Lying on the ground, Yukina Himeragi kept channeling Spiritual Energy into her arms, trying to crawl to her feet. If she could just stand and fight back, her martial arts skills alone would be enough to easily take down a Therianthrope, even without using Spiritual Energy.
But the numbing sensation coursing through her body left her completely powerless, and her mind grew increasingly foggy.
With great effort, she lifted her head and could only see the figure of the Therianthrope who had evaded her earlier scan, sitting behind the door and raising his gun.
"Whoosh!"
Another tranquilizer dart struck her back. Yukina Himeragi felt her limbs growing heavier by the second. Her Spiritual Energy was still accessible, but she couldn't overcome the paralysis spreading through her body… No, the more she tried to channel her Spiritual Energy, the stronger the numbness became.
By the time she realized what was happening, it was already too late. The anesthetic, specially designed to target ability users, had merged with her Spiritual Energy and was spreading throughout her body as she tried to use it.
Perhaps recognizing that Yukina Himeragi had completely lost the ability to resist, the standing Therianthrope stopped firing. Instead, he advanced slowly, keeping his gun trained on her.
I'm done for.
Watching him slowly approach, Yukina Himeragi lamented inwardly, then finally lost consciousness.
"Whoosh!" "Thud!"
Another whistling sound cut through the air, followed immediately by the thud of a heavy object hitting the ground.
"Yukina, Yukina, wake up! Wake up!"
Bursting through the door—which now had a large hole—and ignoring the Therianthropes lying on the ground, Sayaka Kirasaka lifted the unconscious Yukina Himeragi and shook her repeatedly.
"…I think instead of shaking her like that, you should pull the two needles out of her back first."
Standing outside, Cid's lips twitched as he pointed silently at the two gleaming silver needles protruding from Yukina Himeragi's back.
"Oh, right."
Only after Cid's reminder did Sayaka Kirasaka hurriedly remove the needles.
But the moment they were pulled out, her expression darkened. She helped Yukina Himeragi lean against the wall, then hurried to the Therianthrope she had shot down. She grabbed the long spear he had been holding and inspected it closely, her face growing grimmer by the second.
"Damn it! Where did these Therianthropes get this thing? Were they trying to kill Yukina?!"
Seeing Sayaka Kirasaka's expression, Cid raised an eyebrow and stepped closer.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with it?"
"There's a problem—a huge one."
Fury practically radiating from her eyes, Sayaka Kirasaka clenched her jaw and handed one of the silver needles from the spear to Cid.
"It's a military-controlled weapon from Netheril—a true mage-killer. Its defining feature is poison.
If someone is hit and doesn't receive the antidote within twenty-four hours, their extraordinary career is over. The poison destroys the meridians, making it impossible to channel Spiritual Energy.
Once the meridians are destroyed, the limbs become useless, leaving the person a cripple for life.
Damn it! How did these Therianthropes even get this? Even on the black market, it's incredibly rare."
By the time she finished speaking, Sayaka Kirasaka's voice was thick with rage.
Cid, however, shifted his gaze to the right, his expression showing complete indifference.
"So, what's the plan now? Escape first or rescue Yukina Himeragi? I'm fine either way."
Given Yukina Himeragi's current condition, it was clearly impossible to follow the earlier plan of simply finding her and leaving.
With such an extremely rare and potent poison, the antidote must be equally scarce. After all, if the antidote were easy to obtain, the poison would be useless.
Rescuing Yukina Himeragi now would likely lead to a grim outcome—they might not be able to find the antidote, leaving her doomed to a life as a cripple.
If there's anywhere on this island that might have an antidote for this poison, it's almost certainly here.
Although he had never bought weapons on the black market, Cid knew that Netheril's after-sales service for black-market weapons was even better than what was offered openly.
With a weapon as deadly as this, given Netheril's standards on the black market, there was a high chance the antidote would be sent along with the weapon to the buyer.
Faced with Cid's question, Sayaka Kirasaka gripped her longsword tightly. After a moment's thought, she clenched her teeth and looked at him.
"Do you know the online address for Netheril's black market transactions?"
"I, I guess I do."
Better to double-check with Gamma. They work closely with those Witches and should know the black market address.
"…I'll take your word for it. Here, take this."
Cid's evasive, half-hearted reply left her speechless, but the situation was urgent. Suppressing her urge to argue, she pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to him.
"All the money the Lion King Organization has sent me over the past few years is on this card. Once you're out, use it to order the antidote from Netheril. Make sure they deliver it today."
"Um… okay…"
Holding the card, Cid's gaze flicked repeatedly between it and Sayaka Kirasaka.
"What if the money isn't enough?"
"Well…"
Sayaka Kirasaka froze for a moment, then quickly snapped back, a twitch at the corner of her eye.
"If the money isn't enough, call the number I gave you earlier. Explain Yukina's situation to the person on the other end—they'll cover the rest. Is that okay?"
"That works. But why do I have to go get the antidote? Why can't you do it yourself?"
"You can't put all your eggs in one basket. Just in case, I'll seize the antidote here, and you go out and try to buy one."
She lifted her longsword and walked toward the door, her anger sharpening into a cold, murderous intent.
"Wait!"
Cid called out to her.
"What is it? I thought I made myself perfectly clear."
"I'm coming with you."
Sayaka Kirasaka froze, then realized his meaning and her face darkened with fury.
"Didn't you hear me? I'm going to seize the antidote from the Therianthropes. You take Yukina and leave—try to buy the antidote from Netheril…"
"Don't you think there's a possibility that even with the money from that person you mentioned, we still won't have enough to buy the antidote?"
Cid interrupted her in a low, calm voice, offering a unique explanation.
"Huh? How is that possible? I've checked black market prices for weapons like this. They're not exactly cheap, but not exactly expensive either. Either way, the antidote can't possibly cost more than the weapon."
"Hah, don't jump to conclusions just because you don't know Netheril."
"You make it sound like you know Netheril pretty well."
"I think I do."
Cid had never been to the black market, but he was familiar with its prices.
Judging by the toxin that had brought Yukina Himeragi down in seconds, even a crude application made it more than enough to qualify as an S-class poison. And S-class poisons on the black market? Anywhere from one hundred million to one billion yen.
Running his fingers over the silver needle, Cid channeled his Magical Power into it to sense the poison.
He detected two components inside: ninety-nine percent poison and one percent antidote.
A possibility flashed through his mind. Could it be that this poison originally had no "detox window" at all, and the twenty-four-hour window was only established after being diluted?
Why dilute it?
That was a question worth pondering.
In any case, based on his calculations and his understanding of Netheril, the antidote's true value should exceed thirty billion.
What made it even more outrageous was that Netheril's black market didn't accept currency—only hard currency. To complete a transaction quickly, they'd have to pay a premium when acquiring supplies from the Mitsugoshi Company.
Cid didn't need to worry about that; since he knew Gamma, he could buy it at the original price.
"So the only way to save Yukina right now is to defeat them and steal their antidote, right?"
"If I'm not mistaken, that's correct. Of course, I could be wrong—maybe the antidote is surprisingly cheap."
Cid nodded firmly, clarifying that it was just his speculation.
"Huh…"
Taking a deep breath, Sayaka Kirasaka gripped her massive sword even tighter. Although Cid had mentioned the possibility of being wrong, both her intuition and rational mind told her he was probably right.
"Can you help me?"
Gritting her teeth, Sayaka Kirasaka bowed slightly and repeated her request to Cid. She knew well that the only person who could truly help her now was him. With her own strength, she had no guarantee of securing the antidote.
Earlier, she had assumed Yukina had been rescued and that the antidote could be purchased externally, which was why she had planned to storm the terrorist base alone: to save Yukina, to fulfill her duties as a Lion King Organization combat mage, and to avoid dragging Cid into the mess.
