Devour was Nova's ability, and also the curse she was born with. She could devour the corpses and raw meat of dead animals and transform them into accessories with special abilities. She could also heal her body's wounds.

  The stronger the animal she devoured, the stronger the transformed accessory would be. If she devoured only a small amount of meat, she could only gain a portion of the ability for a short time. She couldn't devour the flesh of living beings, unless...

  She tore it off from that living being! Nova bit down hard, tearing off a bloody chunk of flesh from the Shadow Weaver's shoulder. Immediately, the gaping wounds in Nova's thighs sprouted tiny buds of flesh, beginning to heal. But this sensation... was painful. It wasn't just the flesh in the wounds wriggling and growing like seaweed, but also the fact that Nova, who had almost never been exposed to magic, felt the magic-filled flesh in her mouth spread through her body like a bottle of burning oil.

  "Bastard!" The Shadow Weaver's face was now contorted with rage. His back bristled like a porcupine, and countless thorns erupted from his back, tearing and destroying Nova's flesh like a bck storm. In response, a bck cloak appeared behind Nova, splitting into two to shield her vital areas, while the rest of her body was mercilessly shredded.

  "What!? You're a fucking girl?!" The Shadow Weaver's voice was filled with shock, anger, and madness.

  But Nova didn't give him any more time to react. Like a rabid dog, she bit, bit, bit! Relentlessly tearing at the Shadow Weaver's flesh. His neck, his shoulders were gouged with bloody holes.

  "Damn, damn, damn!" The Shadow Weaver felt like he was being devoured by madness. He frantically tried to tear apart and pierce Nova's body, but Nova used his own power to defend against his attacks. And now, this girl, this mad dog, was chasing after his body, tearing at him. He couldn't shake her off no matter what he did.

  'No, this won't do.' After having several more chunks of flesh bitten off, the Shadow Weaver felt a chill that seeped into his bones. He vaguely glimpsed his own fate of being devoured, and he was terrified.

  "Bastard!" He used all his strength, creating a tall bck wall between himself and Nova. Then, he quickly turned to flee... But suddenly, his legs were pierced by bck spears. It was Nova. She had extended her hand as the bck wall rose, gathering bck shadow in her palm. Even though they were severed, the two bck spears still shot out from her hand, piercing through the Shadow Weaver's legs.

  The bck wall dissipated, and behind it, Nova crawled with one hand, towards the Shadow Weaver. The Shadow Weaver looked at Nova. She was crawling fast, even with only one hand. Her tattered body and disheveled hair made her look like she had crawled out of hell. Her eyes stared fiercely at the Shadow Weaver, filled with hatred, rage, and... the madness of wanting to devour him!

  "Monster! Demon! Stay away from me! Stay away from me!" The Shadow Weaver screamed with all his might. He unleashed countless bck thorns at Nova, but Nova didn't slow down. She immediately grabbed his ankle and bit down!

  "Don't come near me! Aaaaaaah!" The Shadow Weaver howled in terror. A fear greater than death – the fear of dying piece by piece. Nova continued to climb and bite, until the Shadow Weaver's life force faded away...

  Suddenly, the Shadow Weaver's flesh transformed into strands of writhing bck ooze, directly burrowing into Nova's body.

  Pain, even more intense than the pain from being repeatedly injured. Nova's body, which had never been trained in magic, was flooded with a massive amount of magical power. This power surged through Nova's body like boiling water, causing excruciating pain in her blood vessels and bone marrow.

  Then, a bck cloak fully formed behind her. Shadow Cloak: Allows control over shadow magic.

  "Aaaaaaaaaah!" Nova screamed hoarsely. Her flesh was constantly torn apart and remade by the sudden influx of magical power. She stood up and fell down, then stood up again, and her hair, which had been cut short to just above her eyebrows, grew longer to her shoulders.

  "Mitty, Mitty..." She turned around, even though her body and mind were ravaged by the excruciating pain. She still walked towards Mitty.

  "Brother..." Mitty was almost unable to open her eyes. After hearing Nova call her name, she let out a weak breath and a broken, airy voice.

  "I'll take you to a doctor... No! I'll take you to a Blessed of the Holy Light Church. You'll be fine. You'll be fine!" Nova comforted Mitty, more like comforting herself. Then, she draped the bck robe left by the Shadow Weaver on herself and used the bck cloth to bind herself and her sister together. With her only remaining left arm, she tightly embraced Mitty and ran with all her might.

  Nova ran with a nearly insane speed towards the location of the Holy Light Church Blessed she knew. She no longer cared if those Blessed of the Holy Light Church discovered she was a Cursed One and killed her. All she knew was that her sister was dying, and only these people could save Mitty!

  "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Nova shouted as she ran. Her arm tightly held Mitty, like a pitiful dog carrying its beloved possession, refusing to let go no matter what.

