Chapter 182 - 182: Return Of Decay
'Not only did they kill him, but they also made him drown? It's a kid, not a strong adult who could oppose. Poor kid, he didn't even receive a proper burial. His soul wouldn't find peace like that,' the old man thought as he observed the silver-haired boy.
'Sigh, I can't bring you back to life, but I can at least help in your burial on land. Your soul would find peace, and I'll get some good karma,' the man thought as he started moving closer to the young kid that was none other than Lucifer Azarel.
The first thing he did was untie Lucifer from that heavy object before he wrapped his hand around Lucifer's waist and started swimming back. He was going to give Lucifer a proper burial; at least, that's what he thought it would be.
...
The sea had finally calmed down as gentle waves brushed against the beach.
Despite the sea being peaceful, not many people had come back to the beach at the moment.
In a completely empty portion of an unknown beach, a bearded old man came out of the sea, seemingly carrying a boy in his arms.
Both of their clothes were covered in water which kept dripping down as the old man carried the young silver-haired boy. Soon, the man placed Lucifer on the ground before he also fell down as he finally started feeling tired.
Even though the man was very energetic inside the sea, on the surface, he was like a normal old man that quickly got tired. That's why he liked spending time in the ocean more than staying on the ground.
As Lucifer was placed down on the ground, his hand landed on what seemed like the branch of a tree that had come to the beach, floating in the sea.
The old man seemed to be breathing heavily as he gave some rest to his old body while observing Lucifer.
"What a kind-looking kid. I still can't imagine how someone can even think about killing him. Just what could have happened? Did he offend someone? Or was it done for money?" The old man wondered as he finally stood up, trying to carry Lucifer with him again, but before he could even pick Lucifer, he noticed something strange.
The pale face of Lucifer seemed to have gained some color. The old man couldn't help but wonder if it was his misconception or if it was true?
He closed in on Lucifer to observe his face more carefully when he noticed something even weirder.
The tree branch over which Lucifer's hand fell seemed to be decaying ever so slowly. The more that branch deteriorated, the more Lucifer's skin seemed to be returning to normal.
"This... What is happening?" The old man exclaimed in surprise as he took a step back.
Within that time, the branch had turned to ash already.
"Could it be that he... He was a Variant too? And that was his power?" The man wondered, surprised.
"Wait! That couldn't be! Even if he was a Variant, his powers shouldn't work now! How could they still work unless he was... Alive?"
Stunned, the man stepped forward as he placed his fingers on Lucifer's neck to check if he was breathing.
"I was right. He's dead. He isn't even breathing. Then why? Why are his powers working? This doesn't make sense at all?"
"Moreover, there's no way a person could survive after such a big wound on their che-" the man muttered as he observed Lucifer's chest.
As soon as he saw Lucifer's chest, an even weirder expression appeared on his old face.
His eyebrows rose as his eyes squinted.
"I guess I'm really hallucinating, but his chest wound seems smaller now. It was bigger when I saw him last time. What is happening? This can't be a misconception, can it?" The old man exclaimed in shock.
"Could it be that branch, his ability, and that wound? His ability healed him? I need to test it!" he said as he started looking around the beach.
He was trying to find as many branches as he could, and soon, he returned with a few branches.
He placed the branches on the ground near Lucifer, but he didn't let them touch Lucifer's hand this time.
He stepped closer to Lucifer and unbuttoned his bloody shirt to reveal his chest.
"Now I can see if it truly heals him," he muttered as he stared at the big wound in Lucifer's chest. The wound was still the size of a fist, but it was slightly smaller than before.
After unbuttoning Lucifer's shirt, the old man moved one of the branches towards Lucifer and made one of his fingers touch it.
As Lucifer's finger touched the new branch, the branch once again started decaying. Strangely enough; this time, instead of the branch, the man's focus was on Lucifer's chest as he observed his wound.
"It works! It really works! His wounds seem to be healing, albeit at a slow pace. What a fascinating ability. This is miraculous!" The man exclaimed as he noticed the minor healing of Lucifer's wound.
The branch once again turned to dust, but the healing didn't stop. It continued even a few seconds after that before it actually stopped.
"So his ability can heal his wounds, and it works even after his death. Really fascinating, but can it really bring him back to life?"
"There's a difference between healing wounds and bringing them back to life. A person is a combination of body and soul. If he has been dead for so long, can he really awaken?" The man wondered as he stared at Lucifer.
"It doesn't matter. I must try! If it doesn't work, then at least I can say that I tried. And if it works, the kid will regain his life!" The old man said before he moved more branches towards Lucifer's fingers.
For the next half an hour, he kept bringing branches to Lucifer and letting him heal.
Finally, the wound was completely healed after all this time and effort.
What the man didn't know was that not only the wound was healed, but Lucifer's missing heart had also recovered by now.
Even after that, the man didn't stop as he continued finding branches and bringing them to Lucifer. Only after a few more minutes did he stop.
"It looks like his wounds are completely healed. But is he alive now? That's the question," the man muttered as he once again placed his fingers on Lucifer's neck.
"He's still not breathing. I guess I was over-optimistic. After all, it's impossible to bring someone back to life. But still, the abilities that work even after death... Just what kind of Variant was he? What was his history? How did he end up like that?"