Chapter 153 The Final Battle, Life and Death Farewell
"What's wrong?" Emma turned to look at him and noticed something unusual—his eyes were vacant, hauntingly familiar.
"I..." Nicholas's heart lurched with shock. He couldn't bring himself to say the word "blind."
The dark world from that car accident years ago had been his personal hell, and now...
Emma panicked and quickly took his arm. "Nicholas, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'm here."
"Nicholas, I'll be your eyes again," she said, her voice tight with emotion, her eyes rimming with tears.
Nicholas suppressed his momentary panic and gently patted her hand. "I'm not afraid. Before, when I couldn't see, you were there with me. With you here, everything will be okay."
He was comforting her instead.
She helped him walk slowly toward the main house, constantly warning him about the steps ahead. The winter wind bit at both of them, causing a dull ache.
Every step felt difficult, like walking on something both hard and fragile—glass forged by time itself.
Back at the main house, she helped him slowly up the stairs.
Charlie approached and, seeing the situation, drew in a sharp breath.
Nicholas couldn't see again!
Emma helped him onto the bed to lie down.
A knock came at the door.
The doctor entered, examined him carefully, then gave Emma a meaningful look. They stepped outside together.
The doctor's expression was grave. "Mr. Harrison's optic nerves have been compromised. The situation is serious."
He paused, then added, "This is temporary—he might regain his sight, but..."
"Two days at most before he goes completely blind."
"He must take the antidote as soon as possible. We can't delay any longer. The longer we wait, the more damage to his system."
Emma nodded, feeling her heart being squeezed by an invisible hand.
She had to accelerate the timeline. She had to produce the first version of the antidote today.
She returned to the laboratory once more.
Racing to her private workspace, she had to find the factor in her blood that could overcome the Seven-colored Flower's toxicity and incorporate it into the medicine.
Only seven days left. She truly didn't have much time.
After working tirelessly in the lab all afternoon, Emma finally returned with the first version of the serum.
In the vial, the Seven-colored Flower mixed with her blood created an eerie color.
Without other key components, this serum couldn't completely eliminate the virus in his system, but it could test how these two substances reacted with his body.
She had barely sat down by the bed when Nicholas immediately woke.
"Emma..." He reached out, groping in the darkness.
Emma quickly grasped his hand, the warmth from her palm transferring to him, seeming to calm his heart somewhat.
She said, "I brought the first version of the serum. Let's try it. But there might be side effects."
Her tone was filled with anxiety, her voice trembling slightly.
He smiled, and despite his blindness, his smile still carried a reassuring power. "I'm not afraid. Let me try it."
Nicholas gave her tremendous encouragement.
Emma carefully brought the serum to his lips.
Nicholas tilted his head back and drank it down.
The crimson liquid—he couldn't see it. The distinctive metallic taste of blood—he couldn't taste that either.
Emma said softly, "Rest for a while."
But Nicholas didn't release her hand. Instead, he pulled forcefully, bringing her into his embrace.
"Emma, let me hold you for a moment."
This was his only anchor right now.
In this moment, he truly understood that no matter how glorious his past, regardless of how much enviable wealth he possessed, no matter how prestigious his position, everything was meaningless in the face of death.
After holding her for a while, Emma's phone suddenly rang.
"I need to take this call." She gently freed herself and stepped outside.
Answering the phone, she heard Matthew's voice through the receiver, carrying a tone of inevitable victory.
"Emma, still want the Warm Heaven? Marry me, announce our engagement, and you can have it."
Emma gripped the phone tighter, her knuckles whitening. "Where are you?"
Matthew chuckled softly. "Somewhere very close to you. As long as you want to see me, you can at any time."
He added with a seductive edge, "Nicholas doesn't have much time left. You once threw everything away to marry him. Now, you can throw everything away again—marry me, for his sake."
Emma was silent for several seconds.
Then, with an unnaturally calm tone, she said coolly, "Fine!"
She agreed.
On the other end of the call, Matthew's breathing became noticeably rapid—barely concealed joy.
"Where are you? I need to see you!" she asked coldly.
Matthew quickly gave her an address.
Yes, he was still within Luminous City's territory, in a small town—the closest place to her.
After hanging up, Emma went downstairs to get food.
She wanted to feed Nicholas something. No one had eaten lunch, and she felt a bit hungry too.
Just as she opened the door, Nicholas actually walked toward her.
He had regained his sight!
Emma felt a surge of wild joy. "You can see again?"
The Seven-colored Flower and her blood had worked?
He nodded, those deep eyes clearly reflecting her image.
