Chapter 253 - To Cure An Ail

Jiran Teleported before either girl broke free from their slack jawed incredulity. He appeared next to Ardon, already wearing clothes that seemed to grow out of his skin. Mana Omnis examined the corruption spreading through most of Ardon’s body. Only a few tiny pockets of him remained unaffected, and with each breath of density he took, the sickness grew. He reached out a finger, tapping one of the safe spots on his chest and leaving behind a tiny dose of Mana Venom.

“Jiran, no!” Olive was far too slow to stop him. When she saw that the green veins didn’t leap to his skin like they did with every other person who touched the sickness, she halted in her tracks, “How? Do you know what’s wrong with him?”

The ember of hope in her trembling voice was enough to make Jiran’s chest ache, “Yes, he’ll be fine now. Not sure how long it’ll take, but he’ll recover. Your brother, Ardon, right?” She nodded, and he smiled reassuringly, “If you know where his tap is, that would speed things up significantly.”

Olive’s mouth opened and closed, words unable to form. Mayalyn moved to her side, grabbing her hand with a huge grin for Jiran, “I told you he would make it look easy.” Mayalyn’s soothing voice was the last straw and the strength left Olive in a rush. She collapsed to her knees, falling into Mayalyn’s waiting embrace as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Mayalyn widened her eyes at Jiran while darting a look to the side. Understanding, he turned back to Ardon, giving the princess a moment to recover. Instead, he held up his hand, looking through his skin at his mana. He pushed and pulled on the energy, watching it flow smoothly through his flesh. He couldn’t feel anything different after choosing Mana Transcendence, but that was only a mild surprise. 

I’m probably a long ways away from reaching whatever limiters the evolution removed. 

While tempting, the two ‘named’ options for his evolution lost out. One was all about knowledge, and once he possessed that knowledge it would lose its value. The other was similar, but for power. Power, while important to survive, could only take him so far before he reached the supposed limits of mana. Jiran was confident in reaching them eventually, and if he didn’t secure his path to go beyond them now, he might never get another chance. Then, he could only live thousands of years in regret.

No thanks.

Olive’s ratcheting breaths smoothed and she wiped away the last of her tears. Her voice was mostly smooth when she answered his question, “I am not aware of the location of eldest brother’s tap. Perhaps father would know, or mother.”

Jiran shrugged, assuming he would have to do things the hard way to begin with, “Okay.” His venom had already spread to encompass most of Ardon’s left breast, leaving clear, if still sickly skin in its wake. Jiran furrowed his brows as a sudden thought struck him, “Hold on. I might be able to find it.”

Despite herself, Olive scoffed at the ludicrousness of his statement. Even after everything she’d seen him do, this one was too much. Afterall, not even the emperors could help someone locate their tap. It was up to the individual to find through patience, perseverance, and luck. Sometimes, it took decades, or even a century, if they ever found it at all.

Still, she remained quiet as he focused on her brother. Jiran stopped his current expanding ring of Mana Venom. He created a new application of the skill, this one more structured in the way it spread. Jiran used his timer and Mana Omnis to pace his skill’s advance across Ardon’s sickness. It worked through the man’s chest and arms, his head, and down first one leg, then the other at a perfectly steady pace.

Jiran was about to give up on his plan as well when it happened. On Ardon’s left ankle, Mana Venom paused, unable to immediately battle away the corruption. Mana Transcendence dove into the microcosmic battlezone. It took Jiran several seconds to find the hole where both the corruption and his venom were vanishing. At less than a hundred nanometers in diameter, it really would be almost impossible to find through normal means.

His mana followed the fighting down the tube, where it ended at the barrier that blocked him from entering Ardon’s soul-space. With a smug grin, Jiran shot the girls a wink, “Found it,”

“You what?!” Olive blurted, “How? That’s not supposed to be possible!”

Mayalyn tsked her lack of faith, and Jiran responded with a finger tapping his chin, “Well, if he were healthy, I wouldn’t have thought of the method, but we should be able to replicate it easily enough to find your taps as well. We’ll do that in a bit. It’s past time you guys got an upgrade to your auras. Can you go get Niya and Cameron while I finish up here?”

Mayalyn used Olive’s shoulder to push herself to her feet, “I will find them. You stay with your brother. He will want to see your face when he awakens.”

Olive looked up at her with such gratitude flowing into her aura that Mayalyn shivered. She rose as well, wrapping her arms around Mayalyn’s shoulders and pressing their foreheads together, “Thank you, Mayalyn.” 

Jiran’s brows were at his hairline as he watched the touching scene, all five of his minds stuttering to a complete halt. Mayalyn flashed him a smile as though she’d won some prize, then turned to leave, only to find Jiran suddenly standing between her and the exit. 

He grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to him so roughly she squeaked. His lips crushed into hers in a deep kiss that took her breath away. He didn’t stop until his aura felt her toes curling. Setting the breathless girl down, he smacked her butt and she giggled, dashing out of the tent with a sloppy grin.

Jiran walked by a furiously blushing Olive to sit in front of Ardon again. He heard the creaking of her leather gloves as she nervously squeezed her hands into fists. Then, she came and sat so close to him that their legs were touching. She side-eyed him, holding her breath and waiting for a reprimand that never came. Jiran didn’t make a big deal out of it. She calmed all too soon, worry for her brother overriding jittery unease.

Ardon’s complexion had improved immensely and not a trace of the corruption could be found on his skin. Jiran spoke in a strong tone, making sure to impress his confidence upon her, “Your brother is doing great and could wake up any moment. I’m going to try and visit his soul now. I need to focus.”

“I understand,” Olive nodded, seizing her own body with her aura so not even the lightest rustle of clothing could be heard.

