Chapter 59: Thomas Holmes

In a dimly lit room, a teenage boy, probably around 16 or 17 years old, was bound to a cold metal post. The boy’s hands were tightly bound behind the post with thick rope, and a white cloth gagged his mouth. His forehead was damp, and his jet-black hair clung matted against it, while his face and lips turned pale, almost ghostly, from exhaustion and fear. His face and hands bore bruises and cuts while scrapes and fresh wounds covered his bare chest.

The room was small and damp, with cracked walls and a dirt-stained floor. A single, flickering lamp hung from the wall to his left, casting unsteady shadows that danced across the room, adding to the eerie atmosphere. There was also a table filled with empty syringes, blood-stained white clothes, knives, needles, and even some torture equipment.

The sound of approaching footsteps suddenly echoed from the other side of the room, growing louder with each step. The wooden door creaked open a few seconds later, revealing a woman in her thirties.

She had long, flowing blonde hair that fell over her shoulders and amber eyes that gleamed. Her face was round and smooth, giving her an air of confidence and control. She wore a black overcoat over a sharp, formal suit, her appearance neat and professional despite the grim setting. A dagger hung at her waist, its handle polished and ready for use. As she stepped inside, the boy’s azure eyes widened with a mix of fear and anger.

“Huhdhdh!” He cursed, but only a muffling sound came.

“Aww, don’t be mad at me, boy,” Mia spoke as she stepped closer and grabbed his wet hair.

“I’m just doing my job.” As she spoke, she unsheathed her dagger and made a sharp vertical cut in his chest. Blood gushed out from the cut, painting his chest in red. Meanwhile, the young boy struggled with all his might while tears poured out from his eyes.

It was purely a torture!

He didn’t even understand why they kidnapped him and did all kinds of torture.

‘What did I even do wrong to let me go through this?’ Such a thought crossed his mind.

In the meantime, Mia placed the dagger on his neck and spoke.

“I want to see the desperate look on your face every day, but Count wants you dead,” A trace of disappointment appeared on her face.

The next second, she suddenly made a shift slash and cut open his neck in half!

The young teen’s eyes widened in horror, and soon lost focus. The boy struggled because of the endless pain as the blood sprayed in all directions and painted the floor red.

After a few seconds of struggling, the young teen completely went motionless.

“I should escape before the police arrive.” Saying so, she turned around and started walking out of the room. Slowly, the sound of her footsteps became less and completely disappeared after some seconds.

Then, a loud gasp came from the corner of the room, followed by the appearance of a thirty-five-year-old-looking man.

No, it was Raven in Aron’s appearance!

“F*ck! S-She killed him like it was nothing!” He said in a trembling voice.

Raven felt his heart racing, and sweat appeared all over.

‘I-I need to escape!’ Fear appeared in his eyes.

Seeing someone kill a person up close for the first time shocked him to the core.

His legs and hands started trembling non-stop.

[Didn’t you also watch ‘Casper’ killing Scott and his guards? Why are you getting scared?] Zera asked in confusion.

‘No. I watched it like I was watching a virtual scene from afar. However, I didn’t even feel any emotions.’ He answered slowly and tried to walk towards the exit.

[Stop. If you go now, you will not only get caught by the police but might also lose an enormous opportunity. In the worst-case scenario, you might get arrested as a murderer.]

Zera’s words made him freeze for a moment.

“But is it all right for me to steal his identity?” He asked stiffly. Guilt appeared in his mind.

[If you don’t, the Count and others will use this opportunity to swallow all the Holmes Family’s wealth. And the main reason we came here is to get ‘Thomas’ out. But now, you can only use his identity to escape.]

“There is no other option, huh?” Raven hesitated for a moment and soon arrived before Thomas's corpse. He then undid the bloodline spell and returned to his original appearance.

After that, he touched Thomas’s face, observed him for a while, and cast the ‘Face Mimic’ bloodline spell. A second later, his face twisted and slowly became a lot younger. His original deep blue eyes became azure, and his facial structure changed slowly.

“What should I do with his body?” He thought for a second as he untied the rope and soon stored it in his inventory.

At that moment, he started hearing gunshots and cries from above and thought the police must have already subjugated the gang members.

“I need one more hour to activate the Shadow Stealth skill.” He quietly looked around and soon took out a knife from the nearby table. He then removed his shirt, shoes, and hat and stored them in his inventory.

Stolen story; please report.

“I need to injure myself!”

He tried to do self-harm but couldn’t.

[Do not hesitate. If you can’t even endure the pain, forget about saving your aunt and sister.] Zera’s words were like fuel to the fire.

“I WILL SAVE THEM!” He said in an angry voice and directly slashed the knife towards his abdomen.

A superficial wound appeared in his abdomen, causing blood to drip slowly.

“F*ck. It hurts!”

[Not enough. This single wound isn’t enough to make others believe you have gone through endless torture.]

“Argh!” Raven gritted his teeth and felt it was an impossible task.

“Is there no other option? Damn it, I can make many cuts as long as this pain goes away-” His eyes widened.

