The Mad Doctor Part 1

Blake and Ella looked cautiously at their front, where the footsteps originated.

The tension increased as the sound of the footsteps became closer and louder. A man with a petite stature, a height of about 1.7 meters, and white, short hair appeared in front of them. He wore a lab coat on his suit.

'Suits still exist,' Blake thought while he silently sized up the man, weighing his chances of successfully out a perfect assassination.

"Did you guys come for a stealthy mission or a front-door, breaking-in mission? The noise you made could even wake a sleeping dolphin," the man in a white lab coat said.

"Dolphins sleep like a dead person?" Ella asked curiously, forgetting the man was their enemy. Maybe it's because he looks less frightening with his petite stature and height.

"Dolphins can sleep with one half of their brain at a time, while the other half remains alert to their surroundings. This means that they can sleep very deeply without being easily disturbed by noise or other stimuli." The man waved his hand in the air with a friendly smile.

"Wait, who are you?" Ella abruptly asked after her brain processed their surroundings and current situation. All this while, Blake has been silently observing the man, trying to check his power from any external feature, but he got nothing.

What made him wary was that the man might be an elemental transcendent. He might have a badass, scorching flame that will turn him to ashes in a second.

"The person you came to get. Luke DePaul, the genius genetic scientist," Luke introduced himself, proud and friendly. However, to Ella, his voice sounded like a thunderclap, while to Blake, he sounded like a narcissistic doctor who just graduated from college.

Ella's complexion paled as she trembled and stammered, stepping back from the person in front of her. "You...you're Luke DePaul," she managed to utter, her voice betraying her fear and apprehension.

"What? Does my sound scary?" Luke asked with a smile.

"They said you abduct people for practicing high-level genetic engineering, and you—"

"Did you see me doing any of those?" Luke cut into Ella's speech.

Blake was already on guard, with his hand gripping his sword hilt tightly. He already read the situation in the room–Luke DePaul is an infamous fellow!

"They are just tarnishing my beautiful image. Follow me. Let's go inside," Luke said while walking past them, heading deeper into the cave.

"Why should we follow you?" Blake asked vigilantly, not wanting to walk foolishly into a possible trap ahead.

"Because you have no choice. Follow me or your dead body follows me," Luke said calmly, like he was talking to a close friend without halting his steps. His voice made the threat sound like a friendly piece of advice. However, Blake remembered what one of the prisoners had told him.

'Fear people who could hide or disguise their emotions perfectly because they could kill you while smiling amicably.'

Blake pulled the already shivering Ella. They followed silently but made sure to keep three meters' distance from him.

"Is he really powerful?" Blake asked in a whisper.

"Powerful? I'm not sure about that. Infamous psychopath? I'm a hundred percent sure that he's one. He's nicknamed 'the mad doctor'. He's obsessed with genetic engineering. Not only that, but he uses living people as test subjects. There was one time he used a whole hidden village for testing genetic research. But I'm certain that he's more powerful than both of us combined," Ella whispered, with her hand covering her lips.

"And your sister sent you like a serving on a plate. Is this the place she labeled as not dangerous?" Blake asked, not bothering to hide the sarcasm. Ella's face contorted in shock and disbelief, thinking that Scarlett, her elder sister, set her up.

"We are here," Luke said and walked into a wall, however instead of being obstructed, he passed through like the wall was nonexistent.

"Illusion runes!" Ella exclaimed in shock.

Blake never understood the meaning of why she exclaimed until he walked into the wall. The wall was just like a holographic illusion; however, it was more realistic. He would have walked past it without noticing anything unusual if Luke didn't lead the way.

When he came out of the other side, he saw a massive lab full of robotic machines moving up and down. Inside, the lab did not feel like it was beneath a cave. There were numerous boiling liquids in different sections.

When he turned around, he saw human bodies in different cubic glass cases filled with different colors of liquid. His heart tightened. His brain unconsciously made a simulation of his ending–He ended inside one of those cubic glass cases.

"You survived the fight against that dark demon I created with your meager strength as an awaken. That's impressive. I must commend you guys for your courage," Luke turned and said.

"Is that a congratulatory speech or a goodbye speech?" Blake asked while Ella was shivering at the sight of the bodies in the cubic glass cases.

"I want to talk to you privately in my office," Luke said without answering his question.

Blake had no choice but to follow, leaving Ella behind.

Luke jammed the door tightly when they entered his office before his calm expression changed to a solemn one.

"I'm dying," Luke said two words.

'How is my business? I just want to get out of here. Wait… don't tell me he wants to possess my body like Hecate?' Blake screamed inwardly but kept an indifferent expression.

"We are similar. The masking and hiding of personal thoughts, the decisiveness, the hidden ruthlessness. You are just like a clone of my youth," Luke said solemnly. However, Blake wasn't happy with the compliment.

'I don't like where this conversation is going. Since we are similar, do you want to possess me? However, what if he and Hecate battle?' Blake thought while coming up with a plan to take advantage of the situation and kill them both. This made his heart beat increase sharply, due to the thrill he was getting from the viable success of his plan.