Chapter 69: Transfusion
Back where the rest of the assassins were, they all stood waiting for Shadow to finish off the kill when suddenly, they heard sounds in the bushes of the forest heading their way. Quickly, they all drew their bands and got ready. Lewis and Lady Terra stepped out.
"Seems they were already waiting for us," Lady Terra said.
When the assassins saw them and didn’t recognize them, they opted to take them down first, so they all lunged at them full speed.
Lewis moved first. He lifted his hands into the air. "Thunder Rain," he called out in a calm voice. Lightning struck from above like rain, instantly electrocuting half the people and sending them to the ground.
Lady Terra followed up. She pulled out a black wand and made a simple wave motion. "Binding Vines." As she called out, vines thick as arms shot out of the ground, wrapping the ones left in only a few seconds and slamming them hard into the ground, knocking out most of them in an instant.
Lewis looked at the wand in Lady Terra’s hand and was shocked. "That wand looks like dwarf craftsmanship."
She gave a smile. "When you have the kind of connections I have, things like this can be gotten easily," she replied and then put the wand away.
"Should we kill them? They are assassins after all?" Lewis asked, wondering what their next step would be.
"Kill them? No, that’s too much bloodshed," she said, scanning the area. "It seems they’ve already lost a few in the battle. These ones are low-level and don’t really pose a threat if they were getting killed by two kids. The question is what changed the situation and made Raze send out a signal," she wondered out loud.
Ruffle. Ruffle.
The sound of bushes shaking reached their ears. Their eyes shot in that direction, ready for whatever it was. Ella came out with Raze on her shoulder and Gavin following behind.
Her breath was already cold, and she was shivering as well because the cold from Raze had gotten into her body. Lewis rushed up to her and helped take Raze off her.
"What happened?" he asked.
"A very strong assassin. She almost killed them both. Sir Ken is battling her now," Ella explained.
"Hmmm, I see. So that was it," Lady Terra said. She glanced at Raze. "We have to head back to camp. Whatever it is that’s wrong with Raze, he won’t be able to survive it much longer. I can feel the cold from all the way here," she said.
"What about Sir Ken?" Ella asked.
"His strength is that of a peak four-star mage. He’s a warrior with impossible strength. I’m very sure that whoever that assassin is, as long as she isn’t in the sixth star, she won’t be able to take him down," Lewis explained, then headed back to camp with Raze.
Ella had no choice but to follow. She extended an arm to Gavin and helped him walk back to camp as well.
When they got back to the camp, Lewis laid Raze close to the fire, but even after he was on the ground, the ice on his body didn’t stop spreading, it kept growing.
Lady Terra looked at the ice and frowned. "This is not ordinary ice. It’s coming from inside him, freezing his body," she stated.
Ella helped Gavin sit down close to the flames. He groaned in pain and then started speaking. "The ice, it started forming while he fought against that lady. I don’t know why, but it just started forming," he explained, looking at Raze. "He tried to save us, and whatever he did risked his life," he added.
"I’ve never seen this specific issue, but I might have an idea," Lewis said. "There’s something called the Frozen Heart. It happens when you exceed your magic limit," he explained.
"Then we have to counter the ice in his body using flame magic," Ella said.
"Is he going to survive?" Riker, who had been sitting at the side of the carriage, finally spoke. He didn’t even look in their direction; he kept his head forward as he spoke.
"I don’t know," Lewis said. "But we’ll be needing your flames along with those of Lady Ella. If we don’t act fast, the ice might spread and freeze his heart, and that would mean death," Lewis explained.
Riker took a deep breath and then got to his feet, walking in their direction. "Then let’s get started. Let’s keep my brother alive," Riker said.
"Good. Now, the both of you have to heat him up at the same time, but your flames aren’t just directed to his body. We don’t know if that could hurt him, it has to be slow and controlled," Lewis said.
"No, the ice is spreading way too fast. What he needs isn’t just flames from a flame mage; he needs the mana of a flame mage infused into him," Lady Terra said.
Lewis paused. "I thought about that, but it’s extremely risky. If we miss the flow, it could damage his own core and mana veins. We don’t have the right facilities for that," he said.
"There might be a way," Ella spoke up. "Back when I was learning with Lady Green on our travels, I came across a method of transfusion that is slow but covers the whole body faster. If one of us can cover the full surface of Raze, it will work faster," she explained.
"I believe I understand what you’re saying," Lewis said. "Someone has to hold him for an extended period, body stretched out on body until the cold goes away.
It has to be one of the flame mages. Anyone else could do this with pure mana, but it won’t be efficient," he added.
"I’ll do it," Ella said. She lay down beside Raze and wrapped her hand and leg around him. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and started the process of transfusion.