The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 78

An unexpected encounter

Every minute inside the morbid forbidden tunnel was an indication that they had arrived at the right place. The eerie events experienced by Liz heralded the presence of those responsible for the bloody plague and on the altar of the lonely place of worship, lay one of its results. Liz had already witnessed a series of paranormal manifestations, but the image of her former leader Max succumbing on the center of the place was perhaps one of the most horrifying to behold.

"Max," Liz said, approaching the thing still covered in blood, night beast hair and a claw built where his arm had once been.

The German officers were aiming at the demon, Liz considered the possibility that the image was nothing more than another projection induced by Günther; an assumption she dismissed when she realized that the entire police force had also witnessed the event, and that Jake had also recognized him as their ex-leader.

"No... this can't be truth..." Jake looked at Max's breathing figure, feeling the heat of his death and uttering terrible moans. Liz was trying to reason with the thing, not knowing if Max retained any of his humanity; at first glance he had been covered in his entirety by the impurities of the unholy substance.

"Are you sure this thing is your partner?" Tobias asked as he moved closer to the two American agents with their puzzled stares on Max. Nick joined him to examine the scene more closely.

"Nick affirmed with a disinterested gesture and walked towards Liz to pull her by the shoulder" Come on Sharrow, it's too late, we can't do anything for him.

Liz never thought that she would really feel sorry for Max, even more so after knowing that he cheated her and Bernard to continue with his selfish goals. What she saw, was something she wouldn't wish on even the worst of her enemies, how someone was wasting away in misery with all the most abhorrent feelings of humankind in his mind, the rot on his skin was beginning to show. Max looked at Liz with bloodshot eyes, full of spite and hatred, the girl could not hold back a jump of astonishment with which she ended up pointing at her ex-leader; his body was slowly deforming, he had been the monster that attacked the green warrior, maybe he would do the same to them; he gasped with difficulty to speak until he managed to pronounce his first word.

"LIZ" said the voice of a Max who held his chest containing an intense pain and bleeding "LIZ... fi...finish with this" His voice was low and created an infernal echo that spread in the void, he did not manage to express his ideas with clarity. His next attempt to utter a word ended in the same bestial roar that captured her attention earlier.

Andreas and Tobias kept a serious expression at the scene of the American agent and mercenary, Steffi could not contain her astonishment, a fearful memory came to her head when she saw Liz trying to reason with him.

"Stop it!" Steffi shouted at her, putting her rifle down and helping Nick to stop the girl, the effects of the blood curse were stronger when she contemplated disturbing scenes "Look at his arm, and his body, they had done the double transfer on him, blood and flesh".

Max's beast arm had been one of the things that caught Liz's attention since their last meeting at the courthouse, she knew that it responded to an experiment of Mr. Holzmann on their leader.

"Come on Sharrow" urged Nick pulling her by the shoulder "we're not going to risk it for that thing, other than filling its intestines with lead we can't do anything for it. Better now, before he turns back into the monster he is".

"I know he was always an insufferable fucking wretch" grumbled Liz "but maybe we can"

"Liz," Steffi interrupted her, asking Nick to let her take over, "I don't think there's anything we can do anymore, he's had a flesh graft. We have analyzed it together with Sister Judith and those who receive the beasts' flesh cannot be saved, the only thing we can do for him" she said swallowing saliva "is... killing him before it gets worse. He may end up like the monster that killed Captain Bunde" she mentioned his late captain making reference to the executioner; Liz remembered how the beast of the "king of destruction" had taken possession of him.