The first thought that came to Michael was that a monster might be in the building.
Immediately, his expression became serious.
Michael heightened his senses to their maximum, but he noticed nothing unusual.
No. He did notice something.
It was coming from upstairs.
"Where did you hear the scream from, Aunt Mia?" Michael asked, turning to look at his aunt.
"Upstairs." She paused, her voice uncertain.
But after a moment, she added, "It should be upstairs. The scream sounded like it came from the neighbors—the family Lily usually plays with."
Michael recognized the family.
He wasn't close to them personally, but he had seen them around the apartment building for years.
Michael didn't mention the scent of blood he had picked up.
It wouldn't do Aunt Mia any good to know.
Instead, he said, "I'll check it out in a minute, Aunt Mia. Let me see Lily first."
Aunt Mia nodded in a daze, not giving it much thought.
By now, she was beginning to understand that this nephew of hers was very different from before.
She didn't know what exactly had happened after he barricaded the building, but the few things he had done so far made it clear that his awakening had changed him.
As for the scream, she had only mentioned it in passing because Michael had asked.
When Michael entered the apartment, he found his cousin Lily sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Unlike what Aunt Mia had told him outside, she was now awake.
Lily was staring at the entrance with a mix of emotions on her face that only eased when she saw Michael walk in.
"How's your leg feeling?"
Michael asked softly as he approached Lily and bent down.
It seemed Aunt Mia had bandaged her leg in his absence.
Even through the light wrapping, Michael could see that her foot was swollen.
It was surprising to think that someone could get such a bad sprain at home, but it wasn't unheard of.
In both his lives, Michael had heard countless stories of people sustaining the worst injuries in their own homes.
"Does it hurt much?" Michael asked, brushing his hand lightly against Lily's foot.
"Ouch!" Lily grimaced in pain, unable to answer, though her reaction said enough.
"Sorry. Just bear with it a little longer."
Michael began loosening the bandage around Lily's sprained foot slowly and carefully.
"What are you doing?" Aunt Mia finally asked.
"I'm trying to relieve her pain," Michael replied simply.
Aunt Mia's face twisted in confusion.
It was clear she had no idea what Michael was about to do, but though questions burned in her mind, she kept them to herself.
Ever since his awakening, she had been trying to deny how much had changed—it was all happening too fast.
But it was obvious now.
Michael was no longer the boy she knew.
It wasn't that he had become a different person, but he had grown.
He had spread his wings and was already soaring.
She wasn't in a position to question him like she used to.
Her boy was now a man of his own.
Even so, concern lingered on Aunt Mia's face as she watched Michael carefully remove the last bit of bandage from Lily's swollen leg.
Lily let out a sigh of relief as his hand left the swollen area, which hurt whenever there was pressure on it.
After he finished removing the bandage, under the astonished eyes of his cousin and Aunt Mia, Michael brought out a health potion from his storage space.
To the two people, who had only seen supernatural feats performed on the internet—and even then, mostly displays of immense strength—Michael's act of pulling something out of thin air left them in awe.
Not paying attention to their expressions or reactions, Michael calmly unscrewed the cap of the health potion bottle and positioned it above the swollen area on Lily's foot.
Neither Lily nor Aunt Mia asked what the liquid was, but the translucent green color made their hearts race.
Still, the trust they had in Michael—from the years they had spent together and the fact that he had protected them during the chaos, even fighting against those terrifying monsters while others fell—gave them no reason to question him.
Unlike the pain Lily expected to feel as the liquid made contact with her skin, she was met with a refreshing, soothing sensation instead.
Under the amazed eyes of Aunt Mia and Lily, they watched as her skin absorbed the transparent green liquid.
It washed over her body, and the swollen, red area around her foot began to visibly heal.
When Michael saw the skin on her foot return to a healthy color, he stopped pouring the health potion and carefully replaced the bottle's cap.
Just as he had expected, the potion had barely been used—less than a quarter of its contents had been consumed to treat Lily's injury.
As for having Lily drink the potion, Michael saw no need.
She wasn't in the same situation he had been in back in the Land of Origin. She only had external injuries.
There was no reason to waste the potion on something that was already healed.
"How do you feel?" Michael asked as he placed the health potion back into his storage space.
Though in awe of everything that was happening, Lily was still able to formulate a response.
"G-good. It's not p-paining anymore."
As she spoke, she stood up on her feet, and truly, she felt no pain.
Happy that she was no longer in pain, Michael turned to look at his aunt, who was staring at the scene in amazement, and spoke, bringing her out of her daze.
A/N: I'm sorry, guys. I won't be able to do a mass release today. Something came up, and I couldn't write as much as I wanted to. I've been seeing the votes, and they really make me happy. I'll make sure to pay back the chapters I owe! Thank you for your support!