The Psychopathic Beast Emperor-Chapter 115: Exildra Wakes

It had been two hours since Bahamut’s healing session. Sel and the others had been told what had happened with Bahamut, Exildra, and the aggressive ghoul parasite. After learning that it had been successful and that they were alright, the group finally left to have some rest.

The sect’s higher-ups were also in an emergency meeting to discuss what had just happened. All of them were shocked by what Bahamut did. Even though he wasted... not exactly wasted, but still used his life force to save the elven girl, it was still an orthodox method that had never been practiced before. Not that it had never been thought of or proposed, but no one had the guts to do it.

What Bahamut did could be taken as foolishness or blind love and trust, but it still worked. It was successful, and it had become his. If they were ever to release this method to the world, it would be named after him.

But there was one issue that kept bothering them. And that was the attributes of Bahamut’s life force. It was powerful and held a very potent level of beast energy, even higher than that of the beast-kin race. What they didn’t know was that he could use the traits of different beasts. If they knew, he would’ve been subjected to various investigations and experiments. After all, he was different. He wasn’t normal.

Well, that was their problem.

...

In a cool, dimly lit room, two people slept side-by-side. Their expressions were serene, as if nothing could bother them. To the left was an elven girl with long, lustrous golden hair that fell in heavy waves around her. The right part of her face was covered with a bandage, but she still looked beautiful.

To her right was a tall, slim boy with long, bushy white hair streaked with black. A blindfold covered his eyes as he lay there. His face twitched occasionally, as if he wanted to speak, then return to its serenity.

Time passed uneventfully as the couple rested beside each other when the girl’s eye fluttered open.

Exildra sat up languidly with a confused expression. Her left eye was narrowed as it slowly adjusted to the light, glinting gold. Her hands instinctively went to her face, and she felt the bandage wrapped tightly around the right part of her face. Then she started remembering what had happened on their mission, the ghoul, and the battle she had in her consciousness.

"Bahamut..." she whispered his name unconsciously. Then she heard a soft breathing beside her. Exildra turned to it to see Bahamut breathing softly as he slept. His face was a bit pale, but he looked okay. That made her wonder...

"Was he also injured? Or did he break the rules to come and sleep here?" she muttered, smiling at her thoughts. Well, she knew Bahamut would most likely do it. He was unhinged and wouldn’t mind a few days’ punishment to sit by her and watch her sleep.

"So it’s really true..." a soft, deep voice sounded beside her. Exildra turned to see a bespectacled elven man with long blonde hair and blue eyes seated on a chair, looking at her with a gentle smile.

"Uncle Claude?!" Exildra exclaimed and made to get up, only to sit back down with a sharp pain in her bandaged eye and her back.

Exildra winced and slowly lowered herself back onto the bed. The sudden pain behind the bandage throbbed like a distant drumbeat. Claude rose slightly from his chair, but when he saw she had stabilized herself, he relaxed again.

"Well," he said gently, adjusting his glasses, "you woke up faster than the healers predicted."

Exildra breathed out slowly, letting the dizziness settle. Her golden eye moved between Claude and the sleeping Bahamut beside her.

"You’re really here..." she muttered.

Claude smiled faintly.

"Last time I checked."

She studied him for a moment before her gaze drifted back to Bahamut. He lay completely still, his breathing soft and steady. His pale face contrasted against the dark blindfold covering his eyes. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"So it wasn’t a dream," she murmured. Claude noticed the look immediately.

"Interesting," he said lightly.

Exildra glanced back at him.

"What?"

Claude leaned back in his chair, folding one leg over the other.

"You woke up in an unfamiliar room after a near-death experience... and the first name you whispered was his."

Exildra blinked.

Then her cheeks colored faintly.

"That doesn’t mean anything."

Claude raised an eyebrow.

"Of course."

He said it with the tone of someone who believed the exact opposite.

Exildra coughed lightly.

"Well... he’s my teammate."

"Mm."

