Chapter 165: Ch 165: A Dangerous Change in Fate

’My poor little child. I raised you to be strong, and I am glad to see that it paid off. You are the strongest person I know.’

The voice continued its encouragement, and Serena’s breath hitched when she heard it grow stronger.

She wanted to cry at the encouragement, but she needed to stay strong. She was so lost in the situation that she did not even hear the system chime in.

[Hunter Serena’s fate has veered off-course. Corruption will begin unless fate is reset.]

[Current Corruption Level: 2%. If the corruption reaches 100%, Hunter will evolve into a calamity.]

The system disappeared after giving the warning, but Serena was too busy trying to block out her mother’s voice to pay attention to this new development.

’My dear, it’s alright. You have been so strong for Mommy all this time. But it’s alright to rest now. Come back home and I will take care of you. Just...give it all up.’

Serena wanted to give it all up. She was ready to take the hand her mother was offering and—

"Serena, are you alright? You looked pale, and then you started walking away. You...can I help you in any way?"

Her partner asked in a worried voice. His concern-filled tone snapped Serena out of her daze, and she finally noticed where she was.

She took a deep breath as she gathered herself and tried to smile at her partner.

"I am fine. I just zoned out for a bit. Let’s continue the patrol."

Serena spoke with confidence, not showing how shaken she felt after what happened. But the person in front of her still looked worried.

"Are you...sure you are alright? You look pale and distracted. We can take a break if you need to—"

"No, I am fine. I want to continue this patrol. The sooner we get it done, the sooner we will all be able to rest."

Serena pointed out, and her partner had no choice but to do as she asked. But the worry in his eyes did not lessen, making Serena feel guilty.

__________

Rin was busy in his office when he got a sudden notification from the system.

[Task list updating...]

[An important person’s fate has gone off-course. You are being tasked with handling the situation. A new KPI will be introduced.]

[KPI: New Birth of Calamity: Crimson Sorrow. Please click here to check the details.]

The sudden message made Rin drop what he was doing and open the system notification.

"Crimson Sorrow? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this before."

Rin complained as he clicked on the expand menu to check the details. But he was worried about this new development he had not seen coming.

[Task details: Hunter Serena has been affected by the status ’Corruption.’ Once the status reaches 100%, a new calamity will be born. User task: Ensure the calamity occurs.]

[The course of fate has turned, and the future has been rewritten. Those who are not needed will be eliminated. Please cooperate to ensure the new future progresses smoothly.]

"What the fuck is this? Serena is turning into a calamity? How can a heroine turn into a calamity...?"

Rin questioned in a shaking voice. Too much was happening at the same time, and he could not keep up.

First, there was that thing with the global rankings, and now this. It was a little too much for him to handle. His stress level was rising.

[Current exhaustion level: 60%]

Rin looked at that notification with a betrayed expression. He had not seen it for such a long time that he had forgotten it even existed. But now it was back with a vengeance.

He could also feel a headache coming on, which did not help the situation.

[Rookie, are you stressed? This senior is here to tell you that the situation is in good hands, so there is no need to stress. These changes are to ensure the best possible future comes to pass.]

The system finally showed itself and told Rin these reassuring words.

Rin wanted to say that they did not help, but that would be a lie. In fact, these words calmed him down much faster than he had anticipated.

Also, now that the system was here, he finally had a chance to demand answers from it.

"What is going on here? How can Serena turn into a calamity? Wasn’t she part of Albus’s harem? Does this kind of ending even make sense? What happened to preserving the original timeline?"

Rin asked the system, wanting some kind of explanation for what was happening.

This time, the system decided to be merciful and give him one.

[Rookie, I think there has been a misunderstanding. Our mission is to preserve ’fate,’ not the original timeline. The higher-ups have recalculated fate and decided that this is the optimal course of action.]

[Since this is what the higher-ups have decided, who are we to question it? It would be best if you followed the instructions. Don’t think too hard about it, or things might become difficult.]

The system advised Rin, and he knew that the system was right. It would be far easier for Rin to empty his mind and do as the system was asking him to do.

But...could he really do this to Serena? Somehow, it did not feel right to push her under the bus just because he wanted to complete a KPI.

[Rookie, are you hesitating? Do you realize that the future that has been written will still come to pass without your involvement? If you think it’s too hard for you, then I advise you to stay away. Your KPI will naturally be achieved that way.]

The system advised, and Rin immediately felt his blood boil.

"This is not what I want. I want to save Serena. Is there no way to save her?"

Rin asked, and the system went quiet.

The silence felt unnerving, making Rin feel like he had made a mistake. He suddenly wanted to take back everything he had said.

But before he could do that, the system chimed in once more.

[Since you feel so strongly about this, the system feels that it should tell you there is a way to save Hunter Serena. But you will have to abandon your KPI. Would you like to take that risk?]

It felt like a trap. Rin’s instincts warned him that he should not agree to this deal, no matter what.

But Serena’s safety weighed heavily on his mind, and Rin decided the risk was worth taking.

"What do I need to do?"