Chapter 178: Chapter 178: For you, I will turn into anything.

~ Kingdom Of Belgravia ~

Everything happened fast. Seraphine's body flew toward Ellie, her fingers now claws, her mouth open wide with too many teeth.

Ellie screamed, too scared to move.

Celeste, who was at the door, grabbed a sword from the wall and swung hard.

The blade hit Seraphine in the shoulder. Black blood came out.

But the girl didn't stop. She pulled the sword away from Celeste and turned her black eyes on her.

"Run!" Raven yelled.

But her words came too late. Seraphine pushed the sword through Celeste's stomach.

Celeste's eyes went wide. She looked down at the blade sticking out of her body. Blood poured out around the metal.

"No!" Duke Vincx roared so loud the walls shook.

His body started changing.

His skin turned deep red like fire. His eyes glowed bright red. Horns grew from his head, curving back.

Claws came out of his fingers, long and sharp. His whole body got bigger, more like a tree monster with horns and a tail.

Everyone in the room gasped and backed away. The servants screamed.

Seraphine pulled the sword out of Celeste and Celeste fell forward, blood sputtering out of her injury.

Vincx caught her before she hit the ground. Even though he looked like a monster now, he held her so gently. Like she was made of glass. His huge clawed hands cradled her carefully.

"Stay with me," he said, his voice deeper and scarier now. "Please, Celeste. Stay with me."

He set her down on the floor gently and turned to face Seraphine.

The possessed girl laughed. But it wasn't one laugh. It sounded like many voices laughing at the same time.

" You are an uncorrupted Darkling," she hissed, her black eyes staring at Vincx. "I can smell your goodness. You're a traitor to the dark ones."

"And I can smell yours," Vincx growled.

Seraphine ran at him with the bloody sword raised high.

Vincx moved so fast that nobody could see him clearly. One second he was standing still.

The next he grabbed Seraphine's wrist. He twisted it hard. Everyone heard the bones break. The sword fell to the floor with a loud clang.

Then, with one quick move, Vincx ripped Seraphine's head right off her body.

The popping sound was terrible. Raven turned away, but she couldn't stop hearing it. The tearing of skin and bone.

The splash of black blood hitting the walls, the ceiling, the floor. It went everywhere.

Seraphine's body fell down, still moving and twitching even without a head.

Her head rolled across the floor. Her black eyes still blinking. Her mouth was still trying to talk even though no sound came out.

Vincx didn't wait. He picked up the headless body and threw it hard into the big fireplace. The flames turned green and black when they touched the corrupted flesh. Smoke filled the room, smelling rotten.

He picked up the head and threw that in the fire as well. The rotten smell was the worst thing Raven had ever smelled as a physician and she almost threw up.

Ellie still stood frozen, her hands over her mouth. Her whole body shook. Tears poured down her face but she didn't make a sound.

Raven forced herself to look at Varian on the bed.

He was watching his daughter burn in the fireplace. Tears ran down his face. His mouth opened like he wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

He was just too weak and too heart broken. His face showed all his pain and grief but his body couldn't move.

The room was quiet except for the crackling of the fire and Ellie's quiet crying.

Vincx, still in his monster form, turned back to Celeste. He dropped to his knees beside her. His huge red body somehow looked gentle as he lifted her into his arms again.

"Stay with me," he said again, his voice breaking even though it sounded like a monster's voice. "Please. Don't leave me."

Celeste's eyes opened a little bit. Blood came out of her mouth when she tried to talk. "Vincx..."

"I'm here. I've got you. You're going to be okay. I promise."

Raven shook herself out of her shock. "Amadeus! I need you now!"

Amadeus was already moving. He ran across the room and fell to his knees beside Celeste. He put his hands over the big wound in her stomach.

Golden light came out of his hands, bright enough to light up the whole room.

But something looked wrong as he tried to heal her.

"The sword," Amadeus said, his voice tight. "It had corruption in it. The dark Darkling magic transferred from Seraphine to the blade. Now it's spreading through Celeste's blood."

"Can you stop it?" Vincx asked. His voice sounded scared now. Really scared.

"I can try. But it's very strong. The corruption is fighting me."

Amadeus closed his eyes and poured more golden light into Celeste. Raven watched as black veins appeared on Celeste's skin, spreading from the wound to her body quickly.

Minutes passed. Or maybe hours. Time felt strange in that room.

Raven grabbed her medical bag with shaking hands. She pulled out bandages and herbs.

But she knew this was beyond her skills. This was Amadeus's fight. Only his divine power could stop dark Darkling magic.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Amadeus pulled his hands back. Sweat covered his face. He looked tired.

"It's done," he said, breathing hard. "The corruption is gone. She'll live. But she's very weak. She needs rest and care."

Celeste's eyes opened slowly. They were blue again. Normal. No black in them at all.

"Vincx?" she whispered.

"I'm here." Vincx's monster body started changing back to normal. The red color faded from his skin. The horns got smaller and disappeared into his head as well as his tail.

His claws went back to normal fingers. But he never let go of Celeste. He kept holding her the whole time. "You're safe. You're going to be okay."

"Ellie?" Celeste asked. Her eyes filled with tears. "Where's Ellie?"

Vincx's face looked sad and tired at the same time. "She's safe, my love."

Celeste smiled a tiny bit. "You turned into your true form in front of everyone for me? Weren't you hiding it?”

"For you, I would turn into anything. I was so scared, Celeste,” Vincx whispered as he tried not to cry.

Raven looked away from their private moment. Her eyes moved around the room, checking on everyone.

That's when she noticed Amadeus.

He had stood up. His body, stiff and tense. His eyes looked around at everyone in the room trying to detect where the scent he was smelling was coming from.

Amadeus's eyes stopped at the doorway. His whole expression changed from tired to full-blown anger.

Raven turned to see what he was looking at. But it was who Liam stood in the doorway, leaning hard on his walking stick.

His face was pale. He looked tired from riding all the way here with his wound.

And beside him stood Dorian. Dorian, however, looked scared. No. Not scared, rather caught.

He looked like someone who knew their secret was about to come out.

"Dreculus," Amadeus hissed.