[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke
Chapter 124: Poisonous Mana

Chapter 124: Poisonous Mana

After eating his fill and finally cooling his overcooked brain, Xion felt like he could think properly again.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin, then turned to the man sitting across from him. "Your Grace, can you show me your mana?"

Darius arched a brow at the sudden request but complied without question. With a snap of his fingers, a murky green flame flickered to life at his fingertips, twisting and curling like a restless serpent.

Xion’s blue eyes reflected the eerie glow as he leaned in, studying the way it moved. Unsteady, wild, and untamed.

But he was too far away to observe properly. Without hesitation, he grabbed his chair and dragged it to the other side of the table, plopping himself down next to Darius.

Now this was better.

As he slumped onto the seat, he gathered a very small amount of his own mana.

A soft white glow wrapped around the dark green tendrils like a mist.

And then... Boom!

A small explosion erupted in the space between them. The force rattled the silverware on the table, and Xion had to throw himself backward to avoid getting scorched.

If it had been any more than a small amount, they both would have been in trouble.

Darius flicked off the remnants of the mana like it was nothing.

Xion exhaled. "Do you know that your mana is rejecting others?"

"Hmm?"

Instead of answering immediately, Xion opened his palm. A larger flame of pure white flickered to life. "Mix your mana with mine."

Darius extended a finger, letting his own mana intertwine with Xion’s. At first, they blended together smoothly, the green threading through the white like ink in water.

But then, there was another fierce reaction.

The Dark green threads twisted, rebelled, and clashed like a beast refusing to be tamed.

Xion’s jaw clenched as he poured more of his own energy into it, forcefully suppressing the violent flickers before they could explode again.

"Do you see it? Your mana is like poison. It’s dormant most of the time, silently eroding your body, but the moment it comes into contact with foreign mana, it wakes up. And then-"

Xion clenched his fist, snuffing out the white flame. "It goes on a rampage, attacking the foreign energy as if claiming its territory. But in the process, it also harms you."

Xion turned to gauge Darius’ reaction, only to freeze mid-motion.

Their faces were close.

Too close.

So close that their noses were almost touching, and he could feel the soft breath against his cheek.

Xion tensed. His back straightened in an instant as he silently distanced himself. While pretending that nothing happened, he carefully explained what he originally intended to do.

"This is not normal. Not at all. And you were definitely not born like this."

Darius let out a small hum, neither confirming nor denying.

Xion hesitated. He wanted to tell Darius what he had discovered so far. He had theories, but would Darius even believe him?

"Go on," Darius pushed one naughty strand covering Xion’s eyes behind his ear. "I’ll listen to it."

Xion blinked at Darius, baffled. For a second, he genuinely wondered if Darius could read minds. Because those piercing pale green eyes... They really look like they can see straight through me.

"I am not sure, but it might be due to someone’s deliberate actions."

Xion carefully looked for any sign of distrust or disbelief, but there were none.

Although Darius didn’t react much, Xion noticed the way his fingers slightly curled against the table.

However, he still continued speaking. It was not like they had any other way to solve it.

"Someone had injected you with so much foreign mana that your body had started to reject it. Even if it is beneficial for you, your body just can’t accept it. It has started treating all foreign energy as an invader."

The more he spoke, the lighter he felt. Anyway, it was better to talk with the patient directly than to fumble himself.

Hence, he told Darius almost everything.

"So to say. There might be someone who made me like this, and it happened before I got cursed by the priest?"

Xion nodded. It was as if the priest was just a carefully planned pawn, uttering those cruel words when he was asked to.

Darius laughed. A full-blown laughter, which made Xion’s hair stand at the end.

Suddenly he regretted sitting so close to Darius. No matter what, this person was no less than a sociopath!

Darius’ laughter eventually faded, leaving only an eerie smirk on his lips.

Now, with his chin resting at the back of his hand, his entire focus was Xion.

"Do you want to know who gave me this pendant?"

Xion’s gaze flickered to the black pendant hanging around Darius’ neck. His brows furrowed. "If it’s convenient."

Darius twirled the chain between his fingers.

"It was a magician from the magic tower. He soon died after giving it to me. Isn’t that weird?"

Yes, it was...

Everything about Darius’ curse was weird.

Seeing Xion deep in thought, Darius chuckled, but this time, it was softer. "I don’t know who it was yet," he said, rolling the pendant between his fingers, "but I will find them."

His fingers tightened around the pendant. And when he did, he would make it so they only remembered one face.

His. Darius Rael Darkhelm. A devil’s face would become their last memory before death.

They wanted to kill him so he would make sure to live longer than all of them. To watch them buried just the way intended for him.

But, of course, that was not something to say out loud, especially in front of Xion. He did not want to scare Xion than he already had.

Xion was soft-hearted.

And Darius wanted to keep him that way.

If it was not for Xion being so sweet, and being a very dedicated healer, Darius was sure he would be ignored.

There had never been anyone who compelled him to use force to keep them by his side. But if it were Xion...

Darius wasn’t sure how he would react.

On one hand, he wanted to keep Xion close, where he could protect him, where he could ensure no harm ever came his way.

Yet, on the other...

He wanted Xion far away from the bloodshed.

Sigh. It was all so troublesome.