Sota kept both of his hands placed over Medusa and Mike.
Waves of mana were flowing endlessly around the three of them.
Tiny particles of mana drifted out from those waves and entered Medusa and Mike's bodies.
Both of their bodies trembled violently, while their flesh began swelling unnaturally, as if their bodies were about to burst like balloons.
That same mana was also flowing into Sota's body.
His flesh tore apart again and again—
only to heal moments later.
The mana waves were destroying all three of them from the inside.
Then—
Mike slowly closed his eyes.
Within the middle of those raging mana waves, a voice suddenly echoed.
The voice was so heavy and overwhelming that it sounded as if millions of people were speaking together.
"White Dragon…"
"Blessing of Healing…"
The moment Sota spoke those words—
all the mana surrounding Medusa and Mike suddenly abandoned their bodies and rushed toward Sota instead.
A green radiance exploded outward.
The scene looked as if countless green leaves were dancing wildly within a storm.
The mana that had been tearing their bodies apart finally stopped torturing them.
Their trembling slowly faded.
Their bodies became lighter.
The endless mana pouring out from Sota spread across the entire battlefield.
It looked as though a massive ancient forest had suddenly appeared around them.
Under the influence of that mana—
Medusa's eyes twitched slightly before slowly opening.
His exhausted eyes looked like those of a warrior returning from a long and endless war.
At first, his vision was blurry.
But as the haze slowly disappeared—
his pupils suddenly widened.
An endless sea of green mana was flowing before his eyes.
Seeing that scene, Medusa thought to himself—
"…What is happening?"
Then his gaze slowly shifted toward Sota sitting beside him.
The moment he saw him—
his eyes froze completely.
Blood was flowing from Sota's eyes and mouth, yet his wounds continued healing at the same time.
Medusa immediately grabbed Sota and pulled him away.
The moment he did—
the massive mana forest surrounding the battlefield disappeared and scattered into the air.
As Sota's body hit the ground, his eyes suddenly opened.
He quickly stood up like a madman.
The moment he saw Medusa alive and unharmed—
he immediately hugged him tightly.
"M-Medusa…"
"You're okay…"
Medusa gently placed his hand on Sota's back and spoke softly—
"I was only unconscious…"
As he said those words, a thought echoed within his mind—
"My wounds weren't normal…"
"I could have actually died…"
The moment he thought about that—
his eyes slowly shifted toward Mike.
He stared at him intensely, as if trying to look deep inside him.
"If my wounds could heal…"
"Then…"
"Can Mike… heal too?"
Medusa slowly pushed Sota back before asking—
"Sota… what exactly were you doing just now?"
"And how did you do this?"
Confusion filled Sota's eyes.
He remained silent for a few moments before answering—
"I don't really remember properly…"
"But I remember seeing a white light around us…"
"And then it turned into waves…"
"That's all…"
"I can't remember anything after that…"
Hearing those words—
Medusa fell deep into thought.
"What I saw was raw mana…"
"But it was entering Sota's body…"
"And acting like a healing spell…"
As he thought about that, he slowly walked toward Mike and stopped beside him.
The two of them stood there silently for a long time.
But Mike still didn't wake up.
Seeing that—
tears slowly began flowing from Sota's eyes.
He lowered his head and buried his face against Medusa's body.
Then—
a tired and dying voice suddenly echoed beside them.
"Ahh…"
"It feels good to see…"
"That someone actually cried for my death…"
The moment Sota heard that voice—
his eyes widened.
He immediately turned toward Mike.
Mike's eyes had opened slightly.
Without thinking—
Sota rushed toward him and fell on top of him while crying loudly.
"Mike…"
"You're finally okay…"
Medusa quietly watched everything before slowly sitting down on the ground.
"…Hmmm…"
"I need to become stronger…"
"If I want to protect the people around me…"
Mike and Medusa's eyes met for a brief moment.
Mike looked at him and gave a tired smile before slowly closing his eyes again.
"…So I really do have friends after all."