I new life for a new problem

Chapter 38

The whole group froze for more or less the same reason.

Basen was starting to feel sick. It was the first time he had ever seen anything like this.

Cale ignored their reaction and continued forward, but an arm blocked his path.

"Let me go first, young master. It might be dangerous." Ron gestured toward the corpses next to the bloodied young man. There were three other bodies, but even from a distance, they could easily see that they were dead.

Cale ignored Ron. Instead, he took a knife and a pair of gloves out of his space bag.

"What are you going to do with those?" Basen looked away from the mess and looked at his brother. Unfortunately, the image was already burned into his mind.

"Maybe you shouldn't look."

Instead of going to help the young man as everyone thought he would, Cale put on the gloves and walked over to the other bodies.

"Cale—"

Before Basen could finish his question, Cale plunged the sharp knife into the right upper limb of the nearest corpse. A greenish liquid oozed out and dripped onto the floor.

Basen looked away again and closed his eyes.

"Young master?" Ron called out to him.

Cale ignored them both and continued cutting into the arm.

The sound of flesh being cut was an excruciating sound to Basen's sensitive ears.

Once that was done, Cale approached the unconscious young man. "Ron, can you try to wake him up?" His hands were still dirty and full after all.

Even though he didn't understand what was going on, the butler obeyed the request. After a few light pats, hazy blue eyes looked at them in confusion.

"What—who—where am I?" Paston looked at the people around him. Then, the cave. And it all came back to him: the mermaids chasing him, the information he had obtained...he had to return to his tribe as quickly as possible. The half-breed tried to sit up, but immediately grimaced. His whole body ached; it was true, the sirens' poison had affected him. He was going to die without being able to warn anyone... even in death he was useless...

"Hey, stop moving."

He turned to a person with red hair. It was only then that he saw the knife and... the arm. His face paled even more. He tried to move away, but his body fell limply to the ground.

"You'll speed up the poisoning if you keep this up."

Again, that voice was far too calm for such a disastrous situation. He let his body fall limply and closed his eyes.

"Don't pass out again. Drink this, you'll feel better."

He heard a sickening sound, but he no longer had the strength to open his eyes. He simply obeyed the strange man's request. He had nothing left to lose anyway.

Cale made a cut in his arm, letting the blood flow into Paston's mouth. Then he poured more blood onto the wound on the young man's leg. He had numerous bruises all over his body, but it was the gaping, green-covered wound that was most disturbing.

The taste of iron on his tongue was unpleasant, but he quickly stopped caring about it. He felt better, even the pain had subsided. It was impossible; there was no antidote for mermaid poison. He looked at the red-haired man who was still standing beside him.

Feeling his gaze on him, Cale spoke. "Are you feeling better?"

He saw Paston respond with a nod. "How?" His voice was still hoarse from exhaustion, but it was already easier to speak.

"Simple. The antidote to the poison and the mermaids' own blood." Cale replied casually. Completely unaware that he had just cured a toxin that was usually fatal to any living being.

"We should take him back to the water. There is still poison in the wound on his leg."

A stunned silence still reigned in the cave. The little dragon, not understanding the reaction of the people around him, simply obeyed Cale's request. He used his magic to get Paston out of there and back to the beach.

Everyone followed the dragon. The fresh sea air was a real relief after the ordeal in the cave.

Still supported by magic, Paston's body was half submerged in the water. Cale also took the opportunity to clean the knife and his gloves.

As soon as Paston's blood came into contact with the water, they could feel the young dragon's mana fluctuating. They looked at him in confusion, but the child was not looking at them. He was staring out at the sea in the distance. "Something is coming."

He had barely uttered these words when something emerged from the water. A cold and angry voice accompanied it. "What have you done to my brother?!"

A huge whale had appeared next to them. Then, it disappeared and took human form.

Cale recognized Witiria's appearance and characteristic weapon. Her water whip was menacing in her hand, ready to attack them.

"It's not what you think!" Paston spoke quickly. He was the only one who could calm his sister down when she was like this.

"They hurt you!" She moved dangerously close to them, but stopped when her brother spoke again.

"No, they saved you. It was the mermaids!"

Her anger evaporated, replaced by panic. "Their poison... you..."

"I'm fine."

Witiria fell to her knees near Paston's legs, confirming his words. It was the first thing she had seen when she came out of the water, but even then she already seemed better.

The dragon's magic calmed down along with the whale's rage, knowing they were no longer in danger.

"Thank you." She didn't lift her head to say it, but she couldn't take her eyes off her brother after searching for him for so long. Especially since she had smelled his blood... "I have to take him back to our tribe. He can be treated there."

Cale nodded. The two whales left as quickly as they had come, but Witira addressed them one last time before disappearing. "I will return to thank you properly."

Now that the chaos was over, they all looked at Cale with different expressions.

--

A short chapter to mark the return of this story! One of my resolutions for 2026! Happy New Year, everyone!