"So, are you going to obey or not?" Thirteen asked.
The White Elephant looked very pitiful as it tried to prop itself up from the ground, not forgetting to glare at the teenage boy's direction before trumpeting its defiance.
"I understand. I like breaking those with strong wills." Thirteen nodded. "Stacy, time for Round 2."
The Blaze Skunk once again unleashed its stink spray at the White Elephant, whose body had started to convulse uncontrollably after being subjected to another round of Stacy's special stink spray.
Foam frothed on the White Elephant's mouth as its body twitched from time to time, proving that it was still alive.
The girls were all shaken by this scene in front of them, prompting them to plead that the young man show mercy to the pitiful creature and set it free.
"Set it free?" Thirteen chuckled. "And why should I do that? If you want someone to blame, you should blame Derek for insisting that I tell you how I tame monsters."
Derek felt a lump form in his throat, preventing him from saying anything.
Following Thirteen's words, the ladies then glared in the Swordsman's direction, as if the latter had killed a pet that they dearly loved.
"I-It wasn't supposed to be this way," Derek stuttered. "I didn't know he would do something !"
The girls understood that Derek was telling the truth. However, even if they understood, there was no one else they could vent their frustration at aside from him.
Vent their anger at Zion?
The teenage boy was currently sitting on a wheelchair because he fought for their sake. How could they possibly raise their hands against him?
However, Shana, who was always the voice of reason, approached Thirteen and held his hands.
"Zion, please spare the White Elephant," Shana said. "It's still young. Just look at its size—it's barely five-feet tall."
Thirteen glanced at the White Elephant that was still twitching on the ground before shifting his gaze to Shana, who was looking at him with a pleading gaze.
"Hah… fine," Thirteen replied. "But I won't free him. I have secrets to keep, and even if it's young, it will remember my face. It might be weak now, but in the future, it will grow to be a strong monster.
"What will a Rookie like me do if that little Elephant suddenly becomes huge and steps on me in the future? Who will plead for my sake?"
"I will," Shana said without hesitation.
"Okay. Then I'll leave that Elephant in your care before we arrive in the Temple of Zaphiel," Thirteen stated.
Shana nodded and agreed to take responsibility for the Elephant.
"O1, O2, clean him up," Thirteen ordered.
The two Ogres took out some specialized gas masks Thirteen had especially made for occasions .
There would be times when they had to fight alongside Giga and Stacy, so having masks was a necessity.
Picking up the Elephant, the two Ogres headed to the lake, where they'd wash its body.
The teenage boy couldn't possibly let Shana do such a thing.
But what the Saintess and the rest didn't see was the faint smile that appeared on Thirteen's face.
He knew that the White Elephant wasn't really unconscious and was even paying attention to their conversation.
Because of this, he decided to agree to Shana's request and allowed her to care for the White Elephant after a few days.
He had also secretly given an order to O1 and O2 to say some things to the White Elephant while they cleaned its body from filth.
Erica and the other girls were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, unable to stand seeing a cute, cuddly creature like the White Elephant suffer such hardships.
"Thank you, Zion," Erica said.
"You're welcome," Thirteen replied. "How do you feel today?" Erica asked while pushing the wheelchair toward the log cabin that had been built for Thirteen's use.
"Better," Thirteen answered. "But being in this condition made me think that maybe I should make one of those floating wheelchairs that Professor Z used in X-Mane.
"Professor Z?" Erica blinked. "X-Mane?"
"Don't mind me," Thirteen replied. "I'm just mumbling things out loud."
Erica shook her head helplessly before looking in the direction of the Lake, where the Elephant was being cleaned by the two Ogres.
The Sorceress knew that once Zion started something, he would see it through until the very end.
She doubted that he'd stop torturing the White Elephant just because they asked that he stop bullying it.
Suddenly, a thought came out of her mind, which made her shift her attention to her fiance, who was currently talking with Tiona in the language of snakes.
(A/N: The monsters are talking in a language that no humans, aside from Zion, could understand.)
"I'm sorry, young one," the O1 said. "My Master is a very evil person. Just like you, we have been subjected to such treatment as well."
The White Elephant looked at the Ogre with teary eyes, as if looking at a kindred spirit who understood its suffering.
"That's right, little one," O2 commented. "You only experienced it twice, but we? Hah… we suffered for an entire month of that damnable stink spray! If not for the Saintess, you would have suffered the same fate until you wished that you were dead. You are really lucky!"
"He's right, you know?" O1 sighed as he brushed the White Elephant's back. "You really got lucky that Lady Shana is here. If not for her… aish… just thinking about your fate is enough to make me remember my trauma all over again."
The White Elephant shuddered after hearing the confessions of the two Ogres.
It heard Shana's words earlier and saw how she tried to negotiate with the devil to let him go.
Unfortunately, the Devil didn't agree to free him.
Still, being spared from that horrible stink was still better than nothing.
The two Ogres continued to praise Shana, telling the White Elephant how kind and caring she was.
Little by little, the pitiful creature was starting to think that Shana wasn't a bad person, especially after the latter tried to stand up for him against the bully who had kidnapped it while trying to look for something to eat.