The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

Aurora ignored the sound of stomping feet as the headmaster stormed away in a fury. Her thoughts slightly scattered as her gaze remained fixated on the pink moon.

"Even though I was created in hopes of earning your favor, you did not choose me. Yet… she doesn't even seem to know you exist, but you favor her so."

Of course, she received no response. Just like the past hundreds of years.

The platinum blonde turned her gaze away from the moon, and towards a white palace in the distance.

"But even if she is chosen… she can't hope to win against the other two… not alone, not in a million years."

She closed her eyes with a sigh.

"Let's see… if she can pass my test."

==========

It was already quite late into the night, so Cecilia didn't stay with her too long, and both of the Gilmore sisters had fallen asleep as well.

Although there were three bedrooms, Amara and Vivian were used to sleeping together, and ended up taking only one of them. Evelyn thought this was quite good, because once Bree was 'restored' and decided to stay, she could stay in the spare room at that time.

The bedroom itself was pretty luxurious and spacious, and Evelyn would have spent some time exploring all the cabinets, drawers and other furniture to familiarize herself, but that wasn't her concern at the moment, because she had far more important things to do.

After making sure both the Gilmore sisters were asleep, Evelyn put Bree down on the bed before taking a deep breath.

"Alright… let's see if my guess was right!"

Opening her inventory, she pulled out one of the cut off 'tentacles' from the centipede, being careful not to make any skin contact with it. Once it lay safely on the ground, she tried her best to curb her anxiety before using her probe.

[ Malevolent Flesh (Contaminated) ]

—Warning: Grade 9 Poison!

—Poison Type: Corruptor

—Belonged to the 'Thousand Eyed God', Ekaterina, before it was severed.

—Note: This item is immune to rot and contamination, and can be left alone for a long period of time without fear of deterioration.

—Each kilogram of flesh consumed may change one of the user's stats by ±1 point.

—[Poison Immunity], [Disease Immunity], and [Purification Aura] are all required to safely consume this item.

The pink haired girl let out a breath of relief. "It's as expected… not only is the centipede's flesh itself a corrupted thing, it is further contaminated by a deadly poison! This should be enough to trigger it, right?"

Her heartbeat was slightly erratic as Evelyn considered it over and over again. If her guess was wrong, the consequences would be disastrous.

"No… let me check again…"

Evelyn knew it was pointless, because she'd done it hundreds of times over the past few years, but she still couldn't help it. And as expected, along with Bree's abysmal stats, the two things that gave her a ray of hope shone clear.

[Qilin's Tears] and [Raijuu's Legacy].

She didn't know which one of them was an inherent part of Bree, and which one she had acquired as an inheritance. Presumably the Qilin's ability should be inherent, while the Raijuu's should be acquired. What mattered, though, was that based on her research, they were both said to have the power of purification.

It wasn't easy for her to get her hands on a vial of poison, being a child still in her parent's home at that time, but Evelyn had managed to convince Cecilia to send her some. Of course, she couldn't have had it sent as a food item, fearing that Vivian might eat it, which would be another level of disaster. So it was disguised as ink.

But the results weren't as good as she hoped.

Evelyn thought that by introducing corrupted or otherwise poisonous substances to Bree, she would be able to stimulate these bloodlines into activity, but her hopes were dashed because she simply didn't have anything strong enough to actually get the job done.

Both the Qilin and the Raijuu were at least Grade 7 beasts, growing into Grade 9 as they reached adulthood.

Which meant that she might need 'Grade 7' or higher poison. And… there was no such thing in the open market.

Even though she had taken the risk of mobilizing the third princess, even she couldn't get her hands on such a thing. Of course, if the third princess asked the Emperor, it might not be too difficult for him to obtain. He might even already have some. But what reason would she give while asking the Emperor for poison?

But when she saw the 'Thousand Eyed God', it was as if fate had given her a way out. It satisfied every single one of her requirements, and she was sure that if there was any hope of stimulating Bree's bloodline, it should be good enough to use a body part from this beast.

It should have been impossible, but somehow, she managed to pull it off. Evelyn thought her luck must have been incredible this time. Because even if everything else had gone according to her plan, if the centipede managed to retreat uninjured, she would have had to return empty handed.

If she was right, Bree's bloodline should definitely be stimulated after coming into contact with this thing!

"But… what if I'm wrong?"

It was impossible to not worry. After all, she was going to risk not her own, but Bree's life!

"N-No, I can't be wrong this time. In any case, Bree has shown herself to be immune to toxic substances, she'll be fine!"

Evelyn convinced herself so, and carefully picked up her golden puppy before kissing its forehead.

"Please, I need you! And, I'm sorry…"

She gently lowered the sleeping puppy onto the severed white tentacle, waiting with her heart almost about to jump out of her throat.

For three excruciatingly long seconds, nothing happened.

And then… a gentle glow covered the little puppy's form, seeping into the tentacle flesh, and not long after, sparks started bursting out of her body, disintegrating small portions of the tentacle.

The steam coming out from these 'evaporated' parts seeped into the little puppy's body. But the little puppy remained peacefully asleep.

Just as Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that everything was going well, however, Bree's eyes snapped open, and she let out a deafening, sonorous cry.