Chapter 188 Angel's Angel

-- POV General --

"Well...it's time..."

Freya stood by the bed where Angel was sleeping and was about to perform for the first time a kind of magical medical procedure that only she could do. Surrounded by doctors practicing healing magic, her wife, sister and daughter, the Empress was going to do everything she could to save this little boy. As it was time to begin, Freya straightened up before speaking.

"Shiro my little moon, you should go and wait in the rest room next door, it won't be a very easy time and you are still too young.."

The little Princess waiting in the corner of the room looked up with a sad face and although she hadn't seen Angel's condition, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. Obviously, she wanted to stay even if she couldn't watch, so her mother's words were hard to hear. And so, for the first time since meeting her mothers, Shiro protested.

"But...but...mommy...I want to stay and help you !"

"I understand but we don't know what can happen and I don't want you to hear anything that can haunt you later.."

Freya was doing the best she could to make her first daughter understand that this was not an easy, happy time. No one knew how Angel would react, but the process of freeing him from his ambient mana was going to be painful. It was unthinkable for the Empress to let Shiro witness this or hear what was going to happen and yet the little Princess would not give in.

"I...I'm strong too mommy ! Please...let me stay, I...I promise I'll never ask for anything again ! What if...what if he needed me...what if...what if...I...I need to stay...mommy !"

The little white-haired hybrid had a panicked look on her face and puffed up her cheeks to keep her tears from flowing in front of everyone. She had stood up on her little legs and was holding the intense purple gaze of her mother the Empress. Shiro may not have understood all the issues, but this desire to be by the side of the one she had nursed a month ago, was very strong.

"Shiro !"

However, it wasn't Freya who had raised her voice but the Queen herself who didn't want to waste time and wanted to protect her. At that moment, the little moon of the Empire lowered her head understanding that no words could change her mothers mind. Gaya's face was sad because she knew how important it was in Shiro's heart, but she did not give in.

Nodding to Caipy to take Shiro, Tyle and Altaïs into the next room, Gaya kept her serious face. As the little Princess left with tears in her eyes without saying another word, Freya took off her imperial cloak, her crown, tied her hair in a ponytail and rolled up her sleeves. This was the moment of truth and her actions would depend on the life of this fallen Angel.

"Very well, I will proceed to extract the ambient mana in his body, I want you to take turns using your healing magic on him. He must be constantly healed because the extraction will hurt him from the inside and you must not make him worse than he already is. You must be consistent and never stop until I tell you to. I will not accept any mistakes on your part."

"Y-Yes your Highness !"

At that moment, the Empress was more serious than ever, and the loving face she had when she had comforted the Queen was no more. Her intense violet eyes were squinted and her concentration changed the atmosphere instantly and drastically. The doctors at her side trembled as for all of them it was the first time they could talk to the she-wolf and be so close to her.

In such a high-stakes situation, Freya almost let her aura slip out of her slightly and no one spoke. Everyone held their breath as she closed her eyes to calmly inhale and exhale before starting anything. Little Angel was asleep, though hardly, but it wouldn't be long before he was fully awake as his eyes began to open.

"Angel ?"

The moment the Queen had placed her hand on the little boy's shoulder, he was slowly opening his eyes looking completely lost. He slept most of the time as his body was too sore and weak to keep him awake for more than an hour. As Angel caught a glimpse of his older sister, his empty and tired eyes then fell at the same time on Freya who towered over him from her full height.

"MMMH MMMMH !!!!!"

Without warning, the little boy was then starting to fidget as he could, seeing the eyes of the one standing before him. Those years of conditioning and brainwashing on what the violet-eyed beings represented did not help. Angel could barely move and every time he did, a grimace of pain appeared on his face, and yet he tried to struggle as if his life depended on it.

"Calm down Angel ! Please ! It's alright ! I already told you about her...it's...it's Freya, my wife !"

"MMMHH !!! AAAMMMH !!!"

No matter how hard the Queen tried to calm him down, nothing helped, like a dying, cornered animal, the little hybrid dragon seemed to be fighting a visceral fear. His skinny body was shaking all over, his dull eyes were flickering and without a tongue, no words came out of his mouth. The scene was hard to watch as Angel at that moment looked like a poor little thing, unable to speak, defend himself, or even sit up on his bed.

