Has been updated, and chapter 60 has been changed a bit after the” ————– ” in the second part of the story, so you can read from there and then continue here, again sorry for the mistake.
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With that, the three of them continued forward for a few more minutes. It was worth mentioning that they seemed to have reached a “new layer” as in just a few minutes, they encountered more Tainted Corpses than they had encountered combined so far. What was even more terrifying was that almost every small group of Tainted Corpses had one, or even two, Mutant Corpses among them.
This was when Eileen’s weakness became apparent. Her “[Annihilation] ability was suitable for dealing with a continuous wave of enemies. However, in the current situation where the Mutant Corpses appeared sporadically and in separate waves, her “[Annihilation] skill was not very effective, whether activated or not.
On the other hand, Maria, with her ability to frequently use [Silence] was invaluable. It was an absolute counter to Mutant Corpse. No matter how they relied on their [Killing Same Kind] ability to boost their strength, they would be silenced and returned to their original state the next second.
Finally, at the end of a certain branching underground passage, Eileen, already highly focused, spotted a woman weakly curled up in a hidden corner.
Her eyes instantly reddened, and she rushed over without hesitation.
“Mom!”
Renji, who had followed closely behind, finally saw the real person in the family photo that was taken in Eileen’s house.
Compared to the photo, Eileen’s mother looked much more exhausted now. She was in a complete state of unconsciousness, and from the exposed skin on her body, one could see the terrifying, bright red patterns that resembled the roots of an old tree—a characteristic sign of corruption, the Tainted Mark.
Once these blood patterns spread all over her body, Eileen’s mother would undergo a complete mutation.
“Renji!”
“Renji!” Seeing her mother in such a perilous state, Eileen, in a panic, turned to Renji, hoping he could use the miraculous Divine Healing to cure her mother.
However,
this time, Renji did not respond to the girl. Instead, he turned his gaze to the nun beside him, Maria.
Almost at the same time, Maria’s voice rang out.
“I… I’ll give it a try.”
Maria approached Nolan, who was already in the late stage of the “Tainted Mark” to turn into a monster, Even if Eileen’s mother were taken to the best Dawnlight Hospital at this point, the doctors there would undoubtedly shake their heads, indicating that there was no hope. No one could save someone in the late stage of the “Tainted Mark.” The best “rescue” was to grant her pace, so she wouldn’t undergo mutation.
However, next, when the nun’s hand touched Nolan’s body, a burst of divine light erupted from Maria’s palm. Even though it was just an overflow of aura, it made Eileen feel significantly calmer, and all the fatigue from the battles along the way seemed to disappear instantly.
And this feeling was not unfamiliar to Eileen. The last time she had experienced it was in the Relic Cave, inside the stone coffin! It was the Divine Healing from Renji!
Without having time to think too much about it, there was a new change happening with her mother.
Under the influence of the divine radiance from the nun, Nolan’s “Tainted Mark,” which covered her entire body, began to show significant improvement. The grotesque and ugly bloody patterns that had crawled all over her body rapidly shrank in size and eventually turned into muddy impurities, forced out from Nolan’s body.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Soon, as Nolan coughed out several mouthfuls of dark, foul-smelling blood, so polluted that even a glance at it conveyed a sense of intense corruption, she miraculously regained consciousness and even opened her eyes slightly.
Nolan’s first sight upon regaining consciousness was the nun, Maria, who had been healing her. A flicker of excitement crossed her face as she struggled to utter a few disjointed syllables.
“Go…ess….Sut….hia”
Unfortunately, due to her unclear speech, Eileen couldn’t understand what her mother was trying to say. Before she could inquire further, Nolan seemed to lose consciousness again and fell back into a deep sleep.
Regardless, it was a moment of relief.
“Thanks Goodness! Mom… I finally… woo hoo hoo… Mom,” Renji witnessed Eileen crying for the first time, her face streaked with tears as she embraced her mother tightly.
Perhaps for Eileen, being able to live a healthy and happy life with her mother was the greatest happiness, the dream of all “ordinary people,” perhaps? Having a home and living in peace.
Thinking of this, Renji had already made a decision in his heart. After comforting Eileen with a pat on the shoulder, he said to the girl:
“Eileen, it’s not time to cry now. Let’s quickly take Aunt Nolan back, she needs rest now.”
