As Noam and Zane stepped forward, they were surprised to see Eric suddenly kneeling down and coughing violently. Eric even tried to cover his mouth with his hand, but his coughing didn't stop.
"Eric!"
The two of them immediately knelt down beside their friend, ignoring Herris' body, which had fallen and lay motionless after being hit by Eric's lightning magic.
Eric could not respond their call, too busy coughing. His throat felt very itchy and congested, as if something was trying to escape. Even his head was starting to feel dizzy and his ears were ringing.
Noam and Zane immediately supported Eric's body, which was on the verge of falling over, and helped him to slowly sit up. They stared in horror at the blood flowing between Eric's hands and covering his mouth as he continued to cough incessantly.
Hana squealed in horror at the sight of her fallen brother coughing up what sounded like blood. She started to go over to him, but Rose stopped her and shook her head, signaling that the situation was still not safe.
Hana felt very upset. It was her twin brother who was in pain. Can't she even check on him? She couldn't stand hiding any longer! Her eyes glazed over with growing frustration.
Rose held her shoulders in a glare before she coded to look at the baby in her arms. Arion, who had also caught a glimpse of Eric's condition, had a worried expression on his face and looked like he was about to cry without realizing it.
'I expected his body to collapse under the weight of his magic. I just didn't expect this,' Arion thought in horror. He thought that Eric would simply faint or fall into a coma instead of coughing up blood all the time. The bloody sight brought back such horrible memories of the past that Arion couldn't bear to look at it anymore.
Hana could only bite her lip, not wanting to frighten Arion any more. She carried the two babies away from the sight of Eric collapsing and coughing up blood. She could only hope that Noam and Zane would be able to help her brother.
"What exactly happened?" Noam asked worriedly as he patted his friend's back and tried to calm his coughing, although it didn't seem to help much.
Zane looked at his friend worriedly, "Don't tell me it's a side effect after Eric used so much magic?"
Noam's eyes widened, "That bad?"
Zane's forehead wrinkled in worry, "His body is too young to withstand such a strong magical force. The same thing could happen to both of us."
There was a twinkle of fear in Zane's eyes as he looked at Noam, "If he continues to force himself to use his magic, his body will not last long. Eric could die."
Noam's look turned to horror as he grabbed Eric's shoulders. He stared at his rival who was coughing up blood, there was no sign that his coughing would stop. His face grew pale and his breathing became labored. He even began to clutch his chest in pain.
"Isn't there something we can do to at least stop his coughing?" Noam asked worriedly. At this rate, Eric could bleed to death.
Zane bit his lip nervously, "Actually, there might be something that can calm him down for a while."
Noam looked at him immediately, "What is it?"
Zane paused and looked down at his hands. But he couldn't let Eric go on like this. He had to be able to do this.
Slowly, his right hand flowed with his ice magic, freezing it slightly, though not completely. Noam looked at Zane's hand in shock, still not understanding what he was doing.
Zane looked at Noam, "Help me straighten his body a little. And get rid of Eric's hand holding his chest."
Despite not understanding what Zane was up to, Noam did as Zane instructed. There was no time to hesitate. If whatever Zane had planned could help Eric, he would follow without protest.
Slowly, Noam supported Eric's back with his hands and knees, trying to straighten his body slightly as Zane requested. But he kept Eric's head down, not wanting him to choke on his own blood.
After Noam removed Eric's hand from his chest, Zane slowly moved his frozen hand to Eric's chest. Zane closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his right hand on Eric's chest.
Slowly, the ice in Zane's hand spread across Eric's chest without hurting him. Noam stared at it with wide eyes, but didn't try to stop it.
Suddenly, Eric vomited a lot of blood before his coughing stopped. Noam quickly caught Eric's body as it was about to fall over. Eric's eyes were closed tightly and his breath was still coming in gasps. His brow was wet with sweat. His hands and lips were still full of blood, but at least he stop bleeding.
Zane pulled his hand back and collapsed with a gasp. He propped himself up as his breathing began to settle. It had been an intense first experience.
Noam gave Eric a worried look before looking at Zane who was beginning to calm down, "What are you doing?"
