"No… No… There has to be a way…"
Shaken by Akachi's words, Hendrina entered into denial as she stared intently at Marien inside the barrier. Her thoughts of denial spilled from her mouth without her even noticing. She seemed to be in a trance of denial…
Beside her, Aglaya shared the same thoughts. However, unlike Hendrina, she quickly started to analyze the situation and consider any alternatives they might have.
She glanced at Inessa, who lay unconscious on the sofa. Inessa didn't appear to be injured, and given the natural healing factor of dragons, she would likely wake up within minutes.
Akachi stood observing, and from what Aglaya knew about him, through both Inessa's and Abigail's comments on his habits and behaviors, his curiosity was absurd—even by dragon standards. He watched the situation within the barrier as an astronomer would watch the night sky: observing the signals, movements, and reactions with utmost attention, not even blinking.
Aglaya knew the chances of any of them persuading him to intervene were practically zero.
"Please, Marien cannot die like this. We have to do something." Hendrina, still in her trance, began to grow agitated and ran up to the barrier, seeking a way to enter it. Seeing that she couldn't, she knelt down and began to pray softly, begging for a miracle...
"Compose yourself, Hendrina; you are in the presence of a Great Dragon Lord…" Aglaya reprimanded, motioning with her hand for Mahara to pull the Tiefling away from the barrier.
"Calm your emotions, or the situation will worsen. Even if you enter, there's nothing you can do. And if you attempt to sever the connection, you might end up in the same condition as Marien—or worse. Marien's effort and sacrifice would be in vain." Aglaya spoke in a softer tone while Mahara dragged Hendrina away from the barrier.
"You're right… Sniff Focus." Hendrina tried to regain her composure, though it was clear she was still very unstable.
Looking towards the corner where Mahara was leading Hendrina, Aglaya spotted an Auvox: a small, black sphere floating magically a few inches above a rounded, concave base of the same color. It was a tool used for contacting people over long distances via aura waves with specific linguistic and protective enchantments. In this way, anyone could speak with others even if separated by a vast distance.
At that moment, an idea came to Aglaya.
Since convincing Akachi to help seemed almost impossible, why not call upon someone more reliable, who would certainly be helpful in this situation?
Without hesitating, she moved quickly around the barrier and knelt respectfully a few meters beside Akachi, speaking:
"Great Lord Akachi…"
"Humm?" Without losing focus or taking his eyes off the scene, Akachi merely grunted inquisitively.
"Forgive me for interrupting your thoughts, Great Lord. But might you inform us of Marien's chances of enduring this?"
With this question, Aglaya managed to make Akachi look at her, as if trying to understand the purpose of her question. But after not seeing anything beyond her neutral expression, he returned his focus to the main scene.
"For a moment, I thought you were going to ask this Lord to intervene. But that question was unexpected. What use is this information to you? Do you wish to gamble on luck as well? Or do your Lunar Elf instincts tell you to spare her from suffering? If that's the case, I cannot permit it."
"I apologize for not being clear about my intentions, Great Lord. But I assure you, I have no interest in interrupting your observation or interfering in any way with the situation inside the barrier."
"Then why are you curious about her chances if you won't do anything to save her?"
"Forgive me, Great Lord. I know I am but a powerless and insignificant creature, but I will do as Lady Inessa has often advised: I will ask for help from someone reliable."
"There's a bit of doctor and a bit of madness in everyone.… Hahaha. Tell this Lord, who do you think could help in this situation?" Akachi said, his gaze turning slightly interested and slightly mocking.
"Lady Abigail is in her residence and could arrive here within minutes in case of an emergency." Aglaya responded, her head still bowed but her voice confident.
"Abigail… A good idea, indeed. But I doubt she would intercede and use her precious healing magic on her friend. Unless… it isn't for her. Haha. Clever, girl, very clever."
"This humble apprentice does not deserve such praise, Great Lord…"
"No matter. But for your wit, I'll grant you ten minutes. Do whatever is necessary to wake Inessa within that time if you wish to have any chance of saving your companion."
"Thank you, Great Lord… Thank you."
"But first, let me give you a warning…"
For the third time since the conversation began, Akachi turned his gaze to Aglaya. But this time, he also started to walk slowly toward her, his voice low, with a slightly threatening tone, as if warning her of a danger.
Step Step
"Inessa must establish a Soul Link with the baby to save your friend. Now that his core has overtaken her aura veins, it is essential that the Aura Link be severed with extreme delicacy."
Step Step
With each step he took, the atmosphere in the room grew colder. All the women clearly heard what he was saying, and a shiver ran down their spines with each step he took.
"Vein by vein, point by point, piece by piece. Everything must be carefully reorganized and restored so that his core can be perfectly contained and ready to form a 100% effective Link. Furthermore, for personal reasons, only Inessa can accomplish this."
Step
"So, if one of these conditions is not met…"
With a final step, he stood close to where Aglaya was kneeling. Then, crouching, he placed his hand on her head and made her look directly into his eyes, which no longer seemed human. His slit eyes glowed faintly in gold.
"Your friend will be the sacrifice I will use to tune the aura core of the little human. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly, Great Lord…" Trembling under the aura he emanated, Aglaya responded quickly.
"Very well. Go. The clock is ticking."
With that, Akachi stood and turned his back to her, returning to his spot and resuming his intense observation of Marien and the baby within the barrier.
Aglaya didn't waste time. She rose and left the room quickly, leaving the other girls with questions and only a few clues as to what she was planning. But they all knew they could trust Aglaya.
---
In the night sky, where stars shone as abundantly as stones by a riverbank, a large silhouette could be seen in the distance. Thanks to the light of two full moons, each different in size and color, the silhouette was visible in detail.
Flying across the night sky was a white dragon, almost as white as snow, beating its wings rhythmically and soaring at a vertiginous speed, leaving a deafening roar in its wake along with a shockwave.
Its speed was remarkable, yet it was nearly insufficient to arrive within the allotted time. Some preparations and delays had postponed its departure by precious minutes.
Luckily, the white dragon was already approaching its destination, and Inessa's estate was now within sight—even the palace was visible. A few seconds would be enough for it to arrive.
As it neared, before landing in front of the palace, the dragon began to glow and soon transformed into a woman. Voluminous, wavy white hair framed a perfectly symmetrical, slightly rounded face.
Light gray eyes accentuated her slightly rosy skin. She wore an elegant and noble outfit, adorned with gold and embellishments that highlighted her silhouette.
And despite her noble and seemingly delicate attire, the woman landed gracefully after a drop of over ten meters, hurrying toward the palace entrance without any hint of exhaustion.
At the front door, waiting patiently, stood Aglaya…
"Lady Abigail…"
"Rise; there's no time for formalities."
As Aglaya began to kneel, the woman stopped her, quickly passing by and moving with urgency toward the location of interest.
"How much time do we have?" Striding through the palace corridors with familiarity, the woman asked, still focused on reaching the room where Inessa was.
"Three minutes and twenty-four seconds…" Aglaya responded, struggling slightly to keep pace with the woman.
"Damn it… That fool would rather fight until she passes out than leave that damn room. Did she really think she stood a chance? She wasn't even tuning or training her own aura. By Aura, how could she be so foolish?"
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