Chapter 61

The Duke's hand seemed to be trembling slightly, and I met his amber eyes. The emotion I saw there was perhaps sorrow.

"Aristide-sama..."

I could only whisper his name, and I pressed my free hand against my chest, which felt strangely constricted. The Duke's face softened into a troubled smile as he stood up and placed his hand on my head.

"There's no need to be so tense."

"Yes."

"Besides, it's said that the Celestial Wolf is a beast that never forgets a favor. If it recovers, it might grant you one or two small wishes."

"Well, if that's the case... I would like to become friends with it. I want it to guide me through the Elsanie Great Forest or catch some delicious monsters for me."

"Haha, that's just like you."

The Duke smiled wryly, then his expression turned serious as he glared sharply at the Celestial Wolf.

"Listen, if you so much as harm my mate, I'll cut off your head."

The low, menacing tone of the Duke's voice made the Celestial Wolf turn its muddied red eyes toward us. It didn't look angry. I felt as if the Celestial Wolf could see through my immaturity and anxiety, and I steeled myself.

"This place won't do for treatment. Move to the magic circle."

The Duke gave the Celestial Wolf instructions in the ancient magical language, and the Celestial Wolf slowly rose. Saliva dripped from its open mouth, and its breath was labored. Despite this, it dragged its injured right hind leg and moved to the makeshift bed made of dried straw, lying down. Under the straw was a stone floor with a magic circle drawn on it.

The Duke placed a thick rope, about the size of my torso, in the Celestial Wolf's mouth. The knights then carefully wrapped ropes around the Celestial Wolf's four legs and tied them to stakes at the corners of the magic circle.

A caretaker, preparing food and water for the Celestial Wolf, positioned himself a short distance from the magic circle. By my side were the Duke, the Blanche team, and the mages. Armed knights, led by Chaos, surrounded the magic circle in case the Celestial Wolf became violent.

Earlier, when I had slightly drained the Celestial Wolf's magic and blood, it had shown signs of discomfort. Having its magic forcibly drained must be very unpleasant. If it were to thrash around, it could cause serious injury.

"Then, let's begin. Please do not step into the magic circle while it is active."

I took a deep breath and held the cloudy crystal, the largest and most beautiful sphere I had. This time, the cloudy crystal also had a magic circle carved into it, so I had to handle it with extra care.

(Come on, Melfiela. Focus.)

I chided myself and took a step forward to activate the magic circle.

"Va So Siermo Ira Parsee Duna Duna Magikus Va So Siermo..."

I slowly and carefully adjusted my magic power, flowing it into the magic circle. The magic power circulating in my body activated, and my fingertips began to glow faintly. The magic circle on the cloudy crystal also began to react, reflecting light dazzlingly in my hand.

"Va So Siermo Ira Parsee Duna Duna Magikus"

First, the magic circle that connected my magic power to this magic circle glowed red. Next, the magic circle that fixed the magic power and the one that reacted to the Celestial Wolf's magic and expelled it from its body activated.

(So far, so good. The Celestial Wolf... yes, it seems to be okay.)

After confirming that my magic power had spread throughout the magic circle, I switched to the incantation to extract the 'magic poison.'

"Ruelo Litt Arnielern O Duna Magikus Barmilue Stilis..."

It would be too dangerous to extract all the magic poison at once, so I had placed several magic circles around to retain the extracted magic. There was also a magic circle to adjust the extraction speed, but it would be linked to the device when the situation stabilized.

"O Duna Magikus Barmilue Stilis Iedra Delniuet O Duna Veneno..."

'Veneno' is the ancient magical word for poison. After I repeated the incantation a few times, the Celestial Wolf's right hind leg twitched. Blood began to seep out, dark and murky.

"Vvvvvv..."

(It looks painful.)

Seeing the Celestial Wolf gnawing on the rope and groaning, I slowed down the incantation and reduced the amount of magic power I was flowing. Indeed, extracting magic power from a living creature was a difficult task. It was natural for the creature to resist, as I was forcibly stripping it of the magic power that was the source of its life.

"Ruelo Litt Arnielern O Duna Magikus..."

Usually, a large amount of blood would flow out with the magic power at this point, but it was only seeping out slowly. The combination of 'Magikus' for magic and 'Veneno' for poison might not be the right one. The ancient magical language required the correct understanding and weaving of the words.

(If 'Veneno' is not the right word, then the stagnation of magic? Magic poison and magic are the same. Not evil magic, no, that's not it... poisonous blood, blood is 'Sanos')

"Ruelo Litt Arnielern O Duna Veneno Sanos..."

Reacting to the ancient magical word 'Sanos' for blood, dark red blood began to flow from the Celestial Wolf's right hind leg. The magic circle was reacting only to the blood, not the magic poison. I quickly stopped the incantation and started over with a different one.

