Ochana slowly calmed down and looked at the animals she had once poisoned.
"T-they're not aggressive…?" Ochana said in shock.
Nic stepped down and walked toward a tiger, gently stroking its head.
"I healed all of them."
Ochana looked at Nic again.
"Y-you… you're the botanist who let me go back then, right?"
Hinata stepped closer to Nic.
"He's also the one who brought you here, Ochana."
"So… all of this was your plan?" Ochana asked.
Nic nodded.
"Just think of me as someone who always interferes."
Hinata let out a small laugh, knowing Nic had been doing exactly that since the beginning.
"Ochana, do you want to stop everything you've been doing? If you do, I'll heal your face," Nic said calmly.
"My face… healed? Is that really possible? You're not lying, right?" Ochana hesitated, unable to fully believe it.
Lingmei held Ochana's hand.
"Believe him, Ochana. Just look at me—I'm back to normal too."
Ochana nodded slowly.
"Alright… I trust you. Um… Nic, right?"
Nic nodded, then gestured for the animals to step forward.
"Before that, you should apologize to them—the ones who became your victims. Just say you're sorry. No need to bow. They'll respect you."
Without hesitation, Ochana sincerely apologized to all the animals.
The tiger nodded and spoke to Nic, saying they had already forgiven Ochana, because she was a victim too.
"Alright, now this feels peaceful," Nic said. "Hmm… wait a second."
Ochana looked confused and glanced at her own body.
Nic activated God of Tracker and God of Analyst, searching carefully—and sure enough, he found something tiny embedded in her body.
"Ochana, I'm sorry, but there's a tracker inside you. Try touching your back," Nic said.
"Huh? Really?" Ochana reached back but couldn't find anything.
"C-could you take it out for me? I don't know where it is," she said shyly.
Nic stepped behind her and removed a device so small it looked like an ant.
"It's tiny. Looks like Shen Akira didn't want to lose you," Nic said as he crushed the tracker.
Hinata and Lingmei both froze when they heard the name Shen Akira—it sounded familiar. They had heard rumors about him many times.
"He's cunning and cruel," Ochana said coldly. "His kindness was just a mask."
After that, Nic brought Ochana to the Unity Temple to talk further.
---
Meanwhile, Shen Akira's subordinate—who had been guarding Ochana's location—had accidentally fallen asleep after watching her all day. Suddenly, a notification blared: the tracker signal was gone.
"OH NO—I'M DEAD! THE TRACKER'S DESTROYED!? Damn it—did she destroy it herself or was it an accident? The last location… the dangerous forest?!"
He panicked, unsure whether to search on his own or report it to Shen Akira.
"If I look for her myself or tell the boss, either way I'm dead… The boss is aggressive right now. I'll die if I go alone."
Suddenly, the door opened. He froze, thinking it was Shen Akira—but it was his assistant.
"Hm… looks like you're in trouble," the assistant said calmly while picking up some documents.
"N-no, I'm just unlucky with gambling…" he tried to lie.
But the assistant noticed immediately and checked the tracker monitor—it was inactive.
"Wow… this could be really bad if Shen Akira finds out, right?"
The subordinate immediately dropped to his knees, begging.
"Please, Ms. Mei Tsukino! Don't report this! I'll look for her later with my friends!"
"No need," Mei replied coolly. "I'll tell him—but with a different story."
"W-what do you mean…?"
Mei explained that she would tell Shen Akira that Ochana had been abducted by the strange raven and torn apart, causing the tracker to be destroyed. Since the last location was the dangerous forest, Shen Akira would believe it.
"Why are you helping me, Ms. Mei Tsukino?"
Mei turned to leave, then suddenly stopped. Her eyes sharpened as she grabbed his collar.
"Don't misunderstand. This has nothing to do with you. Consider this a favor you owe me. If you ask pointless questions again, I'll personally tell Shen Akira about your behavior."
The subordinate trembled in fear. It was the first time he had ever seen Mei Tsukino like this—usually she seemed perfectly normal.
Mei then went to Shen Akira and reported everything.
Shen Akira completely lost control.
"DAMN IT!! FIND THAT GIRL NOW! BRING ALL THE WEAPONS WE HAVE! AND BRING EVERYTHING FROM HER LAB TOO!!" he shouted.
"But didn't she destroy everything in her lab when you gave her that capsule?" Mei asked.
Shen Akira clicked his tongue.
"Tch—then just bring whatever's left. Find her no matter what."
Mei nodded and gathered all of Shen Akira's subordinates. She even hired a few mercenaries, though not many.
---
Back at the Unity Temple, Ochana finished telling everything—everything Shen Akira had done to her.
"Hm… I'm curious," Nic said. "What exactly is inside the plant leaves you created?"
"Huh? There's nothing inside," Ochana said, confused. "I only modified existing plants and added a poison I created myself."
"I see."
Nic turned to Zeta.
"She said there's nothing. Then why did you say there was something even you couldn't identify?"
