The Core (8)

"Can you get up?" Nida asked.

"You? Are you fine? " Randell also asked, thinking that Nida might really be scared of the sudden fight that brought her to tears.

As usual, Randell thinks wrong.

"Stop asking me when I am the one asking you!" She angrily stood up and removed her shield.

With her bloodshot eyes, she looked around to see where the genie had managed to run.

She then gestured with her hand to command her dust to drag the genie back to the park.

"He cannot escape your dust?"

"Probably? Can't you see he is not escaping." She replied to him sarcastically.

She walked closer to the fish net made of her dust, then crouched down to make eye contact with the Genie.

"Sir Genie, does killing us can bring your relationship with Aileen better?"

"Priestess, please don't get involved! I will punish that wolf!" The genie menacingly looked up at Randell, who was standing behind Nida.

"Haaaa— Sir, I hate violence. Can we just solve this in a different way?"

"Why, priestess, do you have any other solution?"

Surprisingly, the genie talks calmly and respectfully towards her, despite almost crashing her with car.

"Hmmn, it depends. But I will try to help." She plops down on the ground to rest. She hadn't let go of the genie yet, but the way he talks, it seems he is willing to negotiate. "Let me first know what happened after Aileen heard the truth."

Actually, she hates getting involved, but she needs to know since she can't have the genie and the werewolf fight while she needs to stick with him.

"She was angry."

"That's given."

"Ehem! She doesn't want to see me again! She told me that If I am honestly not wanting her body, I need to distance myself."

"Then distance yourself. Let her anger disappear with time first. "

"This is not a simple matter, priestess!"

"I know, but that doesn't mean you have to make things more complicated. Attacking us won't solve anything."

The genie became silent.

Nida observed the genie for a moment before she lightly kicked the genie on his knees.

"Hey, my dust is suggesting something ridiculous to me." She sounds annoyed.

"Pardon?" the genie asked while Randell tapped her shoulder to look up at him.

"Don't do anything dangerous."

"No, I won't. Why would I?" She frowned, thinking why he would think that she would do a dangerous thing whereas she always takes priority of herself.

"Take me to her."

"No! Please! Don't purify her!" The genie sprung up, but the dust, in the shape of a fishing net, pulled him into place.

"I won't!" Her eyebrows twitched from annoyance since, for awhile, the two kept assuming things she wouldn't do.

"My dust told me, we could return her body back to normal."

"Back to being a human?"

"Not a vessel?"

"H-how?"

"You grant her three wishes, right?."

"Yes."

"I can officiate a ritual to void the contract, but she needs to return the three wishes as well."

The genie opened and closed his mouth for a moment before saying his statement. "We need to ask her opinion on this."

"Why? Are these wishes too important?"

"She wished for it because she badly needed it."

"Hmmn. Then what do you want to do?"

"I..." the genie looked down before answering, "Okay, let's go." His gaze narrowed and he suddenly became eager.

"Sure, but first." She exhaustedly speaks as she leans on Randell's leg because he is still standing behind her.

"Please clean this mess, first."

She pointed at the destroyed park and the cars and other things that were burned and crumpled.

She's surprised that not a single police officer has come yet, thinking the Genie might have placed a spell around the area to keep humans away.

"Please free me."

"Let's not be violent." she commented, before she gestured for her dust to disperse.

The red-colored skin of the genie turns blue as he starts to calm down. He then clapped his hand multiple times, and in an instant, the messed up park returned to normal.

"I placed it under a spell to make it easier to clean up."

"Oh, really?that's nice, then you can clean up my office too. You freaking mess up the papers I worked on for hours." She's calmly speaking, but her irritation can still be felt.

"I'm sorry, I did it without a plan."

The genie sincerely apologized.

Nida just let out a long sigh and finally stood up.

"Let's go?"

The genie snapped his finger and, almost in an instant, the scenery changed into a closed room and the three of them were in front of Aileen.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" she screamed.

Aileen was surprised by the sudden appearance of three people inside her room.

Among them, Randell frightened Aileen the most because he was still in his werewolf form.

"Yeah, yeah, thank you for screaming energetically." She said reluctantly while sharply looking at the genie.

"Sir Genie, I told you to let us meet her, but not like this."

"W-why are you here?" Aileen interjected while she moved to the far most corner of her room.

