“You look like shit.”

Zeke didn’t know if it was the unexpected words or the sound of his voice that did it, but Ripper flinched. Slowly, ever so slowly, her eyes regained some clarity. She tilted her head to the side, her gaze searching his.

Zeke showed her a calm smile, waving at the young woman. “It is good to see you.”

Ripper remained silent, but her gaze traveled from his face to his missing arm, where it lingered for a while. “You too,” she eventually said.

Zeke smirked. “I had a run-in with the young master of the Firebrand family.”

Ripper nodded slowly. “Can it be healed?”

“It will need some work, but yes.”

Ripper smiled slightly. Despite her situation, it seemed she was still able to feel happy for him. Zeke checked her body but didn’t find anything outwardly wrong with her.

“What about you?” he asked.

Ripper slowly shook her head. “There is no hope. The healers managed to close the wounds, but the fragments stuck in my spine are still there. I can’t move my lower body at all.”

Zeke frowned. “How low are we talking?”

“Anything beneath my chest.”

Zeke’s frown deepened. This was even more severe than he had expected. “What are you going to do now?”

“There is nothing I can do but wait for the Master’s decision,” she said in a lifeless voice.

“Is there a chance he is going to keep you?”

Ripper averted her eyes. “I don’t think so. If I’m lucky, he’ll sell me to a brothel. If not…”

Zeke knew that it was a horrible thing to ask, but he really wanted to know what could be worse than that. “If not…?”

Ripper glanced at him. “…he’ll sell me to the meat vendors.“

Zeke’s eyes widened. Ripper had the body of a human. The thought of turning her into food was something completely out of his expectations. Were the people in this city all cannibals?

Seemingly guessing his thoughts, Ripper answered the unasked question. “It is not something the surface dwellers would be fed. But here in the undercity, many don’t have a choice.”

Zeke nodded slowly. He had known that the conditions in the undercity were much worse than on the surface, but not to such an extent. The books he had read had merely referred to this area as the place where most of the slaves lived. It now seemed reality was quite a bit harsher than that.

No wonder Ripper had seemed so content with her life as a fighter, even with the constant abuse. It must have been like heaven compared to the conditions she had grown up in.

This gave Zeke an idea. “I might be able to help you get back to your family.”

However, to Zeke’s utter astonishment, Ripper immediately turned him down. “Please don’t do that.”

“Haven’t you been sending them money all this time? Surely, they wouldn’t turn you away.”

“They would not,” Ripper agreed. She didn’t say anything more, but Zeke understood. In her current condition, she would be nothing but a burden to her family. And without the hope of recovery, she would remain as such for the rest of her life.

Zeke couldn’t help but sigh. It was a selfless gesture, but it tore at his heartstrings to see the once proud warrior reduced to such a state. No wonder there was no life left in her eyes. She had already resolved herself to die.

“Is there anything we can do, Akasha?”

“What if we found a way around that restriction?”

The Marrow-Shackle truly was a devious weapon, leaving behind such injuries. On top of that, the body of a Mage naturally repelled most forms of magic, making it impossible to remove them using Mana. Even Metal Mages were useless in this case since Voidiron was the least Mana conductive of all metals.

Zeke had to hand it to the dwarfs; their fame wasn’t for nothing, and they were true masters of their craft.

…But so was he. Impossible to heal? That sounded like a challenge. If the dwarfs had designed their weapon to leave behind incurable wounds, then he just had to find a way to cure the incurable. Zeke wasn’t afraid of going head to head with the continent's greatest craftsman in a battle of wits.

A fire of determination lit deep within Zeke’s eyes. “Can I take a look?”

Ripper, who had turned on her stomach, locked eyes with him. Her once-lifeless gaze seemed to have regained a fleeting spark. “What for?”

The arcane energy surged through his fingertips and into her body, weaving its way through her channels. Zeke visualized the woman's spine in his mind's eye, a delicate network of nerves and energy pathways. As he navigated through the mystical landscape, he encountered areas where the natural flow was disrupted and distorted by the presence of foreign objects.

His brows furrowed as he honed in on the source of the disruption. "There," he murmured to himself, pinpointing the location of the black metal splinters lodged within her spine. Voidiron didn’t show up in his spatial perception, but the absence of feedback was just as telling. He identified three distinct points of interference, each corresponding to a specific region of her spinal cord.

