"No, this isn't a joke." It quickly became clear to Arlo that Roy wasn't pulling a prank on him when he noticed his condition deteriorating quickly. "He is seriously hurt."
What Arlo and Julian witnessed shocked them so much that they gaped.
Roy was bleeding from his eyes, ears, and nose, and strand by strand, his hair was turning white.
Slowly but steadily, wrinkles were appearing below his eyes.
He was ageing for sure.
'Something must have affected his lifespan. But what could it be? And how did it escape my notice? Maybe it was something that attacked him from inside.' Arlo felt bewildered at Roy's miserable condition.
Roy was in a condition similar to a cursed person.
"Uncle," Roy said, stretching his hand towards the person he believed to be the most trustworthy around him. "Help me."
Asking Arlo for help in desperation was an act he subconsciously performed.
But it said a lot about what Arlo meant to him.
It could be said that Roy had taken Arlo as his uncle for real.
"Roy!"
Arlo rushing towards him was the last thing Roy saw before he lost consciousness and fell into a deep, dark slumber, one that was not much different than a coma.
Roy, who was on his knees and had fainted, fell forward.
As a result, his head was about to bump into the ground when Arlo stopped his fall by grabbing and lifting him.
He caught the sight of his lifeless and bloodied eyes and saw the tattoo on his neck, which was previously covered by his hair.
"He has awakened the power of his bloodline. He's a blessing to our clan! I need to understand what's wrong with him. I can't let him die!'
Arlo recognized the severity of Roy's situation at a glance.
He hurried to check his pulse.
No pulse!
Arlo's expression fell as he came to a terrifying realization that Roy was no longer breathing.
"There is no way that's true."
Placing Roy flat on the floor, Arlo placed his ear on his chest.
No heartbeat could be heard!
It could be said that at this moment, the difference between Roy and a fresh corpse was non-existent.
"Fuck, his heart has stopped beating!" Finding out he was no more, Arlo sweated buckets.
This change was too sudden and extreme.
How could a happily talking, scheming, and walking man suddenly lose his heartbeat?
Julian was unable to react properly to it as he had never experienced a situation like this before.
"What's wrong… with him?"
"Keep quiet!"
An instant after saying those words, Arlo performed an emergency rescue on Roy.
"Rumble!"
Mighty lightning currents could be seen flashing around Arlo.
When and how they manifested was missed by Julian.
Small electric arcs burst out of the currents and struck Roy's chest.
He was electrocuted in little doses.
Electric pulses were sent to his heart.
Arlo and Julian were both hoping that this would make his heart start beating.
It was the only method Arlo could come up with in this moment of emergency to save Roy's life.
Roy was hovering between life and death, but there was a person doing his best to keep him alive.
He was bound to somehow make it out alive after embracing death.
One pulse after another sank into his body through his chest and touched his heart with the intent of lighting a fuse in it.
'I just made a friend for the first time in my life. Gods high above, please don't take him away from me!' Julian feared for the worst as, for a few seconds, Roy showed no signs of improving.
He was as unmoving and lifeless as ever.
Arlo could be seen performing CPR on Roy, pressing his hands on his chest and electrocuting him.
He never stopped trying to resurrect him.
And then, suddenly, his efforts came to fruition.
"Thump!" This was the sound of a heart regaining its beat.
Hearing this brought great relief to the bald man and the young boy beside him.
"Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!"
Roy's heart restarted thanks to the timely emergency aid provided by Arlo.
His heartbeat increased.
Slowly, his heartbeat returned to a normal beating pattern.
If not for Arlo's quick thinking, it was a wonder what would have happened to Roy.
'Maybe he would have died if Uncle Arlo had been a single second slower in resurrecting him.'
Julian swallowed his nervousness, seeing that Roy was now fine.
"What caused this massive change in him?" This was bothering him.
Arlo's eyes narrowed, and creases appeared on his forehead.
"I have an idea as to what it might be. But I need to diagnose him first to confirm my suspicions. "
Julian was beckoned to come closer by Arlo.
"Yes?"
"Help me lift him back to the room."
Arlo and Julian carried an unconscious Roy to a bed and placed him on it.
This scene worried Amelia to the point of fainting.
Swift Death also felt displeased, and her fingers curled into a fist.
'Noah better not be the cause of this. Or else... I will stop at nothing to take his life.'
She vowed silently to kill whatever harmed her master.
...
Roy woke up 3 hours later and looked around confusedly.
He remembered having a talk with Arlo and the Count after defeating Noah.
But he couldn't recall what happened after that or how he reached here.
His memory was jumbled up, and his head was throbbing painfully.
"Why... am I here?" Roy asked as he rubbed his head, his eyes squinted in pain.
Julian gave him a reply, "I carried you here with uncle Arlo after you suddenly had a heart attack. He performed an emergency rescue on you. I saw it with my own eyes; If not for his quick thinking and several desperate attempts to make your heart regain its beat, you wouldn't be alive right now. After rescuing you, we brought you here and placed you on the bed."
"I... remember."
Maybe because of hearing what Julian said, Roy remember that when he was in the arched walkway, a terrifying pain struck him and made him faint.
