A while later, after explaining the situation to Aria and the others, Aria sat alone on the bed while the rest of the group stepped back to give them space.

Zenith stood with her back turned toward the bed, while Lucian stood right beside her, firmly holding the dark, mana-filled sphere.

"Alright, let’s do this," Lucian said simply.

For a few seconds, Aria just stared innocently at the two of them. Curling her fingers nervously against her chest, she asked in a soft, hesitant voice...

"Will... will it hurt?"

Giving her a warm, comforting smile, Lucian replied softly,

"Don’t worry. Nothing will hurt you as long as I am here."

Aria’s eyes widened slightly in surprise before a soft, mature smile graced her lips.

Standing in the back, Kaelen’s eyes were practically sparkling as he watched this emotional, dramatic scene unfold. Standing right next to him, Sera just puffed her cheeks into a jealous pout...

Why doesn’t he ever say such cool lines to me... hmph, she grumbled internally.

Lucian hadn’t actually mentioned to Aria or the rest of the group how Meldora was going to remove the curse. Seeing Zenith just standing there with her back turned like some kind of living tool left Lyria, Zeri, Aria, and Kaelen completely confused.

However, they all knew there was no point in asking questions right now, especially since the live action was going to reveal everything to them in just a few seconds anyway...

As Zenith stepped forward, maintaining a small distance between herself and Aria...

Lucian glanced narrowly at Zenith. "Are you ready?"

She gave a slight nod, sweeping her hair to the side to fully reveal the back of her neck.

For about five seconds, Aria just stared in pure confusion, right until Meldora manifested in a gritty, fleshy distortion on Zenith’s pale skin.

Instead of screaming or flinching in fear, Aria simply watched the demonic mouth form with wide, stunningly curious eyes...

The jagged lips parted, revealing rows of needle-like teeth, and a raspy, irritated voice echoed out.

"Tch... To think a majestic Curse Lord like myself has to play the role of a lowly healer for some fragile little human child... Unbelievable. You mortals treat me like a damn vacuum cleaner! Make it quick, my throat is parched!"

"Stop whining and just do the job," Zenith muttered under her breath, her tone laced with annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah..." Meldora sneered, its tongue flicking out. "But don’t forget, meat sack... if that little sphere of yours doesn’t fully satisfy my hunger, I can just as easily spit this curse right back into her fragile little soul..."

Zenith simply clenched her jaw, keeping her face completely stoic without offering a single word of reply.

And what happened next left everyone in the room staring in absolute disbelief...

Opening its jaws, Meldora stretched its mouth unnaturally wide, the fleshy edges pulling taut. Sitting directly in front of her, Aria gasped, staring wide-eyed into the gritty, bottomless abyss of that demonic maw.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, tiny, glowing particles of yellow and deep blue began to seep out of Aria’s skin... drifting through the air and getting sucked straight into the demon’s jaws like a magical vacuum.

Everyone watched in stunned silence, their eyes completely wide.

"My, oh my..." Lyria murmured, totally mesmerized by the ethereal display.

Sera and Kaelen, on the other hand, just scrunched up their faces in pure disgust.

Aria’s body remained bathed in that faint, flickering glow for almost two to three minutes before the light slowly faded away, leaving her complexion looking healthier and entirely back to normal.

Letting out a loud, grotesque burp, Meldora finally spoke...

"Done... your fragile little girl’s curse is fully removed. Now, hand over my food..."

"What? That easy?" Sera suddenly stepped forward, looking highly skeptical.

"Huh? You dare doubt me, puny girl?" Meldora sneered, its sharp teeth glinting as it let out a wet, mocking chuckle. "Just because it takes your tiny human brain three business days to process a simple thought doesn’t mean a supreme Curse Lord struggles with child’s play. I swallowed that pathetic hex like a cheap appetizer. Now back off before I decide you look like a decent dessert."

"I feel so light..." Aria murmured. Wading into the shallow water of the cove, she scooped some into her palms and looked at it closely.

"Yes! I can see perfectly normally again... and there’s no pain in my knees at all!" Overjoyed, she jumped up and cheerfully splashed the water around.

Everyone remained quiet for a moment, watching her joyful outburst with slightly stunned, blank expressions... Then, Lucian finally consulted his system to confirm.

System, what is her condition?

[Confirmed. 100% tether control has been lost. There are no remaining curse particles present in Aria’s body.]

[mission has been accomplished reward will be sent in your inventory]

Lucian let out a heavy sigh of relief and finally smiled. "Yes... the curse is completely removed."

Hearing this, Sera immediately rushed forward, splashing through the water, and tackled Aria into a tight hug. "Aria, my darling! Now you won’t ever have to leave us! I am so happy!"

Seeing the two of them, warm, reassuring smiles finally broke out across everyone else’s faces.

A little while later, completely fed up with Meldora’s incessant and annoying whining, Lucian brought the pulsing dark sphere forward and fed it directly to the demonic mouth on Zenith’s neck.

Nobody relaxed just yet. Everyone stood in a tight circle surrounding Zenith, keeping a vigilant watch to confirm whether Meldora’s massive hunger had actually been satisfied, or if it was going to demand more... 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Burp... Burp...

Letting out two loud, consecutive burps, Meldora lazily licked its fleshy lips with a long, dark tongue.

"Haha... now that hit the spot..."

Everyone narrowed their eyes, keeping their guard up as they watched the demonic entity closely.

"...You, the black-haired boy... Lucian, right?" Meldora suddenly rasped, its tone surprisingly pleased. "Want to make a pact with me?"

"No thanks," Lucian replied flatly, without a second of hesitation.

A collective laugh escaped from the group, finally breaking the heavy tension in the air as Meldora’s gritty mouth slowly began to fade back into Zenith’s pale skin.