27 Irregularities (2)

Jeorge Marcus Grin stayed silent and observed the operating theater below them. As the Talent Implantation and Extraction procedures began, he was uncharacteristically quiet, it was almost a miracle. After taking a sip of coffee, he cleared his throat and asked, "Are you currently using Persequor?"

The Great Apothecary's successor stared at the male like he had grown two heads and an extra arm. "What?"

"Persequor. The tracking spell," the male researcher replied.

"I know what Persequor is, Marcus. Why in the world would I use Persequor in the middle of an experiment? What kind of idiot would use a spell in the middle of an experiment under the watchful eyes of twenty to thirty trained Spellcasters?" Asha Claire glared at the man standing beside her and massaged her temples. "I feel my IQ plummeting just talking with you. Just stand there and shut up."

Jeorge Marcus Grin shrugged. "Okidoki, lady boss. Whatever you say!"

Asha Claire's blue eyes rolled in their sockets. "Just shut up, Marcus."

Her eyes zeroed in on the data of Subject 124. The child had dark-skin, long limbs, perfect health, and a good affinity with spells. The test subject's body was in good condition and the vital statistics being flashed on the screen were all excellent. The woman's bespectacled eyes tracked the numbers on the glass display and followed the changes and fluctuations of the digits being flashed on the display panels as the Talent of Teleportation was being inserted in the girl's body. The sudden rise of heartbeat was expected. The extreme sensitivity to pain was also expected. The screaming and the crying that came with the pain was also expected. Everything she could see was proceeding as expected.

Asha Claire sighed and found her eyes being drawn to the mop of red hair in the operating theater and she realized that bright ginger hair was annoying as hell. The moment that she caught the sight of Michael Caelum's head, she saw him move to the side with his head bent down and his back hunched ever so slightly. Her dark blue orbs widened in shock.

To her, the operating theater was sacred grounds. The kid wasn't vomiting again, was he?

The senior researcher beside her caught her staring at Michael Caelum, took note of her expression, and made a guess. "He's puking? I think not. He just looks sick. Definitely looked worse when he puked in my presence. Now that was a sight."

"He better not. Ahhh!" Asha Claire tugged at her hair and gave Jeorge Marcus Grin a glare that could slice the heavens. "I can't believe this! That brat better not or else I'll really kill him, all his relatives, and find a way to make sure he can't continue his bloodline!"

"A dead person can't continue a bloodline so killing him and all his relatives should be enough..." The male researcher muttered under his breath.

"Shut up, Marcus!" The woman stared at the numbers on the screen and her eyes looked like they would fall from their sockets. The numbers she had been staring at intently had suddenly shifted. It wasn't a steep drop like all the other instances when the test subject had died instantly. It was different.

Asha Claire's heart thumped in her chest and she could vaguely feel her blood coursing through her face. Her hands moved frantically on the glass panels as she focused on the dark-skinned girl's data and vital statistics. The values dropped slowly before plummeting to zero as the girl's heart had stopped. The child was dead but it seemed like the child fell asleep before dying. The Apothecary's successor quickly changed the display screen and stared at the figures that reflected the state of the Talent of Teleporatation. The values were supposed to be unchanged – Asha Claire expected them to remain unchanged.

But the Talent's data dropped faster than Subject 124's vital stats. The woman could only stare at the values that were falling. Her face was full of incredulity and surprise. Asha Claire grit her teeth as beeping echoed in the room. The Talent's values suddenly changed from stable to undefined. That only meant one thing: the Talent Implantation procedure had failed and Talent of Teleportation had disappeared into thin air.

"What the fu-," Asha Claire cursed. She bolted out of the room. The researchers on the floor seemed to be just as surprised as her. While they were scurrying and trying to figure out what had went wrong, Jeorge Marcus Grin stayed in the observation platform and calmly continued to sip on his drink.

"Ah, really. You're too focused on what's in front of you that you totally ignored the hint I gave you," Joerge Marcus Grin murmured before sighing with emotion. The persequor spell he had cast the moment he had stepped foot in the observation deck was still in effect. The male researcher could make out the faint outline of a small little girl who was now running off to the direction of the exits. Michael Caelum was hot on the child's heels.

The male exhaled into his tumbler and took a long sip. "A teenage boy and a little girl are actually turning Elisium inside-out and nobody knows it. Tsk tsk. Just what is the world coming to?"

The male put down his drink took a step towards the glass panes. He looked down at the operating theater and at the operating tables lined below him. He could clearly see Asha Claire making her way towards the scene while the researchers scrambled to make a way so that she could approach any of the test subjects. The Apothecary's disciple headed straight for the spot where Michael Caelum had been.

Joerge Marcus Grin could clearly sense the bloodlust emanating from the woman's being. The woman stared up at him from where she stood and the glint in the woman's dark blue eyes was every bit malicious. He stood passively at the viewing deck as Asha Claire ran towards the hallway's doors. A crooked smile was firmly plastered on her face.

Jeorge Marcus finished his coffee slowly and headed for the operating room. Apart from the few staff were left in the theater, the once-bustling hallway was deserted. The senior researcher stood at the exact same spot where Asha Claire had been and amplified his persequor spell to look for the traces of 373. What he found was contrary to his expectations.

373 had hidden her tracks and her energy was nowhere to be found. But Michael Caelum's energy had marked the place with unstable spikes that even a low-ranked Spellcaster could sense with persequor. The youth had probably done so with the intention to mask 373's energy signature. Unfortunately, Michael Caelum had spent too much time and energy worrying about someone capable instead of taking care of himself.

"Ahhh… shit. I even liked the ginger. What awful luck." The older male face-palmed and pinched the bridge of his nose. An image of Michael Caelum surfaced in his thoughts. Jeorge Marcus Grin closed his eyes and began walking to his room. A sense of dread filled him with each step he took. Asha Claire was out for blood and Michael Caelum had made a mistake. The boy had no idea that his one mistake was going to change his life forever. No matter what happened in the future, it was quite clear to Jeorge Marcus Grin that someone's ass was about to get cooked.

And because of that, Asha Claire was probably going to get him to do more work.

As if reading his thoughts, his phone rang. The man fished the communication device from his pocket and flipped it open. When he saw the caller ID, he resisted the urge to moan. "Yes, lady boss?"

Asha Claire's voice was crisp as she spoke. 'I'm going to kill her.'

"Huh? Her? Who's her? There're a lot of hers in Elisium. Which her are we talking about?" He asked.

'Maria Caelum. Get her. I'm going to kill her. Right now,' the woman replied. With a click, the line died. Asha Claire had called to officially add something on his workload.

Jeorge Marcus Grin groaned, "I hate my life."

And he meant it.