"You..." Alex trailed off as he stared at the figure standing at the door.
It was a middle-aged woman with a rotund figure and equal portions of black and white hair on her head.
Holding a wooden ladle, she regarded Alex briefly before remarking in a slightly surprised tone. "You survived."
"Huh?"
"You are one tough noogie, aren’t ya?"
"... I don’t think I follow."
Ignoring Alex’s confusion, the woman continued. "What are you doing over there?"
Looking toward the window, her expression soon fell before swiftly shifting to a scowl.
"Get down from there already and close that window!... Are you trying to invite them inside or sothing?"
"What?"
Before Alex could understand what was happening, the woman rushed over at a speed much faster than her robust body gave off.
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him down from the chair before promptly climbing the chair to close the window pane.
Only after she’d done this did her expression relax as she let out a relieved sigh.
Alex remained silent as he stared at her, his senses picking up a rather thick sll of roast at from the woman.
Seemingly noticing his gaze, she turned to face him before going ahead to casually remark. "No need to check out, I know I’m beautiful but you are a tad bit late... I’m already married."
"..." Alex’s eyebrows twitched at the unwarranted remark.
Chuckling lightly, the woman ca down from the chair and addressed him. "You don’t seem to have completely recovered. Stay here and try to get so rest, I’ll go over and see if that drunkard Watson is available to check your condition."
"Uhmm..." Alex tried to speak but ultimately trailed off as the woman turned away from him and marched out of the room, each step she took leaving Alex wondering why he felt that sothing was missing.
With the aggressive closing of the door, Alex was once again alone in the tiny room.
Scratching his head with a perplexed look, he inquired. "What the hell just happened?"
***
"Will he be okay?" Natasha asked as she watched Ambrose sleeping soundly on the round table.
Ana flashed a smile as she replied. "Do not worry, he is a tough man despite his ordinary heritage. He will be fine."
"Thank you for your help."
"You should get so rest as well."
"Alright."
After a quick bow, Natasha picked up Ambrose from the table before taking him to an adjacent room and closing the door behind her with a dull thud.
"What do you think?" Arthur asked as silence attempted to descend on the premises.
Ana let out a sigh as she picked up the bag Ambrose brought before emptying its contents on the table.
Pieces of a strange device lay on the table alongside a gold ring.
She inspected the chanical parts briefly before intoning softly. "It was once a part of a Relic. Judging from its current state, I guess it’s been destroyed."
"And the ring?" Arthur inquired as he ca closer.
Ana picked up the ring and closed her eyes, exerting her will on the world.
Ti seed to pause and a mont later, an illusory clock appeared about her.
The second and minute hands moved in tandem, going anticlockwise at a rapid pace.
Soon it stopped and the next mont, an illusory scene appeared before her.
It depicted a few nobles, notably the heads of the Maple and Goldbergs.
They had gathered in the cetery at night ti and ventured into a hidden passageway that led to the underground tunnels.
Once there, they’d found one that shared a wall with the Catacombs.
It was there that a strange device was revealed by the Goldberg Head.
He left the device there and in a state of panic, forgot his ring as well and he and the other noble heads fled away from the scene.
What happened next was a terrifying explosion that destroyed the Catacombs, weakening the seals placed on the Relics locked within.
It was complete chaos.
By the ti the illusory scene concluded, Ana was sweating buckets and her breathing was labored.
Arthur moved to support her but she held her hand out, preventing him from approaching.
After taking a few deep breaths, she sat down to recover her strength.
Arthur regarded her montarily before he remarked. "It must be difficult."
"..."
"I thought by now those old Saints would have found a way to cure you."
"... It’s not as easy as that. It’s not the level of a minor corruption. That green-haired bastard has made sure that I can’t use the full extent of my powers unless I defeat him in mortal combat."
"Then fight him."
"You don’t think I’ve tried?... Tch, just let it be. There’s no need to continue this conversation."
"The more you allow this to persist, the worse your condition will get. Aren’t you worried about that?"
Ana paused, pondering her thoughts for a mont before she replied. "I don’t have to be."
As she spoke, her lips curled up slightly as she recalled the appearance of a certain Hunter.
***
"You are strong and extrely lucky, I’ll give you that." Watson, the so-called drunkard, remarked as he inspected Alex’s current state.
Of course, with the redness of his eyes and bushy beard and hair coupled with a thick scent of alcohol about him, Alex was inclined to understand why the robust lady referred to him as a drunkard.
But then again, considering how ticulously he scrutinized Alex’s physical condition, it was easy to guess that he knew what he was doing, causing Alex to grow slightly curious about Watson’s story.
Once he was done, Watson sat back down to address Alex.
"Well, you are good to go but I’d warn you against doing anything strenuous for the ti being. Who knows if the injury might open up again." He advised professionally before standing to his feet.
He turned to leave only to pause as Alex called out to him.
"What is it?" He asked gruffly.
Ignoring the man’s tone, Alex inquired. "Could you tell where we are?"
"Huh, you don’t know?" Watson raised his brow as he scrutinized Alex.
"Should I?"
"... Hmm, well I guess since he found you unconscious it would make sense you don’t know where this is. Ugh, you are wasting my ti. Listen up, you are in Popolis. "
"Popolis?" Alex’s eyes flickered in surprise.
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