Chapter 43: Research

For the next few days, Isabella would go in and out of consciousness. She seemed to be a tad out of it, but still remembered everything.

I made sure to keep a close watch on her.

But sometimes, I would catch her doing strange things like playing the violin in the middle of the night or muttering to herself while I wasn't paying attention. Which usually was about numbers, negotiation tactics, or politics.

Things far beyond my understanding, of course.

Her condition was slowly improving and her ability to stay awake was getting better over time.

I made sure she was well taken care of.

In the meantime, I tried to keep myself busy by reading any news or materials I could find related to the Black Ooze.

The King had granted me full unrestricted access to all of their information on it.

This included a list of every known and documented location that it had appeared, its apparent behaviors, the monsters that sometimes spawned from it, its effects on people, animals, and the environment.

My conclusion: this stuff was by far the most dangerous substance in the world. Possibly beyond.

It was not only unpredictable, but also incredibly intelligent.

Being unpredictable was a difficult problem to deal with, but not impossible.

The real issue was its intelligence.

The ability to function on rational thought. To attack and retreat based on the situation, to understand the actions it takes and their effects made the Black Ooze a truly deadly enemy.

I was actually impressed. And somewhat terrified...

How would you fight this stuff? How could someone hold it back?

Most importantly, how did one locate the Source?

I had other questions as well and the more I read about it, the more terrified I became.

Some of the monsters I had seen were also undocumented.

The seven-headed dragon, for one, the monster that Cain turned into...the behemoth variant as I called it, and also the serpent types that Walter fought.

The basic ones were present and alongside several that I had never seen before.

Flying bird-like types, spiders, and many insectoid specimens had been documented as well.

There were even instances where small, harmless animals were infected and began slaughtering other creatures.

On top of all of the documented incidents, they all had one thing in common: the Black Ooze always disappeared as quickly as it appeared when it was finished.

It was like it was just testing people... Seeing if we could put up a fight before destroying our world. Either that, or it was toying with us.

At least, that was my guess, anyway.

I knew for a fact that the world's destruction was the goal, but other than that, very little.

Was it just hungry? What was the purpose other than senseless violence?

Whatever the case, I needed to act fast.

* * *

I woke up about a week later and found Isabella staring at me very closely.

It seemed like she was mostly normal now, but sometimes she still acted strangely.

"Good morning," I said sleepily.

"Good morning, Mizik!" She said with a smile.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Hmm...like a bag of bricks. As usual...my head still hurts but I feel a lot better than I did..."

"Just be sure to keep resting, okay?" I said

Isabella nodded and laid down next to me.

"Hey Mizik...can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I said.

"What do you want in life?" She asked.

That seemed like a strange question. Truthfully, so much had been happening that I didn't have time to think about it. But even so...

I had desires of my own. Genuine desires.

"I want to save the world and stop the Black Ooze. Then, I want to help my family to have better lives. Finally, and most importantly, I want to relax. I want us to grow old together in peace with the children we make in a world free from conflict," I said.

"Haah...so romantic... You're a simple man, Mizik..." Isabella said.

I knew she didn't mean it as an insult, but she was right. I only wanted to get back the peaceful life I had before all of this started. Because of that, I was a simple man.

"Is that a problem for you? I mean... With me being a Prince and all," I asked.

"No...it's good... It means you won't...get greedy... Start...wars...like grandpa..."

Isabella passed out on my chest and began snoring again.

I took this opportunity, to open the journal I had been keeping and started writing down more of the information I had about the Black Ooze.

Later in the day, I made sure to share every last bit of information I had with the King and Alkon.

They had been remaining in constant contact with the surrounding nations and reports of the Ooze appearing more rapidly were beginning to grow numerous.

Falkos, the country to the east, had a large contaminated zone to deal with several months ago. A large number of monsters spawned, but the military, as well as the wielders of the magic swords 'Willpower' and 'Redemption', were able to drive it back.

They killed a monster that was similar to the others, but much stronger.

After that, the infection in the area dispersed.

It was a lot like the incident with the behemoth variant that I killed...

Did this imply a hive mind mentality?

It seemed to be the most likely case...

Whatever the case was, we needed more information.

I couldn't effectively rely on my power to kill the Black Ooze because I didn't know how to use it. As a result, I was mostly useless against it. And truthfully, we might have been able to win battles, but we couldn't fight a global war on every possible front at the same time. It just wasn't realistic.

And that was before the piece of terrifying information that Isabella provided.

She told me that this 'Source' was an individual of incredibly vast power.

