Chapter 2: A Desperate Gamble

Creak.

The iron gate leading out of the Bureau was opened, and Dounia was shoved out by a guard, stumbling and falling into the snow.

With a clang, the iron gate was slammed shut.

Dounia looked toward the window of the adjacent hallway, where a younger female guard was watching her with a pitying gaze.

She stared blankly at the female guard, only to see her look away, unable to bear it, as if unwilling to witness her fate.

‘Yes… I probably won’t survive this…’

Standing on the steps, Dounia gazed up at the sky.

Pristine snowflakes drifted down like goose feathers, but she was in no mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery.

The thin white robe Dounia wore offered almost no protection from the cold.

She descended the steps, her bare feet sinking into the thick white snow.

Legend had it that by traversing this “Path of Atonement,” one could wash away their sins, but she had never heard of anyone making it out of this snowfield alive.

“Hiss…”

She sucked in a sharp breath, and the freezing air entering her lungs brought a stinging, needle-like pain.

Dounia trudged with faltering steps through the vast expanse of white snow.

Her tiny figure flickered in and out of sight amidst the drifting flakes.

Fine snow settled on her hair, leaving behind trails of crystalline tears.

The cold wind howled.

The piercing chill penetrated her clothes, its icy touch stimulating her skin and causing her to shiver uncontrollably.

Crunch, crunch.

Her small feet sank repeatedly into the icy snow, Dounia’s rosy toes exposed to the severe cold, her skin turning a vivid, tender red.

Only a few minutes had passed, yet it felt as long as a century.

Dounia’s face was as pale as the snow, a tinge of purple gracing her lips, her breath forming white vapor in the cold air.

Her hands trembled involuntarily from the cold.

Dounia rubbed them together ceaselessly, but the wind and snow were too fierce, and the hard-won warmth vanished in an instant.

‘Am I going to die here…?’

Dounia stared blankly ahead.

Her hazy gaze searched aimlessly through this world of white, yet it found nothing.

Slowly, her body began to feel a little warm.

It was as if the cold was receding, and her eyelids started to grow heavy.

Dounia tripped and fell onto the thick layer of snow.

In her daze, an image of Lilith appeared before her, dancing and making a bet with her.

It wasn’t that she was particularly strong; she just didn’t want to die without a fight, only to be mocked by Lilith.

‘How could I lose to you…’

Dounia pushed herself up, brushing the white snow off her body.

She gritted her teeth and continued forward, her eyes constantly scanning the hallway windows.

She had been thrown out of a side entrance of the Bureau, and from here… she could see inside.

If she could win the approval of someone powerful… she wouldn’t have to be trapped here to die in the snow for nothing!

Dounia’s steps gradually grew heavy, the crisp sound they made on the snow seeming to echo her own resilient will.

A fire ignited within her, and the arrival of hope seemed to warm her body a little more.

She knew this might be her final burst of life—she had to seize this chance!

It was as if the heavens had heard her plea.

In the brightly lit corridor of the Bureau, an ice beauty in a light gray suit was slowly pushing a hospital bed.

Long black hair cascaded down her back, the slightly wavy ends swaying gently with her steps.

Her eyes were as clear as cold stars, revealing an innate indifference.

Her slender fingers gripped the handle of the hospital bed tightly, her brows furrowed in concern for the young girl on it.

Medical staff clustered around the bed, looking at the ice beauty with awe, their gazes frequently shifting away as if they were afraid to meet hers.

Dounia’s pupils contracted.

‘Is that… the chief of the Bureau’s Section Six? Fia Kani, that super sis-con?’

This was probably her last chance!

Dounia leaped onto the steps, her small fists pounding forcefully on the window.

BANG BANG BANG—! BANG BANG BANG—!

She hammered on the window like a madwoman, completely ignoring the pain in her hands.

Fia’s gaze, sharp as a scalpel, swept over to her, making Dounia’s heart tighten.

Seeing that she was about to turn away with indifference, Dounia shouted at the top of her lungs.

“I can save your sister! I can save your sister!”

Fia’s gaze returned to Dounia.

The medical staff nearby stared at Dounia with strange expressions, seemingly wondering where this little lunatic had come from.

“She’s a patient we just released according to ‘standard procedure’,” the guard who had exiled Dounia hurried over to say. “Please don’t listen to her.”

Fia took a step toward the female guard.

An invisible yet heavy pressure immediately bore down on the guard.

She lowered her head, staring at the tips of her own feet, feeling as though she were drenched in sweat.

“…Are you telling me what to do?”

“No… I wouldn’t dare.”

The female guard, so imperious before Dounia, now didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.

“Remember this mistake.”

Fia said lightly.

“Yes… Yes.”

The female guard was filled with regret.

Fia turned her superior gaze upon Dounia, like an olive branch extended from the heavens.

“Bring her in.”

In less than half a minute, several Bureau agents rushed out into the snow and, without a word, carried Dounia into the Anomaly Bureau.

The warm air was a bit dry, but Dounia cherished this reassuring temperature more than anything.

An agent behind Dounia gave her a gentle push, making her stand before Fia.

An invisible pressure washed over her like a monstrous wave.

Dounia clenched her small fists, timidly meeting Fia’s gaze.

That scalpel-sharp gaze sized her up and down twice, and Fia’s lips curled slightly.

“You said you can save my sister?”

Her voice was gentle, with a faint magnetic quality.

Fia took a step forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.

An excruciating pain, as if her bones were about to be crushed, shot through Dounia’s left shoulder.

Tears in her large eyes threatened to spill over.

“If you can save her, I will personally apologize to you.”

“But if you are deceiving me, believe me, I will show you what hell is.”

Hearing this, the surrounding staff all revealed looks of terror; it seemed she was a ruthless character who always kept her word.

“I’m not lying… I can really save her,” Dounia said, gritting her teeth.

In truth, she had no confidence at all, but she had to take the gamble.

If she didn’t seize this chance, she would freeze to death in that icy wasteland all the same!

“Begin your treatment. I will be watching your every move,” Fia said.

Dounia looked at the young girl on the hospital bed.

Her signature short pink hair was scattered across the pillow, glowing with a soft light.

Her beautiful face, however, held an unconcealable exhaustion.

Dounia was certain this was Violet Kani, the younger sister of the Section Six Chief.

She originally possessed incredible talent and could have become a member of the female protagonist’s team, but she unfortunately contracted a disease called ‘Soul-Loss’ during a mission.

The heroine, arriving a step too late, could only watch as she turned into a monster.

Heartbroken, the heroine personally killed her own childhood friend, eventually joining the Anomaly Bureau and beginning her story of crusading against evil gods.

Violet looked weakly at Dounia, offering a smile so sweet it was heart-wrenching.

“I’ll be in your care.”

Even toward Dounia, who was ragged, pale, and looked more like a swindler than a doctor, Violet showed not a trace of disdain, but was instead very gentle.

‘Just as kind as she was described in the game…’

Dounia gazed at the girl on the bed and gently lifted her hand.

On her fair, slender knuckles were small, jade-like black pebbles, with a faint golden thread visible within.

This was the physical mutation brought on by the Soul-Loss Sickness, a sign that the erosion had reached a certain stage.

The Bureau’s medical standards could only offer preliminary suppression, and as a powerless mortal, she was even more helpless.

But she had to bet.

She would bet on the “placebo effect”!

‘If I can really save her, then I can save myself…’

Dounia vowed silently in her heart.