“Paralysis potion! I still have it.” Without delay, he took out the paralysis potion and drank it.

‘I need to make as many wounds as possible before my whole body paralyzes.’

Raven nodded and then closed his eyes.

He controlled his blood and checked where the blood vessels were. After that, he gritted his teeth and started slashing the knife at the non-vital areas. Although the pain was still there, it became a lot less because of the strange paralysis. His hand movement speed also got slower. Within two minutes, he made over ten cuts all over his chest and finally noticed that he couldn’t hold the knife at all.

[Store it in your inventory.] Zera spoke.

“Okay,” Raven replied without hesitation, swiftly storing the item in his inventory. He remained standing, his body rigid and unmoving like a statue.

Despite his efforts to stop it, blood continued to drip from his wounds, soaking into his pants and pooling at his feet. The steady flow was relentless, and he felt increasingly light-headed as his body struggled to maintain balance. The paralysis effect left him unable to control his muscles or stop the bleeding, amplifying his feeling of helplessness.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, making the room spin and his vision blur. Raven fought to keep his consciousness as he stood there, trying to ignore the sharp pain and the warm blood trickling down his legs.

[No major blood vessels were damaged. So, you will be fine. Just lie down on the floor and wait for the police to pick you up.] Zera spoke in his mind.

‘I can’t move a muscle.’

Raven tried to lean forward and directly smashed his body on the floor.

…

A few minutes later, shouts of police officers came from the basements, followed by multiple footsteps. Within seconds, a lean police officer with blonde hair opened the wooden door and soon shouted.

“There’s an injured person here!”

“My god! Is he even alive?” a lady police officer exclaimed as she walked behind him and saw the pool of blood, shocked.

Meanwhile, the male police officer pushed open the door and hurried towards Raven. Then he checked his pulse and soon looked at his face.

“T-This! He is Thomas Holmes! So, Inspector Bennett mobilized all the police to rescue him, huh?” A look of understanding appeared on the police officer’s face.

“He is breathing but seems to have a severe loss of blood. We need to take him to the hospital.”

At that moment, more police officers entered the room and started taking Raven out of the room. They soon brought him out of the basement and carried him through the staircase.

As the police officers carefully carried Raven out of the dark basement, a crowd started to gather. The sky was a dull gray, hinting at the rain, and a chilly breeze blew through the area, making the officers shiver slightly as they rushed to get Raven to safety.

Outside, everything was chaotic. Police wagons parked randomly along the road, and their horses stamped restlessly on the cobblestones. Officers were shouting orders, with some attending to captured gang members while others were making sure no one escaped. The sounds of the operation echoed off the buildings around the mill, creating a mix of voices, clattering hooves, and distant sirens.

Soon, a few police officers placed Raven in a wagon and brought him towards the nearby hospital.

Raven was fully awake when they were transporting him but acted like he was in an unconscious state. After traveling for over ten minutes, they stopped at a private hospital called Adden’s Hospital and admitted him.

When they arrived at the hospital, Raven felt the officers’ hands carefully lift him from the wagon. He heard the concerned murmurs of the medical staff as they wheeled him through the hospital’s long, echoing corridors. Raven also heard some people questioning his condition and even demanded answers from the police. But the voices faced slowly, followed by the smell of antiseptic. The faint cries and groans of other patients also resonated through the walls, giving him strange anxiety.

He couldn’t open his eyes, but he listened. He needed to understand his surroundings in case of the worst possible scenario. The voices around him spoke in hushed tones, their words fragmented but filled with urgency.

“Severe blood loss... multiple lacerations... needs immediate attention...”

A nurse with a gentle voice examined him; her touch was professional. She applied pressure to his wounds, and the sting was sharp despite the dulling effects of the paralysis potion.

‘Didn’t you tell me I’ll be fine? Why is she saying severe blood loss?’ Raven’s mind was in a panic.

[You are in Government Aided Hospital, lad. The one who was admitted to the hospital is now a young boy from a wealthy family. So, they will do their best to suck your money.]

‘Ugh, hope they won’t bill me too much.’

Raven focused on controlling his breathing, forcing himself to remain still, resisting the urge to flinch away from the pain.

“We need to stabilize him,” said a deep voice, authoritative and calm. “Prepare the saline drip. We’ll need to clean and dress these wounds before they become infected.”

Time seemed to stretch and compress, a series of disconnected moments as the medical staff worked on him. Raven felt the tug of stitches, the cold swipe of antiseptic, and the prick of needles as they worked to restore his body’s balance.

As the minutes turned to hours, Raven fought to remain conscious, though he kept his eyes closed. Zera was the only one who gave him company.

[You’re doing well,] Zera said. [Once you’re stable, we can figure out our next move. Remember, you need to act like you have lost your memory when you wake up. Otherwise, the police will suspect you.]

‘Okay!’

The nurse’s voice broke through his thoughts the next second.

“He’s stabilized for now. We should monitor him closely. The police will want to speak with him when he wakes.”

…