“Miss, if I may ask for your name?" A crew member came forward, met with Aurianna's calm yet troubled expression.

"It's Aurianna," she said softly.

"Alright then," he nodded before leaving.

As Aurianna watched the monstrous sea creatures of all sizes swim underneath the ship, she thought, 'The entire place being illuminated makes looking at the sea below more terrifying with all those monsters below us.'

"I wonder how they don't see us," Aurianna mumbled as she surveyed the chaotic sea.

"Sea Kings and monsters are mostly blind, since they live in darkness their whole lives. So they are very sensitive to light," Eva explained, and Aurianna nodded.

"Shouldn't they have night vision?" Aurianna asked, a bit confused.

"Some do, but they live at the very bottom of the sea, and no one would like to encounter them since they would be hard to escape from," Eva explained, and Aurianna nodded, resuming her silence.

"Miss, we caught these two brats sneaking on board!" a middle-aged crewman yelled, throwing two human children before Aurianna.

They looked up to meet her eyes, causing them to shiver and bow immediately.

"Please let us stay on board. We'll behave!" the boy pleaded as he held the girl's hand.

'Siblings?' Aurianna assumed, noticing the striking resemblance between the young children. Moreover, she observed collar-like markings around their necks, hinting that they were likely slaves.

'How did they manage to survive?' she wondered as she scrutinized them.

"Leave them," Aurianna waved her hand dismissively as the middle-aged man stepped back.

"Give me a good reason to let you stay and not throw you off to feed the monsters," Aurianna stated coldly.

"We can clean!" the girl chirped.

"Please, I'm begging you, take us along!" the boy pleaded, hitting his head hard on the floor.

"Just one more question: how did you both survive?" Aurianna asked curiously. 'They are too weak to resist my poison magic, so how?' she wondered with a frown.

"Alphonso protected us," the boy began to tear up as he trembled.

'Who's Alphonso?' Aurianna wondered.

"I see," she blurted out.

"All the other slaves who managed to survive were trapped inside the cages, till that one attack that killed them," the girl stated before biting her lip.

'I'm sure it's King's attack. Does it mean I have another stock of souls?' Aurianna thought.

"Just because you can clean doesn't mean we shouldn't carry a burden," Aurianna spat coldly, and the children trembled.

"We know what you did!" the girl yelled, glaring at Aurianna.

"Anisha!" the boy yelled at his sister, fear evident in his voice upon noticing Aurianna's annoyed expression.

"If you don't take us, we'll reveal to them what you did!" the girl declared with fearless eyes. "We saw it. We saw everything! If not for you, Alphonso would still be alive," she managed to say with teary eyes.

"You fool!" the boy yelled at his sister.

"Oh, you think a brat like you can threaten me?" Aurianna asked, causing the children to tremble more. The confidence the girl had immediately vanished upon meeting Aurianna's cold gaze.

"Aren't we the same age? So why are we the brats?" the girl wondered as she stared at Aurianna, the most frightening thing being how casually Aurianna sat with two gaping holes in her body, yet she wasn't in distress.

"Dead people reveal no secrets. Keep that in mind," Aurianna blurted out with a cold smile.

Hearing Aurianna's words, they both gulped and continued to tremble.

"Stay if you want. I'm too tired to deal with you all," Aurianna shrugged as she got up from her seat.

"Is there a room? The room your master sleeps in?" She asked, staring at the crew members.

"Yes, Miss, just straight ahead is our master's quarters," a female crew member revealed, pointing to a room just behind Aurianna.

"I'm going to bathe. No one should disturb me," Aurianna stated as she entered the room and locked the door.

"This place is more luxurious than I expected," Aurianna muttered as her hand trailed the walls, her eyes falling on an image, more of a photograph, depicting a middle-aged lizard man with an arrogant look on his face.

"I should have guessed as much, since some of the crew members have scaly skin," she chuckled before walking to a part of the room with a spacious floor.

"Well, time to set up my tent!" Aurianna told herself as she took her space ring from her inventory and placed it on her finger. She then tapped her finger, and out popped her usual space tent.

