Inside one of the wards in the infirmary were Derek, Kelvin, and the female nurse. The trio were standing close to the bed where Alex was laid and each had a worried expression on their faces. Especially Kelvin who was holding Alex's hand in his.
"This is unexpected," Derek mumbled. Apart from Kelvin who was more worried about Alex, Derek himself could not hide the fact that he was both anxious and confused. He was after all the one who sent Alex away to go fight strange monsters, if he hadn't done so, things wouldn't have turned out this bad.
"The demonic poison inside of him is acting faster than I expected it to be," the female nurse said with a scared look. "If nothing is done, the poison will feast on his vitals and he'll die."
"Die? Is there a way to save him?" Kelvin asked in a panic.
"Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done," the nurse replied.
"What!"
"Yes. This kind of demonic poison is like a living organism that feasts on its prey until they are no more. Only when its prey is dead can it leave the body in search of another prey, there is nothing we can do to save the kid."
Hearing what the nurse said, Kelvin broke down. Should he blame himself for bringing Alex into the school? Or blame his friend for being so impulsive?
"The Dean isn't around and it's midnight... Let's wait till morning and I promise to find a solution, whatever it is," Derek said to Kelvin who didn't reply to him.
After some minutes of silence, the nurse cleared her throat and spoke up. "Staying here won't do us any good. Let's leave for now and come back tomorrow morning," she said to them.
"No, I'd like to stay and watch over him," Kelvin replied. No one tried to persuade him so they quietly left and closed the door behind them. Now, it was just him and the unconscious Alex on the bed. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault that you are in this mess," he said to the unconscious Alex. He stayed staring at Alex for a while until he yawned tiredly. Soon, he felt sleepy so he rested his head on the space beside Alex and closed his eyes.
An hour after Kelvin fell asleep, Alex's lashes twitched and he gradually opened his eyes. Looking around, he saw that he was currently in the infirmary, and with a confused expression, he tried to get up but as he did that, he felt his whole body was numb and he also noticed that someone was close to him. Seeing Kelvin, he frowned deeply.
"What am I doing here? What happened to me?" He asked no one in particular. Remembering how he had slumped earlier, he frowned again.
There was a glass window by the side of his head and so when he was looking around, he caught a glimpse of himself and immediately, he saw the black veins that covered his whole neck, it looked as though a tattoo was drawn around his entire neck.
"What is this?" He asked, shocked and confused. He touched his neck to perhaps feel a pain or something but he wasn't feeling anything at all. The only problem was that he couldn't move his entire body, and as such, could not climb down from the bed. "Arthur, what is wrong with me?"
"It's the demon energy I absorbed for you," Arthur replied.
"Why am I being affected by it?" Alex asked, not quite getting what Arthur was trying to say.
"You aren't a full demon yet and so the demon energy I absorbed is too much for your body to take. As a result, the residuals are working against your body system, turning into poison and trying to damage your vitals," Arthur replied. Explaining further, he said. "If you were just a human, you would probably be dead by now but because of your demonic traits, the effect will be slower. It'll eat you slowly until there's no vital left to be destroyed."
"It sounds bad," Alex mumbled. "Is there a way out? I don't want to die yet," he said. Even with the severity of the situation, he still sounded unperturbed like it was nothing.
"There is only one way but I'm not sure if it'll be a success," Arthur replied, quite amazed at how calm Alex was.
"Just tell me," Alex said to him.
"The only way to stop the demon energy from spreading all over your body and killing you is by sharing it with someone else," Arthur replied.
"Sharing it with someone else? How to do it?" Alex asked.
"It's very simple. I can help you turn anyone into a demon and then all you have to do is share the demon energy with them," Arthur replied.
"It sounds interesting but who am I going to do that to? Surely, no one will be willing to become a demon," Alex mumbled. This time, his brows were furrowed showing that he was not happy.
"That's up to you," Arthur replied.
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After the conversation with Arthur, Alex didn't speak again as he was lost in deep thought of who he could turn into a demon so that he would share his residual energy with him. Time was ticking, the poison was spreading so fast that it had reached his jaws and yet, he was not able to think of a solution.
It was in the early hours of the morning and he was still lying on the bed, unable to move his body. Even his hands can no longer move as a result of the poison. Meanwhile, Kelvin was still fast asleep and was oblivious to the things happening around him.
Soon, the door to the room clicked open, and in came Raphael. Seeing Alex, the boy rushed to the bed and held him, frightened by the black veins that had eaten most of Alex's face and scared that something bad might end up happening to his only friend.
Noticing his presence, Alex opened his eyes, and the moment he saw Raphael, the solution to his problems finally arrived.
'Arthur, I think I know who'll be fit for it,' he inwardly said to Arthur.
"Do you think he'll be willing to do it?" Arthur asked him.
Hearing his question, Alex gazed at Raphael and saw how worried the boy was because of him. He shouldn't be selfish because the boy before him is the only person he regards as a friend. 'I'll ask him,' he replied to Arthur and turned to Raphael.
"I need you to help me or I'll die. Are you willing to do it for me?" He asked him without going into details.
Raphael did not know how he could help Alex but since he was capable of doing it, he didn't mind. He nodded his head in reply and Alex smiled a bit.
"Thank you," he mumbled with a relieved look on his face. 'Arthur, now what next?' He asked the demon.
"I'll have to take over your body for a while but we can't do anything here," Arthur replied. "We need to leave here," he added.
"Can you carry me out of here? To my room at least," Alex said to Raphael who nodded and carried him on his back. They quietly left the room and went outside, the place was still dark so no one would see them.
They soon got to Alex's room and then Raphael carefully placed him on the bed.
"I'm going to start," Arthur said and then Alex's eyes closed and his head was lowered. Seconds later, he raised his head and opened his eyes again. Seeing how confused Raphael was, a grin stretched out on his face.
"I've been dying to kill you," he said to him.
Raphael immediately backed away. He was quick and smart enough to know that something wasn't right, that this wasn't his friend speaking but a different person. He also recalled the first time this happened in the library, the air around Alex now was the same as that of their first encounter. As such, he was ready to use his ability to fight back if he decided to attack him.
"But after a long thought, I decided not to," he added, placing Raphael in a more confusing state. "The reason isn't important so don't bother trying to know. Right now, the business at hand is more important than any other thing so let's get down to it."