With one hand, he took the tray from her, and with the other, he pulled her into his embrace, gently kissing her hair.
Suddenly, he raised his hand and, swift as lightning, struck her neck lightly.
Emma's vision went black, and she immediately lost consciousness.
He gently placed her on the bed, tucked the blanket around her, then turned and walked out.
At that moment, the tenderness had completely faded from his face, replaced by bone-deep fury, his eyes flashing with a terrifying murderous light.
Yes, he had heard her conversation with Matthew.
When Nicholas emerged from the room, Charlie was shocked.
"Mr. Harrison, your eyes are better?" Charlie could hardly believe it—this was practically a medical miracle!
"Mrs. Harrison's serum really is miraculous!"
His voice trembled with excitement.
Nicholas's voice was cold as ice. "Watch over her."
With that, he strode out and directly boarded the helicopter that had been standing ready.
This time, he had to personally finish Matthew. Before his own death, he had to eliminate this menace first!
About twenty minutes later, Emma slowly regained consciousness.
Her head still felt fuzzy. She shook it to clear the dizziness.
Nicholas wasn't in the room. Why had he knocked her unconscious?
Her heart skipped a beat as she instantly guessed some possibilities. Ignoring her physical discomfort, she scrambled up and stumbled out of the room.
...
The night in Luminous City reeked of blood.
Northern border, atop a mountain peak.
Two men's figures were entangled, fighting with earth-shaking intensity.
Both were injured, breathing heavily—clearly an evenly matched battle.
Seven or eight bodyguards lay scattered on the ground, their fate unknown, the air thick with the heavy scent of blood.
Yes, this time it was Nicholas and Matthew's true fight to the death.
Nicholas's chest heaved violently, his voice carrying suppressed rage as he spoke word by word, "Matthew! So you really are Elvin's accomplice. I should be calling you Alex. You've been lurking around her all this time just to steal the formula, haven't you?"
Matthew's lips curved in a cold arc, his eyes contemptuous. "So what if you know? You won't have a chance to tell her anyway. Today, you're definitely going to die."
Before he finished speaking, the two men clashed again like wild beasts, fists and feet meeting with dull impacts.
Nicholas unleashed a lightning-fast combination of punches, forcing Matthew to retreat step by step.
Finally, he struck with full force, pinning Matthew hard to the ground!
One knee pressed firmly into Matthew's abdomen, preventing him from moving.
Nicholas panted heavily as he pulled the gleaming dagger from his jacket—cold and menacing—and aimed it at Matthew's heart.
Matthew's pupils contracted sharply. Just as the blade was about to pierce, he used every ounce of strength to roar, "Nicholas! If I die, you die too! Who will protect her then?"
Those words hit Nicholas like a sledgehammer.
His movement froze.
"For the Harrison Group, she revealed six priceless cancer treatments! Don't you know how many people she's offended? How many enemies she has, how many eyes are watching her from the shadows, waiting to strike."
"The Laurent family is just one of them! And there are forces in Lumaria and Sylvanor who've been restless for a long time! When that time comes, who will protect her?"
Matthew's voice was hoarse with excitement, every word piercing Nicholas's ears like needles.
Nicholas fell silent for several seconds.
Mountain winds howled, blowing his disheveled hair.
His eyes churned with emotion before finally settling into resolve.
He spoke again, his voice devoid of warmth. "If you don't die today, consider it your luck. From now on, you'll be the one to protect her."
With that, he raised the sharp blade again and, without hesitation, drove it toward Matthew!
Blood sprayed instantly, staining Nicholas's face red.
Suddenly, Nicholas felt a wave of dizzying vertigo, everything before him beginning to blur.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself plunged into endless darkness once more.
He cursed violently in his heart.
Just then, a vicious force kicked brutally at his chest!
Nicholas groaned, his entire body thrown backward, rolling twice on the ground before stopping.
Next, he felt crushing weight on his chest, making it almost impossible to breathe and completely immobilizing him.
A cold drop of liquid fell onto his face.
He instinctively reached up to touch it—the texture was sticky. Blood.
In his ears, Matthew's laughter rang out, tinged with both savagery and triumph.
"Nicholas, you were still too soft-hearted. You actually didn't stab my heart." Matthew's voice was full of mockery.
"You should know that showing mercy to enemies is cruelty to yourself. Today, let me personally send you on your way!"
With that, he slowly raised the blood-stained dagger.
Under the cold moonlight, the blade flashed with heart-stopping coldness, aimed directly at Nicholas's vital point.