Dreke stepped inside his lab, looking forward to the final iteration of his virus, which was on the verge of perfection.
"I heard you were making some noise last night?" He walked over to the side and donned a white coat covered in protective insignias.
"Were you that excited to enter your last day?" He picked up a syringe and walked over to Elias.
Elias could barely focus his eyes. His vision had grown so weak that he could only see a shadow approaching him.
Using the syringe, Dreke drew out Elias' blood that had already turned black. The red traces within the blood were barely visible.
It was a miracle in itself that Elias was still alive, which was what made him such a perfect test subject for Dreke.
After taking the sample, he went back to the desk and began observing it.
"It looks so beautiful." He couldn't hide his fascination with the functioning of the virus he had created. Now that it was on the verge of completion, he could finally see what was missing.
He quickly rushed to the wardrobe, pulled out a green insect, and returned. He crushed the insect and started mixing it with Elias's blood sample, making the virus even more dangerous.
"You are really lucky. You are the first person to experience the most perfect virus that I have created."
He couldn't hide the grin on his face. With this, he was one step closer to his next evolution in his class.
He approached Elias, and inserted the syringe in his arm. The syringe was full with the virus, but Dreke only injected half of it, which was more than enough to kill an earthling.
He saved the remaining half, for further research in the future.
This time, he didn't leave the lab. He watched the onset of the virus as black lines appeared all over Elias' body, his body started twitching fiercely. However, thanks to the restraints, the trembling of his body was contained to the table only.
"So perfect... The virus will ignore all immunity as it destroys your organs from inside, melting them from within. So struggle... struggle as much as you can. Make it more enjoyable for me! Let me see my masterpiece at work!"
Elias roared in pain, his voice turning completely hoarse until nothing came out of his throat. His skin had already started decaying before, but it was literally melting in front of Dreke's eyes.
Even his bones had become visible, as if his flesh was clawed out by someone. After what felt like an eternity of torment with no escape at sight, everything came to a stop.
Elias' body stopped trembling. His heartbeat soon followed, accompanied by his breathing. He was dead, but the virus was still wrecking his body from inside.
"Hmm? He is already dead?" Dreke looked like he was at a loss. He thought Elias would entertain him more, until the virus destroyed every single fragment of his body.
He was left completely disappointed as Elias died in front of him within seconds of the final virus being released in his bloodstream.
"If only he lasted a little longer, it would've been more fun. Whatever. He lasted much longer for insects of this lower world."
Even if he was disappointed, he couldn't do anything else. He took the syringe with him and returned to his table. He placed the syringe in the side and picked up a diary.
He started writing everything that he had witnessed today, just like he was writing an experiment journal.
....
Elias' heartbeat had stopped, and so did his breathing. However, there was something that Dreke hadn't taken into account.
Even in a near-death state, Elias's mind was still strangely active. If one were to measure his brain waves, they would have seen much more activity than any normal human could bear.
It was as if he were living a nightmare within a nightmare. Even as his flesh kept melting, his chaotic mind was becoming even more active, trying to keep him alive.
A weak heartbeat arose within his heart. Even though his blood was poisoned, his heart was starting to struggle to supply it to his veins.
His lips trembled as they separated, letting him breathe through his mouth. His body was starting to wake up as the virus raged chaotically inside him.
Abruptly, Elias opened his eyes. He couldn't feel the pain anymore. Or rather, his body had already grown numb to it.
He didn't say anything. No, he couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. He couldn't even see the mission screen clearly. All he saw was a blurry shadow of the world around him, tainted with black blood trickling down from his eyes.
As his skin had started melting, the restraints had loosened. He pulled his arms down. Fortunately, he couldn't see them. If he could, he would have only seen a nightmarish sight where only bones were visible for the most part.
He also freed his legs, which was much harder as his feet hadn't melted enough. As he pulled his feet, the chains literally clawed at his flesh before he was finally able to free his bleeding legs.
Elias moved aside and landed on the ground. Even he didn't understand how he was still alive in this state, or where he was getting this strength. It would have been much easier to just accept death than to go through this.
He knew that if he thought about it, he might really succumb to the allure of accepting death over suffering. Still, the fate of his world was deeply imprinted in his mind. It didn't allow him to give up.
If he gave up, then he could never forgive himself.
Elias dragged his weak body, leaving a trail of black blood behind. He didn't even know if he was approaching the right person, as he could only see a shadow.
Had Dreke already left this place, sending some servant to clean up the lab? He wasn't sure. The only thing he knew was that he had to bet everything on this one chance.