With meticulous effort and great caution, Marien and Aglaya manipulated their respective energies to enlarge the containment structure until it was big enough for Anya to fit inside with the baby.
Being confined in such a small space caused the aura pulse's energy to concentrate, significantly intensifying its effects. After all, the baby's core hadn't stopped emitting energy and showed no sign of decreasing.
Inside, Anya was being hit directly by the aura pulse, feeling its effects incessantly. Her movements became erratic, her aura veins were agitated with irregular flows, and even her mental state began to falter.
Upon entering, Anya tried to absorb some of the energy with her aura veins, hoping to alleviate the symptoms and better adapt to the environment. But she quickly realized that the energy being emitted was at an extremely high level of purity, making it difficult even to absorb through her aura veins.
Anya was shocked to realize it was nearly impossible to absorb such pure aura with simple aura veins. She hesitated again to follow through with the plan. Her aura veins might not withstand the load and could end up rupturing if she wasn't careful. Her future and strength were on the line; any slight mistake could cripple her aura veins.
She looked back, seeing all the other women, but Anya focused directly on Marien's eyes, who was watching her closely. Yet, Anya couldn't hear anything from outside the structure, and the women outside couldn't hear anything from within.
"Hendrina, prepare yourself. You'll take my place assisting Aglaya in maintaining the containment barrier. I'll replace Anya if she doesn't follow the plan within 10 seconds. 10…"
Seeing the instability and fear in Anya's eyes, Marien began a countdown while preparing to pass her position to the Tiefling servant, Hendrina, intending to enter the barrier herself to replace Anya.
Meanwhile, Anya was on the verge of giving up; fear had overtaken her, and the environment within the structure only amplified her anxiety and fears. She had a bright future ahead—after all, working and studying personally with a Dragon Lady is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any rational being.
"9… 8… 7… 6…"
The countdown couldn't be heard by Anya; all she felt was the weight of her decision. She couldn't risk her future. She didn't want to lose all her opportunities…
"5… 4…" Marien continued her countdown, increasingly disappointed with Anya.
Anya lacked the confidence to proceed with the plan. She turned to the baby and noticed the pulse was still strong and steady. If she couldn't even absorb the pure aura from the surrounding environment, her aura veins would be torn apart if she connected directly with the baby's core.
"3…"
Then, before Marien could finish her countdown, Anya turned and screamed with all her might to Marien:
"I CAN'T DO IT."
None of the women outside the barrier heard Anya's words, but none doubted what she had said…
"Anya has given up. Take my place, Hendrina." Marien's voice was cold, regarding Anya as someone who had betrayed her expectations, with a silent disgust in her gaze.
Without hesitation, Hendrina took her place and began absorbing the excess aura emanating from the barrier. Almost immediately, Hendrina felt chills all over her body, trembling abruptly.
"Idiot, use a dissipating filter. The amount may be minimal, but the aura inside is pure enough to paralyze all of us if we try to absorb it." Noticing Hendrina's state, Marien quickly explained what to do.
"But you didn't use a dissipator…" Hendrina pointed out, quickly recovering after forming a dissipator with her aura.
Unfortunately, she didn't receive an answer to her question, as Hendrina was already inside the barrier.
Meanwhile, inside the barrier, Marien noticed that the aura had concentrated absurdly within and that the purity levels were highly elevated. But unlike Anya, Marien didn't despair or worry about her safety. On the contrary, she focused quickly on assessing the baby's condition, noticing he was still emitting aura uncontrollably and in visible agony.
She saw him thrashing about and bleeding from his mouth, while his skin had started to turn extremely pale. Marien hurriedly took him in her arms, releasing her own energy as she began examining his body, both inside and out.
Despite the drastic effects the aura pulse had on her body, Marien started attaching her own aura to the main aura points within the baby's body. With extreme caution and precision, Marien managed to connect with each point in a way that caused no additional pain to the baby. However, Marien wasn't overly concerned with her condition.
When all seven of her points were linked to the baby's, Marien's aura veins were overloaded to the point that she felt some veins dilating, pushing against her flesh as if some kind of parasite were crawling inside her.
"GET OUT…" Gritting her teeth, she shouted fiercely with an almost animalistic tone at Anya, who stood paralyzed and horrified.
Anya couldn't look at Marien any longer, whether from shame over her actions or fear of Marien's state. She lowered her head and ran out of the barrier, continuing to run until she was out of sight of the other girls in the room.
