Chapter 315: Black Blood, Rotten Flesh, Broken Bones And Maggots
Leona cleared her throat, her expression shifting to one of profound respect as she began to speak.
"You may not know this, Luca, but the Queen of the Lamia race is an incredible woman. She’s not only extremely intelligent to the extent that she can view every single problem from multiple different angles before figuring out a solution."
"But she’s meticulous in everything she does and never rush into decisions."
Leona’s voice carried a note of genuine admiration.
"In many ways, she’s a role model for all leaders who rule over their races. I look up to her myself."
Luca nodded slowly, already familiar with the Lamia queen’s reputation.
He had seen her during the disastrous meeting—composed, elegant, and watchful. She hadn’t reacted with the same visceral hatred as some of the others, which had given him a sliver of hope.
"She also has a very good relationship with our elf village, along with many other races. Not only because of her ability to look into the future or the past as a shaman, but also because..."
She paused, a fond look crossing her face.
"Her mother is the one who helped me in the past. She warned me about something bad that would happen in the future.
Leona’s voice grew quieter, more personal.
"And without that warning, I would have suffered much more than I did. So both our races have a strong alliance, one built on gratitude and mutual respect."
Luca nodded again, understanding dawning on his face.
He knew about how the past matriarch had warned Leona about the problems Julius would cause.
Even though it hadn’t been the exact scenario that played out, it had been enough for Leona to go to the Centaur race, receive their queen’s blessing, and secure protection for herself and her village.
He could only imagine what sort of horrible life Leona would have led without that intervention.
Leona’s expression grew more complicated.
"That’s why, despite everything that happened at the meeting and the horrifying visions that were shown to all of them, including her—she decided not to rush to any conclusions."
Luca perked up slightly. This was promising.
Leona’s expression grew thoughtful.
"After going back home, she decided to properly think it through. She felt as though something was wrong about the whole situation."
Leona paused, tilting her head.
"After all, she reasoned, if even we well-raised elves can trust you and are willing to trust you, why would you do something like that? She didn’t immediately come to conclusions at all."
Luca felt an immense wave of relief wash over him.
He had sensed during the meeting that she was an intelligent woman.
But to actually hear it confirmed from Leona’s mouth made him appreciate her even more.
’Finally.’ He thought. ’A rational leader. Someone who doesn’t just react with blind emotion. Maybe there’s hope after all.’
But just as he was beginning to entertain thoughts of eventual reconciliation, Leona’s expression darkened.
Her face fell into a frown, and a grave look settled over her features.
"Unfortunately." She continued, her voice dropping. "Because of her suspicion, everything only turned worse."
Luca’s newfound hope evaporated instantly. He stared at Leona, his heart sinking.
"What...do you mean?"
Leona looked up at him with a weak expression, as if she didn’t want to tell him but had no choice.
"The truth is Luca yahy right now, she doesn’t just hate you, Luca...She’s absolutely terrified of you."
Lulu and Luna gasped in unison.
Leona’s voice grew even more somber.
"She’s told us that you must never approach her village. And if you do, her people will fight to the death to stop you."
"What!?" Luca burst out, sitting up straighter. "How does that make any sense? Everything was going alright! She was suspicious, not hostile!’
’So, why would she suddenly be so afraid of me?"
His voice carried genuine disbelief.
He had been so certain that something good was going to happen, that at least one race would give him a fair chance.
But now Leona was telling him the exact opposite.
It was almost as if the worst possible outcome had occurred.
Leona slowly turned to Nyx, who leaned forward, her expression solemn.
"You see, Hero, as you know, the queen of the Lamia race is a shaman who can perform certain rituals to look into fate, the future, the past—all of it."
Luca nodded, listening closely.
This was information he already possessed, but he sensed that Nyx was building toward something important.
"And because of that..." Nyx continued. "...to clear up her doubts about you, she decided to look into your fate as well. She wanted to determine exactly what sort of person you are."
"So she performed a small ritual upon you to see your past and your true nature."
The moment the words left Nyx’s lips, Luca’s blood ran cold. A terrible premonition gripped him, squeezing his heart like a vice.
He knew exactly where this was going. He could feel it in his bones.
But Nyx, focused on her story, didn’t notice how pale his face had become. She continued speaking, her voice growing darker with each word.
"And unfortunately...it ended in the worst way possible."
Lulu couldn’t contain herself any longer.
"Auntie Nyx, what happened? Tell us already!"
Luna nodded frantically.
"The suspense is killing me! Just tell us what happened to her!"
Nyx let out a deep, weary sigh.
"The moment she tried to perform the ritual with some of her clansmen around her, she couldn’t even last a couple of seconds."
"She immediately let out a heart-wrenching cry—almost as if she was going through the most horrible pain imaginable."
Lulu and Luna both flinched.
Luca said nothing. He was listening with unnatural stillness.
Nyx continued, her voice growing more grave.
"It wasn’t just the pain. She couldn’t hold it in at all. She started thrashing around with her tail—knocking over everything in her chambers, destroying furniture, sending her clan members scrambling for cover."
She shook her head, her expression one of genuine horror.
"She was screaming. Moaning. Crying out in a way that her own clan members had never heard before. No matter how much they tried to calm her down, she wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t stop."
She paused, letting the weight of the words sink in before somerly saying,
"They said it was such a horrifying sight that they couldn’t even believe this was the same composed queen they had always known."
The room had grown deathly silent. Luna and Lulu were clutching each other, their faces pale with dread.
They had thought this would be a minor issue—something their aunt and mother had been hyping up.
But now it was clear that this was serious. Very serious.
And just as they were already feeling distressed, Nyx let out a sarcastic chuckle.
"We haven’t even gotten to the worst part yet."
