Chapter 21- Runes Of The Blood Man (Part 1)
"Elio…" Fiona couldn't find the strength within herself to even say anything. That sight, of his eyes, of his aura coiling around him like a gorgeous yet dangerous snake. Everything about him made her feel a deep, carnal fear that came from every inch of her body. Her instincts told her to fear that person even though she was stronger than him.
Her fear also told her that Elio's power was far beyond anything she ever expected. His energy that was pulsating every single second seemed to defy logic itself. Before awakening, Fiona had expected that energy to become 5x, 10x, hell, even 20x. However, what she was feeling at that moment was any of that… She could swear that his powers felt bottomless, his energy seemed not to stop appearing out of thin air.
'How… How… How could this be?' She asked herself as she broke a sweat. This wasn't merely defying logic anymore; it was defying what everyone took as a given for the past thousands of years.
"This is not… This is not how it should be…" She muttered under her breath, her eyes flashing with a myriad of emotions for a split second. Elio saw those emotions with his sharp eyes before he looked down slowly with a calm sigh.
"So that's what it is." He replied. 'I can feel so much power pulsating through my body. I feel like every time this energy courses through my body, I feel more rejuvenated… This feeling is amazing.'
It was indeed true what he was feeling. Each time his heart pumped blood, the energy traversed his body, touching the muscles, the bones, the organs, and every other body part. Each time it passed them, it made them better. It healed, reinforced, and made them stronger.
Elio couldn't describe that feeling, but it was addictive. He loved it so much that he had to control himself from smiling or laughing.
"I'm feeling amazing, Fiona." He said calmly. "I'm feeling better than ever. I feel like I'm getting stronger slowly. I'm not doing anything, and yet I'm getting stronger."
He said as he stepped forward toward her. Fiona finally snapped out of her daze and looked at him. She pursed her lips subtly before she spoke.
"Let's first start by containing your energy. Aside from me, the other two won't be able to handle standing next to you this long. It is uncomfortable to say the least."
"Uncomfortable?"
"Yeah, it feels like standing next to a burning fire. Now, try to communicate with your energy and control it with your mind. Then, pull it back inside your body. It shouldn't be hard." She said.
Elio nodded his head and tried to do what she said. Closing his eyes, weirdly enough, he was able to immediately find that connection. 'So odd… It feels like I have an extra limb I can control now.'
Without even needing to consciously look at it, he could feel it and connect with it. So, naturally, he started suppressing it again. Almost instantly, all the overflowing energy stopped spreading everywhere and started going back inside his body gradually.
A few moments later, all the power disappeared completely, and the red halo disappeared with it.
Finally, all the chaos within the room subsided, and Fiona could feel the prickling feeling disappear slowly. "Fuuuh…" Exhaling a long breath, Fiona finally looked at Elio. 'He is far more than I could've ever imagined. An awakening that destroyed the lab…'
She had never heard of such a thing. It wasn't too abnormal for an awakening to have a violent explosion. Hell, Fiona herself made a strong shockwave when she awakened. But, what Elio just did had never been done before.
'He had shattered the awakening room and then wrecked the rest of the lab. This is ridiculous…' She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at how absurd that is. What kind of freak of nature could even do this? What kind of freakish power would do this?
She didn't know.
"Hm? Oh my god!" At that moment, she heard Elio yell. "What happened to the lab?! Did my awakening do this?!"
He rushed to the broken window to check it. His face paled immediately, seeing it shattered into pieces, and then the wreckage outside. Putting his hand on his forehead. 'I'm so screwed! I'm so damn screwed! I destroyed the lab! And the expensive machines!'
His heart started racing. How could he pay for such things? Even if he dedicated his life, he doubted he could pay them back. If Fiona gets angry, then…
"I-I… I-I'm so sorry… I don't know why this happened…" He said with a stuttering tone as he looked at Fiona. "What did I do? This is so bad…"
Fiona stared at him without blinking. 'He doesn't even seem to comprehend what he just did. He is more worried about machines than his own well-being.'
"Don't worry about it. It won't be hard to replace this machinery. What is more important is what just happened."
"Fiona! Are you fine?" Alex then walked in to check on his fiancée. "There you are. Did you get hurt anywhere?"
He asked as he approached her in a hurry, examining her body with his eyes. His tone was softer and more genuine than usual, and his eyes didn't hide the deep care. He didn't even give Elio a single glance.
"I'm fine." She replied.
"What the hell was that? I couldn't even see anything." He said as he stared at Elio. "What was that energy? I swear I felt like I was about to drown in it…"
"I don't know…" Elio replied. "I was sitting there. I wasn't feeling anything. Then, everything suddenly turned red for a second, and when I could see again, all I saw was this wreckage."
"..."
The two stared at the boy silently before Fiona finally spoke. "Well, we need to measure how much more Blood Energy was activated the moment you awakened."
Even as she said those words, Fiona felt a bit… scared. She knew that what she was about to witness would change this world as she knew it. What she was about to see was going to change many things. Many conflicts will take a deep turn, and many individuals will be involved.
This world was already a boiling cauldron waiting to overflow with the smallest catalyst. However, Elio wasn't a small catalyst… Elio will become the very heart of all these problems.
The moment this world knows about his existence and the moment everyone realizes that there is an existence in this world capable of feats that would break their very concept of reality… There was no imagining what could happen.
"Miss Fiona! Sir Alex! Is everyone safe and sound? Cough! Cough!" George finally reached them after taking some time to recover from the shock. He stared at Elio with his face pale and lips quivering.
"A-Are you ok…?" Elio asked. "Did I hurt you?"
"Huh? No, no, no… I'm fine. This was certainly… something…" He said. "I didn't think things would get so much out of control instantly. But I'm glad everyone is not hurt."
"Can you check if the machine is still intact, George?" Fiona asked. "If it is. We will immediately measure his power."
"U-Understood!"