Rescue

Rescue

Rescue

“Ferdinand!”

He didn’t react. His mana reserves must have been so low that he was barely clinging to life.

I sprinted over, set down my box of potions, and used enhancement magic to flip Ferdinand onto his back. Then I put my arms under his and started pulling him away from the magic circle.

“It’s a good thing I’m so much larger now. Physical enhancements can only do so much to increase your strength.”

I prayed in gratitude to Anwachs the God of Growth, asked to grow just a little bit taller, and then got straight to inspecting Ferdinand. He seemed to be breathing irregularly. I sat him up against the wall and reached for the potion box.

“Let’s see... If he’s unconscious, start with the jureve.”

Ferdinand obviously couldn’t drink the potion on his own, so I took out a magic tool that looked a bit like a mouthpiece to administer it. Poison meant to kill someone instantly and turn them into a feystone was best counteracted with a jureve. I supposed that made sense, especially considering that I’d needed to use one to dissolve my mana clumps.

I was used to being fed potions like this, but now the shoe was on the other foot. Feeling tense, I poured the jureve into the mouthpiece.

Any clumps in him should now be breaking apart. Come on, jureve! Work your magic!

Hoping to weaken the poison even further or at least help Ferdinand recover, I added Flutrane’s and Heilschmerz’s healing to the mix.

“Next comes the antidote.”

I put a cloth soaked with antidote into his mouth, as he had once done for me. This would ease the paralysis of his tongue and make it easier for him to breathe and drink potions.

Oh, I think his mouth just moved a little!

My careful observation was bearing fruit. I resoaked the cloth before stuffing it back in place. Then, when Ferdinand started to work his jaw and his breathing seemed to get less ragged, I removed the cloth entirely and used a syringe-like tool to slowly administer an ultra nasty rejuvenation potion. He would wake up with a terribly bitter taste in his mouth, but it would quickly regenerate both his mana and stamina.

And just as I thought I’d administered enough, Ferdinand began coughing violently.

B-But why?! Have I done something wrong?!

I was no stranger to waking up with the awful taste of a potion in my mouth, but I’d never started spluttering. I must have messed up somehow.

“S-S-Sorry!” I stammered. “It was an accident!” I went to pat Ferdinand on the back, but he seized my arm. “Wha—?”

Ferdinand yanked me down before I could even process that he was conscious. Then he was on top of me, using his body weight to pin me down. He pressed my wrists against the floor, and the chain linking his bracelets dug into my throat.

“Who are you?” he demanded through pained gasps.