Chương 93: 1-92 Rip off the bandaid

"You're lying!" Josef would never have expected Zippa, of all people, to have an outburst like that. His voice was saturated with anger, and his body was emitting heat.

"The dragons would never do such a thing! They prevented slavery, not committed it!" His voice was more than loud enough to be carried across the hallway, catching the attention of many adventurers. However, seeing who else was involved in the apparent argument, they all thought better than to come investigate. Even Bezzo firmly turned back to dealing with the deceased, as if he hadn't heard a thing. Josef supposed he knew his brother well enough not to be surprised by this situation.

Before he could open his mouth to try to calm his friend, though, Onyx's voice cut in with a sneer.

"You're too naive, whelp. Didn't you know? Serving a dragon is always considered an honor, whether you're willing or not." When Zippa made to rise with his fists balled, he put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, wincing as his palm immediately stung from the heat. The reptile had already reached his literal boiling point. Seeing the human flinch in pain was enough to stop the lizard dead in his tracks.

"I'm sorry, Jo. I didn't mean to-" Anger had immediately given way to regret as Zippa's focus changed.

"It's alright. No harm done." Josef raised his hand, showing off his already healing skin. There was enough healing mana coursing through him from fixing his mutilated arm, so he could spare a little for the other one. Taking a moment to order his own thoughts, he decided to dig deeper, knowing that the answers he would receive might not be what he hoped for.

"Just to be sure… Is that servitude an expectation, or somehow enforced?" Zippa looked deeply uncomfortable when he heard that question, but didn't interrupt his friend.

"What do you think happened back there?" Onyx sounded exasperated.

"I can't knowingly harm a Drake, even if I want to. Or have to, as we learned." Then, after a moment of hesitation, he added, "If you simply told me to jump, I'd be off immediately." Josef sighed, not at all surprised by the Wyrm's consistent death wish.

"Can you stop that? I'm not going to kill you. And I don't want you harming yourself either." Seeing the black-scaled reptile freeze up, he knew what he had done.

"I didn't mean it like that." Onyx merely huffed dismissively, a slight shake in his limbs betraying how tense he was. For the next minute, the three of them sat there in suffocating silence, none able or willing to continue the conversation. Until one particularly moody reptile spoke unexpectedly.

"Go on, ask. I can feel your eyes burning into me, and I hate it," Onyx growled. Zippa hesitated before finally speaking. His tone was positively scathing.

"Just what did you do to be punished like that? There's no-""NOTHING!" The deafening force of his shout sent a visible ripple through Sprout's vines, who whined sadly in response. Silently rerouting some restorative mana, Josef fixed his eardrum while staring down his friend. Whatever stick he had up his ass about dragons, this behaviour was concerning. Catching his gaze, Zippa shrank down meekly.

"I-I need to clear my head. Sorry." Not waiting for any response, he got up and walked off, leaving the two of them alone. He vanished behind one of the larger remaining rock barricades, and soon they could hear the rhythmic sound of scales meeting rocks. That was one way to work off anger, Josef mused.

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect him to react like that." Saying he was ashamed of his friend's behaviour would be too harsh, but it had certainly been an unwelcome surprise. Maybe that reaction would explain itself after they have a talk about his past. If not, he would just have to ask. Onyx grunted in response before answering with a surprising softness.

"Can't say I was any different at his age." Was he feeling nostalgic about going nuts for dragons? Was that a phase for young scalefolk? Hold on.

"How old are you?" he couldn't help but ask. The Wyrm had just talked like an old man, but he didn't look much older than Zippa. Though he might not have the most experience in judging a reptile's age.

"Too old for any of this shit," Onyx grumbled. Talking to him felt like pulling teeth, with every answer demanding considerable effort. Still, Josef wasn't about to give up.

"So," he started, drawing out the syllable, "what will you do now? You know, free from Sanctum?" Then, he quickly added, "And no, death doesn't count as a goal." He tried to joke, but the humor felt dry. The big lizard shrugged.

"Whatever you demand." Josef rolled his eyes. What else had he expected? A reasonable answer? He knew he couldn't fault Onyx for his attitude, but that didn't make him any less frustrating.

"Is there anything you want to do? No, scratch that. I already know your answer." He had seen the deadpan stare when the reptile opened his mouth. They were only going to talk in circles at this rate. Or he was, for that matter. Words alone weren't going to get him anywhere with that guy, so he would have to try something else. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Hold still," he commanded with purpose while standing up. Seeing Onyx's eye bulge out from the shock of this sudden turn, he felt more than a little bad. Even so, he continued and pulled away the reptile's eyepatch. Josef had never before seen the wound left behind after an eye was gouged out, but he was fairly certain it was exactly what he was facing now. Worse than that, the damage was already heavily scarred over. Which was a disaster for any attempt to fix the eye.

"They did this on purpose, didn't they?" He didn't expect an answer after his command, and he didn't need one. This was exactly the kind of punishment he expected a healer like Boreas to come up with. Maybe throwing him into the void would have been the right move after all. It wasn't like he could just cut away the tissue inside the eye socket to open up the healing process. Not without proper anesthetics and a book on reptile anatomy. Or maybe something specialised on Wyrm, for that matter.

