Supreme Magus novel Chapter 159

Lith’s mind wouldn’t have spun so fast not even if his little brother Carl suddenly resurrected in front of him. At least in such case he would only experience two conflicting feelings: disbelief and joy.

Instead, his thoughts were subverted into a chaotic maelstrom. Nurture and nature were clashing like never before, uncapable of finding a common ground.

- "I have to save him. I have dedicated most of this live saving strangers, even when they could not afford to pay. Hating humans is all right, but a two years old kid?

My biggest gripe with children is them being noisy and obnoxious, hence I never wanted to have kids of my own. But killing one is another matter entirely. What will happen to his parents and siblings if I let him die? Will they by scarred by their beloved’s death, like it happened to me?" -

This was the reasoning of his healer side, the one that had been raised with love and affection by his family over the past twelve years. Its arguments were solid, Lith had experienced first hand the pain of loss, the suffering of a mother that could only watch her daughter die slowly.

He was unwilling to make someone else go through such experience out of mere egotism.

- "It’s no big deal. The weak are bound to suffer and are always the first to die, It’s the law of the jungle. I don’t know and don’t care for him. Saving him would be reckless. First, I would show Kilian that I am capable of healing the parasites on my own.

Second, this kid is not like me. If he gains any sort of power, he will become a threat to himself and others. There are countless risks and no rewards. Good deeds never go unpunished, if I help him, I’ll pay the price." –

The arguments of his ’human’ side were solid as well. Lith actually didn’t care about strangers, he never did. When he had helped them in the past, there was always a hidden agenda behind his actions.

He was no hero, he had killed countless times and never lost a single night sleep.

While his mind was frozen, his body acted out of habit, taking the child from the guard’s arms and placing him on the table to evaluate his conditions. The number of parasites was low, the child was so magically weak that they couldn’t thrive in his body.

Yet twenty-two worms were enough to downgrade the mana core below the red level. It wasn’t black, he wouldn’t turn into an Abomination. The core had shrunk to the size of a pinhole, turning completely grey. Only a few deep red streaks remained, while the rest was losing its density.

The grey parts were foggy, not because of the toxins, but because the core was falling apart.

- "There’s no reason to argue, you dimwits." Lith’s logical side chimed in, shutting up every other voice in his head not with feelings or pessimism, but with cold facts.

"Unless his core possesses outstanding recovery abilities, he is as good as dead. The most merciful thing we can do is put him out of his misery." –

Lith would have expected that not having a choice anymore in the matter would make him feel relieved, instead it only made things worse.

- "There are so many things that I still ignore. Maybe I’m wrong, and the kid can still be saved. It’s the first time I encounter a situation like this, I can’t be sure unless I try. On the other hand, this is a unique opportunity to experiment on what happens when a core turns grey." –

His inner conflict lasted barely a few seconds, but to those present, Lith seemed to have stopped for hours.

"Is there something you can do?" Kilian’s voice was dispirited. Knowing Lith, he assumed that all was lost. It was only a matter of time before plague started to reap the youngest among the infected.

"Don’t you know light magic’s first rule? If the patient is still breathing, there’s always hope. Why are you doing nothing?" Nindra wasn’t a healer, but she had great respect for them, as for Lith.

She couldn’t believe the situation was beyond his abilities. Before meeting him, she had already resigned to live her last days in captivity. She was aware that without a cure, the plague or the Kingdom would have sooner or later killed her.

He had given her hope.

Lith had no answer to their questions, torn apart by his selfishness and the desire to become a better person. Someone real, that his loved ones could be proud of, instead of the mask he used to deceive the world.

He started sweating profusely, yet he felt a cold sensation in the pit of his stomach, like needles were prickling him from the inside. His guts twisted in a painful knot.

- "Solus, what should I do? I never wanted for any of this to happen, there is no contingency plan."

"It’s not something for me to decide. I’m your companion, but the life is yours. I know that it’s probably the scariest situation you’ve ever encountered, there is no lying or killing your way out of it.

"Not good. Even after you took out the toxins, the mana core has yet to show any sign of recovery." – _{ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom}