Transmigrated As The Final Villain of a Death Game-Chapter 176: Surgery [ 2 ]

"In truth... Ever since you’ve absorbed the Demon King’s blood, your mind has been corrupted."

I narrowed my eyes.

"How’s that possible if my Mental Resistance is maxed out?"

"Just because it’s at the max level doesn’t mean it can fully counter something. Think of level 100 as a 99% resistance to something. That 1% can damage you severely, and that’s what happened to you."

He fiddled around with the stick and continued:

"Every time you spilled blood. Every time you felt angry... Every time you activated that Wrath power, your mind was being demonized."

"The cure for that was to shock your mind, then invade your heart with foreign energy, and lastly, fix the problem at its source."

With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a palm-sized crimson fragment.

"Recognize this?"

"..."

I do.

That’s the pulsating crimson fragment that was inside my heart.

The same fragment I used to activate my Wrath Transformation.

Adam let out a sigh.

"It’s an external catalyst. Its only purpose is to accumulate negative energy and corrupt the brain. I’m guessing those people in the Project did this to you without your knowledge."

Hearing that, I just stared at him in shock.

It was totally possible they did something like that.

I just didn’t recognize it at first, as I thought it was just some power-up I could tap into.

But it wasn’t. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

It was a trap from the very start.

"Your mind should go back to normal within a week. As for your demon-related powers, they will stay."

"What...? But didn’t you remove that fragment?"

Adam smiled.

"After I heard that you gave the remaining locations of the Rainbow Lotus Flowers to Aliyah, I decided to give you a bonus."

He leaned back confidently.

"After Clementine charmed you unconscious and extracted the fragment, I took it upon myself to make sure you don’t lose the power you’ve gained. I interlaced the faint amount of demonic energy that had been in your body with all of your Gifts."

"So now... Your affinity with Demonic Energy is as high as it could be. That also means you can absorb it without any problems, and even harness Demonic Energy itself if you learn how to."

Having said that, he pointed his stick at me again.

"That should enhance the Demon King of Wrath’s Blood directly. After all, it’s a proper and good trait that converts anger, grief, and other things into power. It’s just the catalyst that was the issue."

Wow...

So far, I underestimated Adam, since he looked like a depressed man since we first met.

But clearly, he was way more capable than I gave him credit for, as he pretty much just gave me a massive power-up and removed all the debuffs I had.

In a way, I couldn’t be more grateful.

Though, I still had one more question.

And as if sensing the question that was on my mind, Adam said:

"To shock your mind, Clementine had to do all of that. You see... When I first noticed that catalyst in your chest, I felt like it was staring back at me. I knew it was alive, and I also knew that if I told you, the people who implanted this thing would know as well."

He let out a sigh.

"So don’t blame Clementine for what she did, since if she had not done that, they likely would’ve detonated your heart and killed you on the spot."

"I don’t blame her," I said.

Lowering my head, I added:

"Everything still feels a little strange, and... I’m questioning a lot of the decisions."

"Do you think you could leave me alone for a little bit? I need to process a few things."

Adam shrugged and rose from his seat. He approached the door, and just before going out, he said:

"Want me to call her in?"

"..."

"Yes."

With a faint smile, Adam finally left.

Just a few minutes later, the door opened again and Clementine stepped in.

She wore a guilty expression, her eyes were slightly red, and she was avoiding my gaze.

Even so, she approached me and sat down on the same chair Adam had sat on.

Clementine didn’t say a word, but since I didn’t want this silence to continue, I decided to speak up instead.

"Adam told me everything, Clementine. You don’t have to feel guilty for anything."

She flinched.

"...You know I would never hurt you, right?"

"Clementine..."

"I’m sorry."

She lowered her head as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"I’m so sorry..."

I wanted to stand up and hug her, but despite my wishes, my body just didn’t work.

After taking the pill, I was pretty much paralyzed.

Still, that didn’t stop me from just barely raising my hand and placing it on Clementine’s knee.

"I understand everything. So please stop blaming yourself. If you hadn’t done what you did, I’d be dead. I love you, Clementine, and this incident doesn’t change that."

If anything, this makes me want to marry her even more.

At my words, her tears began to fall even harder, and I didn’t know what to do or how to comfort her.

I tried to channel a bit of energy into the rest of my body, but instead, I got a double cramp in my calves, causing me to stiffen like a log and plop back down onto the floor.

Clementine’s silent sobs continued for nearly 10 minutes until she finally calmed down.

And when she did, she gently pushed me onto my side and laid down beside me.

She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my back.

...It looks like she finally stopped blaming herself.

I was glad.

After all, none of this was her fault.

Though my heart warmed up even more when I saw just how much regret she had just from hurting me.

And for that, I wanted to make my future proposal a little special.

Though I’m not really good at this kind of stuff.

But with my mind clearing up slowly... I hope I can figure something out and then finally propose.

A faint smile appeared on my face as I finally closed my eyes, prepared to drift off to sleep.

I heard Clementine sniffle a few times, so I bet she’s going to head off to sleep too.

But just then, my eyes opened wide.

Clementine had placed her hands over my chest and began circling my pecs.

"You keep touching my breasts, and you seem very satisfied. S-So don’t mind me, okay?"

"...Are you taking advantage of me while I’m wounded?"

She was silent for a moment.

And I definitely didn’t expect her response.

"Hehe... When else will I get the chance to find you so helpless?"

Before I could even process what she said, she suddenly pushed me down onto my back, took off my shirt, and jumped on top of me.

A slightly pained groan escaped my mouth, yet when I glanced up and noticed the cheeky look in Clementine’s eyes, I knew there was no stopping her.

Though...

"Are you going to—"

She placed a finger on my lips, interrupting me.

"Nothing naughty."

She smiled, wiped off the rest of her tears, placed her hands on my bare chest, then let out a giggle.

"Adam said that paralysis pill is going to last four hours..."

P-Paralysis pill?

Adam... That bastard...

"S-So for all the teasing you’ve done to me over the months we’ve been together..."

Her grin twisted mischievously.

"I’ll make you suffer~"