Before Julius could lean over and inspect Drasil closer, the spirit dropped down on his butt, planting it right on top of the girl’s sternum. He placed both of his hands on her chest and let out a quiet whistle as he sent life mana into her body.

The little wings matched the green tone of Drasil's body, but flickered like flames. They were gently flapping on his back and glowing with a soft white light, as if the sun were brushing against the clouds. Little motes of light drifted down from these wings and touched the chest of the girl.

It was like a miracle occurred right before his eyes. It wasn’t anything like his own healing skill. [Phoenix Incarnate] or [Phoenix Renewal] were very effective, but they weren’t the most graceful of skills. They were blunt and direct, powered by his Phoenix Concept.

But Drasil’s healing technique was different. It was like a beautiful, divine miracle revealing itself.

The girl who had been on the verge of death had all of her wounds disappear. They didn’t regenerate like typical wounds, but vanished and were replaced with healthy skin. No sign of her injuries was in sight.

She gasped and shot up, clutching her chest. But that didn't last long; almost immediately, she fell back into the bed, completely unconscious once again.

Drasil had his footing ripped out from underneath him and let out a surprised little noise when he tumbled to the ground. Julius moved quickly, though, his hand already extended to catch the little guy before he hit the ground.

Julius rubbed Drasil on the head and held him up to inspect his familiar a little closer.

“So do those things allow you to fly?” he asked curiously, brushing a finger against the ethereal wings.

Drasil tilted his head, poked one wing with his finger, and shrugged.

“Well, they look cool. So that’s really all that matters,” Julius complemented.

Drasil let out a small coo in thanks before turning to point at another injured person.

“You want to help another person?”

Drasil nodded and pointed again.

“Okay, let’s go help then,” he said with a soft smile, picking up Drasil and bringing him over to his next patient.

***

Julius was alerted by Drasil with another whistle and a small pulse of emotions. He was already prepared, though, and handed over the orb of life mana he’d spent the last several minutes making. He may not be able to utilize all of his skills at the moment, but he still had his normal manipulation skills.

Nothing could take that away.

And so he started to do what he did best. He slowly wove together complex mana networks and also created little compressed orbs of even smaller sizes inside the larger orb. Drasil had been using a lot of mana healing on these people, and it was taking its toll.

But luckily, Julius had the mana to spare this time around. Just because his body was tired didn't mean he used all of his aura during that fight. He'd barely been able to use much of it. Though he suspected regenerating his body had taken a good chunk of what was missing, out.

Normally, it was Drasil who was always coming in to save Julius with his mana, but this time around, Drasil was the one getting constant infusions. And that was why he was taking his time to make the most delicious orbs of mana for the little guy.

That being said, it was still a bit concerning to see how fast and how quickly Drasil managed to devour an orb. It didn’t stand a chance the second that it went inside that gaping void of a stomach. But the little glutton made sure to make every speck of mana count. Julius wasn’t exactly counting how many people Drasil had saved compared to Healer Gui, but it wasn't too far off. His healing speed had gotten many times faster than in the past.

Plus, with a Julius-sized battery on standby, Drasil got a lot done. It wasn’t just his mana that he was good for, either. Much like Kora, he had a powerful aura, which was good for this type of thing.

He was a little worried about hurting someone with his ruinous aura. It was very brutal at the moment. The near-death experience probably influenced that. Unfortunately, that meant the people around him were definitely feeling it with each pulse he released.

At least, he’d gotten a lot better with it over time and learned how to control it. So instead of physically tearing apart their souls, he only gave them small headaches and a little pressure.

However, he also mindfully extended his aura, crushing any corruption it encountered.

Truth be told, his aura caused more than a few people to shout in alarm. He didn’t blame them for thinking it was an attack, but he quickly calmed them down. Ensuring that his aura wasn’t a threat.

They quickly settled down, and then he sent warm, encouraging emotions through his aura, much like he did with Drasil. This seemed to work much better than he expected.

Then, if that wasn’t enough, he would simply throw Drasil in their face. He was so cute and irresistible that their alarm didn’t last long.

So while he was on restock and cleanup duty, he also made sure to cleanse every bit he could still sense. There was a lot, and even more than people had missed. So while Drasil healed people, he went around purifying the nasty corruption from the rest of the camp.

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Drasil was racking up quite the attention, though. It wasn’t every day people saw an adorable life spirit with wings healing people like some angel from heaven.

And whenever Drasil needed some mana, he passed over an orb like the dutiful servant he was.

Healer Gui must have made his way over at some point; the blanket was draped over his shoulders as he continuously munched on sandwiches. Healer Gui looked absolutely miserable, on the verge of throwing up.

He stood by and watched as Drasil finished up healing yet another disciple, analyzing Drasil’s every movement. When they were finally healed, they got up and bowed deeply to Drasil, their forehead practically scraping the ground.

Drasil preened proudly and gave them a gentle pat on the head, watching with joy as they walked off.

“He’s pretty amazing, right?”

“He’s gonna be my replacement, that’s what he is,” Healer Gui replied with a depressed shake of his head and removed the blanket from his shoulders, passing it over to him. “Though he is literally a life spirit, so I can’t complain too much.”

Julius took back the blanket and felt it immediately regenerate his low mana reserves.

“Are you okay? You look like you're gonna be sick.”