Aurianna walked inside to reveal a luxurious room as well as a bathroom at the other end. After removing her clothes, Aurianna picked up a towel, wrapped herself, and walked to the tub. She then tapped on a tap, and the blue stone on it shimmered as warm water immediately rushed out.

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She then walked to the other end of the large tub, taking her bubble soap as well as her green sponge and rubbed them together, creating a bubble mess. She settled into the hot water, attempting to relax, but her annoyed expression turned to one of feeling troubled and scared.

"Those people disgust me to my very core!" Aurianna thought as she used her sponge to scrub her body vigorously. She felt like their stares left dirty stains on her body, which made her feel very uneasy.

Eva, who was watching her, sat there quietly, knowing that at this moment, it wasn't a good time to interrupt Aurianna. “Aurianna... she's still in pain about the past. Even though we went back in time, the pain, terror, and experience would be hard for her human self to forget. I thought someone like her would forget it soon enough since everything was reversed," she mumbled to herself with a confused expression.

"Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting," Aurianna gritted her teeth as she scratched her entire body with her sponge until it bled and healed itself over and over again, staining the clear light blue water white and red.

‘I didn't think what happened there would trigger her again. Aurianna. Even if she doesn't tell me, I know she's still hurting, but she tries to focus on those she has to kill and not the deeds that happened to her. The moment she gives in to the fear of the past, her determination would shatter and be replaced by fear and helplessness. She knows that herself,’ Eva thought as she stared at Aurianna, the young girl still rubbing her body vigorously.

“Aurianna, that's enough!” Eva said as she held Aurianna's hand tightly, suddenly appearing before her with a worried expression on her face as she met Aurianna's teary eyes.

“Leave me alone, my body is still dirty, I have to clean it well! If not, the dirt would still be there!” Aurianna yelled as she struggled in Eva's arms, but Eva held onto her firmly.

“Aurianna, you're fine! Don't you realize that the water is stained with your blood?” Eva asked, and Aurianna calmed down.

“Ah, it's white and red,” Aurianna noticed before inspecting her body to see red sore marks all over, which were slowly healing.

“Let me drain this water and create a new one,” Eva said as she tapped the water twice, and it immediately disappeared, replaced by a fresh batch of warm water.

Eva then tapped her clothes, and they disappeared, replaced by a towel wrapped around her.

Sitting behind Aurianna, Eva said, “Now settle down, and I'll help you bathe,” with a smile, taking the sponge from Aurianna's hand.

“You sure have become nice,” Aurianna chuckled as she sat before Eva.

“I was always nice. What do you mean by that?” Eva argued gently as she washed Aurianna's hair.

“Thank you,” Aurianna whispered with a flushed face.

“Eh, what did you say?” Eva asked, pretending not to hear.

“Thank you,” Aurianna blurted out in a low voice once again.

“I can't hear it well,” Eva said with a smug expression.

“Stop pretending like you don't have goddess hearing skills!” Aurianna snapped, turning to glare at Eva with puffed cheeks.

“Ahahaha,” Eva laughed heartily.

“Humph,” Aurianna pouted, arms crossed.

“The hole,” Eva blurted out, tracing her hand over Aurianna's injuries.

“Yes,” Aurianna replied.

“It still hasn't healed. You were too reckless,” Eva said as she carefully bathed Aurianna.

“I know,” Aurianna nodded.

“Hah…” Eva sighed.

“Do you remember what happened?” Eva asked.

“Somehow, I don't know what happened exactly, but I remember small details after I blacked out,” Aurianna stated.

“I see.”

“Eva, why are you trembling?” Aurianna asked, noticing Eva's shaky hands, which was quite unusual for Eva to show any signs of fear.

“I'm fine… it's just that skill… you used. It's nothing…” Eva quickly dismissed her words, making Aurianna more suspicious and curious.

“Just tell me!” Aurianna insisted, turning to face Eva.

“It's not really important, but it's a very powerful skill that would help you,” Eva stated nervously, and Aurianna noticed she didn't want to talk further, so she decided not to pry anymore.

“Okay,” Aurianna said before turning around.

“Does it hurt?” Eva asked, tracing her hand gently on Aurianna's wound.

