The Divine Armor of the Old Century（Book 1）

Chapter 39

Eve exposed her pristine wrist, several wounds slowly healing at a visible pace, much like Lloyd's eerie recovery. Her face bore a mixture of fear and bewilderment. Though she couldn't fathom how Lloyd achieved this, she was keenly aware of its ominous nature.

"Am... Am I tainted?" Eve's voice quivered with fear. She wasn't supposed to reveal this to Lloyd; she knew his nature well enough to understand that if she were truly contaminated by the supernatural, he'd likely kill her on the spot. Yet, Eve also understood the danger posed by such malevolent forces, so she chose honesty.

"Not quite..." Lloyd gazed at her for a long while before speaking slowly. "Corruption by the supernatural requires specific conditions, and the afflicted would undergo grotesque transformations akin to Sabo. But you... you're stable, like me."

"Like you?" Eve tentatively inquired.

Lloyd remained silent, rising to approach Eve. His eyes gradually ignited with flames as the power known as Secret Blood awakened within him. After a while, the flames subsided, and Lloyd sat back down, confusion evident in his eyes this time.

"The aftermath of contact with the supernatural follows only a few patterns, making your condition rather discernible. However..."

At the mention of "however," Eve tensed, sitting upright like a diligent student.

"Eve, you see, there are things once touched that one can never break free from, much like the supernatural. In my knowledge, there's a criterion known as a conduit. Most people lack this ability. Even when darkness approaches them, they remain unscathed. To illustrate, it's like living in the same city as the supernatural but being invisible to them. Yet, similarly, I can't see them."

Lloyd's voice carried a mesmerizing quality, filling the room imperceptibly, omnipresent yet indistinct.

"But if you delve too deeply into the dark arts, your connection deepens. The mist veiling those monsters becomes clearer to you, and you begin to see them."

He chuckled briefly. "Like myself. I am a humanoid conduit. With a bit of herbal aid, I can open my sight to things the living can't see."

"Eve, if you seek understanding of your condition, you'll inevitably delve into this knowledge. You'll inch closer to the darkness, becoming a conduit pursued by shadows."

Lloyd stared at her sternly. "So, the choice is yours. If you pursue this path, you'll deepen your connection to the darkness. Perhaps the ties will sever in many years, but who can guarantee what comes next? I need your decision. The door to darkness stands before you; whether to step through is up to you."

Listening to Lloyd's words, Eve fell silent. She understood the gravity of his implication; this was forbidden knowledge, and delving into it would inevitably lead her into the abyss.

"I have a few questions. Will I become like those creatures?"

Eve asked, her voice firm.

"Without contact with the supernatural, the likelihood is minimal, given your stable condition."

"Did this anomaly occur tonight?"

"No, tonight's events were triggered by a dose of impure Secret Blood, causing the chaos. Your bodily anomalies stem from long ago."

Long ago? Did that mean she had been involved with these beings known as the supernatural long before?

Unconsciously, Eve clenched her hand, knuckles turning white.

The girl stared at Lloyd, who, by now, had reverted to his previous demeanor, no longer the cold-blooded detective but lounging on the sofa like a societal outcast.

The decision lay before her, a crossroads of life. The girl pondered deeply, then answered earnestly, "Tell me!"

Her eyes held a newfound resolve, tinged with a determination Lloyd hadn't seen in ages. He recalled the last time he witnessed such a gaze; he was still a priest in Fjord City, and the children, when asked about their future occupations, wore the same look—full of fervor, stubbornness, and innocence.

"I... Can I hear the reason? If it's not because of our origins, I'd rather not deal with these monsters."

At this point, Lloyd couldn't help but recall Sabo, who had recently died at his hands. No one could choose their origins.

Eve's expression dimmed slightly, but after a moment's hesitation, she spoke. She appeared calm, yet her calmness was unsettling.

"I've been having nightmares since I was young, though I'm not entirely sure what they entail. I'd always dream of the same scene, repeating over and over again. A woman lying in bed, asleep. I couldn't see her face clearly, but I always felt close to her. Then something would emerge from her belly, much like the creatures I've encountered, crawling out... I couldn't see it clearly, but just as it was about to reveal itself, I'd wake up."

"In fact, I hadn't dreamt of this for a long time, until the night before my mother's death. So she passed away the next day. I was still young then, not sure if it was curiosity or what, but my mother lay in her coffin amidst blooming flowers, and when no one was watching, I lifted her clothes."

Eve curled up on the sofa, murmuring to herself.

"As if by some strange compulsion, I lifted a corner of her clothes, and there on my mother's belly was a grotesque scar, as if something monstrous had crawled out of her belly."

"I had almost forgotten about these things, but like you said, with the deepening of our connection, those forgotten memories resurfaced. If I delve deeper, perhaps I'll uncover more."

It was a recurring nightmare haunting Eve, once thought forgotten, yet sometimes resurfacing, becoming clearer with age, like a specter emerging from that scar, taking her mother's soul.

Eve had always believed it to be her imagination, but after tonight, this eerie incident cast a shadow of the supernatural over everything.

Lloyd glanced deeply at Eve. Everyone was like this. Eve thought she had a choice, but in reality, the sinister darkness was like a swamp, sparing no one who stepped into it. She thought she had the option to refuse, but like fate, there would always be reasons pushing her forward.

"I hope you won't regret this," Lloyd said, his mind drifting back to things he had sealed away in his memories.