"Maybe you're just overthinking it. Didn't your Michael-sama say he was trying to find a way to deal with the black spots on your body?"
Cid offered a few words of comfort while the form of the Magical Power inside him shifted once more, silently flowing into Xenovia's body to record the pattern of the imbalance between her light and dark states.
"Hahaha, thanks for trying to encourage me, but let me tell you something. Ever since I woke up, I've been able to clearly feel the life energy inside me constantly slipping away. I think... I probably won't live to see tomorrow.
It's only natural. Didn't Irina say it herself? Even if Michael-sama descended, he could only suppress it. So how could a sinner like me, so far beyond his reach and having even lost Excalibur, possibly survive? Cough, cough..."
Xenovia wore a bitter smile, and a trace of despair showed in her eyes. As the one going through it, no one understood the state of her body better than she did.
The black spots had already spread over most of her body, as if wounds of the same size had been torn open across her flesh. Her strength and life force were steadily leaking away through those black spots. Even with Asia's Sacred Gear healing her, the rate at which her life force was draining was still faster than the rate of recovery.
"Can you do me a favor, Cid-kun?"
There was a faint tremor in Xenovia's usually cool voice.
"Yeah."
Looking at Xenovia, who had turned her back to him, perhaps out of embarrassment or pride, Cid nodded.
"Help me write a will."
"Huh?!"
Cid was genuinely startled. Sensing the surprise in his gaze, Xenovia explained.
"Isn't it common for people to write down the things they normally do not dare say before they die, then have that will shown to the people they wanted to say them to after they are gone? I'm no exception."
"Well... no matter how you look at it, this really doesn't seem like the kind of thing you should be asking an outsider like me to do. Why not find someone else? Irina Shidou seems like a pretty suitable choice."
As he said that, Cid stood up, ready to leave.
"It's not anything I can't say. It's just some private thoughts, things I kept hidden because I was too embarrassed to say them out loud."
Hearing his footsteps, Xenovia quickly turned around to stop him from leaving.
"Hmm... I'd advise you not to. The best ending for a collection of black history like that is for it to stay buried in your heart and disappear completely along with your death."
Out of sheer curiosity, Cid stopped and sat back down. Out of the last bit of conscience he still had, he kindly gave Xenovia that warning.
"I'm about to die anyway. There's no point in keeping those secrets anymore. I might as well say them."
"All right, go ahead. I'll write."
Looking at Xenovia lying there on the bed with the complete expression of someone whose brain had already been fried, Cid had no choice but to pick up paper and pen from the stool beside the bed.
"Then I'll start..."
Taking a deep breath, Xenovia slowly began to speak, nostalgia flashing through her eyes.
"The incident where the bishop's son who got the orphanage investigated was beaten while a sack was thrown over his head. I did that, because that bishop's son called us children no one wanted...
I was the one who caused trouble at the Church training facility. Back then I got into a standoff with a cat, got so mad I pulled out Durandal...
I'm sorry, Irina. When you spent all our funds on that saint portrait, I actually noticed, but I didn't realize at the time it was a fake either. After I found out later, I pretended not to know and dumped the blame on you...
I'm very sorry, Sister Griselda. I was never an obedient child. I always talked back to you, spouted all kinds of weird logic, and constantly acted on my own during missions. But I really did respect you, and I truly was grateful for your guidance...
..."
"Done?"
When Xenovia fell silent, Cid tapped the pen and asked.
"Yeah, I'm done. After I die, please give this will to a nun named Griselda. I'll bless you so you can go to heaven."
"I really didn't expect this. Xenovia, you were actually that mischievous as a kid. No, I should say your skills now are only stronger than they were back then.
Now I'm suddenly curious. If you survive this, how are you going to deal with me, the person holding onto so many of your secrets?"
Looking at the page filled from top to bottom, something that looked less like a will and more like a written confession, Cid asked half in amazement and half to test her.
"If I survive this, then you, now that you know so much about me, would either have to be killed by me or become my husband and keep my secrets for me. Ha, I'm joking, don't mind it, hahaha..."
Listening to Xenovia laugh and looking at the paper in his hand, where he had faithfully written down every piece of black history she had just confessed, Cid gave an awkward but polite smile.
