Adam, whose sight remained a total, frustrating darkness, stood paralyzed by the aftermath of the unthinkable end of the fight, yet his keen sense of hearing was fully operational, and the sounds he registered were horrifying… He heard Chloe's breathing, a panicked, shallow gasping that was immediately followed by a thick, wet, guttural cough.

The sound was unmistakable: the girl was throwing up liquid, a violent, internal expulsion of fluid. His mind, while not trained entirely, but with enough knowledge of first aid, immediately concluded the only logical possibility: she was vomiting blood, possibly from some catastrophic internal damage. He lunged forward, guided by the sound of her frantic, struggling breath, his arms wrapping around her small frame to stabilize her, attempting to bring her upright.

"Chloe! Chloe, stay with me!"

Adam exclaimed, his voice tight with a cold, desperate worry. Chloe leaned into his grasp, her body trembling violently, a thin, weak weight in his arms.

"T-thank you."

She whispered, the words barely audible, but the effort of speaking immediately triggered another violent, convulsive spasm. She coughed again, a thick, gurgling sound that was immediately followed by a torrent of warm, noxious liquid—black blood, heavy and corrosive—that struck Adam's chest and shoulders. He felt the cold, sticky substance, the undeniable metallic stench of corrupted blood, and the terrifying realization of her rapidly deteriorating condition brought a sharp panic to his mind.

"You're vomiting blood... You need to breathe slowly."

Adam urged, his voice laced with concern, the emotional shift entirely uncharacteristic for his usually stoic demeanor.

The immediate aftermath of the battle was utterly silent; the entire group was still reeling from the sudden destruction of Dravhark and the resulting sensory overload. But that silence was suddenly shattered by a pair of simultaneous, alarming System windows that flickered into existence before Emir and Kazue.

[The item [Infinite Flavors Gummy - Rank A] has terminated its effect. The stored skills will be deactivated.]

Kazue, who had been riding the crest of an uncontrollable wave of euphoria, immediately stopped laughing, the sound cutting off mid-giggle as if a switch had been thrown in her brain.

"Huh?"

She said, the raw sound of confusion replacing the joyous madness of her battle rage, her mind finally clearing enough to register the total silence and the terrifying reality of their location.

Before she could fully process the gravity of the situation, the air that had been holding her aloft instantly vanished as the platforms created by her elemental affinity ceased to exist, and Kazue instantly began to fall from a significant height, her scream echoing through the halls.

Dora, in an act of extreme concern for her owner, reacted by pure instinct. The small creature shot downward in a lightning-fast dive toward the falling girl, attempting to catch her. However, the moment Dora made physical contact, the intense, corrosive heat of the corrupted fire instantly scorched Kazue's skin.

Kazue shrieked, not in fear of the fall, but in searing pain. Dora recoiled immediately, the intelligent creature realizing it was harming its master, but the desperate urgency of the situation forced it to act regardless. The fire dragon, fighting against its own inherent nature, gently guided Kazue's descent, ensuring she landed with a cushioned thud rather than a bone-shattering impact, even if that meant burning her.

The girl hit the ground hard, rolling a few times, her body covered in angry red welts and first-degree burns from the necessary contact with her fiery ally. However, she overcame the pain and forced herself to stand, her body trembling and the shock of the sudden return to reality.

Her eyes, adjusting rapidly to the gloom, made out the forms of Adam and Chloe, the latter clearly in terrible distress. Despite her own injuries, she instinctively moved to aid them, but paused as she registered the form of Charles, the blond with glasses from the other team, trapped beneath a massive pile of rubble. She instantly redirected her focus, turning sharply to aid the downed man.

Charles, whose face was a mixture of pain and profound exhaustion, registered Kazue's movement.

"Thanks, but don't worry about me."

The boy whispered, his voice strained by the weight on his body.

"I'm fine. Go check on the others."

Kazue, however, ignored his command, already grasping the edge of a massive stone slab, straining to lift the weight that pinned the blond man. She gestured to the fire dragon hovering nearby.

"Dora! Help me!"

Meanwhile, Emir suffered a parallel, equally traumatic reversal. The powerful, temporary [Mental Resistance] skill he had copied from Adam vanished, and the effect was immediate and overwhelming... His young mind instantly clouded, and he felt the raw, brutal instincts of the fused monsters that formed the Giant Killer surge forward, threatening to consume his consciousness entirely. With a desperate, powerful surge of willpower, Emir fought back, forcing his mind to focus on a single, final order: dispel the transformation.

