Volume 2, Chapter 12 – The Dying Girl

After passing through another alley, Yisi slowed her pace slightly.

The scene before her had changed drastically compared to before. The alley was filled with people slumped on the ground, either lying or sitting with their heads hanging weakly. If not for the faint rise and fall of their chests, Yisi might have mistaken them for corpses.

Before coming to the tavern, Yisi had seen this sight once. According to the bald man, Darc, the people living on this street were either vampires or slaves. Because their masters provided no shelter, they came here to escape the biting cold wind. Due to prolonged starvation, some were little more than skin and bones, their emaciated and lifeless appearances horrifying to behold.

Trying her best to ignore them, Yisi walked through the alley with her head held high. If she had any food on her, she might have shared some with them, but she carried nothing like skewers of meat. The warehouse only contained blood and perishable raw meat that couldn’t be stored long-term.

Perhaps in the future, she could bring leftover food from the tavern here. If these people recognized her goodwill, she could wield an invisible influence. Though they couldn’t fight for her, they would undoubtedly make excellent informants—if only they weren’t so fickle.

After nearly ten minutes, Yisi finally reached the street where the tavern was located. Compared to before, there were far fewer slaves lying on the roadside here, and she could even see a few figures moving about.

Then.

A touch on her shoulder again—but this time, Yisi didn’t immediately react.

Another attempt at conversation…?

She turned around, ready to teach the person a lesson, but the sight before her made her swallow the words on her lips.

It was a girl dressed in tattered clothes, barely able to stand even with a cane, her eye sockets pitch-black as she groped blindly in the air.

Though the sight of her eyeless face was terrifying, Yisi suppressed the urge to step back and asked,

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“Um… are you lost?”

“Sa… save…”

“What?”

Hearing a response, the girl trembled all over, her lips quivering as if trying to speak.

“I don’t… want to die…”

Thud.

As soon as she finished speaking, as if all her strength had drained away, the girl collapsed to the ground.

Yisi hurriedly caught her.

“Hey, hey!”

No response. Yisi checked the girl’s status bar—her HP was less than 10% and still dropping.

“You’d better pay me back for the healing costs later.”

As if trying to convince herself, Yisi picked up the girl, who reeked of rotten eggs and blood, and quickly carried her toward the tavern she had just bought.

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Stepping on the moldy stairs, Yisi reached the second floor of the tavern. Since Camilla was cleaning the rooms, the previously pitch-black hallway was now lit by magic lamps, with a bucket of dirty water and a wet mop placed by the door.

Hearing footsteps, Camilla hurried out of the room.

“Welcome back, Sister. Since I ran out of mana, I could only clean—” Halfway through her sentence, Camilla froze, her gaze locked onto the girl in Yisi’s arms. “Sister, who is this?”

“Found her on the street,” Yisi shrugged. “I hate to trouble you, but could you heal her? She’s badly hurt. She looks no older than twelve—what could have happened to her…?”

Unable to help stealing another glance at the girl in Yisi’s arms, Camilla nodded with a complicated expression.

“Understood. Hand her over to me.”

“Thanks, I’ll leave it to you.”

Though she said she was leaving it to Camilla, Yisi didn’t step away. The newly purchased bed proved useful now. The two first laid down a bed sheet that could afford to get dirty, then placed the girl on the bed, allowing Camilla, who knew medical skills, to examine her injuries.

“Her left eye was gouged out long ago, and her right eye seems to have been recently removed. The tendons in her right hand and foot have been severed, and her ankle and some fingers have been crushed. She also suffers from severe frostbite and is a Fallen. It’s unbelievable—how did she survive injuries like these?”

“Can she be saved?”

Ignoring Camilla’s diagnosis, Yisi cut straight to the point. The girl had already lost consciousness, her body as thin as a twig, her hair a tangled mess, and her tattered clothes stained with blackened blood. Purple bruises covered her half-naked body, making it hard to imagine what kind of torment she had endured.

Camilla fell silent for a moment, as if weighing her words, then shook her head.

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“If we were in the vampire lands, we could use [Life Stimulation] to save her at the cost of a massive amount of vitality. But no one here knows that spell.”

“What about the temple? If we take her to the church’s temple—”

“She’s not only a half-elf but also a Fallen. At best, the temple would just turn her away.”

“Tch.”

Yisi clicked her tongue in frustration.

“Sister, does she hold any special meaning to you?”

“No. I just met her on the street, and she asked me to save her.”

“Then I suggest granting her a painless death. Though I don’t believe the rumors that Fallen are contagious, adopting one would bring us no benefit—especially since her Fallen markings have spread across her body, meaning she could lose control at any moment. Additionally, I found a slave brand on her abdomen. She was likely abandoned by her master after losing her usefulness.”

As she spoke, Camilla methodically packed the medical tools back into the kit, clearly done with the examination.

“Adopting an abandoned slave invites all sorts of trouble. Even if a slave is discarded, as long as the brand remains, they still belong to their original master. If the master learns you’ve taken her in, they could accuse you of property theft and demand compensation.

I know you have the power to save her, but the trouble she could bring far outweighs any use she might have. Even if you save her, with the Fallen markings covering her body, she doesn’t have long left.”

“Is there no magic or medicine that can remove the Fallen markings?”

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“None. Even the highest-grade elixir, [Goddess’s Blessing] can’t erase them.”

“What if we cut away the marked skin?”

“Even if you remove the skin, the new skin that grows back will still bear the markings. The Fallen curse is incurable.”

Camilla stood up, pulling a dagger from her storage space without expression. A single thrust into the half-elf girl’s heart would free her from her suffering forever, sending her to the next world.

“Then, Sister, please allow me to take her to the backyard. Pretend you never met this girl.”

“Wait. Let me try once.”

“But—”

Camilla clearly wanted to argue, but Yisi spoke first.

“If it fails, we’ll do it your way.”

Even if she was called a meddler or too kind-hearted, it didn’t matter. Right now, she simply wanted to save this girl. If she lacked the ability or if the girl hadn’t begged for help, she could have resigned herself to the situation. But with both conditions met, her conscience wouldn’t allow her to watch the girl die.

“If that’s what you wish… very well. I’ll go boil water downstairs.”

“Mm.” Watching Camilla leave, Yisi took a deep breath as she stared at the girl, whose breathing was terrifyingly faint. “Don’t you dare die on me now.”