My Substitute CEO Bride (Nash Calicraft) novel Chapter 2633

"I don't know... Perhaps if I had nothing, I could become stronger without any worries. But would I still be the same person I am today?"

...

Alistair's soul struggled to maintain control over Dorothy's soul. Fogort remained focused on absorbing energy, completely unaware that Whistler and the others had begun to be affected by his power.

Everyone experienced symptoms like coughing up blood and shortness of breath to varying degrees, but Fogort failed to notice.

Just as Dorothy's soul was about two-thirds out, Aurora collapsed first. She was drenched in cold sweat, and her face was drained of color.

Blood flowed continuously from her mouth. If she did not stop soon, she would surely die here first.

Of course, aside from Aurora, the others continued to hold on as best as they could. This situation had been anticipated earlier.

If anyone within the formation could not hold on, their lives had to be the first priority. They could not feel guilty about it. No one else could be sacrificed because of this.

Aurora, however, still wanted to stand up. At that moment, Linden shook his head at her.

Even so, Aurora did not respond to him. Instead, she clenched her teeth and stood up again. Just as her hands were about to form a barrier once more, Whistler's voice caught her attention.

Whistler, too, could no longer endure. He collapsed to the ground while spitting blood. His condition seemed worse than Aurora's.

He was the only one directly exposed to both Fogort and Alistair, so he felt the greatest impact. The other three only needed to protect themselves from Fogort's influence.

Meanwhile, Whistler had to constantly balance the backlash from both sides. His body had now reached its limit. Soon after, Whistler could no longer hold on and fell heavily to the ground, becoming silent.

Even so, he also knew that despite Clint's immense abilities, he was merely alleviating the spread of the runes. The runes' influence on Fogort's body had not lessened.

He could only gamble, seeing if his body could endure long enough to completely pull the soul out.

Clint felt a sense of anxiety for Fogort. He sensed that the runes had already reached Fogort's ankles.

Once his lower body became fully covered, the runes would soon spread to his face. If that happened, Fogort would be in serious danger.

Clint regretted his inability to intervene more against the runes. He could only adjust the timing to maintain a steady rate of the runes' growth.

However, this control became increasingly difficult for Clint. In truth, once the runes reached Fogort's ankles, the ones on his calves had already begun to surge uncontrollably.