12~The Woman in the Ice Coffin
” A thousand years ago, the [Venomous Curse] was created by a genius elf alchemist. Because of its extremely malicious effects, it once caused very adverse effects and was unanimously resisted by the alchemy community. The recipe was confirmed by the then Alchemist Association to have been destroyed,” Yimi recited this historical knowledge she wasn’t unfamiliar with.
“At least in a thousand years, there had been no record of its use. The great invasion of the Demon Race dealt a devastating blow to the surface civilization, and many forging techniques and prescriptions have been lost. Even if someone kept it secret, the recipe for this medicine has long been forgotten by the world.”
“How could such a cruel and brutal killing alchemy formula still exist in the world.” Yimi stared at the direction where those two disappeared. “Who are they??”
“Let’s leave these for later. Aren’t we unable to go down?” Looking at the toxic fog-shrouded street below, Tillysha squatted down, looking at the corpses corroded by the toxic fog, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and a trace of gloom flashed in her eyes.
“It’s not that bad.” Yimi calmly analyzed. “According to the records in the documents, although the lethality and toxicity of the [Venomous Curse] are strong, the effective time after it is converted into a toxic substance is very short, and it will dissipate quickly.”
Soon, the purple thick smoke became thinner at a visible speed, and then dissipated.
After waiting for a few more minutes, Tillysha jumped off the roof with Yimi in her arms. The toxic fog dissipated, and the air below had returned to normal.
Yimi covered her forehead and fell silent.
“What’s wrong?”
“This poison fog………. I think I’ve seen it.”
“Didn’t we just see it now?”
“No, I mean before, someone used this kind of poison smoke in front of me.” Yimi covered her forehead as if she wanted to grab hold of that fleeting thought with all her might, but doing so only increased her pain. She couldn’t remember anything else.
“If you can’t remember, don’t force yourself.” Tillysha came behind Yimi. Her ten delicate fingers were placed on either side of Yimi’s temples and gently pressed her aching forehead in a rhythmic manner to help her relax.
“…” Yimi raised her hand and pushed Tillysha’s hands away with some resistance.
In response, Tillysha wasn’t annoyed. Seeing Yimi regained her spirit, she retracted her hands.
Yimi looked at the golden-haired girl with a complicated expression. Her rationality told her not to develop feelings for this woman who betrayed her own kin, but emotions often run counter to rationality, whether human or elf.
During these days of living together, Yimi should have increasingly disliked and hated Tillysha, and it should have been that way.
Behaviors can deceive people, words can deceive people, but the heart cannot deceive, especially not oneself.
“What’s wrong? Is there any discomfort?” Seeing Yimi’s strange gaze, Tillysha asked, her voice as gentle as ever, as if the person she was talking about was not her enemy who wanted her dead day and night.
The look the girl directed at her was as gentle as flowing water, releasing a kind of maternal nature that could soften the heart.
“…… Nothing, just that you’re getting more and more annoying.”
“Annoying?” Upon hearing this, Tillysha smiled and didn’t say anything else. She had almost gotten used to this tight-lipped little girl being cold towards her.
Putting the fire g*n back on her back, Tillysha took out the long item that she had been carrying on her back, wrapped in bandages, and undid it. A wooden giant bow as big as a person appeared in her hand.
“Did you use the Divine Analysis Technique to analyze those two masked people just now?”
Yimi remained silent.
As the god’s child, Yimi’s Divine Analysis Technique was much higher than Tillysha’s Divine Analysis Technique strengthened by the Golden Cup Butterfly.
Tillysha didn’t know what epic-level Divine Analysis Technique was called, but in terms of mental openness, Yi Mi was undoubtedly a genius.
“I didn’t figure out their race.”
Tillysha wasn’t surprised. As expected, the ‘？’ displayed in the race column wasn’t due to her low Divine Analysis Technique level. Yi Mi also saw only a ‘?’
The pitch-black laboratory was illuminated by the icy white glow, and countless fine pipes conveying energy wound around the large energy crystal connected to the two-meter-long enormous ice coffin.
A handsome and tall man stood in front of the ice coffin, the shadow covering his upper body.
