Chapter 178: Runi?!

Thanks for helping me reach the 1.200 P.S. milestone: Bonus Chapter 3 / 3 (^_^)

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Behind them, Runi was watching everything.

She did not understand why Vylana was crying so much.

Saraya had been taken to a place with the most skilled healers. In theory, standing outside the door and crying nonstop could not make the treatment go any faster.

Yet Vylana was still crying.

And Erik...

She looked at the man sitting in the wheelchair.

He did not show any irritation. He had even taken the initiative to ask about the wounds on Vylana’s hands, even though he himself had not fully recovered yet.

She remembered the conversations she had overheard in the mansion, remembered how everyone spoke of Saraya in complicated tones. There was clearly an unpleasant past between Erik and the woman lying in the emergency room.

So why did he still care?

Runi suddenly remembered the battle at the guard post.

That day, when she had still been using the black-haired female soldier’s body, he had had countless chances to end the battle by killing the host.

But he had not done so.

He had continuously altered the direction of his attacks, endured unnecessary injuries, all just to save an unfamiliar Succubus.

She had once thought that was stupidity.

Now, looking at Erik gently comforting Vylana, she was no longer certain of that conclusion.

Why would someone with nothing to gain from saving others still want to save them?

Why could someone who had been hurt still worry about the person who had broken their heart?

She unconsciously raised a hand to touch the white bandage Carmilla had just wrapped around her.

That warmth in her chest surfaced again.

This time, it was a little clearer.

Like a very small flame had just been kindled in a place where only darkness had ever existed.

Runi lowered her head and gently pressed her lips together.

What... was this, exactly?

At that moment, the emergency room door opened.

A female Healer in a white coat stepped out, her forehead beaded with sweat.

Vylana immediately sprang to her feet.

"Saraya! How is she?!"

"Please stay calm." The female Healer raised a hand. "We have dealt with the internal bleeding and stabilized her initial condition. However, the impact to her head was quite serious, so the patient will need to remain under close observation. She has not regained consciousness yet."

"Then... is she in danger?"

"We cannot draw a conclusion just yet. But she was brought here in time, and her current indicators are more stable than they were upon admission."

Vylana covered her mouth with one hand, her shoulders trembling.

She wanted to ask much more, but in the end, she could only keep bowing her head.

"Thank you... thank you..."

Erik also let out a quiet breath.

"Can we visit her?" he asked.

"Not yet, sir. The patient needs continued observation and minimal stimulation. We will notify you when she can receive visitors."

Erik nodded.

"I understand. Please take care of her."

The female Healer seemed a little surprised upon realizing that the one speaking was the man who had appeared in the famous livestream clip. But she quickly maintained her professionalism, bowed, and returned to the treatment room.

Vylana sat down, covering her face with both hands.

This time, her sobs were quieter than before.

Runi looked at her, then at the door.

For some reason, she suddenly wanted to know whether Saraya would wake up, even though it had nothing to do with her.

...

In an isolation room located in the treatment ward on the other side of the hospital, the black-haired female soldier Erik had saved at the outpost slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was a completely white ceiling.

The faint scent of disinfectant drifted through the air, while the steady sounds of mana-monitoring devices rang by her ears. A clean blanket covered her chest, and both arms lay neatly at her sides.

The female soldier blinked.

Once.

Twice.

She tried moving her fingers.

Her index finger slowly curled.

Then her middle finger.

She raised her hand in front of her face, looked at her trembling five fingers, then used her other hand to tightly grip her wrist.

She could move.

She could truly control her body.

Yet the relief only lasted a few seconds.

Memories from the outpost suddenly came flooding back.

She remembered her body being controlled by strands of Dark Mist, remembered the sensation of both arms transforming into terrifying weapons. She remembered trying to scream, only for her mouth to spew mocking words that did not belong to her.

She remembered the black-haired man standing before her.

He had kept dodging, kept taking injuries, yet had never once delivered a lethal strike to her body.

And she...

These very hands had attacked him.

"No..."

The female soldier raised both hands and stared at them.

"It wasn’t me..."

