Chapter 70: S-Rank Anomalies

"Why?"

Reeta looked at Miss Walker, her expression filled with questions. She glanced at Lumi, then at Leon, who was still lying motionless on the ground, before turning back to the medic.

"Wait, are you saying Lumi can help him?"

Before Miss Walker could answer, Evan suddenly flashed toward Lumi and brought her to Leon’s side in a matter of seconds.

"Did you know?" he asked, looking straight at Miss Walker. "Could her ability help him?"

Miss Walker nodded, although the uncertainty in her expression remained.

"I don’t know for certain, but given the situation, we have to try everything we can to save Young Master Leon. His condition is deteriorating, and I can’t stabilize him on my own." She turned toward Lumi, her voice becoming more urgent. "Please allow me to guide Miss Pei through the healing process. Even if we can’t completely heal him, we might be able to keep him alive until we find another solution."

Lumi blinked as she immediately understood why Miss Walker had called for her. She had only recently learned how to use her own healing ability, and she had never tried healing someone else before, but if there was even a chance that she could help Leon, she wasn’t going to stand around worrying about whether she could do it.

"I’m more than willing... Just tell me what to do."

Without another moment of hesitation, she squatted beside Miss Walker, ready to follow her instructions.

Evan watched her for a moment, a small smile appearing on his lips. Even in the middle of such a dangerous situation, Lumi hadn’t asked whether helping Leon would put her at risk, nor had she hesitated because she wasn’t confident in her abilities. She had simply agreed, as though helping someone in need was the most natural thing in the world.

He reached out and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. "Don’t push yourself too hard."

Lumi looked up at him and nodded. "I know."

Then, as if remembering something, she turned back toward Miss Walker. "What should I do first?"

Miss Walker’s expression softened slightly, but the urgency in her eyes remained.

"First, I need you to focus on the injured area and try to feel the flow of energy inside his body. Don’t force anything. Let your healing ability respond naturally, and I’ll guide you through the rest."

Lumi carefully placed her hand against Leon’s chest, trying to feel the flow of energy beneath his skin while following Miss Walker’s instructions. The sensation was faint and unfamiliar, nothing like the warmth she felt when healing herself, but she could tell that something was wrong with his energy circulation.

"Miss Walker... I think I can feel it, but it’s not moving properly."

"Don’t force it," Miss Walker instructed, keeping one hand near Leon’s chest. "Just focus on the sensation first. Try to understand where his energy is gathering before you attempt to guide it."

Lumi nodded, closing her eyes as she concentrated harder.

Meanwhile, Evan slammed another Anomaly into the wall, sending chunks of broken stone scattering across the floor. Before the creature could recover, he struck again, forcing it back with a surge of electricity.

"Where’s the other S-Rank Anomaly?" he shouted toward the Sentinels nearby.

One was fighting him, another was engaged with Raphael, and the remaining one had been pinned down by two Sentinels on the other side of the chamber. That accounted for all four of them, yet Evan had a strange feeling that something was missing.

"Wasn’t the last one already—"

A deafening crash interrupted the Sentinel’s answer.

From the other side of the chamber, the Anomaly that had been pinned beneath the two Sentinels suddenly broke free, its massive body twisting violently as it charged straight toward the group gathered around Leon.

"LUMI!"

Celestine suddenly rushed forward, positioning herself directly in front of Lumi before raising both arms to form a defensive barrier against the incoming Anomaly.

However, before her Guiding energy could fully gather, Lumi felt something stir inside her.

It was faint, almost like a thread being pulled taut somewhere deep within her chest, and before she could understand what was happening, the sensation spread through her body and rushed toward her outstretched hand.

Lumi’s eyes widened.

’Huh? What was that?’

She hadn’t intended to do anything. She was still trying to focus on Leon’s energy a moment ago, and now something seemed to be responding to the danger in front of her. ℯℓ.

The Anomaly lunged.

Lumi instinctively reached toward Celestine’s back, as though she could somehow pull her sister away from the attack.

At that very moment, something invisible slipped out of her.

There was no explosion, no flash of light, and no overwhelming surge of power. Instead, the air between Lumi and the charging Anomaly seemed to ripple, almost like the surface of water disturbed by a falling drop.

The Anomaly suddenly faltered.

Its enormous body jerked mid-charge, and its claws scraped violently against the frozen ground. For a brief instant, its movements became strangely sluggish, as though something had caught hold of it from the inside and disrupted the instinct driving it forward.

Celestine’s defensive barrier rose just in time.

BOOM!

The impact sent a shockwave through the chamber, forcing Celestine to stagger backward. Yet the Anomaly didn’t continue its assault. It shook its head violently, letting out a furious roar as though it had momentarily lost track of its target.

Lumi stared at it, her hand still extended.

’What just happened?’

She could barely feel anything now, only a faint warmth lingering beneath her skin, so subtle that she wondered whether she had imagined the entire thing. ⅇℓ.

But Evan had seen the Anomaly hesitate.

And more importantly, he had felt something strange pass through the chamber, something that didn’t resemble Sentinel power or the familiar release of Guiding energy.

His gaze snapped toward Lumi.

For a fleeting moment, he felt the same inexplicable sensation he had experienced whenever she reached him during Rampage, as though an invisible thread had brushed against his consciousness before disappearing without a trace.

"Lumi..."

She turned toward him, looking just as confused as everyone else. "I... I didn’t do anything."

Evan didn’t answer immediately. He watched the Anomaly recover and thrash against the ground, then shifted his gaze back to Lumi’s outstretched hand.

Perhaps she truly hadn’t meant to do anything.

But something had answered her instinct before she even knew what she was asking for.