He stood in front of the huge crystal, staring longingly at the ice coffin with a gaze as if there was nothing in this world that he cherished or missed except for the icy large coffin.
There was a slight sound coming from the shadow. The two people who arrived deliberately lowered their sounds and footsteps.
They knew that when their master was gazing at his lover, they mustn’t be disturbed.
The two knelt behind the man, completely silent, waiting for the man to finally take a last look at the woman in the ice coffin with a spellbound gaze, then raise his head and asked deeply.
“Is it finished?”
“There were some little hiccups, but it was successfully completed as required.”
“The logistics team has obtained the samples and data of this evolution body, and they have already handed over the samples to the research team.”
“The research team’s response is that the task difficulty is a bit high, but they will do their best to complete it. Everything is for you, sir.”
“It’s natural for the task to be difficult. It has been so long, and the Corpse Corruption Flower has grown so big. I thought there would be more outbreaks of differentiation, making the data more perfect. Only Furnace City saw an outbreak, this is something I didn’t expect.”
“In a tone of voice devoid of emotion but somewhat ironic, “Humans, a thousand years have passed, yet they never cease to amaze me in pursuing profit and evading harm.”
“It seems you have other intelligence to report.”
“While collecting data, we encountered students from the Coleman Academy.”
“Oh? Who is it?”
“We met him, that human, seems to be called Dillin.”
“….. That’s strange, he shouldn’t have appeared there. At least, it’s what his report said.” The man said thoughtfully.
“With a golden-haired girl by his side.”
“They ended up together, which is quite out of my plan………. but no matter, it’s nothing more than a small error.”
The conclusion would not change because of anyone. The sudden variable in his thousand-year-old plan was nothing more than a pebble falling into turbulent flow.
“Is the second princess of the Gold Elves still in the academy?”
“No, she wasn’t in the Crown Mansion a few days ago. In her travel itinerary, she only wrote that she would wander around and didn’t mention the specific destination.”
The man hesitated for a moment upon hearing this.
Is it an unintentional move, or a hidden precaution?
We cannot overlook it, that Gold Elf has been difficult to deal with from a long time ago, even though she has amnesia now.
“Lord, you ordered us to be careful about the keen intuition of the Gold Elves to avoid being detected. We have been probing the Crown Mansion at irregular intervals to observe if someone still lives there.”
“Did the princess follow the human?”
“No, we’re sure.”
“Do we need to continue investigating that human?”
“No, just a human, not worth investigating. No need to invest too many resources on him.”
“We understand, Lord.”
“Are there any new moves by Aistride recently?”
“Aistride returned to the Elf Forest with her sister and is currently with the Elf King. There is nothing special about it.” The two people in masks replied.
“Good.”
“In that case, it doesn’t matter whether she is it or not, it’s too late.”
“The final sprint will be unimpeded, and no one will pose a threat.”
“Lord, to avoid variables, do we need to send others to supervise Tillysha?”
“No, a Gold Elf suffering from amnesia is like a small wave. She’s also a part of my plan. Follow the original plan, let everything happen naturally. No one should deliberately raise alarms.”
“Understood.”
“Retreat now.”
The two women in tight clothing with mournful-face masks suddenly disappeared in the black darkness.
In the silence of all sounds, the man completely changed the previous cold indifference, staring at the person in the ice coffin, his eyes filled only with tenderness and infatuation.
“I will definitely rescue you from the soul bondage.”
“Wait for me…… Erica.”
When Tillysha entered the midtown, it was already in utter disarray. The city-state that originally looked like a refugee camp now had little resemblance to ruins.
Low brick-and-tile houses collapsed onto each other, broken tiles piled up to form a series of graves.
There was also a bit of an “advantage”, which was that the city-state was indeed more “lively” than usual.
The screams were much less frequent, and the last groans of those on their deathbeds were nearing an end.
Survivors scattered in all directions. At this moment, driven by the instinct for survival, they dared not close their mouths anymore. Calls for help were shouted loudly one after another.
How did it come to this? ……..
A woman, holding a crying baby swaddled in a blanket, fell flat on the ground. The pillar above her, swaying precariously, finally collapsed under the pressure.
