A Villainess Should Be Strong

Theo showed a reluctant expression, but a part of him wished to tell his story to the girl who was staring at him fervently right now. After much consideration, he finally decided to spill the beans.

"It happened when I provoked a.. stronger dragon, one that was much more powerful than me and Tertia combined. I was supposed to receive the retribution.. the dragon attacked me, but Tertia shielded me from the venomous attack and the dragon's chaotic element ended up infusing with her core. She was unable to fully repulse the influence it brought, so her condition ended up worsening with time, and blindness.. happened. She always tried to make it seem like she was unfazed even right after the incident occurred, but I know! I have been paying close attention to her all this time, so I know," Tears threatened to spill out of Theo's eyes as his eyes shook.

"Tertia has always hidden her pain. When I am not looking, she cringes in pain behind my back. When I am not around her, she encounters a lot of accidents because of her lack of sight. Even though she now manages using her artificial senses, which was supported by magic, it's still not enough. Her body is deteriorating day by day, and with time.. It won't only be her eyes that are stolen from her, but her entire body.. her life," Theo raised his volume, showing his frustration.

Estelle, however, tilted her head as she thought about the condition that Theo presented to her. She had once learned about this phenomenon. It was when you were overwhelmed by a stronger element that it had the potential to personally enter you and damage your core, trying to overpower it as a whole. This reaction would cause your core to be unstable, and if one was unable to fight it off successfully, then their health would deteriorate.

Hearing Theo's explanation, this condition seemed to be it. It was called core poisoning, and it was a rather common case that happened throughout the entire world. The catalyst could be as simple as getting hit by an opponent who had the opposite type of element from what you possessed.

However, each cases would have a different severity. As for Tertia, the case seemed to be extremely bad, to the point where her life was at stake. Her core was that imbalanced.

"..I see, core poisoning, hm?" Estelle narrowed her eyes as she thought. She had an idea pop up inside her mind that was in relation with the condition. If she recalled correctly, the first time she encountered a poisoning inside the core was when she was first born into the world. Her maid was inflicted with lots of black magic and couldn't be salvaged.

However, if this was put into theory, then as long as Tertia's condition did not involve Black Magic.. It was possible to cure her using her power. Her power was the power of Creation, a stable and neutral element as introduced by the Absolute. It was also perfected a little bit more recently after she obtained the essence for her ring.

Core poisoning happened when one's core was unstable. If her power was added into the spectrum, and overpowered the other invasive element to the point of purging it out of her system, then it should be possible to gain the peace one more time.

Thus, if she wanted to bet on this chance, then she could. The only problem was whether Theo was willing to take the chances or not. It did not have a certain success rate. The thing that Theo was looking for probably ensured him a safe recovery, but Estelle was unable to provide this. In this case, Tertia would be akin to an experimental patient to her.

Estelle looked on to the boy, who had wariness spark inside his eyes as he watched Estelle's expression changing with her thoughts. He was scared of what Estelle wished to say. Over the few encounters with her, she knew that she was considerably strong and had some liberty with her powers, although he hadn't seen the utmost depth of it yet.

"It's not like I can't do it. But I can't promise you that she will be safe, nor can I promise you that her life will be preserved. Haa... What about this? We can travel together and seek for someone who has the same condition as Tertia. I will try to experiment my ability on them. Of course, they have to be willing parties, or else I won't operate on them. I have morals, you see," Estelle placed her hands on her hips.

Theo's eyes brightened up, and dimmed once more when Estelle said that she was unable to promise anything. Of course, for a case as severe as this, the recovery method needed to have a high risk as well.

After Estelle mentioned the travelling part, however, he was quite shaken up. Indeed, although Estelle's proposal seemed alright to him, he still couldn't bear to leave Tertia. At the same time, bringing Tertia around would be a disaster as she would be extremely troubled.

To tell the truth, since the deterioration happened all around her body, it wasn't just her sight that was stolen, but the other senses also began to dull. If she was repeatedly thrown into a foreign environment, how would she handle it? Her powers were also weakened, and it left Tertia wishing for nothing more than to settle down at the store.

Theo couldn't accept that the older woman had to have this sorry fate just because of him. Although he didn't directly hurt her, the cause of it all was when he committed the action that caused the dragon to be triggered.

Theo's heart unfurled with time, and he finally made a decision at the end of it. It was just a wishful thinking on his part when he desired to obtain the legendary cure that he once learned of. Even the strongest dragons wouldn't be able to obtain it with ease. The numbers were limited, and it was extremely hard to take care of and process.

With the amount of money he was earning right now, Tertia would die first before he was even able to gather a quarter of the materials he needed to prepare for the trade.

He hated to admit this fact that he was running away and stalling time each time he did not want to take on a large job. He wanted to stay beside Tertia because he was already comfortable in this state, and changing it would bring jeopardy to the routine that he was used to.

Something needed to change. If he wanted to save Tertia, or even increase the chances of helping her, then he needed to take real, concrete actions. Not just his feelings poured into words, but actions that would propel him to be stronger and better.

He made the decision, and that was to accept Estelle's offer for the greater good.

"I'm in. Will you still pay me? I can accept Tertia's recovery as a payment. Hell, I will even yield all of my savings to you if you can treat her," Theo said with determination.

Estelle widened her eyes and broke into laughter. "Of course I will still pay with  your currency for the time being, I don't have the ability to assure you about Tertia's condition yet. I have confidence in my power, but I'm not entirely knowledgeable in treating core poisoning, I just have a general idea of what I have to do to cure it," Estelle said.

"Then.. How much are you willing to pay for my service?" Theo was ecstatic as the girl told him that he would still receive salary. Although he did not care if it meant that Tertia would be saved, the woman did have some financial troubles from time to time because of the lack of customers that wanted what she could provide. She had some connections here and there because of her rather special past.

Tertia used to be quite the powerful dragon, so she naturally met and became acquainted with various other people. Not to mention, when Theo was let go by the dragon in the end, it was because the dangerous dragon recognized Tertia's identity and decided that it was enough punishment for the woman to have taken it for his sake. The dragon also told him that he was very blessed to have such a woman as his protector, and that he would be doomed if it wasn't for her strength. He was let go, but for what price?

If Theo were to be the one receiving the blow, he would've been gone into ashes by now. Luckily, Tertia had enough force to resist the attack and dispelled some of the most poisonous parts. However, some of the elements had already seeped in too deep into her body and couldn't be removed with normal means and bodily reactions.