38 Blood on Her Hands (3)

Two days passed in a blink of an eye. But for Leon, the last two days were the longest days in his life.

He had spent the last 48 hours in a daze. 373 didn't drop by at all in the last two nights and he had started to worry.

Maybe she was angry at him? Leon rejected the thought. Even when the little girl was angry at him, she had always visited him with a piece of bread in hand.

Maybe she had already escaped? The thought alone made Leon a little angry. If she had already left, couldn't she at least have given him a heads up or say goodbye?

Maybe something happened? On the times that she didn't visit him, something big had happened. But 373 had roamed Elisium without any incidents or whatsoever. She was good with spells. There was nothing she couldn't handle.

She couldn't have gotten into trouble, right?

There was no way that could happen, right?

The boy with blonde hair and bright electric blue eyes spent his days wondering and worrying about 373. In the last 2 days, he would wait for the girl to appear, yet he would always find himself wrestled awake by the white-coats the next day. The young boy didn't even know when and how he had fallen asleep. Leon was listless. He sincerely hoped she had at least escaped Elisium with that intern called Michael. At least the little girl wouldn't have to worry about getting killed in Elisium, much less someone like him.

Day 3 arrived.

Today was the day 373 was supposed to escape Elisium with the researcher-boy named Michael Caleum. A pair of white coats used a special key to remove the chains from his hands and feet and carried him to Elisium's long operating theater. One looked younger than the other. They were talking about a defective intern and a new test subject. Leon had long grown numb with these kinds of conversations. Researchers and the children in Elisium were as expendable as the light bulbs on the ceilings.

Oh? A kid stopped breathing? Just throw it out.

A researcher quit? Somebody died? Don't worry. Find a replacement.

However, the blue-eyed male found himself listening into the researcher's idle chatter. The older researcher looked quite calm as he narrated the events that happened a few nights ago. The younger researcher had a dumbfounded expression on his face as he listened to his senior.

"What? There was actually an escape attempt in Elisium? I can't imagine what Miss Asha Claire plans on doing next," the younger researcher said. He cringed. "What happened to the intern and the girl?"

The older male secured Leon to a metallic trolley before answering the question. "The boy's on life support and is probably going to be shipped to one of Asha Claire's private laboratories. And the nightmare of a girl, well-," he pointed his chin to a certain direction. "She's right here."

The younger researcher lightly tapped the trolley with his shoe. "Damn. Can't believe that a little kid like that could kill our Spellcasters. She's flipping crazy."

The older researcher laughed. "Women are crazy, kid. You just haven't seen enough women in your life to know that."

Leon stayed quiet the entire time. He couldn't completely erase their words from his head and he kept replaying them over and over again as the two men pushed the cart towards Elisium's long operating theater. They strapped him on the large metallic frame and started doing the usual 'tests' on him. Leon stared at the syringe needle a female researcher was attaching to an injection when somebody yelled. The researcher who was about to get a sample of his blood stopped what she was doing at the commotion.

"Hey! It's the girl from the betting pool!"

'Betting pool? What in the world is a betting pool?' Leon wondered. His eyes followed the throng of people that were gathering around a single bed. A child was being wheeled and strapped on the operating table. Leon couldn't see the girl because there were too many adults surrounding her. But the moment a man with silver hair and dull steel blue eyes approached the table, the other researchers made themselves scarce and started returning to their stations.

The young boy could finally make out the outline of a small petite girl with brown hair on the operating table. There was soot all over her clothes and her skin was deathly pale. The girl slightly resembled 373. Leon internally shook his head and tried to ignore the panic welling up in his chest. 373 was supposed to be out of Elisium by now. There was no way that girl could be her.

Leon couldn't shake the dread that settled in his chest. Just like the rest of the room, his eyes were on the the man with silver hair. The said researcher ignored the glances cast his way and proceeded to inspect the little girl's body. He took a metallic folder on a table, read over it, before placing it back on the table. He took out a small black device from a table and spoke to it in a deep but monotonous voice.

"This is Reiner Caleb, ID number 4801782," the man said crisply. "I will now perform Talent Implantation using of Talent of poison immunity on Subject number 373 from Class Aquarius."

The entire world seemed to slow down. The boy could hear his breathing and the sound of his heart beat. Shock reflected in the boy's bright blue eyes. His heart sped up in panic. Concern quickly turned into anger. A growl erupted from his throat.

"Get away from her!"

Heads turned to face him. A hundred pairs of eyes met his frenzied glare. The man with steel blue eyes stared at him blankly before returning to his work. Leon felt his blood burn as the silver-haired researcher injected something into 373's bloodstream. A bout of laughter echoed in the hall. The researcher who wheeled him in snorted.

"You're actually sticking up for a girl? How stupid!"

The statement triggered another round of laughter inside the operating theater. Leon didn't care. He struggled against the fetters ignoring how the metal scrapped against his skin. He summoned all the energy he could and tried to break the restraints. Slowly, his skin glowed a faint reddish hue and fire exploded from his entire being and lapped at the shackles keeping him in place.

"Don't just stand there, stop him!" One of the researchers yelled and pointed to the gigantic machine that was located at the back of the room. "Turn the generator on! Someone shock him!"

Someone hurriedly took the steel rod from its container. Sparks of electricity glinted from the metallic rod and Leon could only yell as the conductor made contact with Leon's skin. But the flames neither died nor weakened. The boy could feel his body growing hotter as tongues of flame licked at the floor and threatened to burn everything in sight. The metallic fetters began to melt. He fell from the metal frame and landed on his knees. He stood on his feet and screamed at the top of his lungs. The fires jolted with his voice. A chain of explosions burst from his feet.

Alarm bells roared throughout the halls of Elisium's operating theater. Leon ignored the frenzied shouts of the white-coats. All rational thought was slipping through his fingers. A voice inside him told him to lose himself to his desires. The flames on his body glowed brighter. His consciousness faded. His entire body turned numb.

There was only one thing in his mind: to burn the entire world and himself along with it.