If I only extracted the magic, the Celestial Wolf would die from blood loss. Blood and magic were inseparable, but I needed to concentrate more magic into a smaller amount of blood.

I changed the incantation repeatedly, observing the Celestial Wolf's reactions. How many times did I do this? At some point, I felt cold drinks being poured into my mouth through a tube, and something sweet and fruity was thrown into my mouth, which I chewed and swallowed. The Celestial Wolf was also being given water through a tube to replenish the lost blood, though it must have been painful for its exhausted body.

(What should I do? Spirits prefer poetic expressions... if direct expressions don't work, then something like 'the river of life invaded by dark shadows'?)

Such poetic words were not in my ancient magical language dictionary. At that moment, a word suddenly came to mind as I tried every ancient magical word I could think of.

(Magic that drives one to madness, madness... madness. Mad magic and blood)

I shuddered. I gripped the cloudy crystal tightly. When I looked to the side, I saw amber eyes peering at me with concern.

"Duke"

"What's wrong? Do you need a break?"

"No, Duke..."

I hesitated to speak the word.

The Duke had been called that in society and despised.

A bloodthirsty man who always sought the scent of blood and slaughtered beasts. The Duke of Galbreath, the 'Duke of Mad Blood.'

How much pain had he endured from that malicious nickname? I knew it all too well, which is why I hesitated to say it.

(But...)

What I wanted to know was not the meaning of such vulgar rumors, but the ancient magical word for 'magic poison.' I made up my mind and looked up at the Duke.

"Duke... Aristide-sama. Please tell me."

"What is it? What happened?"

The Duke closed the distance and instinctively reached out to grab my shoulder but stopped.

"It's been three hours since we started. Have you noticed that it's already morning? Let's talk in the tent."

Indeed, the surroundings were bright, not lit by the magic lamps. I had been so focused that I hadn't noticed. His concern was greatly appreciated, but I stopped him from forcing me to rest and continued my question.

"Spirits prefer poetic expressions, as you said, Aristide-sama."

"Ah, yes, I heard that from the mages at the royal castle."

"Then, do you know the ancient magical word for 'mad blood'? A poetic expression that the spirits would like."

The Duke, who had been listening to my question with a puzzled look, burst out laughing.

"Melfi, I was worried, thinking something serious had happened."

His laughter left me, Chaos, and Captain Blanche speechless.

"Don't worry, Melfi. Indeed, 'mad blood' seems more promising than 'magic poison.'"

"It's not a laughing matter! I didn't even want to say it."

When I protested, the Duke stopped laughing and looked at me with a gentle gaze.

"Why? The Duke of Mad Blood sounds quite strong. It's a bit ominous, but it's a fitting nickname to intimidate others. I don't think it's that bad... but let's set aside the jokes."

The Duke cleared his throat and gave me the simplest ancient magical word for 'mad blood.'

"'Mad blood' directly is 'Dobu Nis Sanos,' but that's not what you're looking for, right?"

"Yes, the reaction to 'Sanos' for blood was too strong, and there was little reaction to the magic poison."

"If we're talking about a poetic expression, how about 'Berserkus'? No, what about 'Lunatico Novo Bledus'?"

The Duke's fluent ancient magical language sounded so beautiful, almost like a song.

"Lunatico Novo Bledus?"

"It means 'one who is intoxicated by true blood, driven by the moon.' In a direct translation, 'Lunatico' means one who is driven mad, and 'Bledus' means one who is lost in blood. The meaning is the same as 'mad blood,' but it's a more spirit-like word."

How had the Duke learned the ancient magical language from the mages at the royal castle? The beauty of the expression left Chaos amazed, saying, "I never thought His Excellency had the same kind of education as a regular noble!"

"Aristide-sama, thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. I don't know if it's the right answer, but if it's wrong, we can think of something else."

I nodded to the Duke and turned back to the Celestial Wolf, raising the cloudy crystal. I repeated 'Lunatico Novo Bledus' in my head several times, ingraining its meaning.

"Ruelo Litt Arnielern O Duna Magikus Barmilue Stilis..."

The magic circle reacted to my incantation and began to glow again. I felt a significant increase in the conductivity of my magic power, as evidenced by the faint glow in my red hair.

"Iedra Delniuet O Duna Lunatico Novo Bledus..."

Slowly, slowly, even more cautiously. On the seventh repetition of the incantation, I felt my magic power being pulled into the Celestial Wolf.

(Oh... what kind of resistance is this?! But if this comes out...)

I pulled out the blockage I felt, like removing a cork from a stuck bottle.

"Ah!"

Finally, I felt the cork pop out. The blood that flowed from the Celestial Wolf's right hind leg turned pitch black, thick with magic.