[Third Person POV]
Annabeth narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she stared at Lucian. Something had been bothering her ever since his rant started—something subtle, but unmistakable once she noticed it. Throughout all his wild gesturing, pacing, and muttering to himself, Lucian had only been moving a single hand. His other arm hung limply by his side, unmoving.
"Lucian?" Annabeth called, her tone sharp enough to cut through his rambling. The sound of her voice made him freeze mid-thought, his fingers still curled thoughtfully against his chin.
"Hm?" Lucian blinked at her, tilting his head in genuine confusion.
"What happened to your arm?" Annabeth asked, motioning toward the still limb hanging uselessly beside him.
"Oh, this thing?" Lucian replied, using his good hand to awkwardly lift his other arm as if to display it. "Yeahhh… so, uh—I kinda broke it."
Thalia groaned, throwing her hands up. "You what? How the hell do you break your arm?!" Her disbelief echoed through the cavern. It really did feel, at times, like talking to Lucian was no different than dealing with an overly confident toddler who'd somehow been handed divine power.
Lucian stared at her like she had just asked the most obvious question in the world. "During my battle with Scylla? Obviously."
Annabeth pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering something under her breath before saying aloud, "Why haven't you healed it yet?"
"Because I was busy treating Scylla, obviously," Lucian said, motioning behind him toward the massive sea beast lying unconscious on the floor. Its breathing was shallow but steady, the wounds across its body faintly glowing from Lucian's previous spellwork.
"You're so goddamned irritating sometimes…" Annabeth sighed, exchanging a look with Thalia, who was nodding emphatically in full agreement. "Fix your arm first before you start worrying about anyone—or anything—else."
"I can't even feel it," Lucian admitted with a sheepish grin, flexing his fingers slightly before letting his arm drop again. "Which is why I'm not that bothered, really."
Annabeth had already begun rummaging through her pouch, her patience visibly thinning. After a moment, she pulled out a small vial filled with shimmering blue liquid—the telltale hue of a mending potion. "Open your mouth and tilt your head back," she ordered firmly, uncorking the bottle.
Lucian's grin widened. "Hehe, I feel so loved being tended to like this."
"Well, since it seems like you don't care enough about your own body, one of us has to," Annabeth replied dryly as she approached. Without waiting for another comment, she poured the potion down his throat.
Lucian exaggerated his gulps, making comical noises as he swallowed, earning an eye-roll from Thalia. But his expression quickly twisted as the potion took effect. The sound of bones snapping and realigning echoed through the cavern—sharp, visceral cracks that made even Thalia flinch. Lucian winced and clutched his ribs as the healing energy spread, mending not only his arm but every unseen fracture he'd accumulated.
It took several long minutes for the process to finish. When it did, Lucian rolled his shoulders experimentally, the stiffness melting away as he let out a relieved sigh. "Ahh, much better."
Thalia crossed her arms, her expression unimpressed. "Before you start going on another tangent about your Negative Inversion theory or whatever—maybe you should actually set your priorities straight."
Lucian cracked his neck, a small smile playing at his lips. "You're right. I just… couldn't help myself. It was such a big revelation, I honestly didn't know how to properly react."
His tone softened as he glanced at his hand, focusing his energy. A dark crimson aura began to pulse faintly from his palm, wrapping around his fingers like liquid fire. "Even knowing what I have to do next… it's going to take a lot of practice to master it." The glow faded as he let the energy dissipate. "I'll delve into this later—when we're not in the middle of a cave filled with an unconscious monster."
Satisfied, Lucian turned back toward Scylla, his expression finally shifting from eccentric to serious. The lighthearted glint in his eyes faded, replaced by focus and intent.
Seeing the change, Annabeth and Thalia exchanged a look and relaxed slightly, leaning against the cavern wall as they watched him work. For once, he wasn't joking or rambling.
Lucian sat back down, exhaling through his nose as he brought the mortar and pestle back into his hands. The clinking of the stone tools echoed softly in the cavern, mingling with the distant sound of dripping water. He poured a handful of apple seeds into the bowl, followed by a few sprigs of lavender whose floral scent briefly cut through the lingering metallic tang of blood and potion fumes.
He began to grind with practiced rhythm, the motion steady and methodical. The crunch of the seeds mixed with the gentle hiss of crushed lavender until the contents had turned into a soft, fragrant mush. Satisfied, Lucian scraped the mixture into a small cauldron already steaming with warmed milk. He stirred it with deliberate care, watching the liquid swirl from pale white to a strange marbled hue of yellow streaked with violet.
