NOVEL NEXT Chapter 89: Ainen's Promise
Ainen had calmed down, but not entirely. Still, he could shift his state from unstable emotions to stable thinking.
"Miss Lilian, Miss Yelvina…" Ainen didn't know what to say, except to give hope. "I'm sure there is a way to return you to normal. The world is so big, after all."
The creature nodded its heads.
Suddenly, wind blew around faster before four figures appeared, floating above Ainen.
Ainen looked up and saw a middle-aged man in a luxurious robe with one woman and two men.
"Who are you, brat? Care to tell us what happened here?"
"We are from Sacred Aurelian Magic Tower."
"Wait," the leading man in the luxurious robe waved his hand and descended right in front of the creature. His yellow eyes flickered with strange patterns.
"This…" An expression of disbelief started forming on his face.
"People from an organization called Cradle came and killed everyone," Ainen started speaking. "I am Ainen. Miss Lilian and her entourage came here to recruit, and I was in the Labyrinth for assessment."
The four of them glanced at the leaderboard and saw Ainen's name at the top.
"So it's you who got the Arcane Blessing." The wavy black-haired man with yellow eyes looked at Ainen.
"Yes, but that's not important." Ainen pointed at the creature and said, his voice slightly cracking at first. "They are…the creature is Miss Lilian and Miss Yelvina."
The other three frowned upon hearing him. These three were King-rank powerhouses.
"What do you mean by that?" the blond-haired lady asked in confusion.
"He means exactly what he said," the black-haired, yellow-eyed man, who was an Emperor-rank powerhouse, said as he looked at the creature. "There are two souls within this creature, tempered with chaotically in this body. I can't imagine how this is even possible."
"The message on top of the box…" the bald middle-aged man with a white beard said with a frown. "The person who wrote it did this."
"And it seems you foiled their plans." The blond-haired middle-aged man looked at Ainen. "What did they plan to do exactly? Inverting the Labyrinth as they said? But how?"
Ainen filled them in on the details quickly.
"Miss Lilian and Yelvina can return to their normal state, right?" Ainen asked, hopeful, as he looked at the black-haired, yellow-eyed man.
'Ainen…' Lord Black sighed. At least, he didn't know if there was a way to undo the monstrosity the enemy created.
"I'm afraid that's not possible, Ainen."
Hearing that, the creature trembled before slamming its trunks on the ground and issuing a shrill cry.
Their emotions were also wreaked by the process, so Lilian and Yelvina lost control upon hearing the words.
"BULLSHIT!" Ainen shouted as he looked at the man. "Why are you saying it's not possible?! There's nothing that's impossible! Whoever did this could also revert them!"
"Brat, hold your tongue. You are talking to the Vice Tower Master of Sacred Aurelian," the blond-haired woman narrowed her eyes.
Ainen ground his teeth intensely as he looked at the Vice Tower Master. "Are you not going to help them?"
"I want to, but I don't see the possibility. First, it's our first time hearing about the Cradle organization. Second, the organization sounds like it works in the dark from what you said, so it will be hard to find them. Third, there's no other way to fix them aside from capturing the person who did this, as far as I know, and we have no lead to capture that person. You don't even know their appearance."
"But they know," Ainen pointed at Yelvina and Lilian, who were slumped on the ground, their big eyes whirling with despair.
"They know, but they no longer have the means to show us how they look. Their structure is fundamentally modified. They can't use magic in a normal way. They can only use telepathy, which everyone at King-rank and above can use."
Ainen suddenly caught onto something. His heart turned cold as he asked, "W-what are you going to do with them? Are you going to help them or not?"
"I want to help, but I have no way to help them." The Vice Tower Master sighed. "We can't just go around finding people without any leads, and they are suffering. The best course of action is—"
"NO!" Ainen shouted, rage bubbling in him. "After what happened to them, you want to kill them?!"
"I'm sure they also want that." The blond-haired woman bit her lips. "This is a fate worse than death."
'K-Kill us…' Yelvina's voice rang into everyone's ears. 'I don't…want to live like this.'
Ainen dashed towards them and looked into their eyes. "You don't want revenge?! You don't want to see the person who did this to you suffer?!"
"THIS IS NOT FAIR!"
"The world is not fair, kid."
Ainen snapped and glared at the four people. "I am not a kid! And I know the world is not fair! But that doesn't mean I will accept this!"
"You…" the bald man shook his head. "The person in the message wrote that this is a gift for you because you foiled their plans. Are you feeling guilty about what happened to them? Kid…"
Ainen clenched his jaw. "I am not feeling guilty. I am only feeling anger and sadness."
He turned to Lilian and Yelvina. "I will fix you. I will do whatever it takes to revert you two!"
'I am sure the Limitless Chef System must have some ways that can make me get close to this goal.' Ainen clenched his fists.
"We will travel together and eat delicious food every day. I might even be able to fix you with my food, you know?" Ainen smiled.
Lilian and Yelvina, the two heads on the creature, bawled their eyes out.
"You will be fixed." Ainen wiped his face free of tears, his eyes resolute. "That's my promise."
'If there's someone who can fix them, it'd be you, Ainen.' Lord Black's voice was firm.
Ainen may have only met them for a bit, and he knew they only cared because of his potential, but they did care—and it was genuine.
And… there was a bit of guilt, but only because the bastard who wrote the message said it was a gift for him for ruining their plan. But even if he got a second chance, he would still foil their plans.
And he would make sure to fix Lilian and Yelvina!