Tillysha reacted quickly, lifting her large bow. A fully charged light arrow pushed the pillar away.
This woman seemed to have fainted, but still firmly protected the child in her arms, no matter what she didn’t loosen her hold.
“This is a strength potion, after taking it, your strength will double for an hour.” Tillysha handed a fine-necked bottle full of potion to Yimi.
“Take those injured ones who are still alive to the outskirts of the city.” Considering Yimi’s lack of strength, Tillysha carefully handed her a potion that enhanced strength.
“You know, we can’t save everyone.” Yimi was silent for a moment. “Even if we save these humans, where will they go?”
“Having lost their loved ones, their homes, they have left their hometowns without anywhere to stay. Even if we save them here, they will not survive long.” Yimi fell silent for a while and spoke out this harsh reality.
“Whether they’ll survive afterward is a matter for later. I couldn’t just stand by and not help those who were dying.” Tillysha gently helped up the unconscious woman. “Regardless of what happens next, if we have the ability to save these innocent lives and choose to ignore them, just standing by and saying things like ‘can’t do anything’, ‘natural law’, ‘survival of the fittest’, I can’t imagine what kind of people would be this cold.”
“If that’s the case, what are we different from those people who have driven them to homelessness?”
“… I understand.” Yimi looked at Tillysha complicatedly.
If Tillysha’s actions were not staged, then those things at the beginning……
She shook her head; now was not the time to think about this.
Besides, this woman’s acting was always very good, it was impossible to tell whether every step or move was genuine or just for show.
However, can one do such a good act and perform only for me?
Carrying the woman and her child, looking at Tillysha desperately carrying the survivors among the ruins, Yimi felt her chest tight.
At this moment, she wished these memories of hers were false.
Unfortunately, this memory was clear and thorough and there was no place for fabrication.
“Help…” While trying to arrange these surviving people in an open and safe place as much as possible, Tillysha’s sharp senses picked up a weak call for help.
Following the source of the sound, she arrived at a precarious dilapidated building. Just as she was about to go inside to rescue whoever was in there, a supporting pillar broke, and the roof collapsed due to the inability to support the weight.
Tillysha had no choice but to step back, using her emerald fragrance to extinguish the spreading fire.
“Help, save me…” That weak voice was still calling out. “So dark, so cold, why, why won’t anyone save me??…”
Because of the collapsed roof, to prevent injuring the trapped person inside, Tillysha had to crawl through the cracks. Because the cracks were too small, she had to crawl in.
Activating her domain, Tillysha crouched down, slowly crawling and calling out from the crack. “Sir, please don’t panic. Stay where you are and do not move. I’m here to rescue you.”
It was quite remarkable that the broken house remained intact, the forces forming a subtle and fragile balance. Making large movements could easily destroy this balance.
“Why, despite every help I’ve given and smiled through losses… Why in the most critical moment, there’s no one willing to help me…”
“They’ve abandoned me in the house… it hurts, it hurts!”
“I tried so hard to please them, but still, I’ve been forsaken…”
“Sir, please calm down,” Tillysha said as she crawled through the crevice, and through her sharp vision, faintly noticed a figure lying in the dark corner, his shoulder trapped under a collapsed beam, his condition dire.
“Can you move? Try to grab my hand,” Tillysha found she couldn’t crawl further due to the tight space, so she extended a hand inside the crevice and spoke in a gentle soothing voice. “Just a little more effort, please sir, you can do it.”
“Why abandon me… Why!”
“Why?!” Suddenly, the tall man’s body trembled, overwhelmed by emotions.
“I don’t want to d*e, I’m not ready to d*e…!” With immense force, the tall man pushed off the beam that was pinning him, crawling quickly towards Tillysha and grabbing her hand.
Tillysha was somewhat startled.
Clearly, something was off with this man. How could a human easily push off a beam?
At that moment, the tall man’s form began to twist, and countless black lines erupted from his chest, wrapping around his entire body.
“I still don’t want to d*e!” His voice became distorted and rough, like the sounds of a broken accordion, turning insane and inhuman.
