Chapter 396: Different Choices, Different Paths

Betty’s identity was different from both Elsa’s and Aurora’s.

Elsa was her personal maid, emotionally closer to her—both servant and closest friend. From the Douglas estate to the academy, from a living person to another form of existence after 【Myriad Alchemy】, Elsa had always been at her side, never leaving.

Moreover, objectively speaking, because of 【Myriad Alchemy】, Elsa’s fate was deeply bound to hers, impossible to separate. It was a connection that transcended the emotional level, carved into the very foundation of existence.

And Aurora had always wanted to be her knight.

The complex experiences hadn’t changed Aurora’s wish—instead, they had tempered her will to be even firmer. Those hardships were like the forge fire and quenching water: burning away hesitation and wavering, leaving only pure loyalty.

Even when Pandora actively let go, giving her a chance to leave, Aurora remained steadfast.

In this regard, it was actually Pandora who owed her something.

As for Betty...

She was originally just a little kitchen maid at the estate.

In the old Douglas estate, her daily work was kneading dough in the kitchen, baking bread, and occasionally sneaking a piece of honey cake.

Before the night of the living dead, this little kitchen maid and Pandora, daughter of Viscount Douglas, had met occasionally but never had much interaction.

A servant in the kitchen, a young lady of the house.

The distance between them was far longer than the estate’s corridors.

There was no deep bond to speak of.

Her later inclusion in their group was simply the result of various coincidences stacked together.

In a different time, a different place, they might never have crossed paths again.

Later, at the academy, she was exposed to ideas from various Fragment Worlds and learned about the backwardness of the medieval era and the constraints of master-servant relationships.

Those fresh concepts flooded her mind like a torrent.

So she developed a desire to distance herself from those less-than-ideal “old relationships” and embrace a new life.

There was nothing wrong with that.

Pandora never blamed Betty for it either.

In her view, it really was just a personal choice.

Whether a person chose to leave or stay, to come closer or drift away—that was that person’s own business.

Pandora wouldn’t deliberately do anything to Betty because of such a choice.

In fact, because of their past experiences, her attitude was even a bit friendlier than toward a complete stranger.

Though not to the point of actively offering patronage.

Probably just... like running into an old neighbor on the street.

A nod, the occasional small talk—nothing more.

It was just that Betty’s luck was truly a bit poor.

Hmm, and her talent too.

Even though she had absorbed quite a bit of the “Corpse-Red Mist” at the time, her growth barely kept pace with the academy’s requirements—only breaking through to Rank-2 at the very end of the two-year period.

And this time, even stopping to catch her breath, she ran into something like this and nearly died.

But to say her luck was bad...

It wasn’t bad to that degree either.

At least the assistant squad leader had already been completely devoured, while she had only just begun to be eaten.

At most, most of her skin and a small amount of muscle tissue had been consumed.

Her eyes and eardrums also suffered some damage.

But in Pandora’s view, these problems weren’t too severe—still within the range where potions could save her.

If Betty were Rank-3 instead of Rank-2, those skin and flesh wounds could even be treated with a single bottle of Sloughing Decoction.

The regeneration ability of a Rank-3 body far exceeded that of Rank-2; combined with the catalytic effect of Sloughing Decoction, large-area skin and flesh damage would heal within days.

Even if the potion couldn’t be used due to the rank gap, there were other means.

After all, the academy provided quite a lot of above-standard assistance to squads like theirs that handled Fragment World cleanup missions.

Although most of it had to be paid for, it was still far luckier than the completely hands-off approach of The Dead City.

As for the Betty before her...

Pandora gently shook her head.

Rationally speaking, she shouldn’t show favoritism toward Betty—she should treat her the same as any ordinary support squad member.

But people were not purely rational creatures.

A Perfect-Grade potion was extremely important to Betty at this moment.

To Pandora, it was merely a small effort.

She had more than one Perfect-Grade potion in her pouch; using one less wouldn’t pain her, and using one more wouldn’t break her.

But for Betty, this one potion might mean the difference between surviving intact or living with scars that could never heal.

So...

Pandora took a bottle of Perfect-Grade Amber Tonic from her potion pouch.

It was a thumb-sized glass vial, with a rounded body and a wax-sealed mouth.

The liquid inside was a rich amber color, and against the gray-white mist, its surface held an additional dark blue sheen, shifting and unfixed.

That dark blue luster was the mark of Perfect-Grade quality.

Compared to ordinary superior-grade potions brewed without systematic assistance, Perfect-Grade potions had higher purity, more stable properties, and fewer side effects.

The gap between the two was like a hand-forged iron sword versus a precision-cast steel sword from a factory—both could kill, but the sharpness was entirely different.

Drawing back her gaze, Pandora pinched open Betty’s jaw.

The jawbone was almost covered by nothing but a layer of fascia, the muscle mostly gnawed away, cold to the touch.

She carefully fed the potion.

The amber liquid flowed slowly along cracked lips, disappearing bit by bit into the throat.

The Perfect-Grade potion had excellent efficacy.

It quickly stabilized Betty’s breathing and heartbeat.

The pulse that had been so faint it was barely perceptible began to grow steady and strong.

Her damaged tissues immediately secreted a layer of pale yellow fluid, which coagulated into a thin, moist gel that covered the terrible wounds.

That gel was like some kind of semi-transparent membrane, isolating the exposed muscle from the outside world, both preventing infection and providing a foundation for subsequent repair.

Pandora made no further unnecessary movements.

A Rank-2 potion could only do so much; it would be difficult to regenerate such extensive damage with potions alone.

For now, she could only stabilize the injuries first, then send her back to the forward outpost base, where potions and equipment could be used together for repair.

Pandora gently lifted the blood-soaked girl.

Even though her movements were already extremely careful—her arm bending only slightly to rest Betty’s head in the crook of her elbow, trying to avoid touching those gel-covered wounds—

She could still see the frown creasing Betty’s face from pain.

With most of her skin gone, even if this injury could recover, the process was bound to be agonizing.

She could only hope Betty would endure it.