Chapter 44: The Twins

Raphael pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose before turning toward Leon, who was standing beside him.

"Ready, Number Three?"

Leon couldn’t hide his annoyance anymore and huffed irritably. "Don’t you think this dungeon is dark enough without wearing those sunglasses?"

Raphael adjusted his sunglasses with a smug smile. "Come on... I need to arrive coolly."

Their conversation was interrupted when Evan suddenly rushed forward.

His figure flashed across the dungeon, moving so quickly that Lumi barely had time to react.

"Look out!"

Raphael’s expression changed instantly. He pushed his sunglasses higher as Evan’s attack came straight toward them.

Leon stepped forward at the same time, his expression turning serious. "Here he comes."

The three Sentinels collided in the middle of the ruined dungeon.

Raphael barely managed to block Evan’s first strike, the force sending him skidding several meters across the floor. His sunglasses nearly slipped from his face, but he caught them with one hand before they could fall.

"Whoa..."

Leon rushed forward before Evan could follow, throwing a powerful strike toward his side. Evan twisted away at the last second, then retaliated with a burst of electricity that forced Leon to raise his arm and shield his face. The shockwave pushed both Leon and Raphael backward, leaving cracks across the already damaged floor.

"His power is even worse than before!" Leon shouted.

Raphael wiped the dust from his cheek and glanced toward Evan.

"Then stop complaining and keep him busy, Number Three."

"You’re the one who keeps getting thrown around!"

"Hello!" Raphael tilted his head in disagreement. "I’m still standing strong. Don’t throw around words like that. Otherwise, tomorrow we’ll have another rumor saying, *’The Number Two’s third screw came loose during his fight with the arrogant Number One—’"

He barely finished his sentence before Evan suddenly rushed toward him.

"Whoa—!"

Raphael barely raised his arms before Evan’s fist slammed into them.

BAM!

The impact sent him flying backward, his body crashing into the dungeon wall. His sunglasses were knocked from his face and went flying across the floor before skidding several meters away.

Raphael stared after them in disbelief. "My poor sunglasses..."

Leon glanced at him. "Can you be serious for once!"

"They’re expensive!"

"You’re being attacked by the strongest Sentinel in the Empire!"

Raphael pushed himself away from the wall, his expression turning serious as he looked toward Evan. ℴℴ𝘮

"Fine." He rolled his shoulders. "Let’s deal with Number One first."

Leon glanced toward Celestine.

She stood a short distance away, looking surprisingly calm despite the chaos around them. However, the way she pressed her lips together every few seconds betrayed the tension she was trying to hide.

"I heard you have a healing ability." He muttered.

Celestine’s expression shifted slightly.

"Heal your twin while we distract Evan. She needs to recover enough to Guide him later."

Lumi, who had been listening from nearby, suddenly raised her gaze.

Her eyes went straight to Celestine. "You... have a healing ability too?"

Celestine’s lips parted, but she didn’t answer immediately. She lowered her gaze toward Lumi’s injured arms before glancing at Leon.

"All right."

Slowly, Celestine crouched down beside Lumi. Her expression remained calm, but her voice dropped into a quiet whisper that only the two of them could hear. "Just heal your own injuries now... or else the Pei family will be ruined."

Lumi frowned, her face tightening from the pain in her arms as she looked at Celestine.

"I don’t know how to heal, even for my own injuries. They always healed by themselves before, and with injuries like this... it would probably take more than an hour."

"You’re really an idiot..." Celestine rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Do this..."

She carefully took Lumi’s injured wrist and adjusted her arm into a more comfortable position.

"If you have a healing ability, you can’t just sit there and wait for your body to recover. You need to consciously activate it."

Lumi blinked, "Activate it?"

"Close your eyes and focus on the injured area first. Don’t think about the pain. Feel where your Guiding energy is gathering."

"But I don’t have Guiding energy."

Celestine paused for a moment.

"That’s what makes you strange." She clicked her tongue before continuing. "The textbook says healing Guides need to direct their Guiding energy toward the damaged area. You have to imagine the energy spreading through the injury, repairing the damaged tissue little by little."

Lumi listened carefully.

Celestine continued, speaking quickly because they didn’t have much time.

"First, calm your breathing. Then focus on the place that hurts the most. Don’t try to heal everything at once. Start with the worst injury and let your ability respond naturally."

Lumi nodded slowly. "After that?"

"Once you can feel something moving inside your body, guide it toward the injury. Don’t force it. Healing isn’t about pushing more energy into the wound. It’s about letting your Guiding energy recognize what needs to be repaired."

Celestine glanced toward Evan and the two Sentinels struggling to restrain him.

Her voice became more urgent.

"And don’t stop just because the pain becomes worse at first. According to the textbook, healing can temporarily make the injured area feel more painful because the damaged tissue is responding."

Lumi swallowed. "So I just... concentrate?"

"Yes." Celestine released her wrist and looked directly into her eyes. "Concentrate, breathe, and don’t panic. If your ability really is a healing ability, your body should respond."

Lumi slowly closed her eyes. She took a careful breath.

For the first time, instead of simply waiting for her wounds to heal on their own, she tried to feel what was happening inside her body.

Nothing.

Lumi frowned and concentrated harder.

Still nothing.

She couldn’t feel any energy gathering in her body, nor could she sense anything moving toward her injured arms. There was no warmth, no strange sensation, nothing at all.

She opened her eyes and looked at Celestine helplessly. "I don’t feel anything..."

Celestine’s lips trembled slightly, as though she was desperately holding back a curse. "You’re really hopeless..."

Lumi blinked.

Celestine clenched her teeth before finally whispering through them, "That’s because you don’t even believe you have that ability, moron."

Lumi stared at her.

"Believe in your power!" Celestine grabbed Lumi’s shoulders and gave her a small shake, her voice becoming more urgent.

"You’ve been treating your healing like some strange thing that just happens to you whenever you’re injured. How do you expect to control it if you don’t even believe it’s yours?"

Lumi’s eyes widened.

Celestine released her and pointed toward her injured arms.

"Stop thinking about whether it will work. Stop thinking about whether you have Guiding energy. You have the ability, Lumi. Believe in it."