Chapter 70

The question was so out of the blue that Malikops involuntarily moved his lips.

"By 'the body breaking,' you mean... ."

At the same time, a realization hit him.

'Could this be about the maid who looks half-dead?'

I'm amazed. I can't believe it.

'Such a young man?'

Malikops recalled Lu's question with a sense of confusion.

From her brief statement, it seemed that the maid Daisy had just reached the second realm.

'The second realm is the stage where the body is restructured. If she had an epiphany after being pierced by a sword, the wound should have healed quickly, leaving only a scar.'

Malikops cautiously lifted his head to examine Daisy. Her appearance was so pitiful that he almost clicked his tongue.

Moreover, the wound was still oozing blood, and the stitches were still wet. It was clear that the restructuring of her body had not taken place.

'If her body is in such an abnormal state that the principle of mind-body unity doesn't apply...'

He had his doubts.

"Rinya? Go to the room and bring the Lelaria telescope. It should be in the blue-green iron box."

"Yes, yes."

Rinya, who had been standing like a shadow, quickly left the room.

The Lelaria telescope is a magical tool that can see into the soul.

Originally developed for the study of souls, it was abandoned long ago due to lack of results.

Malikops carefully opened the box Rinya had brought and said,

"Kalefa. I believe I can say something about the case you mentioned. However, I need to examine Miss Daisy's soul. May I have your permission?"

There was no answer.

Kalefa's silence was a sign of consent.

Malikops lifted the Lelaria telescope with a slightly tense feeling.

The soul of Daisy, which he examined in detail, was as he had expected.

"Indeed... Miss Daisy's soul seems to be entangled with an unknown external force. It's a formidable power."

The soul takes the form of a sphere.

Through the telescope, Daisy's soul was surrounded by an opaque fog, which was the unknown external force.

'...Wait, something's different.'

Now that he noticed, the fog was not surrounding the sphere but filling the gaps in the shattered sphere.

"My goodness."

Malikops instinctively let out a sigh of pity.

"Is this young lady really alive?"

The shocking sight made it hard for him to form coherent words.

"Her soul is broken. It's shattered like a glass vase that has fallen to the ground. If the external force hadn't acted as an adhesive... ."

She wouldn't have been able to maintain a normal soul form. She would have died.

"Even if she lives, it won't be more than ten years. If she doesn't reach the half-god realm within ten years, this maid will die."

Daisy, the Weatherwood's maid, is facing a fate of imminent death.

Sadly, there was no hope.

The half-god realm was a level that one could not reach even with a lifetime of effort.

'Poor thing.'

Somehow, Lu seemed to already know this fact.

"So, what can you say about the broken soul?"

Malikops slowly swallowed.

In fact, he had seen a soul similar to Daisy's a long time ago.

It was not a pleasant experience, but the memory was still vivid.

"Kalefa. The reason Miss Daisy's body was damaged after she crossed the second barrier... is probably because her soul was in a broken state, just like now."

"You've seen a similar soul before, I see."

"Yes, that's right."

Malikops nodded heavily.

"I... During the Mage War, I spied on Mephisto's army for nearly seven years. Their goal was to achieve the realm of mind-body unity without enlightenment, to extend their lifespan. They didn't hesitate to conduct any vile biological experiments to achieve their goal."

Immortality is a long-standing dream of humanity.

Some of the followers who flowed into Logue were captivated by immortality.

Humans who had reached the realm of half-god, beyond the four stages of mind-body unity, enjoyed a life close to immortality.

However, the barrier to mind-body unity was high, and it felt even higher for some people.

The fewer the ups and downs in one's life, the harder it was to cross the barrier of mind-body unity.

The more insurmountable the barrier, the more desperate they became.

The more unattainable the power, the more resentful some followers became, and they began to rebel against Logue's teachings.

"Logue's method is outdated! If we continue to insist on a method that only benefits certain followers, we will continue to be eliminated!"

The rebellious followers began to seek a new 'methodology.'

During this process, a series of bizarre and horrific events occurred, and the followers were branded as traitors and permanently expelled from the Northern Continent Union Church.

The land where the expelled traitors arrived was here, the Pen Rota Empire.

The empire called them Mephisto's army.

"The experimental methods were diverse. They mixed two or more souls into one body, divided one soul into two or more, or extracted the souls of strong individuals or animals who had already crossed the barrier. They also consumed the purest souls or hearts. They employed all kinds of cruel and disgusting methods."

Malikops recalled the horrific biological experiments that took place in the underground temple.

"At the time, I maintained a relationship with Mephisto's army by supplying them with miscellaneous items like the Lelaria telescope and topographic maps. Once, to prove the authenticity of the items, I used the telescope on the children who were being experimented on... ."

"Did you see a similar soul?"

"Yes. They weren't shattered like Miss Daisy's, but they had large and small holes that were disturbing to look at."

"..."

"And the unknown force, like a fog, surrounded their souls. I remember it wasn't just one or two."

According to the rumors, children with broken souls were particularly vulnerable to physical experiments on their bodies.

"They had the characteristic of easily extending or shortening their lifespan depending on the experiment, but they generally died young."

It seemed that Daisy had successfully crossed the first barrier.

The unknown force that filled the gaps between Daisy's broken soul. Perhaps it was thanks to this force that she was able to endure.

Lu, who had been listening with closed eyes, asked him,

"The force that surrounded the souls with holes?"

"Are you asking about the nature of the force? I don't know exactly. But I remember that the children were forced to eat something unknown. I vaguely remember hearing them cry out that they didn't want to eat it."

If it wasn't a hallucination, a faint light seemed to appear in Lu's eyes.

"‘Eating’ it."

However, Malikops pretended not to notice the look in his eyes and did not say anything more.

'Curiosity killed the cat.'

For some reason, Daisy was someone Kalefa cherished. There was no need to invite trouble by saying something unnecessary.

'Daisy was probably... one of the children who were experimented on by Mephisto's army. Coincidentally, her age matches perfectly.'

Alone, Malikops felt a deep sense of self-loathing and self-hatred for the first time in a long while.

If he had boldly tried to save those children, more of them might still be alive now.

'Daisy working as a maid for Weatherwood might be considered fate.'

Then, it's right for me to take care of her.

How much time had passed? Rinya, with a slightly brighter expression, spoke up.

"Miss Daisy's breathing has stabilized a lot! I'll go out and buy some medicine. Please take good care of Miss Daisy, Master."

Rinya left the mansion with a much lighter heart.

It seemed that Kalefa and the Master had a very difficult and complex conversation, but she couldn't understand it properly. All she wanted was for Daisy to be safe.

'He said she has at most ten years, right?'

I recalled Daisy's confident eyes when she accepted my impossible request.

'But if she maintains a good diet and eats healthy food, she might live longer than ten years.'

I'll take good care of her.

Daisy is a friend who accepted a difficult request and a colleague who taught me excellent ironing skills!

With a firm resolve, Rinya clenched her fists and left the mansion.

* * *

My throat is dry.

My throat is very dry.

My throat is very, very dry.

My throat is very, very, very...

Exhausted from trying to endure the thirst, I opened my eyes wide.

"D-Daisy! Are you awake?"