The question was so abrupt that Malcolm found himself stuttering involuntarily.
—For the body to break…
At the same time, a surprising revelation struck his mind. "Could he be talking about that maid who partly looks like a corpse?" It was amazing. Hard to believe. "Such a young person?" Malcolm was baffled by Rue's question.
Judging by his brief statement, it seemed the maid Daisy had just reached the second stage. "The second stage is a phase of body reformation. If she had reached enlightenment after being pierced by a sword like this, she should have healed quickly and only some scars should remain."
Malcolm raised his head cautiously and observed Daisy. She had a pitiful expression, enough for him to bite his tongue unconsciously. Moreover, instead of scars, the blood from the stitched area seemed still wet. At a glance, it was evident that the body reformation had not occurred.
—...It can happen if the state of the body is so abnormal that the truth of mind and body unity does not apply.
He had his suspicions.
—Lenya, go to the room and bring the Leleria magnifier. It should be in a turquoise metal box.
—Yes, yes.
Lenya, who stood like a shadow, quickly left the room. The Leleria magnifier was a magic tool that could peer into souls. Originally developed for soul research purposes, it was an object that had been abandoned long ago due to its lack of practical results.
Malcolm carefully opened the box Lenya had brought and said:
—Calepa, I think I can give you some clues about the case you mentioned. However, I think we should first examine Miss Daisy's soul. Do you give me your permission?
There was no answer. Calepa's silence meant affirmation. Malcolm raised the magnifier tensely. When examining Daisy's soul in detail, it was just as expected.
—As I thought… Miss Daisy's soul seems to be intertwined with an unknown external force. It's an incredible power.
The soul had taken the shape of a sphere. Watching it through the magnifier, Daisy's soul was surrounded by a translucent mist, which was the unknown force that had infiltrated from outside.
"No, wait. There is something different."
Now that he looked carefully, the mist didn't surround the sphere, but filled the cracks of the fragmented sphere.
—Oh, my God —Malcolm instinctively let out a loud exclamation.
—How is this young girl alive?
His words failed to connect easily before the shocking vision.
—Her soul is shattered. It's broken like a glass vase that has fallen to the ground. If the external force that infiltrated hadn't acted as an adhesive...
She wouldn't have been able to maintain the shape of a normal soul, which would mean she would be dead.
—At most, she has about 10 years left. If she doesn't reach the semigod stage in ten years, this maiden will die.
Daisy, the Weatherwood maiden, was doomed to die. Unfortunately, there was no hope. The semigod stage was a level that couldn't be reached even if one dedicated their whole life to it. "Poor thing."
However, somehow, Rue already seemed to know it.
—So, what can we do with that broken soul?
Malcolm slowly swallowed his dry saliva. Actually, he had already seen a soul like Daisy's before, though a long time ago. Although it wasn't a pleasant experience, the past still came vividly to his mind.
—Calepa. The reason why Miss Daisy's physical condition deteriorated as soon as she crossed the second threshold... is probably because her soul is in a shattered state like the one it is in now.
—You must have seen a similar soul before.
—Yes, that's correct. —Malcolm nodded heavily—. I… during the magic war, we spied on Mephisto's army for almost seven years. Their goal was to reach the level of a semigod without going through enlightenment, to prolong their life expectancy. They did not hesitate to resort to any cruel biological experiment to achieve it.
Immortality had long been a human dream. Some of the followers who came to Rogue were fascinated by immortality. Because those who overcame the four stages of complete unity of body and mind were able to enjoy a life close to immortality. However, the walls of the mind and body were high, and depending on the person, the walls seemed even higher. The fewer twists and turns one experienced in life, and the more one enjoyed a quiet existence, the harder it would be to overcome the wall of mind and body.
Because it was an insurmountable wall, the longing for it was even stronger. Some followers, who felt increasingly frustrated because they lacked the power they couldn't possess, began to question Rogue's teachings.
—Rogue's methods are obsolete! If we keep insisting on methods that only benefit certain followers, we will keep denying ourselves what we seek!
Followers who questioned the truth began to look for a new "methodology." During this process, strange and terrible incidents occurred one after another, and followers were permanently exiled from the Northern Continental Union and the church with the stigma of being traitors. The land where the exiled traitors arrived was here, the Penrotta Empire. The Empire referred to them as the army of Mephisto.
—Various experimental methods were employed: mixing two or more souls in a body or dividing a soul into two or more. There were also cases where the souls of strong individuals or animals that had already crossed the wall were extracted, and even the purest souls or hearts were devoured. It can be considered that all cruel and disgusting means were employed.
Malcolm remembered the terrible biological experiments that took place in the temple basements.
—At that time, under the guise of a spy, I supplied Mephisto's army with goods such as the Leleria magnifier or topographic maps to maintain a relationship. Once, I used the magnifier on the children they were experimenting on to prove its authenticity...
—And did you see a similar soul?
—Yes. The condition wasn't as shattered as Miss Daisy's, but the souls were full of small and large holes, enough for it to be unsettling to observe them. And an unknown force, spreading like mist, surrounded their souls. I remember it wasn't just one of them.
According to rumors, children with broken souls were especially vulnerable to physical experiments on their bodies.
—Depending on how the experimental process developed, their life expectancy was shortened or lengthened… In general, they ended up living for a shorter time.
It seemed Daisy had successfully overcome the first stage. The unknown force that densely filled the gaps in Daisy's broken soul, maybe it was thanks to that force that she was able to endure it.
Rue, who was listening carefully with his eyes closed, asked.
—The force surrounding the souls with holes?
—Are you asking about the identity of the force? I don't know exactly either. But I'm sure they forcibly gave something unknown to the children. I vaguely remember hearing their screams that they didn't want to eat something.
If it wasn't his illusion, something seemed to flicker in Rue's eyes when he heard that.
—...eat.
However, Malcolm pretended not to understand that look and said nothing more. "Curiosity killed the cat." For some reason, Daisy was clearly a person Calepa cherished. He didn't want to offend him by saying any nonsense.
"That maiden... was probably one of the children who underwent biological experiments in Mephisto's army. Coincidentally, the age matches perfectly."
While Malcolm speculated alone, he felt a deep feeling of self-loathing he had long lost. If only he had been braver and tried to save those children, maybe now there would be more children alive.
"That Daisy becomes a maid in Weatherwoods... in a way, it could be considered destiny." Then it was only right that he take the responsibility of caring for her.
How much time passed? Lenya, with a faint color newly recovered in her face, let out a sigh of relief.
—Miss Daisy's breathing has become much more stable! I'll go out and buy medicine. Please, take care of Miss Daisy, master.
Lenya left the mansion with a considerably lighter heart. Although it seemed Calepa and the master had had a difficult and complicated conversation, she, unable to properly understand, simply hoped for Daisy's safety.
"They said ten years at most, didn't they?" She remembered Daisy's trusting eyes when she accepted her reckless request. "But who knows, with proper eating habits and healthy food, maybe she can live more than ten years." She had to take good care of her. Daisy was not only a friend who listened to her difficult request but also a colleague in the same field who passed on excellent ironing skills! Lenya, firmly determined, left the mansion with her fists clenched.
Thirst. I'm very thirsty. I'm very, very thirsty. My throat is so, so, so… Exhausted from enduring the thirst, I opened my eyes wide.
—Miss Daisy! Are you awake?