Nine long hours.
That's how long Xion had been locked inside his lab. And the results, while not exactly comforting, at least proved he wasn't wasting his time.
There was a strange poison in the blood that was killing the victims. It wasn't natural, nor was it entirely magical.
Once it started spreading, it burned through the veins like fire. The excessive heat attacked the internal flesh, turning it into something like charred remains.
The result was a thickening of blood until it was almost sludge, and then came the bleeding.
Or rather, the vomiting of blackened blood.
He had also brought back the dried leaves the merchant's wife mentioned.
But there were no traces of toxins present in the leaves. In fact, Lady Norva, Lord Varnehold's wife, had vouched for it too. Said she drank it every winter to avoid catching a chill.
She was right. The tea worked exactly the same way. But this time, it had resulted in the opposite.