Jiran lifted Ardon in the air so his aura would relax. The ever-present field of pressure spreading his weight eased its grip against the framework, allowing Jiran to grip a small portion of it with his own aura. He molded the thin layer of mana-imbued soulstuff into a tube, wrapping it around a needle of his aura and mana. All three pressed into Ardon’s tap, easily sliding past the barrier and into his soul-space.

The area looked nothing like Jiran’s. Instead of inky gray with an ice-blue wall, he was met with a deep, dark forest that expanded in every direction. The trees swayed in a nonexistent breeze, and the corruption clogged their boughs like overgrown spiderwebs. Jiran didn’t waste any time slamming his fist into the hard soil, releasing a wave of Mana Venom. He stayed just long enough to make sure it was properly devouring the burgheist’s remnant filth before leaving.

That beast sure has a nasty skill. I would say it's cheating by being able to pass through the tap’s barrier, but I’m not really allowed to talk.

Jiran lifted Ardon back to the cot in the far corner of the tent, then dusted his hands and leaned back, “All done. He’ll be back on his aura in no time. I should check the rest of the city. We can’t be the only two who got hit this hard by the burgheist’s skill.”

Olive’s relief was palpable. On the verge of tears again, she fought them off with faux exuberance, “I-I can help! There are indeed many others suffering similar symptoms, though none were as critical as you and eldest brother.”

Jiran eyed her up and down, his gaze pausing on the cuts and bruises marring her skin, “If they aren't in immediate danger, then why are you in such a hurry to run off? You haven’t even healed yourself yet. Is my company so poor?”

His teasing had the desired effect, “What?! No! That’s not it at all. I only want to prove that I’m not some useless, spoiled princess. I… I know you think that of me.”

He snorted, unsure if he was the one being played now, “I don’t know where you got that idea. The only negative thought I’ve ever had about you was that you’re bossy. Sure, there are times when that’s the best course of action.” Jiran paused in consideration, changing what he was going to say, “Hmm. Now that I think about it, that nitpick was probably only because I was trying to find reasons not to be attracted to you. That’s not an issue anymore.”

Wide, too-blue eyes stared back at him and Jiran threw his head back and laughed, “Never seen you so speechless before. Where’s the witty princess who always has something to say?”

“She’s uhm, on holiday?” Olive tried. Unable to hold his piercing gaze, she carefully examined the wall of the tent.

Grinning, Jiran grabbed her hands. She flinched, but quickly relaxed and watched him remove her gloves to gently run his thumbs over the smooth skin of her palms. Soothing healing energy washed through her, sealing her cuts and cleaning the dried blood. His voice was a whisper, not wanting to scare her into withdrawing, “You’ve changed. Looks like you took some interesting skill evolutions.”

The last time he held her hand was when they watched the rankers leaving to fight the Graymin King. This time was a much more pleasant experience, sending exciting tingles racing up both their arms. She nodded, again looking anywhere but at him, “Yes. I… Why is this so hard? I’ve been unable to sleep thinking about this very moment. Yet now it’s here and I can’t breathe. Is there something wrong with me?”

“Hardly,” Jiran rolled his eyes. “I’m not exactly making it easy on you. Here, let’s try this,” he ignored her disappointment when he released her hands. He spun them both in his aura so their backs were together, “How’s that?”

“Much better, I think?” She laughed softly, the sound ticking his ears. “Yes. Much better indeed,” she cleared her throat, straightening against him, “I believe you were in the middle of telling me how amazing I am. I… would like to hear more of that.”

Grinning so wide his face hurt, Jiran knew just what to say, “It’s true. To be honest, I usually find myself impressed by you to the point I’m stunned.”

“Really? W-why?” Her lips quivered as she fought to keep her own giddy grin from over-stretching her cheeks.

Jiran nudged into her, “You’re a natural leader. On top of being well trained in everything that implies. I want that too. The entire Forkara and Timberling races are relying on me now. Of course I’d want to emulate the best role model I’ve seen.”

“Best? Oh. I-I mean, thank you for the compliment. I don’t believe my actions are anything noteworthy. I’ve only done what was obviously correct at the time, and leaned on the wisdom of my parents while doing them. I suppose that’s exactly what you meant though.”

“Mhm,” Jiran nodded, “Can I take that as an agreement to teach me for real moving forward? There’s so much I miss out on by only seeing your results. I want to know all the why’s and how’s too.”

He felt her turn her head, her nose rising, “An agreement of such monumental import for nothing more than two measly compliments? You’ll have to do better than that to gain the favor of an Imperial Princess.”

Jiran hopped to his feet in a blur, leaving her falling backward with an undignified squawk. She caught herself, glaring up at him as he stretched tall with his arms over his head, “How about curing an entire city of corruption after rescuing an empire from an insane, brainwashed lunatic?”

She rose as well, dusting herself off and straightening her dress, “Nope.”

Her lips pursed, the motion so subtle only a fool could have missed it. Jiran scrunched his nose, tilting his head to look off into the distance, “I feel like you’re looking for something specific here, whatever could it be?”

Her eyes trailed to the place Jiran and Mayalyn had been standing when he kissed her. When she failed to respond with words, he shrugged in an exaggerated fashion, “Guess I’ll never know. What a shame. I’m sure Lenton would be willing to actually teach me something for a change.” His steps were light as he bounced toward the exit.

“W—”

Before the word could leave her mouth, Jiran spun and kissed her so gently their lips barely grazed one another. He was already skipping from the tent when his voice reached her addled brain, “Consider that a down payment, princess. You’ll have to earn anything more.”

Olive snapped her jaw closed and raced after him with a grin just as ridiculous as Mayalyn’s.