Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1932 Back Inside

Isabella rested one hand on the frame of the portrait, the other propping up her chin.

Her eyes drifted to the window of the dilapidated building in the material world, her gaze seemingly going beyond.

"It seems lively tonight," she murmured.

She had never felt such commotion in the city proper before. All the monsters seemed to have collectively moved to the heart of the city for some reason, it seemed.

With a sad face, she murmured, "Well, it's not like I can go in and join the fun—"

She was interrupted when the door to the building suddenly creaked open.

Her eyes lit up, and she thought to herself, Oh, splendid! Another fool—I mean, another guest has arrived!

She quickly took her place inside her bedroom and stood still, trying to look like a proper painting that would draw the curiosity of the onlooker.

The door opened. It remained open for a few seconds. Then it soundlessly closed shut.

What? The corner of Isabella's lips twitched imperceptibly.

Did another invisible monster enter the building?

This is going to be difficult…

The sound of floorboard creaking echoed ominously. The footsteps crossed the hall, slowly and cautiously.

Isabella remained still inside the portrait, hoping for the invisible guest to come close to the portrait, so she could catch it by surprise.

But unfortunately for her, the sound of footsteps didn't come anywhere near the portrait. It was almost as if the owner of the footsteps was proactively avoiding Isabella.

She now visibly frowned.

What is going on? Does it know about me?

The sound of footsteps walked past the hall, entered the corridor, and headed straight toward the underground cellar.

Isabella finally stopped pretending to be still. She pouted in displeasure and strode forward.

What a clever little fool, she thought.

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed when she noticed blood drops on the floor. There was quite a lot of blood, in fact. Watching the trajectory of the bloodstains, it was now clear to her that the newcomer knew about her.

Who could it be? How strange.

Suddenly, her eyes widened.

A strange sight unfolded before her.

The droplets of blood on the ground magically came to life. They crawled and slithered toward the underground cellar. Under Isabella's dumbfounded gaze, every last drop disappeared in under a minute.

Then came the creak of a door opening from the cellar. A moment later, it closed with a soft thud.

Isabella slowly wrapped her trembling arms around herself.

She suddenly felt very, very afraid.

***

After gently laying Adam on the ground, Valerian, now in his cat form, cast [Illuminate].

The journey from the sun temple to this building had been utterly nerve-wracking. However, thanks to his big brother's preparation and foresight, he was able to escape the chaos completely unharmed.

But now came the tough part.

As he looked at Adam's pale, miserable body, Valerian burst into tears.

"Brother! Brother—"

He quickly shut up and cast a spell to prevent any sound from escaping. Then he ran to the door and employed several defensive spells that he knew.

In the heat of the battle, they were unable to bring the talisman with them. Their only hope was that no monster was drawn to the cellar, not when Adam was at his weakest.

After setting up defensive mechanisms, Valerian rushed back to Adam.

"Brother, what do I do? What do I do?!"

Somehow, throughout the entire ordeal, Adam remained awake. He carefully guided Valerian and calmed his anxious little heart.

Too weak to speak through his mouth, he spoke through mental transmission instead.

'Val, what you're about to do next is very important, okay?'

Valerian paced around in trepidation. Adam's gaunt body, pale skin, torn abdomen, and the protruding intestines made the little fellow panic like never before. He couldn't understand how Adam sounded so calm despite his condition.

'Val, focus!'

"Y-Yes! Yes!"

Valerian nodded even as his tiny figure shuddered.

Meanwhile, Adam desperately fought to stay awake. He needed to guide his little brother through the next process.

He drew in a long, laboured breath. Then he began explaining.

'My entrails need to return to approximately their... their normal anatomical positions before my body can begin... repairing itself.'

Valerian's eyes slowly widened. "You… you want me to…"

'Yes, Val. You can do it. I trust you. I'll guide you through the... entire process, okay? You only need to do... exactly as I tell you to.'

Valerian fell silent for only a brief moment before his eyes blazed with resolve.

"I'll do it!"

'Good lad.'

Adam then relayed his words in a steady voice, trying to be as calm and composed for his little brother as he possibly could. He guided Valerian one step at a time.

Whenever something was misplaced, he calmly corrected him and had him start over. The process was slow, agonizing, and filled with mistakes.

Nearly half an hour later, after countless failed attempts, Valerian's paws were slick with Adam's blood.

Trembling with exhaustion and panic, he finally managed to tuck Adam's entrails back into the abdominal cavity in the closest approximation of their proper positions. He then wrapped Hannibal's Handwraps tightly around the gaping wound once again.

Now, with the organs back inside his abdominal cavity, Adam could only hope that his regeneration magic did the rest. He truly hoped that his body's strange healing ability would reconnect everything properly.

"Good… I'm proud… of you," Adam murmured weakly.

His figure slowly curled into a fetal position. He couldn't stop himself from trembling.

"Cold… so cold…"

Valerian had been crying nonstop for the past thirty minutes. Seeing his big brother in such a pitiful state, his heart completely broke apart.

He transformed into a giant panther once again, nearly taking up the entire space of the cramped cellar. Then he carefully curled himself around Adam, letting his thick fur shield him from the cold and keep him warm.

"Rest, Brother," he murmured in between sobs. "I'll protect you now. I won't let anyone come near."

Despite the pain and fatigue, a small smile found its way to Adam's pale face.

Just as the final vestiges of consciousness slowly slipped away, he recalled something very important.

"Val… remember…"

"What! What!"

"When… my… hand… returns," Adam began, his voice growing weaker and more distant with each passing second.

"Wrap… it… quickly…"

And with those final instructions, Adam finally drifted off to sleep.

"I will, Brother." Valerian nodded resolutely. "I will. Rest now."

He then carefully lowered his head and gently provided Adam warmth and comfort. His bloodshot, topaz eyes remained glued to the door, alert for anything that might happen.

Soon, he cancelled [Illuminate] and allowed the tiny cellar to plunge into darkness.

Valerian repeated Adam's words in his mind.

When my hand returns…

Returns?

The wording struck him as strange.

But it didn't matter.

All that mattered was Adam's safety.

And he would die before he let any harm befall his brother again.