"So cold... Am I going to die..."
Shiki murmured. The light before her eyes slowly vanished, replaced by a massive "hole."
Pitch-black, deep, terrifying. It seemed to contain nothing, yet encompassed infinite things. Then she saw... the end of all things!
..."You idiot! Look what you've done! She's dead!" the crossbow Treasure Hoarder said angrily.
"I just wanted to teach her a lesson! Who knew she was so fragile."
"How tough did you expect a pampered vase to be? We were supposed to get rich, and now because of you, we got nothing!"
Looking at the motionless girl on the ground, the crossbow Treasure Hoarder felt his blood pressure spike. He vowed never to team up with this big idiot again.
At that moment, countless pieces of information flooded into her soul. Before she could even process them, she was pushed away from this world.
At the same time, back in reality, Shiki, who had supposedly "died," slowly opened her eyes. Her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, interwoven with rainbow and blue, were displayed for the first time in this world.
They were like a profound spiral, seemingly capable of directly sucking people in.
Shiki saw this shattered world, filled with dense, intricate lines, like the scribbles of an ignorant child. She tentatively slashed at a nearby large tree, and a huge gash appeared on its trunk.
However, the two Treasure Hoarder, still bickering, paid no attention to the situation behind them, as in their eyes, the girl was already dead.
"How about… we search her? Maybe she has some valuable items on her?" the Shovel Treasure Hoarder said.
"At this point, that's all we can do," the Crossbow Treasure Hoarder nodded, and then the two, having reached an agreement, turned around.
However…
"You, you weren't already dead!"
The Crossbow Treasure Hoarder shrieked, but Shiki didn't reply. She merely stumbled unsteadily toward the two Treasure Hoarder.
Her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, interwoven with rainbow and blue, were like a profound spiral. The two Treasure Hoarder stared at these strange eyes, standing frozen in place, as if their souls had been sucked away.
But it was close enough; when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. Their minds simply couldn't withstand the direct gaze of the Mystic Eyes.
In this Vision, unique to Shiki alone, the lines on the Treasure Hoarder' bodies emitted a dark red glow, and Shiki, like a curious child, reached out and traced the lines with her finger.
Instantly, blood gushed out.
Shiki was splattered, but she didn't feel the slightest discomfort. Instead, she maintained a cold, expressionless demeanor.
The Treasure Hoarder' actions made her fully realize how difficult it was for ordinary people to survive in this world, and the immense information flowing from that "hole" had significantly dulled her emotions.
It wasn't that she had lost her emotions; she still possessed the seven passions and six desires, but they were no longer as easily expressed as before.
The arrow remained lodged in her chest. She had nothing sharp on her to precisely "kill" the injury; trying to erase it forcefully with her fingers would only worsen the wound.
The blood splattered on her made her feel sticky all over, and as time passed, her Vision gradually blurred.
Fortunately, there's always a way out. Before losing consciousness, she saw a person.
Thud.
Shiki lay on the ground, and the person not far away naturally heard the sound.
Tejima picked up the katana beside him. Although he was now an old man, that didn't mean he couldn't fight.
The Pyro Vision at his waist emitted a warm glow. This martial prowess and Vision, even in his old age, ensured his fighting strength was undiminished.
There were many monsters near Konda Village, such as Hilichurls and Slimes. Sometimes, troublesome Ronin or Kairagi would also appear.
However, when he approached, he realized that the sound wasn't from any monster, but from a severely injured girl.
'This!'
Upon seeing this, Tejima quickly put away his katana and placed his hand over the girl's nose. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her still breathing.
'Good, she's still alive.'
'These damned Treasure Hoarder, they won't even spare a little girl. They're simply scum!'
Tejima had seen this kind of arrow too many times, but he hadn't expected the Treasure Hoarder' bottom line to sink so low, to actually attack a frail young girl.
After a brief check of her condition, Tejima carried Shiki back to his home and then summoned the best doctor in the village.
More accurately, it was an itinerant doctor who had just arrived in Konda Village a few days ago.
"Miss Hanabi, I'll leave this child to you," Tejima said.
"You're too kind, Mr. Tejima. You've protected Konda Village for so many years; this is nothing," the itinerant doctor Hanabi said as she entered the room. Due to gender reasons, Tejima remained in the living room and did not enter.
Entering the room, Hanabi was startled. This person, had she bled so much?
However, she soon realized that it wasn't the girl's blood. The girl only had an arrow wound in her chest, and since the arrow hadn't been pulled out, she couldn't have bled that much.
So the blood had been sprayed from someone else. It was hard to imagine what the other party had gone through.
'Anyway, I'll treat the wound first.'
Hanabi took scissors from her medical kit, disinfected them, and then cut a hole in the girl's seemingly expensive kimono.
Treating an arrow wound wasn't difficult. Having practiced medicine for so many years, she had treated all kinds of arrow wounds, and the chest was no exception.
The arrow in the girl's chest was quickly removed. After applying some medicine, she bandaged the wound.
"Done! Take this prescription; it will help her wound heal. Once a day is enough," Hanabi said, clapping her hands.
"Thank you. What about the consultation fee?" Tejima asked.
"What do I need that for? Arrow wounds are minor matters to me, and you know, I don't practice medicine for money," Hanabi waved her hand.
"Alright then, I'll invite you to my house for a meal another day. Otherwise, I'd feel bad," Tejima said.
"We'll see!"
Hanabi left after saying that. This little girl was lucky; if she had waited any longer, she would have been gone.
An itinerant doctor, by nature, couldn't stay in one place forever.
She had been in this village for over a week, and it was about time for her to leave.
As for where to go? She'd figure it out then.
...
"Ah, a strange ceiling."
When Shiki slowly awoke, she found that her arrow wound had been bandaged, the bloodstains on her body had been washed away, and her clothes had been changed into a simple blue kimono.
"Yo, you're awake! Oh, don't worry, the clothes and cleaning were all done by Granny Aoyama next door," Tejima said from outside the door.