“Ah… I’ve seen a troublesome thing.”
Utia said there were rats that slipped in, severely injured… it’s her, right?
Cold rainwater dripped continuously from the edges of her cloak. Sylvie stood there, looking at the crimson figure barely breathing beneath the stone wall, her heart utterly numb.
Leave this place.
A cold voice rang in her mind, clear and cruel.
Don’t look… don’t ask… don’t get involved.
Getting close to her will only bring danger to yourself. If other vampires discover you, you’ll be seen as an accomplice, and your fate will be worse than death.
Nia and Lynla are already dead because of your unnecessary concern. Do you want to get more people killed? Do you want… to get yourself killed?
These cold thoughts entangled her heart, leaving her with no choice but to escape.
She took half a step back, her boots stepping into the muddy water with a slight sound.
The rain poured in sheets, thunder rumbling, as if urging her on.
Not far away, the red-haired woman remained motionless, completely unaware that Sylvie was watching her.
Rainwater washed away the blood on her body, pooling into a pale red stream beneath her—her appearance wretched and pitiful.
Sylvie warned herself not to meddle anymore, but her gaze couldn’t shift from that broken figure…
She’ll die.
A faint voice arose from some corner of her heart.
Just like this… dying here, like trash.
Just like… those blood livestock piled into mountains.
Just like… Nia and Lynla.
Just like… perhaps one day, after losing all value, what she herself might become.
Sylvie stood there dazed, her feet rooted in place, her palm slowly clenching…
No one… should end up like this.
But… she no longer had the courage to extend a helping hand to others.
Her tightly clenched palm slowly relaxed, and she turned, leaving the place.
…
Cold rainwater battered Dill’s hazy consciousness…
Pain and blood loss made her almost unable to feel anything from the outside world—only death constantly approaching, and the damp darkness relentlessly tugging at her sanity and thoughts.
The excruciating pain in her twisted wrist had long gone numb.
They had failed; the mission to infiltrate Eternal Night City was a complete disaster, costing her companions’ lives, and she herself would die like garbage on this cursed land.
Defeated in an instant by that… vampire woman with eyes full of mockery.
Well… at least she wouldn’t have to face that equally despairing world outside anymore.
With great effort, as if using all her strength, Dill pulled out a pocket watch from her tattered shorts, opened it, and looked at the portrait of a girl inside.
A longing smile squeezed onto her face, and a few words spilled from her hoarse throat—the voice so faint it nearly dissipated in the roar of the heavy rain.
“Little Wind… wait a bit more… Sister will come find you soon.”
Just as her consciousness was about to sink completely into darkness.
Squelch… squelch…
The sound of heels stepping on wet mud came from in front of her.
Then, a small outline, soaked by rainwater, slowly entered her gradually dispersing vision.
Dill extremely slowly lifted her heavy eyelids. Rainwater blurred everything; she could only see a pair of muddy, worn small boots stopping in front of her, followed by a small figure squatting down.
“You look like you need help…”
A voice that sounded still childish, yet carried an unusual calm, came from right in front of her.
Dill struggled to look up along those water-stained boots, just in time to see a small figure in a cloak thoroughly drenched by rain. Her face was obscured, but beneath the shadows, a pair of eyes like dusty emeralds—dim and serene—stared unblinkingly at her.
…A little girl?
Seeing Dill staring blankly, Sylvie tilted her head slightly and repeated her question once more.
“You look like you need…”
Thud!
Before the words finished, with strength from who knows where, the collapsed Dill suddenly lunged, tackling the unprepared—or rather, too lazy to dodge—Sylvie to the ground.
When she came to her senses, she felt a chill on her neck; that human had somehow pulled out a silver-cold dagger and pressed it against her throat.
“Don’t move! If you don’t want to die, stay quiet!”
Dill growled lowly, her entire body pressing firmly onto Sylvie—leaning forward, one hand holding the dagger to her neck, the other broken arm ignoring the injury to pin down Sylvie’s hands tightly, rendering her immobile.
She didn’t struggle, didn’t even show any fear. Those dim emerald eyes, under the shadow of the cloak and the rinse of rainwater, calmly—almost indifferently—gazed up at Dill’s face, twisted with pain and vigilance.
She could smell the heavy scent of blood on the other, could feel the faint tremor from that broken arm due to the exertion.
It must hurt a lot…
She thought as much.
“Answer me! Who are you?! Were you sent by the vampires to hunt me?!” Dill’s voice was hoarse and urgent; she tried her best to appear as if she “still had strength left,” but her wilted, pale face betrayed that she was at the end of her rope.
The dagger’s edge pressed closer by a fraction…
Ah… I should have turned and left right then… Sylvie thought regretfully.
“…Sylvie, as you can see, just an ordinary blood livestock.” She introduced herself calmly.
“How can I believe you’re not lying to me…” Dill still questioned vigilantly.
The girl beneath her sighed helplessly, replying in a bland tone.
“I have no reason to deceive you… If I were sent by the vampires, I should be shouting right now, or subduing you directly, instead of lying here answering your questions. And besides…”
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Dill’s horribly twisted wrist, adding.
“Your hand… is broken and still bleeding. Pressing down on me… will hurt even more.”
“…”
Dill stared at her coldly, but strangely, no matter how she scrutinized, those emerald eyes showed not a trace of fear or panic.
In a weird silence, she still didn’t release Sylvie, instead continuing to grit her teeth through the pain and question.
“Answer me, what do you want…”
“…To help treat your wounds.” Sylvie replied truthfully.
Dill was stunned upon hearing this.
“I won’t believe that a girl seeing a stranger covered in blood would take the initiative to help her…” She said with a face full of disbelief.
This question seemed to trouble Sylvie once more; she furrowed her brow slightly, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Does saving someone… need a reason?”
“…”
Dill was left speechless.
An impeccable reason, yet one riddled with flaws.
Of course, she wouldn’t just easily release this mysterious girl—because if she ran away and reported to the vampires, in her current terrible state, she couldn’t possibly stop her.
Just maintaining this posture had nearly exhausted all her strength…
Might as well… go all out.
Just as Dill was thinking this, in the next moment, her vision suddenly went black—her overtaxed body finally reaching its limit. All her strength drained away in an instant, her eyes rolled back, and her entire body collapsed limply onto Sylvie.
Then, she sank into a deep faint… unconscious.
…So troublesome.