Chapter 980 Lucia Awakens
The desert heat once again permeated the entire mansion as we shed our jackets upon crossing the border between regions, finally stepping into the scorching desert. Queen Tanya adjusted her warming spell to counteract the intense heat, ensuring our comfort in the arid surroundings.
Meanwhile, the elves diligently tended to the branch of the Tree of Life, ensuring it remained active for Almira to navigate. In this perilous desert, our options were limited; we had to either eliminate nearby enemies or employ sniper tactics from a distance. Fortunately, the sandworms that initially greeted us upon arrival were conspicuously absent, perhaps dormant or satiated from their meals. Right now, they aren't part of the threats in the desert.
Our current threats this time around are involving in monsters that threaten to trip the balance of the mansion from walking properly and also bandits. Since the desert is one of the places where travelers can be either seen with fewer people or have one or two people accompanying them, bandits took these chances to at least fatten up their purses. They aren't a problem though, however.
The walking mansion continues on our way to the location when Avos and Mila give up after spending their time fueling the branch to make a light trail. Seeing this, Alena and Labo took over the job and continued supplying the tree branch with some mana.
So far, the desert was peaceful and we only met a few monsters and a few bandits along the way which we obviously eliminated and took their loot. The bandits are so unlucky at trying their hands at robbing us because instead of looting from us, we ended up looting their corpses.
Either way, nothing much is happening so we are either just idling around or practicing our combat stance but nothing worthwhile as the mansion continues to its trail.
While I am taking a nap in the hammock that was just installed earlier by me after Mother and the girls bought it when they went "shopping" for essentials, I am repeatedly being slapped in the face by someone though it's not a painful slap since it was just like being tapped. Small palms kept on hitting my cheek causing me to open my eyes and that's when I realized who it was.
"Ah, finally, Master. I can't believe it is tough for you to wake up even when I shouted in your ear a few times. Thankfully, slapping your cheek works."
The one slapping me with her small palms was actually Pixie who was trying to wake me up. I put Pixie on my palm as I sat up from the hammock and rubbed my eyes as I asked Pixie what was happening.
"What is going on? Why did you wake me up?"
"Master! Good news! Lucia-san has awakened from her slumber!"
Upon hearing the news, my groggy self who should still feel sleepy from the nap that I did suddenly cleared up after hearing the news.
"How is she?!"
"Relax, Master. She is fine and she is currently recovering at the moment. She is currently being examined by Lina and Rika-sama since we still have no idea what is gonna happen to her while her arm is like that."
"Did her arm move erratically or something?" I asked.
"Not really, it didn't seem to be much different from a normal one. Aside from the fact that it looks like it was wearing an armor piece, it does still function like a normal arm for Lucia. Lina-san gave her a reflex and sensory test and they all passed without any mishaps."
I pondered a bit after Pixie described what is the state of Lucia's hand after it was cut off and got attached to a part of the Black Calamity. On one hand, I am happy that Lucia has recovered, but there is something nagging in my mind that keeps on coming back the more and that is the question: If she is fine, then does that new hand also remain as a hand?"
Standing up from my hammock, I went ahead and headed straight to Lucia's room where she woke up. One thing I needed to check up is to confirm whether that arm is not a danger at all or if it is just faking it and is trying to deceive us while it is trying to recover by being attached to Lucia.
As I went through the hallways and headed to Lucia's room, Cath Palug jumped out from the Summon's Portal and landed on my head.
"You came out without warning again..." I frowned at Cath Palug.
"I heard the one who got possessed by the remnants of the Black Calamity has awakened at last so I came to tag along and see if the famous Black Calamity is still alive and kicking."
"As if you get any benefit from knowing the difference..."
"Sure, I won't get any sort of difference from it but it is enough to satisfy my curiosity. After all, the Black Calamity is a very dangerous calamity that is said that be very close to rivaling my power back in the day so seeing its remnant personally would allow me to at least mock or even gloat at its misfortune that it has died and was reduced to a parasite or something."
I don't get why Cath Palug has this kind of mindset sometimes but I don't really care. At least, with this guy here, I can at least learn whether or not that thing was a real danger or it was just feigning innocence.
We arrived at her room and not only Lina and Rika were there but even Pandora, Akira, and Riko alongside my parents. All of them are checking the condition of Lucia.
"Ah, speak of the devil, here he is, Lucia-san!" Riko grinned as the others made way for me to go inside her room and see Lucia who was sitting on her bed. Her arm remained like it was when she returned. The only thing is that no one can tell whether her arm has been cut or if she is just wearing metal armor on her hand. It does look like she wasn't missing an arm entirely and more like getting a prosthetic to me. It does fit too much from her arm now.
"Lucia, how are you? It's been months since you have remained unconscious. Does your body hurt or anything?"
Lucia shook her head. "No, I am fine. In fact, I never felt this way before. It was like I feel energetic and revitalized to the brim."
"Well, that is good to hear."
Then, my eyes shifted to her arm. "Do you still feel anything with this new arm of yours, Lucia?"
"Y-yes. For some unknown reason, it felt like this thing had become my arm and while moving it, it didn't feel odd or anything. It was like this new arm had been with me ever since I was born due to how natural it felt and how I could still feel and touch anything I wanted to touch using this hand."
"It doesn't feel weird or anything?" I frowned.
"No...I was weirded out as to why it felt so natural yet unnatural at the same time. I am confused as well."
"Has anyone tried to "remove" that arm and checked whether it can be removed or not?" I asked.
"We tried earlier but there's no chance we can remove it. It was like it was fixed there until when this happened," Lina explained before we focused again on Lucia's arm.
Lucia extended her new arm before holding it like she was removing armor. She slowly pulled it out and as soon as she pulled it out, it revealed her healed severed arm, fully healed and no longer looking as bad as it was before. As for her new "arm", she managed to detach it without any sort of problem. In fact, it looks like a prosthetic this time around.
When Lucia fully removed her new "arm" from her shoulder, that's when Cath Palug landed on Lucia's bed and sniffed on the arm.
"I see. Now I know the main reason now," Cath Palug nodded as if he knew it all along from the very beginning.
"What do you mean?"
"The Black Calamity is truly dead, as you guys have slain the beast itself. This thing is just a remnant power of the Black Calamity and it doesn't have the power on its own. It is something that is unique to this guy and I just discovered it just now."
"How the heck did you even discover that by just a sniff?!"
"Don't compare me to you, lowly mortals, my nose knows what it smells. Anyways, you little f*ckers should celebrate as this thing will never be able to do any harm again. As this has become a symbiote to this young girl and it will try to do all of its power to keep her alive as both their lives have become one and the same."
Follow current novℯls on f(r)eewebnov𝒆l