"Which ancient medical texts say you can draw the symbiotes back into your body? Have you watched too many movies or read too many comics?" Dominic glanced at Austin and slowly continued, "You need a trigger to implant symbiotes. Likewise, you need one to remove them."

"What's the trigger? I'll go get it now!" Austin said hurriedly.

Dominic lifted a hand slightly to calm him, then added, "We don't know what kind of symbiotes these are, so we can only eliminate them once we do. Furthermore, the more you agitate them, the faster they react."

"What do you mean? Are you saying what I did agitated them?" Austin thought about it and felt even worse. He silently berated himself: 'I've not only brought calamity to everyone, but I've also made my granduncle suffer more.'

"Not just this time. I also spurred the symbiotes' growth when I tried to draw them out with that medicated bath," Dominic said with a bitter smile. "Even I made a mistake, let alone you. So don't blame yourself, okay? What will happen, will happen."

Austin wiped his tears. "When did you become a fatalist?"

"Sometimes, believing in fate isn't a choice," Dominic replied with a wry chuckle, then turned to Alexander. "Why are you still here?"

"If I go outside and cause the disease to spread, wouldn't I be doing humankind a disservice?" Alexander said with a light smile, attempting to ease the tense atmosphere, as Dominic disliked their seriousness.

"No, you won't!" Dominic waved dismissively, frowning. "The symbiotes won't spread easily like a contagious virus. If it did, you'd already be infected." He shook his head, refuting the possibility.

However, Austin disagreed. "No! Why would the servants, my parents, and my grandfather show symptoms if that's the case? If they were infected by contact with my blood, wouldn't Alexander have caught it when he touched your blood just now?"

"If the disease isn't infectious, how come you and others are sick?"

"Well… I'm unsure, but based on my understanding, symbiotes don't spread easily. If they did, things would be far worse, wouldn't you agree?"

Dominic's question stumped Austin. He had hastily concluded he was the source, seeing the disease spread among those around him. But Dominic's words gave him pause. His eyes were bloodshot from poring over ancient medical texts for the past two days, yet he found no mention of symbiotes spreading through blood.

"But you said before…"

"I wasn't thinking clearly. I've pieced some things together over the last two days," Dominic said, his exhaustion evident as he paused, closing his eyes. "So, if it's not my blood… then how does it spread?" Puzzled, Austin held up his wrist, looking at the dried bloodstain.