Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Full Recovery [2]

Chapter 219 – Full Recovery [2]

The moment Cassius’s healing transformation began, Mallory — who was in the very depths of the House of Sanctions — suddenly but subtly shuddered.

Seraphim Hood, standing beside her with her clothes and body all stained with blood, spared her a cursory glance, sensing something.

”Something wrong, Dean?” She asked, even though she couldn’t care less.

Mallory didn’t answer immediately. She gritted her teeth, feeling as if her arms were being torn off by some mysterious force, and her eyes as though they were being burned alive.

Not only that, her heart was beating fast, a wisp of agony slithering within it.

All these pains were agonising enough for her to feel, and she could only imagine what Cassius was going through.

’How annoying.’ She cursed under her breath, her situation clearer than ever after this.

Calming her breathing, Mallory shrugged off the pain as if it were nothing, and focused on the present situation.

”Nothing’s wrong.” She replied curtly to Seraphim, her silver eyes settling on the bloodied man chained to a chair.

His eyes were covered by a black cloth, his arms bound behind his back and bent inward, bones peeking through his skin. His feet, meanwhile, were pinned to the ground with blood spears.

He was gasping, crying, begging for release, and continuously repeating ”the 3rd of March!” over and over.

And as he spoke, one could see that most of his teeth had been ripped out, blood spilling in a merciless cascade.

Mallory was indifferent to the grotesque scene. She crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head.

”What did you learn?”

Seraphim Hood smiled, her face full of scars that would never heal, making her past beauty nothing but a memory. Her face was hideous.

”Oh, this one’s been a tough nut to crack, Dean. And even after all this time, I’ve only learned one thing.”

”Which is?”

”The 3rd of March.” Sera replied. ”A date, I assume.”

Mallory looked at her, ignoring the pain wracking her insides, and arched an eyebrow. ”I hope you know what that date eventually means?”

”Unfortunately not.” She shook her head. ”He repeats the same thing over and over. He’s been conditioned, Dean. We won’t learn anything new from him.”

Mallory fell silent for a couple of breaths, then asked one last question.

”Who is behind this?”

Seraphim’s red eyes glowed sinisterly. ”The Crimson Daggers.”

”So they’ve infested my Academy?”

”Everything points to that.”

Mallory wondered how it was possible, considering the tight leash she kept on the security of the entire Sky City.

’Did someone figure out how to breach my Manifestation?’

She narrowed her eyes, then nodded at Seraphim. ”Leave me with him.”

Head Teacher Sera nodded with a smile. ”Be careful, Dean. Anything can happen with those crazy fanatics.”

She departed right after, but not before sparing one last glance at the chained man.

Mallory was now alone with her prisoner. She approached the man and placed her hand on his head, and—!

Her eyebrow arched immediately, seeing the man’s body swelling, about to explode, the power enough to shake the underground of the House of Sanctions.

Mallory saw all of this in slow motion, then smiled, her voice echoing all around like a goddess’s.

”Stop.”

Instantly, the body stopped swelling, as if frozen in time, yet no time power had been used.

Then...

”Rewind.”

As if the world itself were unable to disobey her words...

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The man began to return to his original state on the chair.

Mallory Octavia of Claweye’s smile deepened.

”Let’s do it again.”

She placed her hand on his head, and the man knew he was screwed.

...

Inside the Testing Ground, Cassius didn’t know how much time had passed. His mind was completely cut off from the outside world, focused only on his interior, sensing his arms regrow with sickening pain, his empty right socket now welcoming an eye.

He felt his heart greatly enhanced, becoming even more ridiculous with the lightning inside it, making it pump blood faster.

Cassius lived in that world of pain and agony for a while. Knowing he was screaming yet not hearing it himself was a kind of horror he had never known he could feel.

He begged inside his mind, begged harder to his goddess for the pain to ease and stop, and the goddess, ever so soft-hearted when it came to her Blessed, used her power to soothe his mind.

It was in such a state that Cassius endured his healing transformation.

And after almost a full hour of writhing, cursing, and tearing at his hair for release... the transformation came to a merciful end.

Cassius was left floating atop the water, his breath ragged and heavy, sickly black blood tainting the water around him.

The stench was horrible.

His current appearance was completely different.

