"Mom."
As the Centaur girl Elu pushed open the door, Vlad immediately took in the scene inside.
On the bed lay a mature Centaur woman, her condition visibly critical. Her pale face was faintly tinged with a thin layer of black mist.
The moment the door opened, Vlad caught the strong, pungent scent of something foul and acrid.
"Such a heavy toxin," he thought with a frown.
Beside the woman stood a younger Centaur girl, around fourteen or fifteen years old, with black hair and a worried expression.
She was a bit shorter than Elu, about 1.7 meters tall. Her four strong legs and round hindquarters were wrapped in worn leather, which stretched tightly over her figure and outlined a striking curve.
The girl was watching her mother anxiously as she coughed up blood. When Elu entered, the girl visibly relaxed for a moment—until she saw Vlad walking in behind her.
"A human~!" she cried, her expression hardening.
She snatched up a spear from the corner and charged forward, her eyes full of hostility.
"Leya, stop!" Elu shouted, ignoring her injured mother as she hurried to restrain her impulsive younger sister.
"Why are you stopping me, Sister? It's these wretched humans who did this to Mom! Why are you protecting him?"
Leya yelled in fury, but then her voice faltered. A realization dawned on her face.
"Wait... are you being threatened by him? That must be it! Damn it, I knew humans couldn't be trusted. All they ever do is hurt us!"
Tears welled in her eyes. Pushing past Elu, she raised her spear and charged straight at Vlad with explosive speed.
Shockingly, in such a small room, she didn't need to build momentum. Her body launched forward like a spring.
With a blur of motion, she was in front of Vlad in an instant.
The spear slashed through the air, leaving afterimages in its wake.
Vlad watched calmly, even as the weapon shrieked through the air. He was already analyzing the girl's movement.
From the wild flailing of her spear and the unintentional bounce of her chest, he could tell immediately: she had never received any formal training.
No—she didn't even know how to properly handle a weapon.
Her grip on the spear was completely wrong. She was relying on brute strength and instinct, forcing her body to unleash a powerful but chaotic attack.
Despite her natural strength, the strike was full of flaws.
Her unbalanced form and erratic technique drained the attack of both speed and power.
Amused by her raw potential, Vlad couldn't help but offer advice.
"Leya, right? You're holding the spear wrong. Try lowering your right hand by an inch and gripping it tighter."
"And ease up on the left—doesn't it feel off-balance?"
His tone was casual, almost teasing. Leya's face turned crimson with embarrassment and rage.
"Shut up, you damn human!" she snapped furiously.
Seeing she wasn't interested in listening, Vlad lost interest in playing along.
He stopped dodging and stepped in. His arm moved like a snake, slipping through the gaps between her strikes. Before Leya could react, a jolt of force traveled through her weapon.
With a surprised cry, her spear flew from her grip, crashed through the door, and vanished outside.
Suddenly, Vlad was face-to-face with her, his presence overwhelming.
A heavy pressure descended around her as he reached out and gripped her neck—not painfully, but firmly.
"Big brother, please don't hurt Leya! She didn't mean to offend you!" Elu cried out, her voice pleading.
Vlad gave her a small smile and released the struggling girl in his grasp.
"And one more thing," he said lightly, "when you're attacking someone, don't just plant your feet and stand there like an idiot."
With that, he let go of her pale throat and walked over to the bed.
Afraid her sister might attack again, Elu quickly pulled Leya aside and explained the entire situation, hoping to prevent further conflict.
"Sister... what did you say? He can save Mom?!" Leya gasped in disbelief.
"But... Mom always said humans hated us. Last time, they nearly killed her!" Leya still looked uncertain.
However, faced with her sister's firm warning, Leya begrudgingly backed down. She didn't act out again, but her eyes remained wary as she watched Vlad.
Elu said nothing more. She believed that once their mother recovered, Leya's attitude would change on its own.
Vlad ignored the sisters and turned his attention to the unconscious woman lying in bed.
Her upper torso was mostly bare, save for layers of cloth tightly wound between her chest and abdomen, flattening her breasts into pale, compressed discs.
The pungent odor in the room was clearly coming from her.
What caught Vlad's attention, though, was that the lower half of Luana's horse body wasn't smooth skin—it was covered in soft, silver-white fur.
He examined her calmly, then asked over his shoulder:
"What's your mother's name?"
Elu hesitated, then quickly replied, "Luana."
"Good. You can call me Vlad, by the way."
As he spoke, he gently brushed aside some of Luana's silvery fur and looked at her face. A trace of black still lingered on her skin.
A puzzled look flashed across Vlad's eyes.
"Elu, earlier you said your mother was injured by a hunter?"
"Yes. Is something wrong?" Elu asked nervously.
Leya, still on guard, also looked anxious.
Vlad glanced at both sisters and said seriously:
"This wasn't done by a regular hunter. This is poison—used by a demon hunter."
"Demon hunter?" the two sisters echoed blankly. Their limited knowledge clearly left them confused.
Seeing their puzzled faces, Vlad explained calmly:
"A demon hunter is not the same as a normal hunter. They're part of a rare profession—supernatural warriors who use magic."
"From childhood, they undergo physical enhancement through enchanted potions, gaining power far beyond ordinary people. The magical energy they command is called The Force."
"But that's not what matters here. The key point is that, having been exposed to magical herbs since they were young, demon hunters are highly skilled with enchanted poisons."
"In short—your mother isn't suffering from a common toxin. This is an energy-based poison infused with powerful magical corrosion."
"So that's why… no matter how long it's been, she never got better," Elu murmured in realization.
The two sisters looked lost, their expressions heavy.
Vlad paused for a moment, then asked quietly:
"Do you mind if I… unwrap the wound?"