"Hamut, could you tell me about what she has?"
Upon hearing this, Jack Hamut stopped squeezing my arm tightly and, with an apathetic expression, spoke:
"Honestly, Mr. Dantalian, none of the doctors have been able to discover what it really is."
Jack Hamut clenched his fist tightly, and his apathetic expression gradually became saddened until he almost cried.
"As for the healers, they said that after the first among them removed all the wounds and pains, there was nothing else they could do. Her situation was something strange even to them."
Looking at this situation in first person, in front of me, seeing Jack Hamut act in a way I had never seen before, I should feel sad, right? Then why do I feel uncomfortable being forced to listen to this?
While I was lost in thought, Jack Hamut put both hands in front of his face.
"Finally, both the doctors and the healers said that neither science nor current magic could help. The only choice now would be to turn to the elves and their unknown way of healing others, but they live far away and are not very friendly."
Jack Hamut let out a long sigh.
"But then you appeared, taking care of all my pains, both physical and mental. I still can't believe you exist. Maybe this is just a great illusion of mine, and in the end, I am already completely destroyed..."
Returning to normal, stopping thinking about what I should do at this moment, I only remembered Jack Hamut's last words.
"Stop talking nonsense for a minute, please. I already told you that I will take care of this."
Because of these words, Jack Hamut rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, giving a small laugh.
"Sorry, I thought I talked too much."
I sighed.
"I already told you to stop talking nonsense. I asked you to speak."
' Besides, I know what the problem is. I asked just to follow the script. After all, I don't want to make unnecessary changes,' I thought, looking ahead and already seeing a door and a chair next to it.
Giving a smile, I said, "As I said, I will solve this for you. Just sit in the chair as usual and wait."
Activating the divine hand, I took a step forward, appearing in front of the door. Even before touching the handle, I could already see small black flakes coming out of the hinges.
"So, it's already at this level..."
When I opened the door, I was met with a simple room, with walls made of wood and decorated with colorful tapestries. The furniture was rustic and handmade, with a solid wood bed in the center of the room, covered with a simple and comfortable sheet. Around it, there were shelves with various books on herbology and bottles containing healing herbs and potions.
However, the serene atmosphere of the room was interrupted by the sad presence of the brown-haired girl. She was lying motionless on the bed, in a vegetative state. Her eyes were closed, and her serene expression contrasted with the somber reality of her condition. Despite her peaceful appearance, it was evident that she was in a state of deep unconsciousness, disconnected from the world around her.
This is Amanda, a normal NPC with not much importance. Her appearance is not very striking, being just as standard as possible: brown hair, black eyes, and wearing a simple white nightgown that covered her entire body.
'So there's a time limit now... Looks like I'll lose many side quests,' I thought, looking around once again, this time seeing the immense darkness spreading throughout the room. But that was something only I could see, the remnants of the existence of the person who called themselves "Destruction," one of the main villains of this part of the story.
"It seems there's no other way; I'll have to alter the script a bit more," I muttered, gazing at the girl.
With the divine hand activated, I began emanating golden energy around me, gradually causing the darkness infesting the room to dissipate as I approached Amanda.
Once beside the bed, I lovingly placed my hand on her face, allowing the golden energy emanating from me to completely cover Amanda's body.
"This might hurt a little."
The golden energy started to tighten around Amanda's body, adhering closely to her skin. If it continued to tighten, it could end up breaking her bones, but even so, Amanda showed no reaction.
"Damn."
I withdrew my hand from Amanda's face, causing the golden energy to detach from her body and form a single sphere floating above my hand.
In the game, to remove the remnants of the being called "Destruction," I needed to go to another city in search of a potion vendor who conceals the fact that she's an elf. Only then would I have the option to inquire about a forest that might have a herb used for purification events. Eventually, after obtaining the herbs, I would have to find someone to teach me potion-making since the elf would have disappeared. That person would be an elderly man in a distant city. Only after completing all of that could I return to save Amanda and fulfill Jack Hamut's quest.
This quest is quite tedious, but it's not a problem since I know exactly where and which herb to get. That way, I'd just need to ask the elf to make the potion since she would owe me one for saving her life. The only issue is that I have no time to do all of this.
"The situation is worse than I imagined."
Looking at the sphere in my possession, I noticed that it was gradually being consumed by the darkness, which had started to manifest in its center seconds after all the golden energy had been concentrated.
"Mr. Jack Hamut, if you can hear me through this door, I hope you understand that what I'm about to do is necessary because the situation is critical."
Raising my hand with the golden sphere, I forcefully struck his chest, causing Amanda to react and release an unending scream of pain.
"Aaaaaaaahhhh!"
At that moment, small black bubbles began to form all over Amanda's body, something that shouldn't have happened, at least not yet. This was a forced expulsion of Krintoin energy, the main power source of the villains. From that moment on, Amanda ceased to be just an ordinary NPC and became the first cursed individual in this world.
Hearing the incessant scream of pain, Jack Hamut rushed in, encountering a shocking scene: his granddaughter's body was covered in black bubbles the size of oranges, while I pressed my hand against her chest.
"What the hell are you doing, Dantalian?"
Consumed by anger, Jack Hamut ran towards me, desperate.
"Freytan, what are you doing?" I said, increasing the power emanating from the divine hand, causing the black bubbles, now the size of soccer balls, to burst one after another.
Without uttering a single word, Freytan, who was standing in front of the door, leaped and almost instantly appeared behind Jack Hamut, preventing him from hitting me at the last moment. She held Jack Hamut's head and threw him to the ground, causing him to lose consciousness. Even though she used the minimum amount of force possible, there was no way he wouldn't end up in that state.
"Now tell me, how do you want to die?" Freytan spoke, drawing the Sakura sword from its she
ath, her expression showing disgust at what she was witnessing.
"Freytan, please don't distract me," I said, with my back turned to her, staring intently at my hand, witnessing the complete chaos of a battle between the golden energy and the Krintoin energy, one consuming the other.
"What the hell are you talking about? Who the hell are you? Certainly not the person I knew."
"What are you talking about? Can't you see that I'm saving her? So don't distract me, I'm close to completing the masterpiece."
That last remark was the last straw for Freytan. After so many years, she had finally trusted someone, even without knowing why, and felt comfortable by their side. But now she realized that it was just an illusion she had created for herself, because the person she thought was right turned out to be the worst of all.
"Fine, I will take responsibility."
In a swift motion, Freytan's blade was at my neck.