Lulu practically shrieked.
"What could possibly be worse than thrashing and moaning in pain?!" She looked horrified. "I already feel like the world is ending when I get a fever!"
Luna nodded eagerly, her eyes wide with anticipation and dread.
Nyx let out another deep sigh before finally revealing the next horrifying detail.
"Apparently, after thrashing around and experiencing utter pain, she suddenly stood up. Her clansmen thought she was fine—that the ordeal was over."
"But then, her body started to convulse all over."
She paused dramatically.
"They could smell something foul coming from her. Something putrid and rotten."
"And then..." Nyx continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. "...she started vomiting on the spot."
Lulu and Luna exchanged glances.
While they felt bad for the Lamia queen—no one wanted to go through such an experience—they couldn’t help but think that vomiting wasn’t as bad as they’d feared.
Maybe she was just sick. Maybe it was a reaction to the ritual.
But then Nyx added the detail that completely turned everything around.
"It wasn’t just any vomit." She said, her eyes narrowing. "She vomited black blood."
"BLACK BLOOD?" Lulu and Luna shouted in unison.
Nyx nodded gravely.
"Apparently, the blood was rotten and putrid, that just smelling it made the other clan members feel like they were going to vomit themselves."
Leona quickly added, her voice shaking slightly,
"It wasn’t just black blood either. She also vomited fragments of bone. Pieces of rotten flesh.. She was so sick that..."
She swallowed hard, clearly fighting to keep her composure.
"...even pieces of organs and maggots were coming out of her."
Lulu and Luna were absolutely terrified at this point.
They quickly grabbed onto Luca, clinging to him as if he were a lifeline.
This had turned from a simple story into a full-blown horror tale.
Neither of them noticed, however, that Luca had gone completely still.
His face had drained of all color—so pale that there was visibly no blood left in his cheeks at all.
None of the women noticed. They were too caught up in their own distress.
Leona rubbed her forehead, clearly disturbed by the recollection.
"She apparently kept on vomiting. Over and over, and the contents splashed onto her clan members who came to help her. The smell was so bad that even after washing their bodies multiple times, it didn’t go away. The rest of the villagers started staying away from them."
Nyx leaned back heavily against her seat.
"Only after vomiting so much that it could fill an entire bucket did the Lamia Queen finally faint. She was immediately taken away for medical treatment."
Luna couldn’t help but ask, her voice filled with concern.
"Is she alright? I mean, she vomited bones and organs—that can’t be good. Don’t tell me something happened to her!"
Her distress was genuine. She knew how much the Lamia race had done for her family, especially her mother. Without their warnings and assistance, they would have lived a much worse life.
But Nyx broke out into a reassuring smile.
"There’s no need to worry, dear. Even though she spit out bones and fragments of organs, apparently none of it actually belonged to her."
Luna blinked, his mind racing. None of it belonged to her?
Nyx’s expression grew strange and peculiar as she explained,
"It seemed as if everything had just...spawned into her stomach. We asked the clan members about the black blood and whatnot, wondering if she had eaten something weird."
"But they had no clue—she ate normally, and there was nothing different about her diet at all."
Leona looked genuinely frightened now as she added,
"It’s almost as if her body had brought something inside of her, and she vomited it out. But it wasn’t her own body—it was someone else’s."
The room fell into a heavy silence as everyone tried to process this bizarre, horrifying information.
And then Leona glanced toward Luca, wondering if he had any insight into this strange phenomenon.
Surely he would have some insight since it was his past that she looked into which caused such a tragedy to happen.
But the moment she looked at him, she was utterly shocked by what she saw.
"Luca?" She asked, her voice trembling. "What’s wrong with you?...Why do you look like that?"
Immediately, all three other women turned to him—and they were equally horrified.
Luca didn’t look like the same Hero who was always smiling, always cracking jokes, always finding a way to lighten the mood.
His lips were parted, his eyes completely hollow—like they had no soul at all.
His face was sickly pale, even paler than it had been moments ago.
And his entire body was shaking as if he were going through some kind of seizure or sleep paralysis.
For the first time, all four women were thoroughly alarmed.
This was a side of Luca they had never seen before—a terrified, broken man who looked like he had just witnessed something truly horrifying.
Leona quickly scrambled to him. "Luca! What’s wrong?! Why do you look like that?!"
Lulu was already on her feet.
"Do you want some water? I’ll bring you some water!"
She rushed out of the room and returned moments later with a bottle, thrusting it toward Luca.
But he didn’t even respond. He just stared into space, his eyes unfocused, his mind clearly elsewhere.
It was as if he was trapped in a nightmare that only he could see.
Nyx tried to break through with her usual humor, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Oh, what is this, Hero? Don’t tell me you got queasy just from hearing all that! You’re much, much stronger than that!"
To her surprise and horror, Luca didn’t respond to that either.
He didn’t even acknowledge her presence.
Nyx’s composure finally cracked. The forced smile faded, replaced by genuine worry.
This was serious. Something was truly, deeply wrong.
Leona stepped forward, reaching out to check on him properly.
But before she could touch him, Luca’s body suddenly convulsed.
"Grhkk—! Mmm—! Arhhkkk—!"
He made gagging noises from his mouth, his hand flying up to cover his lips.
Before anyone could react, he bolted from the house, running toward the platform outside.
"Luca?!"
"Luca?!"
"Luca?!"
"Hero?!"
All four women called out simultaneously, scrambling to follow him.
And the sight they witnessed on the wooden platform was even worse than they had expected.
Luca was hunched over the railing, his entire body wracked with violent retching sounds.
He was vomiting everything he had eaten, the noises so loud and so horrifying that it echoed through the night air!
