A little bit better after a few minutes of recovering, everyone moved away from the damaged grass and earth to not sit just by the still-smoking ground. The summoning circle had been half-destroyed by the woman’s breath and the smell of burnt blood remained in the air around that area, which wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Changing places, they sat down around each other and Selene pulled Asterios into her again, letting him rest comfortably. He let her brush through his white hair while holding onto Miria’s hand, who was sitting by their side. The green magic formation under them he had prepared in the meanwhile slowly rejuvenated his familiars.

Asterios noticed that even after a few longer moments had passed, Silvia still seemed slightly somber.

“We’ve talked about this already. Forget everything that happened for a moment and relax.” He reached out to her with his words.

She glanced at him with a small, somewhat uncertain smile.

“I just feel… bad…”

“It wasn’t your fault, Silvia,” Miria joined in with a warm and kind tone.

She shook her head. “It’s not like that…” A sigh escaped her lips. “During the battle… seeing both that woman’s and your fire… and observing how it behaved… I think I gained some understanding of my own abilities…”

Asterios frowned. “That’s great, then. Shouldn’t you be happy?”

“It just feels… wrong… While my companions were risking their lives in a fight, I just stood there doing nothing and benefited from it…”

He also sighed and moved closer to Silvia, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“You shouldn’t waste such an opportunity and I know you understand this too. It doesn’t matter how it came to be, you gained valuable insight that could make you a lot stronger. “

They stared into each other’s eyes for a brief moment until Asterios nodded.

“Now go. Focus on getting as much as you can out of it. I will be the one feeling bad if you waste your chance at growing stronger because of me. This is exactly why we are traveling together.”

With a faint trace of hesitation, Silvia nodded back at him and Asterios returned to his girls. She sat in a lotus position and placed her hands on her knees, closing her eyes. A moment later, Silvia’s black metallic staff floated up from her back and began slowly spinning in a vertical circle as she meditated.

Asterios drew the Alcove of Serenity sigil on the ground by her side and tweaked it just so it covered only the princess. She wouldn’t be disrupted by them talking or anything else now.

Selene pecked Ast’s cheek. “I really hope she will finally reach a higher level with this. She was pursuing her next advancement for quite some time.”

Miria mirrored her action and rested her head on Ast’s shoulder. “I’m sure Silvia can do it. We all saw how strong and determined she is during the duel and her training.”

“Well, it all depends on her. Hopefully, she won’t hurt her progress herself with these negative thoughts. In any way, you girls are fine, right?”

“Yep! I feel almost like new, Master!” Miria nodded cheerfully.

“Same here, fufufu~” Selene replied after her.

“Good. Now, Umbra? I felt quite a lot of pain when you tried to block the inferno heading my way back there.”

~I would lie if I said I was doing fine, Master, but I’m in no grave danger. That woman’s Dragon Breath burned my shadows much easier than I would have assumed. Granted they weren’t at their full strength, it still surprised me that my attempt had barely any effect. She was that much stronger than myself in your realm.~

“We’ll need to find you more resources to increase your power here too.” Asterios rubbed his hands together in a self-reassuring motion. “Not that I plan on trying to get in touch with another Dragon, but we can never know. Also, does anyone have any ideas about that Descending Spire?”

“First time I’ve heard of it, Master.” Miria shook her head.

“I’m not sure either,” Selene added.

~Nothing on my end. I’m afraid being locked in an abyssal dimension did not allow me to come across a lot of relevant information. The times I had escaped in the past were brief.~

“Hmmm… We’ll leave it for later then. Umbra, take your time recovering. We’ll make do by ourselves until you are back at full strength. We won’t be jumping through your Shadow Movement for now.”

~As you wish, Master. I’ll await your call if something urgent comes up.~

Asterios turned to Miria and stroked her adorable ear. “Looks like we’ll be depending on you for some time.”

She beamed a wide smile at him and pulled herself closer to nuzzle her cheek into his.

“I will always serve as your steed, Master. It makes me so happy when you rely on me.”

He chuckled and rubbed his face into hers too, enjoying the affectionate purrs his lovely mate kept releasing.

“Alright. One more thing to check.”

Miria backed away and stared at him curiously with Selene. Asterios closed his eyes and focused on his bonds.

