When the prophet moved her hand, its claws released gigantic flames with high pressure. The golem instantly crumbled to dust, swallowed up by the fire.
Velvet was about to get up after doing that, but she staggered because her head was dizzy. She felt that her energy was completely drained after that attack. With a heavy sigh, the prophet looked at Candice again.
And instantly, she choked hard. Her friend was already face down on the marble pavement and didn't move.
"Candice!!!" Velvet tried to get up, but the pain in her body forced her to fall to her knees again.
She retracted the rapiers from her shoulders and legs with a scream, then forced herself to come over to her friend.
The prophet turned Candice's body and found that her best friend was breathing heavily, and her eyes were almost closing.
"No, no, Candice!" Velvet panicked even more. "Hang in there! You will be fine!"
Candice couldn't respond.
***
[Vorn's POV]
I walked while holding the madam prime minister's hand to where Velvet was. After Ayre and I defeated the wyvern rider army, we confronted the Ascaind country's leader's group.
It didn't take long for us, plus the shapeshifters and succubi, to defeat them and kidnap the prime minister.
Once past a destroyed building, I narrowed my eyes at Velvet, who was shaking the body of a pink-haired woman.
"Candice! Candice! Don't leave me, Candice!" The prophet wept. "I still need you by my side!"
"Looks like that lady needs your help, Doc," I spoke to Lexi beside me.
We approached the dragon woman, and I found that her friend was having trouble breathing.
"Excuse me." Lexi was about to kneel beside Candice, but Velvet growled instead. The doctor immediately stepped back and raised her hand.
"It's okay, Velvet," I whispered. "Doctor Lexi just wants to help your friend."
Lexi crouched down again carefully and brought her luminous hands to Candice's chest while Velvet glared at the doctor. In no time, the pink-haired woman's breathing became normal again.
"Candice?" Velvet asked her best friend again, but the prophet still didn't get a response. Candice still can't speak, and her eyes are almost closed.
"I feel something strange in her chest." Ayre joins in. "Maybe you should check it out, Doc."
"I'm sorry." Lexi opened Candice's shirt slightly. "This…"
Holy shit.
A shiny blue metal the size of two adult fingers is embedded in Candice's chest. Massive blue veins shaped like roots spread out from that thing.
Velvet could only stare at that with her mouth agape. It was obvious that she didn't even know it was in her best friend's body.
"Do you know what this is, Ayre?" I asked the shapeshifter general.
She shook her head. "I have no idea either. All I know is that thing on her chest is a Mythril plate."
While Lexi kept checking on Candice, my gaze and the others were on the prime minister.
The old woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Velvet, your friend used to say she wanted to be your companion. We couldn't accept her, unfortunately. She doesn't have a strong background from a warrior family or a great wizard. She is considered unqualified to accompany you because we think that she doesn't have sufficient talent to help you, and keep you in check."
"So." I brought my face closer to that old woman. "The government offered her to participate in an enhancement program or something?"
She gulped, and her body shook. Her eyes were straight ahead, not looking at me at all. "We offered her a program to increase her magic affinity and mana using Mythril infusion. That's one of our projects to make super soldiers."
"That's why the government insists on fighting over the Mythril mine against the Durcia kingdom?" Velvet stood up with her head down.
"You know, threats to this country not only come from demons or criminals within." The prime minister gave a bitter smile. "We won't know when other countries will invade us…. At least, that's what the council believes. So, they make programs like that…."
The prime minister's words were stopped because Velvet choked that old woman's neck.
"How many other people are suffering like Candice?" The prophet growled.
The prime minister was already starting to have trouble breathing. "In that Mythril infusion project, only Candice could survive…. B-but we consider her imperfect. Yes, her magic affinity and mana storage in her body are great. But she has to drink special potions to maximize her potential."
What a cruel fate. How many humans have gotten that Mythril infusion? And only the prophet's friend survived? Is it just a coincidence? I don't know and probably will never know the answer to that question.
Velvet's tears started flowing again. "Do you know how much Candice suffers every time she drinks that potion?"
With her body shaking even more, the prime minister spoke again. "Sorry. Whatever excuses we will give, it's useless. We failed you. It can't be denied."
The prime minister gasped because Velvet tightened her grip on that woman's neck.
"I knew we wouldn't be able to atone for our sins to you." She forced herself to speak. "But remember one thing…. If you are going to kill me, make sure that there is no government vacuum in this country…."
"Oh, take it easy, madam prime minister." I cut off that woman's words with a sneer. "We will handle it well."
The prime minister opened her mouth in shock but was speechless.
And suddenly, Velvet released her hand from the prime minister's neck. That triggers the old woman to freeze for a few seconds.
"Velvet?" The prime minister's lips curved into a relieved smile. "Ah, I knew you would remember your duty as a prophet…..Ugh!"
That old woman winced violently. Velvet's hand had penetrated her left chest, making her blood flow out a lot.
And with a gaze like an angry beast, the prophet pulled her hand away. I could see that she was already holding a still-beating heart.
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