"Lucian had Type 1 diabetes?" Leon was stunned.

After starting to walk the path of Ascendancy himself, seeing how much his Ascended powers changed his body biologically, Leon became convinced that it was impossible for Ascended to suffer mundane sicknesses.

But now here he was, hearing that Lucian had type 1 diabetes. It was only natural that he felt shocked by the news.

Priest Rollo didn't know much about Lucian.

When Lucian started serving in Saint Serena Cathedral, much of his childish and teenage penchants were already eroded by his inhumane life experiences.

He was just a boy who now looked like a man seeking redemption to find meaning to his otherwise painful life.

Lucian was taciturn, Priest Rollo knew him as the server who rarely talked.

Every day, it looked like he was just observing everybody and everything around him, almost like he was looking for something.

According to the Priest, sometimes Lucian could go a whole month without talking to anybody.

When asked questions, he answered with simple hand and body gestures. He was that quiet.

By the time they realized that he had psychological problems and that something was wrong with him, it was already too late as Lucian already became convinced that he was called by God.

After killing Sister Mariah and the soldiers that were sent after him to apprehend him, he escaped Leviathan Quay.

Months later, news came that he was found in the Eastern Coast at the headquarters of the Reclaimer Church in Sanctum-Nine, the Cathedral of Serenity.

Lucian was rumored to have met most of his Holy Champions there, a group of youths with similarly tragic life stories.

In their worst moments when life hit them with the 'everything you touch turns horrible' phase, they folded to the pressure of life, then they claimed to have been called by God and they all rallied under the enigmatic Lucian.

Within a year, Lucian made his debut for the terrorists as he entered the scene as the self-proclaimed Angel of Ozempic of the Extremist Movement.

But later, he became known as the Demon of Ozempic, a name that was more universally accepted by people who fell victim to him and people who heard the deeds of the new terrorist leader.

Priest Rollo didn't know why Lucian decided to add 'Ozempic' to his self-proclaimed Holy Envoy title.

Leon was disappointed because he didn't learn what he wanted, nothing in the Priest's story pointed towards Lucian's weakness.

During his time serving in Saint Serena Cathedral, he was so taciturn that no one ever truly knew his real personality.

Leon was disappointed right until the Priest added a seemingly random fact that he remembered, the fact that Lucian had type 1 diabetes.

The Priest prayed for Lucian a few times during his stay in the cathedral for his illness, but besides that he didn't know anything else about Lucian's disease.

To Priest Rollo, it was just a random piece of information compared to what he'd been revealing since but the moment that Leon heard it, he felt like a light bulb just lit up inside his brain.

His brain whirred. 'That's it, that's the clue to his weakness!'

Leon ignored the Priest completely as he left the chair and squatted, tapping his index finger on the ground while in deep thought.

All his thoughts culminated into a single question. '…Ozempic… type 1 diabetes… what if this is the Demon of Ozempic's weakness?'

"Davis, project a blank drawing board for me".

DING!

"Yes master".

Leon picked up his digital pen as he turned the Priest's chambers into a makeshift database room, and right there he started piecing all the clues together.

["Ozempic"]

["Type 1 diabetes"]

["Demon of Ozempic… what's Ozempic?"]

The Priest stared at him with an incredulous look on his face but Leon was so locked in that he already forgot that someone was there with him.

He rubbed his chin in thought. 'Ozempic… that's the keyword!'

'The Demon of Ozempic,' his brain whirred. 'Maybe it's not just some random made-up name afterall?'

'Does the name have a deeper significance? A hidden meaning?'

Leon dug deeper and once again he came back on a circle that concluded that the clue lied in 'Ozempic'.

Maybe it was because of his fragmented memories, and maybe it was because it was not an engineering term but Leon didn't know what Ozempic meant.

Hopefully, he had his A.I exactly for problems like this.

"Davis, what's the meaning of Ozempic?"

DING!

The A.I projected a comprehensive explanation.

["Ozempic (semaglutide) is originally a prescription injectable medicine for adults with Type 2 diabetes but with improving technology and ADE, Ozempic is now also extremely effective for patients with Type 1 diabetes."]

'Ozempic… diabetes!' Leon found the connection as his eyes gleamed.

"Davis, tell me all I need to know about diabetes".

DING!

"Understood".

["There are two different types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes involve insulin resistance where the body doesn't use insulin properly and the pancreas can't keep up, unlike Type 1's autoimmune destruction of insulin-making cells."]

["Type 2 resist insulin but Type 1 cannot produce insulin."]

