Mane of proof:
Bell took one. Welf blocked another. Raska pinned third.
I moved in for the kill. Cleaver through throat. Blood sprayed hot across my hand.
The body dissolved—fur, muscle, bone. Even blood pooling on floor vanished like dust caught in wind.
I wiped my blade.
Blood smeared onto my hand. Still wet. Still warm.
I looked at floor where the Silverback had been. Clean. Dry. The heat was gone. The smell fading. Nothing left.
I wiped my hand on my sleeve. The smear stayed. Dark. Wet.
The floor where five Silverbacks had died was dry as bone.
Ok, it may work.
Next group came. Two of them.
There is only one way to find out.
Bell and Raska handled one. I took the other.
Here goes nothing.
Circled behind while they engaged. Mane at nape—thick, exposed.
Cut fast. Shallow. Through hair.
Then deeper. Into throat.
Smoke rose. Heat flash. The cut hair vanished with the rest.
Nothing stayed.
Raska's head snapped toward me. Ears flat. Tail rigid.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
I lowered cleaver. "Trying something."
Another wave.
I tried it again. Went for mane mid-fight.
The cleaver felt like swinging lead. Weight dragged. My right arm overcompensated. Blade veered, passed close to Welf's shoulder as he turned.
"Watch it, buddy!" Genuine alarm.
It turned to smoke. Heat. Smell. Hair vanished.
Raska's tail flicked sharp. "You keep dragging us back. What's going on?"
Welf glared at me.
Before I could explain, next wave came. Four of them. Circling to ambush.
I moved to intercept. "Sorry."
"At least tell us what you're doing," Welf yelled.
"Okay!"
Bell had already adjusted to the fog. Lili covered him with her arrows. He killed two before we could take charge.
Me and Welf took one. Raska charged at another.
"Welf, don't kill it. Let's pin this one."
"Why?!"
"Gonna try cutting its hair."
"What?! It's not a farm."
"I know. Just trust me."
Welf grunted. "This better be good. Holding a Silverback is a workout."
"Need help!" I shouted.
Despite complaining, everyone moved together.
Raska frowned, kicking the silverback's left leg. "You crazy bitch."
Lili shot an arrow, blinding one eye. "Lili's gonna regret this for the rest of her life."
Bell from side—knife slashing arm, forcing it back. Raska caught it mid-turn, hands locking wrists, slammed it down again. It thrashed.
"Got the left arm!" Bell called out.
Welf cut the left knee, then pinning right with his greatsword. "Legs covered!"
"Whatever you're doing, do it fast!" Raska's voice strained.
I stepped in. My boots squelched—water-logged now, heavier. Stance felt off.
"The core is right there!" Lili's voice sharp. "Three inches over!"
"I'm not aiming for the core."
I grabbed the mane with my left hand. Light enough.
Cleaver came down. Cut deep.
Bell's knife punched core.
Eyes went dark.
Smoke hissed. Heat rolled over us.
Hair vanished.
Nothing stayed.
Welf straightened. "Nothing." Looked at me. "What's the idea?"
I wiped blood off blade. "Didn't work."
Raska exhaled hard through nose. "It's a monster. You kill it, it turns to dust."
Bell stepped closer. Soft. "Your hand is shaking. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"If you're tired—"
"I'm not tired. Let's try again."
Another group. Three.
Two down within seconds. The last hesitated, instincts finally catching up after watching its comrades fall.
I gestured without asking.
Raska looked at Bell. Bell at Welf. Welf sighed.
They pinned it.
I grabbed mane. Cut. Bell killed.
Smoke. Heat. Hair vanished.
Welf crossed arms. Stared at clean stone.
Lili's voice came quiet. "Lili thinks drops can't be harvested. You're just wasting our time."
"One last try. Please?"
Her head tilted. Eyes stayed on me.
Next wave.
I felt something wet against my wrist.
My left arm was bleeding.
When did... No matter.
I ignored it.
They pinned one without words.
Bell positioned. Raska grabbed wrists.
I moved in. My lungs burned. Breaths short.
Silverback thrashed—violent.
I grabbed the mane with my left hand. Light enough.
Cleaver came down. Cut deep.
Bell's knife punched core.
Eyes went dark.
Smoke rose—slower. Thicker. Heat rolled over us in a wave.
The tuft of grey-silver hair stayed in my left palm.
No one moved.
Raska stared at my hand. Ears forward. Locked. Tail completely still.
"Impossible..." The word left her mouth slowly, half broken.
Bell's breath caught—short, sharp. Hand frozen mid-motion.
Welf's grip shifted on sword. Leather wrap creaked.
My left hand shook as I held the tuft toward Lili.
She took it. Stared at the tuft. Then at me. Never looked away as she tucked it into her pouch.
The river roar filled the silence. Overwhelming. Like it had been waiting for us to stop talking so it could scream.
My arm throbbed. Blood dripped steady from the claw marks, hitting stone in rhythm.
Raska's mouth opened.
"How did you—"
Stopped. Shook her head. Stared at blood running down arm.
Voice quieter. "What happened to your hand? You've been too weird today."
"Few days ago, a frog shooter got me. Even after using antidotes, the numbness keeps coming back."
Her ears tilted back. Nose wrinkled slightly—not at the blood. At something else. She stared at my hand like she was trying to see through skin.
Welf frowned. "You've been fighting like this the whole time?"
I averted my eyes.
"Then why didn't you tell us?"
Bell looked at my arm. Voice soft but firm. "You're bleeding. Are you—"
"It's fine. I'm alright."
Guilt settled in, followed by that familiar, stupid awkwardness.
No words.
Lili pulled two small vials from pack. One pale green, another sky blue liquid, both faintly luminescent. Handed them over.
"Take it."
"Don't have valis."
"Lili didn't ask for any."
The sudden kindness soothed some of the adrenaline rush from the exchanges and everything I'd gone through today.
"Thanks. Really."
She nodded. "Asking something isn't wrong. Stealing is though."
Lili had changed. She wasn't the one who used me as a decoy on the upper floors anymore. A true supporter now.
I took them with a smile. Uncorked with teeth. Drank.
Bitter. Herbal burn. Settled cold in my stomach—sharp contrast against the fire spreading through my shoulder.
We waited.
Nothing changed.
Lili's voice stayed quiet. Factual. "It should work in minutes."
I tried to flex fingers. Nothing.
"Maybe needs time."
Bell looked at Raska. Then me. Careful. "We got what we came for. Let's surface. Get you treated properly."
Welf nodded once, already shifting his greatsword to his shoulder.
"Yeah. You've earned that much. Let's get your hand fixed before it falls off."
Raska stared one beat longer. Her ears flicked once. She turned to the stairwell.
"Let's move," she said. Then looked back at me. "And don't slow us down on the way up."
---