His wooden arms had been destroyed in the process, and now his arms — the same as before — had regrown, pristine, soft and beautiful.

It took him a few minutes before he effectively succeeded in calming himself, finally opening his eyes to the world again.

They were magnificent, looking almost inhuman.

Almost.

With spirit eyes, his own Origin blood holding the purest form of his bloodline, and the draconic eye on his left, Cassius’s eyes were now dazzling crimson pupils against white irises that looked like white fire constantly burning.

With the fusion of Spirit and draconic eyes, his left eye now had the ability to shift between two states: the full draconic eye, with its slitted red pupil, and his now-normal eye, the same as his right.

Cassius felt grateful for that, no longer needing the eyepatch. Not that he minded it, but it had stood out too much.

He regulated his breathing, organizing the information he had gained about his new arms and eyes.

’Ahh... so this is how it is.’ He whispered inside his mind, gently raising his right hand in front of him.

It looked normal to an outside observer, but he knew better.

The bones and muscles of his arms were now as strong and durable as Tier Five weapons.

In other words, weapons and artifacts of that grade could no longer make him bleed in any way.

Added to that, he had now gained the ability to touch shadows, and to hurt them with his hands.

’A new way to attack people.’ He concluded.

But it went further than mere touch. Cassius was able to mould shadows into temporary weapons, though he needed to be in contact with the shadow to do so.

’And besides that, I can also...’

Suddenly, his right hand shifted and became a hand of crimson and white fire, with faint crackles of golden lightning around the flames, the transformation making the air shimmer and wobble.

’...change the composition of my arms from bone and flesh to fire and lightning, increasing my lethality even further.’

The lightning most probably came from Emrys. And even though he couldn’t control it, since his family’s Origin Pool didn’t hold the lightning aspect, it now had a passive enhancing effect on his abilities.

Faster, more lethal.

Cassius smiled and stopped the ability, realising it consumed far too much essence.

His arms were not the only things to gain so much advantage.

His eyes too.

Now Cassius’s eyes were a mix of human, dragon and spirit.

That combination gave him a high level of affinity toward Spirits of the Fire Path, while at the same time enhancing his fire skills.

And Cassius was now able to use white flame.

His crimson flame was explosive, burning everything on impact.

His white flame was calm and serene, hotter than the crimson flame, but requiring a higher level of mastery and essence to use.

’And there’s one more surprise I didn’t expect.’ Cassius thought with a tired smile, his mind now holding a fragment of memories not his own. ’I’ve obtained some memories of one of the dragons used to create my Eye.’

The memories were unclear and fragmented, making them hard to understand. But it was undeniable.

He now held the memories of a dragon who had lived long ago, and could even unlock more of them in the future.

His left draconic eye had increased in mastery.

But that was not all good news. Because these memories came with emotions and aspirations, and Cassius felt them encroaching upon his own.

He frowned subtly, not liking it at all.

’This is annoying.’

[You must be careful, Cass.] Ananke warned, her voice worried. [If you unlock their memories, you’ll swim in their emotions and lived experiences. You’ve lived for only so long. They lived for hundreds of years, and there are hundreds of them.]

Cassius immediately understood the danger behind it.

[If you don’t find a way to filter them, do not unlock their memories. You’ll no longer be Cassius then.]

’I’ll keep it in mind.’ He said, sighing under his breath.

For now it was still harmless, but he had to be careful.

Shaking his head and refocusing, Cassius took in all the changes within his body, and slowly rose from the water, standing tall.

He lifted his head overhead, looking at the sky with his new eyes, and saw numerous spirits whistling past him, all of them low grade.

He felt the muscles throughout his body coiling, ready for explosive strength, realising it was because lightning had been injected into his bloodstream, making him faster than normal.

’Truly, I need to thank Emrys. His lightning is a wonder.’

He smiled, his beauty now reaching a level that would make Isolde willing to imprison him forever.

Cassius then turned his face in one direction, feeling a hiss of calling from there.

”Well, more benefits than harm, I suppose?” He said as he flexed his shoulders, popping his neck left and right.

[Aye.] she said with a smile, thinking that perhaps it was time for his Second Blessing.

Cassius, unaware of his goddess’s thoughts, grinned.

”Now let’s get this damn Echo.”

HISSS—!

—End of Chapter 219—