Chapter 195: Chapter 151: Blight
In the final monts of his life, Marcus’s consciousness beca unusually clear.
He recalled his whole life, those painful days spent in his brother’s laboratory, those forced "modifications" and "enhancents".
Oliver never treated him as a brother, rely viewing him as a disposable experint.
Each "extraction" would steal a part of his soul, making him less and less human.
At first, those experints were basic tests, the pain barely tolerable.
But as Oliver’s ambition swelled, the nature of the experints grew increasingly cruel.
He rembered that long night, when Oliver first pierced tendrils into his brain.
He felt parts of his mory and knowledge being forcibly drawn out, pain beyond the physical realm, a tearing of the soul.
From that day on, he knew he could never return.
His consciousness gradually shattered, his personality disintegrated, leaving only fragnted mories and emotions.
Oliver’s "improvents" on him beca more frequent, transforming him into various grotesque forms, as if seeking so perfect formula.
Marcus thought he had long been accustod to such a fate, until that day, when he saw Ron Ralph’s figure in his brother’s peering crystal.
That fellow who initially clashed with him over a servant, though truth be told, his initial conflict with Ron was also at Oliver’s behest...
His brother’s interest in Ron grew daily, with a certain morbid jealousy underlying it.
Marcus even once overheard his brother muttering: "Imagine, if I could obtain his special talent in Magic Potion Making..."
He knew that if given the chance, Oliver would certainly target Ron, just like all the other "materials" he coveted.
And this realization, for so reason, planted a completely illogical thought in Marcus’s mind: Ron indirectly caused his tragic situation.
If it weren’t for Ron, perhaps Oliver wouldn’t have descended into madness so swiftly, perhaps he himself wouldn’t have beco a twisted experint.
This illogical but in his deranged mind perfectly reasonable hatred beca Marcus’s last spiritual pillar.
In so way, it might be the only emotion keeping a sliver of his self intact.
"Ron..."
In the flas, he saw a blurry figure.
It was the blond youth Andre, clad in scale armor, holding a sword, with Dragon Breath fla pouring from his mouth like a stream, forming a magnificent and deadly pillar of fire.
In Marcus’s distorted vision, the blond figure overlapped with Ron.
He rembered Ron often appearing with this blond aristocrat, the two inseparable, supporting each other.
"It’s you..." Marcus felt a surge of anger rising within him: "It’s all you..."
In the blazing inferno, his bones suddenly emitted a series of horrifying cracking sounds, then recombined into a form more suited for a sprint.
The black veins under his skin began to writhe frantically, providing the dying body with its last energy.
The burning body suddenly burst forth with astonishing strength, charging through the sea of fire at an unimaginable speed, heading straight for Andre.
Andre evidently didn’t expect this half-charred monster could still move, barely sidestepping in haste, but Marcus’s teeth still sunk deeply into his arm.
"Damn it!" Andre cried out in pain, then thrust his longsword fiercely into Marcus’s head.
The sword blade pierced through the brain, the sharp tip erging from the back of the head, blood splattering everywhere.
But even with his brain pierced, Marcus’s teeth still clamped down tightly, biting even deeper.
"Help
get this thing off!"
Andre shouted to surrounding Law Enforcent Officers, trying to break free, but Marcus’s jaw was like a vise, unyielding.
Several Law Enforcent Officers rushed forward, so firing beams with their magic wands, others attempting to wrap Marcus’s body with magic ropes.
"You must decapitate it, its central nervous system has mutated!"
An Advanced Apprentice commanded:
"Ordinary damage won’t work, it must be completely severed!"
Enduring the intense pain, Andre forcefully pulled out his sword, then swung it vigorously at Marcus’s neck.
Simultaneously, another Law Enforcent Officer also struck the sa spot with a sharp energy blade.
Under the combined forces, Marcus’s head was finally severed, but his teeth still gripped Andre’s arm stubbornly, refusing to let go.
Blood flowed down Andre’s arm, staining his cuff and boots.
The bitten spot oozed black liquid, mixing with the blood to form a disturbing dark red.
"What about the rest of the body?"
Andre asked through gritted teeth, his face pale from pain.
"It’s completely burned, showing no signs of activity."
One Law Enforcent Officer replied, keeping a vigilant eye on the still slightly twitching head.
"Help
take it off." Andre pointed to the head biting his arm:
"I need to treat the wound."
Several Law Enforcent Officers worked together, using every ounce of strength, finally removing Marcus’s head from Andre’s arm.
The bitten spot revealed a ghastly wound, the muscle tissue nearly torn away, exposing the gleaming white bone beneath.
