Apocalyse: Marked by Chaos
Chapter 60 - 59 She’s Not Herself

Chapter 60: Chapter 59 She’s Not Herself

Verax’s eyes darted around, avoiding his gaze. "I’m afraid she is dead..." Before he could finish his words, Klaus’ hand clamped against his neck.

"What do you mean, she’s dead ?" Klaus snarled, anger boiling in his veins.

Stefan swiftly removed Klaus’ hand before he shot Klaus a glare. "Don’t forget you are a student," he warned.

Klaus’ throat tightened. "You all know how important she is in the plan. How can he let her die?"

Klaus ruffled his hair, suppressing the urge to yell. Deep down, he felt something squeezing his chest.

Blood drained from Verax’s face, a cold bead of sweat forming on his face. He remained silent, different ominous thoughts squirmed at the back of his mind. He was as good as dead. He had disrupted their leader’s plan—there was no escape for him.

Stefan’s calm gaze flickered between both of them. "Where is the new student?" he slowly asked.

Verax clenched his fist. He stared at his feet. "Dead."

Stefan hissed. This was really bad. It could lead to a war between them and the Suncrest Survivors. This was too much mess to clean up.

"You mess up a lot," he calmly said. Before Verax could utter a word, the temperature began to rise drastically. The walls vibrated, cracks forming on it.

"What’s going on, is the Wailroot coming out?" one of the students asked, his voice laced with fear.

At that thought, the students ran from the premises in fear of being attacked by the Wailroot monster.

The once buzzing corridor turned silent. The air grew thick. Only Klaus, Stefan, and Verax remained, waiting for the monster to come out. But it never came... Suddenly, a yell echoed from the other side of the wall.

...

As darkness swallowed Olivia whole, a whisper caressed her ear. "Wake up, you are stronger than you think."

The vines crushed her like a thousand cold hands. They began to drain her essence. They became stronger and tougher.

"Wake up."

Olivia’s eyes snapped open, her golden iris flared, as if the sun had awoken inside her skull. Her body crackled with fire.

A scream built in her chest, but when it came out, it was made of flames.

The Wailroot shrieked, its tendrils writhing in agony as fire erupted from Olivia’s body, burning through the vines like paper soaked in oil. The scent of scorched rot filled the air. The entire classroom shook as the vines burst into flame one by one. Black, sticky liquid pooled on the entire floor, splattering on the wall and ceiling.

Lucian stopped dead in his tracks, staring through the smoke.

’She did it,’ he murmured. His tensed body was slightly relieved. But something was wrong, and he couldn’t put his fingers around it.

Olivia stood at the center of the chaos, eyes glowing like molten gold. Her hair flowed around her like dark wildfire, her skin lit by flickers of flame dancing beneath it. She wasn’t breathing hard. She wasn’t screaming.

She was silent. Still. And entirely not herself.

"Olivia..." Lucian stepped forward.

No response.

The fire around her feet crawled upward, flaring with every breath she took. But she wasn’t moving like Olivia. She wasn’t even looking at him.

Her gaze was blank. Cold. Inhuman. Then she turned—toward him.

Lucian’s heart skipped. "Hey. It’s me. It’s li... Lucian." His heart throbbed in his chest as his throat tightened.

But still, she said nothing. She slightly tilted her head, a devilish smirk forming on her face.

She raised her hand. Flames coiled around her fingers, then surged toward him in a violent arc. Lucian barely dodged in time, the heat searing his cheek.

"What the hell...?"

Before he could finish his words, she launched forward, her flames burning hotter now, lashing out with wild, unpredictable swings. Lucian blocked with a shield of light, but even that cracked under her power.

"This isn’t you," he growled, sidestepping another burst. "You’re not this reckless. You don’t kill without reason."

But she wasn’t hearing him. She didn’t see him.

Lucian’s eyes flickered gold. His mind raced. They didn’t have time for this—the Wailroot was down, but if anyone saw this... if they saw this... Olivia wouldn’t just be marked. She’d be hunted.

He clenched his fist. "Forgive me."

He dashed forward. She raised her hand to strike again—but just as the fire gathered, Lucian struck the side of her neck.

Her body stilled. The flames flickered, then vanished in a gust of heat.

He caught her before she hit the ground, her weight warm, her face blank. She murmured something, but it was too faint to hear.

Lucian held her tighter, eyes burning. "I’ve got you. I won’t let them find out about you. Not now."

From outside, voices were shouting. Footsteps. The aftermath had drawn attention.

Lucian gritted his teeth, shifting her in his arms.

He disappeared into the smoke, carrying Olivia’s unconscious body away—just as the first pair of boots kicked open the classroom door.

Stefan was the first to enter the room. Within his calm exterior, a bewildered expression etched on his face.

"Woah... how is this possible?" Verax was stunned to the ground. The scene in front of him was pure devastation.

Who could be this powerful to do this?

Klaus was taken aback by the view.

"This is almost impossible. Wailroot are known to be volatile and hard to kill. Even one at level 12 is like an S-level monster, not to talk about the fact that it had fed on two life forces. Its strength should be around an SS-level beast... and it was squashed to liquid?" Verax’s eyes gleamed with discovery, like he’d unearthed a forbidden relic.

He quickly stood beside Stefan. "This is highly phenomenal. We all know that to kill a Wailroot, one has to destroy its fragile core, but this... is awesome and different." He flailed his hand in astonishment.

"This is the first time I knew Wailroot could be squashed into liquid." His lips stretched wide on his face.