"Did you already hear the details from your genie?"

"H-he is a genie! He will take my body!"

"Ms. Aileen, nothing is free."

"What do you want?"

"Nothing, I just came to help. Sir Genie wanted to return your body."

"Really?"

"Yep, but you need to return what he gave to you too."

"How can I even return those!" she shouted, as if Nida was telling her to do something impossible.

Nida tipped her head and looked at the Genie to confirm it.

"She wished for health, beauty, and workplace skills."

Nida's jaw dropped at the unexpected intangible things Aileen wished for.

"I never thought that you weren't materialistic at all?"

She expects her to wish for money and other material things.

"But wait? health? Who's sick? "

"Me."

"You?"

"cancer"

Nida bit her lip as things got more annoying.

"This is impossible, Sir Genie." she concludes.

If she returns to her original body, she will die, but if she agrees to remain in his vessel, she will remain forever as an evil soul that needs purification.

She's planning to leave and let them deal with their own problems since she's already done her part to help them out, but her dust is whispering annoyingly at her again.

"Shit." Everyone looks in her direction.

"Sorry, I just learned a new thing to help both of you." She picked up the elephant stuffed toy sitting on Aileen's bed and placed it on the floor.

"Sir Genie, I'll grant you a new vessel at the same time we can purify Ms. Aileen's soul without vanishing."

"Really?" The two perked up and moved forward toward her.

"Sir Genie, please possess this toy, Ms. Aileen, stand beside the toy."

"W-wait." Randell pulled Nida's sleeves. "Are you sure it's okay for you to do it? It won't cause you harm? " He asked anxiously.

"Hmm, I don't know. Just bring me to Daniel if something goes wrong."

Nida isn't fearless. She, too, is wary of what she's going to do, but there's a side of her that wants to help the two, despite the fact that she never receives any good from them.

"It will be fast. I want to rest too."

She raised her arms towards the two while her dust went off her body.

The dust formed a circle around the two, and a silver light surrounded them.

Nida was just doing what the dust was telling her to do as she closed her eyes to concentrate more.

Ting!

A sharp sound ended the ritual and made Nida collapse on the floor.

"Nida!" Randell worriedly came into her.

"I'm not hurt, I'm just exhausted."

She then looked up the two, but nothing seemed to have changed for them.

"Did I just waste my energy?"

"No. It worked! " The elephant stuffed toy suddenly smiled from ear to ear. That makes it a bit creepy.

"Then that's good news." She stood up while Randell supported her.

"I can leave now, right?"

"Uhmm, Ms. Mildea." Aileen called out softly that she seemed to be hesitating.

"No need for thanks or whatever. We will go now. Fix your problem first. " She waved her hand and turned to leave the two alone.

The two had a lot to talk about their relationship, and that matter is not something Nida wanted to get involved in.

She just wanted to hurry and rest.

"Umm." Randell made a timid sound that didn't suit his monstrous appearance.

"Don't act cute while in that form."

"No. Can I carry you on my back?"

"Why the need?"

"I can't commute with this appearance."

"Then turn into a human!" she yelled angrily, which Randell immediately did, but she frowned when she realized what Randell was worried about.

He returned back to his human form, but only his torn pants remained.

She didn't noticed that his shoes and shirt was ripped off because of his fur when he is in werewolf form.

Her face heats up as she stares at his well-built body. She cursed herself as she thought about it, as if his chiseled body was molded by the gods themselves.

"Y-you don't look that fit when you're in uniform." She weirdly commented as she felt dizzy by just staring at his body.

Randell hugged himself as he became aware of Nida's eyes on him.

"It's a loose fitting."

"Ah." She awkwardly looked away. "Anyway, how can we go back now? I left my things in the office, so we can't commute either. "

"I'll carry you on my back, then I'll run back to the office."

"FYI, the office is too far from here and people might see us."

"I can hide my presence. It will take minutes with my legs." he boasts, taking pride in his own strength as he pounds his bulky chest with his hand.

"O-okay?"

Randell transformed back to his werewolf form and kneeled down in front of Nida to let her ride on his back.

"I am relieved." he commented after Nida got on his back.

"For what?"

"You're no longer trembling in fear while I'm on this form." He bitterly stated, but he immediately smiled once he heard Nida's response.

"Bullshit"