Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Miracle
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Rachel was clutching her head and curling up her body as she took hits from the man. It was a scene that somehow felt familiar.
And she glanced toward one side, muttering something.
(It's okay. Stay right there. It's okay.)
Her gaze was fixed on a little girl in the corner of the house, who looked about twelve or thirteen. The girl had her ears covered and was huddled up.
The unusual thing was that the girl's eyes weren't filled with terror like her mother's. Instead, she was glaring at the man who could be called her father.
In the end, despite the silent pleas to stay put, the girl huddled in the corner stood up.
Anger was etched on the little girl's face.
She apparently couldn't stand seeing her mother get beaten any longer.
"Don't hit my mom!!"
The girl charged at her father and bit his thigh.
The daughter was braver than the mother.
"Ugh!"
The man's fierce gaze turned to the girl at the pain in his thigh.
"Rachel, you bitch! How the hell did you raise this brat?! Making her defy her own dad?!"
The man grabbed the girl by her hair and roughly lifted her up.
"Aaaah!!"
Lifted solely by her hair, the girl screamed in agony.
"You little shit, I'll educate you myself!"
With those words, the man grabbed her hair and mercilessly pummeled her with his fists.
-Thwack! Thwack!
"Guh! Guh!"
"D-Dorothy!!"
Rachel grabbed her husband's arm in shock at the sight of her daughter being savagely beaten.
"You goddamn bitch! A brat this insolent needs proper education from a young age! You think I want to have to do it myself because of you?!"
"S-Sorry... P-Please, just leave Dorothy alone!!"
A father grabbing his daughter's hair to beat her.
A mother clinging to her husband's arm to stop him from hitting their daughter.
A young daughter wailing as she was held by her hair by her father.
It was utter chaos.
Didn't the people in this camp know about this?
They'd lived together for months?
Grace knew that Rachel's husband was abusive, which was why she had tried to separate them.
But Rachel had refused.
I could guess it was out of fear and anxiety that her husband might do even worse... but it was still a mindset I couldn't comprehend.
'No... is that guy smart?'
Looking at his actions, he was hitting her body more than her face.
Thinking about it, I'd been here for over a week, and it hadn't been this noisy until now.
It was pouring rain outside, too. No worries about the sound leaking out, so he was going all out.
Was this what they meant by beating someone black and blue on a rainy day? Doing it freely when no one else could hear?
He might look brutal but was actually weaker than he seemed.
Maybe the camp folks or Grace didn't realize how serious it was.
I wouldn't have known either if it weren't for today.
Should I intervene?
"Well... it's noisy, too..."
Lightly teaching him a lesson didn't seem like a bad idea. Thinking it over, this was like that upstairs neighbor noise that could provoke murderous intent.
I could give him a little tap, and he might unluckily bump into something vital and end his miserable life...
As I thought that and started to get up—
The situation changed abruptly.
"Fine, let's have a proper stress relief today!"
The man irritably threw the girl he was holding by the hair.
-Thud!
"Kuh!"
-Thump...
The girl's head hit the edge of the table, and she collapsed, blood pooling from her head.
"D-Dorothy!"
Rachel's face went pale as she rushed to her daughter, hugging her and checking her over.
"Hoo... Finally quiet after all that whining."
Rachel's husband looked indifferent.
"H-Honey... D-Dorothy isn't... isn't breathing!"
"What? Shit... This is a hassle... If I'm unlucky, we might get kicked out... Dump her in the lake. She might float away somewhere. Rachel, take her to the lake and dump her. If anyone asks... just say... she went out and never came back."
"H-How can you say that?!"
Anger rose on Rachel's face, which had always been filled with anxiety and fear.
The man flinched at the sight.
Then, as if annoyed at himself for flinching at Rachel of all people, he strode toward her and punched her.
-Thwack! Thwack!
"You dare glare at me, bitch?!"
Rachel curled up, hugging Dorothy, as her husband's violence continued. Tears streamed down her face as she took the hits, endlessly muttering.
(I'm sorry, Dorothy... I'm sorry.)
Not satisfied with fists or kicks, the man looked around, grabbed a chair, and swung it at Rachel.
"Eugh!"
"You fucking bitch. I'll send you and your brat to heaven together!"
It wasn't my fault... but the sudden turn of events left a bad taste.
