Chapter 170: What Must Be Done
[The subject has been poisoned by Hunter Toxin, a rare poison developed and used by members of the Raksha race of demons during their expeditions against other worlds. It is a nerve toxin that is fatal to any mana-wielding being below the S Rank. It kills the victims by slowing down their hearts and cutting off signals between their brain and the rest of their body. It can only be cured using the saliva of a Bluefin snowfish from the Demonworld of the Raksha.]
Jason felt hope rise in his heart once he read that! There was a cure! That means he could cure Gina!
"How can I get the cure?"
[The system does not advise the user to seek out the cure. The user is not at a power level sufficient enough to handle this task—]
"Just fucking tell me how I can get it!"
Jason actually shouted this time, and Riyala stumbled back and fell to her behind in fear! Jason glared at the space in front of him with eyes that were reddened from pure rage, and the system erased its previous tab and brought up a new one.
[The Bluefin Snowfish can only be found on Raksha. It is nearly five hundred Dimensional Leaps away from Earth, and it will take approximately [1] month to make the journey. By the time the user finds the Snowfish, there will be no use for it as the subject would already be dead.]
Jason grit his teeth in anger, and he felt a mad cry threatening to rise from inside him! But he clenched his teeth tightly enough to force his throat closed and focused all his energy on this single moment! Jason’s mind began to run at an absurd speed as he tried to come up with a solution!
’The phantoms were the ones that poisoned her. They would have a cure, right? The men who came here didn’t have a cure with them, but I’m sure the leader will at least have one dose.’
[The system advises the user to please listen. The subject does not have much time left. The Hunter’s Toxin kills in five minutes, and the trip to the phantoms’ hideout will take at least thirty minutes. It is pointless to try and find a cure.]
’So what the fuck do you want me to do!? Stop telling me what I can’t do and tell me what I can do for fuck’s sake!’
Jason could no longer hold in the anger in his heart! His head fell until his hair covered his eyes, and he stared at the pale face of his lover. Why wasn’t he here when they attacked? Why was he so fixated on trying to do things the right way at the SMD building? If he had just ignored everyone and left, then would he have been able to save her? He felt so fucking useless!
[...There is one way the user can save the subject.]
Jason perked up once the system sent him this message, and Jason narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
’Tell me."’
[In the arid world of Arizon, three Dimensional Leaps away from Earth, a special creature known as a ’Lich’ exists. This creature stands at the border between the realm of the dead and the living, and its soul has been soaked in the river of the afterlife. If the user is capable of acquiring the Magic Crystal from the heart of this creature, and combines it with the Artefact known as [Banshee’s Tears], the user will be able to create the Elixir of Life—a special elixir that can bring the dead back to life.]
Jason nodded slowly. Okay, so it was just a matter of killing more monsters. It was just about getting more power. Jason didn’t care if he had to kill a million creatures. All he knew was that he was going to cure Gina no matter what.
’But... does that mean I just have to let her die?’
Jason stared down at Gina’s pale face again as this thought crossed his mind. Gina grimaced in pain from the poison coursing through her, and Jason grit his teeth again! He didn’t know if he could watch her die like this!
[No, the user cannot let the subject die from the poison.]
’What? But you said...’
[The system stated that the Elixir of Life can bring a subject back from the dead, but there is a reason why it is not widely sought out by every being in the Primordial Expanse. In order for the Elixir to work, the subject’s soul must not have left their body and gone into the River of the Afterlife. And in order to ensure this, the subject must have either died less than a minute ago, or their soul must still be present within their body. The method for ensuring a creature’s soul remains within its body after death is unique only to the user.]
As the system’s message slowly came into view, Jason’s eyes could only grow wider and wider in shock. Jason was able to immediately decipher what the system wanted him to do, and for a long second, Jason was in too much disbelief to even speak. Jason let out a huff through gritted teeth before he growled out.
"Are you actually telling me that I have to kill her with my own hands?"
[Yes. The Necromancer System works by cutting the connection a soul has with the River of the Afterlife and creating a new connection between that soul and the user. This ensures that the soul remains within the subject’s body until the user is ready to resurrect that soul. However, this method will only work if the user or one of the user’s subordinates is responsible for the death of the subject. If the subject dies from the poison, then the user will not be able to save their soul.]
Jason’s heart grew cold and hollow. It felt like a hot metal rod had stuck itself into his chest and torn straight through his heart before leaving nothing but a hole in its place! His hand around Gina’s shoulder became numb, and it was almost like a thousand needles were piercing through his skin. A notification came from Jason’s system that informed him about the death of the phantoms that had run away, but Jason didn’t even have the presence of mind to acknowledge it! It was almost like he was lost in his own head!
If there was one thing that had never crossed Jason’s mind in his entire life, it was the thought of Gina leaving him. Gina had always been there right beside him from the start. She was his best friend before he even knew what it meant to have a friend, and he loved her before he knew what the word meant. And now, Jason was faced with an impossible situation. He had to take the life of the woman he loved with his own hands, or lose her forever.
"Fuck!"
Jason grit his teeth as he tried to come to terms with the entire situation as quickly as possible, but his eyes snapped open again when he felt a hand touch his cheek softly. Jason looked down into Gina’s eyes and he saw her giving him a tired smile. She ran her fingers over his cheek and she spoke in a low voice.
"You look so sad."
Jason looked away for a moment and closed his eyes tightly before he finally turned back and spoke to Gina.
"Don’t worry, Gina. I’ll fix this. I promise. I’m not going to let you die. You won’t leave me."
Gina’s smile became even sadder, and a line of blood ran down the side of her mouth as she struggled to let out her next words.
"You shouldn’t blame yourself, Jason. Even if... I die. I want you to be happy without me. I want to see you smile for—"
"No."
Jason cut Gina off immediately.