"Thoracic vertebrae five, six, and seven. Those three splinters have embedded themselves in the pathways responsible for lower body function."

Akasha was right. Even though he had steady hands, he wasn’t trained as a surgeon. The task was far beyond him, especially with his missing arm. Maybe if he was able to practice first. Zeke eyed the dozens of mattresses all around him but dismissed the thought just as fast. He wasn’t willing to go that far just yet.

Maybe he would be able to find a trained surgeon and guide them?

No. That wouldn’t work, either.

Could he find a Life Mage to constantly heal her during the operation?

No. That would make his task almost impossible.

Could he…?

No.

Maybe…?

No.

But…?

No.

This was all wrong — completely wrong. He was coming at this from an incorrect perspective. He had dismissed a magical solution just because Voidiron was involved. However, his expertise lay in Magic. So, his solution had to be magical in nature.

He had to go back to the most basic questions. What tools did he have, and what problem was he trying to solve?

Suddenly, Zeke’s eyes lit up, and a broad smile spread across his face. “Akasha, what is your true form?”

“But you could take any form you wanted?”

Zeke retracted his hand from Ripper’s back and stood up.

“KEO! COME HERE!” His loud yell was especially jarring in the silence of the cellar, causing many of the lifeless bodies to jerk awake. A moment later, Zeke found himself the focus of dozens of disgruntled gazes, but he didn’t mind. In fact, he had counted on it.

Leo rushed over in a panic. He must have thought there was something wrong for Zeke to call him like that. However, the pleased expression on Zeke’s face threw him off.

“I need you to go see Ravi and tell him that I am buying all the crippled slaves,” Zeke announced loudly.

Leo frowned. “All of them?”

“Well…” Zeke said, drawing out the word. He was making sure everybody's attention was on him. “It wouldn’t make sense to buy them after I fix them, would it? That’s just bad business.”

Immediately, the entire room ground to a halt. Even Kaaria and the other caretakers froze on the spot. The announcement was just that shocking. Zeke watched how a diverse range of emotions blossomed on the faces of the Chimeroi — hope, grief, anger, disbelief, joy, and many more. Zeke appreciated them all equally. Anything was better than the state of absolute despair they had been in just now.

Leo came close. “Do you think this is a good idea? Ravi might be pretty angry if he learns that you tricked him,” he whispered.

Zeke smirked. “You got it wrong, Leo. I want him to know what I am up to.”

Leo didn’t quite understand but still nodded. “How much are you willing to spend?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zeke said. “Just tell him what I plan to do.”

Leo hesitated for a moment, his brows creasing in thought. However, after a quick shrug, he decided to give up on understanding Zeke’s intentions. He didn’t care much for scheming anyway. It was best just to follow instructions and deal with any problem that might arise later. He quickly departed the room to carry out his orders.

“Kaaria,” Zeke called. “Bring me a jar of Morpheus Essence or something similar.”

Kaaria, awoken from her entranced state, hurriedly rushed over to the medicine cabinet. Zeke was certain they had a collection of strong sedatives in store. There was no other way the Chimeroi could be this calm otherwise. Many of them would have been in considerable pain.

A moment later, Kaaria came back with a small vial filled with blue liquid. “Will this do? It’s Dreamweaver Elixir.”

Zeke nodded. Dreamweaver Elixir was strong enough to work on Grand Mages. It would undoubtedly work on Ripper. He met her emerald green eyes with a calm look and held out the small vial for her to take. “Do you trust me?”

Ripper hesitated for a moment, but soon, a look of determination crossed her face. “Does it matter? I have nothing to lose anyway.”

Zeke pouted. “It would have been much better if you just said yes.”

“I have never been one to lie,” Ripper joked, a bit of cheer returning to her voice. She opened the vial and brought it to her lips, but before she drank it, she hesitated. “Thank you…” she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

“You should save your thanks for after I have actually cured you.”

“Even if you fail, I will still be grateful.”

