Kairon checked Aurelia's pulse, it was faint but still there. Blood was still flowing.
"Not too late, I guess" He let out a sigh in relief before reaching in his coat once again to take out a small needle.
"She obviously won't be able to sign the scroll, and without consent the blood contract won't be activated..." Kairon gritted his teeth in irritation, pricking his own index finger with the needle. A small drop of blood slowly made itself outside his skin.
He opened the scroll and nudged his finger under his name. There was already his bloody fingerprint there. But at the moment, he had simply forgotten so. Just as he was beginning to focus, he noticed something strange. The dreadful aura had gotten stronger, now making it a bit hard to breathe.
Kairon wasn't a mana or aura user. He was an ordinary human, now exposed to dense magic trying to consume him.
"Cough! Cough!" Kairon's chest started to burn.
"It's the same as inhaling smoke, but.." His eyes twitched. A blinding pain tore through his head, he clutched his head, feeling as if it was to drown him in dizziness. "Since I am not a superhuman, it's affecting my nervous system."
Even then, the pain was bearable. The main issue on the hand was time.
He held his breath before gently grabbing Aurelia's finger and piercing it.
Nothing came out.
Kairon clicked his tongue, the blood flow had already slowed down. He pressed the finger, a tiny bead of blood welled up on his finger.
Kairon's face lit up, and in that delusion of triumph, he accidently took a deep breath.
"GUhh!!!..."
Kairon's hand immediately reached for his throat, his eyes red from the sudden pain. This was hardly the start, as his ears started to ring and nose began to itch Although Kairon didn't have extreme medical knowledge, he knew it was all because of the aura forcefully entering his body. His body was unable to adapt immediately to a foreign aura, doing best of what it could.
This time the pain was hardly to joke about, he drew shallow breaths yet even those were taken in fear. His body shivered from a sensation he couldn't describe. He just knew. Knowledge was the thing causing him the worst pain.
"Fuck! I should have done it sooner"
He went against his body, forcing himself to grab the scroll. He rubbed Aurelia's finger onto the scroll. The page glowed for a moment, then stopped.
Kairon swallowed hard, all his hard work depended on this pure moment of luck. An unconscious mind often makes decisions on its own, but those choices are not monitored by the actual person but rather their feelings, physical and mental.
"I don't think I can hold much longer…"
Kairon's body had started to shut down, his lids forcing themselves to close. He was just a hair's breadth from either success or death.
Suddenly, the scroll shone again. Then disappeared into thin air.
Kairon exhaled sharply, his body moved with a sudden burst of energy. He placed his left hand on Aurelia's forehead and tried to manipulate her blood.
What happened next was unreal. Suddenly, a brilliant light erupted from his hand, the blue and violet light weaved into one and spiraled together just above her head. In the next moment, all the black, dreadful aura surrounding the room started to join in, as the spiral grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of the entire bed.
As the room reverted back to normal, the spiral became smaller and denser. Then, the light fell down on Kairon's hand. A sharp pain shot in his pinky finger.
He pulled back his hand, then took a look. The nail on his pinky finger had become black, no, it was rotted. Black vein throbbed on it, and the part around the nail started to swell.
"Shit! How come it entered my hand!?" Kairon cursed. The sharp pain of something piercing the tip of his pinky was bad enough as a whole, but the cause was far worse.
He wrapped his other hand around it, the panic caused his rationality to go downhill.
"Should I cut it off?"
He shook his head. He did not want to lose his finger, not when it wasn't truly his.
Then, in that heat of panic, he grabbed his nail and tore it off. The ache made his mind go blank, he wasn't accustomed to pain in general, and now he was in a state where his whole body felt as if it would break apart at any moment.
He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wrapped the finger with it and exhaled loudly. The pain was still there, but fortunately he could potentially stop the bleeding.
Just when he thought it was all over, he heard a loud explosion just outside. He quickly turned, eyes wide in shock. He knew what that sound meant. Aldryn had resorted to violence, and how loud that sound was, it wouldn't be wrong to say that Varn could have been vaporized in a single instant.
Kairon tried to move, but his body didn't listen. His muscles felt like they were tearing and his bones felt so brittle that they could break any moment. He fell to his knees, groaning in pain he couldn't describe.
"Shit…!! Varn..."
--
Just a few moments before the explosion.
Varn stood near the door, guarding it like a knight would to his queen. Except the fact Varn was no knight, and the house was neither a queen nor a king.
This time round, he was filled with a very different thought, but before he could come to a final conclusion, Aldryn appeared.
Varn stiffened. He didn't know if Kairon was done with that treatment he was talking about, and now the worst variable he was speaking of was right in front of his eyes.
Aldryn still had no idea of the situation, he asked. "Is there a problem, sir?"
Varn took his time for the reply, but spoke in a calm façade. "Its... hmm... complicated. You see."
"Sir," For that single moment, Aldryn's tone shifted. His brows furrowed. "I have already told you, I don't need your help."
"…Please do not interfere any longer."
Varn was caught off guard by the precise deduction. he awkwardly laughed. "No, Our Lord has accepted your refus-"
Aldryn turned in a swift motion, and although Varn felt it later. The dark dreadful aura had disappeared.
He glanced at Aldryn, who's face had already gone pale.
Aldryn stood for a moment with widened eyes.
Then broke through the door.