Dark ichor splashed against Ryu like black rain, each drop burning like bitter acid. It coated Ryu\'s body in sticky tar-like fluid, halting his movement. A spark and it went up like a tinderbox, lightening the dim cave.

[Black Rain]

Vein\'s eyes shone. His passive face was full of mirth as he watched Ryu burned into a crisp. Once [Black Rain] dropped on your skin, it was impossible to evade and removed it.

"You\'re mine now." Vein shuffled from one foot to another as he rubbed his hands together. He couldn\'t wait to dissect Ryu and unravel a new type of antidote. An antidote that could cure all poisons!

"Egh. .. ?" Vein\'s excitement was short-lived when Ryu emerged from the ashes of the tar in one piece and without a single torn skin nor burn.

Vein\'s gasp was stuck in the lump of his throat. His mind went blank as the looming threat approached.

Ryu\'s slit eyes were glowing amber and his mouth emitted steam, blurring his face in a terrifying rage. Vein even saw a flicker of a beast behind him. A large snout covered in scales with slit golden eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth and fangs.

"W-who. .. Who are you. .. ," Vein stammered. He was overpowered by the acrid odor of his sour breath. The stench of mortal fear. He shook his head to regain his bearing. He still had some mana left. That\'s right. He could still perform one last [Cloak of Shadow] and escape!

Too bad for the tablets and hidden treasure and the halfbreed, but he was not going to die here! If he escaped, there were still plenty of chances in the future.

Vein\'s face warped in a lazy grin as he initiated his plan. But to his horror, he couldn\'t move nor hid in his shadows.

"What the–!" Vein was suddenly attacked with something akin to dizziness. His hazy vision narrowed to the ground, and found tiny vines wrapped on his boots. Some even penetrated into his foot.

What? Since when were their vines on this cave?

Then Vein\'s eyes flickered at the woman lying on the ground not far from him. At first glance, Seraphina seemed unconscious, but Vein was sure that she had just opened her lids and her slit eyes turned crescent.

"You!" It was her! Thall was dead because of her! "You–arghk!"

The rest of Vein\'s words was hitched in his throat when Ryu loomed over him. A sharp crack penetrated what little defense he could muster.

Ryu\'s claws wrenched around Vein\'s ribs with a savaged crack that sent blood spouting from his mouth.

"Perform the Seal of Promise that you\'ll give us the true antidote and the two tablets, and I\'ll let you go!" hissed Ryu, panic pulsating against his words. He had no time! Kai and the others ceased breathing, and he needed that antidote. Now!

Vein chuckled. His blood was gurgling in his mouth. He was still thinking of his options—some way to escape.

Anger boiled in Ryu\'s stomach and pushed through his throat in the form of a roar. He twisted Vein\'s intestine, but still, the man refused to give in.

Ryu was running out of options. Kai and the other\'s skin were turning gray. "I\'ll give you my blood."

A glint in Vein\'s eyes sparked Ryu\'s hope. "Give me the antidotes and the tablets. In exchange, I\'ll give you my blood and your life."

Vein was silent. Though the pain was excruciating, all he thought was an antidote that could cure all poison! He nodded without a word. As for the tablet. .. he\'d think about it later when he was free.

Eventually, Vein performed the Seal of Promised with Ryu. The moment Ryu let him go and gave him a vial of his blood, Vein gathered what mana he had left and healed his wounds before he escaped the cave with Ryu\'s blood.

Ryu didn\'t care about Vein anymore as he hurried to Kai and the others. With haste, he poured the contents of the vial in their mouths and hoping in all hope that he was not too late.

"Wake up!" Ryu slapped Kai left and right, but all he received was utter silence. He then went for Theodore and Jane next, but the response was the same.

With no options left, Ryu went to Seraphina and shook her shoulders.

"Wake up!" Ryu roared, fangs extending. He raised his hand and was about to slap Seraphina when the latter\'s eyes shot open.

"I\'m awake!" Seraphina squeaked. She could only hope that she wasn\'t too obvious.

"Quick, heal them!" Ryu pointed at Kai and the others.

Seraphina nodded while crying inside. \'Ryu, you should be more suspicious. And don\'t just go slapping a girl\'s face.\'

With of whoosh of her staff, cold spring sipped into Kai and the other\'s body, healing their wounds and revitalizing their flesh.

Ryu inhaled all the worries inside him when colors returned to Kai and Jane\'s faces, but his heart hitched when Theodore\'s skin remained dark.

Seraphina cast another healing spell, but no matter how much she revived the little boy. .. it was too late.

"What\'s the matter with him?" Ryu asked.

Seraphina shook her head. "He\'s. .. dead." Theodore probably died the moment his eyes burst. His soul had already left this world. There was nothing she could do but restore his corpse and make it look like he was just sleeping.

Seraphina took a glance at Jane and sighed.

Ryu was silent. There was nothing in his mind except Jane\'s reaction when she woke up knowing that her beloved younger brother was dead. He felt pity for her, for he saw how Jane and Theodore care for each other.

And now, she must face the future, no longer feeling his warmth in her hands.

Maybe he should just kill her? Ryu thought. Perhaps that would be kinder?

Seraphina squeezed Ryu\'s shoulder. "There\'s nothing we could have done."

Ryu\'s fingers curled against his palms. He didn\'t even feel them digging.

"Mortals are such feeble creatures. .. ," Seraphina whispered under her breath.

It was low, and Ryu could only make little of what she said. He briefly closed his eyes and released the tension from his muscles.

"I\'m afraid they wouldn\'t wake up for a day or so. Should we explore the newly opened cave first?

"How can you be so calm about this?" Ryu understood that Theodore was with them for only a short time, but still, he felt sad that he was gone. He was just a kid and had yet to explore his future. But the nastier one lived and got away.

Ryu was a halfbreed, and yet he felt unhappy for Theodore and sympathy for Jane. But Seraphina was a mortal. Shouldn\'t she be more emotional to her kind?

Seraphina puffed a sigh. "It\'s not that I don\'t feel sad. I just accepted the fact that all of us will eventually die. It\'s just a matter of when. And besides, staring at the dead would just make us more depressed."

Ryu swallowed his grumble. Seraphina was right. Rather than staying and wallowing on what could have been, he\'d rather take off his mind into something else. He had a goal. Waking Ferris and searching for Cecily was his top priority above all else.

With one final glimpse, Ryu looked at Theodore\'s face. If only his skin weren\'t grey, he might think that he was just sleeping.

Ryu took an inaudible breath and released it through his nose in one swoop.

"Let\'s go."