Chapter 83: Heart Demon (3)

“Keuk, keo-heok…!”

Maximilian, who had been slammed into the ground, let out a pained groan.

The shock was so great that his vision darkened, and it felt as though he could barely breathe.

Had a bone broken?

Or had a muscle torn?

Either way, it was certain that he was in a state where he could hardly move a finger.

Step.

At that moment, he saw a faint silhouette approaching from afar.

Carl, fists clenched, was still scattering fierce fighting spirit as he stared in this direction.

Even though they were friends, seeing that made it impossible not to feel fear.

“……”

Frustration welled up in Maximilian.

Why was Carl suddenly beating him to a pulp?

From the start, their skills had been clearly in his favor.

Whenever he sparred with Carl, he had won all ten matches out of ten.

Had his body deteriorated so badly that he could be pushed back so helplessly?

Bitterness, fear, pain…

All kinds of emotions boiled within him, and it felt like tears would come out at any moment.

By then, Carl had come right up to him.

Maximilian curled his body like a shrimp, clutching his head to brace for the impact.

…But no matter how long he waited, no pain came.

Instead, he only felt a hand lightly tapping his forehead.

When he opened his eyes slightly and looked up, Carl spoke with a calm expression.

“The ground is cold. You could lose body heat, so if you’re going to rest, it’s better to sit leaning on something.”

“…I thought you were going to hit me again.”

“No matter what, I’m not vicious enough to keep hitting someone who’s already down.”

“That’s what you’re saying right now?”

Maximilian let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

If that was the case, then what on earth had all that merciless beating just been?

Carl only shrugged and replied.

“You seemed to be struggling lately, so I was helping you.”

“Since when did helping and hitting mean the same thing?”

“The more complicated a problem is, the more simply it should be solved. You know the principle of simplicity, don’t you? The more tangled the thread, the more decisively it needs to be cut.”

Clear?

Well, it did feel like he’d been clearly beaten, at least.

Thud.

Maximilian uncurled his body and lay flat on the training ground floor.

He had no strength left in his entire body.

Carl sat down beside him, and the two of them looked up at the gradually brightening sky.

“…I was scared, you know. That monster. Carl, weren’t you?”

“I was scared too.”

Carl nodded.

So, it really was because of that mysterious mass of flesh they had encountered in Erendal Forest.

‘It was a being no cadet could hope to fight against.’

Even Brother Darius, who was several levels above the new cadets, had found it difficult.

To fight it head-on without being pushed back, one would have to be at least on par with Carius.

So it wasn’t strange for Maximilian to have been left with trauma.

“Even after returning to Bayern, I couldn’t get a grip. That grotesque figure kept flashing before my eyes. Even if I slept for just a moment, it would appear in my dreams over and over.”

As he calmly confessed the fear he had been hiding, Maximilian’s lips trembled faintly.

Even now, recalling that figure made his chest tighten, making it hard to breathe.

Carl looked down at Maximilian for a moment before nodding calmly.

“It’s something that happens quite often. I went through it as well.”

“Carl, you too?”

“Yes. In Leipzig, from a young age, we were sent to the battlefield to gain real combat experience. My opponent in my first battle was a bear the size of a house.”

Its hide was tough, and its muscles were hard.

It was impossible not only to pierce it, but even to cut it.

“Even after returning from that battle, I was terrified. The sight of it roaring and swinging its claws wouldn’t leave my mind.”

Of course, it was a made-up story.

Carl had never once trembled in fear in either the Central Plains or Artenia because he couldn’t kill an opponent.

But to resolve Maximilian’s heart demon, he needed to convince him that what he was experiencing was a natural process.

“But eventually, I became indifferent to it. Humans are creatures of adaptation. No matter how harsh the environment, if you repeat it long enough, you adapt.”

“…Weren’t you afraid? You lured that monster away all by yourself, unlike us.”

“I was afraid. That’s why I ran for my life all the more desperately. My sole thought was to survive. And I survived. That’s the end of the story.”

Carl shrugged.

If he had survived, then that was enough — there was no need to let himself be shackled by it any longer.

Maximilian let out a faint laugh and spoke again.

“You’re amazing. I couldn’t do that.”

“You have to be able to.”

Carl turned his head, his crimson eyes gleaming as he looked at Maximilian.

“If you encounter something like that monster again, will you just tremble like you are now?”

“…That…”

“Unless you’re a flower raised in a greenhouse, everyone experiences brushes with death more than once. In your case, it just happened to come a bit earlier.”

“You talk like some old man who’s lived through it all. You’re the same age as me.”

“Even if the years lived are the same, the depth of life can be different. I went through quite a bit of hardship from a young age.”

“……”

Maximilian closed his mouth.

He knew Carl’s past well enough from hearing his stories.

From the beginning, it seemed Carl had already noticed something was off with him.

No wonder he’d been acting more familiar and taking care of him lately.

Even waiting in front of the training ground just now must have been intentional.

“Sorry. I made you worry for nothing.”

“It’s fine. More importantly, do you feel a bit better now?”

“I feel much better than before. Thanks.”

