"You..." Susan Morrow gazed at Phyllis Zade not far away, emotions from her memory surging up, making her reach out as if to touch the girl's face. But seeing the cold expression on Phyllis, Susan let her hand fall, simply studying the young woman before her and offering a smile as warm as spring: "I'm so glad you've grown up."
Phyllis Zade's expression flickered ever so slightly, but she still stood motionless.
"Looks like you don't remember, but that's okay—at least you're both here." Susan Morrow wiped away her tears, then with a flourish pulled open the old desk drawer. Inside sat two high-tech, fully sealed canisters.
Two of them.
Staring at the canisters in her hands, Susan Morrow sighed softly: "This is the last thing she left behind." She turned to look at Susan Soo's remains, her eyes filled with endless sorrow. "She knew the treatment she gave you couldn't fully cure the problem, so after sealing hyperspace, she spent another four months here, researching alone."
Four months—alone, in pain, exhausted, with death looming ever closer. It must have taken unimaginable strength and resolve to hold out for so long under those conditions.
"This is the last solution she found. These two... medicines are the final means to completely cure genetic collapse." Susan Morrow's expression was impossibly complex. Calling it "medicine" was accurate, but not quite; after seeing these memories, even Susan herself was shaken by her sister's greatness in fighting to eradicate her children's disease.
She glanced at the red-haired girl at the door, unsure if she remembered the past—maybe she did, maybe she didn't. After all, she was only a few months old back then. And perhaps Mr. Zane had used some kind of brainwashing trick; knowing how ruthless he was, anything was possible. Otherwise, Susan couldn't figure out why Ball would still be serving that guy.
But whatever the case, both of these medicines were Susan Soo's final wishes and life's work, so...
"Come on, take them and use them right away. They're custom-made for each of your genes, so don't mix them up."
Phyllis Zade silently stared long and hard at Susan Soo's remains. After a moment, she stepped forward and picked up the two canisters. Though called two canisters, each was actually equipped with a self-injector mechanism—super easy to use. And on the side, each had a name engraved.
One read: For my dearest son, Xiu Xiu—may you always be healthy.
The other read: For my dearest daughter, Queenie—may you always be happy.
Gazing at the words on the canister, Phyllis's fingers tightened. Something fierce surged beneath her cold exterior, almost bursting out. Her chest heaved, her breath quickened, her eyes reddened, and her body trembled.
"What's going on?" Jonathan Black finally realized things weren't what he'd imagined. "Wait, are you... an ally?" But before he could finish, there was a metallic clang—Phyllis suddenly drew a ridiculously oversized blade. The long, slightly curved sword looked like a souped-up samurai sword. Just unsheathing it sent Jonathan's danger sensors into overdrive.
"What are you doing!" Jonathan's face changed dramatically. Forget allies—once the other side draws a blade, all bets are off! Taking advantage of his position, he launched a brutal tackle, aiming to pin her down.
But Phyllis spun around, landed a perfect flying knee, and sent Jonathan soaring. Smack—Phyllis's free hand snatched his ankle midair and slammed him down hard. Jonathan's back hit the ground with a thud, leaving him dazed and seeing stars.
He tried to get back up, but a foot came down, pinning him firmly by the chest.
"You—!" Jonathan struggled, but that heel twisted sharply, pressing him right back into the floor.
"Idiot." Phyllis grabbed a canister, bit off the protective cap, revealing the needle beneath. With a sharp hiss, she jabbed the medicine straight into Jonathan's chest, the long needle slipping perfectly between his ribs and into his heart. Her slender fingers pressed the injection button, and Jonathan felt a surge of warmth flood his heart.
Thump-thump. His heartbeat changed completely. Something deep in his soul told him that his broken life was being repaired and restored by that warmth. The pain was excruciating, shooting through every nerve, but mingled with it was a wild surge of vitality. Every cell in his body crackled like burning wood, but after the fire, instead of ashes, new shoots burst forth from the soil.
"Aaaah—!" Jonathan screamed, his whole body convulsing like a leaf in the wind. He shook off dust like a sandman, the same dust left behind after genetic collapse. Yet he didn't die—instead, it felt like he'd been reborn. As the dust fell away, all the discomfort and hidden injuries vanished, even the cracks on his skin closed up and healed.
Whoosh—blade flashed, blood sprayed, and Phyllis sliced down a monster that had appeared out of nowhere.
She lifted her foot off Jonathan's chest, strode to the main hall entrance, and stood guard, sword in hand, her presence commanding. She barked coldly, "If you're done screaming, get up and fight! We don't have time for your howling!"
Jonathan shook off the dust and forced his eyes open.
As soon as he looked around, his vision was clearer than ever, as if the dust clouding his sight had finally been wiped away. Then he saw monsters leaping out of the void, charging into the house with savage intent.
"What are these—jungle wolves from Avatar?" These pitch-black, six-legged, fang-filled, tentacled beasts were all the size of big dogs, and none of them looked easy to handle.
Phyllis swung her blade with fierce precision—the souped-up sword was unstoppable, slicing everything clean in two. The blade shimmered with hot colors, kind of like Chainsaw Girl's chainsaw, but on closer inspection, the mechanism was different.
"Awooo—!" The monsters kept coming, and soon one broke through the defenses and charged into the hall. Jonathan didn't have time to admire Phyllis's sword; he scrambled up and punched it.
Bang! To Jonathan's shock, the terrifying beast exploded into flying chunks with a single punch.
"My strength... I can finally use it to the fullest?!"
Dragon Elephant Sixth Layer—his full power at last. The genetic collapse curse was gone for good. Jonathan felt fresh, free, like a bird soaring in the sky or a fish leaping in the ocean.