The colossal Giant Killer emitted a final, high-pitched shriek that resonated through the halls. The monstrous form instantly began to expel massive clouds of superheated air, its massive body slowly beginning to shrink, losing its hideous, mechanical features as the dark energy receded. The Giant Killer returned, finally, to the fragile body of Emir, who was so utterly exhausted by the effort that he collapsed onto the cold stone floor, panting and desperate for air, though he had managed to remain close to the rest of the team.

The urgent medical situation of Chloe and the continued struggle of Charles created a terrifying juxtaposition of needs. Adam, holding the small, trembling body of the pink-haired girl, felt her rapid deterioration, her breath becoming shallow, and her body growing cold despite the ambient heat from the recent battle. He was still blind, and his lack of sight made a more proper diagnosis impossible, preventing him from utilizing any logical method for a treatment.

"Chloe! What is happening? Tell me what you did!"

Adam demanded, his voice edged with a primal frustration. However, Chloe did not respond. Her head lolled to the side, and her breathing became uneven. The Empress, using Adam's mouth and voice, spoke, her tone surprisingly devoid of her usual arrogance, replaced by a genuine, sharp concern.

"I can feel it…"

The Empress stated, her voice a rapid, low articulation within his own mouth.

"A massive concentration of corrupted energy is surging violently inside her body. It is a level of dark power that should only be possible within a pure undead, not a living human."

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Adam's blood ran cold with the diagnosis. He raised his voice, demanding the information he needed to save her.

"Chloe, what did you do!?"

Finally, after a couple of seconds, the girl responded, her voice a weak, strained croak as she violently coughed up another dark spray of blood.

"I… I destroyed that sphere inside the dragon."

Chloe confessed, the effort causing her immense pain.

"The System warned me that I would be afflicted with a curse."

She attempted to show him her right arm, the flesh there seared with the colossal, pulsing red tattoo of the dragon's head, but Adam could not see it, only feel the terrifying, palpable heat and the dense, sickening atmosphere of corrupted energy clinging to the air around her.

"I… I used my [Skill Rental] to copy your [Enhanced Malediction Reversal]."

Chloe confessed, her voice fading. Adam felt a surge of cold horror as he understood the problem immediately. He began to argue fiercely with the Empress, the strange, continuous dual dialogue a terrifying spectacle for anyone who could see.

"What can we do?! There must be a way!"

Adam demanded, his mind racing against the clock.

"There is nothing to be done."

The Empress cried, her voice filled with a genuine, desperate frustration.

"It is illogical for a human to have a Lich trait like Malediction Reversal! The only viable option is to instantly convert her into an undead!"

"Absolutely not! I will not even consider that possibility! We need to find another way! There has to be one!"

Adam retorted, his voice filled with a raw, unyielding determination.

While the boy and the Empress argued, Kazue had finally managed to free Charles from the rubble, and together with the exhausted Emir, who had stumbled over to their position, rushed toward Adam and Chloe. Kazue, whose sight was now fully functional, looked down at her friend's marked arm, screaming in absolute, unadulterated horror at the sight of the burning tattoo.

"Chloe! What is that thing?! What happened to your arm?!"

Kazue screamed, her voice tight with panic. Emir, pale and utterly terrified, was paralyzed, his mind too overwhelmed by the aftereffects of his transformation to properly process the scene. And Charles, supported by Kazue, looked down at the Mark of the Dragon God, his face a grim, defeated mask.

"I have never seen anything like this. It is a curse of pure divine corruption."

Charles whispered, his voice low and heavy with absolute finality.

"I am honestly surprised she is still alive. I am so sorry, Chloe. If I had not been injured during the final attack…"

Adam heard the words, his head snapping up toward the source of the voice, even though he could not see the man.

"You brought her here?!"

He asked, his voice a low, furious rumble.

Charles's voice was weak, the man visibly leaning on Kazue for support.

"I am truly sorry. I did not think that something like this would happen."

Before Adam could continue his confrontation, the Empress's voice cut in again, sharp and entirely pragmatic.

"Concentrate! There is no time for emotional outbursts! You must think!"