Next came the mandrake root, which he sliced thinly and dropped in piece by piece. The potion hissed and popped as the root dissolved, releasing a sharp earthy odor that made both Annabeth and Thalia wrinkle their noses.
Lucian, however, looked entirely at peace—focused, composed. He reached for the final ingredient, a slender vial filled with viscous, dark-green liquid. It was undoubtedly the Hydra Venom.
Lucian's movements slowed. He held the vial between two fingers and tilted it ever so slightly. His hands were unnaturally steady—thanks to his [Artisan Ability], not even a tremor disturbed the motion. A single drop fell into the cauldron.
There was an immediate reaction. A burst of green smoke erupted with a hiss, spreading fast enough that Annabeth instinctively took a step back. Lucian didn't even blink—he simply snapped his fingers and summoned his helmet, the polished metal forming around his head just as the smoke puffed in his face.
When it cleared, he gave the cauldron one final stir and tapped the spoon twice on the rim. "Okay…" he said slowly, leaning over to inspect the shimmering liquid. "I think I'm done."
"You think?" Thalia repeated, giving him a dubious look.
"Yeah," Lucian said with a shrug. "Never made this antidote before, so… no clue if it'll work."
Thalia just stared at him. Annabeth looked moments away from saying something, but decided it wasn't worth the headache. Lucian, completely unbothered, waved his hand, and the cauldron began to levitate off the ground.
"No need to waste time pouring it into vials," he said. "Ainz, open her mouth."
His demonic skeletal servant obeyed immediately, pressing Scylla's cheek and prying her jaw open with surprising gentleness. Lucian floated the cauldron forward and tipped it, pouring the entire bubbling concoction straight down her throat.
The last drop slid in, and then… silence.
All three of them—Annabeth, Thalia, and even Ainz—watched with bated breath. Seconds stretched into what felt like minutes. The cavern filled only with the faint echo of dripping water.
Then Scylla's lips twitched. She smacked them once, twice, as if tasting the potion lingering on her tongue.
Annabeth leaned forward slightly. "What's supposed to be happening?"
Lucian opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Scylla's stomach made a deep, wet gurgle that sent a chill through everyone present. Her eyes flew open wide—and in the next instant she sat bolt upright, letting out a thunderous burp that rattled the cavern walls.
Then came the vomit.
A torrent of bright green sludge exploded from her mouth with the force of a geyser, splattering across the cavern floor—and straight onto Lucian.
The sheer volume was unbelievable.
Annabeth and Thalia immediately covered their mouths and noses, eyes wide with disbelief as Lucian was absolutely drenched in bile. It splashed, sloshed, and pooled at his feet, creeping slowly toward them. They took several tiny steps backward, still shielding their faces, trying desperately to hide their shock.
Scylla, meanwhile, continued to retch violently, her body convulsing as something far stranger began to happen. Her massive frame started to shrink, her monstrous features melting away. Tentacles vanished like smoke, replaced by human limbs.
Bit by bit, the terrifying sea beast transformed—until finally, where she had once stood, there now sat a short, beautiful woman draped in a sea-green dress, her long hair clinging wetly to her shoulders.
She blinked dazedly, wiped her mouth, and said with surprising cheer, "That… actually felt kind of nice."
The three of them just stared.
Lucian stood there, motionless, dripping from head to toe in green bile and stomach acid. His eyes were wide and empty, his armor hissing faintly from the acid's residue. Then, slowly, he started to heave—making the strangest wheezing noises as he tried to process what had just happened.
His arms hung slightly out to the sides as he muttered, in one long, trembling breath,
"whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck—"
Thalia's lips quivered. Annabeth was trembling beside her, her shoulders shaking violently as she tried to contain herself. Both turned toward each other at the same time, eyes wide and faces scrunched in suppressed laughter.
Annabeth inhaled through her nose, exhaled through gritted teeth, then—very carefully—reached into her pouch. Her hands shook as she pulled out her phone, her breath coming in sharp, restrained bursts of laughter.
"Don't," Thalia warned between strangled snorts, but it was far too late.
Annabeth raised her phone, snapped a single picture of the bile-soaked Lucian, then looked back at Thalia. Their eyes met—an instant mistake.
That was it.
The dam broke.
Both of them doubled over, laughter bursting out in uncontrollable waves, echoing through the cavern. Thalia was gasping for breath, clutching her stomach; Annabeth nearly dropped her phone as tears streamed down her face.
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