OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 164: Interrogating The Leaf II

Emir's eyes effortlessly adapted to the darkness, allowing him clear visibility without the need for his flashlight.

Skillfully, he moderated his descent by amassing a significant amount of Aether beneath his feet, giving him the sensation of moving through an unseen viscous fluid.

After a brief duration, he reached the cavern floor, greeted by what appeared to be an intricately arranged cave reminiscent of a basement's layout.

"Roooar!"

"Screech!"

He heard the subtle sounds of monsters far away, but he paid them no heed.

They might've caused him some trouble before, but after going through a well of eternity, he was now a proper force of power...

On Earth, at least.

Leaving his rucksack on the ground, he finally opened it back up, and saw what used to be a beautiful young maiden turned zombie.

He removed the mask that covered her, only to see her face, which was paler than a freshly fallen snowdrift under the glow of a full moon, drained of all warmth and color, evoking a ghostly appearance.

Coughed-up blood oozed from beneath the mask and cloak that he had used to gag her.

His face remained devoid of any sympathy, solely focused on doing what was necessary, no more and no less.

He retrieved an unstained section of the cloak and used it to wipe away the blood that had managed to seep through the mask.

After he was done with that, he shook the cloak to dislodge the blood, much like someone might do to wet laundry.

Only after he had donned the cleaner mask and cloak did he remove her from the rucksack, carefully laying her on the ground.

From his pocket, he fished out several old-world medicine pills, each worth 20 million UC, and shoved them in her mouth.

He then adjusted her limbs, ensuring they were straight, to allow the nanobots to heal them completely.

Lowering himself to his knees, he brought his hands together, fingers intertwined, and gently pressed them into the center of her chest.

Emir did chest compressions while following the beat of a song in his head.

He felt the resistance of her petite breasts as he continued for several minutes. "Haaaah!"

Finally, she gasped for air, her body convulsing as she took in precious breaths.

Her once-ghostly face began to regain some color, a sign that life was returning to her.

With each agonizing breath, her body squirmed, reacting to the intense pain as the nanobots worked diligently to mend her broken limbs.

Emir let out a sigh of relief since he began to think that she was already dead due to how long he had to resuscitate her.

Slowly standing up, he remained watchful over her, observing as she writhed and contorted on the ground.

Her labored gasps and intermittent cries continued to punctuate the tense air.

"Haah! Haah! Haaah!"

"You got this, Aria! Prove your worth as the Goldleaf's heir!"

With a mix of encouragement and teasing, he urged her on, aware that his words held an ironic truth.

She was, after all, an Elite, and this level of pain should be surmountable for someone of her caliber.

"Come on, Aria, you can do it! This is just a minor challenge for an Elite like you, isn't that right? Show me your resilience..."

He continued his teasing, almost goading her to muster her strength, while her face was contorted with agony.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she fought to remain conscious, the battle evident in every strained breath.

And as time wore on, her movements gradually subsided, and her ragged breathing began to find a semblance of stability.

Emir's vigilant gaze remained locked on her, waiting for her to regain a more coherent state. "Hello-. Are you alright now?"

She turned her tired eyes towards him, too mentally exhausted to even talk.

"Awww... Did I tire you out? Don't worry, I have all the time in the world, we can relax here for a while. What do you think?"

Not knowing what to do or say, she simply nodded her head.

"Good! Good! I love smart people, and here I thought that you'd try to resist, but I'm happy to be proven wrong.... Now then, I've got some hunter rations, do you have any preferences?"

He asked while taking them out of his rucksack front storage, not touched by her fluids. After presenting them to her, he said:

"Choose whatever you want, I've got this bar, it's got the flavor of a cheeseburger, this one tastes like pizza, this tastes like fruit and this has no taste, it's completely bland."

Still laid flat on the ground, she didn't bother to even try raising her finger and simply looked intently at one of the four bars.

"Oh, so you want fruit? Such a healthy girl you are~."

He opened it up, threw away the packaging, and moved closer to her.

Gently raising her head up, he grabbed the bar with his other hand and broke it in half.

"You don't need to chew, it'll melt in your mouth." He said as he began feeding her piece by

piece.

Finally done, he returned her head to the ground and stepped back.

"You can sleep if you want, I'll talk to you after you wake up, alright?"

She nodded, closing her eyes a moment later.

Emir noticed that she had already gone to sleep after his words registered in her mind.

'She was that exhausted, huh? Well, I guess I'll be taking longer than expected...'

Walking back to a corner of the cave, he plopped himself on the ground and sat in a lotus

position.

Not wasting any time, he began cultivating his Art while practicing his ability pathing at the same time, like usual.

He kept some of his focus on his surroundings, so as not to be blindsided when something unexpected happened.

...

Time passed, and the only sounds present were the constant shrieks of monsters in the distance and the calm breathing of his kidnapped Goldleaf.

Emir immediately stopped cultivating as he heard Aria shuffling around.

Opening his eyes, he stood up and walked towards her with slow steps, not wanting to scare

her to death.

"Hey, Aria. You awake?"

'Is she pretending to be asleep now?... Seriously?'

"Aria. I know that you're awake. C'mon, I won't hurt you if I don't have to, so cooperate with

me, alright?"

Appearing to have given up, she silently raised herself from the ground, standing up with

wobbly legs.

Emir gave her a hand, but she ignored him and leaned back on the cave's walls.

"Who are you?" She asked with a raspy voice.

"Oh, look at me being such an idiot, let me give you some water. Wait."

Leaving her alone for a moment, he brought a small bottle of water from his rucksack.

"Here you go." He said while forcing the bottle into her hand.

Uncapping it, she began to slowly drink, and while she did so, Emir said:

"So let me explain the obvious... You were kidnapped, but by whom did you ask? Does that

really matter? No, it doesn't, but do you know what matters?"

Quenching her thirst, she threw the bottle to the ground while asking:

"What?!"