~Grea? Tina? You girls there?~

~Sup.~

~Ast?~

He smiled to himself. ~Just checking in. Are you both fine? Did you experience something weird recently?~

~Not sure about your talented girlfriend but I’m all good. Nothing special to report. Why?~ Grea responded first.

~Please, stop with the teasing, Professor. And I’m also okay. Attending a class currently,~ Tina replied and he could feel her pout.

~Is he not your boyfriend, though? You even held Joint Summoning together. Don’t tell me you haven’t sealed the deal during such a romantic moment.~

~Professor!~

Grea’s chuckle echoed in everyone’s heads.

~Right, right. So, why the sudden question?~

~I tried Blood Summoning,~ Asterios answered.

~Oh. And I assume some wild shit happened again if you are checking with us just like during the previous times.~

~Yeah… Well… A True Dragon happened…~

~YOU ARE FUCKING WITH ME?!~ Grea’s mental shout made everyone flinch. ~DON’T TELL ME YOU MADE A MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON INTO YOUR FAMILIAR!~

A wry smile found its way onto Ast’s lips. ~Calm down, Grea. No, I haven’t. It’s a bit more complicated than that.~

Asterios then proceeded to explain everything to them from start to finish. Both women were terrified at a few moments in the story, and he could tell how anxious Tina had gotten. A brief silence fell between them after he finished.

~You… are really fine, right?~ Tina’s concerned voice reached his mind.

He placed a mental peck on her cheek. ~I am. Sorry for worrying you. I would come to see you or at least use the illusion, but Umbra is recuperating right now.~

~It’s alright. Thank you for telling me everything. You didn’t have to.~

~I’m not going to keep secrets from my mates. Ah. Ummm, sorry, my girlfriends. Force of habit.~

Tina giggled at him. ~I don’t mind. I think it actually sounds a bit better. It feels… special… being mates with someone… Like a husband and wife but more…~

Miria’s and Selene’s chuckles joined her, but only Asterios could hear those. He ignored them and turned his attention to something else. Something that had been bothering him for a while already.

~Grea? You’ve been awfully quiet since I finished. Are you okay?~

No answer came for a few long seconds. A deep sigh finally reached their minds.

~Fuck, man… I… My stupid suggestion almost killed you…~ She sighed again. ~Fuck me! I literally almost killed you all!~

He had never heard so much distress and frustration in his ex-teacher’s voice, and they had gone through a few quite serious issues together during their time in the academy, with a few of them getting Grea on the brink of being kicked out or worse.

~Grea… It’s not your fault…~

~Like hell it fucking isn’t!~ She snapped back at him. ~My blind fucking guess almost got you torn into shreds or charred like some disregarded potato thrown into a campfire! Fuck! I’m so fucking retarded! I let my excitement blind me like some moronic amateur and didn’t even think it through properly! I thought I could finally help you! Gaaaaaah! I almost did it again all over!~

Asterios could tell it was getting bad. He didn’t have to be there to know what was happening. He quickly apologized to Umbra and requested his help. Soon, the lord of shadows transferred himself to Grea and easily penetrated her mind with how chaotic her thoughts were.

A moment later, Asterios materialized in Grea’s lab as an illusion. He looked around and quickly located his friend. She was leaning on one of the ceramic counters on her elbows, amidst tens of shattered vials and glass utensils, both on the tabletop and down on the floor.

She took another swing at the nearby flasks while groaning loudly but Asterios jumped towards her and embraced Grea from behind, stopping her arm before she hurt herself even more. Blood dripped from her hands and forearms due to the countless little cuts created by the shattered glass.

“Stop it. Please. You are bleeding,” Asterios spoke to her calmly, hugging Grea tightly around her waist with one hand and holding onto her arm with the other.

“I almost murdered you! I sent you to death! I should just d—”

“Stop!” he shouted and tightened his grip on Grea even more as she raised her other fist to slam the counter on the right.

He grabbed both of them from behind, raising her left forearm from the mix of colorful liquids spilled on the shiny surface, and slowly turned Grea around.

She stood there with her forearms extended forward and hands clenched into fists, trembling visibly, as multiple solutions dripped down from them alongside the small amount of blood. A few pieces of shattered glass stuck out from her crimson skin.