None of them tried to stop Anya; they were more concerned and fearful about what would happen to Marien after she initiated the plan's primary phase.
They could all see Marien's flesh expanding and contracting irregularly, as if she were experiencing severe cramps throughout her body. Her eyes were so bloodshot they looked like blood.
At the same time, they saw the exact moment Marien touched her forehead to the baby's. This meant she was about to begin the main part.
"Will she be able to force the Link?" asked Mahara, watching the scene from a few steps away.
"Not yet… But it's only a matter of time," replied the Tiefling servant standing next to Aglaya.
Indeed, before Marien continued the bonding process, she hesitated a bit, knowing this decision could change her life if she made the slightest mistake in the process. But it wasn't courage she lacked to execute the final step… For Marien, what was making her hesitate was the fear of disappointing her parents. She had a duty and a mission to fulfill, and for most infernal races, failure is equivalent to death.
But she didn't give up…
Realizing the baby was suffering agonizing pain, she stopped thinking and cleared her mind of fear, thus executing the final part of the plan.
Marien's energy violently and abruptly invaded the baby's body until it found the aura core and anchored itself to it. She circulated, enveloped, and analyzed every characteristic of the core, gathering a wealth of information.
Caution and thorough information were necessary; otherwise, Marien's aura could cause the baby's core to reject the contact or even try to expel it forcibly.
But with Marien's mastery, she managed to force her own energy to circulate and unilaterally enter the core, successfully halting the aura pulse immediately.
However, as she forced her energy into the baby's core, the same happened to her own aura veins. This process produced results far beyond what Marien was prepared to endure…
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
The effect was immediate. Marien's veins, flesh, skin, and even bones were abruptly and forcibly flooded with the extremely pure aura.
To many, this would be incredible—a chance to absorb aura in its purest form and strengthen the aura veins. But just as rain is essential to a garden, it can also destroy it mercilessly.
Inside Marien, her aura veins couldn't withstand the pressure and ruptured, with aura carving fissures throughout Marien's skin. Hemorrhages and lacerations began and intensified, both internally and externally.
Her smaller bones, such as those in her hands and feet, were slowly disintegrating, and her larger bones were riddled with cracks. She could no longer stand because of this.
She fell to her knees, yet she didn't let go of the baby, continuing to try to tune the aura within the core. She soon realized it was becoming increasingly difficult; it was only a matter of time before the core expelled all of her aura from the baby's body.
Marien's bloodshot eyes began to bleed, as did her ears, nose, and mouth. Her internal organs were slowly cooking, with her kidneys, liver, and pancreas completely ceasing function.
After several seconds of intense bodily reaction, Marien was drooling and lost control over her bladder… She urinated while her eyes remained fixed on the baby's.
"Oh my aura…" Trembling and almost crying, Sonia was kneeling close to the barrier.
"We need to help her; she won't survive if she continues like this…" Mahara said urgently, looking at Hendrina and Aglaya, who were also trying to think of a way to help Marien.
"I'm going in there. Mahara, take my place," Hendrina said, fearing the situation might end in tragedy.
She was already preparing to enter the barrier and attempt to intervene, but before Mahara could take her place, their bodies became paralyzed…
"There's nothing any of you can do now."
Suddenly, Akachi entered the room through one of the doors, carrying Inessa over his shoulder. All the women knelt immediately, except Hendrina and Aglaya, who couldn't abandon their tasks.
"The baby human's core energy has already overtaken her aura veins. Her only chance of survival is to endure until Inessa wakes up. Besides, any of you who try to help her will end up in the same condition."
Akachi's expression was serious. After setting Inessa on one of the couches, he approached the barrier, somehow taking control. After a few adjustments, he enhanced the barrier and transformed it into a perfect containment. Yet he made no efforts to help Marien.
"Pray for her endurance," Akachi said for they and thought: 'Once again, Aura puts you to the test, little human… Fate is cast once more.'
______
If the words you just read brought you enjoyment, leave your mark on this adventure!
Like and comment on this chapter, and leave your review of the story! Your support is invaluable in helping the author and fueling their motivation. Every like and comment is a way of saying you're enjoying the story and encouraging the author to create even more thrilling chapters!
And if you wish to join this journey on a deeper level, I invite you to become a patron on Patreon(.com/UndeadNazar). Your donation is the most effective way to help, but it is by no means an obligation; simply liking the chapters and leaving your mark there is enough.