Chapter 1011: Chapter 1010: Mother and Daughter (Part 2)
"...Mom?"
Katie’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the Undead before her. Although she had never seen the person before, Katie could feel the connection coming from her soul...
"Mom!"
"Wait a minute."
Kurumi quickly blocked Katie’s path.
"Be careful, no one knows what this situation is."
Unlike Katie, before Fang Zheng sent Kurumi and Walnut over, he had specially warned them about the various methods used by Demon Creatures and the Undead in the Main World as a precaution. Kurumi also knew that Fang Zheng had said that the Undead would take on the form of the people one misses to lure their prey, so she was extremely cautious.
After all, after spending so much time in the Main World, Kurumi had some understanding of her own strength.
In her own world, Kurumi might be at the top level, but in this world, even with the enhancement of Chronos, Kurumi was merely slightly above average. Fang Zheng had also told her that, in terms of strength, Walnut was at the elite to master level, while Kurumi hovered around the Legendary Powerhouse beginner level.
Even though Chronos can manipulate time, if Kurumi were to have bad luck and encounter a Legendary Powerhouse with Time Ability, it would be troublesome.
So, she followed Fang Zheng’s example in the Main World, being both cautious and low-key. Especially during her time as a mercenary, Kurumi had seen firsthand some of the unique powers that people possessed. Some might not be as powerful as the Elves in her own world, but they were quite effective in their own right, making Kurumi even more cautious.
Getting overturned in a ditch is no joke.
"Don’t come near... don’t come near!"
However, at that moment, the Undead suddenly extended a hand to stop Katie from approaching. She seemed to be in great pain, with Spiritual Light continuously flickering over her body.
"I, I... have been cursed, don’t come near, don’t touch me..."
"Mom? What exactly is... going on? Father, Master..."
"He is not your father!!"
However, upon hearing Katie’s question, the Undead shrieked suddenly.
"He’s a Devil! A Devil! He killed me, and now he wants to kill you! Get away from here, Katie! Leave with your companions! I... I can’t hold on much longer..."
As if to affirm the Undead’s words, everyone saw her body starting to tremble again, and soon, layers of Pitch Black mist began to seep from her body, with her eyes turning red once more.
"Kurumi, do you have any idea?"
Walnut, being purely a physical attacker, was completely baffled by this situation. She held her shovel, looked at the Undead, then back at Katie, and finally sought Kurumi’s help. Kurumi thought for a moment, then turned to Katie.
"How many years ago did your mother pass away?"
"Father said... Mother died thirteen years ago when I was born..."
"I see."
Hearing Katie’s response, Kurumi nodded, then raised the dual guns in her hands. As Kurumi moved, Chronos appeared once again behind her.
"Chronos... Fourth Bullet!"
Kurumi’s time ability with Chronos wasn’t as powerful as Fang Zheng’s, but it was distinct and prominent. Previously, Kurumi used the "Seventh Bullet" to stop the target’s time, while the "Fourth Bullet" could reverse the target’s time.
Of course, this all consumed time. It used to be a very painful thing for Kurumi, which is why she would kill ten thousand people to consume their time. But now, with the "Zero Hour Resurgence" that Fang Zheng gave her, Kurumi was no longer so particular about using time as she was before.
"Clack, clack, clack..."
As Kurumi called out, the hands on Chronos began to turn back rapidly, turning into a black Spiritual Power that flowed into the firearm in Kurumi’s hands. Kurumi then raised her gun, aimed at the Undead before her, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!!"
The power of time was formidable. At the moment Kurumi fired, the Undead’s body trembled violently. Then the Pitch Black curse on her body dissipated rapidly. In the blink of an eye, when she stood up again, the twisted and ferocious Undead had disappeared, replaced by a gentle woman.
However, she was still the Undead.
So it was.
Seeing this, Kurumi let out an imperceptible sigh deep in her heart.
As manipulators of time abilities, Fang Zheng and Kurumi had often discussed whether time abilities could resurrect the dead. Kurumi’s abilities in her world couldn’t achieve that. Even using the "Fourth Bullet" to restore a corpse to its living state still resulted in just a corpse.
But in Kurumi’s world, the concept of a soul didn’t exist. While the Main World had things like the Undead, Kurumi wanted to try and see if the "Fourth Bullet" could resurrect a soul into a living person.
