Rin knew that he should get the whole settlent searching for Serena. But he did not want others to know what happened to Serena.
He felt responsible for her well-being, and he wanted to preserve her honor in case he was not able to save her.
[Give up saving that dood ss, Rookie. You should focus on your KPI. New Birth of Calamity: Crimson Sorrow Event is going to happen in a few minutes. You should sit back and reap the rewards from this.]
The system reminded Rin, and he knew that it was only saying this for his own well-being. But that did not an that Rin liked hearing such words. Especially when it ca to Serena.
She was not soone who was supposed to die so soon. She needed to live and help out in the other tasks.
[Rookie, you are putting far too much faith in the ’story’ you know. This is not good for your growth. So forget about the story and listen to what this system is telling you to do.]
The system tried again to make Rin change his mind, but he was far too determined to see it through.
He tracked down Serena within the settlent, but she was nowhere to be seen. He had a feeling that the only one who could tell him where Serena went was the system.
But it was reluctant to help him out.
’Who else can I ask for help? Who else can track down soone?’
Familiar arms wrapped around his neck and Shelly’s warm body hugged him from behind. She sounded concerned as she held Rin close to her body.
"Is there sothing bothering you? You can ask for help. I will do anything I can to make it better for you."
Shelly promised without missing a beat.
Rin doubted she could help him, but wasn’t she also the last person who had seen Serena? Maybe she could help Rin find her after all.
"Shelly, I need your help tracking down soone. Do you know where Serena is?"
Each word he spoke seed to make Shelly’s smile fainter and fainter by the second. She was not even smiling by the end of his sentence.
But she still decided to nod to show that she was willing to help him out.
"You want to track down Serena? I think I can do it."
Shelly agreed, and Rin had a lingering doubt about whether she would actually help him or lead him on a wild goose chase.
He instantly felt bad about doubting Shelly and almost hit himself to get those ridiculous thoughts out of his mind.
’What am I even thinking? How can I doubt Shelly of all people? She won’t lie to ...’
But Rin had his doubts.
"I am sure Serena said sothing about heading west-"
"Rin, are you in there? I am picking up massive amounts of energy from the north side. It is so bad that I doubt we would be able to do much against it. What should we do about it?"
Shelly was about to lead Rin around when Albus opened the door with a sick look on his face.
He did not seem to be lying about the energy, which ant that Shelly had been about to lead him on a wild goose chase.
Rin gave Shelly a look, but she had the audacity not to even look guilty. He wanted to scold her, but he knew that there was nothing he could say to her that would make her realize that she had been in the wrong.
So Rin turned toward Albus, the more useful of the two, and decided to ask him what he sensed.
"Albus, calm down and tell in detail what happened."
Rin asked, and Albus took a deep breath before speaking again.
"I was in the middle of my training when I picked up huge energy signals. I tried sensing them, but it began to overload my senses. Whatever is making these signals is not good news. And it is too close to our settlent. What should we do now?"
It was concerning.
Rin was currently 90% sure that this energy was being emitted by Serena’s corruption and evolution. But there was a 10% chance it could be sothing else as well.
Still, since it was so close to the settlent, he had to take care of it one way or another.
"It looks like we will have to check it out. Albus, Shelly, we will be heading out now. Get Teressa as well and tell Reina and Alia to be on standby."
If Serena had evolved into another calamity, then it was going to be a hard battle.
Rin doubted it would be as easy as the last calamity battle. But they had to overco it sohow.
If not for their own sake, then for Serena’s sake.
’Please, don’t let it be too late.’
Rin begged, but the world did not hear his plea. He did not even get to enjoy a few monts of peace before a ssage appeared on everyone’s screen.
[A new calamity has been birthed. Crimson Sorrow has descended upon humanity. Please clear it as soon as possible, or you all will suffer extre losses.]
__________
"This is...too much...I need...to keep...going..."
Serena panted as she walked away from the settlent. She wanted to get as far away from the Kalos settlent as possible.
But each step made her feel like she was losing her mind.
Not only was the effect of the potion wavering, but her mother’s hands were beginning to feel even more real.
’Serena, you are so close to the end. I can feel you. I can touch you. I promise Mother will make it all better once you get here.’
The voice was gentle once more, but the hands squeezing her neck were not. Serena wanted to end it all, but she did not have the courage to do it.
Sothing in her chest was burning, and she wanted to soothe it. But her body kept going, telling her that she should not stop for anything.
’You are doing so much for those worthless fools, but where does that lead you? Where will you end up once this is all over? It’s not like you have a ho to return to.’
That was true. There were people who had accepted her, but that did not make them family or ho.
Serena had...no ho. And now, she did not have her humanity either.
[Corruption levels have reached 100%. Your evolution into a calamity will accelerate starting now.]
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