Zane exhaled loudly before sitting up properly. He looked at Noam with an exhausted expression, "I realized the reason his coughing didn't stop was because his heart was beating too hard. The reason was his own lightning magic. It was his heart that had the greater effect, causing him to cough up blood non-stop."
Zane looked at Eric's still body, "I'm not too sure, but my gut says I should calm Eric's crazy beating heart."
He smiled embarrassed, "The only thing I could think of was my ice. Luckily it worked."
Noam paused, "Are you okay?"
Zane was slightly taken aback by his question before he chuckled softly, "Take it easy. The ice magic I cast was in small amounts, so it didn't affect my body that much. It's just that it took full concentration not to accidentally freeze Eric's heart. That's why my head feels a little dizzy now. Sorry if I was absent-minded for a moment."
Noam snorted before smiling in relief, "You saved him. Why apologize now?"
Zane chuckled, "Watch over him for a while while I try to shake off my dizziness. Be careful if the enemy suddenly attacks again."
Noam nodded firmly, "Don't worry. I'll take care of you both."
Zane didn't reply as he began to inhale and exhale gently. He repeated this several times until the dizziness slowly subsided.
Noam turned his attention back to Eric, whose breathing began to calm. He didn't know if his rival had passed out or if he was still conscious even though his eyes were still closed. Noam just wanted to be sure.
"Eric?" Noam called hesitantly.
Eric's eyelids fluttered slightly but did not open, making Noam even more anxious.
"Hey Eric. Can you hear me? Are you awake?" Noam asked insistently until he was stopped by an exasperated moan from the body he was supporting.
"Noisy." Eric replied hoarsely. Slowly his eyes opened and he blinked a few times to clear his blurred vision.
Noam breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank God you're awake. Even if you look like shit right now."
Eric snorted in exasperation but did not answer. His body felt so weak. Just opening his eyes was like hard work for him. But he still tried to keep them open so that his rival could stop worrying.
"How is he?"
The question made Noam turn his head to look at Zane, who was kneeling beside Eric again after the dizziness had passed. He looked at his friend worriedly at the sight of Eric who still seemed to be in a daze.
Noam snorted in amusement, "Helpless, but still annoying.''
Zane chuckled, "Doesn't that mean he's okay even if he doesn't look it?"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about me when I'm in no condition to kick you both."
That comment caused Noam and Zane to stare at Eric, who stared back blankly, unimpressed by what they were talking about.
Noam smiled mockingly, "Just accept your fate." Eric could only cluck his tongue in annoyance before groaning as he felt his whole body ache.
"Noam."
Before Noam could inquire about Eric's condition, Zane suddenly called out to him in a horrified tone. When he looked up at Zane, he found that his friend was not looking at him, but was staring at something far in front of them.
Noam followed the direction of Zane's gaze and his gaze turned horrified, just like Zane's at that moment. Eric didn't understand what was happening as the sudden dizziness returned, blurring his vision.
Over there, Herris' body, which had been lying motionless, slowly rose to its feet without a sound. His face was look down, so they couldn't see his expression.
The two swallowed nervously, not expecting the enemy to rise so quickly. They thought they would have time to recover, at least for a moment.
"That guy's a monster." Noam muttered in disbelief. Eric in his grip groaned softly as his vision began to clear.
"Wait. There's something strange about him." Zane said tensely as his eyes caught sight of something strange on the face of Herris, who was still looking down deeply.
Noam also looked closely. He could see something dripping from Herris' face. Eric could see it as well, now that his vision was clear and no longer blurred.
Before any of them could say anything, the three of them saw Herris slowly raise his head. At that moment, the three of them became even more horrified.
Blood flowed from his mouth, nose, eyes, and even his ears. It was as if something had exploded from inside his head. His entire face was covered in blood, making his appearance even more frightening instead of intimidating.
"What the hell..." Noam muttered, eyes wide.
"Is it because of my lightning?" Eric asked quietly.
Zane narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Don't tell me..."
He gasped before looking nervously at his two friends.
"It was a side effect of the pills?"