After the Chaos energy vanished, the crimson-gold light gradually retracted, finally shrinking back into Byrne's body and falling into silence. A moment later, the scarlet tint in Marco's eyes faded completely.
At this moment, his face was so pale it was almost translucent. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, and his chest heaved violently. Clearly, the impact of the Chaos erosion had taken a massive toll on him. Marco's legs gave way, and had Byrne not caught his arm in time, he likely would have collapsed.
He gasped for air, still feeling the stinging pain of the lingering Chaos energy. As his vision cleared, he looked at Byrne with eyes full of bewilderment.
"Byrne, I... what happened to me just now?"
From Marco's state, it was clear he had no memory of his actions after being corrupted. Byrne helped Marco to a corner to sit down and handed him a bottle of high-grade nutrient solution.
"Captain, I waited outside for about ten minutes. Fearing something happened to you, I was just about to go in and find you. But before I could enter, I saw you walk out, and then..."
Byrne recounted the events of the past few minutes, albeit with significant modifications to hide the existence of the golden light orb within his body.
"I tried to wake you up, but I wasn't successful. Just when I thought I was done for, the Chaos energy on you dissipated on its own."
Marco took the nutrient solution and drank it in one gulp. By the time Byrne finished his story, the tightness in Marco's chest had eased slightly, and his foggy mind began to piece together what had happened inside the building.
The red light of the Heart of Blood-Feast, the eerie magic circle, the decapitated corpses, the movement behind him...
Marco rubbed his temples. "I remember now. I was focused on chanting the purification spell for that Heart of Blood-Feast and didn't notice the head of the decapitated corpse being reactivated. That's how I was ambushed."
At this point, Marco shifted his tone and stared at Byrne. "However, under normal circumstances, Chaos erosion shouldn't dissipate on its own. Byrne, are you sure?"
Heh, as expected of the Captain. He's not that easy to fool.
Byrne nodded repeatedly. "Absolutely certain. I thought I was a dead man, but then the Chaos energy on you suddenly vanished as if it had been sucked away."
He intentionally emphasized the word "suddenly," avoiding any details that could be linked to the golden orb. Regarding that mysterious golden light, he only knew it was connected to the White Mist Space. It was his ultimate trump card and could not be revealed lightly.
Marco stared at Byrne for a while. Seeing that the younger man looked calm and didn't seem to be lying, he mused, "I see... then perhaps the Sacred Word Brand in my body kicked in and drove out the Chaos corruption. I'm sorry, Byrne. Because of my negligence, I nearly dragged you down with me."
Marco shook his head, settling on this conjecture as a seemingly logical explanation. His voice was filled with lingering fear and guilt. As a squad leader, being ambushed during a mission and nearly killing his own subordinate was a serious failure and a wake-up call.
Facing Marco's apology, Byrne shook his head. "It's fine, Captain. You don't need to blame yourself."
Then, Byrne changed the subject. "By the way, what exactly is that Heart of Blood-Feast?"
Marco took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "The Heart of Blood-Feast is a sacrificial object commonly used by the followers of the Lord of Skulls. It gestates monsters by devouring the life force of living beings. At its lowest level, it produces a Grade 3 creature. If left unchecked, with the concentration of Chaos energy in this area, it could birth something much stronger."
He paused and added, "As for those corpses being reactivated, it's highly probable someone was manipulating them from the shadows. When I was ambushed, I vaguely sensed a strand of Chaos energy that didn't belong to the Lord of Skulls. That energy was very strange—it carried a sense of instigation and manipulation. It didn't feel like the style of a Skull Lord follower; it felt more like..."
At this, Marco stopped and locked eyes with Byrne. They spoke in unison:
"The Lord of Change!"
Indeed, only the followers of the Lord of Change were experts at such indirect schemes and "killing with a borrowed knife." Setting up this Heart of Blood-Feast array served two purposes: gestating a Chaos monster and perhaps hiding another ulterior motive.
"No, I have to destroy that Heart of Blood-Feast immediately. We can't give it the chance to fully form." Marco stood up, pale-gold psychic energy flickering in his palm again. However, the light was much weaker than before; he clearly hadn't recovered from his energy depletion.
Byrne intervened. "Captain, your psychic energy is too low right now. Rest here for a bit. Let me handle it."
Marco hesitated for a moment before nodding. He pulled a silver rune chip from his pocket and handed it to Byrne.
"This is an amplification rune. Purifying the Heart of Blood-Feast requires a massive amount of psychic energy. With your current level, you'll need this to cast the Sacred Word Purification. I'll teach you the incantation now. Listen closely."
Marco slowed his speech, reciting the Sacred Word Purification incantation word by word. Each phrase was low and solemn, carrying the majesty required to dispel Chaos. Unlike ordinary spells, these words held the power of the Emperor's Sacred Word and were somewhat obscure. Fortunately, with his brainpower enhanced by NZT-48, Byrne memorized it perfectly after only two repetitions, even replicating the pauses and stresses accurately.
"Remember, when casting, inject your psychic energy into the rune chip to trigger its amplification power. Guide it with the incantation. Do not be reckless. The Chaos energy of the Heart of Blood-Feast is extremely potent; if you are backlashed by its unholy aura, the consequences will be dire."
Marco warned him repeatedly, his eyes full of concern. Though he trusted Byrne's capability, he knew how dangerous this was.
"Don't worry, Captain. I'll be careful."
Byrne nodded, gripped the rune chip in his palm, and turned to walk toward the dilapidated building.
He reached the second floor and entered the room with the magic circle. The Heart of Blood-Feast hovering in the center now had even brighter dark-red patterns, and its pulsing rhythm had grown more rapid. A faint heartbeat could almost be heard; it had clearly absorbed a lot of energy and was about to enter the next stage of gestation.
The four corpses on the floor had long since turned into ordinary withered bones scattered about. Only the head of the corpse that had ambushed Marco was still twitching slightly in the corner, the dark red flames in its eyes flickering as if in a final struggle.
Byrne sneered, pulled the "Black Fire" from his holster, and fired a psychic ray at the skull on the ground.
Zap!
The skull struck by the ray instantly shattered into dust. Having dealt with this potential threat, Byrne did not immediately begin the purification. He put away the "Black Fire" and turned to close the room door.
Then, with a flick of his right hand, he summoned the Live-Action Video Camera.