Necrogod sighed. Just like he expected, in a matter of seconds, the nether leaking out of the wound became denser, and it was no longer just a small scratch. From the small scratch, thin black veins crawled outward across Ruby’s back like ink bleeding through paper.

Necrogod’s jaw clenched. "Damn it."

Seeing his face, Ruby frowned. "What are you talking about? It’s nothing serious. Stop overreacting!"

"It’s nether."

The moment those words left his mouth, Ruby went completely still. "That’s not funny," she said after a second, her voice a little quieter than before. Beads of sweat started forming on her body, and her cherry red lips slowly started turning black.

"No. No. Vlad! What is happening to me?" Ruby started shaking, her body trembling from top to bottom.

Vlad? Necrogod was stunned for a moment, but he quickly chalked it up to a coincidence and moved on. Nether still hadn’t spread everywhere. There was still hope for her. It had not reached her core yet. It was spreading fast, far too fast, but it was still confined to her outer channels. If he were precise, if he didn’t miss even a single strand, she could still be saved.

The black veins pulsed again, crawling higher along her neck. Her breathing turned erratic, sharp gasps escaping her lips.

"Vlad..." Ruby clutched onto him, her fingers digging into his clothes as her body trembled uncontrollably. "No... no... make it stop..." she gasped, her voice breaking.

The warmth of those memories surged again, stronger this time. The little girl laughing. Training beside him. Calling his name again and again.

Necrogod didn’t waste another second. He stepped behind her again and placed his hand directly over the wound. A faint, weak current of his nether gathered at his palm.

The moment his nether touched the wound, the corruption exploded. The black veins writhed violently beneath her skin, surging outward. They resisted, twisted, fought back, trying to burrow deeper into her flesh.

Ruby screamed. "AAAAAH!"

Necrogod didn’t flinch. His focus sharpened to a single point. His nether split into dozens of razor-thin strands, slipping into her body like threads weaving through a tangled web. Each strand chased a vein, intercepted it, wrapped around it, and pulled.

A thin line of black energy tore free from her skin. Ruby’s body jerked violently.

"Aah!" Necrogod’s eyes remained cold. He kept at it. He pulled another strand again and then again. Each extraction was exact and ruthless. He followed every tendril, cutting off its path, dragging it out before it could spread further.

He had never manipulated nether like his before. He had to push his control and his ability to its limits. He kept pushing and pushing. The forest echoed with Ruby’s cries.

Necrogod’s breathing grew heavier. Exerting this level of control was extremely taxing in his current state. "Almost," he muttered. He pushed deeper, past the outer channels into the center of the infection.

And then, he found it. A dense seed of nether was buried just beneath the wound.

Necrogod’s gaze sharpened. "There."

The moment he touched it, the entire corruption reacted. It surged violently, trying to spread all at once, desperate, furious, as if it had been cornered.

Ruby’s scream broke. "Vlaaaad!"

Necrogod’s hand tightened. "Shut up and endure it." His nether wrapped around the core like chains snapping shut. The mass resisted. It fought against his control. Tore at her from the inside, trying to anchor itself deeper. Blood seeped from the wound.

Ruby convulsed in his arms, but Necrogod did not let go. His fingers dug in, and he tried harder harder. But it was not as easy as he hoped it would be. His skill was also coming up short. Ruby’s condition which was getting better suddenly started getting worse and worse.

"Fuck. Damn it!" Necrogod had no idea what to do now. He didn’t care if this girl died. He was not exactly familiar with her but at the same time, he did not want her to die. He couldn’t explain it.

Sure, part of it was because of the memory world. He could tell that this was some sort of a test he has to overcome. But there was also something else. He really did not want her to die.

He tried again and again and again. He went back to the basics and tried his best to hone his ability in controlling nether. But it was simply not enough.

Necrogod’s control slipped. Just for a moment and that was all it took. The nether seed pulsed violently and then it exploded outward. The black veins surged across Ruby’s body in an instant, no longer creeping, no longer restrained. They raced up her neck, across her face, diving inward. Her body went rigid.

"Vlad" Her voice cut off.

Then the trembling stopped, the struggle stopped and even her breathing stopped. Necrogod froze. "No." He reached out, grabbing her shoulders, shaking her slightly. Her head lolled to the side. The faint warmth that had lingered in her body began to fade.

Necrogod’s fingers tightened. His mind, which had remained sharp through battle, through chaos, through everything now stuttered. He had been too slow and too weak once again. His jaw clenched hard.

"Tch." A faint, hollow laugh escaped him. "Idiot, why are you getting so emotional over a memory fragment? Are you crazy?"

He slowly lowered her body to the ground. For a moment, he just stared at her. The girl who had laughed, who had dragged him along, who had kissed him without hesitation, who had looked at him like he was her entire world. She was gone just like that.

He remained silent for a while before his gaze darkened. "So that’s how you want to play it." He leaned forward and lifted her finger, taking out her ring. He then let a drop of his blood fall onto the ring, binding with it.

He did not bother going through its contents. He simply took out all the corpses they had collected up until now. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. When he opened his eyes, nether coiled in his palm. He then began experimenting with the first beast corpse.

Dead or alive, today he was not going to leave this place without her.

***

Chapter 8 Mass Release Sponsored by Syphatrol