At this moment, the Black Magic problem in this area was over, but another problem emerged: the treatment of Till.
Meanwhile, as Ryan was immersed in his random thoughts, the shadow of someone appeared on the horizon.
Ryan turned towards him; it turned out to be Carlos. Having finished examining the sorcerer's corpse, he had finally returned, but as Carlos approached Ryan, he noticed something strange.
"Hey, Ryan, why are you worried? Are you still overthinking what happened a moment ago?" Carlos tried to comfort Ryan with a caring tone: "Don't worry too much, we will find an explanation for what happened."
Ryan interrupted him: "Till!"
Carlos: "What? What about Till?"
Ryan: "He seems to be afflicted by some kind of curse. Some Black Magic has clung to his arm."
Hearing this news was a shock to Carlos as well: "What? A curse? Where is he?"
Carlos rushed towards Till, who was in a coma due to the shock from the massive explosion that had occurred earlier. However, the black markings on his hand were very prominent and emitted an ominous energy. Carlos held Till's hand and tried to examine it.
As Carlos held Till's afflicted hand with both of his, waves of energy surged from his hands. This leaked energy rushed towards the black markings and tried to repel them, but to no avail. However, Carlos's attempt offered slight benefit: it reduced the intensity of the ominous energy emanating from Till's hand.
Tala was surprised by this and asked Carlos: "What did you just do?"
Carlos answered her question clearly: "I pushed my Aether into those engraved markings on Till's hand. That was enough to extinguish the cursed power emanating from his hand. As long as the Aether used is of greater efficiency and quality, the results will be better. However, it only worked because of the power difference between me and Till, nothing more. In the future, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to suppress it, so we must find a solution, and quickly."
"Hmm..." Tala analyzed Carlos's words carefully. At this moment, an idea struck her.
"I found it! I found the solution!"
As soon as Tala said this, Ryan immediately interrupted her: "How? How can this be? Tell me quickly!"
"Hey, hey... Wait, it's not that simple. I will explain it to you. This cure might also only be temporary, and it's not a real cure, but a Seal."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Both Ryan and Carlos were in slight shock upon hearing Tala's words.
"A Seal?"
"Yes, a Seal. Since Carlos was able to suppress the rampage of this curse with his Aether, we might also be able to seal this curse in Till's hand and prevent it from spreading. Currently, I need to develop a tool capable of doing this, so we must return to our headquarters quickly."
Tala's words brought some comfort to the hearts of Ryan and Carlos. As long as there was hope for healing, even if slight, neither of them would hesitate.
"Hmm, alright... Speaking of which, hey Carlos, what happened to that boy you were fighting?"
Hearing this, it was as if a rock had hit Carlos's head.
"Haaah, I completely forgot about him, actually. I tied him up in the nearby area. Well, forget it, I'll go to him. You wait for me here and take care of protecting Tala."
After saying this, Carlos quickly left towards the place where he had left the boy.
In these moments, Ryan was wondering about the identity of the new boy: "Hmm... I wonder what his name is? His age? And what are his favorite meals? Haaah... well, we'll find out soon enough."
"Hello, I hope I didn't take too long."
The boy was truly stubborn. Despite the sorcerer's death and the disappearance of the spell that was controlling the boy, he was still struggling to break free from Carlos's restraints.
"Hah... I'm really sorry, I didn't expect you to keep struggling to this extent."
Snap!
Carlos finally withdrew his restraints from the boy.
Gaaaaaa! A loud, annoying scream.
The boy paid no heed to anything; he just rushed towards Carlos, brandishing his hand, which was covered by the armor resulting from the transformation.
"Hah... it seems you haven't grasped the situation yet."
The boy was about to touch Carlos, but a thin branch suddenly sprang from beneath the ground, wrapping around the boy and obstructing his path. The branch began to thicken and become more rigid as it wrapped around the boy's leg.
Carlos: "Now... would you like to talk for a bit?"
Gaaaaaa! The boy was screaming and trying to grab Carlos despite being restricted in movement.
Carlos: "Heyyy... Wait a moment. The sorcerer is already dead. There's no reason for you to attack me. All I ask is to talk to you, nothing more."
When the boy realized that he was free and able to act according to his will, his appearance looked idiotic compared to when he was screaming and attacking Carlos a moment ago.
"Huh... are you convinced now that I want to talk?"
The boy was ashamed of his actions moments before.
He finally muttered for the first time:
"Tch... you say you want to talk, and yet these stupid branches are wrapped around my leg, holding me upside down!"
Carlos: "Haaah... I'm really sorry, I actually forgot."
The branches that were restraining the boy disappeared, and he finally descended to the ground. He stood on his feet, facing Carlos directly. The looks he cast at Carlos were sharp and carried within them caution and anticipation.
"Now tell me... what is it you want to talk about?"
"Hah... what I want to talk about is..."
The boy cautiously watched Carlos's movements. After all, his experience with him had been very unpleasant, and he realized his inability to defeat him, and even escape would be extremely difficult. Therefore, he agreed to hear Carlos's offer.
Carlos: "Join us."
Haaah?! As soon as he heard this, the boy was utterly shocked. He thought Carlos was just tricking him and wanted to take him somewhere else without trouble.
He quickly adopted a combat stance and raised his guard to the maximum.
"What do you mean by joining you? And there's something else... Who are you, really? And why are you seeking to bring me into your ranks?"
Carlos sighed indifferently.
"Alright, I will answer your questions. What I mean by joining us is... just joining us. And who am I? My name is Carlos, and I am a member of an organization that seeks to crush the Black Magic led by the remnants of the Aerebus Organization. And why do I seek to bring you into our ranks? Because this is the desire of the leader of this organization... to rescue the victims who have been abandoned by the Nine Kingdoms, who have suffered at the hands of Aerebus's remnants, and who have lost the warmth and affection of family... for our organization to be the incubator for them, and the home that shelters them."
"Well... were those answers enough to satisfy your questions?"
After hearing this speech, the expressions of caution on the boy's face lessened, and he returned to his normal self.
"Well... they are satisfactory, but it's not like you want to forcibly recruit me, is it?"
Carlos: "Don't misunderstand things. We are offering you an invitation to join our family. If you have a place you consider family that you can return to, we will not force you to do anything."
After hearing Carlos's last words, all signs of caution and anxiety completely disappeared; the boy seemed relieved to hear this.
Then he answered the offer:
"Well... actually, I don't remember anything about my family or where I came from, so I don't have that place I could call family. If it's possible for you to take me with you, I would be truly grateful."
"Hah..." Carlos sighed as if a burden had been lifted from his heart.
"Alright... now let's go. I will introduce you to the team members as soon as we reach them."
End of Chapter.