In the next heartbeat, a pale grey mist began to swirl, and the silk robe he was wearing dissolved instantly.

  Eros’s pupils shrank to needlepoints. He shrieked in his mind, "Barbara!"

  In response to his panicked cry, Barbara replied with infuriating calm: "Relax. The moment she manifested, I shielded the contamination she carries. It won't affect your sister."

  Eros: "..."

  Is THAT what I meant?! He had wanted Barbara to restrain this eerie girl and stop her from doing anything reckless—after all, he had company! Having this happen right under someone else’s nose was beyond mortifying.

  Alas, it was too late for regrets. Eros felt a wave of bitterness. He truly wondered: Who exactly is the master of this body?

  Undine’s eyes widened, her vision filling with the sudden, chaotic scene. From her perspective, Eros was currently pinned down by a pitch-black monster shrouded in shifting shadows, a creature whose human form was only barely discernible...

  The impact of this sight caused her brain to short-circuit. Meanwhile, Irina stared at the small face that bore a haunting resemblance to Lady Estelle, her expression a mix of shock and bewilderment. She, too, found it impossible to process the situation.

  The room fell into a bizarre, suffocating silence.

  After what felt like an eternity, Eros spoke up in a weak, strained voice. "Um... could you two... perhaps step out? Or at least turn around?"

  His voice snapped Undine back to reality, though she didn't quite register the meaning of his words. Her first instinct was to lung toward the bed, desperate to shove the shadowy horror off Eros. This sinister figure looked like the embodiment of evil, and worse, it appeared to be "devouring" Eros’s vitality right before her eyes.

  Tears began to well up in Undine’s bright eyes. She sniffled, her voice trembling with a mixture of terror and agonizing concern. "Don't be afraid! Sister will drive this monster away for you right now!"

  Without a second thought, she unleashed a Scythe of the Night at the eerie girl. The blade of pure shadow swept toward the girl’s silhouette, but just as it made contact, a burst of grey mist manifested and swallowed the shadowy scythe whole.

  Seeing Undine resort to violence, Eros yelled in a panic, "I'm fine! Don't attack! She's not an enemy..."

  As the words "not an enemy" left his mouth, Eros’s lip twitched with a sense of helplessness. He wasn't worried about the eerie girl; he was worried that his "stinky sister" would get hurt. Although Barbara had drained most of the Spirit from this girl, a Transcendent was still a Transcendent. How could a Sequence 8 like Undine possibly stand a chance?

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  If Barbara hadn't shielded the contamination, the sheer racial traits of a Transcendent Abomination like this girl would have driven Undine to the brink of insanity with just a single glance. And Barbara was clearly in "spectator mode," unlikely to intervene unless there was a direct threat to life.

  As for Eros himself, even though he was technically the master of this creature, the girl had clearly entered a state of mindless frenzy. He couldn't fully control her; he could only ensure she wouldn't harm him and exert limited influence over her basic actions.

  Eros’s shout caused Undine to freeze. Seeing that he indeed appeared to be in no immediate danger, she sniffled again, her voice thick with a sob. "What is going on? What... what is this thing?"

  Now it was Eros’s turn to be put on the spot. He carefully composed his words, explaining the "accident" he encountered while recovering the Ancestor’s Kingdom fragments, using terms Undine could understand without being contaminated.

  After listening to his explanation, Undine calmed down significantly. Her earlier panic had been a classic case of "concern blinding judgment." If she had looked closer at Eros’s state, she would have realized that—aside from looking intensely embarrassed—he was perfectly fine.

  "So, you're saying... back in the Sin-Domain, you obtained something similar to a Sealed Artifact, except that it's a living entity?" Undine summarized, her brow furrowed.

  Eros nodded.

  "And the price for 'wearing' this artifact is that it devours the host's vitality? In... in this manner?" By the time she finished, a vivid blush had climbed onto Undine’s beautiful face.

  Eros nodded again, confirming her summary.

  There was a long pause before Undine spoke again, her voice barely a whisper. "Can't... can't you just... not wear it?"

  She glanced at the pitch-black silhouette, then at the "method" of devouring vitality, and her heart began to ache for him. This brother of hers, who usually loved to bully her, was silently enduring such immense "pain" for the sake of the family and the Ancestor’s resurrection.

  He's being tormented by a monster that's just a blurry shadow... For a moment, her heart was filled with nothing but pure, agonizing pity for him.

  Hearing her words, Eros let out a secret sigh. If he didn't "wear" her, and if his vitality didn't wash over her, the eerie girl would soon be consumed by the madness within her and mutate into a twisted, mindless beast.

  She was a Transcendent-tier entity. Half-mad or not, a Transcendent was still a Transcendent—a trump card for the current state of their family. If he let her turn into a monster now, wouldn't all his previous efforts be in vain? The "sunk cost" was simply too high.

  Besides, the eerie girl wasn't ugly; in fact, she was stunning. He wasn't exactly getting the short end of the stick.

  Originally, he had planned to wait for her to wake up and then quietly "feed" her his vitality in secret. Who would have guessed that she would wake up so suddenly after being drained by Barbara? And worse, she had woken up in "frenzy mode." He had a sneaking suspicion this was triggered by that new metal ring he’d acquired. After all, she was a creature of Original Sin, and the ring was a byproduct of the same. The stimulation must have caused her premature awakening, leaving him completely unprepared!

  Pushing his wandering thoughts aside, Eros addressed Undine’s question. He sighed, weaving a flawless, selfless excuse:

  "Because she’s already bound to me. Even if I don't 'wear' her, it’s useless. But don't worry, I'm okay. I can handle it."