At that very moment I became momentarily deaf, and my head involuntarily fell to the ground. But even when my forehead hit the earth, even with a little force, I could barely feel anything.
The full activation of the spell, Drake's roar of pain, or my brain partially shutting down so I could endure the pain of having my arm and leg straightened without any ceremony, was probably a combination of all of them. But I know that even in that state, my sense of touch was still functioning, albeit partially.
Through it I could feel the constant vibrations of Drake struggling, even though I couldn't lift my head even an inch.
Seconds or even minutes must have passed like that.
When I finally regained my hearing, I could immediately tell that I could move both my arm and leg again. However, before I could check how they were, a shockwave hit my body.
Well, not a real one, it was a sound wave that had almost become physical.
"WWWWHHHHHHAAAAAANNNNNNNGGGGG WWSWWWHHHHHHHAAAANNNGGG!!!!"
Finally raising my head, I could see exactly the extent of the damage that the [shadow healing] had caused Drake after transferring the damage he had inflicted on me. In one word, overkill. In two, not enough.
A few hundred meters ahead, Drake continued to struggle, raising a light cloud of dust, but even with it, the damage was visible. His left front paw had at least two places where the bone was protruding from the tough skin along with blood.
'Huh! Not a good feeling, huh, gecko?'
The left hind leg was a little better; it didn't have any bones sticking out like the front one, but it was clearly broken or, at the very least, dislocated. I can only guarantee that it was useless, just like the front one, and I suspected that perhaps some of its ribs had also suffered some damage.
Standing up again, I slightly moved the newly healed leg and my arm to check how much I could use them, not much it seemed. I still felt a kind of resistance and weight in them and couldn't bend them much. But at least they were usable, just not as much as I would have liked; it was like having a numb limb (two limbs in this case) but without tingling.
Looking closely, I saw that most of the remaining standing parts of the UPA had fallen to the ground, including the place where Impeto was using as a platform. I despaired for a moment until I saw a flash of light a little further to the left.
Impeto and Lumi were near one of the few remaining trees, a little distance from Drake in one of the destroyed houses.
How had a beagle disappeared into a tree?
No idea, and it didn't matter, the two were safe and sound... for now. Below, a small group of kobolds were trying to climb, but Lumi kept stopping them with her glowing balls, and when they tried to throw something, Impeto stopped them with small fireballs.
'Clever, the chances of setting the tree on fire doing that are lowered.'
Since they didn't seem to be in immediate danger, I looked back at Drake and thought about what to do.
As serious as the damage caused by transferring some of the damage from my body was, even though it wasn't a complete transfer like what happened with Impeto. Probably because the Drake was still strong when I used the spell and... well... it's a Drake, right?
Even so, it wouldn't be enough to kill him. It would only make him considerably slower and temporarily incapacitate him.
'..... But I could use this time to grab the stone and run like a madman, as I should have done from the beginning. Or take the risks and finish off Drake now.'
Frankly, the first option is the most sensible and rational possible, so why am I even really considering the second?
1. Drake's base is dangerously close to our house. And I doubt he'd stay quietly here on the hill with his kobolds after I took the big red magic stone.
2. Even if, for some insane reason, he didn't actively expand his hunting territory, the kobolds serving him would probably do so eventually when their population increased. How long would it take them to find our house and attack when we were vulnerable?
Of course, we have the protection our hand put in place thanks to the [Civil] work. But would that withstand constant waves of kobolds at the commander's level or Drake's own attacks?
3. Drake, like dragons, has highly developed senses, although drakes generally don't possess the intelligence or wisdom of dragons, but he would certainly be intelligent enough to remember the scent of the person (dhampir) who caused him tremendous agony and even robbed him. The chances of him hunting me down the instant he recovered, simply for the pleasure of slaughtering me, were not at all small.
'Therefore, the best chance to keep my family safe is to finish him off now.'
And there's still an attack method that's probably effective against him. On the way to where Impeto and Lumi were, I could see the remains of the kobolds that were residing on this side. Magic stones the size of thumbs, weapons, and some stranger loot, like an eye here, some fangs and claws there, the hide of a kobold further away.
'How did they kill so many in that time?'
Be that as it may, I arrived behind the kobolds who didn't seem to care about me, either distracted by the sounds of Drake struggling or simply intent on eliminating those responsible for killing several of their own.
[MP: 28/100]
'Tsk, won't be able to use much.'
Using only 3 MP I prepared a [shadow slash] that would be quick, sharp, and wide, but with a range of only 5 meters.
"[Shadow Slash]"
[Kobolt soldier eliminated. Experience gained]
[Kobolt soldier eliminated. Experience gained.]
[Kobolt soldier eliminated. Experience gained.]
[Kobolt soldier eliminated...]
Immediately, of the 14 kobolts surrounding them, 7 fell at the same time. Turning to me, they froze for a moment, which Lumin took advantage of and used several [shining balls] on them. Impeto jumped with his sharp claws, already beheading two more.
[Your hired animal, Impeto, eliminated kobolt soldier.] [Shared experience gained.]
[Your hired animal, Impeto, eliminated a kobold soldier. Shared experience gained.]
[Your hired animal, Impeto, leveled up.]
The others were easily eliminated, less than 5 seconds to take down 5 kobolds.
'We've become professionals at this point.'
With things "safe," I grabbed Lumi from the tree and brought him down to the ground.
"Alright, you two, time to finish this once and for all. Ready?"
They looked at each other as if to say: What the ******* hell was this ******** talking about?
With my thumb pointing back, I indicated the struggling Drake and said,
"Let's make sure that idiot can't find our house. And as a bonus, get an extra big magic stone to compensate for all this mess. How about that?"
The two didn't know what magic stones were, but when I sent a picture of one to Impeto, he understood and "explained" it to Lumi. Instantly, they both became excited and ready for action.
"Great, we're going to do the following."
I explained the plan I had made to them, literally as I was walking towards them and saw the Drake struggling.
I realized that he wasn't doing it just because of the pain, or to try to get back on his feet; I realized that he was desperately trying to cover the "lump" in his throat.
I don't know if it was instinctive or deliberate, but in either case it was obvious that this was a point he definitely didn't want so exposed. So obviously we're going to hit it right there, hit it until we open a wound that will give a "path" to the Drake's insides.
The Drake's hide and scales are tough, but once you manage to open even a slightly larger cut, would the flesh be too?.
'Let's find out'
I thought, smiling, a smile that I have no doubt looked demonic to anyone else who saw me now.