---- unscarred skin left on his body.


    Th-thank...


    you...


    my...


    ..dy..." he trembled as he managed to sit, head bowed, naked, with his withered tinum hair falling over his shadowed features.


    My mind raced frantically.


    The babys whining was getting louder I couldnt stay here any longer.


    "I need to take care of something urgent.


    You will stay here, and if, you dare to run, Thave a tracking spell on youI will find you wherever you hide," I warned, slipping fully into my role as Electra He only nodded, still shivering, hugging his battered body.


    With a sigh, I removed my heavy cloak.


    Every day, I made more reckless decisions.


    Liking dark magic was one thingbeing a heartless bitch was another.


    I threw the cloak over his back, and it nearly swallowed him whole.


    "Wait for me," I ordered before turning to retrieve the baby.


    Summoning the mist, I melted into the shadows, traveling toward where I believed the nearest elemental vige was.


    od My bootsnded on a dark alleyway.


    Silence reigned in the small mountain vige, its wooden houses simple yet warm.


    ording to Electras memories, supernatural beings still apparently "respected" the elementals.


    ---- alone made me shudder.


    "Let him go, damn it, or I''ll burn you down to your roots!" I summoned a ball of magical fire, bringing it close in fury to that demonic nt.


    I saw its branches tremble, and immediately, it forcefully spat out the condemned man''s body.


    The trunk sealed itself shut once more, like a hungry mouth awaiting its next victim.


    Texhaled, purging the toxic resin with magic.


    "This is going to hurt a little, but youll feel better afterward," I told the limp body lying in a bloody puddle in the middle of, nowhere.


    He didnt even whimper when I cast the purification spell on his skin, which sizzled as if it were burning.


    The green healing mes seeped into his pores, washing away the residue of that substance those cursed nts used to consume elemental bodies.


    Sweat dripped down my temples from the strain.


    I was expending much more energy than expected, but after about five minutes, at least his body was only covered in wounds and his own bloodno more toxins.


    Ugh, you''d better be a good ve after this, because you really made me work for it," I huffed, wondering for the hundredth time if this had been a good idea.


    Atst, he made an effort to sit up.


    There was barely an inch of ---- 191, THE GOOD ELECTRA SIGRID At that moment, I was beyond grateful for my knowledge of ck magic.


    Even so, despite all the strange things I had witnessed, watching the trunk of that tree split open, with dark, tar-like blood oozing onto the ground from within, and the body of that man being " released" that was a scene that would be burned into my memory forever.


    Half of his body tumbled out of the tree trunk, barely recognizable, his raw flesh exposed and slowly being devoured.


    He tried to crawl forward using his arms, but he couldnt.


    His legs were still trappedit seemed that cursed tree wouldnt let go of its meal so easily.


    The ve clung to life.


    Not a single sound escaped his lips despite the excruciating pain he had to be feeling, and something like admiration stirred in my chest.


    Iced the baby on the soft grass, away from this horrific scene, and strode toward him with determination.


    "Come on, dont make me waste my time and spells in vain," I urged him sharply, gripping his arms and yanking hard.


    He was incredibly heavy, and that dark, toxic slime surrounding him was not only slippery but was also corroding my hands.


    How must it feel to have that all over your body? The thought