The Dragon King's Heart

"Go and get some rest, Lady Lizette, you've done more than enough here." he continued as he picked up a vial. 

Lady Lizette bit her lip as she watched Marius uncap the vial and poured its contents into Dante's mouth. She was curious to know what it was. She had never seen anything like it. But the smell was uncanny. She knew what it was. 

"Is that...blood?" she gasped in surprise.

Though she did not have much knowledge of the potions, she knew the basics. She was certain it was enchanted blood. From its viscosity, she realized it was a concentrated amount too. 

"Yes. It should help Dante speed up his recovery," he explained as he observed Dante's sleeping form, hoping for a sign of improvement. 

Dante's body was ice cold, and his body temperature continued to plummet. Lizette had the servants start the fireplace in hopes of bringing warmth into the room. But that didn't work. No amount of blankets worked either. The warm towel she placed on his forehead was the only thing she could do. 

Her hands were red from the scalding hot water she used. 

"Damn it, Dante, you can't be like this," Marius cursed as he observed no visible changes to Dante's condition. 

He uncapped another vial and poured its contents into Dante's mouth again. Lady Lizette looked on worriedly too. As Marius continued to look on, muttering to himself, hoping for a miracle, Lizette walked over to take a closer look at the vials he had brought. 

The moment she picked one up in her hands, she could feel a wave of warmth envelop her. 

"Be careful with that," Marius warned, having heard her come around behind him, "It's strong."

She carefully uncapped one of them, curious to know what the contents were like. Upon closer inspection, she gasped in shock. She did not know where Marius acquired it from, and in such an amount, but she knew it could not be easy. 

"This... this...," she was stuttering as she came to the realization of what had to be done to obtain these vials. 

"It's working!" Marius exclaimed as he noticed the wounds on Dante's body beginning to heal. 

Lizette was shocked. She turned to look at Dante, who was still sound asleep. A bit of color returned to his complexion, his eyes were moving beneath his eyelids. He opened his eyes slowly.

It took him a while to make sense of what was happening. Everything felt like it was covered in a layer of haze. 

"Where..." 

Marius quickly explained to him where he was. But before he could say anymore, Dante's expression contorted in pain. 

"The wound, it's opening again!" Lizette gasped in shock as she pointed at the bandages that were dyed red by blood. 

Marius picked up another vial and fed it to Dante at once. As soon as the liquid touched the tip of his tongue, he knew what it was. When he finished it, he grabbed hold of Marius's hand. 

He wanted an explanation of where the vials came from. 

"I...I...," Marius didn't know what to say. 

If Dante knew this was from Laina, what would happen? But before he even had a chance to hear Marius's reply, Dante closed his eyes. He lost consciousness once more. 

"It's not strong enough..." Lizette realized. 

One vial was not strong enough. But constantly feeding him vial after vial was of no use either. There had to be another solution. Looking at the vials in the chest, an idea surfaced in Lizette's mind. 

Without a word, she rushed into the bathroom that was attached to the bathroom. When she saw the rose quartz bathtub, she lit up. She had an idea, and it just might work. 

Lizette rushed out to explain her plan to Marius. 

He creased his eyebrows, "Are you sure this is going to work?"

Lizette bit her lip. It was only a working theory, but it was all they had. 

"I think... It's the best chance we got," she said with determination. 

Looking back at Dante, Marius knew they did not have much of any other choice. The vials were their only hope. Marius carried Dante into the bathroom while Lizette took care of the vials. She uncapped all of them and poured them into the bathtub as Marius laid Dante in it. 

As she did, she began to chant an ancient spell. Upon making sure Dante was alright, Marius joined her in doing so. When they were down to the last bottle, the bathtub was filled. Dante's entire body was submerged in liquid. 

Since they had begun chanting, the viscous blood-colored substance changed colors. It turned from a deep red to milky white. It almost looked as if it was glowing. 

"What do we do now?" Marius asked as he looked over to Lizette.

She was looking at Dante, watching his chest rise and fall. As color returned to his complexion again, she smiled. 

"Now we wait for him to wake up." 

It did not take long. Dante's eyes flickered open once more. What neither of them realized, was that Dante's body absorbed all of the liquid in the bathtub. Though the scars he received from the Celestial Tribulations look to have begun healing, one thing remained as clear as day. 

The effects of the Love Curse remained visible. To make matters worse, they had begun to worsen once more. Despite Laina's best efforts to help Dante keep it at bay, the damage to his body due to the trials was too heavy. 

"Laina," he whispered her name, knowing full well what she had done for him. 

"Dante! You're awake!" Marius exclaimed with glee as the Dragon Emperor slowly sat up in the tub. 

"Your Majesty!" Lady Lizette called out to Dante with tears in her eyes. 

All the effort they had put in had paid off. He was awake once more and looking much better than. But that was merely on the surface. 

"Marius," he called out to his right-hand man as he got out of the bathtub to stand on his own. 

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"How's Laina?" he asked.

"Queen Laina is... is doing well! She looks forward to-" before Marius could finish his sentence, Dante pinned him to the wall. 

Though he did not have his full strength, he was still someone you did not want to mess with. 

"Tell me the truth, Marius!" he demanded.