The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 94: Just killed a few wolves

Next Day, around 10 AM.

Lucian’s eyelids trembled faintly.

His lips twisted uncomfortably, reflecting the lingering fatigue and the dull yet sharp ache that seemed to have seeped throughout his entire body.

Gradually, his eyes began to open, only to wince as the sharp beam of sunlight—pouring in through the window beside him—entered his vision.

His brows furrowed.

His eyes narrowed instinctively, shrinking into thin slits as they slowly began to adjust to the sudden, almost painful brightness, forcing him to blink repeatedly.

He shifted slightly, and just as he did,

“Ugh…”

A small, rough groan escaped his lips, and he felt every muscle in his body protest in pain. A deep, lingering soreness spread through his limbs, as if every muscle had been torn apart.

His shoulders felt heavy, his back stiff, and even the slight movement of his fingers sent ripples of discomfort along his nerves.

Rather than moving—which he found very difficult—he looked up and saw that he was currently in the living room of their house, seated on the couch.

The couch was dangerously close to the window, pushed over to a table that had been turned sideways, which he had previously placed to block any access through the broken glass.

The room was quiet.

There were a few broken pieces of furniture on the ground scattered around, and he could even see a few dried blood patches—blood of the goblins that had been there for a while.

He turned toward the window, noticing how much the room had brightened with the light pouring in.

Judging by the light, it seemed it was already afternoon.

Time had slipped past while he was asleep.

Lucian’s head tilted slightly downward before turning to his right, his eyes instantly clearing at the sight before him.

At the jet-black-haired woman right beside him.

Seraphina’s head rested gently on his shoulder, her body leaning into his as she was in a sitting position.

Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was slow… soft and steady, asleep.

Lucian’s eyes lingered on her for a long time.

His expression softened. The tension in his face eased—as something warm replaced the discomfort, before changing again, subtly turning guilty.

There were faint traces of dried tears on her cheeks, and her hand was still loosely clutching the fabric of her gown, which looked wrinkled from being gripped so tightly all night.

There were a few patches on her gown, darker in colour where they had been stained by blood earlier, when she held him the night before.

Lucian let out a quiet sigh, his chest tightening as he took in the sight of her.

After a few more seconds, his gaze turned away from her, shifting toward Lia.

She was sitting a short distance away from him, and she too was asleep.

Her sleeping posture, though…

Looking at it, Lucian let out a silent chuckle.

Her posture was… terrible.

Her head was awkwardly resting on the top edge of the couch, her face tilted at a ninety-degree angle, hanging backward, her face pointed upward toward the ceiling.

Her mouth was slightly parted, and he could even see a bit of drool slipping from the edge of her lips.

Her legs and hands were spread out in a similar fashion—loose, careless, and slightly messy.

Lia knew that she moved too much in her sleep, and that was why she had slept a small distance away from him—in consideration.

She didn’t want her hands or her body to touch his wounds while she slept.

Neither of them knew when they had fallen asleep.

Lucian himself barely remembered anything after a certain point.

He had lost consciousness mid-conversation while both Lia and Seraphina were trying to question him about what had happened the previous night.

They had already been tense all night, along with the multiple things happening around them—monsters, awakening, monster cores, affinities—things that were still impossible to comprehend all at once.

Eventually, exhaustion finally took over them.

And they slept, just beside him. Unwilling to leave his side even for a moment.

Unconsciously, Lucian tried to flex his fingers, only to notice a resistance the moment he did.

There were bandages wrapped around both of his hands, layered around the knuckles and over his fingers. The cloth was slightly discoloured in places where faint traces of dried blood had seeped through.

For a brief second, he didn’t understand, his mind still sluggish and unfocused.

Then he remembered.

He had been injured the previous night, and they had taken care of him during that time.

The bandages were wrapped around his knuckles because the skin over them had been torn by his relentless, almost desperate punches at the wolves.

Habitually, his fingers curled slightly, and he clenched his left hand into a fist, only to hiss at the sharp pain that followed, like hundreds of pins stabbed over the skin all at once.

A few seconds passed before the pain lessened.

‘Let’s not do that again,’ he thought with a small sigh.

