Compensation

Liao Ji knew the way to Irin's home, but there was nothing he could do about the locked door in front of him. After all, his relationship with the girl wasn't close enough for her to give him a key.★

Liao Ji apologized to Irin in his heart, then asked the nun beside him to step back.

Maria hadn't said a word. She'd silently watched the young man from the corridor behind him. Only when Liao Ji kicked the door open instead of using a key did a sweet smile appear on the nun's face.

Of course, it vanished in a flash.

"Come in." Liao Ji didn't turn to look at Maria. He simply beckoned her over, then went inside first.

"S-sorry to intrude."

After following him in, Maria greeted the empty house in a soft, timid voice, perfectly playing the part of a polite, shy little nun.

In reality, she quickly surveyed Irin's home. Though her living conditions had given Maria some idea of what to expect, she still couldn't help frowning inwardly.

All kinds of old furniture were crammed into the tiny, thirty- or forty-square-meter space. It was so cramped that, to Maria, there was hardly anywhere to stand.

The rain pounded against the old windows. When gusts of wind blew the rain against them, the rusted frames creaked under the strain, as though they might fall apart at any moment. In fact, they were already cracked, and rain had leaked through onto the floor beneath the windowsill.

The only thing that kept Maria from losing control right then was that the place was at least clean. There was no grease in the kitchen, and though the furniture was worn, it was mostly free of dust. The household trash had been tied up in bags and put away, so there wasn't much of an odor.

But...

Why!?

Anyone who lived in a dump like this had to be worthless. Why had even someone like her received Lord Ash's Contract mark? Why? Why her? How dare she use that filthy, inferior body to defile such a noble, exalted Contract? She...!

The nun clenched her hands inside her sleeves. Her eyes began to redden, and she was gradually losing control of herself when the young man's voice pulled her back.

"It's a little cramped, but find somewhere to sit."

"I-it's fine! This place is already very nice!" Maria waved her hands repeatedly, insisting she was perfectly content.

"I'll look for something you can use as a medium for Divination in the back room. In the meantime, you might as well look around for a towel or something and dry yourself off."

"Okay."

A little while later, Liao Ji came out of the back room carrying a large box of things and brought it over to Maria.

After looking through them, the nun selected three or four items to use as mediums for the Divination.

Liao Ji glanced at what Maria had picked. Every item had been used by Irin, and quite recently, too. There were the scavenger clothes she'd changed out of that afternoon, a Kobold figurine that had lost its power, and the dagger that had once "held him hostage."

Irin was the link that had led him to rescue Nolan. As a medium for Divination, she was indeed a better choice than her mother. Liao Ji had deliberately brought over a whole box of things partly to test Maria, and judging by the nun's choices, she'd passed the first test in his mind.

"Um, there's still one last thing we need, but it's... a little unusual."

"What is it?"

"Your... blood, sir."

Maria spoke apologetically. When she saw Liao Ji frown, she hurried to explain.

"If you're uncomfortable with it, we can use something else instead, but... the result won't be as complete."

"It's fine. Give me a moment."

Liao Ji cut her off and didn't waste time. He put a finger to his mouth and bit down hard. Bright red blood welled from the tip.

"Then what? Should I find a bowl or something to catch it in?"

"Maria? Maria?"

Liao Ji had bitten his finger and asked the nun across from him a question, but Maria seemed completely unprepared for how sudden and quick his movement had been. She'd frozen.

Her eyes were fixed on the bleeding fingertip, and she seemed lost in a daze. It wasn't until Liao Ji called her several times that she suddenly came to.

"S-sorry!"

"Don't put it in a bowl! Use this! Just... just drip the blood onto this!"

As Liao Ji's blood began to flow, Maria grew flustered. She apologized for spacing out, then took a handkerchief from inside her robe.

It was pure white and clean, with silver patterns along the edges. It gave off an air of sanctity.

The nun was soaked through with rain, yet the handkerchief tucked inside her robe hadn't gotten wet at all. Liao Ji found that a little strange, but he could tell it must be important to her, and that she'd taken care to protect it. He didn't ask.

He held his finger above the handkerchief and squeezed several times. Bright red drops fell straight down, quickly staining the center of the pure white cloth crimson.

Gulp.

Maria's throat bobbed slightly.

Inside her boots, all ten toes were gripping the ground tightly, as if she were trying to endure some tremendous stimulus.

One drop... two drops... five drops.

"That's—that's enough, sir!"

Maria raised her voice by several notches to stop Liao Ji. She was afraid that if he let even one more drop fall, she wouldn't be able to hold back. The five drops were already her limit.

