deia knew she was gambling.
She was only guessing that the original owner of this body had once been kidnapped and kept inside the military base.
She had read through so old docunts about the first batch of experints and found a single, faded photo. In it, there were fifteen children, their ages ranging from ten to fourteen. Sadly, there were no nas, no clear records, just the faces.
However, that one photo was enough.
deia stood out even among those kids. Her platinum hair and bright blue eyes made her shine like a star surrounded by the midnight sky.
In the picture, she was standing right in the middle, smiling brightly. And behind the children were several scientists, maybe around ten of them. One of them, standing slightly off to the side, had the sa light gray eyes as the old man now peeking through the door.
deia had never told Lucian about this photo.
Not because she wanted to hide it, but because deep down, she was afraid he might feel guilty if he found out that the real ’deia’ had actually been inside the base or perhaps even crossed paths with him without him ever realizing it.
"Sir, I know you recognize ," deia said firmly, making sure to emphasize her words.
The military base was heavily guarded. There was simply no way a little girl could have escaped without help from soone who knew the base inside out, soone who had made sure she could safely get out of the dangerous zone.
deia didn’t know exactly what the area around the base looked like back then, but Lucian once told her that the surroundings were dangerous, though not as deadly as the X-Zone.
Only a fool would believe that a little girl with just Grade-B water manipulation could have escaped on her own.
When deia found out that these scientists had managed to escape the military base back when General Voss caught them, she beca sure of one thing, so of them must have been experts at escaping.
"You ..." the old man started, pausing as if the words got stuck in his throat. His eyes flickered with sothing, maybe hesitation. "No ... I don’t know you."
Before he could shut the peephole, deia quickly slipped her hand through it, stopping him.
"My mories ... they’re a bit blurry," she said softly, sounding vulnerable. "But I know you. You were one of the people who helped escape."
She carefully spun a story, piecing it together from the little fragnts of ’deia’s’ past.
"I found a family after that," she continued. "They gave kindness, warmth, and a ho. They protected from the world. And now ... I have to protect their son with everything I have."
In truth, deia didn’t even know who Finn’s parents were. But from what Finn had told her, he wasn’t born inside the military base. He had parents once, before the military dragged him into that so-called paradise.
"Has your heart rotted with age?" deia asked coldly. "So many children still suffer in that facility, and yet you want to turn your back on them forever?"
At this point, she wasn’t begging anymore. Her words were like hundreds of sharp daggers stabbing straight into the old man’s heart, making him freeze for a mont.
"I know you still rember my na," deia said firmly. "I can see it, just by the way you look at ."
The old man clenched his teeth and turned his face away for a mont.
Then, faintly, deia heard a woman’s voice behind him. "Why haven’t you shut that yet? Just shoo her away."
"I’m trying," the old man replied. "But I can’t."
deia found it amusing. The way he trembled slightly, avoided her eyes, yet kept sneaking glances at her, it was almost too easy to read that he finally recognized her.
At that mont, deia realized that his connection to the original ’deia’ wasn’t just so ordinary acquaintance.
"Who is she?" the woman behind him asked, her voice suddenly softer, almost emotional.
There was a long, heavy silence before the old man finally answered, his voice trembling slightly. "She’s ... she is our little Snow."
deia’s eye twitched. Little Snow? What kind of ridiculous nickna was that?
Before she could even roll her eyes, she heard sothing drop inside the church, probably a cup, followed by the sound of it shattering on the floor.
Then ca the sobbing.
’Oh, co on, why is she crying now?’ deia thought, frowning.
Suddenly, sothing heavy dropped from the church tower. It wasn’t debris. It was a man. He wore a black ski mask and a black jacket, blending almost perfectly with the dim surroundings.
"Holy shi—" deia took a step back, ready to fight, but the man sprinted toward her like the wind.
Her hand automatically reached for the dagger hidden in her pocket. She was just about to stab him when, but sothing unexpected happened.
He was hugging her.
What the hell?!
deia froze, her brain failing to process what was happening. ’Why am I in this situation?’
In this world, the only person who had ever hugged her was Lucian. It felt strange, wrong even, to suddenly be embraced like this.
"You’re alive," the man whispered, his voice shaking as he clung to her. "I’m so glad you’re still alive, deia."
deia stood there stiffly, unsure if she should stab him or pat him on the back.
But, it felt like deia had just won the jackpot.
These scientists really did recognize her.
But... did this man seriously have to hug her like this? Couldn’t he give her a little space?
"I ..." deia stood there awkwardly, stiff as a board. She glanced helplessly at Finn, hoping for so sort of help, but the poor boy looked just as lost as she was. "I’m just ... lucky," she muttered.
The original ’deia’ must have been incredibly lucky to survive until 24 years old after escaping from the military base.
Unfortunately, her luck had actually run out when a demon took over her body. Though, depending on how she looked at it, maybe that was still a kind of luck.
Monts later, the door finally creaked open. Standing at the entrance were two n and a woman, their eyes red and watery.
"Oh, my! You really are our little Snow!" cried the gray-haired woman, who deia guessed must be Sarah Elowyn.
"I ... I never thought I’d see you again after all these years," the old man choked out, tears streaming down his face.
Before deia could even react, all three of them rushed forward and wrapped her in a tight, crushing hug.
Her eyes went wide in shock.
’Should I push them off?’ she thought desperately.
[Congratulations! You have completed a Hidden Quest: eting the Body Owner’s Family!]
[Reward: 7,000 XP, 3,000 C-Points.]
WHAT?!
The reward points were insanely high!
If that was the case, then these old folks could hug her as tight and as long as they wanted.
But the mont soone tightened the hug even more, deia’s urge to push them away returned.
’Nope! Nope! Get away from ! I can’t handle this much love!’
"My poor little girl, you must have suffered so much," Sora said softly as she finally let go, gently patting deia’s arms. "Oh dear ... look how skinny you’ve beco."
Skinny? deia blinked. Where?!
She ate three full als a day, plus snacks like beef jerky and fresh tomatoes every two hours.
Honestly, compared to her, these old folks looked skinnier.
"I eat just fine," deia mumbled. "My base has plenty of food."
"You joined a base again?!" the man with the ski mask suddenly shouted. "What did I tell you before?! You can’t trust people so easily and just enter soone else’s base! What if they take advantage of you?!"
deia opened her mouth to respond, but another old man cut in. "This rotten world must be so harsh for a beautiful woman like you! Has anyone ever... touched you inappropriately?!"
’What is happening?’
’Is this what children feel when their parents scold them for ignoring advice?’
This was new. deia had never experienced anything like this before, but for so reason she wanted to be scolded even more.
"Just leave that base and co with us," Sora said gently. "We’ll even let your brother stay with us too."
deia instinctively stepped back a few steps. "No ... the base has a lot of dical equipnt, so ... it’s more ideal for us to stay there."
"Oh no ..." the gray-eyed old man clicked his tongue. "They must be treating you so well that you don’t want to leave. But rember this, deia, a demon will always tempt you with a shiny apple before doing sothing terrible."
But ... she was a demon in that base.
"Don’t worry about . Nothing bad will happen," deia said with a wide grin. "My boyfriend is strong, so he’ll always protect ."
In a second, their faces turned as pale as paper. Sora’s face reddened with anger as she scread, "WHERE IS THAT JERK?!"
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