Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

LXXIX. Picking Up the Pieces

Rel: THIS IS ALL THIS FUCKER'S FAULT...!

Enraged due to the sacrifice of their comrade, Rel mounts Dmitri's motionless body, seemingly ready to start relentlessly pummelling him.

Punjo: Rel...

He places a heavy hand on the young man's shoulder. Rel could feel the weight of Punjo's weary frame leaning on him.

Punjo: S-stop... We need him...

Clenching his teeth, Rel grips the man's clothes so tightly his nails begin ripping through fabric.

Rel: I know... I know.

He pulls himself closer to Dmitri, resting his head next to his, supported by his right hand. With his mouth right next to the man's ear, Rel channels his wrath through his voice as he gives the man a strong shake.

Rel: WAKE THE FUCK UP YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!

He yells at the top of his lungs, his mouth practically touching Dmitri's ear. In a panic, the man wakes up startled, his respiration irregular and frantic. Rel had shouted so loudly he was having trouble hearing from his left ear.

Rel: No more aces up your sleeve, you coward...

Grabbing the fearful man's collar, Rel aggressively brings him close to him.

Rel: Your fucked up experiment won't protect you anymore.

Terrified and confused, the man tried to speak but all he could do was babble incoherently. Blood ran down his mouth, spewing from his broken teeth. 

Rel: You don't need to talk. You just have to show us the damn antidote.

Dmitri closes his mouth, his gaze betraying a deep despair, unable to give Rel an answer.

Rel: Don't play coy with me... Telling me this isn't familiar?!

Reaching into one of his pockets, Rel pulls out a small bottle containing a small amount of liquid. It was all they could recover from the broken flask of poison Cabdan carried with him, before he died.

Rel: So? Recognize this...?!

While the liquid had a distinctive purplish hue to it, Dmitri did not yet seem like he had all the information he required to provide an answer.

Dmitri: Et me shmell it... I-I 'eed to shmell it...

With a disgusted look in his face, Rel uncorks the bottle, bringing it close to Dmitri's nostrils. The man inhales deeply through its opening, his eyes almost rolling to the back of his head.

Dmitri: Y-yesh... I have what you need...!

Rel squints in distrust. 

Rel: Where is it?

Dmitri points towards a wall cabinet near one of the room's corners. Having been mostly spared from the monster's rampage, wall cabinets were among the few surviving structures inside the room. This was one such cabinet.

Rel: Keep an eye on him, Punjo... I'll get it.

Dmitri: W-wait...!

Rel's eyes snap from Punjo back to Dmitri, staring him down angrily.

Dmitri: It's 'ocked... 'ake 'he key...

Dmitri nervously reaches into the front pocket of his shirt, taking a small iron key from inside.

Rel: ... You better not be lying.

Rel dismounts, making is way to the cabinet. Upon unlocking it, a series of liquid-filled vials were stored within.