Chapter 1759: Vengeance [4]

August rushed back into the cavern as fast as he possibly could. He completely ignored the five observers who were watching his every move. He didn't know exactly how to feel about them yet, so it wasn't worth acknowledging their presence.

When he reached the cavern, he took a quick look around to determine everyone's situation.

Juno would be fine as long as he kept healing with the water. Valerie looked okay on the outside, but her aura was much weaker than normal. That was something August needed to look into.

Yuna was close to the edge of death, but she had used a skill to seal her blood flow. Once the sword was removed from her stomach and she was introduced to the healing effects of the surrounding water, she was brought back to an acceptable state. As long as she received proper treatment soon, she would be fine.

Raul hadn't taken much physical damage. He was merely exhausted beyond belief. As for Mikaela...the healing water didn't seem to help her much, but if her issue was a mental one, then the solution to her problem was elsewhere.

Still, even Mikaela saw some progress when her body was submerged in the water. Her eyes were still cloudy, but her complexion was far better and her body seemed to be in good condition.

The only one completely unaffected by the effect was Melania.

The black lines on her skin didn't fade. Rather, she had turned a different shade of green as the poison gripped her harder.

August rushed over and felt her pulse.

"Melania!"

No answer.

'Tch.'

He knew what was devouring her instantly upon feeling the flow of her blood. However, it wasn't a known poison. It had definitely been made for the sole purpose of this attack. August couldn't find a solution in the small amount of time he had.

Melania really only had seconds left. Her hands were limp, and though he was right in front of her, she couldn't seem to recognize his presence.

'I have no choice.'

August put his hand to his chest.

He gritted his teeth and stabbed his fingers into his own flesh. He dug three inches deep until he touched a piece of metal that should not have been there.

This was an artifact he was never supposed to use, let alone tell people about.

This was an artifact that would set the world aflame if its existence was publicized, as such, it could only be used a single time.

Damien inserted it into August's body while he was asleep to ensure a painless procedure. The next morning, he told August of its presence, but he didn't tell him where it was.

That was something August learned on his own as he fought the First Dragon Emperor.

As he died over and over and over, his chest pulsed as if something that was meant to happen was being forbidden. The First Dragon Emperor was actually the one who told him exactly what that feeling was, and though August planned to exploit it for his own benefit in the future, he couldn't do that anymore.

He closed his fist around the metallic object and ripped it out of his chest without hesitation. He ignored the blood leaking from the gaping wound he created as he created water to clean the artifact and make it pure again.

The moment it was withdrawn from his body, it no longer considered him its owner.

Instead...

August pressed the artifact into Melania's chest. It shined as it recognized the flesh it was placed against, and on its own, it moved into her body.

Instantly, her entire body was covered in the same light.

The use of this artifact was simple, and this simplicity gave August an absolute certainty that it would work as intended.

Its one and only use: to save its owner from death.

No matter what kind of situation they were in, no matter how close to a corpse they were, as long as it was in their body, they would be healed back to their peak state.

It was meant to be August's life-saving card. In the rare situation where he was on death's door and Damien couldn't help him, it would be the factor that made it so August would never meet his fate before his time truly came.

However, he had sacrificed that life-saving device for Melania's sake. If he had to do it again, he would do it without hesitation.

"Khhhh!"

The only problem was that the flesh he gouged out of his body couldn't be healed easily. As the artifact was directly connected to his life force and he forcefully removed it, his life force was currently refusing to flow into that area of his body.

The wound in his chest had already blackened from necrosis, but he wasn't worried.

'It'll heal eventually.'

He knew he wouldn't die before he found his way to a proper healer.

The most important thing was that the dark lines that covered Melania's body were rapidly fading. Her skin was losing its greenish color and returning to its original luster.

She had not awoken yet, but it was just a matter of time before she did.

'Hmm...'

August smiled wryly. He didn't realize how distant he'd become from mortality. After five years of not being allowed to die and an entire life knowing that he would always be saved before death, he had forgotten what it felt like to be so close to death.

It was an odd feeling, an empty yet relieving one.

August eventually had to stand on his own, didn't he? He spent too long under his father's protective umbrella. Now that he was an Emperor's Successor and someone who would lead the dragon people in the future, August needed to become self-

reliant.

It was definitely nice to have a backer as strong as Damien, but it could definitely be inhibiting if August decided that independence wasn't a necessity.

Rather than falling into a pit that would leave him as someone who could never improve, August would much rather take a stand on his own, even if he had to fall over and over before finding success.

Now that Melania's situation was secured, August could let go of his greatest worry.

He moved from person to person, checking on his friends until he'd done an in-depth analysis of all of them.

The only person he really had to worry about was Mikaela, but even she had just sustained a heavy mental shock. With the help of a dragon with psychic tendencies, she could be easily brought back to consciousness.

There was only a single remaining concern.

August glanced around and placed his hand on the cave floor. Under his influence, the entire area was turned into a fortress that would protect his friends for just a few more minutes.

In the meantime, there was somewhere he needed to go.

After all, Wilhelm wasn't his only enemy. Wilhelm was just the most important one.

Other than his five observers, there was only one person left who had been forgotten since the beginning of the battle.

But that was because he'd disappeared exactly then.

Just because he was focused on Wilhelm didn't mean he had forgotten the main perpetrator who allowed such a tragic event to happen.

That man who stood with Wilhelm when he was meant to be on the ground with the rest...

August was now going to confront Lucas Stroll.