawberry pie. If not that, some other sweet fruit."
A sibling was indeed a sibling.
* * *
Misha would always begin working on Murakan from noon to midnight.
A week went by and each day they heard more and more human screams from that room.
"Today's the last day. If it weren't for this weakling, I wouldn't have to suffer this much."
Despite resting well, there wasn't a day Misha didn't look sleep deprived.
Whether he survived or not, Murakan would regain his ability to transform.
Again, a series of screams rang out from the room.
But this time, there were no screeches of a cat. There was no longer an instability of transformation.
However, the process felt like it took significantly longer. As the day slowly approached sunset, everyone was nervous.
Even if Murakan lost his powers, they would not treat him differently.
But what would he think of himself? They couldn't imagine the dread Murakan would feel.
"It will soon be midnight, Young Master. I pray… I pray that he is alright."
The screams stopped. The recovery 'equipment' stopped operating.
The door opened.
And a man with luscious black hair appeared. Murakan.
As soon as he saw everyone waiting outside, he smiled.
"Long time no see."
"Murakan!"
"Sir!"
He seemed much more confident than before.
Jin remembered back to when he met him at the Storm Castle. He felt the same oppressive energy in his pitch-black eyes, even as a fully-grown warrior.
Everyone knew.
It was a great success.
"Kuhahaha! Damn right, I am Murakan!"
Murakan laughed his heart out and stepped toward everyone. Instinctively, everyone stepped away due to his immense power.
Only from laughing, cracks emerged in the hallway.
"This is it! This is it! This is truly what I am!"
Pow!
Murakan's neck snapped. A normal person would've immediately perished.
Misha knocked him out.
"Is he serious? Who the hell told you to be so loud? My eardrums felt like they were ripping just from your screaming."
Murakan glared at Misha, then began to laugh again.
"Thank you so much! I'm living my best life thanks to you. I'll give you a hug! Come here!"
"Fuck off."
"Yeah, well, at least I tried to show gratitude. I didn't want to either. Now shoo. I'm going to have a party tonight. I'll handle compensation later."
"Yeah, yeah, keep talking. You seem very arrogant just because you got a little stronger. Listen while I'm asking nicely."
"Huh? You didn't leave yet… uh, UH!"
Misha gave a few slugs to the guy.
And he didn't let out a single drop of blood. The spectators didn't know whether to be impressed by the punches or the survivability.
"You only got about forty percent of your old power back. Don't get yourself into something you can't handle."
After twenty more blows, Misha tossed a lifeless corpse across the hall.
"You… you only returned forty percent of it on purpose! Otherwise I'd become stronger than you!"
"Sure, buddy. I'll give you five seconds. If you don't bend over and thank me formally, I'll turn you back into a cat."
Before Murakan could even refute, Jin and Gilly kicked the back of his legs so that he fell to the floor. Then they forced his head down into a bow.
"Thank you for your service."
"And I thank you for waiting patiently. Unfortunately, I do have to listen to that idiot and leave."