I mentioned this to the King and his officials and their expressions were that of grim terror.

"How are we meant to fight such a thing?" The King said.

"Truly this is the end of the world!" One of his officials said in terror.

"Be quiet! There is still hope, you fool! Mizik has the power to destroy it. If we deploy him against it..." another said.

"Mizik is only level 70. We don't have time to get him as high as possible, right now. If he isn't at his maximum potential, what use is he!?" A third official said.

"Silence! Mizik will speak for himself," The King said

"Your Majesty, I can admit to having such a power, but I don't know how to use it to its fullest extent. And with Isabella still feeling the effects of Soul Link, I can't become stronger right now," I said.

"We're at an impasse, then..." The King said.

"Ronald," The Queen, who had been silent until now, suddenly said.

"Yes, my dear Evryss?" The King said.

"Would it not be best to organize a united world front in this situation? To buy time for Mizik to learn how to use his ability, of course."

"An interesting suggestion... But do you think they would listen to us? Everyone is very much on edge right now..."

"Your Majesty, I think the Queen has a good point. If we can temporarily hold back the Black Ooze, then it might be possible to win..." I said.

"Well, it's the only option on the table right now, so I don't see why not. I'll begin organizing meetings with as many of the world's leaders as possible. I'll prepare letters and communication crystals," The King said.

After that, I returned to our room and found Isabella playing the violin. She saw me come in and smiled, but continued playing.

I sat down on the bed and listened to her music.

It was both soothing and also quite sad.

Regardless, considering my current predicament, I found it relaxing.

I think she knew this...

She might have been somewhat incapacitated, but she was still very much aware of everything.

I made sure to keep her informed of everything we learned about the Ooze.

The sun was beginning to set at this point and I felt exhausted. I took my shoes off and laid down.

I hadn't seen Walter in a few days, either. Supposedly, he was trying to contact the other magic sword users.

These swords and my own power might have been the only things standing in between us and complete destruction.

I began to drift off to sleep and the music stopped.

Moments later, Isabella cuddled up to me and closed her eyes.

"Stop worrying so much, Mizik. We'll find way. We always do."

"I just hope we're not too late..."

* * *

The next day, I was up as usual, but Isabella grabbed onto my shirt and wouldn't let go.

"Can you stay a bit longer...?" She asked.

"Of course, but I should probably try and get more research done-"

"I want you to relax today, Mizik. I know there's danger with the Ooze, but you can't exhaust yourself. Besides...we just got married and I want to spend more time with you... We still have our honeymoon to take in Lorelei..." She said.

"I...yeah... I'm sorry. But you've been out of it lately and I'm concerned with the Ooze," I said.

"I don't know why that skill passed onto me, but it caused a lot of problems. Alkon said my level limit was 50 before, right?"

"He did. And now we share a level."

Isabella pulled harder on me and I was forced to lay down again.

Her physical strength was pretty high at the moment...

As soon as I was down, she laid her head on my chest and smiled softly.

"Much better...now where were we..." She said.

"Umm...level...?" I managed to say.

Her behavior never ceased to make my heart pound...

"Right! So I'm still recovering, but I feel a lot stronger now. I want to help you out in the field again," she said cheerfully.

Absolutely not. I won't put you in danger again.

"Are you sure you want to do that...? What if there's a repeat of last time... You might not be so lucky," I said sternly.

"I was afraid of this... I want to protect you, Mizik. I can't just sit back and...eh...umm..."

I could see she was having trouble staying awake again.

"You should rest. I'll take care of you," I said.

"Nooooo...I need to...say this... I promised to protect you. I won't let you fight...alone..."

"I'm against it. I learned to fight by myself before and I intend to keep doing so. You're my wife, not a meat shield," I said.

"But Mizik...I'm strong...now... Stronger than before... I don't want to be a widow..." She said. I could see tears forming in her eyes as she barely managed to get her words out.

"You won't be. I'll survive for you. I've done pretty well adventuring in the past few months, right? I also managed to beat Arvild. That counts for something, I'm sure."

"The Source is so much...stronger... You need me. Please Mizik...don't go alone..."

"Isabella, I love you. I love you enough to where I'm willing to upset you if it keeps you alive. I won't budge on that matter. You're too important to me," I said as I gently stroked her hair.

"I'll...convince you..." Isabella said just before she started snoring again.

"Not if I can help it," I whispered.

I held Isabella in my arms for a while until I was able to sneak out of bed. After that, I began my day normally. More research, attending to Isabella when needed, and exchanging information with the castle advisors.