Rescue!

At his words, Merlin's heart suddenly sank. He burst into motion, driving his left knee viciously into the soldier's groin.

The soldier, caught completely off guard, instantly crumpled, a wretched shriek of "Uwaaah!!" forced from his throat.

At the same time, black flame surged in Merlin's left hand as he seized the soldier's neck, releasing the disaster absorbed from the doctor.

His crimson left index finger returned to its original color, while the soldier became wrapped in a layer of black flame. Three penetrating gunshot wounds appeared across his chest, and he collapsed to the ground, groaning in agony.

Merlin bent down and decisively drove his dagger into the soldier's neck, ending his life.

He retrieved the single grenade from the soldier's belt, bringing his total to seven.

But he needed to see the living, or find the dead.

Merlin continued upstairs. A minute and a half later, he reached a medical room on the third floor with its door already open. The once cozy room had been utterly wrecked.

A hospital bed was ablaze, roaring flames lighting up the interior.

The pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with a scorched odor assaulted Merlin's nostrils.

Merlin's nose twitched as he sifted through several distinct scents lingering in the air. His gaze sharpened, locking onto a closed wardrobe to one side.

He strode quickly to the wardrobe door and pulled it open. Inside, a girl of only seven lay unconscious, her chest rising and falling faintly.

Large patches of pale white scars covered most of her face, dark circles heavy under her eyes. Her delicate features, inherited from her mother, were marred by illness, and she seemed to be breathing with great difficulty.

Lami, Trafalgar's youngest daughter.

Seeing her, Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. Though she was in the late stages of Lead Platinum Disease, she was still alive and wouldn't die anytime soon.

Black flame surged in his left hand as he pressed it against her face. The dark fire spread across her body, and upon contact, Disaster Absorption activated. Instantly, the scarred white marks on her face and the areas hidden by her nightgown began to rapidly fade.

Merlin felt the drain on his mental and physical stamina and relaxed slightly. Absorbing "ordinary" toxin-type disasters didn't cost much.

Soon, little Lami's breathing steadied. Her tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed, and she drifted off to sleep.

At that moment, because the Lead Platinum Disease disaster Merlin had absorbed was of the same origin, he could store it and merge it into the middle finger of his left hand.

In the blink of an eye.

Looking at the even paler hue of his middle finger, Merlin's gaze shifted slightly as he sensed the effect of this disaster "bullet":

"Potent Lead Platinum Disease disaster. Upon release, it instantly plunges the target into a late-stage Lead Platinum Disease state.

Induces symptoms such as palpitations, full-body weakness, severe pain, and difficulty breathing."

Merlin's gaze was calm as he looked at the healed Lami. He reached out to lift her up, spotted a large piece of clothing in the wardrobe, dressed her in it, and tucked her under his left arm.

She weighed about forty jin.

In the past, carrying her for long periods would have been a heavy burden, but now, it was much easier.

The fire inside the room had already spread. Merlin carried Lami and quickly left.

He rushed down the stairs to the first floor. Passing the door of the ward where the doctor and his wife lay buried, Merlin paused briefly, but without hesitation, he hurried out of the hospital.

The streets were filled with flames everywhere. Merlin avoided the soldiers on the road, weaving through alleys and lanes, and soon arrived at the church entrance.

The church was now surrounded by fire. Merlin's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly relaxed again.

There were no bodies of those youths or Yol in the vicinity.

The air was thick with a pungent, scorched smell mixed with several different scents.

Merlin carefully distinguished Yol's scent trail from among them, then turned his gaze toward the distant path leading to the mountains.

Without hesitation, he dashed off in that direction. From the surrounding streets came occasional wretched screams and the sounds of gunfire and explosions.

It was like a hellscape.

Carrying a burden, he had to dodge the soldiers. Following the lingering scent in the air, twenty minutes later, Merlin stopped at a street corner surrounded by flames.

"Yol's scent is inside here."

He glanced at the little girl trembling in his arm and spoke softly:

"You're awake, aren't you? Lami."

Feeling her body jolt, Merlin said, "I'm Laplace."

Hearing the familiar voice, Lami suddenly looked up, her eyes wide and brimming with tears as she sobbed:

"What's happening here? Brother Laplace, where are my parents and my brother?"

