In the final moments of his life, Marcus' mind became unusually clear.
He recalled his entire life, the painful days spent in his brother's laboratory, the "enhancements" and "modifications" he was forced to endure.
Oliver had never truly treated him as a brother. To him, Marcus was just an expendable experiment.
Every "extraction" stole a part of his soul, dragging him further from humanity.
At first, the experiments were basic. The pain was bearable.
But as Oliver's ambition grew, the procedures became more cruel.
He remembered that long night when Oliver first plunged a tendril into his brain.
He could feel his memories and knowledge being forcibly torn away. The pain surpassed the physical, it was a soul-rending torment.
From that day on, he knew there was no going back.
His consciousness gradually shattered. His personality disintegrated, leaving behind only fragments of memories and emotions.
Oliver's "enhancements" grew more frequent. He was reshaped into all kinds of grotesque forms, as if his brother was searching for some perfect formula.
Marcus thought he had accepted his fate, until the day he saw Robb Reyne's image in Oliver's surveillance crystal.
That boy who had once clashed with him over a maid. Though, thinking back, the conflict had been orchestrated by Oliver…
His brother's obsession with Robb grew more intense. And buried in that obsession was a twisted jealousy.
Marcus even overheard Oliver mumbling, "Imagine if I could acquire his alchemical talent…"
Marcus knew, if given the chance, Oliver would definitely make a move against Robb, just as he had with every other "specimen" he desired.
And this realization, for some reason, planted a warped idea in Marcus's broken mind:
Robb was indirectly responsible for his suffering.
Without Robb, maybe Oliver wouldn't have spiraled so quickly into madness. Maybe Marcus wouldn't have become a mutilated lab rat.
This illogical, irrational hatred became his final emotional anchor.
In a way, it was the only thing that allowed a shred of his identity to persist.
"Robb…"
Amid the flames, he saw a blurry figure.
It was the blond youth, Andrey, clad in scale armor with sword in hand. Dragonfire streamed from his mouth like liquid flame, forming a dazzling and deadly blaze.
In Marcus's warped vision, the golden-haired figure overlapped with Robb.
He remembered how Robb was often seen with this noble youth, always together, supporting each other.
"You…" Rage surged within Marcus. "It's all your fault…"
Within the fire, his bones cracked loudly and then realigned, morphing into a form better suited for charging.
Black veins under his skin writhed wildly, pumping the last energy into his dying body.
Suddenly, the burning creature exploded out of the fire, charging at Andrey with impossible speed.
Caught off guard, Andrey barely dodged in time, but not completely. Marcus's teeth sank deep into his arm.
"Damn it!" Andrey cried out in pain, then drove his sword straight through Marcus's skull.
The blade pierced the brain, emerging out the back of his head, blood spurting everywhere.
But even with his brain destroyed, Marcus's jaws remained locked, biting even harder.
"Get this thing off me!"
Andrey shouted to nearby enforcers, struggling to pull away, but Marcus's jaw clamped down like a vice.
Several enforcers rushed over, some fired light beams from their staves, others tried to restrain Marcus's body with magical ropes.
"You have to sever the head! Its nervous system has mutated!"
A High Apprentice commanded: "Regular damage won't work, you need to cut it clean off!"
Enduring the pain, Andrey yanked his sword free and swung again at Marcus's neck.
At the same time, another enforcer slashed the same spot with a blade of energy.
Together, their strikes finally severed Marcus's head, but even then, the jaw stayed clamped on Andrey's arm.
Blood trickled down, soaking Andrey's sleeve and boots.
From the bite wound, black fluid oozed out, mixing with blood into a disturbing dark red.
"What about the rest of the body?"
Andrey gritted his teeth, his face pale from pain.
"Completely incinerated. No signs of movement," one enforcer replied, eyeing the still-twitching severed head with caution.
"Please help me remove this thing," Andrey said, pointing at the head on his arm. "I need to treat the wound."
Several enforcers worked together. It took a great deal of effort, but they finally pried the head off Andrey's arm.
The wound it revealed was ghastly, muscle torn apart, exposing bare white bone.
