Chapter 120: Healing the scars

As Aiden scanned through the unconscious beaten and tortured bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Norton, he had doubts that they could come back from this damage. They were quite advanced in years after all.

With doubts filling his thoughts, he faced Number 3 and voiced them.

"Are they really going to be okay? These wounds doesn't seem to be light injuries. Can they really come back from this?"

Number 3 smiled at the question and didn't say anything. Raising her right hand, a small crystal jar materialized with thick light green cream inside. Throwing it to the boy, she spoke.

"Break the chains and lie the body down. Then use that ointment and anoint it all over it. Make sure you cover all the damaged areas. Be thorough!"

Catching the flying jar, Aiden opened its lid. As its gust pervaded his nose, he couldn't help but hum contentedly. Although he wouldn't be able to discern all the ingredients, he could smell a mixture of several herbs that could also be found in the forest. At the very least, he recognized one particular smell, those dark red flowers, the Devil Cloves that they used to make Health Potions in the past.

"What is this? It has such a strong smell…" he voiced his thoughts. 

In response, Number 3 lightly giggled, before she eventually replied. 

"That's a healing salve that was created by your Granny. She prepared it for Lily, but it seems we have a better use for it now. It will heal all the superficial wounds on the body and help restore a tiny bit of vitality to them. Just enough for us to take them to the closest temple."

Hearing the response, Aiden was confused once again.

"Temple? Why would we take them to the temple?"

"Oh boy, sometimes I forget how clueless you can actually be about worldly matters, Aiden…" Number 3 answered with a light sigh, as he materialized another jar with the very same colored cream. 

"Temples are what ordinary folk like them use for healing. There are several types of priests, but the most common one you can find in cities will be the followers of Calistril, the Goddess of Light."

Seeing that the boy was still looking at her with eager eyes, even though his expressions were hidden behind the white mask.

"Don't just stand there, start working Aiden! Meanwhile, you can ask if you have questions, I'm your master, I will answer to the best of my abilities."

"Oh yes, sorry," Aiden asked perplexed. He then walked up to Mr. Norton's hanging body, and while supporting it with his own, he grabbed and tore the chains off one by one. 

Watching the scene, Number 3 only smiled under the mask. It was always a sight to see such a young man exerting such incredible strength with no effort at all. Then she followed suit, and with a wave of both of her hands, the 4 small transparent blades made out of energy formed next to the chains. 

At the same time, the same gust of wind that carried the orb of light moved forward, stopping in front of the hanging unconscious lady. When she clenched her fists all four energy blades struck down and cut the chains holding the body. The body didn't fall down but was gently carried by the gust of wind, carefully placing it on the floor.

Aiden, who had already placed the body of Mr. Norton to the floor already, was focusing on the scene. Even if his system can't assist him in learning these magical abilities, he still wished to grab every chance and study as much as he could.

Number 3 noticed his disciple's eager gaze but didn't say anything to it. She simply smiled under her mask. Then taking off the tattered remains of Mrs. Norton's clothing, she quickly made her upper torso barren.

"You know, it's rude to peek on a lady, Aiden. Even if she is an elder, you should still give the minimum courtesy." She cheekily said, as she opened the lid on the ointment, and started her work in smearing it all over the body.

Startled, Aiden immediately shifted his focus back to the body in front of him. 

"S-sorry! I wasn't looking at her, I...I…" he panicked and tried to voice his thoughts with a bit of struggle. 

"Relax, I was just having fun, boy!" Number 3 replied with a chuckle. Then as she was working on Mrs. Norton's upper torso, she continued. 

"However, you should really start smearing it all over his body. If you wish to save him, that is."

With the reminder, Aiden once again focused his attention on the body in front of him. Tearing the tattered remains of his torn linen shirt, he quickly stripped it clean. 

Grabbing a big portion of the light green cream from the opened jar he looked at the body, thinking about where to start.

'I should probably go from top to bottom… I guess.'

Following his own advice, he smeared the cream lightly starting from Mr. Norton's neckline, going in a clockwise circular motion. As the cream slowly, gradually created a thin layer on the first wounded area, a light chemical reaction started. 

As the cream came into contact with the wound, it started sizzling, creating light greenish foam around the surface. White thick steam was released from the reaction, that Aiden first almost mistook for smoke, as he carefully watched the event play out. 

"Don't be alerted, that's a completely normal reaction Aiden." Suddenly he was woken from his reverie by Number 3's calm voice. "It just means that the salve is working, and it is healing the body. Continue working, don't stop now."

"Yes, master." Aiden curtly answered along with a light nod and grabbed another portion of cream from the jar.

He continued smearing it all over the body, covering it with a thin layer of the cream, making sure to cover all the wounded areas. He only stopped when the jar was completely empty. 

"Great job, Aiden! Now we just need to give it a bit of time for the cream to do it's magic, then we can safely move them." Number 3's voice came from behind him, as he straightened his back.

Aiden silently nodded and watched as the green foam slowly covered both bodies. 

After a while, he looked at his master who came to sit by his right side in the meantime.

"Master, can I ask?" he asked.

Facing her disciple, Number 3 answered with a gentle voice.

"Of course, Aiden. I already told you, you can ask anything, I will do my best to help."

"Why do humans do these to each other?" Aiden asked with a grave tone.

"What do you mean, Aiden." Instead of answering, Number 3 gave another question to the boy.

"I… I don't know, Master. I don't understand, why would you do this to your own kind? Other animals don't hunt each other, they try to work together to survive…"

"No Aiden, that's not true. Even animals kill their own, if the situation requires it. If a new alpha replaces the old, it will usually kill every child in the group just to make sure his bloodline will be the one that continues. This simple statement is true for many species."

"Yes, that may be true, but they only do it for survival. Humans kill each other for fun, for sport. There's no logic or reasoning behind it…" Aiden answered with a sad, dejected tone.

"This is the bane for the civilized, more intelligent species. Your view of the world is still too narrow to make such statements. There are myriads of species in this world, how can you say that humans are the only ones that kill and hunt their own for fun?" 

Hearing her master speak, Aiden's thoughts started to travel far away. He realized that she was right, his view and knowledge was very limited. He already had a thirst for knowledge, and for that, he had to experience more of what is out there!

"Yes…" He muttered to himself for a long time. 

Patting his back, Number 3 slowly got up from the ground. 

"You will have more opportunities in the future, don't worry. For now, however, let's go back, they should be healed enough to hold out until we reach the nearest church." 

She materialized another black glass crystal into her right hand and crushed it. As the black energy gate formed in front of her, she walked to the lying woman. She carefully put her arms under the body of Mrs. Norton and lifted it into a princess carry. Then turning around, she looked at the boy, who was still lost in thoughts.

"Go, pick up the other one, we should leave. We can talk more later!" she spoke with a louder tone, startling and waking the boy.

"Yes, sorry." Aiden answered, and following his master's action, he also lifted the body into the same pose. 

With one last look, they both stepped into the gate, and quietly left this underground hell hole.