"Tell me, why go through all the hassles just to save me?"
Hearing the question Alex threw at her, Emilia who was about to help him wear his shirt stopped midair but did not say anything.
"I'm talking to you," Alex said to her in a demanding tone. "There must be something you need so tell me. Even if I can't repay you in my current state, I won't forget to do that in the future," he added.
"I need you to help my father win a title. If you can do that for me, I will forever be in your command," Emilia replied to him. Since there was no need to hide anything or try to deny the truth, it was better she came out to the open and told him what he needed to know.
"I see."
Emilia tried to look at his face but meeting his gaze which was staring back at her, she lowered her head.
"You know my current state, don't you?" He asked her and she nodded in reply. "If you are aware of my current state, why then do you think I will be of any help to you?" He asked her again.
"I don't know. I'm only making a bet, that's all," she replied.
"I see..." Alex mumbled and kept quiet for a while before continuing. "What title do you want your father to acquire and how do I intend to make it happen?" He asked her.
"It's a chieftaincy title. I want him to become one of the chiefs closest to the lord, this is the only way my father can have authority over the rest of his brothers," she replied and her face turned sour the moment she mentioned her father's brothers. "For decades, they have suppressed my father and taken over everything he had, rendering him powerless and poor. It's time to put a stop to all the madness!" She added.
"And you think I can help you? In my current state? You got to be kidding," Alex replied to her with a scoff.
She raised her head in silence and stared at him for a while before beginning to help him put on his shirt. As she helped him, her eyes momentarily fell on his abs which caused her to gasp a bit, she forgot that there was a big difference between how his body looked now and how it looked before and this was only as a result of the pool bath for almost two months. The blood she had been serving him also helped him obtain a new and matured body, no one would believe he was below twenty years.
"If you keep staring at me like that, I'll gouge out your eyes," Alex whispered to her, making her jolt and step back. "If you leave, who will help me dress?" He taunted her as he saw her take some steps away from him.
She eyed him briefly and came back to him and began to dress him up. This time around, she refused to get carried away and concentrated on her work. After she was done, she moved away from him again.
"As I said, I don't know if I will be able to help you, not in this current state of mine, do you understand me?" He asked her.
"To help him win the title, you will have to defeat a demon dog," she said to him.
"Demon dog? What demon dog?" He asked her out of curiosity.
"Demon dogs are the demon lord's trained pets. They are huge and only feast on flesh, either human or demons as well, and they are ferocious in nature," she explained.
"With my current state, what do you think will be the outcome of the fight?" Alex asked her.
"You are going to get killed," she replied and he sighed and managed to sit down on the ground there.
"Then I can't help you," he said to her and signaled for her to leave.
"If you are willing to help me, on that day, I'll give you a pill that will make you strong for only two hours. You should try and defeat the demon dog within these two hours or you will be killed," she said to him before turning and leaving the cave.
After she had gone, a sigh escaped Alex's lips and he picked up the book and opened it.
"Even if it's not for her, I still need to get strong as soon as possible," he said to himself and then crossed his legs. He placed the book on the ground and opened the first chapter of the book, and gazed at the words written there.
On the same first page were drawings of a demon with different hand styles and a gust of wind escaping from his hand.
Alex looked at the hand styles for a while until he grasped each of them, then he gazed at the words and mastered them in his head before closing his eyes and starting.
He began to mumble those strange words while moving his hands according to what was drawn in the book.
After a while of doing this, he began to feel a large amount of pure demonic energy being gathered within his soul, this was a sign that he was achieving something. Then after he was through gathering the energy, he tried to let them go out of him but as he directed them out of him through his hands, only a puff of wind came out and dissipated almost abruptly.
"What—" He tried to talk but he coughed out a mouthful of blood and suddenly fainted that instant.
When next he woke up, he saw himself still lying in the same position he had fallen, and he raised himself and looked outside, it was already morning.
"Failure is not an option," he muttered and crossed his legs again. "I have to try again," he added and closed his eyes to start again.
He tried the second time and it was the same result. He coughed out a mouthful of blood and fainted again — he woke up again, did the same thing over and over again, and got the same result.
"This is tiring," he mumbled in dejection.
"You are exceeding your body limits, you should stop and take some rest now," Emilia said to him as she walked into the cave. "Here, eat this," she said while dropping a tray of food before him.
Alex looked into the tray and saw a plate of good food and a cup of blood beside the food.
"Hmmm, did you cook it?" He asked her.
"Why should I be the one to cook your meal?" She asked in return and scoffed.
"Because it looks just as pretty as you," Alex commented and peaked at her. He caught her blushing even though she tried to hide it and couldn't help but smirk. "Just as I thought," he mumbled.
"Here, this is the pill you will be needing tomorrow," she said and threw a tiny bottle at him.
He caught the bottle and opened it, and inside was a tiny purple pill. "Tomorrow?" He asked her in surprise.
"Yes, it's tomorrow. Don't fail me..." She said and paused. "Please," she then added and ran out of the cave.
Alex watched her run off and when she was out of sight, he turned his attention to the pill. After staring at it, he closed the bottle and kept it beside him. Then he pushed away his food and brought the spell book back to its former position.
"I'll keep trying till a difference is made."
*****
The next day, Emilia walked into the cave wearing a short red net gown that hugged her body, revealing her figure and most of her skin.
"It's time to go," she said to Alex who briefly glanced at her before slowly getting up on his feet.
The way he glanced at her without any additional attention made her frown a bit, and she was forced to look at her appearance on the water.
"What is it? Let's go," he said to her, calling back her attention to him.
Emilia inwardly face-slapped herself before walking away from the water.
"Is it far from here?" He asked her as they walked out of the cave with her help.
"It is but we will be taking a fast ride," she replied, and when they got out of the cave, Alex saw a black-winged creature waiting for them at the entrance of the cave.
"Is it yours?" He asked her, staring at the large bird in fascination.
"My father's but it's now mine. I earned it," she replied proudly.
"You must be happy," he commented, seeing the proud look on her face.
"Let me help you climb up," she said to him without answering his question. She helped him climb on the back of the large bird and then climbed afterward. After making sure that they were set to go, she patted the bird and it rose into the air and flew away.