Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 438: Darkroot

A dark gooey substance exuding a venomous aura started to seep out from the holes as the ritual formation lit up with a radiant light.

Instead of flowing outward, it reached out for the ceiling of the room. The ritual was designed in such a way that it gathered the energy from the surroundings and forcefully extracted the poison from the patientʼs body.

Brighamʼs body once again began to violently twitch as the toxins were extracted from him. However, he remained unconscious due to the tranquilizer that Rosalind had provided.

From this, one could assume just how strong the drug was.

Yavia levitated above Brighamʼs body as she glanced at the black gelatin-like substance hovering before her. She made an extremely disgusted face and stated, ”Adam, you… you want me to touch that?!”

”Cover it with your mana and take it out of the circle. This venom is parasitic! If we let it remain inside the circle, it will make its way back to the host!” Adam spoke in an urgent tone.

”Parasitic?!” Yavia gasped in shock. ”But if I touch it, wonʼt it cling to me?”

”No, your mana attribute is of the wood element. Youʼll be just fine. Trust me!”

If he hadnʼt been occupied with controlling the ritual formation, he would have done it himself as his mana attribute was a mixture of the five fundamental elements and was extremely pure in nature.

However, he had his hands full at the moment and could only depend on the wood spirit.

Despite Adamʼs assurance, Yavia still hesitated. But right at the moment, Rosalindʼs calm and soothing voice entered her ears.

”Donʼt worry, my child. Nothing will go awry in my presence.”

At once, all of Yaviaʼs worries seemed to have vanished. Then, she began blaming herself for even hesitating in the first place.

Steeling her resolve, she flew forward and covered the black substance with her mana. She carried as much as she could before flying out of the circle and dropping it to the ground.

Upon dropping to the ground, the black substance squirmed in agony. It had lost its host and now had nowhere to go. It could not sustain itself any longer and continued to reach toward Brigham but the ritual circle prevented it from doing so.

Yavia continued to carry the poison with her mana and dropped it out of the circle. After several rounds, all the poison in Brighamʼs body had been extracted.

”Good job!” Adam praised Yavia before adding, ”Now, heal those acupuncture wounds and the treatment will be concluded.”

”Yes!” The little wood spirit nodded her head vigorously.

Meanwhile, Elysande walked over to the black poison, that seemed to have a life of its own, and watched it with shock. ”This… This was inside Father for all this while?!”

Despite her standing close to the poison, it didnʼt seem to approach her at all. Instead, it continued to reach out to Brigham but due to the ritual formation was completely unable to.

Rosalind flew over and examined it with curious eyes, ”How fascinating!”

”My Lady, do you know what this is?” Elysande asked with lingering fear.

”It seems to be a parasitic poison from the material world,” said Rosalind, ”but what kind, Iʼm not so sure.”

She then glanced at Adam and Yavia, who were busy healing Brigham, and muttered, ”Perhaps the young man may have an answer.”

After more than ten minutes, Yavia had finally finished healing the Patriarch of the Flynn Family. Compared to before, the old man looked much better. It was almost as if he had become dozens of years younger.

Making sure that Yavia was done with the treatment, Adam retrieved his hands from the ground and stopped powering the ritual formation.

Immediately after, the black poison sensed that nothing was obstructing its way anymore and rushed toward the slumbering old man with unmatched ferocity.

But before it could move even an inch, Rosalind waved her hand and shot a ray of mana toward it, instantly holding it down in place.

”Very fascinating,” Rosalind mumbled as she flew closer to the poison. ”Magus Constantine, Iʼm sure you know what this is. Would you care to explain?”

”Of course, my lady,” Adam replied respectfully as he walked toward her.

”Darkroot Hemlock is a parasitic poison that is extracted from the roots of the Darkroot tree.”

”Darkroot Tree?!” Elysande exclaimed in shock. ”If I recall correctly, it is a type of tree grown in areas that have an abundance of dark mana, is it not?”

”Well, yes and no,” Adam began explaining. ”Mana itself has no attribute, however, its surroundings can cause it to change its quality. Similar to how emotions affect the mana in a place, the type of Magi gathering at an area for long durations of time can also transform the quality of mana.”

Elysandeʼs heart sank as she deduced, ”Are you saying that the Dark Tree usually grows in places that are infested with practitioners of dark magic.”

”Precisely.” Adam nodded. ”The Darkroot Hemlock is extracted from the essence of this tree root. When it is introduced into the victimʼs body, it manifests as a parasitic entity that begins feeding on the hostʼs life force and mana.”

Elysandeʼs eyes involuntarily shifted to her father, who was now sleeping peacefully on the floor. His breathing was stable and color had returned to his once pale face.

”But… such a strong poison, why didnʼt any of us come to know about it before?” She asked with an expression filled with sorrow and anger.

”See thatʼs the thing with this type of parasitic poison, neither the host nor the people around them realize until itʼs at the latter stages,” replied Adam with a solemn expression.

He paused for a moment as he gazed into Elysandeʼs eyes. ”And thereʼs one more thing.”

”What is it?” Elysande asked as a foreboding feeling welled up in her heart.

Adam took a deep breath and said, ”The amount of poison that was inside his body… Iʼm certain that Lord Brigham has ingested it over a long period of time, several years maybe.”

”What?!” Elysande blurted out in shock. ”Thatʼs impossible! Why would he knowingly consume a poison like this? Are you out of your mind?!”

”But what if he didnʼt know?” Adamʼs eyes narrowed.

”What if… someone fed it to him?”