"Hold him down and give him something to put him to sleep quickly !"

"At your orders Empress !"

Caipy and her medics obeyed as they grabbed Angel's arms as gently as possible before the Commander poked him with a needle in the neck. What she had just injected him with was an anesthetic herbal mixture that was supposed to be effective and yet. Minutes passed, the little dragon continued to "struggle", slowly breaking the hearts of those who were actually trying to save him.

"It doesn't work !!! Why ?"

"I...it seems that his condition is so serious that the product is not working !! I...I don't know what else we can do...this is the strongest we have !"

The anesthetic herbal mixture was no longer working and for good reason, the boy's body had assimilated it over the month making it ineffective now. The ambient mana in his body was also so strong that it prevented the liquid from circulating properly in his body. Nothing could put him to sleep and yet time was running out, Freya and the others had to act before he hurt himself further.

"We're running out of time ! Doctors ! Prepare to take turns healing him while I take care of the mana ! Those of you who don't heal, help your Commander hold him but don't hurt him ! I'll start !"

The Empress was giving her directions being pressed for time and knowing full well that she had to hurry, ordered her subordinates without hesitation. Angel didn't understand what was going on and his pleading eyes added to his muffled cries were not easy to bear. However, even though it was a difficult choice, Freya had no other option and if she wanted to save his life...she was going to have to make him suffer.

"Please...hold on Angel...I...I'm here...it won't be easy but...I'm here...she...she'll save your life...."

As the doctors worked to hold the young boy down, others began to whisper formulas, and the she-wolf placed her hand on his chest, Gaya spoke. She didn't know what to do, so although she was shaking, she tried to reassure him as best she could. Her hands were shaking like dead leaves, her voice was broken and for the first time in front of her wife, tears of sadness were running down her face.

The Queen was crying in spite of herself, not being able to stop herself from suffering along with her little brother whom she had just found. Why did he have to go through this after all he had already endured ? Would he be able to understand that Freya meant him no harm ? All of these thoughts were racing through her mind and her strong heart, at that moment, was a mass of pain, sadness and fear.

The Empress had seen it well and through her wife, she felt all her emotions, lived them and understood them perfectly. Unfortunately, the situation was such that she could not take the time to reassure Gaya, the process had already begun. Trusting the Queen, despite the tears on her face, Freya, with a tight heart, began to extract the ambient mana from her little brother's body.

"MMMMMMMMMMAAAAAHHHHH !!!!"

Just as the Empress was using her "Mana Detection and Manipulation" skill, little Angel began to scream as best he could. She who could see the mana, saw it flow in one motion to get closer to her hand which she had on his dark little chest. The doctors were holding him, another was using his magic to ease his pain but it didn't seem to be enough.

"Hurr y! Have another doctor join the first one to heal him !"

Caipy had shouted this phrase knowing that Freya was far too focused to continue directing this delicate operation. At her command, an elf who was holding the little hybrid in place would then start whispering, making light appear from his hands. Everyone was giving it their all, the Queen was holding Angel's hand and despite her ever-increasing tears, she was there for him.

"AAAHMMMFFFFFFHHHH !!!"

"Angel ! Hold...hold on !! My...my god....FRE-FREYA HE'S BLEEDING !!!"

Unfortunately, the more time passed, the more Angel screamed as best he could despite the pain that ran through his already damaged little body. The moment Gaya had spoken, he had started to spit black blood from his mouth causing a panic on her part. The little dragon also had blood flowing from his ears and black tears were also starting to appear under his tired eyes.

"FREYA !!!"

"I know ! I'm trying not to circulate too much mana in his body at the same time but if he keeps struggling and screaming it's not going to work ! He has to calm down at all costs or his body won't take it !!!"

There was nothing the Empress could do but continue what she had started as the process would be useless if it had to stop now. Unfortunately, as Angel struggled and continued to scream, he was making it worse by pushing his body to the limit. All this pressure at once could either kill him or drive him completely crazy as he was so fragile. One thing was for sure...this was going very badly.

"Fuck ! His life is going down !! Have all the doctors use their magic at the same time ! Quickly !!"

"YES YOUR HIGHNESS !"

"MMMMMFFFFFHHHHH"

"FREYA !!! FREYA SAVE HIM !!!"

