“Bang!”
The wooden door was violently slammed open by a force, hitting the wall with a dull, heavy thud. More sunlight and dust poured in together.
Aurelia had slipped into the stack of wooden boxes almost a second before the door was broken open. She concealed her figure, slowed her breathing, and observed through the gaps—all in one smooth motion.
The residual pain in her chest and the stinging of the wound on her neck, combined with her already exhausted body and spirit, made her vision darken slightly and her consciousness flicker.
Then, a flurry of hurried footsteps burst in, and the door was slammed shut.
[It seems there’s only one person? It looks like… a boy a bit younger than me? Sigh… the world is truly going downhill. To be hunted in a hellhole like this during the prime of one’s youth. It seems you and I share the same fate…]
The boy looked no more than fifteen years old. His messy, light-blue short hair was soaked with sweat, clinging to his temples and cheeks. His face was stained with mud and several small streaks of blood, and his lips were colorless from blood loss or pain.
He wore clothes cobbled together from coarse cloth and simple leather, which were now torn in several places. Most shocking was the hideous laceration on his right shoulder that nearly tore through the entire shoulder; the flesh was turned outward, deep enough to see bone, and the edges were tinged with an abnormal darkness.
Besides that, there were several scratches from sharp weapons of varying depths on his body, but at least those wounds looked normal.
[Sss… Is it the Power of Calamity again? Tsk, that old bastard’s Force really isn’t anything good! What did it mention before… Lycoris… cough, Manjusaka, and Obsidian. They shouldn’t be hard to get. But… it doesn’t seem like they’ll help right now, does it?]
The boy gritted his teeth, using his uninjured left hand to tremblingly cover the wound on his right shoulder, but blood continued to pour through his fingers.
He looked around the dim interior of the Warehouse, his eyes filled with lingering alarm, vigilance, and pain, but he seemingly lacked the strength to conduct a detailed search immediately.
After briefly confirming that there were no other obvious threats in the Warehouse, he leaned against the door as if losing all strength. His chest rose and fell violently, and his breathing was rapid.
Judging by his attire, he didn’t look like an organized adventurer or soldier, and his age didn’t match either. He looked more like… a child living in the slums, or an orphan scraping by at the bottom of society.
His injuries were already severe, and with that wound infused with dense Power of Calamity, it was likely this kid… would go to see God before she did.
[Sigh… Sorry, little brother… Your big brother is currently unable to protect himself, and I lack the strength to help. Besides, if you have a stress response and hiss at me, wouldn’t I be the one in trouble?]
But on second thought, in his current state, he didn’t seem capable of posing much of a threat to her. If she saved him… maybe he could help her escape?
Just as Aurelia was fighting an internal battle, her logic telling her not to meddle in others’ business and to wait for this person to pass out or leave before making plans…
The voice of that old bastard, which had been silent for a moment, echoed faintly in the depths of her mind once again, still wearing that same face meant to persuade her to fall.
『…Such vibrant life force, being eroded and dissipated bit by bit by my Force.』
『Do you see it, Soul Container? This is the pathetic end for those who come into contact with my Force but lack the power to carry it. His pain, his fear, his life essence that is about to slip away… they are all excellent supplements for you…』
However, this time, before it could continue using its usual rhetoric to guide Aurelia and attempt to lead her astray…
“Stop right there, you old bastard.” Aurelia immediately interrupted it in her mind, even continuing to snap back before it could have an outburst.
“I know what you want to do, and I know what you want to use me for. This set of rhetoric might work on some naive person. As an otaku youth who resisted telecom scams many times in my Predecessor Life, you are far too weak.”
She paused, her thoughts a mix of residual anger toward Laurence and a deeper vigilance and disgust toward the old bastard inside her.
“The fact that I was kicked out of the Order and hunted by that dead Red-Haired man without any rhyme or reason is between him and me. It’s my bad luck, I misjudged the person, and I deserve it!” This resentment was real, but it was quickly suppressed by a stronger will.
