Lionel quickly moved away from them. He hid behind a tree. Fortunately, everyone was panicking and busy with fighting, so they didn’t pay that much attention to him.

Lionel pressed his back against the tree and took a one big deep breath. A surge of pain flared through his body, enough to make his vision blur for a second.

But still, he knew he couldn’t give up there.

"Tch... you’re really not helping," he muttered to himself as he briefly saw Cassian’s way of leading the knights.

"But this monster is really a pain in the ass," he muttered as he glared at the monster through the trees.

"It’s time to purify you, little boy."

Lionel took off the ring in his hand. In a second, he could feel his mana waking up inside him. His body felt refreshed, and for some reason, the pain in his body lessened.

A small smile rose to his lips before he raised his hand slightly. A faint glow immediately gathered around his fingertips. The feeling was warm and surprisingly satisfying. He clenched his teeth and focused.

Light of Purification.

Mana flowed out of him as he thought of it. The feeling was slow but heavy. It felt like he was dragging a heavy log with his bare hands. Maybe it was because he was injured that his body was slowly not functioning properly.

Lionel’s side throbbed, his arms slowly shook, and multiple beads of sweat ran down his temple.

No... I-I can’t give up.

On the battlefield, Lionel’s hard work in the background was slowly affecting the monster. The huge wolf’s flashy movements started slowing down as if it were in a state of confusion from the sudden energy it felt.

"Huh?" a knight gasped when he noticed it. "Did it just slow down?"

*Gruahhhhhh!

The beast’s roar came out rough and broken. However, its movements lost their sharpness. You would also notice how his claws barely struck the ground now. It was clearly getting weaker than before.

"Now!" Rufus shouted. "Hit it! It’s getting weak!"

The knights rushed in again. This time, their swords were able to pierce through the monster’s thick fur. Black blood splattered everywhere.

Cassian noticed it too. His eyes widened.

"Why are you all slow?" he snapped. "Keep attacking!" he muttered again when he was the last one to actually attack.

Behind the tree, Lionel pressed his lips together to suppress a groan. The light around his hand grew brighter, spreading thin threads that only he could see toward the monster.

"Come on, just a little more," he whispered as he saw the shadows over the monster disappear. "You oversized mutt..."

Lionel continued to stay in position. After some time of being stabbed and cut, the monster howled loudly. Its voice was filled with pain and confusion.

Lionel’s knees nearly gave out after a couple more. He leaned harder against the tree, forcing the mana to keep flowing out of his palms.

"I swear," he thought bitterly, "after this, I am sleeping for a week."

Meanwhile, the knights and the nobles continued to attack the monster.

"Finish it!" Rufus shouted another time as he stepped forward.

With that, they all rushed in at once, ready to end it. But before their attacks could land, the monster suddenly froze.

"...?"

Its body stiffened in place, and its claws that were about to swipe them stopped mid-air.

A faint light started to glow beneath its dark fur. At first, it was weak and barely noticeable. But little by little, it began to spread across its body.

"What is that?" one of the knights muttered as he stepped back.

The light grew stronger as seconds passed. It slowly spread from the monster’s chest to its neck, then down to its limbs.

Behind the tree, Lionel’s breathing grew heavier. His raised hands were already trembling as the light around his fingertips flickered.

It’s finally working!

But the moment that thought crossed his mind—

"—!"

A sharp pain shot through his body.

Lionel’s vision blurred for a second. His knees almost gave out, but he forced himself to stay up by leaning harder against the tree.

No... not yet...

He clenched his teeth. Sweat ran down his face as he pushed more mana out of his body.

The light around his hand became brighter. It stretched forward in thin lines, all of it connecting to the monster.

The beast let out a loud, broken roar.

*GRAAAHHH!

Its body shook violently. It struggled to move as if trying to break free from whatever was happening to it.

"Back off!" Rufus immediately ordered when he saw it.

The knights stepped away without hesitation. Even Cassian moved back, his eyes fixed on the glowing beast.

The light continued to spread over the monster’s body. The dark mist around the monster slowly started to disappear.

The monster twisted and struggled, but it couldn’t stop it.

Behind the tree, Lionel’s breathing turned uneven.

"Hah... hah..."

His arms were shaking badly now. It felt like all the strength in his body was being pulled out of him.

This is... too much...

His vision dimmed again, but he forced his eyes to stay open.

"I can’t... stop..." he whispered weakly.

He tightened his grip and pushed again.

*Awooooooooooooo!

The monster let out another cry, louder this time, filled with pain and confusion.

"..."

Then everything froze for a moment when the light gathered at the center of the monster’s body.

*Pshhh!

And then it burst.

A wave of soft and bright light spread outward that made everyone step back.

At the same time, the monster’s body went still before it collapsed hard on the ground.

*Thud.

Instead of turning to ash, the wolf’s dark fur turned normal. Its red eyes lost their color and became calm once more.

"H-Huh?"

Everyone was speechless at that.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Silence fell over the battlefield.

"What... just happened?" someone whispered.

The knights slowly lowered their swords, staring in the air in shock.

"What kind of trick is this?" Cassian frowned deeply. He was shocked like the others.

For a few seconds, no one moved. They were all startled by what they had just witnessed.

The knights stared at the beast on the ground.

"Is it... dead?" one knight asked carefully.

"I don’t think so..." another replied before stepping closer. "Look at it. It just looks like a normal wolf now."

"Yeah!" A noble gasped out loud. "It’s not attacking us anymore."

"It became a normal wolf?" someone whispered.

"How is that possible?"

"What just happened?"

Whispers spread through the whole group as confusion became evident on their faces. The fear and panic they felt earlier had completely disappeared now.

"What matters is that we survived," a noble said softly, almost afraid to believe it.

With those words, their confusion was replaced by relief. They immediately let out a loud laugh and congratulatory shouts. The knights on the side also began congratulating each other while the nobles sighed in relief.

However, amidst the celebrating nobles, Cassian refused to just blindly celebrate. His brows were still furrowed while his eyes continued to stare on the purified beast. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

There was no smile on his face.

"This doesn’t make sense at all," he muttered. "Something’s off."

But no one really paid attention to him, except for Rufus.

"Hey Cassian, did you know where’s Lionel?" Rufus wiped the sweat from his face and looked around, his smile fading.

"Lionel?" Cassian turned to him.

"Yeah..." Rufus’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the area.

"I don’t know?" Cassian frowned at that.

Oh, right, my poor cousin, Cassian thought. Tsk, is he dead? What a waste.

While that was happening, Lionel slowly exhaled from behind the tree. He could hear all of them talking, but he was utterly exhausted.

"I’m so fucking...done," he muttered, before taking a deep exhale.

"Hey? Did you guys saw Lionel?"

"Huh? Lionel?"

When Lionel heard his name being called again, he pressed his lips into a thin line.

He pushed himself off the tree, forcing his legs to move to the side. "I’m he—"

However, the moment he stepped out from behind the tree, the world around him spun around.

"Huh...?"

Lionel tried to take another step, but his legs gave out halfway.

Oh n—

He barely had time to think before the strength drained from his body completely. His vision went dark and before he knew it, he passed out.

= = =

A/N: Thank you for everyone who bought the Chapters! Really appreciate it!