"Then what do we need to—"

"Leave the rest to me. Please... please wait a moment." Maria seemed even more anxious than Liao Ji.

Holy light began to bloom in the nun's hands, enveloping all the objects they'd gathered. Then Maria closed her eyes, as if she'd entered a state of Divination.

The whole process was much quicker than Liao Ji had expected.

It probably took less than half a minute.

When the holy light faded, the nun was left gasping for breath. Sweat clung to the hair on her forehead, and her chest rose and fell violently. Though the process had been brief, Maria looked thoroughly exhausted.

She swayed unsteadily, barely able to stand, and stumbled as if she were about to fall.

Fortunately, Liao Ji was quick to support her. But the nun seemed too weak even to stand upright, and could only slump limply into his arms.

"I found... her. She's beneath the Church... underground. I saw many... dangerous monsters around her. She's... hidden in a safe corner. The... monsters haven't found her."

"But her condition... is very bad. She doesn't want to... turn into a monster, too. She's still resisting. She can't be... provoked."

"And... at the very center of the underground, two floating crests. Brownish-red fog... everywhere. We have to weaken them first, then we can..."

Maria's voice grew softer with each word. At the end, her little head drooped, and she fainted in Liao Ji's arms.

The young man immediately felt a headache coming on.

Why was there another person he had to carry?

He didn't suspect Maria was faking it.

She might have been able to fake that exhausted, feeble expression, but it would've been much harder to fake her labored breathing and limp body.

Besides, the target of Maria's Divination involved something on the level of a Great Emperor's Relic. That was a bit beyond what people five hundred years in the future could handle.

He thought back over the nun's Divination results.

The words "Church," "underground," and "monsters" had all come from Maria. She'd even mentioned "crests." Liao Ji had no reason to doubt the authenticity of her Divination anymore.

Based on the information the nun had given him, it had come out in fits and starts, and much of it was vague, but Liao Ji could still piece together quite a bit.

First, it seemed that Irin's mother was in greater danger from herself than from anything outside.

If the Church's underground was anything like Kalleva's factory, it was probably another massive cultivation chamber. If he barged in, then judging by how violently the [Corrupted Source Essence] in the factory had reacted to him, it would probably release a large amount of Corrupt Calamity at once, drastically changing the chamber's environment.

Irin's mother was already on the verge of losing control. If she were suddenly subjected to such an intense stimulus, she'd probably mutate on the spot. That was likely why Maria had stopped him, and what she'd meant by an "unfortunate future."

Mm.

He really hadn't thought that through.

As for what to do, there seemed to be two options: either he didn't go down there himself, or, as Maria had said at the end, he found a way to weaken the Relic so it wouldn't react to him so violently.

Either way, there was no chance of doing anything tonight. He'd have to wait until Irin and Maria woke up the next day.

In that case...

Whoosh!

Liao Ji let out a long breath. As soon as he relaxed, sleepiness began to wash over him. He wasn't a superhero, after all. Who could've imagined that half a day ago he'd been a pathetic shut-in sitting in front of his computer, only to end up half a day later at the heart of a vortex in the Black Cave?

After all that commotion, it was almost three in the morning. Since he'd decided not to take action, he might as well get some rest.

Time to sleep!

Liao Ji carried the unconscious Maria to Irin's room, laid the little nun on the bed, removed her boots and coat, tucked her in, then closed the door and left.

One thing worth mentioning: even after she'd fallen asleep, the nun's fingers had clung to his clothes. Liao Ji tried several times before he finally managed to pry Maria loose.

As for where he'd sleep, he'd considered going to Irin's mother's room—that was, Nolan's—but in the end he grabbed a blanket and settled for the broken sofa in the living room.

At last, at three in the morning, darkness and silence returned to the house.

The only sound, if anything, was the rain pattering outside. It seemed to be coming down harder and harder, because only then could certain strange sounds be concealed beneath it.

Inside Irin's room.

Maria should have been fast asleep beneath the covers, with only her little head showing. Instead, she sat upright.

She recalled the young man's actions from earlier. Lord Ash was still as gentle as ever. Stia couldn't imagine how much willpower she'd needed to maintain the pretense of being asleep at the time.

Stia cautiously took a bloodstained handkerchief from inside her robe. She inhaled deeply, intoxicated by the rich, heady scent of the Great Emperor's blood.

At some point, the red fog of Corrupt Calamity had spread through the room, shrouding it in mist.

Under the brownish-red light, the room took on an eerie, hazy aspect. The nun's eyes were already filled with madness.

"Lord Ash..." Clutching the bloodstained handkerchief, she murmured in delight.