The isolation room door opened.

A female Healer entered, holding an examination board in her hands.

"You’re awake? Don’t worry, you’re in Silver Moon Hospital. We have removed most of the Dark Mist from your body, but we still need to conduct further examinations."

The black-haired female soldier abruptly turned her head.

"Don’t come near me!"

The female Healer halted.

"Please calm down. I only want to examine..."

"DON’T TOUCH ME!"

The female soldier shot upright, violently pulling the blanket away from herself. She backed toward the head of the bed, both hands clutching her throat as though afraid something was about to crawl out from within.

"There’s something inside me... it made me do those things... I tried to stop, but I couldn’t!"

"You have been removed from the battlefield. You are safe now."

"No! You don’t understand!"

The female soldier burst into tears.

She remembered all too clearly the sensation of being trapped inside her own body, watching her hands attack her comrades, watching a man bleed as he tried to save her while she could do nothing but beg.

When the female Healer took another step forward, she immediately curled herself up.

"Don’t let it come back! I don’t want... I don’t want it to control me again!"

The female Healer hurriedly stepped back and spoke softly to reassure her, while a colleague outside immediately notified the specialist team handling Dark Mist aftereffects.

But the black-haired female soldier seemed unable to hear them.

She kept staring down at her hands, crying and shaking her head.

"I heard it... It spoke of my body like it was a toy..."

Her eyes widened.

"It can leave this body and go to another... You have to be careful..."

Then she suddenly screamed:

"DON’T LET IT BORROW ANYONE ELSE!"

The scream echoed through the hallway, startling several patients and family members waiting nearby.

The Healers quickly shut the isolation room door, trying to calm the panicking female soldier.

But her sobs continued to carry through it.

In the waiting area not far away, Runi, who was standing beside Carmilla, suddenly froze.

She tilted her head.

Amid the sounds of people moving about and chaotic conversations, she seemed to have just heard a very familiar voice.

A voice that had once been trapped deep within the body she had used.

Runi silently looked toward the source of the sound.

That female soldier had awakened.

The crying from earlier made Runi feel something unpleasant.

She remembered that when she had taken over the female soldier’s body, the other woman had kept resisting. Her pleas at the time had only annoyed Runi.

Now, why did hearing similar sounds no longer amuse her?

"Runi?"

Carmilla turned toward her.

"What is it?"

Runi startled and immediately lowered her head.

"It’s nothing."

Carmilla looked at her for a little longer, then handed her the cup of water she was holding.

"Hold this for me. I’m bringing water to Vylana."

"Yes."

Runi accepted the cup.

The water inside was still warm.

She looked at the thin steam rising from the rim, then lowered her gaze to the bandage on her hand.

Warm...

Such a simple word.

Yet today, she had encountered it far too many times.

...

When Meira arrived at the waiting area, the emergency work at the hospital had temporarily been divided among the Healer teams responsible for each section.

Her golden hair was slightly disheveled, the shadows beneath her eyes darker than usual, and even the uniform she had hurriedly changed into bore several creases. Since leaving the mansion, she had barely rested for a single moment.

A young female Healer hurried after her and quietly reported that the patient in isolation room three had just awakened, screaming that the thing inside her could leave one body and move into another. Meira’s footsteps paused for half a beat.

The moment she saw Erik, Meira immediately walked over.

"Master." Her voice lowered. "I remember saying that no one was allowed to leave the house."

"Saraya was injured," Erik replied, then continued. "How is the situation outside now?"

"The rescue teams are still working. We have opened additional temporary treatment areas, but the number of wounded being brought in is still increasing."

She looked at his splinted arm, and her brows immediately furrowed. "And you? Did you do anything stupid on the way here?"

"...No."

Elowen, standing behind him, gave a soft cough.

Erik immediately turned to look at her.

"Why are you coughing?"

"It’s nothing. My throat is just a little itchy."

Meira looked at the two of them, her gaze full of suspicion.

But when she saw Erik still sitting quietly in his wheelchair, she ultimately did not press the matter further.

