Chapter 268: Paimon's Rescue
Chuychu heard the familiar voice and instinctively turned, her gaze snapping toward the sound. A hint of pure relief bloomed on her face as she saw her sister.
But just as she turned her head—
Whoosh—!
A lance of pure, void-purple energy, no thicker than a man's arm yet seeming to devour all light, shot out from the gap in the pit. It was a venomous snake that had finally bared its fangs after a long, patient lurk, and its target was Chuychu's unguarded back.
"Littl—!" Chasca's warning was strangled in her throat after a single, desperate syllable.
The deadly ray had already, with chilling precision and silence, pierced Chuychu's back.
Time seemed to freeze.
Chuychu's body trembled violently. The relief that had just graced her features instantly froze, replaced by an incredulous blankness that was swiftly consumed by a tide of spreading pain.
She looked down at her chest. There was no obvious wound, but a dense, almost living, dark-purple Abyssal energy was spreading wildly from the center of her heart, radiating through her body like ink bleeding into clear water.
Her face turned visibly ashen, and the very breath of life began to ebb away.
Chasca let out a heartbreaking wail, her eyes instantly flooding with endless panic and despair.
The spirit gun in her hand erupted with an unmatched, furious light. Six "Soul-Locking Bullets," each imbued with potent Night Spirit Power, shot into the pit. They struck the core of the abyssal creature that had just attacked, which had not yet had time to fully retreat into the shadows.
"Boom! Boom! Boom…!"
A chain of explosions echoed from within the pit. The eerie monster was utterly reduced to ashes amidst its own shrill, dying screams.
But Chasca no longer cared to confirm the kill.
She leaped from her perch atop the spirit gun like a madwoman, rushing to Chuychu's side without a shred of hesitation. She caught her sister in a tight embrace just before she could collapse to the ground.
"Chuychu! Chuychu! Open your eyes! Look at me!" Chasca's voice trembled uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her face like a bursting dam, splashing onto Chuychu's rapidly paling cheeks.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have called you… I shouldn't have called out… If it wasn't for me… you might have been able to dodge it… I'm the one who hurt you…"
Endless self-reproach gnawed at her heart like a viper.
In her arms, Chuychu's breathing had already grown shallow, the spreading Abyssal energy relentlessly corroding her entire being.
She heard her sister's cries and struggled to lift a heavy arm. Her fingers trembled as she gently caressed Chasca's tear-stained cheek, trying to wipe the tears away.
Chuychu's lips struggled to form an extremely faint, bitter, and understanding smile. "Sister… there's no time left…"
Her voice was as faint as a wisp of smoke, threatening to break off at any moment. "It's laughable… only now… do I understand you…"
Understanding the heavy burden she carried, understanding the cruel choices she had to make as a warrior, understanding the pain and loneliness hidden beneath that strong exterior… Chuychu's weak words were like cold needles, piercing Chasca's already shattered emotional defenses.
Looking at her sister's rapidly fading complexion and the evil, black-purple energy spreading through her body, Chasca's world seemed to lose all color and sound, leaving only a hollow void of regret and despair.
"No! Don't speak, Chuychu! Don't speak!" Chasca almost roughly interrupted her, as if silencing her could somehow stop life from draining from her body.
She held Chuychu tighter, her voice hoarse and frantic as she repeated, "There's still a way! There must be a way! That's right! Paimon! She can purify Abyssal energy! I'll take you to Paimon! I'll take you now!"
She tried to pick Chuychu up, but her hands trembled so violently from the extreme fear and sorrow that she found herself almost powerless.
Just at this heartbreaking moment of utter despair—
Whoosh—!
A sound tore through the air, moving from far to near at an incredible speed. A silver-white, muscular, and frankly exaggerated figure was seen flying low at an astonishing velocity, clutching Lumine and Paimon in its massive hands.
It was Paimon's Star, using its immense strength and speed to bring them rushing to the scene.
"Chasca! Chuychu!" Lumine's heart sank the moment she saw Chasca holding her sister, her eyes locking onto the dense Abyssal energy that was nearly consuming Chuychu.
They had seen the marker for an [Extremely High-Risk Mission: Rescue and Purification] refresh on their minimap right at this location. They immediately abandoned the inexplicably increasing number of monsters they were clearing to the northwest and rushed over at full speed.
Along the way, they had also received an urgent notification from Mavuika via the wind network, stating that Chuychu had discovered important intelligence and might be in danger. In response, they had Paimon's Star spare no expense, pushing its power to the absolute limit to sprint across the land.
"Quick! Paimon!" Lumine shouted the instant her feet touched the ground.
"I see her!" Paimon's small face was a mask of anxiety. She zipped to Chasca and Chuychu's side without a moment's delay. Waving her small hand, the familiar phantom of a silver wrench immediately appeared above her head. It then transformed into a solidified stream of light, merging into Chuychu's back—the exact spot where the deadly ray had struck.
A soft yet firm golden magic circle unfolded beneath Chuychu. The wrench phantom above her head began to rotate slowly, emitting motes of light—"sparks"—that were denser and more dazzling than ever before.
The dark-purple energy, which had been spreading like a virulent disease, finally met its nemesis. It emitted faint hissing sounds as its momentum was forcefully halted. Slowly but steadily, it began to be pushed back and purified.
At the same time, Lumine quickly squatted down, took a jade bottle from her storage space, and poured out several rejuvenation pills that exuded a rich life essence and a fragrant aroma. She carefully fed them into Chuychu's slightly parted mouth.
The pills melted upon entry. Their pure medicinal power, mixed with Paimon's purification, nourished Chuychu's almost depleted life force like sweet dew on parched land.
Under the dual effect of Paimon's Optimization Power and Lumine's rejuvenation pills, Chuychu's life flame, which had been flickering like a candle in the wind, was finally stabilized. Though still weak, it was no longer declining.
The alarming ashen color on her face also faded slightly, and her long, faint breaths gradually grew a little more stable.
"For now… she's stable." Paimon wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead and let out a long sigh of relief. "Good thing we arrived quickly!"
Chasca watched the Abyssal energy recede from Chuychu's body and saw a hint of color return to her cheeks. Her nerves, stretched to their absolute limit, finally relaxed. The immense sense of relief was so overwhelming it almost made her collapse.
But immediately, the self-reproach, fear, and anger she had forcibly suppressed surged back like a bursting dam, with even greater ferocity.
'It's all my fault… If I hadn't called out to her… she wouldn't have turned around… she wouldn't have…'
'I almost… I almost killed Chuychu with my own hands…'
'What right do I, a sister like this, have to even exist…?'
Negative emotions, like poisonous vines, wildly entangled and constricted her heart.
Perhaps it was the dense Abyssal aura permeating the area, which had a special catalytic effect on such feelings. Or perhaps it was an inherent, hidden danger within her own body, triggered by this extreme emotional fluctuation—
"Ugh—ah!"
Chasca suddenly let out a pained groan. She staggered backward a few steps, her back hitting the trunk of a dead tree with a heavy thud.
The next moment, an aura of pure yet violent Abyssal energy erupted from within her.
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