t/n : i lost the raw of chapter 10..
Chapter 11: Treatment
"Never expected..."
Kevin, standing beside him, looked somewhat surprised at the child in his arms.
He couldn't see at all that Bolshakov had such a tender side.
However, this child's constitution was a bit off; her body temperature was abnormal.
Kevin, who was quite sensitive in this regard, immediately noticed the abnormality in Yelena's body upon first glance. So-called Originium Arts?
Although Pozëmka didn't understand much about this, she had mentioned it to him a few times.
"Hand her over to me. If you keep holding her, your hands might not remain intact."
Patriot pondered for a moment before finally carefully handing Yelena over to Kevin, though his gaze still revealed some uneasy concern.
Indeed, these symptoms were exactly the same as when Kevin fused with the Parvati genes back then. At that time, his body temperature remained at -30°C year-round. Although the little girl before him hadn't reached that level yet, for ordinary people, it was still an unacceptable low temperature.
As soon as he took her, he immediately sensed the abnormality.
"Hold this."
Kevin lowered his eyes, extended his hand, and an orange-red crystal flower actually bloomed slowly in his palm, each petal shimmering with warm radiance under the firelight.
He placed this orange-red crystal flower into Yelena's hand.
"So beautiful."
Yelena looked at the exquisite crystal flower in her hand and couldn't help but marvel inwardly. In this icy, snowy land,
she had never seen anything so beautiful.
She obediently cupped it with both hands. The crystal flower emitted a gentle warmth that flowed slowly along her arms, spreading throughout her body. This sensation made the little rabbit squint her eyes comfortably.
The pain from the Originium fragments on her body surface also quickly faded away. Whether it was an illusion or not, those Originium lumps seemed to have shrunk considerably as well.
Before long, the exhausted little Amiya fell into a deep sleep. The cold air dissipating from her body gradually receded, and a smile appeared on her face as if she were immersed in a beautiful dream.
Patriot stared blankly at the little girl sleeping peacefully in Kevin's arms. A ripple of emotion stirred in his long-dormant heart for the first time in a long while.
"It seems Elysia's design can indeed have unexpected effects at certain times."
Of course, Kevin didn't have the leisure to study how to condense crystal flowers to make them more beautiful. In the end, he just borrowed from something a former comrade had given him.
For now, the effect was quite good.
Noticing Patriot's eager gaze beneath his helmet,
he understood and handed Yelena back to Patriot. With that crystal present, at least for a short while, there wouldn't be any more incidents of Arts going out of control.
"Let's go back."
Wendigo took her over. His body was massive, but his movements were extremely careful, as if afraid of disturbing the child's sweet dream.
"Mhm."
——
Accompanied by a glimmer of light on the horizon, a large contingent returned, bringing with them the morning's cold wind.
Strangely enough, this contingent was divided into two distinctly different parts.
At the front and rear were tall Shieldguards clad in black armor, with Casters positioned at the center of the Shieldguard formation.
In the middle of the contingent was a group of Ursus people in tattered clothing. In their eyes were confusion, the joy of escape, and the numbness that follows a major battle.
Elderly, children, adult men and women—people of every age group were present. But in the mine, they all shared a common identity.
The Infected!
For them, the black crystals on their bodies—whether many or few—were the calamity that brought them misfortune.
But fortunately, they had temporarily escaped from that hell.
The returning crowd broke the morning silence of the camp.
Soon, buzzing noises like mosquitoes and flies, and the rattling of boiler lids as water boiled, once again filled this camp with vitality.
"Kevin, are you alright?"
"No."
A figure he somewhat didn't expect came running up to him. The sudden concern made him a bit uncomfortable, but Kevin still responded.
"You can rest a bit more."
For those he recognized as "one of his own," Kevin was often quite tolerant.
"Not really. I couldn't sleep anyway. Since you're back now, I wanted to see if there's anything I can help with."
Pozëmka tightened her warm robe around herself, occasionally exhaling puffs of white mist.
"Help... take care... of her..."
Patriot needed to manage the people in the camp to avoid causing chaos.
So he couldn't spare any hands to look after Yelena at the moment, and the Shieldguards were all rough men. Rather than letting them take care of Yelena, it was better to entrust her to Pozëmka.
At least in his view, someone traveling with Kevin was trustworthy.
Pozëmka didn't immediately take her but instead cast an inquiring glance toward Kevin.
"Mhm, take good care of her."
Receiving Kevin's approval, the young girl couldn't help but smile as she took the sleeping Yelena from Patriot's arms.
However, that smile soon turned into deep pity.
Yelena's petite body was covered in scars: dark red scabs from whippings that had solidified, wounds from being scraped by mine debris, black calluses on her palms from mining picks, and those Originium granules breaking through her skin.
It was hard to imagine how such a young child endured those hellish days over and over again?
"Find... quartermaster... get... gauze... medicine."
Patriot gave another reminder before leaving. Although medical supplies were relatively scarce, the guerrilla force that had just won a victory wasn't stingy about using up these supplies.
At least for a short while, they wouldn't run out of what they had seized this time.
...
"Mmm—? Where am I?"
Yelena felt like she had had a very long dream. She dreamed she had returned to her parents' side and once again felt that intoxicating warmth.
She opened her eyes; soft flannel blankets met her touch, and a faint, delicate fragrance lingered in the air.
Clean bedding, an elegant canopy overhead—the sticky feeling that used to cling to her body was gone. She felt unprecedentedly good.
She slowly shifted her gaze, and what came into view was a beautiful woman.
"What a pretty big sister..."
She couldn't help but marvel inwardly. That pretty big sister was sitting by her bedside, one hand propping up her chin. A few strands of smooth pink hair fell over her shoulders. Even though she had fallen asleep, a trace of weariness could still be seen in her brows and eyes.
Whoosh—
The tent flap was gently lifted open. Kevin walked in carrying
a wooden washbasin with several clean towels inside.
His azure blue eyes met Yelena's the moment he entered. However, the man clearly wasn't surprised by her awakening. He placed the basin on a stand and made a shushing gesture to her. 六⑨四⑨三⑥一③五
Yelena recognized him and blinked her eyes to indicate she understood.
"In my hand... it seems I'm holding something?"
It's that crystal flower!
The continuous warmth flowing from her palm confirmed it for Yelena.
Kevin still showed no intention of paying attention to Yelena. Instead, he fetched a woolen blanket from somewhere and covered Pozëmka with it.
Finally, he nodded to Yelena, signaling for her to come out with him.
Collectible:
[Blazing Crystal Flower]
Effect: A random unit on our side becomes immune to all negative status effects.
Description: An orange-red crystal flower. An accessory FrostNova wore year-round. Even though its energy had long been depleted, she still cherished it greatly. Aside from a few individuals, no one knew exactly where this accessory came from.
Once again, the newborn being used his own power—that scorching Calamity Flame—but this time, it wasn't for destruction but for salvation.
"My design isn't bad, right? Ah~ I never thought Kevin would use it for something so gentle."
—A certain pink fairy lady who wishes to remain anonymous.