Zeke didn’t know how to respond, so he merely nodded. Without any further delay, Ripper drank the content of the vial and drifted off to sleep. While all that happened, Zeke explained his plan to Akasha. The spirit was hesitant at first, but her worry eased as she listened further.

Zeke nodded. He was aware of that as well. “Nonetheless, we are trying it on her first.”

Zeke sighed. He would also be more comfortable trying his idea on somebody else first. However… “I don’t think she would appreciate it if we did that.”

Zeke chuckled. “You are right. However, if you care for somebody, it is always a good idea to take their feelings into consideration.”

Akasha didn’t respond, surprising Zeke a little bit. However, now wasn’t the time to brood over that. He bit his finger, causing a drop of blood to emerge. “Are you ready?”

Zeke focused his mind, concentrating on casting the most complicated spell he knew. Simultaneously, Akasha did her part, creating the Spellform that was far too complex for any human to form.

[Blood Manifestation].

The blood that rushed out of his finger formed a thin thread. This was the form Akasha had decided to take for this delicate operation. The magical construct moved like a snake, very much alive. It slithered along Ripper’s neck and found her spine. With surgical precision, it made a small incision and entered her body.

Kaaria gasped, both awed and horrified by the display in front of her. However, she soon got used to the display, as nothing else seemed to happen. Even Zeke seemed to be frozen in time, as unmoving as a statue. Not even his expression changed as he seemed wholly focused on a task nobody else could even perceive.

It was at that moment that the door of the room was violently pushed open, drawing everybody's attention. There stood Ravi Desai, master of the Lion’s Den. His neat and tidy appearance was nowhere to be seen now, and his eyes were bloodshot as he scanned everyone present with unusual intensity. Soon, his gaze locked onto Zeke.

A moment later, he appeared next to the entranced boy. He had advanced so fast that nobody could even follow his movements, effortlessly proving the strength of an Arch Mage. However, now he hesitated. He was strangely hesitant to interrupt Zeke during this delicate moment. His hand rose and fell a couple of times before he decided to stay put and watch instead.

Silence returned to the room. Nobody dared to even breathe too loudly for fear of disturbing Zeke, destroying the bit of hope everyone collectively shared. In this uncomfortable atmosphere, time crawled on. Just as everyone’s nerves had reached a breaking point, the thin red thread retracted from Ripper’s body and returned to Zeke’s hand.

Zeke opened his eyes, his expression giving nothing away. He scanned everyone present before his gaze settled on the single Life Mage present. “Heal her,” Zeke commanded, and the man immediately obliged. Nobody, not even Ravi, dared to object at that moment.

A warm current of energy streamed from the man’s hand and entered Ripper’s body. The small incision on her neck closed in an instant, and it didn’t take long to restore the rest of the damage done by the operation. However, that wasn’t the reason Zeke had wanted her to be healed.

The very moment the healer retracted his hands, Ripper’s eyelids fluttered. It was no problem for a Life Mage to remove poison or sedatives from a patient’s body. And so they could witness the effects of the operation right away.

Slowly, her emerald eyes opened, finding Zeke’s gaze. “I am still alive…” she stated.

Zeke nodded, a smile finally making its way onto his face. He stood and extended his hand. Tentatively, Ripper reached out. At this moment, she seemed more anxious than he had ever seen her. However, his confident expression gave her the courage to continue.

The moment their fingers touched, Zeke immediately pulled her up. Ripper, not having expected such a reaction at all, let out an uncharacteristically high-pitched scream as she landed in Zeke’s arms.

“What are you doing!?”

However, she soon noticed the strange atmosphere. To her surprise, she saw that everyone was looking in the same direction. Following their gazes, Ripper looked down and found… her legs… which she was standing on.

Tears came to her eyes when the Chimeroi finally realized that she was standing — all on her own.

“This…” Ravi said in a voice filled with disbelief. “How is this possible?”

Zeke smiled and extended his hand. On his palm was a ball the size of a marble that was encased in a red shell. The moment he fully opened his hand, the marble fell apart. The seemingly perfect sphere turned into dozens of tiny black splinters.

“It was a bit of a hassle to get them all,” Zeke explained in a voice that was smug and tired in equal measure. However, his expression turned serious in the next moment. “It is good that you are here, Ravi. We have a lot to talk about.”