Ghoul Evolution

Chapter 26: Fear of blood

After hesitating for a few more seconds, Oliver finally gave in and summoned the Royal Nector.

The sword appeared in his hand in a flash of dark light.

It was a beautiful yet sleek blade. The weapon was colored in a pristine black, with several thin yellow streaks running across its surface like scratches left behind by lightning itself. The contrast made the sword look both elegant and dangerous at the same time.

Even more importantly, it was sharp. Ridiculously sharp.

No matter how many times he looked at it, the Royal Nector simply looked cool but unfortunately, the reason he had summoned it wasn’t nearly as cool.

His eyes slowly moved from the sword to Theo.

He sighed one last time before asking, "So where do you want me to, like... cut you? And how deep?"

Theo looked at the oak tree for a few moments before clenching his teeth. "If I have to cut that tree, then you will have to cut me a few times."

Oliver narrowed his eyes. "Cut you... a few times?"

"Yes. Don’t worry... I’ll deal with it."

Theo then rolled up his sleeve and extended his arm. "Here. Cut me near my arm."

’The way you’re saying it so casually, doesn’t lessen my worries.’

He looked at Theo. Theo looked back. Then, after another brief hesitation, Oliver finally swung.

"AARGH!"

Theo immediately made a sound of pain, though it was less of a scream and more of a strained gasp.

The moment the Royal Nector touched his skin, it sliced through with almost no resistance at all. The blade was so sharp that it felt like cutting through butter rather than flesh.

For a brief moment, Oliver almost forgot that he was supposed to stop.

The sword continued moving before he hurriedly pulled it back, his eyes widening slightly as blood immediately began to flow from the wound.

"Shit."

He instinctively took a step back while Theo clenched his jaw and sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. His face had gone a little pale, but he still nodded stubbornly as if telling Oliver to continue.

So, Oliver did it again and then a third time. This time Theo didn’t scream.

His face had become pale, and his body was visibly trembling, but he endured it through gritted teeth as blood slowly flowed from the wounds and dripped onto the ground below.

’Holy shit... what kind of training did this kid get?’

Theo allowed the blood to flow for several more seconds before finally taking a deep breath and summoning his sword back.

The moment the weapon appeared, something about him seemed to change. The previously ordinary-looking teenager suddenly felt sharper and more dangerous. freewebnovёl.ƈom

Earlier, Oliver had noticed Theo’s sword, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it. Now that he looked at it properly, he realized it was surprisingly ordinary.

There was nothing particularly impressive about its appearance.

It certainly didn’t look as beautiful as the Royal Nector, nor did it possess the same sharp and dangerous aura. In fact, the blade looked rather dull compared to his own weapon as it appeared to be made out of wood.

The blade, hilt, and even the guard all seemed to have been carved from a single piece of dark wood. It looked more like a practice sword that a child would use during training than an actual weapon capable of cutting down monsters.

And yet...Oliver had just watched Theo slice through the Razorwing with it as though it was made of paper.

’What kind of weird sword is that?’’

Theo then walked toward the oak tree and slowly raised the blade. Once again, his movement was beautiful, smooth, effortless and almost artistic.

As Oliver watched, he noticed something strange.

The blood flowing from Theo’s wounds seemed to react to the sword. It was as though it was being drawn toward the blade itself. A crimson glow slowly appeared along its edge, and for a brief moment, the blood seemed to synchronize with the arc of his strike.

’Is his doctrine not limited to just physical augmentation?’

Then Theo swung and a red streak flashed through the air.

SLASH!

For a moment, nothing happened, but then, the massive oak tree slowly tilted and fell.

BOOOOOM!

The giant trunk crashed into the ground with a thunderous sound, shaking the nearby area.

For several seconds, nobody spoke. Oliver simply stared at the fallen tree and then at Theo and then back at the tree.

’What a monster!’

’I can’t believe it’s been less than a week since he died.’

Seeing that the thick oak tree had already been cut down, Korre immediately rushed toward Theo.

A soft green glow appeared around her hands as she placed them over the wounds on his arm. The light spread across the cuts, and to Oliver’s surprise, the injuries began closing at a visible rate.

The bleeding gradually slowed before stopping altogether as fresh skin formed over the damaged flesh.

Theo let out a relieved breath while Oliver noticed something else.

Korre looked really uncomfortable.

She was trying her best to heal Theo and was staring at the blood covering Theo’s arm, but there was a noticeable stiffness in her expression. It was as if she was forcing herself to look at the wound.

At one point, she even visibly flinched when a drop of blood slid down his forearm.

’Huh?’

Oliver frowned as he wondered about it.

’Some sort of hemophobia? Though she didn’t have that problem with beasts?’ freēwēbnovel.com

His gaze remained fixed on the expression on her face.

The idea immediately came to mind about her having some kind of fear of blood and yet the more he thought about it, the less sense it made.

After all, she had shown absolutely no issues when dealing with beasts. She had crushed monsters with her vines, stood near dead bodies, and fought without hesitation.

So why was blood on Theo bothering her so much?

For a brief moment, Oliver wondered if the problem wasn’t blood itself, but then he thought,

’Maybe it is limited specifically to human blood.’

’Maybe some trauma related to her own death?’