~ Chapter 45: What needed to be done ~

[Leonidas' point of view]

 Aunty Eliza's magic training was the same as always. She made me circulate Magic Energy between my palms without letting it overflow or go out of control. Even for an expert user, this was still a rather difficult exercise to go through as it tended to make use of almost of his focus. That was why my senses were currently peaked at their maximum. I could even hear Luthecia's humming, who was washing the dishes in the kitchen, which was on the other side of the house. The door was closed too.

Then, while I was focusing on getting the right amount of Magic Energy to flow between my palms without it spilling out or going out of control, I heard it...

“Brother! Help me!”

It was a scream filled with horror and fear. It rang in my ears and echoed in my head.

“Sister!” I said as I jumped up.

A chill ran down my spine, and I could feel something was definitely wrong.

By the time our aunt realized what just happened, I was already dashing towards the stairs. I rushed to the door of our bedroom and opened it, almost breaking the handle because of my strong grip.

There, sitting on the frame of the window and with one hand holding my unconscious little sister by the waist, I saw that terrible man, Alexandre Damascus.

“No witnesses...” the man muttered and then pointed his palm at me.

I froze in shock.

What's happening... Is Cassandra... What is... I thought, but before I could gather my thoughts, a powerful force sent me flying back.

The spell Alexandre cast with a shortened chant was a powerful one from the wind element. It created an unnaturally powerful wind which pushed me back. The world was spinning around me and suddenly, my whole body started to hurt.

I blacked out...

Aunty's calls woke me up.

“Leonidas! Leonidas! By the gods! Leonidas! What happened?” she was calling out to me while crying.

“Ungh...” I groaned and tried to get up.

A terrible pain shot through my right hand and left leg.

“Ow... it hurts...” I said numbed by the pain.

Tears gathered in my eyes and my jaw was trembling as I tried to resist the urge to scream out loud in pain.

“Don't move, Leo! Luthecia went to get your parents...” she told me as she placed her hand on my chest.

Aunty was trembling as well and didn't know where to look.

Ah, yes... I vaguely remember mother telling us aunty quit being an adventurer because of a problem of some sort... What was it again? I thought, but my mind was in a blur.

I closed my eyes and focused to keep the pain under control.

Then I remembered that man, Alexandre Damascus, pointing his hand at me...

I opened my eyes with a jolt and asked “Sister... Where is my little sister?”

Aunty Eliza bit her lower lip and looked away.

“Aunty!” I shouted and then let out a painful groan as I felt another wave of pain rushing through me.

“I don't know...” she shook her head. “Someone took her... but I didn't see who... I wanted to run after him, but when I saw you like this...” she said in a trembling tone of voice and clenching her hands into fists.

The pain wasn't going away, so I forced myself to look at my body. There was blood everywhere and my leg was bent in a strange way. I could tell that my bones and muscles had been ripped and my body was desperately trying to heal the wound. Looking at my right arm, I saw it wasn't doing any better, the bone was sticking out and if my guess was right, I should have had a few broken ribs too, but it didn't feel like I was suffering from internal injuries. Maybe those healed up faster than the rest did?

“Agh! It hurts!” I let out my screams because I couldn't bear the shock and pain surging through me.

“Leonidas! Don't move anymore! W-We need to heal you... to treat you! I... I need to get something to wash the blood... no, to stop the bleeding... to...” aunty was already panicking, and her eyes were swimming.

She didn't know what to do and despite how powerful she was and how brawny she looked like, her legs were trembling.

If Cassandra saw you like this, you would have shattered her image of you. I thought to myself.

Tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes, and a few were already flowing down her cheeks. Despite being an Emperor Rank adventurer, she was clearly unable to keep her cool. She was actually panicking more than I was, however, this wasn't the time to idle around. Cassandra was in more danger than I was.

Grabbing her hand with my left arm, I caught her attention.

“T-That man... The Royal Knight who came with that teacher, Mister Dejun from Gallyater Royal Magic Academy... Ugh. He was the one who kidnapped my little sister... Whatever the reason, I'm certain it isn't a good one!” I told her while resisting my desire to scream in pain.

“Royal Knight? I-I'll be sure to tell your parents as soon as they get here... Y-You... You just need to calm down and don't move too much, alright?” she said trying to force a smile through her tears “If only I knew how to use healing magic...” she frowned.

“Huh? None of us can do it, right?” I showed her a wry smile.

“W-We'll call for a healer from Briston... W-We'll make sure to heal you... You're not going to die, Leonidas... you're not going to...” aunty said in a trembling tone of voice as she lowered the volume towards the end.

I hated pain. I really hated it.

Even though I experienced so many deaths and spent countless days in hospitals, pain was still pain, there was no going around it. Because of this, whenever I heard people say that you would get used to it, I couldn't help but feel like they were rubbing in my face a big fat lie. You didn't get used to it, you just learned to abstain from shouting and how to stop yourself from panicking. Maybe your nerves became a bit dull to the pain, but in the end, it was still there.

Thanks to my other world experience, I was able to keep a clam mind about it. I could barely stop myself from crying and shouting but showing no reaction at all to the feeling of pain was something I had yet to achieve or wished to in the first place.

