The special ward where Chumo was treated was located in the corner of the medical center building. There were no guards to be seen around the premises, but the ward had a thick reinforced door as its first entry point, followed by many steel bar doors.
If Emery didn't know any better, he would definitely think that they were walking into prison instead of a medical ward.
"You are lucky to come at the right time. They are pretty tame around this hour of the day."
Even though he knew the man's words meant to assure him, they didn't make Emery calm at all. Instead, he became even more anxious because those words slightly revealed Chumo's current condition.
It had been so many years, but from those words, it seemed like the poison still hadn't been taken care of, that they were still as aggressive as before.
After passing through the fourth door, Emery finally arrived at a passage with rows of windows on either side and electronic panels in front of each one. The man led the two of them to the first window on the left side.
"This is patient number 2."
Both Emery and Annara fell silent when they saw a black-haired man sitting on the bed facing away from the window. Even though they saw him from a distance and covered in clothes, Emery could clearly tell how thin his body was, just skin and bones.
"Chumo, is that you?" His mind screamed for an answer.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, when the figure turned towards the window, he wasn't Chumo. Emery could still recognize the person, albeit barely; he was indeed one of the Magus Academy acolytes.
He then quickly went to look at the second window. The word 'Patient 3' was shown on the electronic panel and when he took a peek inside, he saw it wasn't Chumo either. At this moment, Emery felt that his emotions were a complete mess.
When he went to the third window, the man said, "This is the last patient."
Emery was shocked to hear that because from his memory there should have been 7 patients; so how could there only be 3?
With these thoughts nagging at his mind, Emery looked at the third glass window and found Chumo's figure not there. Instead, it was a male figure with messy white hair. Shaking his head, he thought to himself.
'It's not him either.'
But then, to his surprise, when the figure in the room turned around, he suddenly turned furious and slammed his body towards the door. Caught off guard, Emery couldn't hold himself from taking a step back.
Seeing his reaction, the man said, "I apologize. Patient number 7 is always like this, whether the poison acts up or not.. He always seems to be filled with madness, and we haven't figured out why."
Those words made Emery recall someone he knew who was similar to that description. Confirming his suspicions, he looked at the white-haired man's face carefully and realized who it was. "Lodos… the Maniac."
"Ah, do you know him?" the man asked when he saw Emery's reaction.
Realizing he had said something he shouldn't have, Emery collected his composure and said, "Yes, I have read his profile before"
On the other hand, after his initial outburst died down, Lodos was looking at Emery with much curiosity when he suddenly said, "You… Emery!! The savage acolyte..!! You are here!!"
Emery was stunned, his mind immediately went to work trying to figure out how the man could recognize him. However, his question was quickly answered when Lodos proceeded to look at the male medical officer and said, "You also, dragon boy.. I am not afraid of you.. I will win the tournament!! Me! Lodos!!"
It was clear that Lodos was still not well. Looking at the man's current state, Emery recalled their history together and couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
Unfortunately, he currently had another, more important priority. He turned to the medical officer and said, "What about the other patients? I heard that there are 7 of them."
Emery tried his best to hide his anxiety as he asked the question. His anxiety grew even more when the man started saying the names of those who didn't survive the treatment. Luckily, he was able to heave a sigh of relief when Chumo's name didn't come out.
It turned out that two people were declared stable and released from the medical center. One was two years ago by the name of Abrafo, and another was just two months ago by the name of Chumo.
The relief Emery felt to hear such news was indescribable.
Now that he had confirmed Chumo was alright, Emery somewhat calmed down.
"I wonder if the center is keeping track of their whereabouts."
"Actually we did. We need to monitor their condition and progress after they are released. Since it's been two years, Patient 1 Abrafo only needs to come for checkups every few months, while Patient 6 Chumo needs to come here every week."
He then asked if there was a way to contact them, if was there an address he could go to. Unfortunately, his request was rejected since all that information was classified together with the research file, which Emery had no clearance to access.
No amount of flirting by Annara seemed to be working this time, so Emery decided to try another method.
"I am very interested in this young man named Chumo. I understand your concern so I won't trouble you anymore. Still, if he comes here, could you contact me, please?
The man was willing to receive the identification number of his bracelet, which could be used to send messages over short distances. The man should be able to contact Emery as long as he stays in the city.
Before they left, Emery gave another look at Lodos. Seeing his condition, there was a certain impulse to help find a cure for this disease. However, even such a medical facility wasn't able to help him.
How could he think he would be able to do what dozens of experts couldn't?
Besides, he has so much on his plate now.
With that, Emery turned around and walked away.
As they walked out of the building, Annara who felt somewhat responsible said, "Actually, we might be able to help them. I remember Zenonia kept notes on her research, so if we can find her records on this disease..."
Emery's eyes lit up at this and he nodded, becoming even more motivated to find the former master of the Darkness Institute's hideout.
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