Luciela's massive Abyssal body loomed over the ground, and the human part of her looked like a lump of flesh stuck to the back of the Abyssal form. It was like some kind of tumor—honestly kind of hard to look at.
If it weren't for her pretty face, Liu A'dou would've booted that chunk of meat into the nearest star without a second thought.
But since he'd promised to help, he had to take it seriously and give it his best.
"If you can't do it, I will." Rafaela didn't hesitate. To save her sister, she was ready to stab her if needed. She clearly trusted Kid too much. But that was understandable—he had literally brought someone back from the dead. It was hard not to see him as some kind of miracle worker.
But truth was, Kid had zero confidence this time. Last time, the patient had no heartbeat, no breathing—just a faint trace of brain activity. That gave Liu A'dou the freedom to go all in. If it failed, it couldn't get any worse. But this one? She was still alive and kicking. That made things tricky.
He needed to think.
After a few minutes, Liu A'dou decided to just get it started. First, he'd cut her off the rest of the meat lump, then try activating gene repair and feed her nutrients to help regrow her body. Same approach he used with Ophelia.
"Come help me." No surgical table here—this was field work. Hygiene didn't exist on this planet. It was all up to the Dragon's Descendant meat to carry the load.
He thought about how the Organization did surgeries on Claymore girls. Just sliced open the chest and abdomen, stuffed in the meat, then stitched them shut with thick thread—straight-up brutal. And yet, a lot of the Claymore girls actually survived it. A miracle, really. You had to wonder if their chest scars ever festered…
Nope. Don't think about it. Thinking more would make him puke. That one scar across their chests would never fully heal unless they Awakened. For now, it could only be held together with thread.
Kid sliced the human half off the Abyssal body and handed it to Rafaela. "Come with me. We're finding water." He used the Force to float the heavy Abyssal remains and walked forward.
"Sister…" Rafaela cradled her sister in her arms. Her eyes welled up, but she held it in. Not yet. Her sister was a lot lighter now without those two long legs.
They needed clean water. Thankfully, this planet hadn't had an industrial revolution, so there was no pollution. Good water sources were easy to find. Kid found a huge lake and dumped the body part into it like he was cooking a stew.
What now? Rafaela stared at Kid. He was thinking the same thing—was he really up to this?
No time to hesitate. Kid pushed aside all doubt. "Put her in the water," he told Rafaela.
Taking a deep breath, Kid placed his palms over both of her temples. Human genes had the ability to regenerate. What he needed to do was amplify that, awaken her full potential.
Directly, deeply—Ripple Overdrive.
The human body was like a tiny universe. Right now, Kid was using Ripple as the key to unlock Luciela's universe. To push her genes to full throttle and repair her body.
Rafaela saw something familiar. Spring returning to the land, life spreading into birds and beasts, jade trees blooming under a divine canopy. Even the meat chunk from the Abyss reacted to the Ripple, melting just like last time and turning the lake into a giant nutrient bath.
But this time, it was different—Luciela wasn't dead.
She opened her eyes, and within them flashed golden lightning.
'Please let this work.' Kid was nervous too. But so far, things seemed to be going well. He focused harder.
Luciela's body, floating in the lake, finally reacted. The muscles in her legs began to regenerate.
Yes. It was working.
It wasn't just Kid—Rafaela also let out a long breath. She could already see the image of her sister returning to normal.
The Abyssal One of the South was gone. Kid had saved a life, but he hadn't yet realized the consequences of what he'd just done.
With no Abyssal One left in the South, a power vacuum was created. The rogue Awakened scattered across the continent would catch wind of this fast. Maybe even the Abyssal One of the West would march south. The South's rich population and resources would become a massive lure. Earth's outpost just happened to sit right along the southern invasion path. Normally, anyone heading south would pass through it, cross the grasslands, and enter the southern region. In other words, Awakened would soon become regular visitors.
Kid hadn't thought about any of that. He'd just wanted to save someone.
He'd done it!
Kid pulled back his hands and once again draped his cape over the girl's delicate body. Technically, Claymore girls didn't feel shame. The Organization had trained them to do plenty of shameless things and not to care about showing skin. But Kid still felt awkward looking too much—even though, truth be told, he'd pretty much already seen it all.
Rafaela jumped into the lake and held onto her sister. She could feel that the demonic energy inside Luciela was gone. Her sister was finally back.
"It's done… for now. But we'll need to watch her for a while. See if she starts craving organs again," Kid said. Ophelia had Awakened but didn't get the chance to go hunt for organs. Luciela, on the other hand, had already eaten them. That kind of mental baggage would be heavier.
Even if her body no longer needed organs, her brain might trick her into thinking it still did. And since she had tasted them before, accepting the change would be tough. If the pressure got too much, it could spiral into a mental breakdown—and that was something Kid couldn't fix.
So they needed to keep watching her and help with any psychological recovery.
He left the sisters to have a quiet moment together, grabbed the giant sword, and started hacking at random things nearby. He wanted to test the blade's sharpness. After swinging it around for a bit, he had to admit—it was damn good. Easily on par with vibranium in durability. Maybe not as tough, but probably close to adamantium levels of hardness. Definitely a solid weapon. He needed to collect more of these.
"Thank you," Rafaela said, supporting Luciela as they walked over. Luciela had woken up, though she still didn't know what had happened. She just felt the demonic energy was gone. She couldn't transform anymore. The constant hunger she'd lived with for years had vanished too. She hadn't felt this light in ages.
But losing the power of the Abyss made it hard for Luciela to feel grateful toward Kid.
"Don't give me that look. The only thing you've lost is the crazy regeneration. Your strength and speed are still there. Once you get your stamina back, try it out," Kid said. He wasn't sugarcoating anything. Ophelia had crazy power even after being cured. Her Ripple Sword made her almost like a human-shaped Awakened. The downside was, she couldn't grow back limbs or recover from injuries fast. That did lower her combat potential.
"So what will you two do next?" Kid asked.
"My sister and I might stay in the South," Rafaela replied.
But Kid still wasn't confident Luciela was fully stable. "How about this—our outpost still needs guides. The pay's good. You two can work for a while, earn some cash, then figure things out."
That sounded fine to Rafaela. Earning a bit of money wasn't a bad idea, and her sister needed time to recover. Kid's place seemed like a good spot to stay.
And that's how Liu A'dou ended up hiring two more Claymore guides—though now he had four, which was going to cost him a lot.