The Infinite Bk. 05 Ch. 08

"Black, burned, fire... He wasn't talking about black fire, he was talking about something burning LIKE fire!"

Gripped by fear, Lupin donned his armor and grabbed his weapons. He rushed out of his chambers to where his guards were stationed.

"You, raise the alarm. Every soldier in the palace grounds has to be ready for battle, but do so quietly. Don't alert a single knight unless I say so. You, get Sir Paulman. The rest of you, come with me."

Guards were roused from their sleep throughout the palace and rushed to adorn their armor and retrieve their weapons. Whatever was going on, if this was to be a repeat of the festival, then everyone had to be ready to fight and die.

As Lupin walked down the corridors, Paulman joined him in a half-asleep state, still adjusting his belt and armor. "Your Highness, what's going on?"

"I know what happened in the lab. Remember when we fought the armored ghoul? Remember the weapons Noah used? They were glass orbs filled with a liquid that could burn solid material like flames eating away at wood. If a similar dissolving liquid had been used in the lab, it would explain the destruction. If that were so, then the culprit wasn't using corrupted fire magic, but corrupted water magic."

"So?"

"So, who do we know that uses exploding water? Who was there at the scene before you and I arrived?"

"Oh gods...."

Lupin, Paulman, and a dozen soldiers arrived at Reynolds's quarters. Lupin nodded to a soldier, who stepped forward and banged his fist on the door. "Sir Reynolds! The prince has summoned you!" There was no answer. "Sir Reynolds, are you in there?" Silence.

Lupin nodded once more, and the soldier opened the door. At that moment, a wave of black fluid splashed the man as if thrown from a bucket. He staggered back, screaming in agony as his armor and flesh dissolved and the muscles underneath mutated. Reynolds leaped out into the corridor with black blood streaming from his palms. He grabbed the face of the nearest soldier and slammed him into the wall with enough strength to crumple his helmet and crush his skull, then seized the slain man's sword and used it to stab a third soldier in the throat and slice the arm off a fourth.

"Reynolds, stop!" Lupin shouted, but Reynolds turned and ran off. Lupin turned to a soldier. "Alert the knights! Let everyone know that Sir Reynolds has betrayed us and is using a parasite! Do not let him escape the palace!"

Lupin, Paulman, and the rest of the soldiers chased after him, sprinting down the palace corridors. He left behind pools of blood as traps, ready to melt the feet of whoever stepped into them and fill the air with toxic smoke. However, he found countless soldiers waiting for him everywhere he tried to go. Though they were unaware of the situation, the look on his face was all they needed to realize what was happening.

Facing one such group of soldiers, he sighed and raised his hand to them with a wry smile. "Sorry, boys, it's nothing personal." He released a jet of blood, cutting through them like a laser and turning them into puddles of dissolving flesh.

Reynolds then staggered, nearly brought down by overwhelming anemia. His parasite both weaponized and replenished his blood, but after every significant attack, there were moments when he was utterly drained, and only the venom was keeping him alive and conscious. His speed, strength, and magical power had been multiplied, but it was a deal with the devil.

"Reynolds!" Lupin shouted upon turning the corner, only to duck back and narrowly dodge a blood blast.

"Don't follow me, sire! I'd prefer not to kill you!"

Lupin, however, could not let it go and continued chasing Reynolds to the great hall. Reynolds bolted for an exit, but it was blocked by a knight and several soldiers. "There he is!" the knight shouted before hurling a lightning bolt.

Reynolds was hit in the shoulder and burned as if with a branding iron, but the wound immediately healed. Laughing with a maniacal grin, Reynolds sprayed the knight and dissolved him, then turned around to run for another exit, only for more knights to show up, launching spells and arrows. Reynolds spun around, looking for a way out, but every door had troops streaming out, forming a perimeter around him.

"Reynolds, that's enough!" Lupin boomed. "You need to surrender. If you give yourself up, no harm will come to you."

"You mean until Noah comes back, then I become one of his experiments!"

"We can remove it! Noah will find a cure and we can fix you. I swear, I won't let him hurt you."

Reynolds gave a deranged cackle. "There's no coming back from what I've done! No way out! I see the end now, every time I close my eyes. I see where the shadows lead us. I see what awaits our world in the darkness; the most wonderful, horrible things. The will of the Profane will never be stopped, for it cannot stop."

"Just tell me why! You were one of my best and bravest, so why did you join the Profane?"