Even worse, black lines had begun spreading from the bite, resembling some kind of infection or curse.
"You need to see the mentors, get proper treatment immediately."
The medical apprentice pulled out bandages and potions.
"This kind of injury may involve deep corruption. I can only do a basic treatment here."
Andrey looked at the wound, then at the expensive potions, and nodded.
"Thank you. I'm a Bloodline Knight, this kind of wound should heal quickly."
"But the corruption might…" the healer began to argue, but stopped midway.
Seeing Andrey's troubled face, he understood the youth's situation.
"Alright then. I'll just patch it up for now…"
"What about Marcus' head? Should we dissect it?" someone asked.
"No. Burn it."
The Enforcement Captain gave a decisive order:
"This case is too dangerous for regular apprentices. Any valuable data will be extracted by the mentors. Don't stick your noses in."
Everyone nodded. They tossed Marcus's head back into the fire.
It hissed and sizzled in protest, as if making one final cry, but was quickly consumed by the flames.
Andrey stood nearby, watching with a complicated expression.
His arm throbbed with pain, but he forced himself to remain composed.
As royalty, he had been taught from a young age to maintain grace in all situations.
Besides, for a Bloodline Knight, such an injury was nothing.
With a few days of rest, his bloodline would regenerate the damaged tissue.
But what he failed to notice was that the black corruption wasn't stopping.
It continued its slow but relentless crawl upward, like a venomous snake slipping silently into his bloodstream.
"Give me a full report."
The Enforcement Captain approached Andrey. "What did you find before we arrived?"
"After receiving the alert, I rushed to the scene. Marcus had already broken out of the tower and was roaming the central area. His state was extremely unstable and aggressive. Several junior apprentices were injured."
Andrey summarized the events briefly:
"I tried using dragonfire to corner him, but he was more resistant than expected. I had no choice but to engage physically."
"You did well," the captain nodded. "Any sign of Oliver?"
"Non-authorized personnel, clear the area!"
Suddenly, a commanding voice rang out from behind the crowd. The apprentices stepped aside, creating a path.
A tall figure in a deep purple robe strode in, it was Vice-Chancellor Hayes.
Everyone immediately stood at attention, including the Enforcement Captain, who looked visibly respectful.
"Vice-Chancellor!" the captain stepped forward and bowed.
"What's the situation?" Hayes asked directly, skipping any formalities.
"Oliver West has defected. He released test subject Marcus to create chaos and used the distraction to escape into the Black Mist Forest. A pursuit team tracked him deep into the woods, but…"
The captain hesitated, then continued:
"We lost contact."
"Lost contact?" Hayes's frown deepened. "How many?"
"Three Intermediate Apprentices, one High Apprentice," the captain said more quietly.
"The last report indicated they had located Oliver in the northeast section of the forest and were preparing an ambush…"
"And then?"
"We received no further responses."
The captain lowered his head.
"We tried to re-establish contact via mental link, but the connections were severed one by one. The last message we got said Oliver had begun his Awakening and showed extremely high aggression and some kind of special ability."
Hayes' face grew grim.
"Take me to the place where Marcus was found. I want to examine it myself."
"Yes, sir."
As Hayes and the captain departed, the atmosphere eased slightly.
Andrey also turned to leave, but an enforcer stopped him.
"Andrey, please wait. The Vice-Chancellor has ordered all participants in tonight's operation to undergo full documentation and examination, just in case."
Andrey nodded. Despite the pain, he understood it was necessary.
He couldn't afford to be sidelined from field duties right now. His income was already meager, and ever since becoming a Bloodline Knight, his appetite had skyrocketed, his expenses were out of control.
He looked down at his wound. The bandages were already soaked in blood, but the bleeding had slowed.
His regenerative ability was kicking in. The wound should heal quickly.
"I'll go see Robb tomorrow, that guy always has solutions…"
He didn't go to a formal wizard for treatment because he simply couldn't afford to pay the medical bill of several magic crystal shards.
And besides, he instinctively trusted his genius alchemist friend.