Still, he laid a hand on top of the injury and began channeling his healing magic into it. He had already taken the easy way out when it came to his burnt skin. Now, it was time to figure out how to do things properly. What if he convinced his magic that certain tissue was bad and needed to die off? He vaguely remembered that cells getting terminated was a natural process, and that it was important for that function to be so. So why couldn't he lean on that? Because apparently magic decided it was not to be.

No matter what he pictured, or how he formulated his intent, the scar stubbornly remained. Was the system actively preventing the destructive use of this magic? Was there some kind of logic behind what was acceptable and what wasn't? But wasn't his use actually legitimate? It wasn't like he tried to add holes to someone's brain. If there was a logic behind it, it would have been a very limited one. So maybe it was just his lack of skill?

Maybe he needed better understanding, or cells worked differently in a world full of mana. That last one even sounded reasonable. Ultimately, though, he found an approach that was promising. Shifting his focus to his own body, he had experimented with the healing process and found himself a loophole to work with. Directing the magic with meticulous care, he could make it grow a new layer of skin. This one, however, didn't form on top, but between the burnt skin and the remaining fat layers beneath.

During its growth process, that new skin had no issues pushing away, and even through, existing skin. The result looked as if a part of his burnt skin had received a light pink outline. With a sharp tug on its rim, the entire thing came loose, exposing the muscle underneath. It was somewhat more painful than ripping off a bandaid, but it cleared the space for his magic to do its work.

"Sorry for the holdup, but I think I know how to do this." Perhaps not the best choice of words for acting like an impromptu eye surgeon.

"This will hurt for a moment, but you'll get your eye back." Following his words with actions, he found Onyx's body to be surprisingly pliable to his magic. Directing the flow of his mana was almost easier than within his own body. If that was a side effect of their respective dragon-enforced races, then the dragons really must have had a screw loose when setting up this dynamic.

Recreating an eye still turned out to be a very mana hungry process, especially because he had hardly any knowledge on how an eye was supposed to work. He felt his heart protesting at the renewed surge of mana it had to process, but he strictly ignored it. Finally, a second red eye with a black slit stared back at him.

"All done," he declared, waiting for a reaction. Then, he almost slapped himself.

"You can move now, of course." Onyx flinched as if the release sent a shock through his body. Slowly, he lifted a claw towards his new eye, gingerly trailing the flesh around it.

"Why? I would have survived just fine without it," he sounded unsure, but not unhappy.

"Because I don't just want you to survive. But to live. Besides…" he mustered his best shit-eating grin, trained from exchanging barbs with Zippa, "it looked like you lacked a vision for your future. Figured it was hiding in your blind spot." That same claw that trailed near the restored eye quickly shot out to clamp Onyx's own muzzle shut. It was fast, but not fast enough to suppress the snort that came from his mouth. He finally got a positive reaction from the lizard. Success!

"You're an idiot, and I hate you," Onyx grumbled. Then, almost silently, he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like gratitude. It was nowhere near fixing the actual damage he had suffered. A single good interaction also didn't undo the horrors he had partaken in under Sanctum's command. No matter how little choice he had in those matters, people would blame him for it. He probably blamed himself as well. But it was a start.

Silently, he sat back down next to Onyx and began treating both of their remaining wounds. He hardly needed to be concerned about the Wyrm regaining his full strength, however much that may be with the heartstone fully removed. And his own body naturally needed to recover before they pushed on to the next floor. Which would hopefully be the final one of their adventure. Where they would find Cana, and that bishop.

"Say, how do you feel about taking revenge on that bishop?" Josef asked, less than subtle in his intentions. Onyx shook his head.

"If you go down there, you will get squashed like a bug. Even with the strength I had during our fight, I would be no match for him. And now…" he looked down at his claws, flexing them.

"Now I wouldn't even be able to land a hit."

"Is that so?" Josef had no reason to doubt that assessment. He would have been flattened by the Wyrm if their fight had continued, even though his level was considerably higher. Sure, he hadn't been fully rested, but there was simply a qualitative difference in their strength. If someone like that made a prognosis like this? Still, he would have to try. It wasn't like they could leave the dungeon, unless that had miraculously changed.

Going by how the dungeon was deteriorating around whatever magic the bishop was pulling off below, he doubted anyone would get out alive if it was up to that elf. Telling Onyx as much, he received the expected despondent answer.

"Give the word, and I will come along."

"I won't tell you to do anything. In fact, don't take anything I say from now on as a command. Come with us, or stay. It's your choice." He wouldn't drag the reptile along forcefully, even if his strength would be welcome. Considering the last time Cana saw the guy, he killed her friend, that might even be for the best. That was a can of worms, which he was also not looking forward to dealing with.

Pushing himself up with both hands, groaning under the sensitivity of his barely restored arm, he turned towards where his friends were. Seeing that they were just about done dealing with cleanup, and Zippa with creating a smoking crater, respectively, this was about as good a time as any. Hopefully, they were ready to push on.