["Type 1 is usually sudden in childhood or young adulthood, but Type 2 is gradual, developing over years, often in adulthood but increasingly in younger people. Ascended generally have more resistance to both types of diabetes and general mundane diseases."]

["Type 2 diabetes is managed by lifestyle changes, oral meds, and sometimes insulin, while Type 1 requires lifetime insulin injections."]

["Common diabetes symptoms are frequent urination, extreme thirst and hunger, fatigue, blurred vision, slow healing, sudden unexplained weight loss, and tingling/numbness in hands or feet."]

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Remembering Lucian's scarred middle-aged face despite being just 19, Leon tapped his index finger against his lap in deep thought and then the clues started clicking in his head again.

'Type 1 diabetes that can affect an E Rank Quantum Shaper is clearly no ordinary diabetes!' Leon's eyes narrowed. 'There's a high chance that it's a side effect of the inhumane experiments performed on him back in that laboratory!'

Then when Lucian told him his story, he thought it was the inhumane experiments that made the 19-year-old teenager look so old.

But now, he had a different thought. 'What if it's a result of the affliction that's affecting him?'

Leon's eyes widened. 'What if the Demon of Ozempic can't survive without Ozempic?'

That thought sent an explosion rippling through his brain as he had an epiphany.

'What if even with Ozempic, Lucian is destined to die young and that's why his body keeps on aging far beyond his age?'

'What if the mental stress and torture from the realization that he'll die young plus the trauma of the underground torture is what gave birth to the delusion that he's called by God to leave a lasting mark with his limited life?'

Leon's eyes widened in realization. 'He's doing all of this to leave a lasting mark of Lucian even after his inevitable death!'

'All that he's doing is seeking validation from a world that failed him while hiding it behind trauma and religion!'

In that moment, Leon realized and confirmed that Lucian was just a traumatized, tortured, and diabetic victim who became a villain due to the cruelty of the world he grew up in.

At the same time, he confirmed his weakness.

With the digital pen, he wrote his final conclusion on the digital board.

["Lucian survives on Ozempic."]

["Removing Ozempic is equal to removing his source of sustenance which will likely affect and heavily diminish the effects of all his Racial DNAs, or even outrightly disable all of them!"]

["This is his weakness!"]

Leon's black eyes gleamed.

In that moment, he became the first man to crack the code of the Demon of Ozempic.

…

Kendall District.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of distant explosions reverberated in the background.

Standing on top the altar erected in the grand square, Lucian had a look of pious faith on as he raised his chin high while facing the crowd that was before him.

The crowd already grew to hundreds of civilians and they kept on increasing every minute as Lucian passionately preached to them.

The hundreds of converts came here today motivated by different reasons.

Most came due to fear of the terrorists, some came because their neighbors in the shelters came, some came confused and simply following the crowd, and there were those who genuinely believed that they've sinned as a city and that listening to Lucian's preaching would truly liberate them.

They prayed with him, pious and genuinely seeking forgiveness from God as some broke down in tears right there during Lucian's sermon.

It didn't look like a religious gathering convened by terrorists who killed in cold blood at all. Instead, it looked like a holy gathering where pious people were brought closer to God.

Lucian's voice was gentle and soft-spoken, it sounded like music to any ear that heard it as they gave their hearts and souls to God.

He reassured them that they've made the right decision, that they've finally come to see the light of God.

Lucian prayed for them, and then he chanted. "Gud er større!"

"GUD ER STØRRE!" The crowd responded loudly as their voices reverberated like thunder, rolling through the streets and beyond.

It was while they chanted that Lucian suddenly felt a premonition as his heart skipped a beat.

BADUMP!

He froze.

None of his other Holy Champions that were close to him noticed but Xena did as she instinctively shifted closer to him while staying wary of her surroundings.

"What happened?" She whispered.

Lucian smiled bitterly. "I just had a feeling that that I am in danger".

Xena was alarmed as her azure eyes narrowed instinctively, more alert now. "Is it your racial trait?"

Lucian nodded.

"We need to quickly leave!" She immediately suggested.

But Lucian shook his head with a gentle smile. "Not today, not now".

"It's God's plan for us to be out here today and boldly spread the gospel of his sovereignty and mercy, I'm not going to hide from my calling".

"But…"

"That's enough". Lucian cut her off gently with a smile.

The mass led by the Demon of Ozempic didn't stop as he continued preaching to the new believers who came with a pious expression on his face.

At some point, an intruder infiltrated the crowd.

...

[Special Appreciation to Shadesworn and D4rkV1II14n again for the Golden Tickets, your support honestly pushes me to write more even while tired. I truly appreciate it man.]

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