The office of Lane was a gloomy and dimly-lit room located in the dungeons. The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars filled with slimy, revolting things, such as bits of animals and plants, floating in potions of varying colors. The office had a fireplace. At the moment, it was dark and empty. In a corner, Professor Lane kept his private stocks of alchemy ingredients in a cupboard.
When Gilrine, Gaya, and Lane reached the office, Lane waved his hand. The runes on the door glowed for a moment before slowly creaking open.
"Put him there," Lane said, pointing his finger at the empty oak table in the center. As Gilrine placed Michael's shaking body on the table, Lane opened his cupboard and picked up a few potions from the shelf. Gaya held Michael's hand as tight as she could. Her eyes kept forming tears seeing Michael's condition. They both didn't expect the Blood Prince to be there. Furthermore, the blood prince was at Half Immortal stage. There was no way they could have defeated the blood prince. At least, not with their current cultivation stage.
"Open his mouth," Lane ordered Gilrine. The big man squeezed Michael's jaw, opening his mouth big enough for Lane to pour a green slimy liquid into his mouth.
"Professor Lane. is he going to survive?" asked Gilrine.
"It's a miracle he's even alive," said Lane.
"Where the hell did he meet a blood prince?" Gilrine heard Professor Lane before. He was unlucky enough to know about those vile creatures. Unlike Lane, Gilrine never had to face one thanks to the gods.
Without answering Gilrine's question, Lane just glanced at Gaya. She remained silent, letting Lane treat Michael. She couldn't even cry out loud or show her care for Michael. It would lead the others to suspect her relationship with Michael, which might lead to catastrophic consequences.
"Professor Lane," Gilrine called out for Lane. He noticed Ghost's entire body smoke as though someone had set a fire under him. The temperature in the room increased by several degrees. Gilrine felt the heat radiating from his body.
"What's happening?" Gaya panicked. Michael's hands began to burn hers. They were hot enough to make Gaya release his hand.
"I need cold water," Lane said.
"Go bring me as much water as possible from the lake," Lane ordered Gaya. Although she felt reluctant to leave Michael's side, she ultimately left the room without wasting precious time. After she left the room, Michael's body began to tremble violently. His body was burning hot. Smoke emerged from every part of his body.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Shouldn't we inform Headmaster Wulfric?" asked Gilrine. To Gilrine's surprise, Lane shook his head.
"No. The Headmaster has enough on his plate. A blood prince is the last thing he needs right now," said Lane.
"But Professor Lane. There is no cure for a wound caused by a blood prince. If we don't get all the help we need, he's going to die," Gilrine lowered his voice.
Usually, Lane would agree with Gilrine. There was indeed no cure for a wound caused by a blood prince. That was what made the blood princes the ultimate force of nature. Just a single touch from a blood prince could poison a cultivator's body from within and turn them into a puddle of blood. The Blood Princes were the pure breed of vampires. A typical vampire would suck the blood while a blood prince sucks its victim's life force itself with a single touch.
It was extremely rare for someone to survive a blood prince. But even if they did, once the blood prince touched the victim, only death awaited. Luckily for Michael, he had almost one million badass points after killing Duke Avon in front of the two armies. He ordered the system to heal his body. Otherwise, Michael would have died by now. Still, his survival depended on his willpower and body's ability to withstand the corrosion.
When Gaya finally returned to the room, carrying a wooden barrel filled with cold water, she saw the smoking body of Michael. She almost dropped the barrel. With a quick wave of his hand, Lane sucked all the water out of the bucket, forming a large blob of water above Michael. He slowly let the water trickle into Michael, cooling his body.
This continued for an hour. They had used almost ten barrels of water, completely drenching Michael in the water. Despite their efforts, his body refused to cool down. As time passed, his skin slowly turned grayish.
"What's happening?" Gaya felt a lump forming in her throat. She couldn't help blaming herself for Michael's state. If it wasn't for her and her pursuit of her mother, Michael wouldn't have gone to the vampire castle. He took the risk solely for her.
"We need something colder," said Lane. Although there was no cure for the blood prince's touch, something kept Ghost alive from within. Therefore, Lane wanted this strange force to fight the blood prince's touch. All he had to do was buy enough time for Ghost to survive and heal.
"I'll bring the ice," Gilrine quickly rushed out of the room, heading for his hut.
"What do you want me to do?" asked Gaya.
