Chapter 175: Ch 175: Reina’s Hallucinations - Part 1

Rin sat beside Reina to support her and Reina tried to lean against him...

The key word here was "tried." Because as soon as she started leaning against Rin, Shelly appeared and grabbed her shirt to stop her.

Shelly’s smile was stiff and even Rin found himself keeping an eye on her to make sure she would not do anything to harm Reina.

Shelly did not do anything stupid. Instead, she smiled at Reina in a way that unnerved her before propping her up against the wall instead.

"If you are tired, then lean against the wall. There is no need to make Rin feel tired as well."

Shelly was openly rude to Reina but instead of looking confused, Reina just scoffed at her behavior. It looked like she was used to dealing with this side of Shelly.

"Usually I would argue with you, but I am too tired to do that right now. I will just close my eyes and go to sleep now."

Reina followed Shelly’s instructions and closed her eyes. Her breathing eased, indicating that she had fallen asleep.

Shelly watched her for a few more seconds to make sure Reina was asleep before deciding to leave and continue fighting.

Rin sighed as he watched Shelly leave. He was about to fall asleep as well when he suddenly felt someone pressing against his shoulder.

He looked down, only to see Reina leaning against him.

"What are you looking at? Did you think I would follow Shelly’s orders forever? Unfortunately, I am not good at following orders."

Reina complained as she leaned harder against Rin’s side.

There was a lot Rin could say at the moment, but he decided to hold his tongue and let Reina continue as she had for now.

And it was not like her leaning against his shoulder bothered him. In fact, it was quite calming to have her by his side.

__________

"Reina, keep holding on. We only have 20 minutes left."

Rin encouraged Reina as he watched her struggling to hold her abilities up. He wanted to give her a potion, but Reina had already had two during this task alone.

Any more would only build up her resistance quickly.

"I-I am trying to do my best. Just give me a minute-"

Reina complained as she closed her eyes and concentrated. A headache was building in her temples and it was becoming worse by the second.

But she could not reach out to rub her head because that would worry Rin. So she continued to stubbornly face the situation and kept using her abilities.

’This is hard. I think I am going to start having a nosebleed any second.’

Reina could feel the blood rushing toward her head and it made her feel lightheaded. She was also starting to see double, which indicated that she was not in good shape.

And yet, she continued to press forward for the sake of the people of this settlement.

’I need to keep going. I-’

Rin suddenly pressed his hand against Reina’s forehead, and his hand was big enough to cover her eyes as well. Her vision darkened suddenly, causing her to panic.

"It is alright, Reina. Just concentrate on the task and don’t think about anything else."

Rin spoke softly in her ear and his voice helped Reina relax.

Surprisingly, even her headache got better after she sensed Rin’s presence so close to her and it became easier for Reina to hold on.

The sounds of fighting reached her ears, but they felt faint. Reina panted as the timer reached the last few minutes. She was so close-

[You have exhausted yourself. Would you like to turn off your abilities for your protection?]

The message floated in front of Reina’s closed eyes and she ignored it. This was not the first time she had seen this message, and just like last time, she could not afford to take this advice.

But her vision suddenly became blurred, causing her to lose concentration and she felt her abilities drop.

The monsters took advantage of this and pushed forward. The barrier protected her from the monsters, but hallucinations started to claw at her mind immediately.

[You have been inflicted with the status - Hallucinations]

Reina’s vision blurred even further to the point where she could no longer feel Rin’s touch. Everything around her felt different...yet familiar.

One second, Reina was standing on top of the building and the next she was back in her house while she was young.

Her mother and father were there as well along with Amelia, but they had frowns on their faces. Her father reached out toward Reina and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Reina, I am sorry but we cannot take it anymore. You are too much for us to handle and a bad influence on Amelia as well. We cannot take care of you anymore."

Her father’s voice sounded clear in Reina’s ears and he looked older than she remembered as well.

Logically, she knew that none of this was true. This was a hallucination created using her memories and fears. Her father had died a long time ago.

But this illusion was draining her strength physically and mentally to the point where she felt affected by even this.

She flinched at her father’s words but said nothing.

"Sweetie, we will be heading out now. Do not call us if anything happens. You are old enough to take care of yourself now." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Her mother spoke just as softly, but her words were just as cruel. Reina found herself nodding as she watched them both leave.

Amelia, who was usually so attached to her, did not even complain. And just like that, Reina was left all alone.

’But I am not alone. I still have Rin at my side and-’

Her surroundings changed. She was back in the settlement and surrounded by everyone. But the air around her was gloomy. She immediately noticed the hard expressions on people’s faces as they walked past her.

She could instinctively tell that something had happened here, but she had no idea what. So she decided to find Rin first to learn more about the situation.

’An illusion or not, Rin must be a voice of reason. I need to hurry up and find-’

Her shoulder collided with someone and it forced Reina backward. Her shoulder hurt and she clutched it before looking up with an annoyed expression.

She was ready to snap at the other person when she noticed cold purple eyes looking back at her. Long pink hair framed that familiar face and Reina had to stifle her gasp as she watched Shelly.