Chapter 251: Inhumane Mercy (I)
’A cup of coffee!?’
It was a simple cup she held on to a tray, and White could perceive the familiar, almost nostalgic smell of coffee.
It was steaming hot, and she brought it to him.
"Here, for the cold."
She said, and hesitation flickered in his eyes.
"By the sword you have behind your back, it’s clear you must be one of the Royal Guards."
"This is the least a commoner like me can do to pay you back for always defending our city from the plague."
She explained to him, and it finally made a bit of sense to White.
So that was why she had been so kind to him, even when he had come across as dangerous.
"Thank you."
He said more clearly this time, taking the cup into his hands.
There was no System to confirm if it was poisoned or not, but he wasn’t really in a hurry to drink.
The trolley bed caught his attention once more, and he raised himself slightly, noticing a little girl, just about the age of thirteen, sprawled on the bed.
Something about her caught White’s attention, and it was the bizarre dark veins that popped all over her skin and the side of her face, slithering beneath like snakes.
Her face appeared to be in slight distress as she lay on the bed, constantly and quietly shifting her head in ways that didn’t seem...normal.
"What happened to her?"
He asked, feeling a quiet concern as he turned to the older woman, who sighed.
"It’s the plague. It infected my granddaughter."
She said.
"But I swear she’s not like them. She’s okay, and healing too."
She quickly added in fear.
"Don’t worry. I will not hurt her."
White said.
"But my memories are fuzzy. Tell me about the plague."
He said, and she recalled quietly.
"It started just three months ago. Sudden infections rumored to have been brought over to us by the neighboring demon country."
"It’s a disease of sorts that makes the victim cold, and then, as time passes, they become..."
She paused at this point, her body shivering slightly.
"What do they become?"
White asked.
"They become... they become..."
She swallowed hard before continuing.
"They say they become demons."
She finally completed.
"Killing their loved ones and many others. That is why the Royal Guards are everywhere, to kill every last one of them."
She said, and White froze.
"But how could I watch my granddaughter be killed? How could she ever become a monster that’ll hurt me?"
She asked weakly, and White unconsciously turned to the girl.
She was deeply unconscious, shifting quietly here and there, but really, even with the lurking dark veins around her neck, she appeared to just be a little girl.
"That was why I left the city and brought her here, to a more reclusive place. I’ve found some pink petals around the mountain up ahead. It slows down her condition."
"I know she’ll heal one day."
She recounted to him, yet in that moment,
FLICKER!
A sudden flicker of light crossed the room as her eyes suddenly opened.
White was the first to notice, and what he saw made him jump to his feet, his hand reaching for his sword.
The girl... she had opened her eyes, and what White saw was pitch-black darkness, one that reminded him of the Otherworlders that had taken over human bodies.
There was no innocence in those eyes.
They were danger.
And as if to confirm his thoughts,
GROOOOWWL!
A deep, menacing growl escaped her lips as she suddenly shot toward White, who pushed her back down, pinning her to the bed.
"Oh no."
The older woman cried.
"It’s starting to act up again."
She said.
"Again?"
White asked alarmedly.
"Yes, but it goes away. Hold her. I’ll fetch the Penoly Leaves."
She said, rushing into a door at the corner of the room.
GRRRROWWWL!
The girl kept growling at White, her eyes filled with murderous, beastly intent as they stared at him, her mouth jerking toward him like a beast trying to tear him apart.
But she had no teeth, no claws, neither was her strength greater than that of the little girl she ought to be.
Yet White could clearly see it.
There was no little girl anymore.
And what’s more, he could see the dark veins on her body slowly crawling upward.
’Kill her.’
A voice suddenly spoke within his mind as the girl’s shaking became even more frantic
’The girl is long dead, White. Pull out your sword and kill her.’
It spoke to him once more, but then,
"Here..."
The older woman called out as she came running out of the room with a bowl full of those weirdly familiar pink leaves.
White had seen them on his way here, though he hadn’t paid them much attention.
’This helps with her condition.’
The old woman said as she forced the leaves into the girl’s mouth, but at first, they didn’t seem to do much.
It took an entire bowl of those leaves being stuffed into her mouth before the girl’s violent jerking finally came to a stop and she settled into sleep once more.
Still, White’s eyes showed no relief.
He could see the dark veins on the girl’s neck had spread even further, covering more than half her face, and slowly, one could see the outline of what seemed like a demonic mask forming.
"See? It stopped. The Penoly Leaves work."
She said to White with a relieved smile, tears dripping from the corners of her eyes.
The sight of it made White’s heart lurch, but then he noticed and spoke.
"There’s no more flower in the bowl. If she convulses once again, how would you stop her?"
He asked.
"Not to worry."
She said.
"There are more Penoly Leaves. I’ll go fetch them now."
She said, rising to her feet, but White grabbed onto her hand.
"The snowstorm."
He said to her.
"It’s terrifyingly cold."
Looking at her fragile frame, there was no way she would be able to survive that cold battering against her skin.
"But if I don’t fetch the leaves..."
She said, and both their eyes turned toward the little girl at the same time.