How exactly was he supposed to explain to Xenovia that this light and dark imbalance was not really a problem for him at all, and that curing it would actually be easy? After that, all she would need was to sleep for most of the day.
"I don't want to die. Not dying in battle, but getting taken down by a sneaky coward and then lying in bed waiting to die. That's way too pathetic, isn't it?
I still wanted to wait until retirement, find a lover, have a child, and become a mother..."
As she laughed, the tears that had been gathering in Xenovia's eyes finally spilled over, and her voice gradually broke into sobs.
Cid's thoughts were interrupted by Xenovia's crying. Looking at her as she failed to hold back her emotions and tears kept streaming down her face, he thought for a moment and decided to give her a little reassurance.
"Get some proper sleep. If you can't find a way to stay alive, then let nature take its course and leave everything to the goddess of fate. Maybe when you wake up, the goddess of fate will have smiled on you."
"But Cid-kun, I... I'm a believer in God."
Even while crying, the faith Xenovia had been raised with since childhood still made her instinctively correct him.
"Then believe that your unwavering faith is enough for God in heaven to sense your devotion and reveal His grace while you sleep. When the first ray of sunlight falls on you tomorrow morning, you'll be born anew."
Without changing the smile on his face, as though nothing had happened, Cid adjusted his wording and repeated the line.
"Th—Thank you, uuu..."
After thanking him, Xenovia still did not go to sleep. She just kept quietly sobbing to herself.
"You're not going to sleep?"
"I don't want to. I'm scared. I'm scared that if I fall asleep now, I'll never wake up again."
Faced with the fear of death, Xenovia's mental defenses had completely collapsed. Her usually valiant face now looked especially fragile, pitiful enough to stir sympathy in anyone who saw it.
Cid, however, remained expressionless. All he felt was that Xenovia was being a pain. If she did not go to sleep, how was he supposed to make his move?
"Go to sleep. Get some rest, and everything will be fine."
His voice was gentle, but a trace of coldness flashed through Cid's eyes.
"I..."
Cid did not give Xenovia a chance to finish. He brought his hand down cleanly on the back of her neck and successfully lulled her to sleep.
He pulled his hand back from Xenovia's neck, blew away the black spots that had spread from her body onto his palm, tucked away the sheet of paper that recorded all of Xenovia's gossip, then got to his feet and walked out.
After closing the door behind him, he turned toward his own room, intending to grab a few things.
"Cid, how is Xenovia doing now? Did she say anything she wanted me to know?"
A low voice came from the living room, making Cid pause and turn his head.
It was Irina Shidou, her eyes red from crying, with Asia standing beside her trying to comfort her.
"Hmm... she's asleep now. She'll probably stay asleep until tomorrow afternoon."
"She's asleep..."
Irina Shidou murmured to herself and looked toward Xenovia's room. She wanted to go in and check on her, but she was afraid of disturbing Xenovia's rest. In the end, all she could do was let out a helpless sigh and sit down on the sofa with her head in her hands.
"Fine. There's no point in seeing Xenovia now. It'll only make me worry more. If I can find a way to save her by tomorrow, seeing her then won't be too late."
"What exactly are you planning? From the way you say it, it sounds like you're about to do something serious."
Cid really wanted to tell Irina Shidou that Xenovia already knew she did not have long left to live. But seeing that Irina Shidou was clearly not in the right state of mind, he held it back and asked a different question instead.
"What else can I do? I'll have to ask Asia-chan to look after Xenovia for now, and I'll go by myself to see if I can find some way to save her."
Cid frowned. Something felt off.
"How are you going to look?"
"I recognized who the person who attacked us was. He hid it well, but his reaction to Excalibur gave him away. I'm going to find him..."
Irina Shidou raised her head, her eyes burning with fury toward that person.
"I'll force the method of saving her out of him, and then I'll kill him."
The words were brief, but the killing intent in Irina Shidou's voice was ice cold.
"You're planning to break into the enemy's base by yourself. Can you even handle that?"
"I'm not that stupid."
She tightened her grip on the Holy Sword in her hand. The meaning was obvious. She was not foolish enough to fight alone when the enemy's strength was still unknown.
"That's good. By the way, is this kind of thing common?"
