LIGHTNOVELONLINE LXXIX. Picking Up the Pieces
Rel: THIS IS ALL THIS FUCKER'S FAULT...!
Enraged due to the sacrifice of their comrade, Rel mounts Dmitri's motionless body, seemingly ready to start relentlessly pummelling him.
Punjo: Rel...
He places a heavy hand on the young man's shoulder. Rel could feel the weight of Punjo's weary frame leaning on him.
Punjo: S-stop... We need him...
Clenching his teeth, Rel grips the man's clothes so tightly his nails begin ripping through fabric.
Rel: I know... I know.
He pulls himself closer to Dmitri, resting his head next to his, supported by his right hand. With his mouth right next to the man's ear, Rel channels his wrath through his voice as he gives the man a strong shake.
Rel: WAKE THE FUCK UP YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!
He yells at the top of his lungs, his mouth practically touching Dmitri's ear. In a panic, the man wakes up startled, his respiration irregular and frantic. Rel had shouted so loudly he was having trouble hearing from his left ear.
Rel: No more aces up your sleeve, you coward...
Grabbing the fearful man's collar, Rel aggressively brings him close to him.
Rel: Your fucked up experiment won't protect you anymore.
Terrified and confused, the man tried to speak but all he could do was babble incoherently. Blood ran down his mouth, spewing from his broken teeth.
Rel: You don't need to talk. You just have to show us the damn antidote.
Dmitri closes his mouth, his gaze betraying a deep despair, unable to give Rel an answer.
Rel: Don't play coy with me... Telling me this isn't familiar?!
Reaching into one of his pockets, Rel pulls out a small bottle containing a small amount of liquid. It was all they could recover from the broken flask of poison Cabdan carried with him, before he died.
Rel: So? Recognize this...?!
While the liquid had a distinctive purplish hue to it, Dmitri did not yet seem like he had all the information he required to provide an answer.
Dmitri: Et me shmell it... I-I 'eed to shmell it...
With a disgusted look in his face, Rel uncorks the bottle, bringing it close to Dmitri's nostrils. The man inhales deeply through its opening, his eyes almost rolling to the back of his head.
Dmitri: Y-yesh... I have what you need...!
Rel squints in distrust.
Rel: Where is it?
Dmitri points towards a wall cabinet near one of the room's corners. Having been mostly spared from the monster's rampage, wall cabinets were among the few surviving structures inside the room. This was one such cabinet.
Rel: Keep an eye on him, Punjo... I'll get it.
Dmitri: W-wait...!
Rel's eyes snap from Punjo back to Dmitri, staring him down angrily.
Dmitri: It's 'ocked... 'ake 'he key...
Dmitri nervously reaches into the front pocket of his shirt, taking a small iron key from inside.
Rel: ... You better not be lying.
Rel dismounts, making is way to the cabinet. Upon unlocking it, a series of liquid-filled vials were stored within.
Rel: Which one is it?!
Dmitri lets him know the particular shape and color of the antidote. Its features were unique enough that it could not be mistaken for other chemicals within the cabinet.
Rel: Good...
Antidote in hand, Rel approaches Punjo and Dmitri.
Rel: Answer me this -- if someone was poisoned via an open wound, with this particular poison... How long would they have to live?
Dmitri thought for a brief moment, opening but closing his mouth without uttering a word a few times, scared that his answer could determine his fate.
Dmitri: Dephends... How much poishon?
Rel: As much as you could apply to razor blades... But only a single cut would hit your target.
He thinks for a short while, before responding decidedly.
Dmitri: Weeksh. 'hat... Best inges'ed than dropp'd in blood.
Rel: Really...? Best ingested than dropped in blood...? Then how long would someone have to live... If they ingested even this tiny amount of poison?
Dmitri answers almost instantly.
Dmitri: One day at mosht. A few hoursh, mosht likely...
Rel: Good. That'll do.
That's all he wanted to hear. Rel rapidly mounts Dmitri again, catching him off guard, shoving the small flask of poison into his mouth. The man coughs as the drops hit the back of his throat.
Punjo: REL...!
Rel: HE COULD BE LYING, PUNJO!
Punjo stops himself, as his eyes widen.
Rel: Cabdan tried pulling a similar stunt... Guys like him are cut of the same cloth.
Rel gets back up, as Dmitri squirms, trying to spit the poison out while clawing at his throat.
Rel: If he's telling the truth... Then this right here should save him.
Rel holds the bottle of antidote high in the air, as Dmitri's eyes lock onto it.
Dmitri: P-leash... PLEASHE...!
Rel: Shut the fuck up and listen.
Dmitri stops talking, as his face starts getting redder and redder.
Rel: We need a way out of here... Preferably, without anyone ever knowing we stepped foot inside. Guide us out of here, we'll let you drink some of the antidote. Otherwise...
Rel looks over at the bloody table, where the monster was strapped.
Rel: Well put that table to good use again. Leave you here to die, tightly bound to it. Understand...?
Dmitri nods, in agony.
Rel: Can you walk?
Dmitri stands up slowly, his body aching and trembling. As Rel helps Punjo, Dmitri guides them to the back of the laboratory. By pressing down three specific stones in the wall, they are pushed inside, causing a hidden door to open and reveal a claustrophobically small corridor. Only a few sparsely placed torches lit its inside.
Rel: You first, Punjo. I'll cover the rear.
With Dmitri in the middle, the door shuts behind them as they make their way through the corridor.
Tyssa: No... No no no no NO!!
Meanwhile, Tyssa was found kneeling in the garden outside. While mourning the loss of her friend, she glanced at the journal. It had been entirely soaked in wine, with many of its pages becoming very difficult to read.
Tyssa: Not after all this... Please...
She quickly undresses her shirt, trying to use whatever dry parts she could find in an attempt to blot the journal. Though some of the wine was absorbed, even her clothes were much too wet to serve of much help.
Tyssa: No... C'mon...
Looking at her surroundings, she tries to think of a way to preserve what was left of the documents. As the moonlight shone down on the garden, Tyssa laid her eyes upon several dry leaves that rested on the grass. As a last resort, she grabs some leaves and interleaves them between the pages, in an attempt to absorb some moisture and prevent the pages from sticking together.
Tyssa: Please, please work...
Hearing movement coming from within the mansion, she grabs the journal and retreats. Vaulting over the garden wall by leveraging some stacked crates next to the nearby stables, she makes her way back to the secluded area they had previously agreed to rendezvous, hoping that soon Rel and Punjo would join her...