"You said it yourself: once you get a parasite, you'll sell your soul to keep it, even if you didn't want one in the first place! I fought against them when I was taken, tried to go down swinging, and when they strapped me to that table, I promised myself that my life would break before my dignity. They put the parasite on me, and as soon as it latched and the venom began to flow, everything changed, everything fell away, but one glorious purpose: spread the darkness and devour the light. Once I understood, they released me and sent me back here to do their good work and destroy the lab."

"Your Highness, it's no use," Paulman said bitterly. "The man is a lost cause. He's beyond saving. The only way to free him from the Profane is to end him."

"You really think you can kill me? Give it your best shot! But you should know that my blood is special and can do more than just destroy! Let me show you!"

"Take cover!" Lupin instinctively shouted before Paulman pushed him down out of harm's way.

Reynolds held out his arms and spun around, spraying blood on the soldiers and knights. Those with quick instincts ducked under tables and behind pillars, while those exposed began to change. Their eyes turned red, their teeth sharpened, and a bloodthirsty snarl erupted from the depths of their throats. Possessed by the demons of madness, the infected troops turned on the untouched, attacking with relentless fury. They pounced on the stunned knights and soldiers, ripping off their armor and tearing into their flesh with fangs and claws, screaming in eternal bloodlust.

Among the infected was Paulman, staggering to his feet as the wicked Profane blood coursed through his veins. Lupin looked at him, the man who had given his life to save his own, his humanity fading as the whites of his eyes turned red. Lupin looked past him at all the other soldiers and knights, either corrupted by Profane blood or fighting off those who were. Had he killed Reynolds immediately rather than offering leniency, none of this would be happening. These men and women were dying because of his weakness, his failure.

"Forgive me, all of you," he whispered.

Paulman snarled in response and charged, but Lupin pounced first, striking Paulman in the chest with his knees and knocking the man to his back. Gripping both ends of his whip, he stabbed Paulman in the eyes, his former friend thrashing as the steel spikes drilled into his brain before finally falling silent. Though his mind was gripped by the Profane, he seemed not to have inherited any unnatural strength or endurance.

Lupin got to his feet as another of the infected charged towards him. He couldn't use his whip at full length in this cramped space, but that didn't mean it was useless. Still holding both handles, he spun the chain to build a mana charge and swung the middle at the mad soldier, augmenting the weight and impact and striking him in the temple, caving in his skull. As the man fell, he moved on to the next infected soldier. He kept swinging the chain to gather energy and then struck the man down, each blow hitting with the kinetic force of a sledgehammer.

A female knight attacked him from behind, acting more like a rabid beast than a trained warrior. Lupin sidestepped to avoid and wrapped his chain around her neck, knocked her off balance, and pulled on the whip to smash her face to the floor, then finished by stabbing her in the back of the neck with one of the handles. A soldier ran towards Lupin, still having enough sense to swing his sword. Lupin used his chain to catch the man's blade and bind his movements, then impaled him on his own sword.

Lupin continued killing the infected knights and soldiers, swallowing his guilt every time he swung his whip. Their deaths would forever weigh on him, but he didn't have time to mourn or regret them. At the moment, his job, his duty, was to end the madness, and that meant killing Reynolds. Reynolds was in the center of the mob, down on one knee, weakened after all the blood he had just used. Seeing Lupin approach, Reynolds gathered his strength and jumped into the air, latching on to one of the pillars, and then jumped again, escaping out the window. Lupin chased after him, using his whip to swing up to the window and follow Reynolds up onto the roof of the hall. Out in the night air, the two faced each other.

"I failed you, Reynolds. For that, I am sorry, but I can't let you leave here alive."

"I am not your failure. Your only mistake is fighting against the Profane. You should join us before it's too late. I still respect you, sire, just as I always have. I was honored to fight by your side, both inside and outside the city, and at the gala, when you clasped my shoulder and sang my praises, that was the greatest moment of my life. But now, I've become part of something bigger and better, and you should too! You'll understand when you get your parasite! Every time I use my powers, every spell I cast, it's euphoric! I never knew something could feel so good! Join me in the Profane! I will follow just as I do now! Please, I'm begging you, don't make me kill you!"

"The time for words is over," said Lupin solemnly. He stretched the chain across his back, holding it with both hands like two separate whips. "This only ends with one of us dead. Farewell, my friend."

"So be it, then. Come and get me, Your Highness!"