A good trick to help get over the pain was to scream internally. Let the shouts out in my mind or through a deep breath without contracting my vocal cords.

Thus, while looking at my current situation, I knew what I had to do. It was the only option I could go for, least I wished for Alexandre Damascus to get away with my little sister.

“Hey, aunty?” I asked in a weak tone of voice.

“Yes?” she looked at me with those tearful eyes.

I can't let her see this... She may be an Emperor Rank adventurer, but looking at her current state of mind, I fear that she will faint when she will see what I will do... I wonder if this was the reason why she quit being an adventurer? Because she turns weak when she sees someone she cares about getting hurt? I thought as I looked into her eyes and then asked her with a soft smile on my lips “Can you please bring me a glass of water?”

“Of course! I'll be right back! And don't worry, once your mother gets here, your aunt will find that bastard and make him wish he was never born!” she declared as she tried to get up, but her legs failed her, and she showed me a wry smile.

On her second attempt she was able to stand up and walk out of the room.

Once she was gone, I closed my eyes and prepared myself for what was to come. This wasn't going to be easy, but it was now or never. Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to test out those regenerative abilities the goddess promised to have gifted me with.

“Oh, Sapherya, please be with me through this ordeal.” I prayed.

I took a deep breath and grabbed a nearby piece of wood on which bit hard.

My bones were out of place, my muscles were ripped, so I had to rearrange them as they were before. This was most likely going to be the most painful thing I had yet to experience in this entire life.

With a gulp, I grabbed my broken hand and... I pulled, pushed, and twisted.

“UNNNGH!!!” I shouted while biting hard on the piece of wood.

I was breaking into a cold sweat, but I couldn't stop here. Ignoring the pain as much as I could, I pushed the bones back into their place, causing red blood to gush out. Bone after bone, the pain was terrifying, and using only my numbed senses, I somehow was able to restore my hand to how it was before. I couldn't move it, but I could feel my body accepting the new rearrangement and beginning the healing process.

When it was over, I felt my vision turn blurry, so I slapped my left cheek to keep myself from fainting.

I have to keep going... I thought and then looked at my leg.

CRASH!

The glass of water aunty brought me slipped out of her hand and shattered on the floor into a thousand pieces.

Startled, I looked at her in surprise and saw aunty Eliza staring at me with an expression of absolute shock on her face.

“W-What are you d-doing?” she stuttered.

I took out the piece of wood from my mouth and showed her a smile.

“I'm fixing myself, but...” I said and then looked at my leg “I don't think I'll be able to do this part alone.” I looked back at her. “Please, help me! Otherwise, Cassandra will die!” I begged her.

My words came as a shock to her, although, could she get any more shocked than this? I mean, she did just witness her nephew rearranging the bones in his broken arm while blood was spewing everywhere?

Aunty Eliza made an audible gulp and then slowly approached me.

I thought for a moment that she was going to start scolding me, but instead she knelt next to me and asked “What do I need to do?”

It was written on her face that it took everything in her to do this and not faint or break into a panic.

Maybe it helped her to see that I wasn't panicking like a child should in this case and instead I was actively trying to get back on my feet. Aunty Eliza was truly a kind woman despite her profession and bulky appearance. Harming enemies was something she could do with ease, but when she saw her friends and family get injured, she would freeze up like a hare in front of a fox. She would panic and turn weak, leaving herself vulnerable to whatever foes she was facing. Aunty Eliza was deathly afraid of losing her loved ones.

“Grab this part here.” I pointed at my broken leg's ankle “When I give the signal twist it to the left until my toes are up and hold it like that until I tell you to stop.”

“L-Like this?” she asked as she grabbed hold.

“Yes... Ugh, and don't let go. It's important.” I warned her.

“A-Alright.” she nodded and gulped.

I grabbed the piece of wood again and bit on it.

With a nod of my head, I confirmed that I was ready, and aunty twisted my leg. The pain rushed through me, numbing my senses and forcing me to groan and bite hard. I tried my best to keep myself from screaming, but it was too much to bear. I let go of a few muffled shouts, but I continued the process of rearranging my bones.

The pain... was horrible, but I had to do it. I had to endure it no matter what! I had lived in this world for only ten years now, but during this time, I learned what it meant to have a good family and a precious little sister. No matter what, I wasn't going to lose them! I wasn't going to fail them!

It was so painful my hands were shaking out of control. I was crying and screaming in the piece of wood, but... but I couldn't give up now, I couldn't stop.

From the open wound on my thigh, when I was able to push back the bone into place, blood spurted out and a few drops landed on aunty's left cheek. Her hands were drenched in the stuff, but all this time, she didn't say a single word, yet I was certain that this scene must have shocked her terribly so.

Who wouldn't be after witnessing their ten-years-old nephew going through the process of rearranging their own broken bones?

When it was over, I fell on my back and heaved. My whole body was trembling, I was covered in cold sweat, and my eyes were foggy from the tears.

I had done it!

This healing ability sure is something! I can already feel it working! I thought and slowly clenched my right hand into a fist.

If I had been a normal child, I would have died from the blood loss alone. I didn't even want to think about infections and other stuff like that which normally occurred after a procedure like this.