“Yes, yes! Mom needs to lie down, but what about us?”
Renji: “Maria, can you please use your teleportation ability again to send them home?”
This time, he didn’t ask Maria “if she could,” but instead, he “asked” her to do so.
However, in her excited state, Eileen didn’t notice this change in Renji’s tone. She was just thrilled to see Maria nod, and she was so excited that she almost hugged the young nun right away.
Maria repeated the same ritual as when they were at Eileen’s house, drawing a teleportation circle on the ground. The only difference this time was that, after Eileen carried her mother into the teleportation circle and looked at Renji and the nun standing still outside the ritual, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
“Wait a minute! Old Timer! Are you… Are you still going to…”
“Yeah.”
Renji nodded to the panicked Eileen.
“There’s something… well, now it seems there are two things I must retrieve here, so I can’t leave just yet.”
Eileen became anxious at Renji’s words. 𝑖𝘦.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Eileen suddenly realized that there was still a “relic” here. She didn’t know what the “second thing” that Renji mentioned was, but at least from Renji’s behavior at the Callewa Factory, it was certain that the first item was a “relic,” and Renji was determined to obtain it.
‘But how could this be!’
‘I have to stay by Renji’s side too!’
This was an instinctive thought that crossed Eileen’s mind.
After all, it was quite clear that as they ventured deeper, the number and strength of the Tainted Corpse were increasing dramatically. Without her, how could Renji’s safety be guaranteed? How could she leave him alone in such a dangerous place?
However, as soon as the girl took a step away from the teleportation ritual, the weight in her hands made Eileen suddenly realize her dilemma.
‘Mom…’
Her mother urgently needed rest and couldn’t endure any more shaking. It was impossible for her to take a comatose patient into battle. With her mother as a condition, if she insisted on following Renji, she would not only harm her mother but also burden Renji, becoming a liability.
“Miss Eileen, if it’s possible, please rest assured and leave Mr. Renji to me! I will take care of Mr. Renji, and you should quickly take Auntie and leave. Don’t worry about us!”
“Having me alone here is enough”
Maria assured Eileen, and from the previous battles, it was clear that the nun was not as fragile as she appeared on the surface. On the contrary, her combat effectiveness in this situation was likely… no, it should definitely be greater than her.
If Eileen had to choose between the two of them, from a purely rational perspective, in the current combat environment, Maria was undoubtedly the better choice.
‘But for some reason…’
Despite seeing Maria’s sincerity, with no trace of falsehood, and her strong feelings of protection and affection for Renji, Eileen’s instincts were still uneasy – very uneasy.
She had a nagging feeling that if she left now, something terrible might happen, something she would regret for the rest of her life.
“Alright, Miss Eileen, I’m glad you care so much about me. If you’re still worried about me… Well, how about a hug before you go?”
Without giving Eileen a chance to respond, Renji took the initiative to walk over and lightly embraced Eileen. At the same time, he discreetly and swiftly placed something into the pocket of her dress.
The young man’s movements were very subtle and quick. In addition to the embrace that overlapped their bodies, and the item was extremely light and thin. Even Eileen herself did not notice, let alone Maria behind her.
“All right, it’s time for you to go” Renji stepped out of the teleportation ritual, waving to the girl with a relaxed and reassuring expression. Seeing that the young man had emphasized it once again, Eileen finally stopped insisting.
“Yeah.”
However, just before leaving, Eileen hesitated for a moment but still shouted in the end:
“Old Timer, in case something really happens, you know! Use that, no matter where you are or what happens, I’ll come find you. I swear!”
The “that” in the girl’s mouth naturally referred to the contract.
But Renji just chuckled and shook his head somewhat helplessly, saying, “I think it’s better to wait until I come out safely and then go have a drink with you at the Sea Sand Bar!”
Eileen wanted to say something more, but unfortunately, the light of the teleportation ritual had already shimmered.
Whether it was an illusion on Eileen’s part or not, she couldn’t be sure. However, just before the radiance of the teleportation holy light covered her entire field of vision Eileen thought she saw the nun standing beside Renji, her mouth curving into an odd, crazy smile.
.𝒎