Chapter 40: Little Seed

The tiny seed was only the size of a thumb, but the energy it emitted was awe-inspiring.
However, I found it quite comfortable, like coming home.

A moment after the seed appeared, red petals fluttered down like a snowstorm of goose feathers, filling the entire space.
Equally vibrant red flowers grew and withered rapidly from under my feet, endlessly cycling through life and death.

I raised my hand and caught the slowly falling seed.
The moment it touched me, the little seed became active.
It first jumped twice in my palm, and then circled around me endlessly, looking very affectionate.

My gaze followed the circling seed until I was almost dizzy from it.
Only then did I look away and turn to the eyeball above my head and ask.

“What… is this thing now?”

That eye’s gaze widened.
It looked at me, then at the seed, its gaze darting back and forth.
Its action made me a little confused, but I thought of something.

“I think you are the ‘Seed of Genesis and Extinction’.”

The sentence Elvira had said in the forest was my only answer that wasn’t an answer.

The suddenly appearing black and red round seed, apart from the four words “Seed of Genesis and Extinction,” I had no other clues.

So… am I really the “Seed of Genesis and Extinction”?
That ancient artifact?
In the end, I’ve become an artifact spirit, haven’t I?

“Eye, let me ask you another question—is this seed my true form?”
I asked this thinking that since this eye was also a divine artifact, it should have some sense of things that were also related to the divine.

But the eye first moved up and down, then side to side, disappointing me once again.
What a useless divine artifact!
Completely useless!
Asking three questions and getting no answers, I completely lost hope in the eye.
I decided to study this seed myself.

The little seed was still happily circling around me like a naughty child.
With a “let’s try it” mentality, I said to it, “Stop.”

Before the words had even left my mouth, the little seed stopped.
It floated obediently in mid-air, trembling slightly from time to time.

Seeing that my words were effective, I then spread my palm and said, “Come back.”

This time, it also obeyed and returned to my palm, rubbing against my fingers.
The little thing was quite interesting.

Looking closely, this tiny seed was actually more like a piece of fine red jade, deep and beautiful.
It also felt very nice to the touch, smooth and cool, making me not want to let go.

“Can you get me out of this space?” I asked softly, my tone like I was coaxing a child.

The seed jumped twice, then flashed with red light and shot straight into my chest, entering my body.
Caught off guard, I was quite startled.
The space was instantly in an uproar.
Patches of vibrant red stamens bloomed under my feet.
They no longer withered, but all bloomed gorgeously.
A storm of petals slowly formed, like a whirlpool tornado, and I stood quietly in the eye of the storm.

Suddenly, familiar ribbons wrapped around my body.
On the basis of the original lace dress, they wove more intricate clothing.
There was a corset, shoulder straps, and some decorative bows.
There were also shoes, and it even thoughtfully put on underwear for me, and then added a pair of leggings.
My half-month-long “commando” state came to an end.
An unprecedented sense of security filled my heart, and I was very satisfied.

But the finishing touch was undoubtedly the pointed, wide-brimmed witch’s hat with thorny patterns on my head.
Now, I look more and more like a witch.

I’ve really lived up to the name “Thorn Witch.”

The vibrant red storm connected heaven and earth, and it was about to reach its peak.
I could get out soon.
In this world of crimson, a touch of eerie green was out of place.
“The Ancient Gaze” looked left and right in confusion, and finally flew straight towards me.

This broken eye can come and go as it pleases?
It’s really annoying… but I can’t do anything about it…

Swish, swish— smack—!

Suddenly, just as the eye was about to enter my body, a vine suddenly shot out from my chest and whipped the eye with a crisp sound.
The momentum was fast, accurate, and fierce.
The latter was whipped so hard that it changed direction, and tears almost came out of its eyes.

“Wow~ the little seed is small, but it has a big temper… I like it~”

Awesome!

I’ve long wanted to whip this broken eyeball, but I’ve never had a reason.
Now that someone is doing it for me, it’s so satisfying.
My “own” is still the most reliable.

But seeing as the broken eye is still useful, I’ll take it out as a tool eye for now.
When I’ve squeezed it for all it’s worth, then… hehe.

A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind, planning the wonderful life for the eye in the future.
When I came back to my senses, the storm had already reached its peak.
It was time to get out.
Elvira was still waiting for me.

I beckoned to the eyeball to return to my body.
With my permission, the little seed didn’t whip it again.
But the eye was still very cautious.
It seems that whip just now was not light.

The two artifacts returned to my body.
Vines under my feet lifted my body.
Countless thorns swirled around, forming a barrier, carrying me straight to the dome!

The next moment, the world fell into darkness, silent and lonely.
Soon, there was movement again…

Drip, drip—

The sound was incredibly gentle, like a drop of water.

Suddenly, the sound of the surging waves, the noisy shouts, and the sound of the seawater hitting objects all entered my ears.
The thorny petals around me bloomed, and I saw a hazy night sky, a quietly emerging dawn, and a sea surface with shimmering golden light.