Merlin said nothing. He carried her to a spot beside a building half-collapsed from artillery fire, set her down, and patted her head:

"Wait here for me. Hide well. Don't respond to anyone but me. And don't make a sound."

With that, he bent down and tucked her into the gap beneath the sturdy but partially collapsed structure.

As he straightened up, his pant leg was tugged. Merlin looked down and said softly:

"Be good, listen. Your father entrusted you to me. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't abandon you."

Out of habit, he issued a threat.

Lami's eyes filled with terror, her body trembling, but she obediently let go.

There was no time to comfort her now.

Merlin rubbed her head.

This girl had always been well-behaved.

And he had often met with her before; she called him "big brother."

Then, he stuffed the backpack and grenades into the gap in front of her, glanced at the buildings engulfed in flames in the distance, and looked toward the collapsed fountain pool nearby.

Merlin ran over, jumped into the knee-deep water, soaked himself completely, then quickly charged into the fire.

The water on his body effectively blocked the surrounding flames. After he ran through this block, Merlin's eyes suddenly sharpened—he spotted Yol.

At the street corner not far away, where flames spread, she was now straddling a soldier, hoarsely pounding her bloodstained fists, thud thud thud, into the face of a soldier who had already stopped moving.

Around her lay two more soldier corpses and the bodies of ten youths.

Merlin rushed to her side and grabbed her shoulder, but then, on reflex, he leaped backward—just as a right arm whipped back at him with a whistling wind.

Having just dodged her attack, Merlin saw Yol spin, stomp the ground, and pounce at him like a shrieking beast. Seeing this, Merlin quickly shouted:

"Yol! It's me!"

Her bloodstained left hand seized Merlin's collar, her right fist stopping before his face with a gust of wind. Yol's eyes trembled, blood trickling from her mouth. Her shaking right hand lifted Merlin's visor. When she saw it really was him, her emotions collapsed instantly:

"Wah... the children are all..."

Grabbing Merlin's shoulders, her knees gave way, and she knelt on the ground, weeping in grief.

Merlin's face went silent. He reached out and pressed his hand on her head. Seconds later, gunfire rang out again nearby, startling him:

"Come with me. It's not safe here."

Saying this, he hooked his hands under Yol's arms and pulled her up.

But just then, Yol reversed her grip, locking Merlin's arms. A sorrowful, beautiful smile appeared on her pretty face as she gazed at Merlin and slowly shook her head:

"It's really good to see you safe one last time. I've been shot. I can't go far. I'll hold them off for you. You have to live on.

This is hell. Even if you're the only one, you must survive."

With that, she wiped the back of her hand across her tears, turned, and looked toward the direction of the gunfire.

Seeing her about to move, Merlin stepped forward, swung his hand in a knife-hand strike, and chopped at the carotid artery on the side of her neck. Yol's mind went blank instantly.

Her body staggered and fell backward. At that moment, Merlin closed in, pulled her arm over his shoulder, and hoisted her up. He glanced at the commotion in the distance, checked the three soldiers' waists—no grenades—then carried her as he quickly ran into a burning street nearby.

Minutes later, five soldiers arrived at the scene and found their men dead.

The leader spoke in an icy tone, "Search the area. Don't let any of the infected here escape."

"Yes, sir!"

"Yes, sir!"

"..."

Crossing the block, Merlin looked around warily. Before long, carrying Yol, he vaulted over the intact wall of a courtyard.

He laid Yol down on the ground. Now he could see two spots of blood seeping through the fabric at the abdomen of her nun's habit.

Merlin pinched the cloth torn by the bullets and ripped it open with a shred—exposing her belly.

Instantly, two gunshot wounds with flesh turned outward appeared. Merlin pressed his fingers around the wounds, and a look of certainty flashed in his eyes—the bullets were indeed still inside her.

He knew her body density was abnormal, and fortunately, that meant the bullets had only caused through-and-through wounds.

Not large-scale tearing.

As sharp pain shot through the wounds, Yol's hazy consciousness snapped awake.

She found herself in an unfamiliar small courtyard. Propping herself up on her arms, she looked at Merlin, who was kneeling beside her, and spoke in a weak voice:

"It's hopeless. The bullets pierced my intestines and stayed inside. Without good medical conditions, I can't survive."