Chapter: Black Blood Poison

Erik was tired, he'd made sure to keep at least ten percent of his mana at all times. He found keeping this buffer meant he had less headaches and didn't feel as tired.

The glow around his hands disappeared as the person in the litter looked at Erik with shock, her family members held tears in their eyes as one stepped forwards with twelve coppers.

Erik smiled awkwardly and could only accept them, knowing that the family wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You'll need some rest, plenty of food and water, you'll be up and about in two maybe three days," Erik smiled.

"Thank you, healer," the woman in the litter said, trying to get up and bow to him.

"Rest, I don't want to have to heal any other issues," Erik chided as she let him push her back onto the litter.

The family gave their thanks and moved out of the way, there were plenty of others waiting to be healed.

Erik looked at the next person, it was a pale looking man, his arm was facing the wrong direction, making Erik grimace at it's unnatural angle.

"Ugh, that looks painful, four coppers and I'd suggest getting some numbing agent," Erik said.

"I'm fine, I'll pay five if you heal it right now," the man said.

Erik wanted to argue, but seeing the look in thee man's eyes he wasn't to be refused.

Erik shrugged his shoulders and leaned forwards, holding the man's arm gingerly.

The man let out a hiss of cold air as the broken bones rubbed against one another.

Erik started to use organic scan, leaning forwards to examine the wound and line up the bones.

He didn't see the vicious look that appeared in the man's eyes as a needle appeared in his good hand and he jabbed it into Erik's unprotected neck.

Erik grabbed his neck and jumped backwards, alarm appearing on his face.

He used a healing spell as he looked at the man with the broken arm.

"West?" Rugrat yelled, sensing something wrong and seeing him hold his neck.

"Fuck!" Erik yelled as he felt something wrong, his veins were turning black as he felt weakness spreading from his neck to the rest of his body.

The patient laughed and started to run away.

Rugrat's face turned calm, his eyes cold.

A murderous aura spread over the crowd, it was as if two dragons had been awakened.

Cold fear covered the area as Erik shot forward, his increased agility and stamina being put to use as he felt Rugrat rushing towards him, covering his actions.

The patient looked back, a look of fear in his eyes as he looked at Erik’s expressionless face.

Erik’s arm sneaked around the man’s neck as he drove the combat knife up and under the man’s rib cage, turning and ripping it out.

The man let out a sigh as his lung started to deflate and fill with blood.

Erik let the man drop as he was already fighting for air.

His vision started to swim as people looked at the dying man and Erik who was covered in blood. He staggered back a bit, using his healing spell, it was having some effect but he was fighting a losing battle.

“We need to move,” Rugrat said, killing people inside the city was a sure-fire way to be killed yourself.

The guards might have not come over to find them yet, but they were patrolling the area, it wouldn’t be long until they arrived.

Erik nodded, putting away the blade in his storage ring.

People were looking at them in horror, their aura’s didn’t show any of the calm mercy of before. Erik and Rugrat had been fighting as soldiers since they were old enough to join the military, they’d killed many people in their time and helped others.

Normally they didn’t even exude any pressure, now their anger had been revealed, the pressure of a combat veteran weighed down on everyone.

Rugrat led the way, barging a path through people.

Erik followed him as they heard yelling from behind.

“Talk to me,” Rugrat said as Erik’s face continued to pale and his reactions became sluggish.

“He gave me some kind of poison, it’s in my blood,” Erik didn’t hide anything.

Rugrat didn’t say anything.

Erik pulled out his minor mana recovery potion and downed it in one go, his mana recovery increased by 1 point for thirty seconds.

He constantly cast his focused healing spell, but the poison had spread to his heart and was being pumped through his entire body, black veins were sticking up across his body.

Erik stumbled, almost falling down, Rugrat grabbed him, holding him up as they saw guards behind them.

Erik wrapped his arm around Rugrat who took off. Erik had been putting his attribute points into mana regeneration, Rugrat had been training his strength and agility to the max.

Rugrat’s steps took them down an alleyway, he used the sides of the alley to get higher until they landed on a rooftop. A lady screamed as she was putting up the house owner’s clothes to dry.

Rugrat went through the clothes line as Erik tried to focus on the poison. He coughed, tasting the tang of blood in his mouth, his blood was turning darker and darker, black in some places as it started to melt him from the inside.

Clearly Erik's attempts to directly heal his blood wasn't working.

