Dorian picked up Alex, switching his stance as he got ready to slam the young mage hard onto the ground without a second thought.

But just as he was about to deliver the bone-shattering impact—

"Lord Dorian?!" Revina had somehow made her way into the room; her eyes widened in shock at the sight of her mage being held so aggressively.

She didn't waste a single moment.

The first thing she did was drop to her knees right where she stood, her head bowed in a mixture of profound fear and respect.

The elf maids who had been walking down the hall paused, their own shock palpable as they saw their King, their god-on-earth, bowing her head to someone inside the room.

They were frozen, wondering who Lady Revina could be so afraid of that she would tremble this much.

"Lord Dorian, I beg of you to please forgive him! He had nothing to do with this! I was the one who gave him the order to treat her, I promise!"

Her voice was shaky, and she didn't dare raise her head even an inch.

Dorian paused after he saw her kneeling at the entrance of the room, his rage quenching even more when Maria suddenly showed up as well.

She didn't utter a single word; she already understood what was happening and felt bad for also playing a part in it.

Dorian sighed once he realized the scene he had caused.

To de-escalate the moment, he let go of Alex, dropping the man to the ground in a heap before calmly walking to the bed to take a seat.

With his back facing Seraphina and his fist resting under his jaw, he uttered, "Tell me what happened. Don't leave a single thing out."

Only then did Revina raise her head.

But before she could speak, Maria chimed in, explaining the entire situation herself.

What she said went as follows:

After Dorian and Seraphina collapsed, they were both taken back to the castle for a check-up.

Upon getting there, not even a day in, the purple virus began showing on Seraphina's body.

Often, she would scream in pain as the virus continued to multiply on her skin, eventually covering most of her face in the process.

So far, none of the doctors had been able to tell what happened to her, which was why Revina had to turn to Alex, urging him to use his magic to figure out what was happening to her and what the solution could be.

At the same time, they didn't want Dorian having to worry about it once he woke up.

So they all came to the conclusion to hide it from him the moment he awoke, at least up until Alex was able to do something.

After listening to what they had to say, Dorian sighed once again and then stood to his feet.

Immediately, Maria, who was the closest to him, closed her eyes and flinched the moment he moved. She clearly expected him to lash out in anger.

Instead, she felt his hand on her head, slowly and gently petting it with care.

As she opened her eyes, surprised at his gesture, they glowed with adoration and a hint of vulnerability.

"You did what you thought was best. I don't blame any of you for that. But you have to understand that we don't know the nature of her sickness.

You should let me know these things first, before anything else, no matter what it may be or how I may perceive it."

Maria lowered her head, a sad look on her face. "I am sorry."

"Good. I am glad you understand." Dorian petted her head even more, then he glanced to the side to look at Revina, eyeing her a bit.

"Dude, you understand your maids saw you bow your head right now, right?"

Revina flinched, a single tear of humiliation dropping at the side of her eye.

"I am sorry."

'I shouldn't be so harsh on them. Actually, I shouldn't be focusing on them at all. Not right now. Something else requires my attention.'

The next moment, Dorian turned around and slowly walked towards the side of the bed, where he could get a closer look at Seraphina's face.

He stared for a while, obviously angered, but he had to control himself in front of them.

Ciel and Lili had already joined as well, though they were hiding outside the room.

To understand the situation, Dorian placed his hand on Seraphina's forehead, where a pimple-like purple lesion was throbbing.

Upon touching it, Dorian noticed a bit of the virus tried to leech onto his hand, but the combination of his dragon and god aura fought against it, pushing it away like a plague in clean water.

'Hm…'

Now he sat down, observing her for a while before he began. 'I have never used my Analysis skill like this, but it's worth the shot.'

[You have activated the skill Analysis.]

[Target has been located.]

[Scanning for problem and cure.]

'Good, it's working. But it's taking a shit-ton of my mental fortitude. If I wasn't stacked with three different types of mana inside me, I would have surely collapsed from this.'

[Problem and solution have been acquired.]

[Would you like me to read it out to you?]

'Go on.'

[Request confirmed.]

[Name of Disease: Not confirmed or registered. This is the first time it has ever appeared on a person.]

[This virus, "X", was born from making contact with Dead Mana—also known as Anti-magic, Anti-matter, and so many more. A unique mana wielded by the Witch of Evernight. When an individual is exposed to Dead Mana, they contract this virus, which traps the user in a dream-like state until the virus has completely devoured the victim.]

Every word he read from the system felt like a page from a horror novel. He clenched his fist, watching as more and more information was loaded.

[Solution: As of this moment, there is no permanent cure, but a temporary one does exist. Using the combination of your three magic auras, you are able to subdue the Dead Mana enough to slowly destroy it. This means you will need to inject your mana into the target's body, envelop the virus, and then draw both your mana and the virus back into yourself to neutralize it.]

The system continued:

[Doing this for a few days will not only stop the spread but also reduce the virus. With time, the target should awaken, which is where the real work begins. Once the target wakes up, they must consciously overcome whatever dream or mental trap they were thrown into, or they'll end up multiplying the virus again, starting the process from the beginning.]

'Starting all the way from the beginning.' Dorian pinched the bridge of his nose, already understanding what he needed to do in order to heal Seraphina from her illness. That said, he was well aware of the risk.

If he were to mess up and stop the flow of mana, giving the virus even a millisecond of a chance to replicate, his mana would not be able to fully eliminate it, and it would transfer to him as well.

And if that were to happen, then there would be truly no way to heal Seraphina and himself.

'Dead Mana. There are so many things I don't know about. It's seriously trying to piss me off.' He glanced to the side. 'If they weren't being thrown at my face, maybe I wouldn't have cared. But I feel like the universe is intentionally throwing these things at me for some reason. Just how shitty is my luck.'

He was done lamenting; now, he wanted to act. Regardless of what the risks would be, he was more than willing to take them all.

Dorian looked at Revina, then at Maria. "I can heal her, but I need to do so alone."

He didn't need to say much.

"Please let us know if you need our help." Revina bowed her head, then she turned around and left. Maria did the same until finally, the door closed and the room was empty.

With them gone, Dorian could fully focus on the task at hand.

The first thing he did was grab Seraphina's hand, feeling the huge rush of Dead Mana that flooded into his arm, only for his own mana to push it all out. Even then, a bit still remained on his fingers, refusing to go anywhere.

[Mana rate has been increased to 100%. Please be cautious as your body is now fully exposed to the contagion.]

'Yeah, yeah, I know.' Dorian's face twisted in pain as he felt his hand slowly lose its strength.

Slowly, he pushed his golden mana into Seraphina's body. His mana, a blend of divine, dragon, and his unique energy, was like a searing light against the unnatural darkness of the 'Dead Mana.'

It wasn't a gentle process.

As his golden energy entered her, Seraphina's body reacted violently. A soft groan escaped her lips, and the purple lesions on her skin seemed to writhe and pulse, as if fighting a desperate battle.

Dorian gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead.

The analysis had been right; the sheer mental fortitude required to maintain this delicate balance was immense.

He had to keep the flow constant, pushing just enough mana in to surround the 'X' virus, but not so much that it damaged her already weakened body.

[A/N]

Let's try to heal Seraphina, or maybe we can't; who knows.

Anyway, thank you all for the support. If you like this book so far, don't forget to support this book when you can, since i have been denied features by this app.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.