Chapter 93: Twin Axes vs. Blood Parasite (2)

Daniel hurried toward the fleshy cocoon, and from the outside it was clear that something inside was still moving. The wet mass trembled unevenly, as if whatever was trapped inside was still struggling not to suffocate.

Without thinking twice, the boy began cutting into the cocoon. It was tough and flexible, but thanks to the magic on his blade he managed to force his way through. Each strike sank only a little, and the flesh tried to close before splitting open again.

After several inches of cutting, the boy finally saw Ebony’s face inside and began cutting faster. Seeing her there, pale and soaked in blood, made precision irrelevant. He only wanted to get her out.

“Disgusting… how did you even get yourself trapped, shorty?” Daniel said with a worried look as he pulled the girl’s body from that fleshy, blood-soaked prison. He yanked her free and let her drop onto the wet grass.

Ebony instantly started coughing up blood that had filled her lungs, and while bracing herself on the grass she tried to stand. Air rushed into her chest all at once, mixed with pain, burning, and that horrible sensation of having almost gone out completely.

But it was impossible. Her body was exhausted and her magic drained. Her arms barely responded, her legs trembled, and her head spun so badly that even the yard seemed to tilt beneath her.

“Damn it… Ahhh… idiot! What are you doing here? Where’s Lucian?” Ebony said. Still gasping and half doubled over, the first thing she managed was a question full of anger, as if blaming someone kept her awake.

“I don’t know, the last time we were together was in the kitchen, though well… uhhh…” Daniel scratched his head. His answer came out awkwardly, almost guiltily, as if he already knew the rest was going to sound stupid.

Ebony looked at him with one eyebrow raised. She wasn’t even in condition to yell properly, but her expression alone made it clear she was already expecting something incredibly dumb.

“I was hungry and he came with me to look for some soup, but there wasn’t any left. So I grabbed some wine that was already uncorked. I offered Lucian a glass and, well… I think those sons of bitches put something in it.”

“You two idiots. Of course it had something in it. From now on, before you eat anything in this house, you give it to me first,” Ebony snapped angrily as she forced herself to stand. The scolding came out between heavy breaths while she pushed her body upright again.

“Well, fine, but at least say thanks, you ungrateful shorty. I saved your life… though honestly I couldn’t have done it without that strange magic…” Daniel didn’t understand why or how that reddish magic had cleared his mind. Still, he sounded proud of himself.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about and I don’t care. Let’s hurry and find Lucian, who knows if he’s still alive…” Ebony forced herself to start walking. She didn’t want to waste time arguing, because every second without finding the elf weighed heavier on her.

Daniel grabbed her arm and supported her from the side, helping her keep moving. He held her naturally, as if carrying a girl soaked in blood was the most normal thing that had happened all night.

Ebony looked at him with disgust and irritation, but after a sigh she gave a faint smile. “Thanks, idiot… Hey, by the way, what about the crow-faced guy?” The complaint and the gratitude came out mixed together, crooked, very much like her.

“I already beat him, don’t worry about it,” the boy replied confidently about his victory. He said it without hesitation, with that simple certainty that sometimes sounded brave and other times just plain stupid.

“Uh-huh… are you sure? That bastard was tough, and he had blood magic. It’s dangerous to leave him alive,” Ebony said immediately, suspicious. She had seen too much that night to believe something like that had ended so easily.

“I told you, girl, I left him stiff. Look,” Daniel pointed across the yard where the assassin’s body still lay on the grass. From that distance, the figure remained motionless as if it could never get up again.

Ebony tried to sense the life of her enemy, but even a passive ability required concentration to use—something her dizzy head could no longer manage. She closed her eyes for a second, but the pain only worsened.

With no choice but to believe the boy, Ebony kept walking, entering the mansion with Daniel. She didn’t like relying on that, but she had a more urgent priority and a body far too damaged to argue further.

But at that moment, in the middle of the lawn, the assassin clawed at the ground, refusing to leave this world. His fingers dug into the grass like claws, and his body trembled with the ugly determination of someone who refused to fall.

With difficulty, the assassin stood up. On his chest, the X-shaped wound began to heal as his flesh slowly wove itself back together. It wasn’t a clean recovery, but a slow and monstrous one.

“(That was dangerous… these people are strange. I’d better stop playing around.)”

Instead of chasing his enemies, the assassin approached the pool. His decision was quick, born not from wounded pride but from the need to secure the advantage.

With a bit of blood on his hand, he touched the water while letting his blood magic flow directly into it. The surface trembled slightly beneath his fingers, as if the entire pool reacted to the contact of something sick.

“Coagulate…”

{{Blood Magic: Contaminating Drops}}

The entire pool began to turn red, and little by little, using his magic, he started turning the water into blood. The change was slow, thick, and unpleasant, as if the clarity of the water were rotting from the inside.

Meanwhile, Ebony and Daniel began checking the rooms of the mansion. They opened door after door, glancing quickly before moving on, their desperation growing every time they found nothing useful.

They found no trace of their friend.

Suddenly they heard a voice, sharp and soft. The sound was so out of place in that ruined mansion that both of them froze for a moment.

As they got closer, they realized it was coming from the basement. They went down carefully, trying not to make the slightest sound. The staircase felt too narrow, and the silence below only made everything worse.

But when they arrived, they saw with horror a huge man who barely fit inside the basement. He was muscular, and his head looked small compared to the rest of his body. The shape of him alone was disgusting, like something deliberately made wrong.

His face, meanwhile, was covered by a crow mask just like the other assassin’s. However, this one wore a small black hat. That ridiculous detail didn’t make him any less horrifying—it only made the scene more disturbing.

But the most horrifying part was seeing the gigantic man gently tying a pink bow into Lucian’s hair while he sat tied to a chair, completely unconscious. The false tenderness of the gesture made the image far worse.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” the girl and the boy shouted in horror.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep