"Pill side effects?"
Noam asked in shock before glancing at Herris, who was still standing with a blank expression on his face. He did not move or make a sound after getting up. Even Noam doubted if Herris was conscious or unconscious at the moment.
Zane nodded, "I suspect that Eric's attack accelerated the effects of the pill. I mean, isn't it strange that the effect came on so quickly?"
Eric frowned, "So it's partly my fault?"
Noam snorted, "I wouldn't say it's your fault. Our goal from the beginning was to inhibit him, right? He doesn't look dead to me."
Eric sighed tiredly, trying to shake off his negative thoughts. But the idea of him killing the man was not a good one. He still wasn't mentally ready. And his body didn't need another burden to carry.
Meanwhile, Hana and Rose were horrified at the sight of Herris' body. Even Arion could feel his sister's body trembling, just like his own was now. He could see the scene as well.
After finding out that Eric was okay, Hana decided to go back to check on her brother's condition. But it was another horrible sight they saw.
Arion could feel his stomach churning uncomfortably, 'What the hell is this? This amount of blood is unnatural.'
He desperately wanted to avert his eyes from the bloody scene. But Arion felt his body freeze, unable to move. His eyes trembled with fear at the undead-like state of the big man.
Hana could not look at him either and distanced herself from the scene. She also just noticed that Arion's body was shaking, and horrified thoughts ran through her mind. Did his little brother see that horrible scene?
Rose also realized the state of the two and could not help but make a decision, "Hana, stay away for now and stop snooping around. Let me handle this. You have more important things to do."
Rose glanced at Arion's shaking body as she said the last sentence. She winced inwardly. It looked like the baby was seeing something he shouldn't.
Hana bit her lip slightly and nodded. She tried to calm the trembling Arion and tightened her hug even more. Hana didn't know what to do.
"It's okay, Arion. Everything will be fine." Hana whispered into Arion's ear. She was thankful that Seth was not disturbed at all. She didn't know how to calm two babies at the same time.
Arion groaned inwardly, 'No. It's not okay. Everything is not okay. Things are getting worse by the minute.'
"What now? Should we take a closer look?" Noam asked hesitantly. Even though he had a bad feeling about the idea.
"I have a feeling it's a bad idea," Eric muttered as he finally managed to sit up on his own without Noam's support. Still the dizziness came and went in his head. He massaged his forehead to relieve the dizziness.
Before Zane could comment, Herris' body suddenly began to sway and a strange mumbling came out of her mouth. Noam and Zane were immediately alerted in front of Eric, who was unlikely to be struggling at the moment.
"Has he regained consciousness?" Noam asked suspiciously.
Zane hummed nervously, "Don't tell me the side effects are only temporary."
Having said that, the steel that covered Herris' body slowly disappeared. Starting from his chest until it stopped, leaving his arms and legs still covered in steel, just like the first time.
Herris' body swayed before he fell to his knees with a groan of pain. They could see Herris holding his head and pulling at his hair with a look of pain on his face. He seemed to be suffering from a terrible headache.
They were the third to gasp as Herris suddenly cried out in pain before hitting the ground hard, causing shocks and several cracks before he stopped.
Herris began to blink his eyes to regain consciousness and let out a long groan. His body was in a great deal of pain, and his consciousness was pulled back and forth until he felt as if his mind was blank.
Herris looked up to see the three children who had managed to trick him looking at him as if he were a ghost. Were it not for the fact that his body was now stiff with pain at every corner, he would have destroyed those children.
He snarled angrily, his eyes glaring, "Damn kids! How dare you attack me!"
Herris tried to stand but failed, falling back to his knees. Although his arms and legs were still armored, his strength felt as if it had been drained. The effects of the pills he had swallowed had not yet worn off, but Eric's attack had left his body in chaos.
"He still has the energy to get angry? That's great." Noam said flatly, but there was still a mocking tone in it that made Herris even more furious.
Herris groaned in pain, "Good thing I still have enough consciousness to pull back some of that steel."
Zane widened his eyes, "So that's it."
Eric and Noam looked at Zane in confusion, "Why?"
"The side effects of the pill are still there. But because he withdrew some of the magic, it caused the side effects to lessen but not disappear. I suspect the side effects are still destroying his body from the inside, even if it's slower now." Zane's explanation made them both look at Herris, who still seemed unable to move, though his mouth was still cursing from earlier.
"Eric's lightning did make the side effects come faster and stronger. But it also gave he some awareness to withdraw his magic while the pain was still strong throughout his body. I suspect it was the pain that made him slightly aware." Zane finished his analysis.
Herris clucked his tongue in annoyance, "I'm starting to hate smart kids."
His hatred for those children was even stronger after they had made him like this. Herris did not like being weak. Never in his life would he be defeated by the lightning magic of a child who hadn't even received his magic for a day.
Besides, that kid was the one who had caused him to experience strong side effects that would have almost destroyed his body if he had not withdrawn his magic in time. During the time he had taken the pill, he had never experienced any side effects because he had killed all of his opponents before the time limit expired.
Now, his body condition was very chaotic. He couldn't move because the effects of Eric's lightning were still attacking him from within. Lightning had always been the weakness of steel, which was why he disliked the people of the Gewitter Kingdom in the first place. Besides, although weakened, the effects of the pill were still felt. Not only Eric's lightning, but also the side effects of the pill were attacking him from within.
"So what now?" Noam whispered cautiously. The brand had to make the most of the time available while the enemy was still immobilized. Even Noam could see him daydreaming now, even though his mouth was still spewing out curses.
Eric paused before trying to get up, "Should I attack him again?"
Noam and Zane immediately pulled Eric's body to sit back down.
"Are you kidding me? Don't you realize your own condition right now?" Noam whispered angrily at his friend, who had fallen silent again.
Zane sighed before patting Eric's shoulder, "We won't be letting you use your magic anytime soon, Eric. You just coughed up some serious blood a few minutes ago, in case you forgot."
Eric paused before he let out a tired sigh, "Then what? We just wait for him to recover? Only my magic is the most effective at weakening him."
Zane smiled, "That doesn't mean our magic won't be effective against him forever."
Eric gave Zane a flat look, but couldn't hide his curiosity. To be honest, his mind was still foggy at the moment. He still couldn't think clearly. Therefore, he didn't notice something that was very obvious.
"Haven't you noticed that the steel covering the area except for his hands and feet is gone now?" Zane's statement made Eric jump before he looked at Herris closely. How could he not have noticed it from the beginning?
"His defenses are down now. My and Noam's attacks should have an effect on him." Zane said as he saw Eric fall silent. He had guessed Eric's current slow state of mind. Looking at him now, it seemed that his guess was right.
"And since he's currently in a weakened state, we can use that to immobilize him immediately." Noam continued with a broad smirk. He couldn't wait to punch the man in the face. The big man had already caused them a lot of trouble during the night.
"And you, I'm asking you to keep quiet and recover your condition." Noam said seriously as he gave Eric a sharp look, not wanting to be contradicted.
Eric was silent for a moment before he sighed, "If you use magic too much, you'll end up like me."
"That's why we will use it as little as possible. Since there is no steel covering his chest and back, an attack with a normal sword can already give him a wound." Zane patiently but firmly explained to Eric.
Zane wanted to make it clear to his friend that Eric could trust the two of them to handle the current situation and stop pushing himself.
Unable to fight the two anymore, Eric could only surrender, "Get it over with."
Zane smiled a little as Noam smiled broadly, "Trust us!"