Chapter 605

Seeing Francis approach, Odalys quickly held out her hand, stopping him. Francis halted, unable to move.

"Who is this?" Francis followed her gaze to the blurry figure on the ground. As the figure faded, a familiar outline emerged. Francis exclaimed, "Irit! That's your father! How is Windsor—that thing?"

Francis was stunned.

Hearing the commotion, Stellan, Freya, and Selah rushed in, shocked by the scene. Selah noticed Francis clutching a blood-soaked tissue to his neck. "Let me treat your wound," she offered, producing a medicine box.

"Okay," Francis readily agreed.

Freya examined the wound, exclaiming, "What happened? Who bit you? Windsor? Why his neck? Is he a zombie?"

Her words caught Stellan's attention. He, too, stared at the deep wound, recognizing the bite marks. The flesh was mangled, not a clean cut.

"Odalys, come look," Selah urged, flustered by the unfamiliar injury.

Odalys glanced at the unconscious Windsor, then approached Francis. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the wound.

"It can't be a zombie, can it? Windsor doesn't look like one," she mused. "But why was he watching Francis? I don't remember them knowing each other. Windsor only recently returned. Did they meet abroad? Or did he see Francis at the nightclub last night and target him today?"

Their minds raced, guessing wildly. Such a scene, seen only in movies and television, was profoundly unsettling. They felt like they were dreaming.

"Let me see," Odalys said, leaning closer. Catching a strange scent, she turned to Freya. "Freya, did Zachary come today?"

"Yes," Freya replied, puzzled.

Odalys paused. "Go call him. Tell him I need him."

"I'll go. It's safer for you to stay here," Stellan interjected, volunteering to fetch Zachary.

Trexa did not object. Stellan left, returning with Zachary shortly. Zachary, upon witnessing the scene, paled, recalling a similar incident at his house.

He approached Odalys, focusing on Francis's wound. "This looks exactly like the creature in the painting my wife kept by the bedside," he gasped. He explained that while he had burned the doll depicted, its mark remained seared onto his palm; a similar mark, from when he'd slapped Oliver, was imprinted on Oliver's face. These bite marks were unlike any human's.

"Are you sure?" Odalys asked.

Zachary nodded. "The fangs—they're not human. Like a zombie's, but not quite. The lower teeth, in particular..."

He glanced around nervously, noticing only the four present, plus himself and Odalys. He didn't recognize the unconscious person.

"Why did Oliver bite Francis? Did he mutate? A bloodsucker? But why Francis?" Zachery was terrified, still haunted by the incident that forced him to move.

"I know what happened," Odalys stated, quickly disinfecting and bandaging Francis's wound.

Francis, still shaken, whispered, "Odalys, will I become a zombie?" He imagined the horrifying possibility, the fear of transformation, of Odalys having to kill him.

Odalys explained, "It wasn't a true zombie. A deceased child, transformed into something sinister within a human body, aimed to enter a pregnant woman's womb. The plan failed; I forced it back, but couldn't destroy it entirely. It left a mark, once on Oliver. Oliver, weakened, couldn't contain it. It tasted his blood, transferring to Windsor. Windsor couldn't handle it either, so it targeted Francis, whose unique fate makes him susceptible."

"It tried to possess him, but my talisman caused a backlash."

Zachary listened, drenched in cold sweat.

"Is there a way to get rid of it? More people will die," Zachary asked, his greatest fear being his wife becoming a victim. He'd urged her to stay home, talismans protecting their house.

"It's too strong to resolve now. It seems Oliver and the entity have reached an agreement," Odalys concluded. Francis, touching his neck, asked, "So it's following Windsor now?"

Odalys replied, "For now. But if Windsor's body can't handle it, it will return to Oliver. Their consciousness is connected."