Maximilian answered honestly.

Carl studied his complexion.

It seemed the mental burden had eased significantly, and his face looked far healthier than before.

But this wasn’t enough.

When someone was afflicted by a heart demon, turbid energy would remain trapped inside, unable to be released.

He had to clear that out completely before he could say the damned thing had been overcome.

‘Lucky guy.’

Since it had come to this, Carl decided to put in a little more effort.

Rolling up his sleeves, he spoke to Maximilian, who was still lying down.

“Maxim, please sit with your back to me.”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

“There’s a training method passed down in my family. It expels harmful toxins built up in the body, and you seem to need it right now.”

“Well, I’ll admit I’ve been feeling worn out, but toxin expulsion is a bit much…”

Maximilian scratched his head, but when Carl continued to stare at him in silence, he glanced at him warily.

Then, sighing, he slowly got up and sat down on the training ground floor with his back to him.

“I don’t know what this is, but go ahead.”

“Please don’t mention this to anyone.”

Carl gave a faint smile as he rolled up his sleeves.

If Maximilian had felt suspicious or bothered, he could have declined.

But accepting it was also part of his luck.

If someone placed their trust in him, it was only right to repay it.

Carl flicked his fingers lightly.

Pit! Pit! Pit! Pit!

The gusts of wind he sent out stimulated Maximilian’s pressure points.

Hyeonchu, Cheonjong, Cheonjeong, Jiyang…

Each time the points along his back were pressed, Maximilian flinched his shoulders and glanced back at Carl.

“Carl, it’s kind of prickly.”

“That’s normal.”

After opening all the points, Carl reached out and placed his hand on Maximilian’s back.

“From now on, until I say you can, don’t open your mouth. If you understand, just nod.”

“……”

Faced with Carl’s unusually serious attitude, Maximilian hesitated but then slowly nodded.

Once he trusted a friend, he trusted them to the end — that was just his style.

‘Hoo.’

Carl let out a short breath.

What he was about to do could be called a type of meridian purge.

It would draw out the turbid energy inside and lubricate the meridians to ensure smooth circulation of inner energy.

‘The inside is in pretty bad shape.’

Carl calmly examined Maximilian’s inner condition.

Perhaps from suffering since returning from Erendal Forest, his insides were a mess.

Muscles torn or knotted in various places, pressure points clogged with stagnant blood, meridians full of turbid energy…

No, maybe this was from just getting beaten by him earlier?

‘Either way.’

The injuries from Erendal Forest hadn’t even healed yet, and he had pushed himself too hard under the name of training, which had led to a breakdown.

If Carl hadn’t stepped in, Maximilian probably would have collapsed within a few days.

By that point, recovery would have taken quite some time.

Tzuzuzuzuz.

Carl scanned Maximilian’s body from head to toe.

He located the turbid energy, then, as if reversing its flow, dragged it upward from the bottom to the top, gathering it in one place.

Normally, one would open a hole at the fingertips or toes to release it along with stagnant blood, but if he did that too easily, Maximilian wouldn’t realize how serious his condition had been.

‘Maybe I should start a “Make Maximilian a Master” project.’

After all, this was a body Carl had personally purged and regulated.

If Maximilian overcame his heart demon and recovered from the aftereffects, his growth would skyrocket.

Moreover, the energy from Carl’s divine art swirling through his body would surely stimulate his mana and cause a transformation.

In that case, a little shock therapy wouldn’t hurt.

Thump.

Carl patted Maximilian’s back lightly with his palm, then pulled his hand away.

“It’s done. You can speak now.”

“…What did you do? I feel kind of lighter.”

“I gathered all the toxins that had built up in your body into one place.”

“Then… ugh…!”

Maximilian stopped mid-sentence and gagged.

His eyes widened, and he clapped a hand over his mouth as if on cue.

Carl dusted off his hands and stood up, speaking with a chuckle.

“Just let it out. Those toxins have been eating away at you for a while. Not that you could hold it in even if you wanted to.”

“…Uweeegh!”

As Carl finished speaking, Maximilian vomited onto the training ground floor.

Dark red blood, sticky black mucus, stomach acid, and even bits of last night’s undigested dinner…

All kinds of filth mixed together, soaking into the floor.

‘Cleaning this will be a pain.’

Carl patted Maximilian’s back.

Of course, the cleaning would be entirely his responsibility.

Carl’s role ended with drawing it out.

“Get it all out.”

“Ugh, uwegh…”

Maximilian could barely stay conscious.

One moment he had been fine, and then suddenly — what on earth was this?

Along with the vomit, tears and snot came pouring out, and for a moment he feared his insides might reverse and come out too.

Finally, it seemed to end.

Creak.

At that moment, the training ground door opened.

Dawn was just starting to break.

Normally, the other cadets wouldn’t even be awake yet.

But Gale, worried about Maximilian’s worsening condition lately, had gotten up a bit earlier to check on his friend’s state.

“Maxim, are you in—”

That was all.

The moment Gale stepped inside the training ground, he froze, mouth agape, unable to hide his shock at the sight before him.

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