In Commander Caipy's office, there was unprecedented chaos and young Kira stood in the corner not knowing what to do also in tears. The scene was hard to see but the screaming voices were even harder to hear. The doctors supervised by Caipy were starting to panic, Gaya was screaming, crying her eyes out and Freya was gritting her teeth trying to concentrate.

Little Angel continued to scream, as the doctors' magic didn't seem to be working at all or not enough. His screams lost more and more power and eventually became silent, leaving his tongue cut out and his bloody mouth open without any sound. The Empress was seeing his HP decrease but not stopping because despite the pain he was feeling, his circuits were being purified.

In reality, what was killing him was his panic mixed with the process of suppressing the ambient mana throughout his body. Freya was also taking the opportunity to drain him of the poison that had eaten away at his organs from the inside, but nothing could change their condition. Suddenly, little Angel began to convulse, his eyes rolling back, his body falling to the bed like a rag doll...the little boy who had fallen from the sky was dying.

"FREYA HE...HE IS ABOUT TO DIE !!!!"

"I KNOW !!!"

The Empress was about to take her demon form for the very first time to try to heal him with her blood skill without even knowing if it would work. Just as she was about to act, the sound of a door crashing open could be heard to their left. No one had time to figure out what was going on as someone strangely quickly snuck up between them to climb onto the bed.

"ANGEL !!!! D-....DON'T GO !!! DON'T LEAVE ME !!!"

The little Princess had appeared having heard everything that was going on and not being able to take it anymore had, with unexpected force, entered the room. She was now on the bed and just like the Queen, her eyes were filled with unstoppable tears. She was shaking and despite the terrifying sight that Angel was sending back, Shiro, sad but strong, grabbed his small hand as if she could prevent him from leaving forever

"SHIRO !!! DON'T STAY THERE !"

"NO NO NO NO NO !!!"

For the first time, the little moon of the Empire was screaming and didn't want to listen to what Freya was saying for her sake. She was shaking her head, heartbroken, unable to utter any words other than the one she was repeating over and over. Just as Kira rushed to her niece to grab her and let the others continue, something incredible and unexpected happened before everyone's eyes.

"NOOOOOO !!!"

The little Princess had let out a loud, heartbreaking scream and at that moment, the ribbons holding her hair in pigtails broke. Her white hair began to glow and float in the air as if swayed by a light breeze. No one knew what was going on but no one dared to move, feeling an incredibly powerful aura for a little girl of her age.

Only the Empress was not gripped by the power of the aura, but rather by what it reminded her of deep in her heart. That aura...the one that Shiro gave off...Freya knew it very well even if it was only very recently. The moment this realization hit the she-wolf speechless, the little Princess' violet eyes began to vibrate and gradually change color.

In front of everyone's eyes, the little moon of the Empire no longer had eyes of a powerful and piercing purple but eyes of a golden color shocking Freya and Kira. This aura, this presence, these divine golden eyes...Lucifer knew them very well, confirming the theory that was sleeping in her mind. As the little Shiro began to glow with a white light, only one name was on her lips...

"Kalaa..."

Then suddenly, Angel's entire body was surrounded by a faint white light seeming to make the space around him flicker. Everything was happening very fast and before everyone's eyes, the hybrid dragon's small body began to change. His shimmering, silky crimson hair grew back, his skin became white and pure again as all traces of abuse disappeared. No more burns, no more knife marks and torture... all those scars were gone along with the pain.

Angel's body seemed to swell up, bones slowly fading behind muscles and fat that were forming everywhere. Even his beautiful horns were growing back as was his tongue, which had long since been cut off and unusable. Before the eyes of the people in the room, the little boy was coming back to life when he was about to lose it. Within minutes it was all over and the white light around the little Princess disappeared.

"M-Mommy...you...you see that...that he needed me...I...I could help..."

"Shiro..."

Freya had whispered again as she caught up with her little girl who exhausted had fainted in turn after speaking in a trembling voice. She didn't really know what she had done, but she understood that she had been able to help a member of her family and that was enough for her. Only the Empress, the Second Princess and the Queen understood what had just happened.

All of them had just witnessed the Time magic of Kalaa Nightshade. Shiro had just used it for the first time and as if supported by the invisible and protective presence of the Archangel Goddess of Infinite Time and Celestial Wisdom... little Shiro had just saved Angel for the second time.