Grea was biting on her lower lip so hard it got punctured in many places, and scarlet trails traveled down her chin. It trembled faintly every few seconds. Tears kept flowing from the corners of her faintly glowing eyes as she refused to blink.

Asterios let go of her hands and cupped Grea’s face with his palms, brushing her tear-stained cheeks with his thumbs.

“Let’s calm down now. Deep breaths. And let go of your lip. I am fine and everything is okay. Come on. Just like always. In… and out… In… and out… One, two, three. One, two, three.”

Following Ast’s gentle voice, Grea entered a steady rhythm of slow and deep breaths until her shaking subsided. Her forearms and clenched fists still kept shivering a little but she was slowly getting calmer.

Seeing his friend’s state improving, Asterios quickly shifted himself away and appeared in front of a cupboard with medicaments and first aid. He technically wasn’t physically there, but while Grea saw him just like always, it was Umbra’s shadows moving around where he wished which allowed Asterios to interact with things other than his former professor. If someone watched them from the sidelines, all they would see would be objects floating in the air while upheld by black smoking tendrils.

He hastily returned to Grea and used a swab drenched in a healing solution to tend to her damaged lower lip. Gently and carefully, he pressed it over the small wounds until they started slowly regenerating. He wiped off the remaining blood and examined the injuries closely.

Throwing the used swab away, he shot Umbra’s shadow to the side to fetch a clean towel and proceeded to wipe Grea’s fists and forearms out of all the alchemical solutions before they irritated her skin and muscles too much.

She just let him do everything while watching, not putting any resistance, allowing Asterios to do with her whatever he wanted. She felt horrible. She wanted to speak but she knew he would interrupt her again. She couldn’t do anything else than just observe.

After cleaning up Grea’s arms and carefully getting rid of all the pieces of glass, Asterios brought medicinal bandages and delicately wrapped them around her cut limbs, not forgetting about her fingers and palms, which he had unfurled from fists when she had relaxed a little. Bit by bit, he made sure that everything was properly covered so as to not leave any scars later.

Finishing, he let out a deep sigh and grabbed Grea’s hands, looking at her distressed, tear-stained face.

“I really hate when you hurt yourself like this,” Asterios said quietly with a lot of concern in his voice.

She blinked a few times in quick succession to get rid of more tears and sniffed a little.

“Asterios… I’m—”

“Shhhhh.”

He interrupted her and pulled Grea into a caring hug, embracing her closely from the front. His left hand held her waist while his right softly stroked through her hair, leaning her head onto his shoulder. Grea’s arms slowly reciprocated the hug and wrapped themselves tightly around Asterios.

“You will not lose anyone else. I promised you that I won’t die. I never go back on my word. I will always stay by your side until you get bored of me,” he whispered to her ear, slowly and tenderly.

“I’m… so sorry…”

“Shhhhh. No talking. Just stay like this.”

And she did.

They stood together in a hug for around ten minutes. Grea gradually calmed down until she didn’t tremble anymore and her breathing returned to its proper tempo. With her state back to normal, Asterios withdrew himself a little, still holding onto Grea but with their faces now in front of each other.

“Give me just a few minutes. I’ll be here soon.”

She shook her head with a faint smile. “No. I’m okay already. I won’t thrash around like this anymore, I promise. I’m sorry you had to see this side of me again.”

“Don’t apologize. I know how hard it is to control strong emotions. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’ve always been here. You can let it all out, just like usual.”

Grea’s smile grew a little and she pulled herself closer again. Asterios gently brushed over her back for a few more moments.

It wasn’t the first time Grea had an outburst like that. During his time with the quirky researcher, Asterios had witnessed at least a few similar scenes after something serious happened, often involving the academy’s Council or other higher-ranked professors.

But, the rumor was, it had not always been like this.

The whole academy had heard about a student who lost her life due to a failed experiment by one of the teachers. She was a prodigy, which increased the gravity of the situation even more. And a giant fan of Professor Grea’s theories and research.

The fatal failure took a heavy toll on Grea, and not just in terms of honor, respect, or recognition. She lost her pupil. Her friend.

It did not matter what everyone else said about her. She had never cared about others' opinions. But, the pressure and knowledge that her decisions led to someone’s death were just too much.

