Versatile: Alternate World



The result of the attempts of both the girls and Ragga ended up fruitless. The thing attached to Lucia's severed arm has turned into an arm instead. Although it does look identical to her previous hand, the only difference this time is that it is missing the bones and her porcelain skin. It was now replaced by a black, metallic skin. Tough and hard that it looks like a prosthetic attached to her but to those who know, it is far from the truth.

"Looks like we have to give up on physical removal. I will call our shaman and also the Elder to see this. If it is about mystics, perhaps they have some idea of how to remove this thing. In the meantime, please keep on watching for the changes in that arm. We can't be too sure if that thing will act or not while the girl is still asleep. Don't hesitate to cut it off if it becomes hostile."

The girls nodded and Ragga went out of the room to fetch the people he mentioned.

"Do you guys think Lucia's arm can still be removed? Riko asked Rika and Zena who were also watching the status of the "arm" that Lucia got.

"Honestly, I doubt it. If physical means cannot remove this thing, then magic and anything related to that whether it's mystics or whatever, I don't think it will be that easily removed. If we also are pretty successful with the removal though, there is a chance that this thing will come back alive and perhaps, attach to others or attack other people. There are plenty of possibilities that will be possible to happen," Zena immediately answered.

"Damn, so this is not going to be an easy task and you all think that it is best to leave it be?" Riko scratches her head.

"Honestly, I kinda agree with Zena on this one. If we do succeed, what is the percentage that this will move and attach to any of us? What if it instead turns back into the beast we fought? This isn't going to be a simple matter indeed."

Everyone turned to look at the arm once more and inspected it closely. Riko's curiosity got the best of her and she started poking Lucia's "arm".

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Rika frowned seeing Riko messing up with Lucia's new "arm" and poking it.

"Just a little bit, I am just curious." Riko smiled and poked at it again. Zena looked at the "arm" and observed its movements. Despite Riko's poking, it didn't move at all.

"...So? How is it in the feel?" Rika asked.

"How does it feel?" Riko frowned, seemingly not understanding what Rika asked.

"You know, how does it feel touching that thing?"

"Ooh, you are also curious eh? Come on, touch it as well! I promise nothing will happen." Riko then pulled Rika's arm and moved her forefinger to touch the skin of the "arm" of Lucia.

"Eh? This is..."

"Right? It's pretty dull and I thought there was something that would happen but I guess it's just not it?" Riko tilted her head.

"Ah, seriously, I don't know Riko. We shouldn't mess with it anymore."

Zena turned to look at Rika and asked, "Is it rough and hard?"

Rika shook her head. "Yep. I thought I was touching a metal bar but I was wrong. It is hard and rough to the touch though."

Then, while they were still talking, Ragga returned with two people in tow. Both of them are old women but one is a bit younger than the other as the latter is more of a grandma. The other one is a bit around the 50s but she is pretty. The girls even thought about how she would look like during her younger years.

"Is this the girl you mentioned Ragga?" the older one asked. Based on her clothes, it seems she is the Elder.

"Yes. Although she is a demon, she is not among the demons who fought us, in fact, she is the reason why we found out about the demons hiding among us. Without her, we might still be fooled by them."

"I see. Well, since she helped us, then it is also our turn to help her now that she is in the big debacle. Anyways, where is the thing you called the "problem" on her?" the elder asked.

"Look at her arm. That was the problem."

The one who the girls think is the shaman approaches Lucia's new "arm" and inspects it. She didn't touch it immediately but she observed it first.

"Oh, looks like we are dealing with a much more serious thing here."

"Serious thing?" Ragga asked.

"Although this is clearly not her arm, after sensing a bit with my ability, [Mystic Eye], I can make sure you that this is no longer something that we can even detach."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Riko looked worried after hearing the shaman.

"Whatever this thing is, it has completely assimilated on her severed arm. It is like putting paste on it and then attaching it to her body to "repair" her. However, this has been doing more intricate process. As we speak, this thing is currently attaching itself and remaking the bones and flesh that were lost to this arm. So in short, she will gain back her lost arm and hand this way."

"Wait...according to the girls' testimony about this thing, it is not something that can be dealt with and is pretty dangerous. Should we just cut it off?"

"Idiot. If we cut that thing off, she will bleed a lot and you might endanger her life. If that thing is indeed the dangerous remnant of the beast that killed the demons, then if we remove this thing from her hands, that thing might go on a rampage if it started to attack. If the guy who saved us is unconscious and the only ones in here are the ones who helped deal with it, we will still have a hard time now especially since they are also not in a tip-top shape to fight. Understand my thoughts here?" The Elder frowned.

"UH..." Ragga was at a loss.

"I suggest we postpone that or rather, just let her make the decision once she wakes up. We shouldn't make the decisions that she should be doing instead, yeah?" The shaman then looked at the arm again.

"Can you tell us why it has become an arm for her?" Riko asked the shaman.

"I don't have an idea. But I can guess that it finds the girl to be very compatible with itself and since she was there during the time and saw the missing hand of your friend, it decided to become one with you. In fact, this might be also one of the reasons that it is attached to her.

"The reason?" Rika frowned.

"This aura is clearly not as demonic as you guys describe a demon and even the patient herself, a demon has a different aura, she is not looking like a demon that would be capable of doing that. It's like a malevolent being. Perhaps it was even evil though I doubt it."

"So it is some kind of devilish arm now?" 

"Yeah. It's now a devil's arm. You guys better be careful and let her know as well. If my theory is correct, this will be her new arm from now on. I don't know if she can control it though so you guys also needed to assist as well."

"So we will be giving up on removing that arm then?" the elder asked.

"Indeed. But first, you needed to tend to her wounds. She has wounds in her body and some needed some stitching. Please make sure she is safe after all the ruckus is done," the shaman suggested.

"If that is the case, then we will have to move thing things around first" Riko nodded in response.

"Yes. She is our friend. We will make sure that will be able to wake back up and we do not feel in danger all the time."

After the discussion, the Elder approached Lucia and tended to her wounds which were not that serious and big enough that they could be healed by potions. It didn't take her that long before she stopped tending to her.

"Alright. She is now fully tended. She will be fine now," the elder told everyone and stood up.

"When will she wake up?" Riko asked.

"No idea when. But let her rest for a while. It will also help on her body as well. She badly needed it."

After talking, the elder and the shaman left. Because they will not be removing the new arm anymore, they left it in place instead.

The girls also decided to have some rest as well. After all, it's not a good thing to keep themselves working to the bone and letting themselves die from it. Besides, they also felt exhausted as well. They also deserve a good rest.