Upon hearing his girl's question, Lothur looked at the many people in that green area, all of whom seemed in search of something. "Maybe this is because of what happened earlier? I think the disappearance of that soul fragment must have intensified the earlier phenomena."
"That makes sense..." She looked over Lothur's shoulder as several people nearby looked at them strangely.
"Who are those two?" One of the cultivators in that area asked his companion as he looked in Lothur and Elke's direction.
"I don't know, but it doesn't matter. They are just a mortal and a 3rd Transformation girl who seems to be injured..."
Another person on one of the banks of that lake then commented in a low voice. "They were probably walking around the area when everything happened. So now they are returning home..."
"That must be the case."
"Anyway, don't bother with these people. Our goal is to understand what happened here!" One of the strongest in the area, 9th Transformation, shouted to his companions, already with his back to that couple.
Lothur and Elke noticed the many stares in their direction but were not bothered by it. Instead, he continued on his way, moving away from that area at the maximum speed he could run without causing discomfort to his girl.
And so, as they moved toward Lewerenz, it was not long before someone arrived at the underground location where everything had happened.
"A dead body of a woman?" One of the first to arrive stopped in front of Elise's body, near the hole in the middle of that area.
"From the looks of it, she must have died some time ago. Look how dry her skin looks."
"Yeah..." One of them nodded. "Also, there's hardly any muscle or fat on her body. Hmm, she must have been here for quite a while!"
"But how did she last so long in an open place?" The one with the most doubts there asked.
"Probably this place has protections against microorganisms... Anyway, it doesn't matter. Let's see what's below this hole."
After that person's voice and several others arrived in that underground construction, the first group reached the soul fragment crypt.
"That..."
"There's nothing here!" Someone shouted in frustration as he noticed that the remnants in the walls of that place seemed to have lost their effects.
However, the strongest one there realized something. "This feeling... There was something of value here!"
"Quick, send people to search the surrounding area for people! Someone has taken a precious treasure in this place!" Sweat dripped from his forehead, while he could not help but covet whatever was here earlier.
So, in the blink of an eye, while the strongest in that place stayed to talk, the rest of the people left that underground area to begin their search in the vicinity of the lake.
...
As he walked with Elke hugging him, supported by the unique clothes from earlier, Lothur decided to understand his bloodline.
'System, show me what my bloodline is all about.'
[Life Devourer: by using all his hatred and anger as his base power, the host has access to the power that controls life and death. That is the power of the monarchs, the gods who control the lower beings.]
[Limitations: Life Devourer does not work on those with soul power or level 100% above those of the host; it cannot be used more than once per day; the life energy the host can give to others is limited to the value of EVF, and outside the host, such vitality decays at a rate of 1 EVF per day.]
[Advantages: Life Devourer can be used to steal some or all of the life energy of living beings and turn it into something valuable to the host. It can be given to other people without limitation and can be used to enrich the host's vitality.]
[By using the EVF points on himself, the host can increase his Constitution, Soul, and life-related quality.]
Seeing all this, Lothur opened his mouth in surprise, shocked to have such a powerful bloodline. 'This is truly amazing!'
'With this bloodline, as long as I'm OK, I can at least temporarily save the life of someone important to me!'
'On the other hand, I can even become stronger in other situations by eliminating my enemies!' He felt satisfied with this situation, already imagining he would have many EVFs in the future.
'Mouse Company, huh? You will be my first target to test my bloodline!'
'Just wait! Sooner or later, I will visit you!'
...
After a few minutes of walking, Lothur passed through one of the entrances to Lewerenz, drawing people's attention wherever he passed.
But this was not for nothing. After all, it was not usual to see people carrying others as Lothur did with Elke. Even more so considering that he looked peaceful as he walked down the local streets, with the young redhead resting her little face on one of his shoulders.
"Hey, do you see that?" A woman in her early middle age called out to her teenage daughter as she looked through the window of her house.
"My goodness!" The girl, who looked to be in her 15s, put one of her hands to her mouth and exclaimed. "They... They are so young, but they walk like that..."
"Tsk!"
"Girl, pay attention. Those two probably already have their minds soiled with all kinds of perversion. That's the only way people get to that point!" The mother said in a disciplinarian tone.
"So, if you don't want to end up like them, or other young perverts in our society, you must protect yourself!"
"Yes, mother..." The girl replied without much thought. "But I must say that with someone like him, it is worth..."
"What did you say?" The mother took off her slipper and angrily looked at her daughter.
As the daughter started to run from her mother, other people were also judging Lothur and Elke.
"How shameless!"
"Look for a room!"
"Ah, young people these days... They're getting hastier and hastier!"
"Hey cutie, why don't you take me like this too?"
Lothur and Elke ignored comments and murmurs in their surroundings until they reached the inn that had rented a room the day before.
Upon arriving in the room that still had the bed sheets untidy, Lothur went to put Elke to bed, but then she stopped him.
"Wait a moment, Lothur. I'm dirty. I need to get out of my clothes and take a bath." She squeezed his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "You need a bath too, dear."
"Oh? All right, let's get cleaned up, and then I'll search for a doctor to see the condition of your body..."
She stopped him from continuing. "No, I've been thinking about what to do since that soul fragment warned us of my problem, and I already have a theory on how to solve that problem."
"But..."
"Lothur, I don't want anyone else to know what happens to me or my situation. So, to keep my parents from worrying about me, I don't want to be consulted by any doctor." She said with determination.
Elke loved her parents very much and did not want them to suffer for her. But, on the other hand, she did not want people looking at her with pity on their faces, as if she was already dead.
Hence, she did not want to be examined by any doctor to hide the truth from her family.
"But, Elke, don't you think your parents will be suspicious anyway?" Lothur asked in concern.
She negatively shook her head. "If my theory is right, they won't. And if I'm wrong, I'll tell them I tried harder than I should have. So, that will justify you carrying me. But, of course, I will also use that excuse to stay home for the next few days."
"And how will we resolve your situation without them knowing anything?"
She laughed at him. "I will say that we will do our special training. They will naturally give us space for that..."
"Sigh..."
"All right..." Lothur finished removing the clothes on his body and hers. Then he picked her up and went towards the bathroom in that extremely 'uncomfortable' position for him.
Elke saw the look on his face and then laughed. "Why are you looking embarrassed? Isn't it natural for you to have that kind of reaction when you stand like that with me?" As she asked this, she felt something between her legs.
"But, you..."
"Shh!"
"It's better that you are like this, dear. I think the solution to my problem might be just that..." She blinked at him as she felt Lothur's hands lathering her body.
Gulp!
"Is that what you're talking about?" He felt her hands lathering him up as well and thought about the results of their fun. "How are we going to do that with you in this state? What if I hurt you?"
She laughed at him and said. "There's no way you can hurt me. At worst, you will make me happy in my last moments. At best, as a couple, we'll work it out in our own way!"
"Elke, are you sure about this?" He splashed water on his body and hers, removing all the foam and dirt.
"Yes, take me to bed, and we'll start with you..." She gave her instructions to him, a little bad for depending on him so much but determined to get on with it.
But listening to her explanations, Lothur felt determined to have the best possible results and said. "Elke, OK. I'll do it with you."
"But since we're going to take risks here, I want to absorb the Soul Bone first. That will at least elevate my features a bit, which may increase the results on your body."
"Oh?" She was surprised at that. "OK. I can wait a little while."
...