The self-blame paired with repulsed looks, mean comments, and generally, the worst possible time couldn’t not affect Grea, no matter how strong she was and how much she steeled herself.

She withdrew from the active academic life and holed herself in the lab where she could still pursue her dreams, which the academy was happy to provide to her since she was one of the best researchers in its history. They swiftly covered that as her punishment, using her choice as damage control.

Any interaction with other students and teachers came as extremely hard and tense at first, but after some years, Grea decided to open up a counseling course again, a side one this time, just in case someone would require the help of her knowledge and expertise.

A few people showed up from time to time to attend the extracurricular activity, drawn in by Grea’s past achievements, but no one could last too long with the wacky researcher. It seemed that the girl from the past had been quite unique. At least, until Asterios arrived.

With a deep breath, Grea backed away a little and stared at Ast’s face.

“Thank you…”

“Don’t mention it. I will always come to you whenever you need me. Now even faster than before thanks to a certain familiar of mine.”

She smiled and chuckled. “I can’t believe you are not really here. It feels so real.”

“And I’m glad it does. Who knows what would have happened if it didn’t.”

Grea’s smile turned into a wry one and she sighed again. “Sorry about this. And thank you for treating my cuts. Now and before. I have no idea why you stayed behind even after learning about everything and experiencing it itself.”

“Because I came here not to steal the knowledge and techniques from you but to meet another passionate admirer of Summoning Magic and mystical beasts. I could not leave a kindred soul hurting like that.”

Grea blinked quickly a few times more. “You are a fucking idiot, you know that?” she said, but her lips kept rising into a smile.

“Yeah. Nothing I haven’t heard before. Idiot, fool, trash, waste, et cetera.”

She suddenly slugged Asterios in the stomach causing him to take a few steps back with a strained chuckle.

“You are not a waste. Idiot, yes, but not waste.” She walked closer and hugged him again. “What would all the other incredible Summoner heroes be if you were a waste? You summoned a motherfucking Dragon!”

“If these heroes had similar experiences in summoning Dragons, then I’m not surprised we didn’t hear much about them. They most likely haven’t survived long enough to tell anybody.”

Grea snickered and shook her head. “At least you got some new hints out of this. I still feel horrible, though.”

“It was my own decision to try it. And I feel no better. It almost killed the only princess of this kingdom.”

Grea raised her brow at him. “Princess?”

“Can I trust you?” He raised one of his too.

“Are you kidding me?!” She raised her voice comically.

Asterios chuckled. “I’ll tell you girls about my new companion soon. I should actually check on her since I left in a hurry.”

“Man, can you stop picking up girls of high status left and right? You better not forget about Tina or I’ll give you an earful.” She squinted her glowing red eyes at him.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like that between us. And it won’t be. I think. Tina has already her own spot in my heart and I could never forget about her. In fact…”

Asterios glanced both ways as if it was even possible to eavesdrop on them when they conversed inside Grea’s mind.

“I got something special for her.” He grinned. “It will have to wait until graduation, though. I really can’t wait to finally do something for her after everything she has done for me.”

Grea’s eyes sparkled with curiosity and excitement. “What is it? It’s not just a ring, right? I mean, that would get her on cloud nine, but you know what I mean.”

“All I can tell you is for you to better be present at the ceremony,” Asterios answered with a cryptic smile.

“Oh, fuck me! You are doing it on purpose!”

They both laughed together. Grea took a deep breath and patted his shoulders.

“Thank you, Asterios. For everything. And I’m sorry again.” She raised a hand between them, stopping him from interrupting. “I know, I know, I won’t be blaming myself for it. Not too much at least. You should get back. I swear I won’t spoil the surprise. I really grew to like Tina. We actually have a few things in common.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I was afraid you would turn into a shut-in again without me around.”

“You punk!” Grea hit him on the head with the soft bottom of her fist and laughed. “Get out before I really let it out on this fake body! Umbra won’t be fast enough to cut your pain receptors off!”

Asterios ducked under her swing, laughing too, and waved at his friend before his figure dispersed. Grea took a deep breath with her hands on her hips and smiled to herself while looking at her bandaged arms.

“You fucking… dork…”

She giggled to herself and walked away to grab some cleaning utensils while softly rubbing her slowly healing lower lip.