Adam's fury instantly dissolved into a cold, desperate calculation.

"I am thinking!"

He snapped, though he truly had no immediate solution. The problem lay in the nature of the copied skill, a skill rooted in cursed power, a field he knew intimately, but only when dealing with his own unique traits… Wait a minute… That single thought—his own skills—triggered an idea, an irrational, utterly desperate strategy that could be their only hope.

Adam gently knelt, easing Chloe's body down until she was sitting on the cold stone floor. He crouched in front of her, his voice softening, attempting to convey the seriousness of his plan.

"I have an idea, Chloe… But it is dangerous, and there is no guarantee that it will work."

Chloe did not respond, only coughing up another spray of blood, her small body trembling. Adam's jaw clenched with painful resolve.

"Do you trust me?"

Adam asked, his voice low and firm.

A beat of absolute silence passed, an eternity of pure dread, before Chloe finally placed her single, free hand weakly over Adam's own.

"Yes."

The boy instantly plunged his hand into his pocket, his movements precise, retrieving the single remaining [Infinite Flavors Gummy] he had. He focused his mind with every ounce of his powerful will, channeling a specific skill into the candy until the gummy successfully copied his chosen skill.

Adam immediately brought the candy to Chloe's mouth, his voice regaining its command.

"You must eat this now, Chloe. Immediately. And the moment the effect takes hold, you must use the copied skill. Your body will likely not withstand the strain, but it is the only way."

Adam forced himself to continue, his voice tight.

"Once you use the skill from the gummy, you must select the dragon's Mark you have, along with the last two skills you bought from the store before we entered the scenario. If everything aligns and we are lucky… I do not know what will happen, but I believe there is a chance it will work."

Adam hesitated, his own fear a cold wave in his gut, but Chloe reacted instantly to the completion of his desperate plan. She weakly took the gummy from Adam's fingers, placed it in her mouth, and swallowed it with a visible, painful effort. A single System window instantly materialized before her:

[The item [Infinite Flavors Gummy - Rank A] has released its stored skill [Skill Devourer Lv■] on the user Chloe Vanderlyle.]

The effect was instantaneous and catastrophic. Chloe screamed again, a raw, piercing cry of agony that was far worse than the pain of the burning mark. She felt an unbearable, tearing pain, as if her stomach had been physically ripped open. Adam seized her face in both of his hands, bringing his face close to hers.

"Concentrate! Ignore the pain! You must do what I told you!"

Adam screamed, his voice raw with urgency.

Chloe used the last, fading reserve of her willpower, forcing her mind to obey his command just before the physical trauma pushed her into absolute unconsciousness… Suddenly, a monstrous, dark shape instantly erupted from her marked right arm—a black, skeletal maw lined with sharp, insectoid teeth.

To the utter, disbelieving horror of Charles, who watched with an expression of complete incredulity, the terrifying, dentated mouth began to consume the glowing red dragon's head that was burning into her skin. Several System screens materialized simultaneously, blindingly bright:

[The skill [Skill Devourer Lv■] has consumed the skills [Mark Of the Corrupted Dragonkin Lv17], [Earn interest on what you borrow! Lv1], and [Unreasonable taxation Lv1].] [The consumed skills are being digested and fused into a new result] [The skill [Skill Devourer Lv■] has created the skill [Mark of the Dragon God's Son Lv15].] [The user became the involuntary bearer of the will of the descendant of the Dragon God, Vharzun, and is therefore recognized as his son. The bearer receives a forced race change to 'Corrupted High Dragonkin - Rank A+', and it is possible to receive the passive ability [Blessing of the Sons of Vharzun] after receiving the Dragon God's approval.]

And then, absolute silence returned. The massive, black, dentated mouth receded back into Chloe's arm, leaving behind only a faint, angry red scar. Chloe's body went completely limp in Adam's arms, her unconsciousness finally taking hold. The boy did not know how the situation had resolved, but he could feel the faint, steady breath and the strong pulse of the girl beneath his fingers.

Kazue approached him, leaving Charles resting against the stone floor for a moment.

"What happened?"

She asked, her voice tight with fear.

"Is Chloe going to be alright?"

Adam sighed, his body trembling, emotionally exhausted by the sheer, desperate gamble they had just taken.

"Yes…"

Adam whispered, his voice hoarse.

"It appears everything turned out all right."

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