That’s why, after hearing Katie’s answer, Kurumi used the Fourth Bullet to rewind the Undead’s time to fifteen years ago. If Katie was correct, then fifteen years ago, the Undead before them should have still been alive.
Yet... it seems it’s still of no use.
Is it because there’s only a soul, but no body? Or is there some other reason? If both the soul and body were present, could the ’Fourth Bullet’ successfully resurrect?
"Mom!!"
Just as Kurumi was pondering these questions, Katie had already rushed over, throwing herself into the Undead’s embrace, and the Undead held her tightly, weeping softly.
"I’m sorry, child, I’m sorry... I know you’ve suffered... I’m sorry..."
"Uh... this is... what’s going on?"
Seeing the scene in front of her, Walnut also put down the shovel in her hand and scratched her head. Although she wasn’t clear on the situation, it seemed obvious that the two sides wouldn’t start fighting.
"I’m sorry, thank you all..."
And holding Katie, the Undead also deeply bowed to Walnut and Kurumi.
"Thank you for saving my daughter... and me. I never thought there would be a day I’d escape that nightmare..."
"Mom? What exactly is going on? What happened?"
At this moment, Katie looked at her mother, her mind a mess, while the Undead sighed lightly, reaching out to stroke her head.
"I’m sorry, child, it was all my fault... if it weren’t for me... you wouldn’t have suffered so much. That person, he’s not even human, he’s a Devil!"
"You mean... father?"
"No, he’s not your father!"
Hearing Katie’s questioning, the Undead once again screamed excitedly, clutching Katie firmly and gazing at her.
"Child, you don’t know. The reason he married me wasn’t because he loved me, but because of you!!"
"...Eh?"
Hearing this, both Walnut, Kurumi, and Katie were stunned.
"...Back then, I was just an ordinary person. Initially, he was the one who found me, pursued me, wanting to marry me. Honestly, I was a bit happy at that time. I was considered a pretty girl back then, with a few suitors. He was the president of the Holy Silver Merchant Association, young and talented, and very handsome. At the time, I wasn’t too surprised, and soon we got married. But..."
As she spoke, the Undead grew increasingly angry.
"But... after we got married, my life completely changed... My family began to continually experience various strange accidents. My parents both died one after another in odd accidents, and our house was burned to ashes by an unexpected fire. Moreover, more than half our property was inexplicably lost for various reasons. At the time, I was already suspicious. After all, before we got married, although my family wasn’t particularly wealthy, we lived simple, uneventful lives. However, after our marriage, accidents happened one after another, and his attitude puzzled me even more. My family had significant issues and needed help. I begged him for assistance. He agreed outwardly, but turned around and ignored it..."
The Undead’s body began to tremble, her tone becoming ever more sorrowful.
"Although I was very angry, at that time I was pregnant with you. For the sake of the child, I could only swallow my anger. But... when I gave birth to you, he killed me! And then confined my soul!"
"Why?"
Upon hearing this, Katie was utterly shocked.
"Why did fath... he do this?"
"I’m not entirely sure either, my child."
The Undead shook her head.
"I had asked him, but I couldn’t quite understand what he said. He talked about how I was destined to give birth to the Chosen One, because there was ancient and pure mysterious power in our family bloodline. And he wanted to utilize this power. For that purpose, he acted like a Vampire, drawing upon our entire family’s fate and transferring Misfortune onto us. My parents, my relatives, all died because of this..."
At this point, the Undead reached out, gently caressing Katie’s face.
"I’m sorry, my child. If I hadn’t been so naive and ignorant, perhaps I wouldn’t have been deceived by him. Maybe I would have found a normal person and lived an ordinary life. I’m sorry... I know what he’s done to you; it’s not your fault; you did nothing wrong. It was that person, it was his fault! He took everything that should have been yours and pushed you into Hell!"
"Mom... but, what should we do now?"
"Leave this place."
Facing Katie’s confused question, the Undead smiled.
"That man bound me because I’m connected to you by blood. As long as he held my soul, he could enjoy everything you brought him. But now, I can feel the curse he placed on me has disappeared... Child, leave this place, leave this country, go somewhere else and live the life you want. This time, his fate has reached its endpoint. I can see the shadow of Misfortune has arrived, and at that time, he will fall into Hell!!"
With that, the Undead raised her head, looking at Walnut and Kurumi, and revealed a faint smile.
"My daughter... I’ll leave her in your hands."