Chapter 99: Sudden Death

This phenomenon was strange for Aria to accept. Even so, compared to other outrageous things she had experienced, this thing could be considered as one of the tamer cases.

'Evolution, I suppose.' Aria quickly dissuaded the matter and focused on other points.

Sighing, she checked her status instead and allocated the points. Since her attack had received a huge boost from her only equipment, which was [Halvargg], she wanted to focus on other departments.

'The Dungeon Rune.. Should I convert it to a Main, or should I try the conquer option again..?' Aria thought.

Before she was able to decide, however, a loud thudding sound appeared.

Thud!

Along with it, the painful grunt of the familiar little girl's voice.

Aria hurriedly turned her head around and found Alena writhing on the ground, struggling to breathe in air. Tears were streaming out of her eyes, as she choked on nothing and banged on the floor to restrain the pain.

She let out muted sounds as there seemed to be something blocking her throat.

It was so sudden that Aria found herself at a loss on how she should react to the scene occurring before her.

"Alena? Alena! Alena, can you hear me?" Aria ran over to the girl and crouched beside her, supporting the girl's body and helping her sit up. "Alena! Say something to me,"

Alena looked at the elder woman in distress, her eyes unfocused as she mouthed the words 'water' over and over again. No sound came out of her.

Aria hurriedly produced fresh water for the girl to drink through borrowing Dianthe's power, feeding it to Alena.

After a few messy gulps, Alena pushed Aria away and turned around, letting her back face her. She then began vomiting, accompanied by a large fit of coughing. Aria became even more worried and came to approach her.

However, before she was even able to get within a one meter distance with the girl, a shout came.

"DON'T COME NEAR!" Alena's voice ripped out of her throat. Her voice was croaky, but rather than pain, a stronger emotion was hidden behind her speech. It was fear.

Fear of what? What was happening to Alena? And why was she acting so used to this unraveling situation?

Aria hesitated to listen to the girl's pleas as she could potentially have a serious case that she could help with.

"Alena.. are you alright?" she asked.

This time, Alena gave a response after vomiting once.

"I- I am.. Just give me a few moments and.. Urk!" Alena struggled to talk, and ended up vomiting all over again. She sounded very pained, understandably. Within the course of three minutes, she vomited at least four times.

'Could this be the thing Alena talked about when she said that she was not suited to fighting?' Aria internally questioned.

What sort of sickness was it? During the battle, Alena didn't seem to have any sort of surfacing conditions, but now she was suddenly afflicted with this.

It was then that she noticed something strange about Aria. From the girl's previously unblemished skin, black spots began to pop out and scatter sporadically. Alena's vomit, too, began to show its form despite the girl trying her best to hide it. Her vomit was completely black. It was very watery, with the exception of some black clumps that formed within the pooling liquid.

It took Alena several minutes before she was able to calm herself down and end the coughing fit. However, the black marks on her did not disappear. Her entire body was trembling as she began to turn around, her face still wet with tears. And yet, there was no emotions that showed up in her tender look. She was just tired.

Her body was limp and devoid of strength. Uncaring, she let herself stagger and fall towards the ground. This time, since Aria was much more prepared, she successfully caught the girl and embraced her.

Alena's tears kept flowing, but the child didn't bawl. She just laid in Aria's arms without moving in the slightest.

"..I'm sorry, big sister," Alena said out of nowhere.

"..Why are you sorry?"

"To see me in this state.. You should now realize why I am so desperate. You see, you weren't even repelled by my condition and still came here to assist me. I think I really chose a good candidate.. ngh!" Alena choked one more time, but it ended quicker this time.

"Alena, you shouldn't speak so much," Aria's brows furrowed as she patted the girl to comfort her.

"You may end the deal anytime you want.. I will be too troublesome for you to take care of. I just wanted to.. try my hardest for once, but I still ended up like this," Alena tearfully said. "This condition always reminds me of the fact that I will never be able to fight like the others, who can roam about without worry and engage in intense blows without care for the repercussions,"

"Alena. Don't speak anymore. You will just harm yourself further," Aria sternly said.

The girl obeyed the request and closed her eyes. Her teeth were still gritted together, as if she was holding a massive pain back.

Aria sighed.

"I once met a child who also desired to be strong with all her might. At first, she struggled, her speed of progress was much slower than her peers. Even so, she never gave up. She practiced all the time, and did her best to overcome the gap between the progress. In the end, when others were stuck at a higher stage, she still persevered through it all, finally beating her peers,"

Alena's eyes opened as she weakly looked towards Aria's way and listened to her.

"A support class is very flexible. Believe it or not, I regard support classes as one of the most valuable of the selection range. Do you know why that is?"

"That is because our potential is limitless. Me and you, I am a Summoner while you are a Puppeteer. If we just continued this misadventures of ours, then one day we will be strong enough to collect all sorts of creatures. Attacking, defending.. and healing. Once you reached the peak, and manage to heal yourself, wouldn't that be the most satisfactory ending ever?" Aria tenderly looked at the child, smiling as she caressed her tired psyche.

"If you truly regard this condition of yours as what holds you back, then you can turn it into your goal instead. Not fighting inside the Tower to death, but fighting with the intent of coming out alive and bringing out the cure to yourself," Aria spoke.

Alena shook her head lightly. "That is very easy to say, but to actually do it is a different matter,"

"Is it?" Aria chuckled, tracing the part of Alena's skin that had black marks blooming prominently.

"Do you think you will never be able to escape from this condition of yours? How many years have you had this for?"

"Five.. I think. I visited countless doctors.. they all couldn't diagnose me," Alena smiled depreciatingly.

Aria's brows creased as she knew that the modern day age had advanced technology and could discern diseases better. The condition Alena had, however, was unexplainable even for the likes of Godly doctors of this day and age.

'I wonder what this is..'

She was not only worried for the girl, but also curious on how such a bizarre and terrifying condition could sprout out. Vomiting black liquid and having black spots appear. Was that something able to be explained by science.. or something that existed far beyond that?

Magic?

As she was caught in her deepest of thoughts, a voice soon came to insert itself into the scene. It was Rallaka's voice, the Earthen spirit that had disappeared throughout the battle.

"What is this?!" Rallaka came up with a disturbed voice as he got closer to Aria and looked at her.

"Alena's condition. This was what she talked about when she said she wasn't suited to fighting. I assume that its a reaction that occurs after she fights," Aria huffed a long sigh. "Such a pitiful case,"

Alena had just fallen asleep due to the sheer tiredness. The girl's expression was peaceful except for some moments where her brows begin to knit together, and her teeth starting to chatter accompanied by an array of painful moans.

"This... isn't just a normal disease," Rallaka said, scrutinizing the girl's conditions.. He was still tired from the preparation he had made towards this place. In truth, he didn't come to aid Aria because he was sure that the woman would be able to handle the situation by herself given the conditions.

He had been setting up their departure from this dungeon.

By doing that, he too, would be able to evolve. The peak that he felt in these recent times, it was finally going to happen. It wasn't just a casual evolution. He felt like his entire body would be changed.