The Extra Who Stole the Hero's System
Chapter 30: Mana Core

Chapter 30: Mana Core

The nurses, already frantic, had wasted no time. Their shouts for the Chief Doctor had quickly escalated to calls for the family. Moments later, the heavy doors at the end of the passage burst open, and the Sapphire family rushed in, their faces etched with horror.

Lady Sapphire, her elegant coiffure disheveled, gasped, her hands quickly flying to her mouth. "Evelina! My daughter! What is happening?!" Her voice was a choked sob as she rushed to Evelina’s side, falling to her knees, her hands hovering helplessly over her convulsing child.

Lord Sapphire, his face a grim of shock, followed closely behind, his usual composure utterly shattered. His eyes, usually so cold and calculating, were wide with a raw, paternal terror. "Alaric! What is this?! What has happening to my daughter?!"

Luminous, his eyes wide with fear, clung to Lady Sapphire’s skirts, whimpering softly. The cheerful, boy was gone, replaced by a terrified child.

Chief Doctor Alaric, his face still pale, quickly explained, his voice urgent. "My Lord, My Lady! She appears to have consumed a Knight’s Elixir! A highly concentrated one, by the looks of it! Her mana core is in severe distress, struggling to process the intense mana signature! It’s... it’s overwhelming her system!"

"Knights Elixir?!" Lord Sapphire asked, his voice filled with a new, chilling fury. His gaze snapped to the empty vial still clutched in Evelina’s hand, then to me, a flash of suspicion in his eyes. But his immediate concern for Evelina quickly overshadowed it. "Do something, Alaric! Anything! Save her!"

The medical staff moved with frantic efficiency, but their faces betrayed their desperation. Evelina’s screams continued, a relentless symphony of agony that tore at the heart. Lady Sapphire sobbed uncontrollably, stroking Evelina’s hair, whispering desperate reassurances that went unheard. Lord Sapphire stood over them, his hands clenched into fists, his face a mask of impotent rage and profound worry. Even Luminous, usually so oblivious, was weeping silently.

I stood there, a silent observer. was it my fault. All of it. I had seen the warning. I had known the danger. What if I had acted quicker? What if I had been more insistent? What if I had used ’Pause & Observe’ and snatched the elixir from her hand, regardless of the risk to my own identity? Maybe she wouldn’t be in this agonizing state. Maybe her mana core wouldn’t be on the verge of collapsing. Maybe she wouldn’t be screaming like this. The thought gnawed at me, a relentless tormentor. My choices, my inaction, had led to this.

The guilt was a heavy, suffocating air, pressing down on me. I tired, but I couldn’t bear to watch her suffer, couldn’t bear to face the raw grief of the Sapphire family, knowing I was partly to blame. I turned, my legs feeling heavy, and stumbled out of the medical passage, seeking refuge from the agonizing scene.

I found myself in one of the manor’s gardens, the night air cool and crisp against my skin. I walked aimlessly, my mind a whirlwind of self-recrimination and desperate hope. Can she survive? Can she recover from this?

I eventually found myself near a small, secluded fountain, its gentle gurgle the only sound in the vast quiet of the garden. A lone figure was standing there, a guard, his back to me, gazing out at the moonlit trees. He was one of the older guards, his hair streaked with gray, his posture relaxed.

I approached him slowly, needing a distraction, needing to talk to someone, anyone, about anything other than the agonizing scene in the medical wing. "Good evening," I murmured, my voice a little hoarse.

The guard turned, startled, then quickly straightened, recognizing me. "Young Master Kai! Good evening, sir. Are you... are you alright? The Lady Evelina..." His voice trailed off, concern etched on his face.

"She’s... she’s fighting," I said, unable to offer false reassurances. "I just needed some air." I hesitated, then, driven by an inexplicable urge, I asked, "Tell me, guard... what was Lady Evelina like, as a child?"

The guard’s eyes softened, a nostalgic look entering them. He leaned against the fountain, his gaze drifting towards the edge of the forest that bordered the manor. "Ah, Young Master. Lady Evelina... she was always a bright spark. Full of life. And young Master Prudee... he was a good boy. A brave one. Always wanted to be a knight, he did. Not like the rest of the Sapphires, with their books and their scrolls." A faint smile touched his lips. "They would play out here, in this very garden. Knights and Queen. He’d always be the knight, protecting her. She loved it."

He chuckled softly. "It’s not uncommon, you know, for a Sapphire to have a knack for the sword. We’ve had Sword Knights in the family, way back. But mostly, they produce Mage Knights. Brilliant scholars, powerful mages. As expected of a noble family like ours, always pushing the boundaries of mana and knowledge."

My mind absorbed the information. So, it wasn’t unheard of for a Sapphire to be a Sword Knight. Lord Sapphire’s hidden prowess, his mastery of the blade, made more sense now. It was a dormant lineage, perhaps, that he had cultivated in secret.

"And... Prudee?" I asked, my voice low. "Where is he now?"

The guard’s smile faded. His gaze grew distant, tinged with a deep sadness. "Ah, young Master Prudee. He... he passed away many years ago. It was a great tragedy for the family. Lady Evelina... she was devastated. Completely devastated." He paused, a heavy sigh escaping him. "I remember that day. I was one of the guards sent to search for them both after... after a sudden incident near the forest. We found her, screaming, holding... holding him. She was inconsolable. It broke her heart, it did. Never seen a child so utterly heartbroken."

That was the defining trauma of her life. The reason for her relentless pursuit of strength. The reason for her desperate need to become the "first Sapphire’s Mage Knight." It was all for Prudee. For revenge.

And then, a chilling realization. Evelina’s intense affection for me, for Kai Lorne. Her desperate concern when she thought I was lost. Her almost obsessive need to be near me, to talk to me, to connect with me. The way her eyes would search mine.

It wasn’t just that I was her adopted brother. It was because I reminded her of Prudee. It couldn’t be my dark hair. My presence must had been a living echo of the brother she had lost.