Chapter 153: Dark Sore

In the final moments of his life, Ma Kusi's consciousness became rarely clear.

He recalled his life, those painful days spent in his brother's laboratory, those "transformations" and "upgrades" he was forced to accept.

Oliver never treated him as a brother, just regarding him as an experimental subject that could be sacrificed at any time.

Every "extraction" stole a part of his soul, making him move further and further away from being human.

At first, those experiments were just basic tests, and the pain was still bearable.

But with the expansion of Oliver's ambition, the nature of the experiments became increasingly cruel.

He remembered that long night when Oliver first pierced his tentacle into his brain.

He felt a part of his memory and knowledge being forcibly extracted; that pain transcended the physical level, it was the pain of the soul being torn apart.

From that day on, he knew he could never go back.

His consciousness gradually shattered, his personality disintegrated, leaving only fragmented memories and emotions.

Oliver's "improvements" to him became more frequent, transforming him into all kinds of strange postures, as if looking for some kind of perfect formula.

Ma Kusi thought he had long been accustomed to this fate, until that day, when he saw the figure of Luo En Ralf in his brother's peeping crystal.

That guy who had a conflict with himself because of a servant, but speaking of reason, his conflict with Luo En at the beginning was also instructed by Oliver...

His brother's attention to Luo En grew day by day, and this attention contained some kind of morbid jealousy.

Ma Kusi even heard his brother mutter in a low voice: "Imagine, if I could acquire his special talent for potion-making..."

He knew that if there was a chance, Oliver would definitely attack Luo En, just like treating all the "materials" he coveted.

And this realization, for some reason, planted a thought in Ma Kusi's heart that did not conform to normal logic: it was Luo En who indirectly led to his miserable situation.

If there was no Luo En, perhaps Oliver would not have fallen into madness so quickly, perhaps he himself would not have become a twisted experimental subject.

This kind of illogical but perfectly reasonable resentment in a distorted spirit became Ma Kusi's last spiritual pillar.

In a sense, this was perhaps the only emotion that kept him maintaining a trace of self.

"Luo En..."

In the flames, he saw a blurred figure.

It was the blonde youth Andre, who was wearing scale armor and holding a sword in his right hand, dragon breath flames spraying from his mouth like flowing water, forming a gorgeous and deadly fire pillar.

In Ma Kusi's distorted vision, that blonde figure overlapped with Luo En.

He remembered that Luo En often appeared with this blonde noble, the two inseparable, supporting each other.

"It's you..." Ma Kusi felt a surge of anger: "It's all you..."

Amidst the raging flames, his bones suddenly made a series of terrible breaking sounds, and then recombined, forming a posture more suitable for sprinting.

The black blood vessels under the skin began to wriggle crazily, providing the final energy for this dying body.

The burning body suddenly erupted with astonishing power, rushing towards Andre at an incredible speed.

Andre obviously didn't expect this half-charred monster to still be able to move, and in his haste, he barely dodged sideways, but Ma Kusi's teeth still bit deeply into his arm.

"Damn it!" Andre cried out in pain, and then stabbed his long sword into Ma Kusi's head with force.

The blade pierced through the brain, revealing the sharp sword tip through the back of the head, blood splashing everywhere.

But even though his brain was pierced, Ma Kusi's teeth still bit tightly and wouldn't let go, even biting deeper.

"Help me get this thing off!"

Andre shouted to the surrounding Law Enforcement Team members, trying to break free, but Ma Kusi's jaw was as tight as a lock.

Several Law Enforcement Team members rushed forward quickly, some shooting light beams with staffs, others trying to entangle Ma Kusi's body with magic ropes.

"Must cut the head off, its central nervous system has mutated!"

A high-level apprentice commanded:

"Ordinary damage is useless, must be completely severed!"

Andre endured the severe pain, pulled out his sword with force, and slashed at Ma Kusi's neck again with great force.

At the same time, another Law Enforcement Team member also slashed at the same position with an energy blade.

Under the combined action of the two forces, Ma Kusi's head was finally severed, but his teeth still bit tightly into Andre's arm, refusing to loosen.

Blood flowed down Andre's arm, staining his cuffs and boots red.

The bitten position constantly oozed black liquid, mixed with blood, forming a disturbing dark red.

"What about the remaining torso?"

Andre asked through gritted teeth, his face extremely pale due to the pain.

"It has been completely burned, no signs of activity."

A Law Enforcement Team member replied, while vigilantly staring at the head that was still twitching slightly.

"Help me remove this thing." Andre pointed to the head biting his arm:

"I need to treat the wound."

Several Law Enforcement Team members took action together, and after a lot of effort, finally removed Ma Kusi's head from Andre's arm.

The bitten position revealed a horrific wound, the muscle tissue almost completely torn, revealing white bones.

