Chapter 72: The Storm

That evening, the soft white lights in the hospital room shone down upon the bed near the window. The healing runes along the sides of the bed continued to glow steadily, occasionally emitting a faint hum as they monitored the patient’s heartbeat and Mana flow.

Nivoria awoke amid those sounds.

The instant her eyes opened, her body shot upright on instinct. Agonizing pain surged from her shoulder, abdomen, and both wrists at once, draining what little color remained from her already pale face. The IV line pulled taut, and the device beside the bed let out a shrill warning, but Nivoria paid no attention.

Her pale blue eyes swept across the room in a matter of seconds—from the door and window to the distance separating her from the hallway and the two people standing beside the bed. Finally, her gaze stopped on Erik.

Nivoria’s entire body immediately went rigid.

Fragmented memories flooded back into her mind: the collapsing wall, the Undead, the punishment device, the cross, the flames waiting beneath her feet... and then a pair of arms catching her as her body fell.

A man.

Him.

But the memory did nothing to ease the wariness in Nivoria’s eyes. On the contrary, the longer she stared at Erik, the more her entire body tensed, like a bowstring stretched to its limit.

Elowen, who had been sitting beside the bed, immediately stood. "You’re awake."

Nivoria did not answer. She simply stared at the four people in the room, as if trying to memorize each of their positions before finding an opportunity to escape.

When Erik saw that she was about to rip out her IV, he immediately stepped forward. "Don’t move."

He had just reached out to hold her wrist when Nivoria reacted far faster than someone in her condition should have been capable of. She turned her head and sank her teeth straight into Erik’s hand.

"Erik!" Elowen’s expression changed.

Nivoria’s teeth dug deep into the flesh between his thumb and index finger. Blood immediately welled up and ran down the back of his hand. Erik merely frowned, making no attempt to pull away. Nivoria was too weak right now. If he instinctively used force, even a single tug could injure her jaw or neck further.

Nivoria still refused to let go. Her pale blue eyes glared at Erik with hatred, like a wild animal cornered against a wall. Even though her body was already nearing its limit, she remained ready to bite anyone who came close.

Elowen raised her hand, and a small current of wind immediately curled around her fingertips. "Let him go!"

At that moment, the hospital room door opened. Carmilla and Runi had come running after hearing the alarm. The instant Carmilla saw the blood on Erik’s hand, her expression turned cold. Although her body had not yet fully adjusted to Silver Stage 10, the combat aura that had once belonged to the Succubus War Goddess instinctively erupted.

"Release him." Carmilla stared at Nivoria, her voice quiet but carrying unmistakable pressure.

Runi also moved to one side, blocking the path between Nivoria and the door. In Nivoria’s eyes, the sealed room instantly became a cage: three Succubi, one man, and no obvious way out. Her breathing grew increasingly rapid, and her teeth sank even deeper.

"That’s enough," Erik said.

Elowen turned to him. "But she’s biting you."

"I know."

"You’re bleeding."

"I haven’t lost the hand yet."

Elowen fell silent, though she was clearly still unhappy. Erik stopped looking at the wound and met Nivoria’s gaze instead, his voice remaining as calm as before. "No one is going to hit you."

Nivoria showed no reaction.

Erik continued, "You want me to stay away?"

Her eyes finally wavered slightly.

"All right." Erik did not pull his hand free. He simply remained standing in front of the bed. "I’ll stay right here."

Several seconds passed. Perhaps realizing that the man before her truly had no intention of attacking or restraining her, Nivoria slowly loosened her bite. At last, she released him and retreated toward the headboard. Blood immediately ran down Erik’s wrist, while Nivoria panted heavily, that one action having consumed far too much of her strength.

Erik picked up a towel from the table and pressed it against the wound, examining the deep bite marks on his hand. Then he looked at Nivoria again. "All right. I won’t touch you without permission again."

Nivoria’s eyes froze. He did not blame her, lose his temper, or demand an apology.

Elowen took Erik’s hand, frowned at the bite, then turned toward Nivoria. "If you don’t want him touching you, just say so."

