Supreme Magus

Chapter 4359: Poisonous Seed (Part 1)

"The balance between your hybrid sides is broken, and it’s only a matter of time before Jorl the Storm Griffon-Upyr is gone and only Jorl the Vurdalak remains." The Black Throne said.

Ever since Light Soul had saved Jorl from death, something felt terribly wrong since the moment he had reverted into his Griffon form. The edges of the Upyr’s hide ached and burned as if the rest of the body failed to recognize the new tissues and fought them like an infection.

"Is there anything you can do about it?" Jorl almost fainted when he tried to use Invigoration to recover his strength.

The world energy turned into mana upon entering his core, but the energy signature changed again the moment the mana flowed through the Upyr tissues. It wasn’t as dangerous as mana poisoning, but it was just as painful.

"Luckily for you, yes." The Black Throne replied. "Ever since we discovered the parasitic nature of Orpal’s bloodline, I’ve taken a full scan of your life force in the event that something like this happened.

"I can restore your Griffon life force with Body Sculpting, but there are a few catches."

"Wait, you knew our Upyr side is just a parasite, and you didn’t tell us?" Uragar said in outrage.

"Upyr or Vurdalak makes no difference to you as long as your host is a Divine Beast." Jorl groaned in pain. "Your real body is a Davross book, and whatever might happen to Akhton or me if Orpal’s blood overtakes us won’t affect you.

"Your nature as a cursed object makes you immune to the Vurdalak’s curse. Your mind and body will always be your own. Your host is just your puppet."

"I know, but why did you tell him and not me or Salanoth?" Uragar snarled.

"Because there could be me floating in that crystal pod right now." Akhton snarled back. "I’m a Bastet, and I want to stay a Bastet. You just wanted a Divine Beast host, and you got it, so shut up!"

"The kitten has a point." The Black Throne suppressed his noisy guests with his aura. "I needed to record Akhton’s and Jorl’s energy signature to save them, whereas you should undergo the full mutation as quickly as you can, trinket.

"It would allow us to study a full Vurdalak and identify any weakness that we can exploit when we attack Orpal."

Uragar nodded in reply, but the cursed tower didn’t allow him to stand up again for several minutes.

"As I was saying, apprentice, I can restore you, but I can’t heal you. That’s beyond even my abilities." The Black Throne said.

"I would undergo a procedure that restructures my life force into its previous form, but it would be artificial." Jorl nodded. "What else?"

"I’m afraid that even after I plug the hole in the dam, the crack will remain." The cursed tower replied. "Those tissues will still belong to a Vurdalak and try to heal themselves.

"Light Soul is much more likely to activate now. When it does, all my work will come undone, and more Griffon tissues will be converted. The plague will spread further, and there is no telling how virulent it will become."

"Is there any chance that after restoring my life force with Body Sculpting, my Griffon tissues will reclaim what’s theirs? They still comprise the vast majority of my Griffon body." Jorl asked.

"It’s possible, but I can’t tell you if it’s likely." The Black Throne shook in annoyance. "You need a Healer for that, and a damn good one. The Vurdalak race didn’t exist until a few years ago, and no one ever got the opportunity to examine it.

"Unless we capture Orpal or the trinket lets the Vurdalak blood take over his host’s life force, I have no idea how to make your recovery permanent."

"Then patch me up. We’ll think about the rest later." The Storm Griffon entered the crystal tank, letting the Davross restraints wrap themselves around his wrists, ankles, and neck.

He refused to numb his flesh with either magic or potions, remaining awake for the entire procedure. Searing pain blinded Jorl every time the Black Throne’s Engraver spell cut through the corrupted flesh, yet he never stopped smiling through gritted teeth.

’That’s not my body but Orpal’s.’ He thought. ’If kicking that bastard out means suffering a bit, that’s a price I’m willing to pay.’

With each incision, the discomfort Jorl felt while at rest lessened. He could feel every fiber of his being shouting in triumph as the enemy was repelled and slaughtered. By the end of the procedure, the pain was gone, and Jorl’s body was his own again.

The slight darkening of his flesh and fur was the only sign left of the lingering infection.

"You are whole again, apprentice. For now." The Black Throne showed none of his unwavering confidence. "Never forget that you’re not cured or stable."

"I won’t." The Storm Griffon snarled. "Not until that Orpal bastard is strapped at that table and we have him crying and begging for mercy like the whiny bitch he is!"

"Good, apprentice, that’s the spirit." The cursed tower replied. "Now, show me again how you ended up like that. Start from the beginning."

Jorl nodded and activated a mind link.

He replayed all the events that had taken place at the Armory, starting from shortly before something had triggered the alarm. Without the worry of stabilizing the Storm Griffon’s condition, the Black Tower could devote his full focus to studying the smallest detail.

’Stop right there.’ He said soon after Jorl recalled the scene of the cursed objects collapsing due to the Cursed Carrion array. ’Again, and this time add Uragar to our mind link.’

Even though the Storm Griffon didn’t understand what the Black Throne wanted to confirm, he did as bidden.

’Yes, that’s exactly how it happened. Why do you ask?’ Uragar said, expressing Jorl’s very thoughts.

’I know that, you foolish trinket.’ The cursed tower sneered. ’I need to access your memories to check if you made any mistakes and how being under the effects of that array felt. Show me.’

The Book of Knowledge took pride in his work, so he recalled all the memories related to his dismantling of the vault’s magical defenses with punctilious accuracy.

’Aha!’ The Black Throne sounded like an old man’s rasping even in his thoughts. ’Did you see that, apprentice?’

’See what?’ Jorl asked. ’This is no different from what I’ve already shown you.’

’This is confirmation, you ignorant whelp.’ The Black Throne replied. ’Uragar made no mistake, and the Soldier Golems came from the outside, starting their march from the point the alarm was triggered. Let’s move on to the next part.’

The Storm Griffon was utterly confused, replaying his memories just to be stopped a few seconds later.

’Just as I thought.’ The cursed tower said. ’The alarm was triggered close to the keep’s entrance by Vehren and his lackeys. This is as disturbing as it is fascinating.’

’Do you mind explaining yourself in a way that makes sense to the rest of us?’ Uragar asked in annoyance.

’I can’t believe you’re this stupid, trinket. After living for so long, age should have brought you wisdom, even if by accident.’ The Black Throne mocked the cursed book.