V2: Chapter 68: Mommy Really Tried Her Best to Protect You
“You…”
Octaville’s face was deathly pale, and her hands were trembling. She pointed at Liang Di, who was surrounded by magicians, her mind blank.
“Octaville, you’re back?”
A magician suddenly turned around, looking at Octaville's pale face. He didn’t realize that she was trembling because she was heartbroken for her adopted daughter, assuming it was from overusing her magic again.
“Octaville, go and rest. We don't need you here for now. Look at you, you look like you're about to collapse. Go back to your room and rest.”
Another magician showed concern, reaching out to support Octaville. “Come on, come on, do you need me to help you back to your room?”
Octaville, however, forcefully pulled her arm away, pointing in Liang Di's direction. “That child… that child, where did you find her? No, wait, why did you suddenly capture her?”
Hearing this, the magicians busy around turned around, looking at them curiously.
One of the magicians spoke up: “Isn't this normal? The Tower Master already said that once this child recovers, we'll use her for experiments. Now I see she can run and jump, her health is quite good, so I captured her. What's wrong?”
Octaville opened her mouth, a string of words stuck in her throat, unable to speak. She wanted to shout, wanted them to release Liang Di.
But she couldn't.
She wanted to rush forward immediately and snatch the poor child from the clutches of these demons, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. If she rashly charged forward, it wouldn't just be her who would be punished.
Just then,
"Fu,"
"Fu-Mama..."
A small, tearful voice came from directly ahead, making Octaville's heart tighten.
This voice drew the attention of all the magicians. They followed Liang Di's gaze to Octaville.
"Octaville, is she... calling you?"
Octaville wanted to nod, but she couldn't.
As one of the heirs of the Magic Tower, she had too many concerns, too many things beyond her control.
"Ah..." Octaville's face paled even more. She weakly forced a stiff smile. "Maybe she's calling me. After all, I've been the one taking care of her."
After saying this, she looked at Liang Di.
Liang Di's face, which should have been innocent and carefree, was now marked by pain and struggle. Her brows were furrowed, as if bearing an unspeakable weight; her eyes were red and swollen, tears streaming down her cheeks, soaking a corner of her clothes.
Her lips were tightly pressed together, as if trying to suppress the howling pain, but the occasional soft moans that escaped between her teeth only revealed her helplessness and vulnerability. Her hands gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, as if seeking solace in the pain, but the trembling of her fingertips betrayed her inner panic and unease.
Liang Di's small body curled up in a ball, as if trying to resist the onslaught of pain. Her body trembled slightly, each breath accompanied by a spasmodic pain; her tears had soaked her cheeks, flowing into her hair and dripping to the ground.
Octaville felt pain even in her breath. She slowly lowered her head, her pupils contracting sharply, her heart nearly skipping a beat. She abruptly raised her hand and pressed it to her chest.
The scars on Liang Di's body were horrifying. On her arms, fresh cuts, like crimson lightning, tore through the skin, the edges slightly swollen and red, blood slowly seeping out and congealing into tiny streaks.
Her legs were also covered in burns; the charred skin, as if licked by fire, was wrinkled and glaringly obvious. Patches of red swelling surrounded the burns, the pain causing her leg muscles to tense, afraid to move an inch.
Octaville finally couldn't hold back any longer.
She took a few large steps forward, shoved the magician aside, and hugged Liang Di, her face filled with rage.
"What are you doing?! This child is so young, how could you be so cruel to her?" Octaville practically screamed, her eyes red with anger.
She held Liang Di tightly, afraid to tighten her grip, lest she hurt the poor child.
"Even adults can't bear this pain, and you're making a little child suffer?! What if she gets scarred?! What if you drive her to a mental breakdown?!"
The surrounding air suddenly fell silent, all the magicians' eyes fixed on Octaville. No one spoke; the silence was eerily quiet.
At this moment, Octaville calmed down, suddenly regretting her impulsive actions.
Damn it, now I don't know how to explain myself.
Looking around, she breathed a sigh of relief, for she didn't see the Tower Master.