Soon, Seraphina stirred beside him, roused by his continuous small movements.

Her body shifted faintly, her brows knitting together as the subtle disturbance roused her awake.

Her head lifted from his shoulder as her gaze instantly snapped toward him, almost afraid that something might have gone wrong while she was asleep.

“How are you?” The question came immediately, her voice carrying tension and worry.

Lucian, who was still in his thoughts, turned to her.

There was a tremor in her eyes that even he could notice.

But rather than saying on that—

He just gave her a soft, reassuring smile.

“I’m fine,” he said simply.

Seraphina’s lips parted. There were many questions she wanted to ask, but before she could speak again, Lucian had already shifted his attention.

He moved toward Lia, gently nudging her to wake her up.

His lips twitched slightly as a sharp pain shot through his thigh the moment he stood up, followed by an electric jolt running through his left arm when he moved it.

He clenched his teeth, showing no reaction outwardly.

Once Lia was awake, all three of them didn’t linger in the living room any longer.

They quickly moved downstairs, into the basement—less bunker—hidden beneath their house.

Lia and Seraphina warned him again and again not to move too much, to be careful with his bandages, their voices carrying a mix of irritation and concern as they tried to keep him from overexerting himself.

But Lucian didn’t want either of them to stay outside of the basement at any cost.

The outside, or anything that might unexpectedly come from the outside, wasn’t safe.

So, with both of their help—despite their complaints—he moved downstairs along with them, all while being careful not to put pressure on his injured leg, so as not to reopen the wound.

Well, it wasn’t like the claw wound had been stitched or anything like that. Seraphina had done all she could to treat the wound, but there was only so much she could do.

None of them was a doctor, nor did they have any medical degree.

Still, the injury had been bandaged properly.

‘It would leave a scar.’ Lucian thought absentmindedly.

Though he didn’t really care about it.

Scar or not, as soon as the injury healed, he was fine and happy.

During this time, no monster had entered their house. They were outside, for god knows where they were, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t ever try to come inside.

After moving down, Lucian went to take a bath since he hadn’t taken one last night.

Even though they had cleaned his body, he still felt the need to wash himself properly.

Both Lia and Seraphina insisted on helping without hesitation.

Without any embarrassment.

Lia had already seen him naked many times during the time of his paralysis, as she was the one who took care of him with all his needs.

And Seraphina had raised him. She had seen him naked during his childhood.

But—

Lucian didn’t allow that.

Neither of the women had much of a problem.

But Lucian did.

Currently, he very much did.

***

After taking a bath, while being extremely careful not to let the wounds and the bandage over them get wet, Lucian sat on the floor, lying on his back against the basement wall.

For a moment, there was silence.

Only to be broken by his dear sister.

“So… what happened to you?” Lia asked suddenly, sitting before him, alongside Seraphina, who sat quietly beside her.

Both of them were looking at him, their focus entirely on the words he’d say.

Lucian didn’t answer immediately.

After a small moment of recalling everything that happened last night…

“Well… just killed a few wolves,” he said casually.

Both Lia and Seraphina’s eyes twitched at his vague answer.

Lia’s lips twisted as a frown formed between her brows.

They couldn’t comprehend how he was so calm about it, how he was acting as if nothing unusual had happened—while they could barely understand what he was saying.

Their minds found it difficult to process what he’d just said.

Wolves?

In their city?

They knew that monsters were roaming outside—Lucian had already told them, and they had seen them with their own eyes.

But they didn’t clearly know what they looked like—aside from the goblin they had seen previously.

And about the monster he was talking about right now…

Was it truly a monster? Or just a wolf? Like an animal from the zoo?

And if it was a monster, then how strong was it, how many were there?

Many questions surfaced in their minds.

Lucian, however, didn’t give them the chance to respond.

Instead, he smoothly raised his hand, opening his fingers upwards, making sure not to move his bandaged hands too much.

Then, a monster core appeared out of thin air, resting in his palms.

Both of their attention snapped toward it instantly, almost making them forget the previous worry, drawn to it without hesitation.

Give me more power stones.

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Thank you for reading.