Chapter 18 Chapter 18: Isn't This Just a Child?
Chapter 18: Isn't This Just a Child?
As the scythe was held high in the air by Seele, a faint, weak light inexplicably began to flicker around her.
Kevin felt he saw it clearly—this girl's body was absolutely no different from an ordinary person's, yet she could somehow also stir the Imaginary energy existing in another dimension... Was this some kind of mechanism inherent to this world?
Under the influence of some inexplicable rule, the originally pure Imaginary energy around Seele was transformed into a form more akin to the Sea of Quanta, to the point that her own body began to appear ethereal and flickering in space under the influence of this energy.
Even though he couldn't immediately figure out the true source of this special enhancement, it was clear that Seele before him was not borrowing this power for the first time. Her flickering figure arrived above one of the Fragmentum creatures in a single flash, and then the scythe in her hand was swung down fiercely.
BANG—!
The sharp scythe and the crystalline exterior of the Fragmentum creature produced a clanging metallic impact sound. But this time, Seele's weapon ultimately proved superior, successfully cleaving through most of the creature's shell with a single strike.
However, there were still dozens of monsters even larger than this Fragmentum creature all around.
"What are you just standing there dumbfounded for? Do you think you won't die fast enough?"
If there were only two or three stragglers, Seele could barely handle them herself. But faced with a scene like this, how could she muster any confidence?
"Since I've already promised to help, how could I stop at the first sign of a little difficulty?"
In stark contrast to Seele's anxious expression, Kevin, who stepped out of the alley a moment later, first flexed his wrists a few times before unhurriedly raising the baseball bat in his hand.
"You... what's going on with you?!"
Even if the lack of information was somewhat exaggerated, Seele wasn't actually an idiot. She quickly realized that all the Fragmentum creatures around had truly and uniformly stopped moving, just staring intently at Kevin's every action.
But, no matter how you looked at it, shouldn't these Fragmentum monsters be completely devoid of any thinking ability?!
The next second, all the Fragmentum creatures pounced simultaneously on this man who merely held a baseball bat and looked harmless. Even the monster less than half a meter away from Seele immediately abandoned its original target.
BANG—! BANG—! BANG—!
As the first Fragmentum creature's face made intimate contact with Kevin's baseball bat, a series of consecutive explosive impact sounds began to ring out incessantly in the dimly lit street, each one deafening.
The steel-hard bodies of the Fragmentum creatures seemed like paper when colliding with the baseball bat, utterly unable to halt its swinging momentum even slightly before shattering into countless fine, indistinguishable shards of ice in mid-air.
In less than thirty seconds, the monsters that had filled the street just moments before were completely gone without a trace. Only half of a carcass that Seele had just severed remained at her feet.
"Wh-what kind of joke is this?"
Was this scene before her eyes really destructive power that a normal human could display? Even if that big robot guy always watching over the Furnace Core came, he probably couldn't have been this clean and efficient, right?
"All taken care of."
Kevin calmly extended his hand and wiped away the ice shards clinging to the baseball bat, asking: "Which direction is the orphanage you mentioned?"
"... The largest mansion to the west is what used to be the orphanage."
"Alright, let's go."
Without any further words, Kevin simply turned and strode off in the direction Seele indicated. It was actually quite an easy mansion to spot. Due to its high elevation, it could be easily seen even from the town entrance. After all, Kevin's vision wasn't affected by darkness.
Surprisingly, they encountered no Fragmentum creatures along the way. Kevin also maintained his initial aloofness. Only Seele remained in turmoil, thinking about wanting to say something but not knowing how to begin.
Her consistently aggressive attitude clearly hadn't been very appropriate, but who could have imagined that this guy Sampo brought from the Overworld actually possessed such terrifying strength... She had never imagined before that someone could actually achieve this level.
Even after she inexplicably gained that special ability for acceleration and temporary invisibility, her physical capabilities hadn't actually changed much. She had also never heard of anyone else possessing similarly obvious superpowers that defied common sense.
If she could also possess this kind of power to traverse the Fragmentum freely, then changing the current situation in the Underworld might not be completely impossible either.
Just as Seele remained in turmoil, Kevin walking ahead suddenly stopped, causing her head to bump directly into his shoulder.
Thump—
"We're here."
Kevin glanced back at the girl behind him and finally took the initiative to ask: "What supported this orphanage before?"
Such a luxurious mansion didn't seem like something a welfare institution could sustain.
Moreover, considering Belobog issued its lockdown order for the Underworld over a decade ago, they probably wouldn't do something as superfluous as building an orphanage either.
"Hmm... I remember, the orphanage's original building seemed to be an old mansion donated by some wealthy person. As for daily expenses... Natasha basically scraped them together through practicing medicine while living frugally."
"Back then, even the children's toys were sewn and patched up by Natasha stitch by stitch. But those were always privileges for good children and had nothing to do with a bad kid like me... Wait, why am I talking about this?"
Thinking she had suddenly gone crazy, Seele slapped her own forehead. But the sudden recollection successfully pulled her out of her chaotic thoughts and refocused her on current matters.
"Extra medical supplies were usually stored by Natasha in that basement over there. To avoid encountering danger again during evacuation, we don't need too much—just enough to handle the current trouble is fine."
"After all, these things won't go bad sitting here."
Under Seele's guidance, the two quickly found the needed supplies in the basement. Kevin didn't choose to show off either, simply picking up two boxes of materials and holding them in his arms before following Seele along another side path toward the Fragmentum exit.
For some reason, the journey out was also incredibly smooth. No ill-fated Fragmentum creatures jumped out looking for trouble, allowing the two to simply walk out of the Fragmentum instead.
"Thanks to you this time... thank you."
Just after reaching safety, Seele walking ahead suddenly stopped and sincerely expressed her gratitude. But before Kevin could even respond properly, she immediately started walking again.
"Hurry up! We can talk about other things later. The patients at the clinic can't afford us dragging our feet."
"Sigh..." Kevin standing behind couldn't help but sigh.
No matter how you looked at it, she was still completely just a child through and through.
There is an illustration here. It can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
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