章 11: The Devil Smiled Upon Dilwyn Nox (3)
The condensed mana glowed intensely and even the mere graze of its violent aura sent the black liquid into havoc. It scattered to avoid the heat. Unfortunately, the parasite was destined to be obliterated this time.
The group of mages injected the last stream of mana. Soon, an enormous wave of magma poured into the office like a tsunami, annihilating everything in its way. The senior mage and the white mage worked together to cast a protective spell around Dilwyn.
When the red-hot magma came into contact with the black liquid, it was like adding oil into fire as the fire exploded and spread out rapidly.
"KIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKK!" The Oleander let out an ear-piercing shriek along with a poisonous rancid smell that struck the group of mages as their bodies shook weakly.
"Urgh…" One of the teachers retched, vomiting blood and mushed up, half-digested food mixed with stomach juices onto the ground. Soon, her nose began to bleed as well.
Not just her, even the senior mage was feeling unwell too. Sage who recognized the poisonous smell quickly shouted, "It's a poisonous gas! You need to channel your mana to flush it out of your system. Do it like how you draw mana out to cast a spell!!"
However, it was easier said than done since they currently needed to focus on their fire spell too. Dual spellcasting was a lot of work and not to mention doing three at once. The senior mage was on the verge of mana depletion while the others had it worse.
Sage gritted her teeth as she looked at the Oleander resentfully. It still fought to escape the fire and attack them. The problem now was its regeneration property.
Deep down, Sage knew the real source of this parasite issue. But, if they did it, there was no saying what would be of Dilwyn. Nonetheless, Sage couldn't think of any other way to get through this. Most importantly, they couldn't let this thing live. She couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen to the academy if they let it grow.
"Say it," the senior mage whose complexion was as pale as the dead implored Sage. She turned to look at him and saw the tacit understanding in their eyes.
He knows, she thought. "I'm sorry."
The senior mage closed his eyes for a brief moment. He sucked in a deep breath. Amidst the shrill outcry of the Oleander and the scent of scorched flesh, the senior mage tried to connect to the half-dead Dilwyn.
In a hopeless tone, he delivered the message, "Vice Principal, this old one apologizes. But...we have to do it. The only way to stop the flower from growing back is to destroy its roots."
"...."
He pursed his lips. Not knowing whether Dilwyn heard him. Despite that, he continued, "Dilwyn… you should know what I mean."
The Oleander had rooted itself inside him.
The senior mage no longer used the Vice Principal title but he addressed Dilwyn as a friend. He felt the unwillingness and the thought of burning his friend alive mercilessly stabbed his heart.
-------
At first, Dilwyn was delirious. He couldn't make sense of his surroundings. All he felt was the everlasting torture twisting inside him. He couldn't shout since it would double the pain, so he could only endure in silence. But either way, it was both excruciating.
'The kind of pain that will make you wish you were dead instead.'
In the past, he could only imagine it. Now, he fully understood what it meant. He was dying and he knew it but what he couldn't help wondering was, 'How long will it take?'
He prayed it would be faster. 'Don't delay. Take me away,' he begrudgingly pleaded.
That was when he felt the heat, after that silence, then…
"A hundred years I've suffered, and you wish for a quick death? How presumptuous." Her devious chuckle echoed in his head like the reaper itself.
Dilwyn's trembled in trepidation. 'Who…?'
His mind was too numb to be able to think right. The roots twitched inside him as it felt Dilwyn's body tensing up. It clenched his organ tighter under the pressure, making Dilwyn's mind cry out in another round of agony.
'Stop it…'
She chuckled. "Enjoy while it lasts, Professor."
'Who…?'
After that, a familiar voice rang in Dilwyn's head. "Vice Principal, this old one apologizes. But...we have to do it. The only way to stop the flower from growing back is to destroy its roots."
"..." No...don't. Help…
"Dilwyn…" the voice quivered, "You should know what I mean."
'He's going to burn me.' Dilwyn laughed bitterly deep down. He had been struggling in vain. 'So, this is how I end. In comparison to this humiliation sight and tortuous pain, it doesn't seem like a bad idea.'
"Do...it…"
Dilwyn slowly opened his eyes. At least he didn't want to die a coward. He wished to greet death rather than tremble before it. As the blurry fighting scene came to sight, he witnessed his old friend and the other professors tried to save him. Lambert was also there.
He smiled.
All of the sudden, he heard footsteps from the side. It was strangely clear in the middle of the chaos. It was like a spring breeze on a quiet night. Step by step, a pair of dainty shoes came to his periphery.
They stopped in his line of sight for a moment before slowly walking towards him. They stopped again not too far away from where he lied.
Then, the person bent down. Locks of rose-colored threads filled his vision. Dilwyn's eyes widened in horror when they came in contact with a pair of shimmering golden eyes. He could faintly make out of the black veins covering her neck and some parts of her face like the lines on a broken porcelain.
Her stained black lips curved into a stunning crescent.
Ba-thump! Ba-thump!
Right at that moment, Dilwyn truly felt his breath stopping. His hands balled up into a fist. The temperature around him plummeted and gradually, the colors began to fade into gray.
From the corner of his eyes, Dilwyn witnessed his surroundings melting away - the walls, the ground, everything dissolved layer by layer, peeling off, as though the world around him was drying out. His delirious mind couldn't decipher whether this was real or a mere illusion.
He also couldn't see the person in front of him clearly. His blurry vision felt like a dream. But, her distorted whisper was too lucid to be just an illusion.
"Shame. Even though I quite like you, professor."
"...."
Professor…? He felt his heart pounding, then a little bit of his consciousness returned for a quick second. He remembered now, that moment when he had felt a prickling heat at the back of his hand.
"Ka-lliope…"
The devil smiled and the darkness came for Dilwyn.
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