Leave The Monster Alone

"Suzy has retrieved the core and Suzy is ready to be on standby" the female had come back and she had looked a little ruffled. Out of concern and goodwill, Mark did not ask her what had likely happened with her retrieval.

"Should we just put the core inside the body? What would happen then?" Alan was curious, his eyes looking at the container in the other's hand. The small tube-like container held a lot of power.

"Suzy will be in charge of this operation. Suzy would like to ask you all to give Suzy space" Kuro jumped backwards with a wary expression. Her eyes stood vigilant when she looked at the hair-covered body in front of her.

There was no telling what would happen next since the body was too far gone to actually recover fully. Kuro had a decent enough reaction to the core because she was far too young and never held her own core.

But for someone like this divine beast, it was unlikely to happen without some additional consequences. Was Suzy's current body able to handle the energy impulse?

The small female made her way carefully and parted the hairs. For a brief moment, the skin below the hairs could be seen before it was covered once again and the female in front collapsed.

"Shit, Suzy are you alright? Quick, we need to help her out" Alan's concern was well-founded and it was a really dangerous situation for the fallen female. But instead of going forward, Kuro jumped backwards in time to save herself.

The hairs had started to move all around them and it was difficult for the feline to get a decent grip on the ground.

"Kuro, don't lose your grip but try to get near the body. I'll try pulling her up" Kuro growled in irritation but made careful steps toward the fallen body. It was almost covered by hairs at this point which made it not a happy picture to look at.

Mark bent down to reach the body and avoid the hair all around him. It was difficult when the hairs were moving and growing around them. They needed to get out of here before the hair became a real problem and actually manage to touch Mark or Alan.

Somehow Mark got a decent grip on the body of the female but it felt heavier and bigger than before. Still, he pulled the female up and she really was different from before.

Her body had grown by a lot and even her hair colour and complexion had changed to an ordinary NPC level of attention.

"She changed" Alan's surprise was a welcoming one in such a situation and it also assured Mark that the kid had not yet lost his head in this confusion.

"The poison in her body must have receded enough for her to fight her way out. Let's check her out once we are in a safe environment" the central body covered with hair gave a solid twitch and the growth around them tripled in a few minutes.

Kuro proved to be an expert in dodging the moving hair and somehow covered a safe enough distance in a remarkable time. Her body gave out soft growls at certain intervals as she looked at the direction where the divine beast likely was but that was it.

She seemed tired after running and carrying them around.

"Are we safe here?" Alan asked as he looked at the direction they had come from with an uncomfortable face. They were still near enough to the hairy territory to make them feel uncomfortable but if they went even further away then they would miss the aftermath.

"It should be alright but we should still take precautions" Mark took out the well-used shed skin of the divine snake and used it to cover the party just in case.

It proved to be the right choice when the hairs exploded in front of him but thankfully did not manage to reach as far as them. Still, it was better to be safe than to be sorry.

"Are we safe now?" Alan asked once the explosion was over. The female in-between them did not react throughout and Mark decided to check her first before proceeding.

There was no heartbeat and the female was likely dead.

"Alan, quick assist me. We need to give her first aid." It was likely too late at this point since it had been more than 20 minutes since she had likely died. Still, it did not mean that they had to give up right now. 

There was still a sliver of a chance to save her.

"Is she d-dead?" The kid looked shook but Mark was not in a frame of mind to tend to him. As a medical student and as a responsible citizen, he had been taught the ins and outs of such cases.

They needed to help her body restart her heart and to start breathing again. This was not Mark's first time following this procedure and it would not be the first time he would have failed but it stung every time.

But after five minutes of trying, Mark stopped. The female was dead and there was nothing that could bring her back.

"I-Is it our fault she's dead? It is, isn't it?" The kid was not shaking but he was not looking good either. He was far too pale and his eyes were blown wide and he seemed lost.

The first time seeing death did that to someone but Mark knew the other would grow to desensitise to it soon enough. Mark did after all as did the others in their profession. Alan would learn the harsh truth - death only hurt when it was your loved ones.

Mark would be hurt too if the one who died was Alan or Rika or Kuro but not for this stranger whom he did not know. She did not even look like Suzy too or he might have felt a pang.

"She died because she was careless and touched things she should not have. Make sure you are never in a position if you can help it" the kid needed to learn the harsher truths sooner or later.

Things had gone surprisingly decent till this point with no major death or any other obstacle but this was inevitable. Even in normal life, one generally had a brush with death sooner or later. 

"Take your time to calm down and get yourself sorted out. Kuro, stay here and help him out. I'll go check on the situation" the kid gave him a look that clearly said that he did not want Mark to leave.

"What? I'll come back in a few minutes and you can keep a check on my activity throughout the system" The kid did not say much and Mark left before the other could convince him to stay back.

Had the circumstances been different, Mark would have entertained that thought as well. Alan clearly needed emotional support but Mark could not provide it to him. For some reason, Mark was feeling numb and a little detached right now as well.

His gaze was far too focused for his situation and he could feel his brain trying to expel useless thoughts out of it and go into a clinical and survival mode. 

'Ah, I'm in shock as well.' The thought was not as frightening as it should have been and to be honest, it was not something new. This was a headspace many people who dealt with death on a constant basis ended up in to protect their sanity.

Instead of moping around, Mark's brain had decided to channel the useless energy into a productive sort of energy. 

The forest floor was almost clear of the hair now but the trace of it still remained. Mark made sure to store some in his system in case of any emergence and experimentation requirements. With how useful the shed skin of the divine snake had turned out to be, this might be useful as well.

Then he moved forward to the central part, his brain on the outlook for any trouble but there was none. Of course, no monster would dare approach this part of the forest where a divine beast laid.

Mark saw her likely before she saw him - the small form of a familiar girl who seemed lost when she looked at her new surroundings.

"Divine beast Suzy, you are finally awake" the familiar eyes moved at him and they looked at him the same way another similar girl had who no longer existed.

"Mark? You came back?" the girl called out to the still desensitised Mark who nodded and signalled for her to follow back. The teen did not hesitate to follow behind him and Mark suddenly felt exhausted at all that had happened. 

Then his system pinged with a message.

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System mission: Finding the other rays of hope.

Current status update: Bases found 2/2. Communication fixed - 2/2

Uploading: Mission statue. Chain mission 1/2 completed. Make your way back to the base for the second part of the mission

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