“Yeah, too much food. I can’t eat another bite. What about you? I heard from Huan that you almost died or did die. He wasn’t sure what happened.“

Julius grimaced. “Yeah, I got into a little bit of a dangerous situation. But everything is fine now.”

Healer Gui’s senses had already enveloped him the moment he approached Julius. The man likely saw through his condition and stared at him knowingly. “Are you sure?”

Julius laughed and shook his head. “Not really, but it will be. So don’t worry about me. I’m sure you already have an idea of my concept and healing abilities. And now that Elder Huan took care of those ants, I might have a chance to recover in peace.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that. Now that the ants had retreated, we were able to break their array and contact the sect. They are on their way, and trust me, this is only going to become more hectic. If you want some peace, I would go find a random rift and go hide in it. You won’t be left alone for the next few weeks if the other elders have anything to say about it.”

“That bad?”

Healer Gui found a half-broken chair with blood all over it and slouched in it. He didn’t seem to care at all, though, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Oh, believe me. Sect politics are the same everywhere. They will want to know everything that happened here, and if what Huan told me was true, then you were the first one to come across that gorge. I’m sure that some of the elders will make a fuss. They might even make up a reason to question you or to pressure you into joining the sect on their terms.”

“That’s ridiculous, I wouldn't accept their terms,” he said with a disgusted snort.

“Yes, and they know it too. But this gives them a bigger excuse to investigate and scrutinize you. Lady Cassandra may have been protecting you, but even she won’t be able to stop them from interrogating you. Not after all of this,” Healer Gui said, gesturing at the mess of a camp.

Julius followed his arm and nodded sadly. They had been able to save a lot of the disciples, but not everyone was as lucky. There were many casualties, too many. Way more than the sect had anticipated when they began this expedition.

“You know of a hidden rift I could go hide in?”

Healer Gui laughed. “No, but thankfully Huan will be there to help chase off the worst of the wolves. They already fear the old coot, and with his recent advancements, I doubt any of them will push him too far. Nobody wants to offend a future Tier 6.”

Julius dropped down next to him, creating a chair for him to relax in. One that wasn’t covered in gore. He glanced over when he spotted Healer Gui suddenly holding something in his hand.

It was a small wooden pipe, elegantly carved, and the bowl was stuffed with some kind of silver herb. A small flame was lit on the tip of Healer Gui’s finger, igniting the herb. The silver herb sparkled as it burned, releasing a floral and sandalwood aroma into the air.

Healer Gui took a long puff and sighed.

Julius eyed the pipe, and Healer Gui must have read his mind because he handed it over to him without so much as a word. Julius placed his lips on the pipe and took a nice, long draw, the smoke filling his lungs. He suddenly felt a little bit lighter, as if his body was being numbed.

"Is this some kind of drug?" Julius asked.

Healer Gui snatched the pipe from his hand swiftly. "Yep, and I think we deserve a little after what we'd been through," he said while taking another long puff. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Julius smiled and took the pipe again, letting the numbing drugs fill his lungs, enjoying how much the pain went away.

“Is it really such a certainty that he will reach Tier 6?” Julius asked with a small cough, handing it back over. He’d already heard from Elder Huan himself, but wanted to ask Healer Gui.

“For him? Yeah, pretty much. With his experience and skill, he will most definitely become a Tier 6 in the future. The better question is how long in the future that will be.”

Julius wanted to ask him more questions, but they both turned their heads at the same time.

“I had hoped for more time,” Healer Gui said with a heavy sigh, picking himself up from his half-broken chair. His pipe was still in his hand, though.

Julius, on the other hand, was already shoveling food into his mouth. The blanket was over his shoulder, so the regeneration of his mana was rapid. Only after he quickly shoved a sandwich from his lunchbox down his gullet did he follow Healer Gui out of the tent.

He was met by plenty of stares, Drasil even more so. The little spirit had quickly become a divine savior among the disciples, and people were even bowing to it. Drasil was loving it, though; he was soaking in the looks of adoration and flapped his new wings, just to show off.

He was a little surprised to see who was descending from the sky, but not overly so. Cassandra was a Tier 6, so her speed made sense.

He spotted Elder Huan quickly coming over from where he’d been recovering, too. The other elders were not far behind.

“What’s the status?” Cassandra barely waited until all of the elders were before her. She barely looked over in his direction, just long enough to make sure that he was alive. But once she confirmed that, she was all business, as was her duty as Vice Sect Leader.

Elder Huan looked over at the destroyed field and damaged camp with a frown. Then he began to explain to her what had happened. Julius already knew this part of the story, and so he took time to examine the two new elders he hadn’t seen before.

They were wearing Inferno Array Sect robes, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. No, it was the fact that their robes didn’t have the slightest bit of blood on them. They were pristine, and while the man seemed a bit worn, the woman looked fresh. It didn’t look like she had even been out of breath. Her clothes, her hands, hell, even her hair were immaculate.

On the other side, Elder Amara and Leon were ragged. They were covered in the stench of blood, both of their sect disciples and ants. Their auras were weakened, too; he could tell that they were tired.

He couldn’t help it, but he started to get a little suspicious about them. He was probably just being paranoid, but he knew how people could be.

However, he wasn't able to think about it too much. He was much too tired to deal with that sort of crap. He was in dire need of some sleep. It had been a long couple of weeks.