The current Tower Master hated nothing more than being disobeyed. Octaville knew that with her current strength, she couldn't possibly disobey the current Tower Master.
Damn it.
Octaville clenched her fists tightly, filled with anger and shame at her own uselessness.
"Octaville, you..."
Finally, a shocked magician spoke.
Octaville immediately interrupted her.
"It's nothing, I... I just can't stand seeing children being tortured like this. After all, you all know, I went through a lot when I was young, right?"
That stiff retort, however, seemed somewhat convincing, and the magician's expression relaxed a little.
A magician stepped forward to comfort her.
“Octaville, I think you're just too kind.”
“Exactly. You have to understand, that child is just a monster. She may look human, but she has monster blood in her body.”
“Yes, Octaville, they're right. If you can't stand seeing this kind of scene, then just don't come over when we're doing our research. You're not good at this kind of thing anyway; you're much better at fighting monsters, aren't you?”
Octaville fell silent.
Liang Di's little hands gripped her clothes tightly, crumpling them and wetting her chest with tears and snot. Little Liang Di was crying loudly, calling out "Fu Mama."
Octaville truly couldn't bear to let go; she hugged Liang Di slightly tighter.
“Look, this child's self-healing ability is very poor. These wounds haven't healed at all. If you keep torturing her like this, you'll kill her sooner or later.”
Octaville softened her tone, trying a different approach to save Liang Di.
“She hasn't grown tentacles yet. Why not wait until they grow back, then cut them off for research?”
The crowd exchanged glances, finding some merit in Octaville's words.
“What you said…”
Suddenly.
“Octaville.”
That familiar, authoritative voice made Octaville's body tremble, her heart skipping a beat.
She knew it was over; she couldn't save Liang Di.
The Tower Master, with a solemn expression, slowly stepped out from behind the crowd.
“Octaville, what are you doing? Let go of that monster.”
Octaville gritted her teeth, slowly placing Liang Di back on the table, and whispered, “Lord Tower Master… I, I…”
The Tower Master frowned slightly, scrutinizing his apprentice from head to toe. “What’s wrong? What do you want to say?”
“I…”
“Don’t tell me you’ve raised this child for years and developed some ridiculous maternal love for her?” The Tower Master’s voice grew louder, even becoming harsh.
This was the first time Octaville had ever felt such hatred for the Tower Master.
Initially, she was grateful to the Tower Master. She thanked him for bringing her back, raising her, teaching her magic, providing her with food and clothing, and giving her a platform to realize her ambitions.
However, the older Octaville grew, the less she liked the Tower Master.
He was cruel, arrogant, subservient to the muddled Soteland Empire, and while he seemed to have his own opinions, he actually had none.
Octaville felt that the Tower Master should also step down.
However, he was currently the most powerful magician, and she was far from being able to surpass him; to think of replacing him was simply a pipe dream.
“Tower Master, I didn’t.”
Octaville put Liang Di down, but Liang Di was still tightly clutching her clothes.
“Then what’s going on? Why are you holding her?”
The Tower Master took a few steps forward, his attitude aggressive. He stood straight, his gaze sharp.
“Or are you some kind of compassionate person? Can’t bear to see a monster hybrid suffer even a little? I’ve told you since you were little, haven’t I? Compassion is the most useless thing in the world. Now that you’ve become a magician, you should discard those useless things.”
Octaville lowered her head and remained silent.
“Octaville…” The Tower Master raised his chin, looking down at her. “Tell me, as a magician, what is your mission? What should you do?”
“My mission is to kill all monsters and protect the safety of ordinary people.” Octaville was somewhat numb, her eyes vacant.
“Hmm…”
The Tower Master nodded in satisfaction, glancing at Liang Di.
“Octaville, make that disgusting monster release you, then immediately go back to your room, understand?”
“Lord Tower Master, I…” Octaville grabbed Liang Di’s hand, her eyes filled with reluctance.
“Hmm?”
“Hahaha.”
A hearty laugh rang out. It was Prescott. He flashed forward, spreading his arms to block between the two, quickly turning his head, blinking hard twice, giving Octaville a wink, then quickly turning back, revealing a gentle, harmless smile.
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.