Circulatory system, toxins in the blood, liver and kidneys.

Erik's aims changed as he used organic scan, looking at his failing liver and kidneys.

He used focused heal on both organs, they started changing, as Erik wasn't trying to heal his entire circulatory system he could pour in more power to the two organs, increasing the rate at which they recovered.

As the black blood entered, it seemed to weaken, only a small bit, but Erik hoped his organic scan wasn't wrong.

He continued to heal and looked around, they were nearing the Eastern gate that led towards beast Mountain.

He was getting weaker, his body being destroyed from the inside, he was burning all over, it was as if he was liquefying internally.

Rugrat was jumping across rooftops as guards continued to follow them.

The guards could defeat level eight’s easily and working together they could stop a level ten from doing as they pleased. Erik was out of the fight for now and Rugrat had to look after him, being only level seven, he had to run, or else they’d get trapped. Also within the city there was a formation that increased the power of the guards, if they got close enough they could use the formation to restrain someone and increase their own power, allowing them to fight more powerful opponents.

"Shit, there's no buildings near the wall," Rugrat said, his pace not slowing in the slightest as he rubbed his storage ring, ready to pull out his service rifle and deal with these people.

"Don't kill them if you don't have to, that guy was sent by someone, if we kill a guard then the Chonglu guards will come after us," Erik said.

"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid," Rugrat yelled as he launched himself off of a roof, he landed in a cloud of dust, people moving away from him as they inflicted fear into those around them and ran off.

Erik coughed weakly, the blood was dark and had a foul smell to it.

***

"Sir! That healer killed a man with a broken arm, it looks like he was affected by something, his partner picked him up and is running with him towards the Eastern gate!" Liam, the Lieutenant that was in-charge of the patrol 'assisting' Erik and Rugrat, while secretly keeping an eye on them both.

"What?" Captain Quinn yelled as he stopped in the middle of the street, the guards around him all pausing as those around looked over at the usually calm Captain Quinn, his aura of a level ten making those nearby lower leveled people shake.

Quinn decisively turned towards the Eastern gate and took off running the guards around him followed as he pushed his speed to the maximum.

"Clear a path!" His voice boomed as he rushed through the street, people moving out of his way, paling at the power rolling off of him.

"Sir, they're only level sevens, but their aura, it feels like they're gods of death," Lieutenant Liam Hoste said seriously.

"Who did the man belong to?" Quinn asked.

"I don't know, the main healer killed him immediately before succumbing to whatever is affecting him. It must be some kind of poison."

"We can't let them away, we need their help! Don't harm them!" Quinn said, he launched himself down an alleyway, jumping over people, his guards following right behind him.

"Yes, sir!" Liam said, but from his tone Quinn could sense how difficult Liam thought it would be.

Quinn made good time as he reached the Eastern gate, he could see the guards chasing from the marketplace over.

He had only stopped as a large man carrying his friend appeared.

It was the two healers, but they didn't seem like healers anymore, Quinn's sharp eyesight allowed him to see the other man's veins that had turned black and the healing magical circles on his body.

The wave of murderous intent made his knees shake, he had been in many life and death situations, but in front of this man carrying his brother out of danger, he felt as if he'd met a death god.

How many life and death situations has this person been in to create such a powerful aura. Quinn felt that he wasn't able to pull on the full power of his body under this kind of pressure.

"Move or die," the large man's voice was cold, emotionless.

Something appeared in his hands. Quinn had never seen anything like it before in his life, the man wasn't slowing his pace at all.

"We want to help!" Quinn yelled.

"Move or die," the man said, raising the long object in his hands.

Quinn's heart missed a beat.

"Clear a path!" He yelled, making sure his hands were away from his weapons. This man might be a level seven but Quinn didn't have any confidence dealing with him or that weapon.

The large man continued through the gate, no one looked to stop him.

"I'll remember this Chonglu City!" The man yelled as he cleared the gate, the object in his hands disappeared.

Quinn felt the pressure on his body decrease as it got further away. Silence fell as he felt cold sweat running down his back.

Clearly the two men were close, Quinn couldn't help but shiver as he thought of what might happen if the healer died.

He needed to report this to Lord Chonglu, he was the most powerful man in the city, he might know what that thing the man was holding, or have a plan of how to move forward.

Quinn didn't want to bother Lord Chonglu as he had his own concerns, but if this man returned, Chonglu City might not exist anymore if that man felt they had led to the death of his brother.