“But that is a separate matter! You want to use this incident, use my anger, my despair, and my desperation to drag me down, then turn me into your puppet to help you harm this world faster?”
“Well, sorry, but I told you before. Don’t. Even. Think. About. It!”
The consciousness of the Disaster Source seemed to freeze for a moment due to this blunt, almost crude deconstruction.
It had anticipated Aurelia’s fear, resistance, and hesitation, or even a momentary weak acceptance.
But it hadn’t expected her to directly puncture its intention of tying Laurence’s and the Order’s betrayal to the acquisition of Force with such an insightful and resistant attitude.
This didn’t seem like an impulsive rebuttal, but rather an instinctive rejection based on some core cognition.
[This Soul Container… her rejection of plundering and devouring is actually so deep-rooted? It can even temporarily suppress her desire for life and her anger toward betrayal? Interesting… but still naive. Survival itself is the greatest plunder. She will understand sooner or later.]
After a brief silence, that malicious consciousness spoke again. Only this time, it lacked the deliberate temptation and held a bit more cold mockery and amusement.
『Oh? You claim to be clear-headed and saw through my shallow scheme? Then watch. Watch as this vibrancy withers, watch how ridiculous your kindness and principles are when death approaches. Watch how your former kin will… slaughter you.』
Aurelia didn’t respond again. She knew that continuing a war of words with this old bastard was meaningless.
Its logic was rooted in destruction and devouring; it simply could not understand, and refused to understand, any other possibility. Continuing to engage would only waste her precious physical strength and time.
[Tch, what fallen God? You’re just a 24/7 chatterbox, from morning to night, night to morning, never stopping for a second. Sooner or later, I’ll pluck you out and cut you into a thousand pieces.]
Afterward, her gaze refocused on the increasingly weak boy by the door.
His breathing had become very faint. The fingers pressing on his wound had completely loosened, and blood followed his arm and clothes, forming a small, viscous puddle on the floor.
The ominous aura and grayish-white color at the edge of the wound were slowly devouring the surrounding healthy skin at a speed visible to the naked eye.
[That old bastard said before that I could control all the Power of Calamity in the world. So… what would happen if I tried to strip this thing off someone else?]
Aurelia soon realized that this thought was extremely dangerous. This Force was related to that old bastard, so extreme danger was inevitable.
But looking at the boy’s increasingly pale face and feeling her own body temperature and strength fading, a mix of shared fate and a certain “nothing left to lose” determination temporarily overwhelmed her fear of the unknown risks.
If she didn’t try, he was certain to die, and it was only a matter of time before she was found and killed by Laurence. If she tried, maybe… she could fight for a sliver of survival.
***
“Hey, hey, are you still alive?” She lowered her voice, speaking as calmly as possible.
The boy’s whole body jolted violently, his terrified and scattered gaze turning with difficulty toward the source of the sound.
He opened his mouth, and in his eyes, besides the agony of impending death, there was a sense of despair that there was indeed someone else.
Aurelia didn’t move, still hidden in the shadows, only letting her voice reach his ears.
“Listen, I don’t plan to hurt you. I don’t have the strength for that anyway.” She paused, letting these words imprint clearly in the boy’s mind.
“But that wound on your shoulder is contaminated. If it’s not removed, you’re a dead man. I… might have a way to try and get it out.”
She took a deep breath, her neck flaring with sharp pain again, but she endured it and spoke: “I’m not certain I’ll succeed; it might make things worse. So, the choice is in your hands.”
“If you want me to try and save you, move any part of your body. If you don’t want to, or if you don’t trust me, then…” she originally wanted to say “then don’t move,” but seeing the boy’s nearly vacant eyes, she changed her words, “…then close your eyes.”
The boy stared fixedly at the shadows, his chest heaving violently, every breath appearing to take all his strength.
The last spark of light in his eyes struggled and flickered intensely. The instinct for survival and extreme distrust of a stranger made him hesitate.