  "Brother, I can't see anymore. I can't see anything," Mitty's originally weak voice seemed to regain some strength, but this made Nova even more frantic, because Nova knew that people about to die sometimes suddenly become more energetic.

  "It's okay, brother's here. Brother will take you to the Blessed soon. It'll be fine soon," Nova gritted her teeth and sped up. The magic from the Shadow Weaver hadn't been fully digested in Nova's body, and she felt a bit delirious, her head throbbing with intense pain.

  "Brother, it's so dark. I can't see. Can I touch your face, please..." Mitty struggled to open her mouth and said.

  "Touch it, Mitty, touch it," Nova immediately said, running through another street. The passersby and merchants gnced at Nova and then went back to their own business.

  Mitty used all her strength to reach out and touch Nova's cheek. It was a cold, small hand, a hand that was skilled at sewing clothes and cooking.

  "You're so beautiful, brother," Mitty said with a gentle smile. "Even though you're so beautiful, you became 'brother' for my sake... for me, this burden..."

  "No, Mitty, you're very important to me. Very important," Nova said. She didn't have time to look at Mitty again, because it was close, just a few more streets away, it was close!

  "Brother, you have to eat lots of cake for me..." Mitty seemed to not hear Nova's voice, continuing to speak to herself.

  'Almost there, almost there!' Nova shouted in her heart. Just one more street to go.

  "Brother, you have to go to many, many beautiful pces, brother..." It was as if Mitty was shedding invisible tears, because her eyes no longer had any tears left. She whispered with a voice barely audible, "You must be happy, you must always love Mitty."

  Nova crashed headfirst into the door, then shouted with all her might, "Please help! Please open the door and help my sister!"

  This was a temporary small church. The Holy Light Church had sent a small number of Blessed here to increase the number of believers in Purple City.

  As Nova ran to this door with all her strength, the headache she had been ignoring suddenly swept through her brain like a hurricane. Everything in front of her went bck, but she continued to shout.

  "This is a sacred pce. No shouting!" A stern and solemn voice came from inside. The door opened, and a Blessed wearing a golden mask and a white priest's robe stood before Nova. A star was imprinted on his mask, faintly glowing.

  "Please save my sister. I'm willing to give you all my money. I have ten shining gold coins. I'm willing to pay any price!"

  The Blessed didn't react when he heard about the money, but when he heard Nova shout 'any price,' he nodded slightly and said, "Silence. Let me see how badly your sister is injured."

  "Yes, yes, my sister, my sister..." Nova felt a wave of relief upon hearing the Blessed's agreement, then looked down into her arms.

  Her arms were empty.

  And scattered on the ground was a purple cloth dress stained with blood.

  "Mitty... Mitty..." A wave of icy pain, almost tearing Nova's brain apart, washed over her. She seemed to not know what had happened, and yet she seemed to know what had happened. She couldn't believe what had happened. She lowered her head and saw a red cloth flower, edged with green thread, pinned to her chest.

  The Healing Flower, capable of healing wounds except for severed limbs and death.

  "Aaaaaaaaaah!" Nova screamed, clutching her head. She was venting her boundless despair.

  "What is it? Just a crazy woman," the Blessed said coldly. "Get away from here." Then he closed the door.

  Nova hugged her head, repeatedly smming it against the stone street. Blood flowed from her forehead. Gradually, she stopped moving, just kneeling there in a daze, kneeling beside the scattered pieces of the blood-stained dress.

  Nova stared at the clothes, then looked at the flower on her chest.

  "I'm just a monster... a monster unworthy of happiness..." Nova mumbled. "Mitty... I'm sorry..." Tears flowed from Nova's eyes, just like the blood had flowed earlier.

  Perhaps she should go bury the clothes Mitty left behind. Perhaps she should run away first, flee this city. But Nova didn't do anything. She simply slowly picked up Mitty's clothes and walked towards the city gate...

  Time seemed to pass quickly. As dusk approached, the ordinary citizens were preparing dinner, some tidying up to close their shops.

  Suddenly, a violent explosion came from the central city, the most prosperous district. This explosion shattered the everyday lives of these ordinary people.

  The citizens curiously opened their windows and doors to look. Nova didn't look, continuing to walk, until she noticed Mitty's blood-stained purple dress was on fire.

  No, everything purple was on fire! The purple bricks, the wood painted purple, the clothes people were wearing.

  "No, no!" Nova tried to grab the clothes with her left hand, but even though her hand was burned, the fire couldn't be extinguished. It continued to burn. Terrifying fmes erupted from the purple objects, and waves of heat mercilessly swept through the city.

  The residents were crying, screaming for help, trying to escape. But wherever there was purple, scorching fmes would burst forth. This Purple City had become a burning hell!