"And he was there during the fight."

"Mm-hmm."

"And he tends to cause trouble."

Claude nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes. I’ve heard."

Exildra narrowed her eye slightly.

"You’re enjoying this too much."

Claude chuckled quietly.

"Perhaps."

Silence settled briefly between them.

Exildra shifted slightly on the bed, careful not to jostle Bahamut.

"So... what happened after?" she asked. "The last thing I remember was fighting that thing inside my mind."

Claude’s smile softened.

"You were unconscious for quite some time. The healers stabilized your body."

He paused briefly.

"The sect has also been... discussing certain developments."

Exildra frowned slightly.

"What kind of developments?"

Claude waved the question away gently.

"Oh, nothing that should concern you right now."

He leaned forward slightly.

"How have things been going in the sect? Have the elders been treating you well?"

Exildra blinked.

The sudden shift in topic was obvious.

"...Fine," she answered slowly. "Training is difficult as usual."

Claude nodded.

"And the other disciples?"

"Mostly annoying."

Claude chuckled.

"Sounds about right."

Exildra studied him for a moment.

Then she frowned.

"You’re avoiding something."

Claude blinked innocently.

"Avoiding what?"

"My face."

Claude adjusted his glasses again.

"We’ll talk about that later."

Exildra’s eye narrowed.

"And the ghoul."

Claude remained silent.

She leaned forward slightly.

"Uncle."

Claude looked at her.

"Stop doing that."

The room grew quiet.

"I fought that thing," Exildra continued, her voice steady. "I felt it inside my mind. I know it did something to me."

Claude didn’t respond immediately. She watched him closely.

"Tell me the truth."

Claude sighed softly. He had expected this.

"There’s no point hiding it from you," he said quietly.

Exildra’s fingers tightened slightly against the sheets. Claude spoke calmly.

"The ghoul’s claw and the parasite destroyed your right eye."

Silence filled the room. Exildra didn’t move.

"It was beyond saving," Claude continued. "The healers prepared to remove it completely to prevent the corruption from spreading."

Her breathing slowed slightly.

"But something unusual happened," he added. That made her eye flicker.

"The tissue began regenerating."

Exildra blinked slowly. Claude leaned forward slightly, his voice thoughtful.

"Not normal regeneration," he said. "Something... different."

Her fingers slowly rose toward the bandage again.

"The healers stopped the procedure when they noticed it," Claude continued. "Your eye is regrowing."

Exildra froze.

"But it isn’t the same as before," he finished.

Her golden eye shifted slowly toward Bahamut without her realizing it. She stared at his sleeping face for a long moment, her lips parting slightly, but no words came out.

Claude watched the silent exchange with quiet interest. After a moment, he continued.

"For now, you will have to wear an eyepatch," he said. "Possibly for a long time. Perhaps permanently, depending on how the eye develops."

Exildra lowered her hand slowly. Her expression remained unreadable.

Claude spoke again.

"There’s also something else you should know."

She looked back at him.

"You were healed by Bahamut."

Exildra blinked.

Claude gestured toward the boy sleeping beside her.

"He used his life force to suppress and kill the parasite inside your body."

Her gaze snapped back to Bahamut.

Claude continued calmly.

"He used a Life Rose as a catalyst and transferred his own vitality directly into you."

Exildra’s eye widened slightly.

"It was... an extremely risky method," Claude said.

He folded his hands.

"Frankly, no one expected it to work."

The room grew quiet again. Bahamut stirred faintly in his sleep but didn’t wake.

Exildra watched him silently, her golden eye lingering on his pale face. Then slowly, her fingers reached out and rested lightly against his arm.

"He really couldn’t bear to watch me go..." she said with a lovely smile.

"That is, if your brothers do not kill him for destroying your innocence first," Claude chuckled, thinking about the two older siblings of Exildra.

After a few seconds of silence, they laughed softly, reminiscing about past events at the Esteria household. Bahamut just slept on as his body went through internal changes.