Asuren jerked awake and seized the hand that touched his arm but quickly let go when he realized that it was only Thea. He had fallen asleep while waiting.
"The food is ready," Thea seemed unbothered by his tight grip. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up on his feet. "Let's eat. Henry prepared a lot of delicious dishes."
Asuren must have fallen asleep for a long time because the dining table was filled with different dishes. Their smell was enticing and made him hungry.
"Have a seat," Henry was already seated.
Asuren and Thea settled on the chairs opposite his seat.
"Eat as many as you can. You need strength in pursuing the seal bearers," Henry filled his plate with rice, fish, and vegetables.
"You know about our mission?" Thea and Asuren were shocked.
"When I first met your friends, they were already searching. They thought I was a seal bearer. After confirming that I am a human and hearing about my master, they eventually stopped doubting me and told me about the seal bearers. That was a year ago and they were struggling."
"We are already making some progress," Thea said after giving Asuren a bowl of seafood stew. She had also given Asuren rice and steamed vegetables.
"Thank you," Asuren timidly scooped food on his plate. Everything was perfectly prepared that he emptied his plate and the bowl of stew within a few minutes.
"Eat more," Thea refilled his plate. "You don't have to thank me. Seeing you eat well is enough for me."
Asuren nodded. He was halfway on his second serving when his chest tightened with pain. He dropped his spoon and collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain.
"Your chest is bleeding," Thea knelt beside him. "I knew it. Father will not leave you alone that easily."
Asuren gasped. His chest felt like it was being sliced open.
"Henry, what is wrong with his wound? Is it cursed?"
"Don't fight it, Asuren. Just let it out," Henry advised, ignoring Thea.
Asuren had no idea what the suspicious mortal was talking about. The pain was making him dizzy and nauseous.
"Henry, what are you saying? You have to help him! Please!" Thea helped Asuren up but it only worsened his nausea. He vomited blood with a little amount of dark violet substance.
Only then had the agonizing pain subsided and he collapsed on the arms of Thea, barely holding on to his consciousness.
"Is that… poison?" Thea was staring intently at the dark violet substance.
"No," Henry examined it with his glowing silver eyes. "It is a portion of an ancient curse. Hmmm..." he squinted and shook his head. "This type of curse cannot be performed without your knowledge, Asuren. This is painful and requires a lot of time to achieve a successful result. The curse already tainted your blood and caused a crack in your soul. The caster can easily penetrate through it and drag your consciousness inside a sealed space deep within your body. This can only mean that this ancient curse had been with you for at least a thousand years. It will probably take the same amount of time to completely counter it."
"How did you… know all of that?" Asuren was dumbfounded. He was searching for information about his curse for centuries, but he did not get as much data as the mortal kneeling in front of him within just a few seconds.
"I don't know," Henry replied with a shrug of his shoulders. His silver eyes returned to brown. "Whenever I saw someone or something afflicted with a curse, knowledge will just pour down on me. But sometimes I can only sense curses and nothing else comes after. Fortunately for you, I gathered enough information to start countering it. Maybe I can learn more if I stick with you for a little longer and find a faster way to counter it. But for now, let's do it slowly."
"You can… counter my curse?" Asuren was having difficulty believing what he just heard.
"I'll need at least a week to brew the right medicine for you," Henry beamed with confidence. "After that, I will give you a detailed instruction so you can prepare it on your own."
"He can really counter this curse?" Asuren gazed at Thea with disbelief.
"His Master helped us a lot before with that remarkable ability," Thea let out a nervous sigh. "I think his disciple can also do the same. Let him try."
"I already owe you a great deal when you got me out of my prison cell."
"You don't have to pay me," Henry grinned. "I am a healer. I should heal whoever needs healing. Aside from that, I love helping my friends."
"Friends…" Asuren whispered. A few days ago, he only had Ayhan, Juliann, and Calix to rely on.
"That's right," Henry tapped him on the shoulder. "You and Thea are my friends now."
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Daybreak Realm had eight forest regions. Riz and Ayhan already finished searching Amethyst Forest, the place where they had seen the sneaky seal bearer and where Juliann and Calix had been found. They did not find anything peculiar that might lead to the boar seal. They hurriedly moved towards Foliage Forest. Unlike Amethyst Forest, there was a village inside of it. They sneaked past it and searched the forest beyond. They carefully examined every corner and,in its deepest corner, they encountered a strange monster.
It was lurking behind the shadows of dead trees. Its body was enormously round and covered with dark pinkish fur. It had round eyes, dark red pupils that were constantly moving around as if it was looking for something. Its arms were thick and long while its legs were short and stubby.
"Flesh eater…" Ayhan summoned a water scythe. "We only encountered a few of these monsters where we found traces of the boar seal."
"I only saw a creature like that once," Riz summoned a flaming spear. "But it disappeared in the shadows. I never saw it again and I never found a trace close to that of the sneaky fairy. Are these monsters working for the boar seal?"
"The boar seal created these monsters," Ayhan approached the flesh eater with caution.
"What?" Riz was alarmed.
"We thought these monsters were summoned from dusts but we saw it once. How he turned a fairy into a mindless creature that only knows how to devour flesh."
"Then these creatures are fairies cursed by the boar seal?" Riz squinted and meticulously examined their surroundings. "It is probably nearby. Keep that flesh eater busy. No matter how faint, I will find the trace it left behind."
^##################^