Even more worrying is that black patterns have appeared around the wound, like some kind of pollution or curse spreading.

"You need to go to the mentors and receive treatment immediately."

The Law Enforcement Team's medical apprentice only took out potions and bandages:

"This kind of wound may carry deep pollution; I can only help you handle it simply."

Andre looked at his wound and then at those expensive healing potions, and could only nod:

"Trouble you, I am a Bloodline Knight, this little injury will heal itself soon."

"But the pollution might... you'd better go to the mentors..."

The medical apprentice wanted to persuade again, but stopped halfway.

Seeing Andre's distressed face, he understood the other party's situation.

"Then I'll help you handle it simply first..."

"What about Ma Kusi's head? Does it need anatomical analysis?" Someone asked.

"No, burn it directly."

The Law Enforcement Team captain ordered decisively:

"This kind of case is too dangerous and not suitable for ordinary apprentices to contact. Valuable information will be extracted by the mentors; you don't meddle in other people's business."

Everyone nodded, and then threw Ma Kusi's head back into the raging fire.

The head made a creepy hissing sound in the fire, as if making a final protest, but was soon swallowed by the flames.

Andre stood aside, witnessing all this, his expression complex.

His arm was in severe pain, but he forced himself to remain calm.

As a member of the royal family, he had been taught to maintain his demeanor under any circumstances since he was a child.

Moreover, this kind of injury really didn't count for anything to a Bloodline Knight.

As long as he rested for a few days, the bloodline power would automatically repair the damaged tissue.

But what he didn't notice was that the black pollution pattern did not stop spreading because of simple bandaging.

Instead, it was spreading slowly but firmly, like an invisible poisonous snake, quietly sneaking into the depths of his blood.

"Report the situation."

The Law Enforcement Team captain walked up to Andre: "Before you arrived, what did you find?"

"After receiving the notification, I rushed to the scene quickly. Ma Kusi had already rushed out of the tower and was wandering in the central area. His state was very unstable, his aggression was extremely strong, and he had already caused minor injuries to several primary apprentices."

Andre briefly narrated the process of the incident:

"I tried to force him into a corner with dragon breath, but I didn't expect his resistance to be stronger than imagined, and finally had to take direct physical attacks."

"You did a good job." The Law Enforcement Team captain nodded:

"What about Oliver? Any clues?"

"Unrelated personnel stay away!"

Suddenly, a majestic voice came from behind the crowd. The crowd parted quickly, making way for a passage.

A tall figure in a deep purple robe walked over quickly; it was Vice Dean Ha Ye Ke.

Everyone stood upright immediately, including the Law Enforcement Team captain, all showing respect.

"Vice Dean!" The Law Enforcement Team captain stepped forward and saluted respectfully.

"How is the situation?" Ha Ye Ke asked directly, without any pleasantries.

"Oliver Wesite has defected; he released the experimental subject Ma Kusi to cause chaos, and then took the opportunity to escape into the Edge Forest. The pursuit team has tracked him to the depths, but..."

The Law Enforcement Team captain paused and continued with some hesitation:

"We lost contact."

"Lost contact?" Ha Ye Ke's brows furrowed tighter: "How many people?"

"Three intermediate apprentices, one high-level apprentice." The Law Enforcement Team captain's voice was slightly lower:

"The last news showed that they discovered Oliver's traces in the northeast area of the Edge Forest and were preparing to close in..."

"And then?"

"Then there was no response."

The Law Enforcement Team captain lowered his head:

"We tried to contact them through spiritual links, but one by one they disconnected. The last team member reported that Oliver had begun to awaken, showing extremely strong aggression and some kind of special ability."

Ha Ye Ke's face became even uglier:

"Take me to where Ma Kusi was found; I want to check it myself."

"Yes, sir."

As Ha Ye Ke and the Law Enforcement Team captain left, the atmosphere at the scene relaxed slightly.

Andre was also ready to leave, but a Law Enforcement Team member stopped him.

"Andre, please wait a moment. Vice Dean has instructions that all personnel participating in tonight's operation must undergo detailed records and checks, just in case."

Andre nodded, although his arm was in severe pain, he knew this was a necessary procedure.

He couldn't do field missions now, his income was meager, plus the skyrocketing appetite after becoming a Bloodline Knight made him unable to make ends meet, so...

He looked down at his bandaged wound; some blood had already seeped through the outer side of the bandage, but the bleeding had slowed.

The bloodline knight's self-healing ability was taking effect, and the wound should heal very soon.

"I'll go find Luo En tomorrow to take a look for me; he always has plenty of ways..."

The reason he didn't go to see a formal wizard, aside from truly being unable to afford the magic stone fragments, was his instinctive trust in his genius potion-maker friend.

(End of chapter)