[ It appears to be a toxin created by Ochana, Master Nic—but it doesn't exist as a liquid, gas, or solid. ]
"Huh? Then what form is it? A butterfly?"
[ As I said, I don't know. It may have had a form initially, but once it merged with the plant, it lost all physical structure. ]
"Ah, whatever. Forget it, Zeta. Everything's basically settled now."
[ Are you certain everything is over, Master Nic? ]
"Not yet. But I'll finish the rest quickly."
After a long conversation, Nic finally took out a potion he had specially prepared for Ochana.
"Don't be shocked by the result. Just accept it—and don't ask how I made it," Nic said.
Ochana nodded, her heart racing—half skeptical, half desperately hopeful.
Everyone watched closely, including the guardians of the Natural Tree of Heaven and Flower.
Meilin and Kazumi stood nearby, watching silently.
Slowly, Nic poured the potion onto the ruined half of Ochana's face.
Miraculously, the damaged skin peeled away and was replaced with smooth, beautiful new skin. Even her blind eye healed on its own.
Everyone froze in disbelief.
Ochana saw their reactions and hurried to look for herself.
Lingmei handed her a mirror and stood in front of her.
Ochana froze.
She touched her face—the one she had hated for so long. It was smooth. Normal. Her vision was back.
Tears streamed down her face as she hugged Nic tightly.
"Thank you… thank you so much… you saved my life."
Nic gently patted her head.
"You all deserve the happiness that was stolen from you by irresponsible people."
Hinata and Lingmei were overwhelmed and joined the hug.
Even the guardians were moved. Chira and Lusita cried openly, while Kazumi and Meilin were reminded of how their own happiness had once been stolen—and returned.
Nic uses Cupid Arsenal on Ochana now because the timing is right.
[ Ding! Congratulations Ochana for being 100% like and loyal to Master Nic ]
[ Ding! Hearth Claim active! Ochana has been added to the girlfriend list ]
[ Ding! Skill transfer active! Congratulations, Master Nic has obtained a new skill: God of Experiments (Master Nic can conduct any experiment with his own imagination) ]
"Now it's time to finish the rest," Nic said. "Are you ready, Ochana?"
Ochana stood up straight.
"I'm ready. I'll admit my mistakes—and I'll speak about my past publicly."
"Good. I'll help you. So will everyone else," Nic said. "Qwelin Academy needs to wake up and change. Being called the 'best academy' doesn't quite fit right now."
They began preparing to appear publicly and finally resolve a long-buried problem.
Just then, Ilya arrived at the Unity Temple.
"There are many people gathering in the forest," she said.
"You're not hurt, right?" Nic asked.
Ilya shook her head quickly, embarrassed.
Nic immediately headed there.
---
When Nic arrived, Shen Akira's subordinates were trying to attack the animals—but they didn't know that Nic had already given all the animals strengthening potions.
Many of them were injured by their own actions.
"Ms. Mei Tsukino!! These animals aren't normal!! They're insanely strong!!" one of them shouted.
"You can't even handle animals—what makes you think you can handle him?" Mei said, pointing at Nic.
They all realized Nic was the man Shen Akira was targeting.
"Kill him! He must be working for that raven!"
They swallowed the capsules Shen Akira had given them and transformed into grotesque versions of Ochana's earlier state.
Nic cracked his knuckles.
With a single blow, they were all sent flying. The capsules that were supposed to nullify pain failed completely—they felt real pain and collapsed, unable to move.
In seconds, Shen Akira's men were defeated.
Only Mei Tsukino remained.
Nic approached her. She remained calm.
"Go back and tell him," Nic said with a smile.
"Tell him I'm coming to kill him."
Mei nodded.
"As you wish."
She left.
Nic chuckled softly and returned as well.
---
Elsewhere, Shen Akira was approached by a subordinate who had been researching the strange raven.
"Boss… look at this. The raven you mentioned is called Death Raven—he appeared in the Western region and wiped out the Red Dragon Gang brutally. There's also King Raven in the Southern region, a symbol of unity who changed the entire area. And apparently… this raven is a young man."
He showed a picture.
"It looks exactly like the botanist you're Slander."
Shen Akira froze in panic—realizing he had been chasing death itself.
At that moment, Mei Tsukino arrived, panting.
"Boss—we were wiped out! And that botanist said he's coming to kill you!"
"DAMN IT!!" Shen Akira panicked. "I need to escape!"
Mei suggested the Northern region.
"It should be safe there."
Another subordinate added that Northern had never been touched by the botanist. Going Western or Southern would only expose him.
"DAMN IT!! WHY IS THAT FREEZING COUNTRY MY ONLY OPTION!? FINE! BOOK THE TICKETS! PREPARE EVERYTHING!!" Shen Akira slammed the table.
"I'll book them now," Mei said with a smile.
---
Elsewhere, Nic received a notification on his phone.
"Northern, huh… interesting," Nic said coldly.
"Run wherever you want, Shen Akira. I'll still catch you because your loyal assistant is now mine"
To be continued…