The veil of night was lifted, and the hope of day arrived.

The sea breeze brushed through my hair and caressed my skirt.
I opened my arms and took a deep breath, feeling everything around me.

I’m not dead again.

“Hey! Verona! Is that you?”

Someone was calling me from the direction of the beach behind me.
The voice was very familiar…

Is that… Nadiesse???

My gaze had been on the distance.
Only then did I realize that the coast was full of other-race figures and ships.
Wasn’t the one who had just called me Nadiesse?
She brought people back to find us?!

Then where is Elvira? Why can’t I see her—!

My gaze locked onto the figure behind Nadiesse.
My heart was as if suddenly clenched by an invisible hand, and I couldn’t breathe.

Elvira… she’s lying on the ground, motionless.

I controlled the vines to put me on the ground and ran to Elvira’s side in a few steps.
The wounds on her body were shocking.
Her whole person seemed to be about to break.
Her beautiful face had her eyes tightly closed, and her breathing was weak.
Her chest had stopped rising and falling several times.

“This is how we found her. Don’t worry, the medical staff will be here soon.”

“No need.”

“Eh?”

I bent down and held Elvira’s hand.
I explained to Nadiesse, “No need. I have a way to save her.
Nadiesse, stay a little farther away.”

“…Oh, oh… okay…” Nadiesse seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she took a few steps back, leaving me alone with Elvira.

“I’m sorry… I’ve let you get so badly hurt again.”
Elvira probably couldn’t hear my self-talk, but her beautiful eyebrows still twitched slightly.

The method of treatment was very simple, but I had lost the small knife she gave me.
I had no choice but to bring my wrist to my mouth, and with a firm bite of my silver teeth, blood gushed out.

I placed my bloody wrist in front of Elvira.
The crimson thorns spread out and wrapped around her.
But this was not enough.
I squeezed my wound hard, and more blood flowed out, turning into crimson thorns that wrapped around Elvira’s limbs, waist, and neck.

Finally, the thorns glowed with a red light, and several streams of blood were drawn from my body.
A feeling of weakness almost drowned me.
Even so… it was still not enough.
The cracks on Elvira’s body showed faint signs of healing, but the speed was too slow.
The blood injected was not enough.

More… more…

The thorn bushes flashed continuously.
My hands and feet instantly turned cold.
Fortunately, my body had been restored to its original state by the little seed.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to withstand such a large consumption.

But even so, my restored body still couldn’t hold on.
I felt my consciousness about to dissipate again…
The amount Elvira needed was too much.
I…

Hold on, Verona, you must hold on…

“Ver… ona, is that you…”

In my blurry vision, a spot of gold appeared.
Elvira seemed to be awake.
Then I can’t drop the ball at a time like this.
Make a fool of myself in front of her?
No way!

“I said it before… when you’re about to die, I’ll splash my blood on your face…
You wicked dragon, just lie down and don’t move.
I’m about to succeed,” I forced a bitter smile, tensing my whole body to transport the blood.

My attention was completely focused on the cracks on Elvira’s body.
I thought that perhaps this way I could ignore my gradually cold and numb senses.
But it seemed… this was really working.

The wounds on Elvira’s body were already healing at a visible rate, and her breathing was gradually stabilizing.

Just a little more effort!

Suddenly, a red light shone from my chest, and a warm current instantly spread through my limbs.
The small, red-jade-like seed peeked out and jumped in front of me as if to claim credit.
But before I could reply, it quickly went quiet and returned to my body.

Thanks, little seed.

And thank you on behalf of Elvira too.

“Phew—”

Taking a deep breath, I injected blood into Elvira again.
And this time, her condition finally showed a significant improvement.
All the wounds disappeared, and her breathing and heartbeat were stable.
Apart from her face and lips looking a bit pale, there was nothing else wrong, except that she was still asleep.

“You dragon’s appetite… is really big,” I wiped the non-existent sweat from my forehead and picked up Elvira.

I didn’t expect that I would one day be the one to carry her.
So light…

Elvira’s body was limp against me.
A refreshing and elegant fragrance filled my nose.
Her delicate and soft body was curvaceous.
Actually, I’m quite unused to holding her…
I’m usually the one being held…

Holding the beauty in my arms, I walked towards Nadiesse.
When she saw me coming, her two ears perked up, and she came forward and asked, “Is she okay?”

“Mm, she’s already healed. She just needs to sleep for a while now.”

“And you? You don’t look well…”

“I’m fine too, don’t worry.”

Nadiesse was now like a nagging mother, a million times worried.
But I was really fine, so she could only keep her words to herself.

On the beach, other-race people were disembarking from the ships and walking towards us one after another.
In addition, there was the monster’s corpse.

At this time, red flowers were in full bloom on the swollen, huge body.
Near the ground, among the cluster of vibrant red flowers, a hunched and skinny figure stood with its arms hanging limply.

Is that… the old man?