Chapter 25: 25 Escape

The church of Fenrad.

Since the residents were relocated, the church has been used to house the wounded, and a batch of victims poisoned by blood toxin have been bound separately in partitions.

The priests did not abandon these people; instead, they notified their relatives, hoping one or two might be saved.

Today, the scent of blood in the church was several times stronger than usual.

Wounded were constantly being brought in, and a large portion were critically injured.

"Ugh, aaaaah! Let me go!"

Without the suppression of holy light for a long time, the blood-toxin victims had become increasingly agitated.

Novice priest Malvin forcefully pinned down a struggling patient while his companion cooperated to tie the ropes tight.

"This won't work; we still need holy light spells to suppress them. Where is Priest Grane?"

His companion glanced at the roaring patients around them and shook his head:

"He's still outside treating the wounded. Two more critically injured just arrived; the priest may not have the strength left to help them."

"I'll go ask."

Malvin went outside and indeed saw the priest shoving a soldier's intestines back in with one hand while casting a healing spell with the other to keep him alive.

Only after the soldier's condition finally stabilized did Malvin approach and speak to the priest:

"Priest Grane, the blood-toxin victims must be suppressed with holy light spells, or they恐怕 won't hold on."

Grane turned around, and Malvin then noticed his eyes lacked their usual sparkle, looking utterly exhausted.

This was a sign of mana exhaustion.

Malvin felt there probably wouldn't be any holy light spells left.

Sure enough, Grane spoke with a look of reluctance:

"Malvin, take a sword inside and grant release to those who can't make it.

I cannot abandon those who can definitely be saved for the sake of blood-toxin patients with slim hope.

I will bear whatever consequences."

"Yes..."

Picking up a soldier's sword from the wall, Malvin returned to the partition.

Several more people had gone mad.

Seeing him return with a sword, his companion understood the meaning and walked out, unable to bear watching.

Walking up to a man struggling most violently, Malvin took a deep breath.

He knew this man; he was the captain of a patrol squad who had accidentally drunk tampered stream water during a mission and turned out this way.

"I'm sorry. May the Lord of Light, Ixion, save your soul."

The long sword pierced the neck, ending the squad captain's suffering.

Malvin let out a long sigh and walked toward the next person.

This was a young female adventurer; it was said she had been attacked by bats while on a commission.

Half of her eyes had already turned red; this was a precursor to complete transformation and the most painful stage.

Yet she gritted her teeth and made no sound, only emitting muffled groans.

It made Malvin feel admiration.

It was just a pity.

The female adventurer smelled the blood on Malvin's sword, offered no resistance, simply closed her eyes, and trembled slightly as she prepared to face her tragic end.

"May the Lord of Light, Ixion, save your soul."

Boom—

The great door was burst open; the sudden change froze Malvin's sword in mid-air.

The newcomer, cloaked in a tattered cloak, saw the female adventurer and rushed over like a madman, knocking Malvin down in one collision.

"What are you doing? I'm helping them find release..."

Malvin thought the newcomer had misunderstood something and, holding his waist, got up to drive him away.

But when he saw what the newcomer held in his hand, he froze.

"Reversal Potion!"

The one in the cloak was naturally Dylan; he paid no attention to what Malvin said, only looking at his daughter's pained expression with heartache.

Using his intact right hand, he took out the potion and carefully fed it to her.

"Dad?"

"Bella, don't be afraid. Dad is here. This is a potion that can save you; you will be fine."

Bella seemed too afraid to believe her father would appear at such a time, but she obediently drank it down.

As the potion entered her body, Bella felt a sharp pain coursing through her entire body.

"Ah!"

The suddenly intensified pain made Bella cry out for a moment, then she simply fainted.

"Th-this, what is happening? Is there a problem with the potion? What do we do?"

Dylan was completely panicked; if this sole hope was fake... then he would definitely go back and kill that goat-bearded man's entire family!

Seeing this, Malvin, who knew what was happening, hurriedly explained:

"Don't worry; this is a normal phenomenon of the Reversal Potion. Naturally, the transformed parts will have to undergo the pain again to revert.

It's good she fainted; once she wakes up, everything will be fine."

"R-really?"

Dylan grabbed Malvin's hand with such force that Malvin, a novice priest, winced in pain.

"Really, really! Let go of me!"

Realizing he had lost his composure, Dilan hurriedly let go and apologized, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Forget it… I understand you."

Saying so, Marvin picked up the sword on the ground and walked toward another patient on the verge of transforming, continuing his task—not everyone had the good fortune to turn danger into safety.

Bella was frowning tightly at this moment, as if she could feel the pain even in her slumber.

Dilan gently stroked her face, his eyes glistening with tears.

He had finally saved his own daughter.

The shouts and killing outside could barely be heard anymore; the bloodsuckers that had come to attack were not many compared to the soldiers—they had only held the advantage of a surprise attack.

The manager here seemed to have some skill; before Dilan came in, he had seen him organizing soldiers outside the church, forming ranks and beginning to counterattack.

Dilan himself had also smeared his face with fresh blood to cover the fungal filaments before being let in.

Order would probably be restored here soon…

"Lucky girl, you two must share a deep bond, rushing into the village under circumstances like these."

After killing all the restless patients, Marvin struck up a conversation out of nothing; he now needed someone to talk to in order to ease his own psychological pressure.

Hearing this, Dilan seemed to remember something, stood up in a slight panic, and ran outside.

"Hey, hey?"

It left Marvin's face full of confusion—didn't want to chat, sure, but did he have to run?

Dilan rushed out of the church and looked around, confirming there were no more traces of bloodsuckers and that the church would no longer be in danger.

Then, while the soldiers had not yet fully restored order, he slipped out of the village.

It wasn't that he didn't want to watch his daughter wake up; he was simply afraid.

Flexing his left hand, which had regained sensation, the fungal filaments fused with flesh and blood at the wound reminded him of the fact that he had long since become something other.

He wasn't afraid his daughter wouldn't accept him—quite the opposite.

Just as that novice priest had said, the bond between father and daughter ran deep.

So deep that even if Bella knew her father had become like this, she would stand by his side without hesitation.

And that was precisely what he feared.

His abnormality being discovered was only a matter of time; when the time came to face judgment, whether it would be life or death was still unknown.

Yet Bella had outstanding talent and would have a bright future; Dilan could not accept her destroying that future for his sake.

He had to stay away from Bella.

But where could he go now?

Dilan even felt that perhaps he should find a place to end his own life—that would be the most fitting.

But people ultimately cling to life; for his daughter's sake he could disregard his own life, and now that she was safe, he couldn't quite bring himself to part with his own life either.

If he could, he still wanted to hide somewhere, occasionally asking after news of Bella, knowing whether she was doing well.

Turning it over in his mind, Dilan decided to go to a certain place first; somehow, he felt he could find a way to survive there.

(End of this chapter)