"If I trust you... won't you run away?"

Shirei moved his head, "No."

Ien's daughter decided to move away and held Dalia still, "Chris, let's do what he says."

Corgi's son pulled out a golden device which he threw shortly after. The object wrapped around Shirei's ankle and anchored him to the dying ground.

"Thank Lorenzo Scala for that. This guy is bleeding and you might as well let him walk around."

It was then that a dark wave hit everyone present, pushing them away. Around them, most of the trees withered and crumbled, making that area a dead clearing in the middle of the lush forest of the Lilies Park. Shirei moved his gaze towards the other demigods and saw the astonished expression on their faces. Marina didn't know what to say, she looked at the ground and the withered flowers, then at the trees. Finally, her eyes landed on Shirei.

"Shirei, you know what? Do what you want," Dalia snapped before running away.

"No! Hey! He's still bleeding, you can't let him go like that!"

"Let him kill himself if that's what he wants, I'm tired of his secrets."

Cragar's son tried to get to his feet, but Chris's braces kept him pinned. He wanted to reach Dalia, run after her and try to understand what the problem was. He couldn't comprehend the reasons for her anger and feared that his power had terrified her. Marina looked at him one last time, before running after her friend.

"Vital theft. Nice trick, I have to admit," Chris said, approaching the demigod.

"I think I messed up, didn't I?"

"Friend. If you didn't know, it's serious. Now come to the infirmary and get treated, then you can feel sorry for yourself."

Shirei took one last look at the tree he had sat leaning on earlier. You could still see how, compared to the others, it was the only one still left intact.

"Come on, you're better now, right? Walk alone, let's go to the infirmary," Chris repeated.

Cragar's son simply nodded and trudged after him, the strange artifact still holding onto him.

Shirei and Chris reached the infirmary located in Mardi's children's house for the umpteenth time. The purple-eyed demigod simply lowered his gaze and walked towards the still unmade bed where he had spent the entire night. Taking advantage of the help of Corgi's son, the boy took off his black sweatshirt, leaving the wounds and scars behind his back bare. Chris didn't allow himself to look up but Marina, who was waiting for the right moment to enter, stopped and blushed. The boy noticed her and, if at first he remained still, he managed to hide his emotions.

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"Do my scars bother you?"

Not receiving a response, the boy decided to put on one of the hospital patient clothes, "Thanks, Chris."

"You're welcome, now is the time for self-pity."

Shirei leaned against the cot, "Couldn't you take this off me?"

The son of Corgi smiled, "So you can run away? No, pretty little ghost."

Marina came closer with a gentle expression, "Shirei… now, can you explain to us what happened to you?"

Chris nodded, "I don't know what the doctor nearby is thinking..." he pointed to Luxy, "But I would also like to know who did this to you."

"Apparently everyone is looking for this. How is Dalia?"

Ien's daughter laughed with clear embarrassment, "She locked herself in the thirteenth and didn't even speak to me."

"I want priority, we'll take care of the baby later. First of all, who gave you that wound?" Chris asked before pointing out, "I won't take your anklet off until you answer."

Shirei lowered her gaze, "Leaving aside the details, it's because of yesterday."

Marina sat down next to him, "What do you mean?"

"Do you want to force me to talk so that you can go and report all the information to Lyceum and Aena?"

Both demigods froze. The first to respond was Corgi's son, who raised his hands and prepared to remove the golden anklet. "Look, whatever, I'll get out of it. I prefer Lyceum's punishment to having trouble with you. We're good, right?"

Cragar's son simply nodded.

"Great, then I'll just go. See you!"

Having said those words, Corgi's son immediately ran away.

Luxy, who had followed the entire conversation, bit his tongue: "You know, I have some things to do too..."

Mardi's son hurried away and, after a few moments, the two demigods were left alone.

Marina felt guilty. Of course, what he said was true. Once the explanation was concluded, she would report the events in detail to the goddess of love and the rector of the park. She also wanted to make the boy understand, however, that she was seriously worried about him. It wasn't about personal gain, but about genuine interest in his problems and health. She would have liked him to consider her a friend he could count on.

"I was walking in the direction of Cragar's palace, when something caught my attention and forced me to change my destination."

"What?"

"Some monsters in the Abyss wanted to trap me."

"Wait," Marina moved a little further forward, "Did you go into the Abyss?"

"Yes?"

"B-but the Aby-" she had to calm down, this was not the time to interrupt him and think about something else, "Sorry, go ahead."

"The monsters were waiting for me and attacked me as soon as I entered the Abyss. I thought I would be able to defeat them, but they were sent by someone especially for me. There were more of them than I thought and I couldn't stop them."

"So you ran away?"

"No," the demigod replied, clenching his jaw, "Cragar suddenly appeared and told me to go back to the park since he couldn't cure me."

"The only way to do this was to absorb the life force of the plants."

"Yes, having you next to me would only have exposed you to the danger of being drained dry."

"Shirei..."

Marina smiled sadly and caressed his cheek with her hand. She could feel the cold temperature of Cragar's son's pale skin on her fingertips. Although he was moving towards adulthood, the boy had smooth, fat-free skin. Ien's daughter opened her eyes wide, and froze in that position. Shirei made a confused expression and pulled away, unconvinced by the rather intimate physical contact that had just occurred. Marina remained silent, wondering about what she had just done. She had gone crazy, there was no other explanation.

He moved a few inches further away and looked at the wall in silence.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, before Shirei said, "I think you should go now."

Ien's daughter jumped up, "Right! You are right! Then you'll tell me the rest in detail another time! Bye!"

Without another word, she ran out of the infirmary like a rocket.