Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Someone Actually Showed

Elara’s POV

When the robot realized it couldn’t budge me, it just gave up and rolled away. Apparently, its job was just delivering messages—what happened after wasn’t its concern.

If I wasn’t completely losing it...

I watched the vine in my palm slowly perk back up as I took a few steps forward. My eyes widened.

That crimson energy hanging in the air—my wood power was actually feeding on it. The deeper I went, the thicker it got. I tugged at my plain beige jumpsuit, shoved my hands in my pockets, and headed straight toward whatever had made that bone-rattling roar.

Kaelen’s eyes were pure bloodshot rage. Mid-rampage, he’d actually ripped off one of his own horns. I stood frozen in the hallway, gaping.

Holy hell.

"Right, so that’s a dragon. That’s just... one massive exotic beast."

I craned my neck back, taking in the impossibly high ceilings of this single-room ward, and my brain went into overdrive.

This was... a lot to process.

Even for someone like me—and I’d seen some seriously screwed-up stuff—this was next-level insanity.

Jet-black scales gleamed under the harsh lights. Those crimson eyes burned like coals. Blood spread across the floor in dark rivers, creeping toward my boots.

Inside that room, Kaelen thrashed and slammed into walls until he’d scraped every scale off his back. Only then did the chaos start to die down.

I watched the entire meltdown unfold.

How could I put this? I felt zero of that legendary SSS-class pressure everyone kept going on about. All I knew was my vines were having an absolute field day, and my energy levels had skyrocketed by more than half in just minutes.

Had I accidentally discovered some kind of power-up cheat code?

I changed my mind about this place. This was basically paradise.

"General Kaelen. You still breathing in there? Talk to me."

A worried voice floated over from the neighboring ward.

Kaelen collapsed on the floor, chest barely rising. Those terrifying scarlet eyes still blazed, pupils razor-thin slits. Through his haze of agony and exhaustion, he seemed to notice my blurry shape hovering at the room’s edge. The figure crouched down and scooped up one of the scales he’d just torn loose.

Damn. It was actually pretty gorgeous.

I was reaching for another when cleaning bots and medical units flooded the space.

I straightened up, checked my wrist display, and cursed. I was running behind schedule. Time to get cooking.

I’d taken their money, hadn’t I? Better actually earn it.

After I left, Kaelen’s raspy voice finally responded to the earlier question. "Still kicking."

A heavy sigh echoed through the ward.

——

In the ward directly opposite, the containment barrier that had activated during the spiritual power explosion finally deactivated once it registered the outburst was over.

The barrier operated on smart sensors. It triggered automatically when detecting runaway energy, designed to shield other patients. The one in Kaelen’s room had shattered hours ago. Repair bots had attempted multiple fixes. Each time, he’d pulverized them before they could even start working.

Several nearby wards had sustained damage too, but since they were farther out, nobody bothered asking for updates. Everyone trapped here faced the same fate. Asking questions changed nothing. Their conditions only deteriorated.

Like medical robots could actually heal them.

A merman, stunning as any mythical siren, surfaced in his tank. His skin shimmered pale blue-green, and with his spirit collapse levels climbing daily, even his beast form had grown menacing. He flashed razor-sharp teeth, gills on his neck opening and closing as he exhaled relief seeing Kaelen still alive.

With the barrier active earlier, Julian hadn’t been able to see what was happening across the hall. But judging by Kaelen’s state...

Julian didn’t want to dwell on it.

Kaelen, former undisputed aerial ruler of the Valerion Empire, might not have much time left.

In the early morning, after cleaning bots finished mopping up Kaelen’s destruction, medical units rolled in. Since they only treated physical injuries, Kaelen irritably shredded them and hurled the pieces into the corridor.

He’d given up on treatment cooperation long ago.

Minutes later, service bots delivered the day’s nutrient solutions.

Predictably, chaos erupted.

Curses and demolition sounds exploded from Chamber Three—the snow leopard’s room. They were just machines, but Dorian didn’t discriminate. One punch, another unit became scrap metal.

"I said no more of this garbage! Take it away! Get lost!"

Dorian’s spirit collapse level ranked second after Kaelen’s. Seventy-nine percent. And rising.

The rapid increase had already soured his mood. Then they restricted him to nutrient solutions. It infuriated him. The Valerion Empire had been shipping fresh produce and meat to this planet—he’d seen the delivery records. So why wasn’t anyone preparing it?

Because they were walking corpses? Was that why?

Vegetables and meat cost a fortune. Nutrient solutions? Fifty thousand credits per bottle, filling and practical. They came in various grades—from dozens of credits to tens of thousands, different flavors at different price points. What they received was premium quality.

Dorian couldn’t care less. He was still livid.

Arable land throughout the Galactic Coalition shrank annually. Was that it? Were they—people who occasionally lost their sanity—no longer deserving of actual food?

"Your Highness. Don’t think that way." A calm, reassuring voice drifted from Chamber Five—the snake beastman’s quarters. Alistair’ enormous black form coiled upon itself, tongue lazily flicking. His spirit collapse level wasn’t low either. Seventy-six percent. "I heard they hired kitchen staff. Someone to prepare meals for us. Not sure why they haven’t appeared yet."

"Commander." Barrett’s voice carried from Chamber Four—the silver wolf. Bitter, self-deprecating. "You don’t need to sugarcoat reality for us. People like us? We’re worthless now. The Voidferal Feral Territory’s radiation levels are insane. Who the hell would actually come here?"

He didn’t want to crush Alistair’ attempt at comfort, but... that was reality.

Hopelessness suffocated every ward. Until...

Food aromas wafted through the air.

——

Elara’s POV

I pushed a massive catering cart down the corridor. My waist-length brown curls were half-tied back, wispy baby hairs framing my face. I had cat-ear headphones on and hummed some upbeat song while bouncing along, steering the cart toward Chamber One—the dragon beastman’s room.

Five enormous burgers, each dinner-plate sized. One giant pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice. A service bot helped me transfer everything to the delivery slot. Staring at what was supposed to be a hospital room, I got lost in thought again. Was this a ward or a prison?

Not even a real door. Just a delivery hatch. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

All four walls were ultra-rare alloy. Even with their abilities, they couldn’t break through.

Kaelen stared. Julian stared. Both had clear corridor views.

They stared at me as if wondering since when the Valerion Empire made service bots this lifelike.

I had no clue what they were thinking. I looked down at the massive dragon claw Kaelen extended through the hatch. Without hesitation, I wrapped a vine around it—thick enough that once coiled around his finger, it resembled a ring.

I suppressed a laugh. "It’s yours."

Consider it a thank-you gift. Besides, his entire back was raw and scaleless now. That had to hurt, right?

I didn’t wait for his reaction. I just turned and wheeled the cart away.

——

Kaelen examined the vine wrapped around his finger. He was about to tear it off when he noticed thin green light threading up from his arm wound. Moments later, gashes across his body began visibly healing.

Julian watched, amazed. That delivery bot was far more effective than any medical unit they had.

"Hey." Dorian’s impatient voice cut through the silence from Chamber Three. "What’s happening over there? Something smells incredible. Did someone actually show up?" Claw-scraping-metal sounds echoed from his room.

Julian snapped out of his stupor. "Yeah," he said. "Someone showed up."