More worriso, black lines were appearing around the wound, like so kind of contamination or curse spreading.
"You need to find the Masters imdiately for treatnt."
The Law Enforcent team’s dical apprentice rely took out potion and bandages:
"This kind of wound might carry deep contamination, I can only help you with so simple treatnt."
Andre looked at his wound, then at those expensive healing potions, and could only nod:
"Thanks, I’m a Bloodline Knight, such wounds can heal quickly."
"But the contamination might... you’d better go find your Master..."
The dical apprentice wanted to continue persuading but stopped halfway.
Seeing Andre’s worried expression, he understood the situation he was in.
"Then let
just perform so basic treatnt here..."
"What about Marcus’s head? Do we need to perform a dissection analysis?" soone asked.
"No, just burn it."
The Law Enforcent Captain decisively commanded:
"This type of case is too dangerous, not suitable for ordinary apprentices to get involved. The valuable information will be extracted by the Masters; you all should not ddle."
Everyone nodded and then threw Marcus’s head back into the flas.
The head emitted a chilling hissing noise in the fire, as if making a final protest, but was quickly devoured by the flas.
Andre stood aside, witnessing it all with a complex expression.
His arm throbbed with pain, but he forced himself to stay composed.
As a royal lineage mber, he was taught from a young age to maintain his deanor in all situations.
Moreover, this kind of injury was indeed nothing to a Bloodline Knight.
After a few days of rest, the bloodline power would automatically repair damaged tissues.
But what he hadn’t noticed was that the black contaminated markings were not stopping spreading due to the simple bandaging.
Instead, they were gradually but resolutely spreading upwards, like an invisible poisonous snake, quietly infiltrating his bloodstream.
"Report the situation."
The Law Enforcent Captain stepped up to Andre: "What did you find before you arrived?"
"Upon receiving the notification, I quickly went to the scene. Marcus was already out of the tower and wandering in the central area. His condition was very unstable, extrely aggressive, and had already caused slight injuries to several Elentary Apprentices."
Andre briefly recounted the incident:
"I tried to use Dragon Breath to corner him but didn’t expect his resistance to be stronger than imagined, and eventually had to resort to physical attacks."
"You did well." The Law Enforcent Captain nodded:
"And Oliver? Any leads?"
"Unrelated personnel, stay away!"
Suddenly, a dignified voice ca from the back of the crowd. The people quickly parted, revealing a path.
A tall figure in a deep purple robe quickly approached, it was Vice-President Hayek.
Everyone imdiately stood solemnly, including the Law Enforcent Captain showing a respectful expression.
"Vice-President!" The Law Enforcent Captain stepped forward, respectfully saluting.
"How’s the situation?" Hayek directly asked without any pleasantries.
"Oliver West has defected, releasing the test subject Marcus causing chaos, and then took the opportunity to escape into the Edge Forest. The pursuit squad has followed him into the depths, but..."
The Law Enforcent Captain paused, hesitated to continue:
"We lost contact."
"Lost contact?" Hayek’s brow furrowed even more: "How many people?"
"Three Middle Apprentices, one Advanced Apprentice." The Law Enforcent Captain’s voice slightly lowered:
"The last ssage indicated they discovered Oliver’s trace in the northeastern region of the Edge Forest, preparing to encircle him..."
"Then what?"
"Then there was no further response."
The Law Enforcent Captain lowered his head:
"We tried to contact them through the spiritual link, but one by one the connections severed. The last mber reported that Oliver had begun an awakening, displaying extre aggression and so... special ability."
Hayek’s face darkened even more:
"Take
to where Marcus was found, I want to examine it personally."
"Yes, Sir."
As Hayek and the Law Enforcent Captain left, the atmosphere eased slightly.
Andre also prepared to leave, but a Law Enforcent Officer stopped him.
"Andre, please wait. The Vice-President has instructed that all personnel involved in tonight’s operation must undergo detailed recording and examination, just in case."
Andre nodded, although his arm was in great pain, he knew it was a necessary procedure.
He cannot perform field tasks for the ti being, and his inco is ager, coupled with the soaring appetite after becoming a Bloodline Knight has left him financially strained, so...
He looked down at his bandaged wound, with so blood seeping through the outside of the bandages, but the bleeding had slowed.
The self-healing ability of a Bloodline Knight was at work, the wound should heal soon.
"I’ll go find Ron to have a look tomorrow, he always has many solutions..."
He refrains from seeking an Official Wizard’s help due to not affording the Magic Stone Fragnt and his instinctive trust in his genius alchemist friend.
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