[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke novel Chapter 192

Chapter 192: A Broken Doll

Xion exhaled slowly, letting his mana settle over his hand. With a flick of his wrist, a faintly glowing blade formed. Its razor-sharp edges shimmered with white lustre.

It wasn’t steel, but pure mana, concentrated and stable.

He hovered it just above Darius’s already sterilized chest.

"Hold still," he murmured, more to himself than the man lying pale and motionless in front of him.

Then, he made a cut. A clean, controlled line down the center of Darius’s sternum. He slid the blade out as soon as the incision was deep enough.

Blood welled up immediately, but Xion was already pressing a cloth soaked in suppressant against the wound, slowing the bleeding.

With delicate care, he reached for the thin, transparent pipe resting in the sterilized tray beside him.

The tip of the pipe shimmered with enchantments. He pushed it into the open incision, guiding it gently until it found its place.

The pipe was now nestled between ribs, directly into the mana-rich artery below the heart. It would draw the corrupted energy directly from the source.

Much like freshly pumped blood, it would flow out in steady waves.

Once it was in, Xion grabbed the surgical tape, and a golden thread infused with sealing runes to secure the pipe in place.

The glow of the runes pulsed briefly as they activated, locking the pipeline against any leakage. This would also stop the blood from flowing out.

The other end of the pipe led to a massive vessel. The glass container was nearly as tall as a five-year-old child.

The thick, reinforced glass was braced with spell-scribed metal bands all over it.

Inside, the glass was lined with a faint white mist to keep the volatile mana contained. It was Xion’s mana.

No one had dared ask where Xion got it.

Allen, who had been watching quietly, had long since assumed it must be the artifact Xion had told him about before disappearing for hours.

It was no ordinary jar. It pulsed faintly with containment spells. Allen could feel that it was being reinforced by multiple layers of protection.

The vessel was ancient even for Allen’s practiced eyes.

And now, it was about to be filled with something dangerous.

Xion placed his hand flat against Darius’s chest, just above the incision, and whispered under his breath. "Trust me and don’t give up... please."

A faint smile tugged at Darius’s lips. Perhaps it was the rising sun peeking through the cracks, his eyes held a strange, flickering light as they fixed on Xion.

"Hmm," was all the archduke said.

Taking a deep breath, Xion closed his eyes. His first step was to extract the cursed mana. The only way to do that was to lure it out by using his own as bait.

A thin stream of pure white energy travelled inside Darius’ chest, just below the pipe.

The runes etched along the pipe began to glow. The glass trembled faintly as the first traces of dark, corrupted mana started to flow through the tube.

It was thick like smoke, even tinted with a reddish hue that flickered unnaturally. It was the marks of blood, making the already violent mana look even more scary.

Just as it reached inside the vessel, it coiled and twisted like a living thing. Almost like a deadly serpent.

Darius flinched.