The camp guys should have dealt with him sooner.
Now my mood was ruined too.
That was when it happened.
The husband stood frozen, chair raised high like he was about to deliver punishment.
"Wh-What?!"
Rachel looked up.
Blood was trickling down her face from where the chair had hit her head.
Mana was emanating from Rachel, binding her husband.
I could tell she had awakened.
But... it was too late.
Her face was hollow... stained with anger and guilt.
"R-Rachel. Y-Your doing?! Release me now. I'll forgive you if you do it right now."
Rachel said nothing and slowly stood up.
"Rachel, release me or die?!"
The man threatened viciously.
The chair dropped from his hand, and his body slowly rose into the air.
His flailing body floated in the air, fixed spread-eagled.
"Ugh!! R-Rachel, stop!"
One of the man's arms trembled violently.
"St-Stop!!"
-Rip!
"Aaaargh!!"
The sound of flesh tearing rang out, and the man screamed as if he were dying.
-Crack!
His arm literally tore off.
"Argh!! My arm!!"
Blood sprayed like a fountain from the stump.
Rachel's eyes were bloodshot, and blood dripped from her nose. Her body was under strain from the excessive use of her superpower.
"Rachel!! St-Stop!!"
But Rachel showed no sign of stopping.
-Riiiip!
Then one leg tore off.
Even as blood poured from both nostrils, Rachel's eyes were indifferent.
I could feel cold rage.
Was this really the same timid, fear-stricken woman from moments ago?
"Guh!! I-I'm sorry! Rachel! St-Stop!"
"......"
No matter how much he begged and screamed, his limbs were methodically torn off one by one.
Rachel's husband was left as a limbless torso with only a head, no longer able to scream, just wheezing faintly.
Blood from the severed limbs pooled on the floor.
-Snap!
His head twisted 180 degrees, and he stopped breathing.
-Splat!
His torso dropped from the air into the pool of blood.
At the same time, Rachel collapsed with a thud, gasping for breath.
"Hah! Hah!"
Blood from her nose dripped onto the floor.
In that state, Rachel weakly crawled toward her daughter. She hugged the child and quietly shed tears.
Having watched Rachel's vengeance, I opened the door and entered her house.
The door wasn't locked.
The house was drenched in blood everywhere, a gruesome sight.
Even as I entered, Rachel just sat there blankly, hugging her daughter.
"Dorothy... baby...... Mom's sorry.... Sorry. Really sorry..."
She blankly repeated the same words into her daughter's ear.
I sat down in front of her and said,
"Move aside."
At my words, Rachel's vacant eyes turned to me. Her dead eyes made it seem like she wouldn't understand words.
I pushed her aside and took the lifeless girl onto my lap.
The girl's face bore marks of the beating.
"N-No......"
She tried to use her superpower to take her daughter back, but unlike with her husband, it was meaningless against me.
I checked the girl's neck, but there was no pulse, as expected.
I formed a blade of mana and cut my palm.
Blood seeped from the slit.
I opened the girl's mouth and let the blood from my hand flow into it.
"Wh-What are you..."
Rachel stammered in confusion.
I'm not a doctor.
This was the only thing I could do right now.
Honestly, I wasn't sure if it would save the girl.
I was half-doubting it myself.
I just recalled what Lilia had told me before. She said my blood had healing properties.
As the blood flowed into the girl's mouth, the effect was immediate. Not just her face, but the wound on the back of her head visibly healed.
And the girl's heart started beating.
I handed the girl back to Rachel.
"Wh-What is this..."
Rachel took her daughter from me, hands trembling.
"U-Uh...... M-Mom?"
The girl regained consciousness, blinking in bewilderment.
"Ah.... Aaaah..... Dorothy.. my baby..."
She tightly hugged her revived daughter and shed tears of joy.
'Crazy... Even if she hadn't been dead long...'
Since I'm not a doctor, maybe she had only stopped breathing briefly and wasn't truly dead.
Even so...... The wounds had healed cleanly, as if time had rewound...... It was undoubtedly a miraculous sight, like the dead coming back to life.
Since my body had grown stronger than when Lilia drew my blood before, the effect might be enhanced.
I was surprised even though I had some expectations—what must Rachel think, witnessing this?
She might believe she had seen a miracle.