"Hm?"
Noticing the confusion in Irina Shidou's eyes, Cid explained.
"I mean poisoning swords. Counting Xenovia, this is already the second time I've run into it in the last two days. Are people these days really this morally bankrupt?"
"..."
The atmosphere in the room shifted at once. Even Irina Shidou, who had been overflowing with killing intent a moment ago, was left speechless by the question.
She clearly did not want to answer, but when she heard Cid say this was already the second time he had encountered it, she gave him a strange look. As if some thought had occurred to her, she finally spoke.
"You could say it's pretty common. Ever since a year ago, the weapons of the stray Devils and vampires Xenovia and I have been hunting have been coated with all kinds of poisons.
They weren't as strong as these black spots, and they didn't spread, but those poisons could still affect supernatural beings like us. It's honestly ridiculous. This is the first time I've ever heard of a dragon being poisoned to death.
Apparently all those poisons were made by one person, who even calls them premium bitter coffee. Thanks to him, every faction has been demanding more and more drugs.
Xenovia and I have been hit by them several times. It was miserable. Sometimes we'd suddenly feel unbearably sad and couldn't stop crying. Sometimes there'd be this urge to rip off our clothes, and we only managed to hold back through sheer willpower. Sometimes we'd just laugh, laugh until we couldn't stop..."
As she complained about the way she and Xenovia had been tormented by all kinds of poisons over the past year, Irina Shidou spoke to Cid with complete seriousness.
"So I'm telling you, stay away from this line of work. Their methods really are filthy, despicable, and shameless."
"Got it, got it."
Cid nodded and leaned against the wall, looking at Irina Shidou. For a moment, silence settled over the room.
"Aren't you going to sleep?"
"I'm not in the mood. Xenovia's in this state now. There's no way I can sleep."
Irina Shidou shook her head. At the mention of Xenovia, sadness crept onto her face once again.
But if you stay here, how am I supposed to get my stuff?
Cid did not say it out loud. He merely put on a helpless smile and silently signaled Asia in his mind to cooperate with him.
"The way to make up for guilt is not to torment yourself. It's to do everything you can to make up for your mistake."
"Huh? No, I really..."
Irina Shidou froze for a moment and tried to argue back, but Cid cut her off sharply and scolded her from a purely practical angle.
"Aren't you going into battle tomorrow? Then what exactly are you doing right now?
Instead of going to sleep, restoring your energy, and preparing for tomorrow's fight, you're just sitting here tormenting yourself to get some fake sense of satisfaction. Is that useful?"
At that point, Cid's angry tone gradually softened, and he spoke more gently.
"I know you feel guilty about what happened, but what you need to do now is get some sleep and recover your strength. Only then can you actually help Xenovia."
"Th—This..."
Irina Shidou's mind was in complete turmoil from the scolding, and she had no idea how to respond.
"Mm, Irina-san, Cid is right. If Xenovia-san were awake, she definitely wouldn't want you tormenting yourself because of her."
Pressing her lips together, Irina Shidou looked into Asia's sincere eyes, then stood up and gave Cid a firm nod.
"I understand. Thank you, Cid."
Good. That is another one successfully fooled.
Watching Irina Shidou walk away, Cid turned back into his room, took out his tools, put on a white lab coat, and met Asia's excited gaze.
He suddenly realized that after recruiting Asia as his assistant, he had not actually taught her much of anything yet. So he waved for her to follow him.
"Come on, Asia. I'll teach you a little about developing your Sacred Gear. We happen to have the perfect guinea pig."
"A guinea pig???"
...
Sitting at the bedside and looking at Xenovia lying there with her head tilted to one side, Cid raised a green light in his hand, the light of life itself.
"Asia, you are a very talented and very kind child, so your innate Sacred Gear is a healing-type one like Twilight Healing.
The first thing I need to correct is a misconception of yours. Life and death may be opposites in wording, but they are not truly opposed to each other. On the contrary, they blend into each other.
Of course, this kind of operation requires a very high level of technique, so for today, just watch.
Heh heh heh. Watch closely. I'll only do this once..."
Behind him, Asia watched Cid begin his demonstration, her eyes widening in shock as she stared at the utterly worldview-shattering scene before her.
The night was still long...