Lupin sprinted across the roof towards Reynolds, who raised his palm and released a jet of blood. Anticipating the attack, Lupin cracked the whip on his left side, but rather than sending it towards Reynolds, who was out of his reach, he buried it in the roof like a nail. He bolted to the side and jumped without slowing down, using the chain to swing around and dodge the blast. Upon getting in range, he swung the right end and whipped Reynolds across the chest. The sharp spike at the end slashed him like a sword, leaving a deep cut and exposing the parasite latched to his chest.

Reynolds stepped back, the wound already healing, and countered with his own swing, hurling a splash of black blood at Lupin like a wave of birdshot. Still swinging around, Lupin dodged most of the drops, but those that landed burned straight through his clothes and armor. As he felt the contamination reach his skin, he hissed in pain, but didn't let it slow him down. He released the buried end of the chain from the roof and charged towards Reynolds. Spinning and twisting his body, he hurled a barrage of attacks at Reynolds. He swung both ends of the chain as fast as he could, but though each lash gouged open the roof beneath their feet, Reynolds easily dodged each attempt with his ghoul senses and reflexes.

"You really think you can hit me with such wide, obvious attacks?" he laughed. "After all the times I've seen you fight, I know each and every way that chain is going to move!"

Undeterred, Lupin kept the onslaught going, all while dodging Reynolds's counters. However, his evasion was far from an equal match, and each time Reynolds's blood hit him, he felt his flesh burning and his blood turning toxic. Through his dissolving clothes, he could see his flesh turning black as if gangrenous, and his strength was fading as he was gripped by poison.

He endured the pain and pushed his sick body to its limit, and soon enough, his struggles paid off. All of Reynolds's attacks had weakened him. He was teetering back and forth, barely able to maintain his balance or even see straight. Granted this opportunity, Lupin switched his styles and patterns, finally landing blows with his chain slashing Reynolds repeatedly.

Each attack gouged him open, shredding flesh and muscle and spilling what little blood Reynolds had to lose. Lupin stepped forward, about to deliver what he hoped would be the finishing blow, but staggered, coughing up blood. He dropped to his knees, coughing and vomiting, with the veins in his face turning black.

Likewise struggling to remain upright, Reynolds approached with his numerous injuries healing slower than before. He kicked Lupin onto his back and leaned over him, grabbing the prince by the collar. "The darkness is coming no matter how hard you fight against it. You could've had power and authority in our new world; you could've ruled Uther forever, but your pride wouldn't let you. Now here you are, the Crown Prince, fallen."

With a roar of determination, Lupin reached up and wrapped the end of his chain around Reynolds's neck. "Prince or commoner, we all fall."

He then kicked Reynolds in the chest and knocked him down. Landing on his back, his weight was the final straw, and the roof, burned by ghoul blood and lashed to pieces by Lupin's whip strikes, gave way beneath him. He dropped through the ceiling like a thin layer of ice. Then, with a snap, the chain around his neck became taut.

Down below, the knights and soldiers, having narrowly put down their infected comrades, gazed at Reynolds, swinging from the chain like a criminal at the gallows. Then, to their horror, he began to move. His neck had broken, but his parasite refused to let him die. It guided his movements like he was a puppet on strings, each thread feeling like it was tipped with a hook buried in his flesh and pulling him against his will.

He grabbed at the chain, trying to lift himself up while snarling in desperation and fury, only to once more enter freefall. In that moment, he saw Lupin up above, falling just as he was, holding the other end of the chain like a dagger. In midair, the two men, prince and knight, brothers in arms, made eye contact, each silently begging the other for forgiveness. Reynolds hit the ground, and Lupin landed on top of him, driving the metal spike into the parasite. The black worm writhed and screamed in its death throes, finally becoming still.

"Your Highness!" Nell tearfully screamed as she rushed over.

Lupin, his bones broken by the landing and his body riddled with poison, collapsed next to Reynolds, the two men staring at the hole in the ceiling above them. With the parasite dead, Reynolds was not far behind. Already, his wounds had stopped healing, and his flesh was turning gray as the remaining venom in his system destroyed him.

Nell began healing Lupin with everything she had, but it would be an uphill battle. Not only did she have to mend the damage he'd sustained, but she also had to nullify the corruption. All the surviving knights and soldiers stood back and watched, unsure of what to do.

"I always knew... I'd die at your side," said Reynolds, struggling to breathe and coughing up blood, "but not like this. Forgive me, sire. It's been an honor."

"No," said Lupin, his face wet with Nell's tears. "The honor was mine."

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