Nivoria remained silent for a moment before asking hoarsely, "Do men... listen?"

Elowen paused.

Nivoria gave a faint smile. It was so cold that it held almost no emotion at all. "I told them many times. They never listened."

The room suddenly fell silent. Carmilla, whose expression had remained cold, slowly withdrew her aura. That one simple sentence was enough for her to understand part of the reason behind Nivoria’s reaction.

Erik did not defend the other men. He merely pulled a chair farther away from the bed and sat where Nivoria could see him clearly without feeling threatened. "My name is Erik. This is Elowen, Carmilla, and Runi. You’re in Meira’s hospital, and you’re receiving treatment. Everything else can wait until your body recovers."

Nivoria still did not respond. She studied all four of them as if committing every face, position, and distance to memory.

Only after a long time did she ask hoarsely, "Why?"

Erik tilted his head slightly. He had already answered that question once before she lost consciousness, but Nivoria probably no longer remembered.

"Why what?"

"Why did you save me?"

"Because I didn’t want to watch you burn to death."

"That’s all?"

"That’s all."

Nivoria stared at him for a long time, as though searching his calm face for a lie. But before she could ask anything else, hurried footsteps sounded in the hallway.

A female hospital administrator rushed to the door. "Lady Meira!"

Her voice was tense. "Someone from the Men’s Council has arrived. He brought six combat Succubi with him."

Carmilla immediately frowned. "How many?"

"Six."

Elowen looked at Erik. He immediately understood what those people intended.

They had no intention of letting the incident in the square go.

The lobby of the special treatment wing was normally very spacious, but by the time Erik and the others emerged, the atmosphere had become so oppressive that it was difficult to breathe. A man sat in the middle of the corridor aboard a gold-plated electric cart. He appeared to be around thirty, with a body so obese that his golden robe spilled over both sides of the seat.

Six armored Succubi stood behind him. Each of their auras was far stronger than those of ordinary guards. The hospital staff had retreated to both sides of the corridor, and no one dared approach.

Meira stood before him. She was still dressed in white, her long golden hair flowing down her back, her expression so composed that she appeared to be entertaining nothing more than an unpleasant guest.

The moment the man saw Erik, his expression grew even uglier. "That’s him?"

A Succubus beside him lowered her head. "Yes."

"Even better." He turned toward Meira and sneered. "I’ve come to discuss justice."

Erik nearly laughed when he heard that, but Meira’s expression remained unchanged. She merely tilted her head slightly. "What do you want?"

"Nivoria is a criminal sentenced by the Council. This man openly disrupted the ceremony and incited Succubi to defy those carrying out its orders." He paused, pointing one short, fat finger directly at Meira. "But your offense is even more serious. Despite being a Succubus, you have used your wealth, status, and hospital to conceal a criminal and protect someone who opposes the Council."

"And?" Meira asked.

The man looked as though he had just heard an extraordinarily stupid question. Raising his chin, he spoke as if what he was saying were self-evident. "Succubi are allowed to own property because men permit this society to exist. You fight to protect men, earn money to care for men, and build hospitals to ensure that Succubi remain fit to continue serving men."

He gestured around the lobby. "Therefore, this hospital was never truly yours."

Several nurses clenched their teeth, but none dared speak. The man grew even more pleased. "If you use society’s property to oppose the order established by men, then you have forfeited your right to own it."

Meira said nothing. Believing that he had suppressed her, the man’s lips immediately curled upward.

"I can give you one chance." He stared directly at Meira. "Kneel. Hand Nivoria over, allow Erik to receive punishment according to the Council’s regulations, then transfer this hospital, your four shopping centers, and every other asset registered under your name to the Council’s management. If you demonstrate sufficient sincerity, I may consider overlooking what happened today."

Erik truly fell silent. Not out of fear, but because he was trying to understand how someone could so openly demand another person’s property while maintaining the expression of a benevolent benefactor.

Meira looked at the six Succubi behind him. "Do all of you believe the same thing?"

No one answered. One woman lowered her head slightly, while another avoided Meira’s gaze.