Was this person hiding their head and tail, whose voice was incredibly weak… the only hope? Or a more terrifying trap? She wouldn’t even show her face.
A few seconds felt as long as a century.
Finally, the boy’s blood-stained left hand, the only hand that could still barely move, gave a trembling curl of a finger.
The movement was tiny, almost invisible. But it was indeed a clear signal.
He chose to gamble. Gamble on this sliver of life that was almost non-existent, gamble that this woman of unknown origin… was not an enemy.
“…Fine.” Aurelia’s voice became even drier.
She took a deep breath, her neck flaring with sharp pain again, but she endured it and spoke: “I’m not certain I’ll succeed; it might make things worse. So, the choice is in your hands.”
“If you want me to try and save you, move any part of your body. If you don’t want to, or if you don’t trust me, then…” she originally wanted to say “then don’t move,” but seeing the boy’s nearly vacant eyes, she changed her words, “…then close your eyes.”
The boy stared fixedly at the shadows, his chest heaving violently, every breath appearing to take all his strength.
The last spark of light in his eyes struggled and flickered intensely. The instinct for survival and extreme distrust of a stranger made him hesitate.
Was this person hiding their head and tail, whose voice was incredibly weak… the only hope? Or a more terrifying trap? She wouldn’t even show her face.
A few seconds felt as long as a century.
Finally, the boy’s blood-stained left hand, the only hand that could still barely move, gave a trembling curl of a finger.
The movement was tiny, almost invisible. But it was indeed a clear signal.
He chose to gamble. Gamble on this sliver of life that was almost non-existent, gamble that this woman of unknown origin… was not an enemy.
“…Fine.” Aurelia’s voice became even drier.
She no longer hesitated. Enduring the sharp pain and the feeling of collapse, she carefully moved out from behind the stack of wooden boxes.
She stopped about two steps away from the boy. A distance close enough to see the details of the wound, but far enough to leave a final bit of reaction space for both parties.
When the boy saw her clearly, the despair in his eyes seemed to be diluted for a moment by shock. This person hiding in the shadows looked even more disheveled and miserable than he did.
Her face was as pale as paper, her black hair was messy and stained with blood, a rough strip of cloth soaked with blood was wrapped around her neck, her clothes were tattered, and she was covered in dust, looking as if she might fall at any moment.
But… those red eyes and the naturally soft eyeliner shone startlingly bright in the dim light, staring fixedly at his wound.
There was no greed in that gaze, nor any killing intent, only a strange focus as she watched his injury.
“The process might be very uncomfortable,” Aurelia sighed, slowly raising her right hand. “Endure it, don’t resist. If you can’t take it… just go to sleep.”
The boy no longer had the strength to nod; he just stared at her intensely, the last of his vigilance replaced by a resigned blankness.
“Well then… I’m going to begin, okay?”
She no longer hesitated. Enduring the sharp pain and the feeling of collapse, she carefully moved out from behind the stack of wooden boxes.
She stopped about two steps away from the boy. A distance close enough to see the details of the wound, but far enough to leave a final bit of reaction space for both parties.
When the boy saw her clearly, the despair in his eyes seemed to be diluted for a moment by shock. This person hiding in the shadows looked even more disheveled and miserable than he did.
Her face was as pale as paper, her black hair was messy and stained with blood, a rough strip of cloth soaked with blood was wrapped around her neck, her clothes were tattered, and she was covered in dust, looking as if she might fall at any moment.
But… those red eyes and the naturally soft eyeliner shone startlingly bright in the dim light, staring fixedly at his wound.
There was no greed in that gaze, nor any killing intent, only a strange focus as she watched his injury.
“The process might be very uncomfortable,” Aurelia sighed, slowly raising her right hand. “Endure it, don’t resist. If you can’t take it… just go to sleep.”
The boy no longer had the strength to nod; he just stared at her intensely, the last of his vigilance replaced by a resigned blankness.
“Well then… I’m going to begin, okay?”
Multiple Sections of the chapter repeat, will it be fixed?