Chapter 315: Clinical Intimacy

Leon hurriedly approached Selene and stood beside her, warily watching the Vaelari while sparing some attention for the young lady.

From her strained expression and frozen leg, he could tell that something was wrong. Why would she freeze her own leg?

"Are you alright?"

She shook her head, which honestly surprised him.

Before she could explain, Awan suddenly took out a circular device from his own storage ring. Reading something from it, his expression changed.

"There’s an emergency. Let’s go."

Kelvin hesitated. "Shouldn’t we finish them off?"

Awan stared at Leon who now stood protectively in front of Selene.

"No need. They’ll die anyway."

With that, Awan turned around and dashed into the distance. The other two followed behind him, leaving the two humans alone.

After confirming that they were truly gone, Leon turned to Selene. Her entire face was red, and she was starting to sweat profusely.

"What is wrong?" He asked with a concerned frown.

Shaking her head, Selene gritted her teeth and said, "I have a parasite... in my leg."

"Huh...?"

Leon’s mind went blank. A parasite... had infected her?

His gaze slid down to her frozen leg, and he finally understood why she did that. She was trying to contain it in that limb, preventing the parasite from reaching her torso and brain.

However, freezing her own leg put her in intense pain, while the parasite desperately fought to escape the frozen area.

’They infected her with a parasite...’

His eyes dulled, and he quietly clenched his jaw. He grabbed Selene’s arm and took her through the shadows, appearing by the old walls of one of the cities around them.

"Sit."

Selene couldn’t do that alone, so he had to assist her. Once she sat, he looked at the frozen leg with a troubled expression.

"Unfreeze it... partially."

She glanced at him. "How?"

Crouching beside her, he said, "Enough to let me see the wound."

Selene nodded and stopped freezing the entire leg. Instead, she only froze the upper part of her thigh, preventing it from going up.

Leon confirmed his suspicion after seeing the sword wound on her leg, and he nodded to himself.

He quickly unbuckled the straps securing her thigh guard before pulling it off. The black undercloth still covered the wound, so he tore it off, revealing her white skin and the small injury.

He couldn’t see the parasite at first, but he soon noticed something writhing under her skin. His expression darkened.

Placing a hand over that patch of flesh, he tried to force it out through the wound.

However, the parasite proved more stubborn than he imagined. It squirmed in her leg, refusing to move towards the wound while desperately trying to go through the frozen part of her leg and get access to her whole body.

Leon gritted his teeth. ’Should we cut the wound?’

There was no guarantee that this would help. No matter where they cut into the leg, the parasite could simply escape to other parts of her leg until the young lady’s limb was completely mutilated.

’Is there really no way to get it out?’

A feeling of frustration welled up within him. Was he really going to let this happen?

As her concentration began to wane, Selene exhaled. "If there’s nothing you can do... kill me."

Leon’s eyes snapped to her. "What? No."

"Do it," She said, her expression cold. "I’d rather you kill me now than I turn into a parasite too."

Leon’s expression hardened. ’Looks like we have to cut off the leg.’

Perhaps, when they got back, Fel would be able to help her regrow the limb. He wasn’t confident about that.

Seeing the parasite still squirming under her skin, a wild idea suddenly popped into his mind.

He rejected it almost instantly. However, as he thought about it, the chances of it working continued to rise.

’But...’

Glancing at Selene’s determined expression even as she closed her eyes, Leon finally decided to take the gamble.

Grabbing her knee, he lifted her leg. "Hold still."

Selene’s eyes snapped open. "What are you...?"

Leon ignored her and took out his dagger. He widened the wound through which the parasite had entered, then put the dagger away.

Under Selene’s surprised gaze, he bit her leg, closing his mouth around the wound and pushing his tongue inside.

She stiffened. At first, she didn’t understand what he was doing. However, when she sensed the parasite moving towards the wound, she finally understood.

’He’s luring it...’

Leon continued wriggling his tongue, making himself an obvious target for the parasite. Their position was a little intimate, and his actions could definitely be questioned.

However, Leon would do anything to get that parasite out as long as it was possible.

Feeling the parasite writhing beneath her flesh and Leon’s tongue moving around the wound, Selene resisted the primal urge to grab his hair.

Soon, the parasite finally got to the wound, and just as Leon began pulling back to draw it out, the parasite suddenly shot into his mouth.

The young man froze, then pulled back in horror. He tried to spit it out, but it quickly crawled its way down his throat, settling into his stomach.

Leon’s expression became calm as if he hadn’t just been horrified. This was the trap itself. By luring it into his body, he could fight it using his Adaptation Trait. The only problem now was... could his adaptation destroy and nullify the parasite before it took control of him?

"You..."

Selene stared at him, shocked. She didn’t think he’d actually be crazy enough to lure the parasite directly into himself.

Kneeling beside her, Leon doubled over and coughed blood.

"Damn it."

The parasite had already started attacking him from the inside, fighting against his entire system that wanted to digest it.

"You’re going to die!" Selene suddenly hissed, startling him.

He turned to her and wiped his lips. "No. It’s going to die."

Selene clearly didn’t believe him, so she unsheathed her sword and brought herself in front of him.

"I’m going to dig it out."

Leon’s eyes widened. "Wait. Don’t do that. I’m fine."

"How am I supposed to believe you?" She asked, gritting her teeth. "How am I supposed to know you haven’t been taken over already?"

"Ugh..." Leon grunted. "Just... give me a few minutes."

"A few minutes for it to take complete control? No."

"Damn it."