Chapter 26: "I really did it..."

It took Elias only a brief moment to make his choice.

The antidote in his hand was useless if he couldn’t get it into Monica’s body. The freezing cold had already proven that forcing the pill against her lips would accomplish nothing, and her condition was continuing to worsen with every passing second.

Elias tightened his grip around the small black pill before looking at Monica again.

"Then I’ll have to do it myself," he whispered.

He immediately placed the antidote into his own mouth.

The moment it touched his tongue, the pill melted.

Elias’s eyes widened slightly.

’What is this amount?!’

A powerful stream of medicinal mana instantly spread through his mouth and down his throat, far stronger than Elias had expected. The moment that mana entered his body, the effects of the dark smoke surrounding him seemed to weaken, and the suffocating cold that had been pressing against his body began to disappear.

The antidote wasn’t simply dissolving like ordinary medicine. It was transforming into medicinal mana and spreading throughout his body, attempting to circulate through every part of him.

Elias immediately realized the problem.

If the medicinal mana spread throughout his body, he would have nothing left to give to Monica.

He couldn’t allow that.

His mind raced for a solution before the answer suddenly appeared.

’Add ten Stat Points to Mana.’

[Mana/Spirit: 6 → 16]

A subtle change immediately occurred within Elias.

His control over the mana inside his body improved significantly, and the medicinal mana that had been spreading uncontrollably became much easier to restrain.

Elias focused his mind and gathered the medicinal mana around his mouth and throat, preventing it from dispersing throughout his body.

’Much better,’ he remarked inwardly.

He couldn’t waste another second.

Elias lowered his body and carefully moved closer to Monica’s face. The dark smoke continued pouring from her open mouth, twisting through the air before spreading across the room.

His Shadow Ghost Poison Resistance was the only thing standing between him and the poison.

If this failed, the smoke would enter his body directly.

There was no guarantee that his resistance would be enough. Still, Elias couldn’t think of another way.

He reached forward and grabbed Monica’s arms, holding them firmly enough. Then he moved his right hand against her face and carefully adjusted her jaw.

’Just endure this,’ he mumbled inwardly.

Monica was completely unresponsive.

Her blackened eyes stared blankly ahead, while dark lines continued spreading across her pale skin.

Elias took a slow breath, then he moved.

He brought his mouth toward hers in a quick motion and sealed their lips together.

The instant their mouths connected, a massive amount of dark smoke poured into Elias’s mouth.

He immediately groaned.

The smoke rushed down his throat like freezing poison, spreading through his body with terrifying speed. His muscles stiffened, and an unbearable cold began tearing through his organs.

His entire body trembled.

His Shadow Ghost Poison Resistance activated, desperately struggling against the vile substance invading his body.

His stomach burned with a freezing sensation, his chest tightened, and even his fingers began losing feeling.

Yet Elias didn’t stop.

He kept the medicinal mana concentrated in his mouth and carefully pushed it into Monica’s mouth with his tongue.

The antidote had to reach her.

That was all that mattered.

Elias’s vision blurred as the dark smoke continued entering his body.

’Just a little more...’ he thought.

His body felt increasingly rigid, and the cold seemed to reach deeper into his organs with every passing second.

The dark smoke inside him moved like countless icy tendrils, tearing through his body before his resistance pushed them back.

Elias gritted his teeth and continued.

He could feel the medicinal mana gradually leaving his mouth.

’Come on...’

He pushed the remaining mana into Monica.

’Take it.’

The final traces of the antidote entered her body.

Elias immediately pulled away.

He stumbled backward several steps before collapsing onto the floor.

"Haah... haah..." he breathed heavily.

His hand instinctively moved toward his abdomen as he struggled to steady his breathing.

The cold inside his body was overwhelming.

His face had turned corpse-like pale, while dark shadowy spots had appeared across his cheeks, neck, and arms. His fingers trembled slightly as he tried to move them.

Despite the pain, Elias forced himself to raise his head.

Monica was still lying on the bed, and for a moment, nothing changed.

Elias stared at her through his blurred vision.

"Please..." he whispered.

Then Monica’s body suddenly convulsed.

Elias’s expression tightened as he watched her.

The dark smoke pouring from her mouth began to decrease.

Slowly, the thick black mist became thinner and thinner until only a few wisps remained.

Then those disappeared as well.

The dark shadowy lines covering Monica’s body gradually faded, and the blackness that had consumed her eyes began retreating.

Her eyes slowly returned to their normal blue color, and the dark smoke filling the room retreated into her body before her eyes closed.

Elias stared at her in silence.

Her jaw returned to its natural position, and her body finally relaxed against the mattress.

The room became quiet.

Elias’s tense expression slowly softened.

He released the breath he had been holding and leaned backward, his shoulders dropping against the floor.

"I did it..." he mumbled.

His voice was weak, but a faint smile appeared on his pale face.

He stared at Monica for another moment before letting his head fall back.

"I really did it," he said with a wider grin.

His arms sprawled across the floor as he continued breathing heavily.

For the first time since entering the room, Elias felt the crushing pressure inside his chest begin to disappear.

It was a reckless idea.

He had willingly allowed Shadow Ghost Poison to enter his own body, relying entirely on the resistance granted by the system to keep him alive.

But Monica was safe, and her strange seizure had ended.

Elias turned his head toward her and looked at her peaceful face.

"You are safe now," he whispered.

Monica didn’t say anything; she simply remained unconscious, her breathing steady and peaceful.

Elias smiled faintly; the dark spots across his body began to vanish, and his face regained its fair complexion.

"Good..." he mumbled.

For several seconds, he simply lay there on the floor, staring at the ceiling while trying to recover, then he let out a quiet laugh.

"I actually saved her."

His eyelids grew heavier as the exhaustion finally caught up with him.