Meira placed a hand on his shoulder and used a trace of mana to examine the injuries in his chest and right arm. Fortunately, he had not made his condition any worse, though his ribs still needed further rest.

"Don’t try to move too much. I mean it this time."

"I know."

"How many times have you said that already?"

"...I don’t remember anymore."

"I remember."

Erik could only fall silent.

Meira sighed, but the hand resting on his shoulder remained very gentle.

She turned to ask Elowen about Saraya, quickly grasped the current situation, then spoke further with the female Healer in charge. Only after confirming that Saraya was being closely monitored and that Vylana had someone caring for her did the tension on Meira’s face ease slightly.

At that moment, Carmilla and Runi returned.

Carmilla handed Vylana a cup of warm water, then gently told her to drink a little before continuing to wait for news.

Runi followed behind her, her hands clasped together.

Meira’s gaze inadvertently settled on her.

A very faint scent drifted past.

It was not the hospital’s disinfectant smell.

Nor was it the scent of blood or stone dust still clinging to everyone’s clothes.

Meira’s nose twitched slightly.

She remembered that this morning, when Runi had brought a bag of clothes to the hospital’s back gate, she had smelled something similar. At the time, Runi had said the pen in the bag had leaked ink, and Meira had not paid much attention.

But now, after witnessing Runi’s strangely calm attitude while the entire mansion shook, along with the words that had just been reported from isolation room three, Meira suddenly felt that something was wrong.

She looked down at Runi’s bandaged hand.

"Are you hurt?"

Runi immediately stood straighter.

"Just a small scratch."

"Who treated it?"

"Lady Carmilla."

Meira looked at Carmilla.

The female warrior gave a slight nod.

"Not deep. I already checked it."

"Then that’s good."

Meira smiled at Runi and asked no further questions.

But when she turned back toward Erik, her gaze had become more contemplative.

Meira stepped behind Erik’s wheelchair.

"Master, shall I take you for another examination?"

Erik looked up.

"Right now?"

"Mhm. I want to check your ribs again and the mana channels that were damaged. Besides..." She glanced at the crowded waiting area. "It’s too noisy here. There is also something I want to discuss with you in private."

Erik looked toward the emergency room door.

"What about Saraya?"

"I’m here, aren’t I? Are you still worried?" Meira smiled. "She is being cared for. If anything changes, the Healers will notify me immediately."

Elowen also gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go with Mother. I’ll stay here and wait for news about Saraya."

Felyn, seated nearby, gave a small nod.

"I’ll stay too. If anything happens, I’ll call you right away."

Erik looked at everyone, and in the end, he could only agree.

"All right."

Meira placed both hands on the wheelchair handles and slowly pushed him away from the waiting area.

She was not in a hurry.

The wheels rolled softly over the polished stone floor, passing through hallways that medical staff kept clearing. The cries and announcements over the loudspeakers gradually faded behind them, replaced by the steady sound of Meira’s footsteps. Only when the wheelchair had turned around the final corner of the corridor, where no one could see them anymore, did her pace slow.

Erik was about to ask where she wanted to examine him when he suddenly felt warm breath lightly brush against the edge of his ear.

Meira had leaned down.

Her soft golden hair slid across one side of his face, carrying her familiar sweet fragrance mixed with the faint scent of herbs lingering on her clothes. Wanting to speak without letting those around them hear, she leaned in closer, causing her soft breasts to inadvertently press lightly against his shoulder and the back of his neck from behind.

Erik stiffened slightly.

The distance was so close that he could clearly feel Meira’s warm breath brushing past his ear. Her voice was already sweet by nature, and now that it had lowered into a whisper, it made him feel as though she were deliberately teasing him.

"Meira...?"

"Shh."

She smiled softly, but her eyes did not carry their usual playfulness.

"Master, there is something I want to ask you."

Erik tilted his head slightly.

"What is it?"

Meira did not answer immediately.

She lowered herself a little more.

Her warm breath lightly touched Erik’s ear again, but this time, Meira’s voice had become serious.

"Master... don’t you think Runi has been acting very strangely today?"