Meira let out a soft breath.

The man immediately sneered. "Stop pretending. I know your condition. You were once very powerful, but your cultivation has been burning away continuously for years. The most recent information I received placed you at Silver Stage 8."

Erik raised an eyebrow slightly.

That information was severely outdated.

"Your reputation might frighten a few foolish Succubi, but it won’t frighten the Council." The man stared at Meira mockingly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Meira watched him for several seconds. "Do you truly want to fight?"

"Seize her."

The six Succubi behind him advanced simultaneously.

At that exact moment, every glass window in the hospital began to shake violently.

A nurse flinched and turned around. Outside, the trees in the courtyard suddenly bent hard in the same direction. Wind rose—not an ordinary gust, but something that made it seem as though an invisible hand was stirring the entire area surrounding the hospital. Curtains billowed wildly, and the air-stabilizing runes on the ceiling flashed without pause.

CRACK!

A thunderclap shook the lobby. Erik immediately looked through the window. The sky had been clear only moments ago, but black clouds had formed directly above the hospital, layer after dense layer rapidly swallowing the moonlight. Wind swept between the buildings, carrying a howl like thousands of beasts roaring as one.

A bolt of white lightning tore across the sky. For an instant, the entire hospital complex lit up.

The staff inside collectively turned pale. Carmilla’s eyes widened, Runi instinctively took a step back, and even Elowen turned toward her mother in astonishment. Erik stood still, his gaze slowly shifting from the sky to Meira.

Her golden hair was rising into the air. The wind pressed her white dress tightly against her body, while the green Mana that had initially resembled only thin wisps of smoke around her arms grew increasingly dense. Pale green wind merged with it, and blue-white arcs of electricity began racing between the currents of Mana. The ground beneath Meira’s feet trembled faintly, and several potted plants lining the corridor burst into bloom at once.

Erik fell silent.

He had always thought of Meira as someone who remained behind the front lines: a Healer, a Wood user, Support, and crowd control.

But—

What kind of Support changes the damn weather?

The man on the electric cart also realized something was wrong, but his arrogance refused to let him retreat. "Meira!" he shouted. "You dare use Mana in the presence of a man?"

Meira slowly turned her head. Her usually gentle green eyes had changed completely. There was no trace of their customary softness, nor was there madness or rage.

Only coldness remained.

A coldness so profound that the man unconsciously held his breath.

"I’ll ask you one last time." Meira looked at him. "Do you truly want to fight?"

The man clenched his teeth, then screamed, "Kneel!"

Meira said nothing.

The six Succubi no longer had a choice. One drew her sword, two began gathering magic, and the remaining three moved around from both sides. But Meira merely raised her right hand.

The wind around the hospital suddenly vanished.

For a fraction of a second, the lobby fell into absolute silence.

Then—

BOOM!

A wall of compressed air exploded through the corridor. There were no blades of wind and no blood, but the six women were struck as though something enormous had slammed directly into their bodies. The first was hurled more than ten meters backward. Two others crashed into the walls. Another Succubus spun several times through the air before falling onto a sofa in the waiting area. The final two skidded across the stone floor all the way to the far end of the corridor.

No one died, nor was anyone cut by the wind.

But with a single attack, all six had lost the ability to advance.

The hospital staff stood frozen. Erik also stared at the scene for a long time. What made it terrifying was not merely the power, but the precision. Meira had sent six powerful fighters flying simultaneously without killing a single one of them. That only proved just how much strength she had to spare.

A stray gust brushed past the electric cart.

Crack!

The left wheel shattered.

"Wait—"

Before the man could react, the entire cart tipped sideways. His obese body crashed onto the stone floor and rolled once, his golden robe twisting into a mess. Not a trace of his former dignity remained.

Meira walked toward him. The sound of her high heels echoed through the silent corridor, one step at a time. Outside, thunder continued to roar.

She stopped in front of him.

The man looked up. For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.

Meira gazed down at him, her voice very soft. "Get out."

The man opened his mouth, but when he saw the arcs of electricity crawling along her fingers, he immediately fell silent.