Aludra

Sidius was barely holding into his dear life as a chilling awareness set in. Another eerie sound pierced the night, raising his suspicion. If a potential ambush loomed ahead, it could spell his ultimate demise. 

He is barely clinging into life and with just a flick of a hand could spell his death.

Injured to his own wounds, he tried to turn around and flee, only to be stopped by an unexpected figure crashing to the ground nearby.

Sidius quickly adapted and observed the situation, bracing himself for what might transpire. 

His gaze fell on the fallen figure, she was a woman clad in a white gown adorned with gilded trims and intricate floral motifs. Her clothes had suffered considerable disarray after the incident.

'This attire… a disciple of the Fragrance Alchemy Hall?' Sidius mumbled inwardly, recognizing the woman in front of him. 'I see, so the reason for all of this scenario is her.'

However, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the shouting of a man, capturing his attention.

"You bitch!" a man's enraged voice resonated through the air.

"I've lost all of my patience! I will torture you and extract the Divine Spirit Pill's alchemy recipe from you!" the man drew near, his footsteps growing louder with menace.

Sidius locked his gaze firmly on the unexpected adversary, monitoring the approaching footsteps until the man's face emerged from the shadows. 

Recognition surged within Sidius. It was the very man who had hosted the rock gambling event where he had acquired his first artifact, Eidos.

Sidius also had a lingering grudge about him for trying to trouble him after that incident.

"Hey punk," he taunted, forming a malevolent smile that caught the man off guard.

"Fuck! Who is---"

"W-who a-are you?! Y-you're not the Shadow Guardian!"

The man's reaction was visible. His face drained in color as if he had encountered a ghost. 

"W-where is the Shadow Guardian?!"

Cold shivers ran through his spine as he fixed his eyes on Sidius. It was because Sidius was standing upright full of blood and his eyes were cold as a demon could be. 

Although the man looked like a gangster, he was still a crybaby who cowered in the face of a formidable enemy. 

"Dead."

A single word, yet it holds an enormous weight.

Sidius' presence made him the most terrifying existence the man had ever come across.

"Come here, I won't kill you."

Sidius chuckled in sinister, intensifying the man's fear further that caused him to involuntarily pee his pants. He continued to watch the terrified figure, whose knees were trembling endlessly.

A moment of profound silence settled between them, and as the man peered into the icy depths of Sidius' eyes, his body quivered with sheer horror as if he had glimpsed the abyss of hell.

"No! Please spare me!" the man finally snapped and blurted out, summoning every ounce of his strength to flee with unrestrained terror. He disregarded

all obstacles in his path and sprinted desperately.

- Ting! Tong! Chack!

After several collisions into the obstacles in the narrow alley, the man was completely out of sight.

"Reverse Psychology still does its trick huh? Look at him go," Sidius laughed before turning his attention to the woman.

The woman, with a mixed expression of shock and fear, closed her eyes and prepared to accept her fate.

"Oh Goddess of Light, please show your mercy and unleash your almighty power to protect me from evil,'' the lady prayed inwardly, however nothing happened.

Sidius paid little heed to the woman's plea and started to touch her.

Startled, the lady instinctively shouted with her eyes still shut, "Just kill me! Don't try to do something to my body! I'm begging you! I haven't even—"

"Oh Goddess of Mercy, Goddess of Justice, Goddess of Purity, Goddess…" she continued mumbling incessantly, almost rapping.

Sidius observed the unusual behavior of the woman and shook his head, "Look here lady, I'm not here to harm you. I just need your expansion bag to find any healing pill but the middle-rank tier 2 Revitalizing Potion or a Pill should suffice."

Sidius specifically stated the Revitalizing Potion or Pilll because he believed that the girl might have some in her possession. A disciple from Fragrance Alchemy Hall can't be poor after all.

Hearing his words, the woman stopped praying and looked at him, "R-really?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"Are you doubting your savior?" Sidius retorted.

'I really need a healing potion or a. pill. I am losing...'

'Consciousness...'

The woman then appeared to return to reality and examined Sidius intently for the first time. 

"Y-you… How are you even standing up?!" she inquired hastily, sensing the extraordinary nature of his condition. "You were supposed to be crawling by now, waiting for your death!"

"S-sorry, you don't have to answer that, wait…" she added, retrieving her expansion bag to search for the mentioned healing item.

"Here!"

The lady exclaimed, handling a green bottle to him.

- Thud!

Unexpectedly, Sidius lost consciousness and fell because of the accumulated fatigue.

"A-ah... ahhhh...!" the lady muttered, surprised.

She was startled but she soon realized what needs to be done. She glance at the revatilazing pill in her hands and hesitate.

"But... it is my first kiss..."

"Goddess of Chastity... Goddess of Virginity... Goddess of Purity... I apologize for the sin that I am about to commit!"

"Kyaaa...! Damn it all! I need to save him first!"

Having made up her mind, she drank the revitalizing potion in her mouth and fed it Sidius, guiding the liquid as it found its way through the stomach of Sidius.

After a while, the potion took its effect.

Sidius consciousness went back and he alerted his mind in an instant, finding his head lying in the lap of the lady.

He also felt a potion taking its task of healing his injuries and replenishing some of his mana.

Sidius scanned the pill and became shocked, 'I did not expect it to be a high-rank potion!'

'But... why do i feel my mouth is a little wet?'

'Nevermind... let's first absorb the potion.'

Moments later, Sidius opened his eyes and noticed the lady's eyes fixated upon him.

"You're anything but ordinary…" the lady commented, her brows knitting into a frown as she surveyed Sidius' condition. 

The lady found it hard to believe Sidius could still stand on his two feet after those grave injuries. 

"You should be on the verge of death with your body super close to giving up. And now, you greatly absorbed the potion's efficacy with ease in a matter of seconds, while it takes half an hour for average Chosens.

"Furthermore, your meridians are all completely open, and your mana is also abnormally thicker. 

"Plus your mana is also unnaturally dense—"

But before she could speak further, her diagnosis was suddenly interrupted by Sidius' sneaking a surprise attack. 

By swiftly getting up and tapping the acupoints designated for hearing and voice, Sidius made her temporarily mute.

"You're awfully noisy," he remarked, but internally, Sidius admired her keen observation skills regarding a person's condition.

'What?! Oh no, I let my guard down!'

The lady lamented inwardly. She retreated a few steps back, preparing to make a run for it. However, Sidius tapped another one of her acupoints, paralyzing her in the process. 

'Why did I forget that this guy is a demon! Now I'm kidnapped again!' she cried internally.

Sidius then seized her, lifting her body onto his shoulder, and said, "Didn't your parents ever warn you not to talk and trust strangers?"

'Oh Goddess of Mercy... Save meeeeeee!!!'