But now, awakened by Cid's words, she realized this was no time for stubbornness. She needed help.
"Let's go. We have a deal: you keep this a secret, and I'll help you rescue Yukina Himeragi."
Shrugging his shoulders, Cid hoisted Yukina Himeragi onto his back, then picked up the Sekkarou lying nearby and stepped in front of Sayaka Kirasaka.
Seeing this, Sayaka hurried to follow, her eyes darting away as she spoke sheepishly.
"I'll definitely repay you for your help someday."
…
"Tap, tap, tap…"
One hand tapped a virtual keyboard in the air, while the other traced the spells continuously appearing, rearranging and combining them into new sequences.
Finally, as the spells fused, they formed a single, distinct incantation, which Asagi Aiba inscribed into the black crystal.
"Snap, snap, snap…"
"Hahaha, Miss Weaver, your ability is truly extraordinary! No wonder Netheril recommended you. Even Netheril's Witches couldn't accomplish this in such a short time, yet you did it in just over ten minutes. It's truly a miracle."
Applause came from the side. The rough Therianthrope voice was clearly meant as praise, but it did nothing to lift Asagi Aiba's mood.
Frowning, she tossed the black crystal at Gardos and spoke irritably.
"It's just imitation. Here, take it. Get it out of here."
"No rush, no rush…"
Gardos caught the black crystal, shaking his head slightly. His gaze was locked on Asagi Aiba, a predatory grin flashing across his face.
"I'd like to ask you a question, Weaver. Are you certain there's nothing wrong with this? It's not that I don't trust you, but you make it hard to believe."
"There's no problem this time. To be precise, the ones I gave you before were problematic only because you tried to renege on the deal. If you had honored the transaction, I would've modified the spell formula in the crystal on the spot."
"Ahaha, that's good to hear. After all, if there were any issues this time, I'd have no choice but to blow this place up to clear my head."
Gardos pulled a photograph from his chest, issuing a cold threat.
Seeing it, Asagi Aiba's face twisted with anger. She clenched her fists tightly, then relaxed them after a moment.
"Now that I've got what I came for, just get me out of here. Every second I spend with you is pure torture."
Her behavior—almost pointing at him and yelling—angered Gardos slightly, but he kept his composure. Glancing at the time, he finally spoke seriously.
"Miss Spellweaver, you may have some misunderstandings about us. I think we need to clear them up. As it happens, I have a little time to explain everything slowly."
"Ugh, can you drop the phony act? If you have an agenda, just say it. This is making me sick."
"Alright, alright. It seems Miss Weaver doesn't like long-winded speeches, so I'll get straight to the point.
Join us, Miss Weaver. I need your talent—the only one of its kind in the world. With your help, once our plan succeeds, we will establish a kingdom exclusively for Therianthropes, and you will be the only Human within it."
"Hah… that's truly disgusting. Why do you think I lack offers from other factions? And talking about establishing a Therianthropes kingdom? You're really jumping the gun. What do you plan to build it on? Just your status as a terrorist?"
With a cold laugh, Asagi Aiba mocked Gardos openly.
"It seems the Weaver doesn't believe me. No problem, we can wait. But let me make one thing clear: what you want is extremely rare. If you want it, Weaver, you'll have to join us."
"Wasn't pulling a fast one once enough?"
"..."
Gardos' face darkened. Asagi Aiba's repeated snubs had exhausted all his patience. With a wave of his hand, a Therianthrope strode forward, pulling out a rope to bind her.
"Miss Weaver, you're not thinking clearly right now, which is why you're making this choice. It's fine; I can wait patiently until you come to your senses, then I'll let you go."
Seeing the Therianthrope approaching, Asagi Aiba knew she was no match and allowed herself to be bound without resistance.
"You use coercion yet frame it with such high-sounding justifications—it's despicable. Even when doing wrong, you have to beat around the bush.
Still, I'm curious to see how you plan to convince me."
Before leaving, Asagi Aiba let out a final scornful remark.