"Unless you have something colder than ice, bring it to me," said Lane. His voice showed no emotion whatsoever. Gaya suddenly remembered the ancient ice core Michael bought in the auction. Unfortunately, the ancient ice core was in Michael's system storage. Hence, Gaya couldn't get her hands on the ice core.
"What about Cold Flames?" Suddenly when Gaya was feeling helpless, a calm voice resonated in the room. The two of them turned their heads to see a girl dressed in sky-blue robes. Her raven black hair fluttered in the wind. When she appeared, the temperature rose because of Michael's body slowly started to drop. A chill air swept across the room.
"Rowena," Gaya mumbled under her breath. The last time Gaya saw Rowena, she fought the possessed fire giant. Gaya panicked when she saw Rowena. Several questions emerged in her mind. The first was what if Rowena finds out Michael is the Dark Lord? They were as good as dead once the holy maiden learned the truth about Michael.
"Holy Maiden," Lane acknowledged Rowena with a small nod.
"It's dangerous to use the cold flames, Holy Maiden," said Lane. He knew Ghost already possessed a Primordial flame which might refuse to let another Primordial flame enter his body. If the two primordial flames clashed inside his body, the result would be catastrophically bad. For instance, the entire room might explode into pieces along with his body.
"The Cold flames are the only chance he has," Rowena calmly said. She slowly approached Michael and stood beside Gaya. For a moment, Rowena stared at Gaya without batting an eye. Gaya felt as though Rowena was staring into her very soul itself. Her gaze was cold and piercing. A bad feeling emerged in Gaya's gut.
"Wait," When Rowena was about to conjure the cold flames, Gaya stopped her.
Just like Lane, Gaya was also concerned about Cold Flames meeting the Dark Flames.
"Unless you want him to die, you won't stop me again," said Rowena.
After a deep thought, Professor Lane nodded.
"Let her. This might be his only chance,"
Gaya couldn't care less about their opinions. She would rather give her life than gamble with his life. However, she saw Michael's finger tap the table.
"He moved!" Gaya exclaimed.
"If you want me to cure you, move your finger one more time," said Rowena. To their surprise, Michael tapped the table with his index finger.
Gaya finally heaved a sigh of relief inside. If Michael wanted the cold flames, Gaya knew he must have a way to heal himself with the cold flames. She trusted him. Finally, Gaya stepped aside, letting Rowena conjure the cold flames. As soon as the icy blue flame appeared above Rowena's plan, the temperature in the room dropped to the point they could see their own breath.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhen Rowena brought the flames closer to Michael's body, a thin layer of ice started to cover his skin. Slowly, Rowena pressed the flames against the burning wound on his chest. Michael's body trembled as the cold flames slowly crept into his body through the wound. Initially, Rowena felt something powerful preventing the cold flames from entering his body. But that strong force faded away, and she didn't find any resistance from his body anymore.
"I brought ice-" Gilrine entered the room with a barrel. His words were abruptly cut short when he saw Rowena in the room.
"Holy Maiden,"
"Shhh," Rowena shushed Gilrine as he quickly shut his mouth. He sneaked into the room, trying his best not to make any sound. On the other hand, Gaya didn't take her gaze away from Michael, not even for a second.
Rowena continued to send the cold flames into Michael's body, removing the blood prince's corrosion from his body. Although it looked like a simple task, a simple mistake could end the lives of everyone in the room. Rowena focused like a hawk on the task. This was the hardest task Rowena had performed in her life. Despite the cold temperature in the room, Gaya noticed Rowena sweating. Her face turned pale. Anyone with eyes should see the exhaustion on her face as clear as day.
Yet, Rowena didn't dare to lose focus. Seeing the Holy Maiden's state, Professor Lane took out a blue potion from his shelf. He waved the potion. Under their gazes, the blue potion evaporated into a cloud and enveloped Rowena. Her body quickly absorbed the cloud to revitalize itself. The treatment process lasted for twelve hours. Lane and Gilrine left the room, leaving Rowena and Gaya behind.
Eventually, the grayness in his skin disappeared. Instead, his skin glowed. Furthermore, his breathing returned to normal. Except for the burning wound on the center of his chest, the rest of his body stopped smoking out.
As Gaya was staring at Michael, the cold flames finally disappeared from Rowena's hand. Gaya looked up at Rowena.
"What happened?" asked Gaya.
"His body needs some time to heal," said Rowena.
"Keep him here. He needs the cold flames for at least a week. I will be here tomorrow at the same time," Rowena turned around. She was about to leave the room when Gaya questioned her,
"Why help him?"
Silence fell over them for a few moments.
"I owe him for saving my family,"