Chapter 96 - 096: Something is wrong
The woman remained standing for a few seconds before her knees suddenly weakened.
Anaria caught her before she fell.
"Easy," she said, helping her sit down.
The woman’s breathing was uneven. Her hands were trembling, and her eyes kept moving around the shelter as though she couldn’t recognize where she was.
Anaria checked her condition while Kenai and Kai kept the other people away.
"She was fine a moment ago," Kenai said.
"I know."
Anaria examined her carefully.
The woman’s body wasn’t reacting like the others.
Her breathing became heavier.
Then she suddenly pushed Anaria away.
Anaria stumbled back.
The woman got to her feet.
Her expression had changed completely.
She grabbed a piece of wood lying nearby and swung it toward the people around her.
Everyone immediately moved back.
"Get away from her!" Kenai shouted.
Kai stepped forward and blocked the woman’s path before she could reach anyone.
She tried to push past him.
Anaria watched her carefully.
This wasn’t ordinary sickness.
The woman’s movements reminded her of the three beastmen they had encountered before. The same loss of control. The same sudden aggression. The same strange look in her eyes.
"Hold her," Anaria said.
Kenai and Kai restrained the woman without hurting her.
She struggled for several moments before her strength suddenly disappeared.
Her body went limp.
Kai looked at Anaria.
"What was that?"
Anaria shook her head.
"I don’t know yet."
She crouched beside the woman and checked her again.
The system appeared in front of her.
[Abnormal reaction confirmed.]
Anaria kept her expression neutral.
[Condition matches previously encountered corruption.]
Her eyes narrowed.
She had seen this before.
The three beastmen in the forest had shown the same signs before they attacked them.
But those three had been exposed to whatever had caused their corruption.
This woman lived here.
She hadn’t been part of that incident.
Anaria looked around the settlement.
How many others had already been affected?
She quietly asked the system to scan the surrounding area.
A moment later, another message appeared.
[Scanning...]
Anaria waited.
[Multiple abnormal energy signatures detected.]
Her stomach tightened.
There were more.
She looked toward the people outside.
The settlement was still busy. The nearly completed shelter stood at the edge of the homes, while several people worked on the final parts of the roof.
They had thought the worst was behind them.
It wasn’t.
The system appeared again.
[Warning: Corruption is spreading.]
Anaria stared at the message.
She dismissed it quickly.
Kenai approached her.
"Is she going to be alright?"
Anaria looked at the unconscious woman.
"She should be, but keep everyone away from her until she wakes up."
Kenai nodded.
Kai looked toward the shelter.
"And the others?"
"I’m checking them again."
She stood.
Anaria moved through the shelter, examining each person more carefully than before.
Most were stable.
But now she knew what she was looking for.
And that made every unusual movement difficult to ignore.
Outside, the settlement continued working.
No one seemed to realize that the problem they thought they were recovering from was spreading.
Anaria looked toward the unfinished shelter.
They had come here to help these people.
Now she wasn’t sure how much help they would need.
By late afternoon, the shelter was almost finished.
The final pieces of the roof were secured while several people worked around the entrance.
Anaria remained nearby, continuing to check the people who had fallen sick.
The woman who had attacked them earlier had finally settled down.
Her breathing was normal again.
Anaria was still watching her when voices came from outside.
A messenger had arrived.
He looked tired from travelling and immediately asked for the woman who had been treating the sick.
Anaria stepped forward.
"That’s me."
The messenger looked relieved.
"I came from Wolfrine."
Anaria’s expression changed slightly.
"Why?"
"There have been reports from other settlements."
"What kind of reports?"
The messenger lowered his voice.
"People becoming sick. Some of them became violent without warning."
Anaria went still.
The messenger continued.
"It isn’t happening in just one place. We’ve received similar reports from more than one settlement."
She glanced toward the shelter.
"Who sent you?"
"The Lord’s people."
Anaria knew immediately that Rylan must have been informed.
"Does Rylan know?"
The messenger nodded.
"He ordered that the reports be gathered."
Anaria took a breath.
So it wasn’t only this settlement.
She had already suspected that, but hearing it from someone who had travelled from Wolfrine confirmed it.
The corruption was spreading.
She didn’t tell the messenger what she had discovered.
She still didn’t understand what caused it or how it moved from one person to another.
There was no point frightening everyone with something she couldn’t explain.
Instead, she asked him to tell Rylan that the settlement was stable for now and that she would send more information once she understood the situation.
The messenger agreed before leaving.
Anaria watched him disappear down the path.
Kenai came to stand beside her.
"What did he want?"
"There’s trouble in other settlements too."
Kai looked at her.
"The same sickness?"
"Something similar."
Neither man spoke for a moment.
Anaria looked around.
The people were still working.
The shelter was finally completed.
The woman who had first supported Anaria’s idea approached with a tired smile.
"It is finished."
Anaria turned toward the building.
It wasn’t large, but it was strong enough to shelter the sick people and keep them separate from the rest of the settlement.
The woman looked at her.
"We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you."
Anaria shook her head.
"You built it."
"But you gave us the idea."
Others gathered around them, thanking Anaria for helping their families.
She accepted their gratitude quietly.
Her attention, however, remained on the people inside the shelter.
The building was finished.
The immediate task was done.
But something much bigger was happening beyond the settlement.
Later, when everyone had settled down, Anaria stepped away from the others.
She finally allowed the system to appear.
[Primary task progress updated.]
She waited.
Another message appeared.
[Settlement construction requirement completed.]
[Recovery support requirement completed.]
Anaria breathed out slowly.
Then the system continued.
[New task available.]
She frowned.
[Task: Investigate the spreading corruption.]
[Objective: Discover the source and determine how the corruption is spreading.]
Anaria stared at the message.
This was no longer about helping one settlement.
Whatever was happening had already moved beyond it.
She dismissed the system and looked toward the shelter.
For now, she would keep watching the sick.
But she knew she couldn’t stay here forever.
There were other settlements.
Other people.
And somewhere, the source of the corruption was still hidden.