“Yes,” Aurianna nodded.

“Don't worry, the pain will go away,” Eva said calmly, raising her finger, and a cloud formed above their heads, raining clean water on them, rinsing off the soap on their bodies.

Once the rain was done and the water was replaced, Eva gently brushed Aurianna's wet hair and couldn't help but compliment, “Your hair is so soft!”

“Does brushing your hair feel nice?” Eva asked curiously.

“Yes, it does,” Aurianna nodded with a flushed face.

“That's good to hear,” Eva said with a smile.

‘She's too good at brushing hair,’ Aurianna thought.

“I hope you're feeling better,” Eva said calmly.

“I doubt that,” Aurianna said, pain evident in her voice.

“Seriously, you could have lost your life! You're lucky you have a revival skill. Learn to take your life seriously,” Eva berated, booping Aurianna on the head with the brush, causing her to wince in pain.

‘That was painful!’ Aurianna thought as she touched her head and turned to glare at Eva. That mere boop felt like a tough smack on her head.

“It's not like I'm going to die!” Aurianna yelled.

“That's the point. You think because of that skill you won't die. But I tell you over and over again that skill doesn't make you invincible. The attacks you received from those Grand Humans is proof of that. Even after an hour, your injury still hasn't healed. And it probably won't heal for a month,” Eva pointed out, and Aurianna couldn't rebuke her words because she was right.

“But at least I ran away. It's obvious that I couldn't beat them,” Aurianna stated proudly.

“And that was a good reason to run away. It would have been foolish if you wanted to go for round 2,” Eva said, and Aurianna looked at the water, her body trembling, and she bit her lip.

“Eva, I was scared. I hate that feeling. What's more, that fire,” Aurianna stated, holding her arms, her nails digging into her skin, but Eva immediately stopped her.

“There's no need to worry. If you keep worrying, you won't become stronger, you know?” Eva said as she looked at Aurianna.

“Yeah,” Aurianna mumbled.

“So cheer up, okay!” Eva beamed as she patted Aurianna on the head.

“Why are you patting me on the head like I'm some kid?” Aurianna asked, looking up at Eva with puffed cheeks.

“Because you are a kid if you compare our ages,” Eva declared confidently.

“Old woman,” Aurianna teased with a cheeky tone.

“You!” Eva playfully retorted as she caught Aurianna in her arms and tickled her neck, causing her to laugh.

“Chi, chi, chi, Eva stop!” Aurianna laughed as Eva continued to tickle her for some time before she stopped.

Once Eva stopped, Aurianna distanced herself from Eva and glared at her with a flushed face.

‘She does look like a cat,’ Eva thought with a light giggle.

“Hmm, now my poison magic has increased. I wonder if I can control my poison magic from afar,” Aurianna blurted out.

“Well, that's random,” Eva stated.

“I haven't heard confirmation of Dwane’s death,” Aurianna said coldly.

“Kisho taught me that I can control the poison I place in others and let it go berserk, so I wonder what would happen,” Aurianna said with an evil grin as she closed her eyes to concentrate on her poison magic.

________

In a dark, luxurious room, Dwane lay on his face, staring at the ceiling.

He bit his lip in frustration as his void expression turned to one of pure anger. ‘Aurianna Vanluad! I hope you rot with your new master!’ he thought, though his intention was to speak. Still overwhelmed by the thought of losing his tongue and limbs, Dwane gritted his teeth as tears streamed down his face.

“Why did I have to meet her? What did I do to deserve such a fate? This is unfair!” His face filled with regret and anger.

“I can't even do anything on my own. Even though my father got rid of Aurianna for me, he would soon get rid of me since I'll be a liability,” Dwane trembled at the thought of that, his eyes darting around the room.

“And those wretches! Once I became like this, none of them came to see me and broke off our engagement. How dare they?” Anger flashed through his thoughts as the loneliness, as well as the inability to act, slowly affected his mental state.

But suddenly, before he could dwell further, he felt a sharp pain in his body. The same sharp pain that had been tormenting him for the past few days, but this time, it was stronger.

Dwane's body trembled as the pain within him continued to grow and spread through his limbs quickly.