257 257: From the sky [pt2]
“Now then, let’s take a look at what is wrong with you. Hopefully, you will not give me a lot of trouble.”
Aurora examined the teen without hesitation. She could tell that something had hit his refreshing pints with great energy and precision.
Not only did it damage many internal organs, but Quince also suffered from a magical rupture that would continue to inconvenience him for a long time.
It was truly fortunate that he had managed to fall to the floor where Aurora was and nowhere else. It was as if fate had Quince’s well-being in its grand plans.
“Now then, what should I do next for you? I cleaned your aura and looked after your wounds. Any further treatment would require for you to gain consciousness.”
Which was not going to happen anytime soon. No matter how quickly Quince healed, some things could and could not happen.
For a human to make a perfect recovery from his injuries within even a week was asking impossible. And Quince was too young to manage self-healing.
The sound of fighting from outside the city was also racing Aurora into the inverted fortress. She could see that the abyss was trying hard to repel the intruders.
But no matter who or what came her way, Ava was tearing everything apart. Most of the participants were looking at her in awe.
On the other side, Rita was also a vision to behold. She had broken through another threshold of power and her summons consisted of anything that had fallen in the battle. She was well on her way to becoming a necromancer at this rate.
Aurora could tell that she had nothing to fear regarding her companions.
And just like that, they cleared another floor. Floors 11-15 were done and now the deeper abyss would finally start.
These were the floors that could take one’s life if one were not careful. And unlike the previous floors, the criterion to pass the floor differed for different groups.
They would be heading for the floor 16th tomorrow so Aurora knew she had a lot to get done before that.
It would be nice if you open your eyes as well. I want to know what else is going out on the surface. It feels like an eternity ever since we headed down here so I am sure the world must have changed greatly as well.
The flow of time had been manageable so far but it would not be so in the future. Soon, the floors will start to show their real power, and Aurora was prepared to face that.
The only one she felt bad for was Rita. The poor girl was human and had far more attachments than Aurora. She would likely never get to meet those human maids of hers ever again.
“Mhhh”
Aurora almost jumped when she heard the sound coming out of Quince. It seemed like he was waking up which was an impossible task to compare right now.
How was he able to even gather his strength to wake up when he was so badly injured?
“You are about to wake up? Seriously? Are you even human at all?”
Aurora questioned but the kid gave her no answer. Instead, he just tried his best to wake up. This effort on Quince’s part was worth praising.
And since Quince was trying so hard, Aurora decided to give him a helping hand. She had not wanted to wake him up forcefully since it would have hindered Quince’s recovery but it seemed as if he wanted that for himself.
Aurora had known that Quince was sensitive to magic but she had never realized just how sensitive he was.
He jolted awake at the first touch of magic used on his consciousness and looked at Aurora with unseeing wide eyes. His expression was a mixture of very and tired. It made Aurora feel bad for him.
But at the same time, she also knew that the kid was here for a reason. And Quince was strong enough to overcome this obstacle of his.
“Finally awake? No, don’t push yourself to stand up. Your body will not be able to take it.”
Aurora warned as she pushed the kid bad on his back. Quince had a sour look on his face that whole time but he did not protest.
He just followed those directions until he could no longer hold in his curiosity and finally turned toward Aurora.
“Why are you doing all this for me? You could have left me out there to dry and it won’t have made a difference.” Quince questioned with a strange look on his face.
It was not difficult to see where his curiosity was stemming from but Aurora did not want to confuse him or keep him hanging.
The kid was already confused and Aurora did not want to add anything to that quota.
“You would have flattened dead meat if I did not help you out. Do you have any idea how deep into the abyss you are? This is floor 15 already.”
Quince went pale after hearing that. He did not know where he was or what he was doing. So Aurora could summarize that it was not his idea to come down here.
“F-Floor 15? How? And why? All I can remember is being pushed down here but there should be no reason for me to end up down here.”
Quince was right. There should be a reason for him to be here on his own. Not unless someone had deliberately altered his path to ensure that he ends up being here.
As for why here particularly? There was only one reason Aurora could think of and it was her presence.
She did consider this all to be a coincidence but that made Aurora even more nervous to think about. Coincidences were not her thing since they had never served her well.
“How did you end up here anyway? And don’t give me any bullcrap either. I will be able to tell if you are sincere or not.”
Quince looked caught up between the rock and a hard place. Aurora could see in his eyes that he did not want to tell her about what happened.
And Aurora had accepted his attempts this far but not anymore. She needed answers from him and Quince would not be able to hide them.
It seemed as if Quince realized that soon as well because he did not try to talk his way out again. He just sighed and accepted his fate.
“I got thrown down here by Lady Asami when I tried to stop her. I don’t know anything about that so I cannot help you.”.
For what it was worth, Aurora would have found it hard to believe had she not met Asami head-on and seen what kind of headstrong person she was.
But since she did know, Aurora knew why Quince was avoiding mentioning all this.
No one wanted to help those who had been abandoned by the gods. Even Quince’s mentality had been no different at this point in his life.
But still, how did he come across Asami anyway? The last Aurora had heard of her, she was still in the south and it had been destroyed fully.
“Are you trying to think about how all that happened? It’s because they attacked the tower. It happened all of a sudden so no one was prepared for that either.”
‘What happened? Someone successfully attacked the tower? But how?’
“I can feel your shock and you are not the only one who is shocked either. No one could believe it when the south made its move. What’s more? Only Lady Minerva was in the tower at that time and 3-vs-1 was too much for even her.”
“Don’t give me that pitying look. I did not tell you all this to gain your sympathy. You can keep it to yourself for now.”
Quince sounded bitter when he said that. And that drained whatever expression Aurora had on her face.
The sympathy did not go anywhere but Aurora did not want to let Quince see that she was pitying him.
There was nothing worse than being pitied for something that was not in your control.
“I see. That is big news but you should not let it interfere with your recovery for now. I will take you to the next floor with me for now and then you can decide what to do with yourself. Just concentrate on healing for now.”
Aurora had a soft spot for Quince and it showed. No one else would have gotten this offer.
And even if Quince looked repulsed at the very thought of traveling with Aurora, she had a feeling that her offer would be accepted.
“I will leave now and give you some time to think this over. In the end, the decision will be yours so don’t take too long in deciding what you want.”
Aurora warned as she left the room. It was all up to Quince now to decide what he wanted to do.
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