Chapter 223: His Sacrifice

Benladann's POV

While sleeping, I suddenly felt something wrap around my soul, it felt so tight, but it was probably the Soul Membrane that Drake had been talking to me about.

It seems that things were going nice! The Soul Membrane wrapped around my soul and... Huh?

Apparently, my soul had grown bigger... The membrane wasn't capable of extending enough to wrap my soul completely.

Ugh... We'll have to do this over again then?

However, suddenly, something strange happened...

Something... I couldn't describe it well, but it was... so warm.

A blanket covered the area of my soul which the membrane could not cover, it was warm and filled with a strong desire, a strong desire of love.

This blanket merged with the membrane quite fast, and everything wrapped up my soul nicely...

It felt so refreshing... Was this what my soul was missing?

I closed my eyes and began to use Soul Refine to refine the membrane into my soul, by using mana and this ability, I slowly began to merge the membrane with my soul, letting the membrane become a part of the soul permanently and reinforcing it as well.

It seemed to be slowly working, and I spent I don't know how long doing it.

Until I woke up.

I opened my eyes and stretched my arms, the light of the sun was coming from the window, I was in Drake's laboratory... Where's Drake though?

I sat down and... I found him.

Drake!

He was resting over the floor, he looked pale too.

What happened?!

I rushed towards him and checked him, I infused my senses into his body as he had taught me to do to check a person's life signal, he was alive.

Drake was very unique, he had a body that was Immortal, so how could he be pale and sickly? What happened?

Flash!

When I regained consciousness, I had gained some strange abilities, because I suddenly felt his soul.

I saw it, a brilliant and beautiful soul as if it were made of liquid gold and icy winds, but it was strange, a large piece of it was missing, it was like looking at a piece of bread whose someone had taken around a third of it...

That... blanket that helped my soul... Was his... soul?

He... tore apart so much of his soul to heal mine?

D-Drake...

"Drake, are you okay? Wake up!"

I hugged him tightly and tried to wake him up, but nothing was working.

Was he asleep? What was happening now?

Could his soul be weakened had put him into a state of coma?

My Drake...

"You dummy... W-Why did you do such a thing for me? Sniff..."

I couldn't help but cry because all of this was my fault, I was always so filled with problems, and I always had Drake put his time and effort into aiding me...

"Benladann, there's no time to cry now, quickly carry him to the bed!"

Miranda snapped me out of my daze, my muscles tightened as I grabbed my husband with my arms, carrying him out of the laboratory and rushing to our bed.

There, he rested peacefully, his face seemed so serene... Was he dreaming?

"Is there a way I can help him recover?" I wondered.

"Maybe feed him, souls, like how he made you eat them." Said Miranda.

"H-How can I do that?"

"Our soul had already developed strong enough... Look, we can do this."

Miranda suddenly showed me a power I had not thought possible, my soul came out of my body like a pitch-black tentacle of ethereal essence.

"Wow..."

"Drake showed us how he fished for souls, like this!"

Miranda aided me to quickly respond to the situation, I was too stupid and clumsy to do things myself, I was thankful I had a clever sister to aid me in such a situation.

I did as she said and began to expand my soul, her guidance and the sleeping face of my beloved was the only thing I needed to arm myself with courage and do it.

Although it looked disgusting and strange, my soul extended like black and oozy tentacles resembling a bit of the mold, they went through the floor and formed a net...

"I-I did it...!"

Souls slowly began to pile up in the net, as I decided to call everyone and tell them about what had just happened, my parents rushed first, they knew that my soul treatment was going on through these days, and understood what had happened.

Everyone inside of Fuyu, including her, was worried about Drake now... Many were looking at him as he slept, some suggested feeding him herbs or something, but they were not going to be effective.

"You have to feed him souls?" asked my mother.

"I have to. That's what he did to repair my own... After eating enough souls, Soul Mass is made, he used that to make my Soul Membrane... But that wasn't enough..."

"So he used his own... soul? A third of his damn soul to heal yours?! Is he crazy!" said Draugann, almost falling over her butt.

"Drake... Sorry for not being as supportive as I should have... You're an amazing man... To think that you would do such a thing for my daughter... You're really my son-in-law!" said my father.

"Drake! Wake up!" cried Yuki, she seemed concerned and was even crying.

"H-He never had gone through anything... He was always the strongest, and was always protecting us... Seeing him like this... It fills me with so much sorrow..." sighed Skadi. Even the living spear who often only hunted beasts was sorrowful...

"Sniff... Idiot! Why do you like to be the hero so much!?" cried Yuki, hugging him.

"Papa..."

"Drake papa..."

Flayr and Noirenn were next to him, holding his hands.

"W-When will he wake up?" asked Tisha.

"I-I don't know..." I sighed.

"Damn it... I wish I could know something more about Souls... I should have studied them more when the Elder had offered me that damn book!" said Pekora. Apparently, her tribe had secret ways of using souls.

I gathered a few dozen souls, but this clearly was not enough, I moved them upwards, they were wild and didn't let me grab them correctly, but I forced my way into them with Miranda's aid and crushed them into bits.

With these bits grind into dust, I began to slowly sprinkle them over Drake's soul.

His soul slowly absorbed these sprinkles, it was working, slowly.

I held his hand tightly, as I continued to do this for hours.

I am not going anywhere, Drake... I will always stay with you...

We will heal you, and you will be back soon.

I promise you.

Suddenly, while I was slowly healing his soul, small slimes began to jump into the Fortress.

"A slime attack?"

"What's that?!"

"W-Wait!"

"Don't kill them!"

Fuyu suddenly stops most of the people, these slimes are not monsters.

"Those slimes are similar to me or Skadi, they are clones that Drake had made with pieces of his soul... There is more underground working inside a laboratory, the Drake that usually goes to the Dungeon is also a clone, some of you might not know that." Said Fuyu.

I did know that but... I didn't know he had made so many!

The army of little slimes rushed towards Drake, fusing together into a massive creature.

"Main body..."