In a cabin on one of the mountains, I never thought a simple stab with a dagger would have such a significant impact... the pain intensified, and the bleeding wouldn't stop...
"Ahhhhh!" "Baaaah!" The pain is immense, and I don't know how to make it go away.
"Oh! My God! Brando?" Eva was pressed against the corner, covering her mouth with her hands, worried about what she was seeing, but her screams only added to my pain.
"Eva… get out… get out of here! Damn it!"
Kneeling, my body hunched over, I held my stomach with both hands, and there were blood stains on the floor…
I was struggling to empty my stomach… I began to vomit what was in my stomach, my body torn into many parts on the ground, as if those snakes had been crushed by that stab… and this is another justification for their absence in healing the wound…
It's impossible that the stab I received was an ordinary one; I don't know what magical powers that scoundrel possesses in his dagger!
Upon seeing those bodies moving slowly, Eva lost her mind and started screaming my name. She even threw herself onto me and began repeating,
"Brando! Brando, please! What's happening!? Is… is this really the end!?"
After hours of pain, I finally managed to lie on my back, but the pain didn't go away. The pain began to spread to other areas of my body, and I suffered from other symptoms…
My body began to crack in different places, brittle, youthful...
With each crack, blood splattered in the room, and I writhed in place from the pain...
"No… oh! No..! Brando, your wounds are opening up again!"
Eva stayed by my side, helping me stop the bleeding. Whenever a crack appeared, she pressed a towel against it to try to halt it…
I stared into her eyes and saw deep fear and tears that wouldn't stop; I had been the candle of hope illuminating her path in her quest for revenge...
Hmm! Good job, my colleague! That damned Tarkus possesses a venomous dagger!
"Poison!"
Yes… that's for sure… or let's say it's likely he applied poison…
I don't know much about poisons… damn!
The heat was rising in my body… I pushed the blanket off me to notice that Eva was staring at the lower half of my body...
Out of curiosity, I glanced down at my lower half..! Wow! My leg had fallen off my body; I felt nothing. How did that happen and when?! It was as if someone had amputated it, just above the knee, and the snakes appeared to me, moving slowly, unable to perform their function...
It's not as if I fear death or anything like that; quite the opposite, I took on this adventure only to rid myself of the curse of immortality. But damn it! This isn't the ideal way I want to die.
Eva… if I die, don't try to go to that so-called Karl alone! Find someone else to accompany you on this journey!
"Shut your mouth; this isn't the time to talk about that. I don't want to hear it! I don't want to!"
Eva pulled small green balls from her kimono belt and extended her hand…
"Take these tablets; they're a medicine I learned how to prepare from my mother. These tablets are made from the leaves of certain plants!"
Do you even know what poison is?! These pills won't help at all… do you understand?
"Just do what I say! Swallow them!" Eva took the pills from my hand, placed them in my mouth, and headed toward the door to leave.
Hey! Where do you think you're going?
"To find a doctor and bring him back with me…"
Don't be foolish; a doctor can't do anything in my case… I don't want you to go out there alone in the middle of the night… staying here is help enough.
"I know you don't rely on me, but I'll bring him back; just hold on for a while." Eva left the cabin in search of the doctor.
After hours of walking, Eva arrived at the doctor's office… her joy didn't last long because the doctor had hung a sign on his door that read, "Doctor on vacation; no consultations until the end of the week."
Eva stayed at the clinic door for a while, thinking of a solution and how Brando was right to object to her going out at that late hour, but what's done is done…
How can she help him when he's not like the rest of humanity? After all, he has an unnatural body! How can a normal human provide help to Brando when he's not of the same kind…
So the solution might lie with someone who has the same nature, an immortal body… Tarkus?! But he's an enemy.
"Ahhhhh!" Eva couldn't find a solution to the problem.
"Hey there! Little girl!" A strange voice called out to Eva, who had her face down on the ground, trying to find a solution…
Eva lifted her face to discover who was behind that voice.
"Hey! It's you… it's been a while since the last time I saw you; surely you remember who I am! Right?"
Bulging eyes, and tears were streaming down her face without stopping… the gaze of salvation was fixed on the eyes of the person standing before her… "Yes, it's you, the old witch."
"Why are you crying like that, little girl, at this late hour?! Are you suffering from something?"
Eva began recounting the recent events from start to finish, with the old witch listening intently. She detailed what happened to Brando and how his health had deteriorated…
"Whoa! That immortal young man in such a state?!"
"I feel like my head is spinning… I couldn't even find a doctor! Come on, you're the doctor; you possess the same immortal body. What exactly is his problem? And how can he return to his normal state?!"
"Hmmm, you mentioned that because of Tarkus. That name sounds familiar to me… if he truly did that, then this belittles my futile works."
"There is one poison in this vast world that can kill us… if it's what fell into his hands… it will indeed be a problem! You're coming with me."
"To where?"
"I will take you to someone who can give us an antidote for the poison… but first..! Where are your shoes?" said the old witch, looking at Eva's bare feet.
Eva hadn't noticed that… "Hah! I guess I was in a hurry."
"Ha ha ha, silly girl! No, no, you forgot yourself because of your excessive worry for Brando."
The witch took off her shoes and placed them near Eva. "I can't stay up and take care of both of you if something happens to you as well… You wear my shoes and carry me on your back."
The old witch climbed onto Eva's back, and they took off. "You need to run as fast as you can to reach our destination before that poor Brando dies while sleeping!"
A look of surprise appeared on Eva's face… She turned her head 90 degrees to see the witch on her back. "Madam, did you just call Brando 'Bando' or something like that?"
"Ah..! What did you say your name was, little girl?"
"Did you forget my name?! Are you really like that?!"
"Ha ha ha ha, I'm not good at remembering names, my dear."
In the cabin,
Brando was trying to hold his leg and attach it to the other half of his body, binding it with a piece of cloth. Bruises were visible on his leg, but it seemed usable! Brando was able to move his toes.
The intensity of the pain wasn't the same as before; that's good! Perhaps I don't need a wooden leg anymore… and the bleeding has stopped too… I didn't think that the medicine that little brat made would have a positive effect.
The sound of footsteps outside the cabin…
What took you so long?!
Hey! Are you mute, girl!
Alright, I'm coming… I crawled my body to the door…
There was no one outside, but someone had left a message…!
"Ruins of Tsuroka… waiting! Your partner, Tarkus."