Level Up Family

Ba-thump! Ba-thump! Ba-thump!

The resonant sounds of a beating heart sounded at the core of a dark world, one in which a sole figure stood silently. Looking at this figure, whose body glowed in radiant purple lights, they would find that it wasn't a grown man or woman but a small child.

The small and adorable little green-haired girl, looking around this dark world with confusion and fear in her bright and curious purple eyes.

"Mama! I want Mama!"

Little Rose asked as she looked around anxiously, but no matter where she looked, she only saw darkness, hearing only the sounds of a pulsing heartbeat.

Not daring to stay in one place for long, Little Rose hurriedly run through the darkness while shouting, "Mama, Mama, I'm scared!"

The tiny form running through this empty world, alone and frightened if it's unknown, it didn't take long for her to reach her limit, filled with exhaustion as she slumped over onto the non-existent ground.

Ba-thump! Ba-thump! Ba-thump!

The heartbeat's pulsing sounds still sounding in her ears, but only louder as if its source was nearby.

"I... I want Mama! Uuuu!"

Little Rose yelled as she curled up like a ball and crying, she thought she would have found her instantly if she did as her mother said, but now she was greatly mistaken.

The girl cried helplessly for a long while, stirring the entirety of the dark world, but soon, a strange change started to occur around her.

Ba-thump! An even louder beat sounded almost akin to a thunderclap in the outside world. Following that sound, a bright purple light started to shine from Little Rose's body, bringing a startle to her. She wiped her eyes with her elbows looking at herself with a worried but also curious look.

____

Ding!

[Due to Infantile Host's exceeding concentration, Hellian Heart has pre-awakened.]

Ding!

[By the power of host's Hell Sense, Grim Fire's Ego has been awakened!]

Ding

[Due to the host's age limit, Grim Fire Ego is not complete.]

____

Not understanding what was going on, she was about to cry again, but it was this time she recalled something her mother had told her before.

'My Little Rose, if you ever find yourself in darkness, then wish for light, and if you ever find light, then ask it to guide you to the one you desire.'

Now recalling her mother's words, Little Rose though too young, understood some of her meaning. She stared at the lights again with a little brighter look in her eyes as she spoke her thoughts out loud.

"Mama said to use light, I can find Mama."

With her mind made up, Little Rose tried to calm herself down as she placed both of her palms together, holding them to her chest as she spoke with her slightly broken speech, "Little Light, please help find Mama!"

As if the purple lights understood her meaning, they flowed from her, forming into a ball of purple fire. The fireball had two pairs of adorable eyes that looked at her as it jumped up and down before making noise.

"Yi!"

As if she could understand its words, Little Rose felt excited; she grabbed it with her arms and spoke cutely, "Really, do you know where Mama went?"

"Yiyi" The small purple fireball said with a look of confidence, jumping up and down in her palms.

"Yay, Little Light, bring me Mama; I want mama!"

Little Rose said in eagerness, seeming to have forgotten about the gloominess of this dark world. Not to disappoint her wish, the small purple fireball exploded into a raging ball of fire that wrapped around her before swallowing her and firing off into the distant darkness, no different from a stream of light.

***

Back within the abandoned alleyway, Little Rose was still standing by herself with her eyes closed. She looked no different from an ordinary little child, lost and helpless in the gutters of society.

A few shuffling sounds were soon heard as a small group of rough-looking individuals walked from the direction of main streets. They moved for a while, chatting and laughing in a rowdy manner.

"Haha, I told you, that babe from last night was good! You should've joined us." A crooked nose man said with a mocking look.

"Pssh, like hell, you know that I need to keep up the weekly quota; it's not so easy to find gullible children anymore." A muscular man filled with scars said.

"Ah, yes, you guys from trafficking haven't been doing well so lately, I can understand." The crooked nose man said with an understanding expression.

The men then continued to speak some more, but soon, they had arrived at the depths of the alleyway. Once they arrived here, they couldn't help but notice a small female child standing still as if afraid.

The crooked nose man's eyes lit up as he slapped the muscular man's back and spoke, "Haha, look, you might be in luck; we've encountered one of those rare lost little girl cases."

"Haha, Pen, you might just get a promotion for this kind of sudden luck." The other rough and rowdy men said.

Pen felt excited at this; he didn't think that he could find such a catch after a week of no-good results. He looked at her carefully and see her adorable features, making his eyes shine even further.

'I never thought I would find a child of such wonderful quality, once she's grown up, if trained properly, she will be one of our brothel's finest money services. Hehe, fortune favors the hardworking.'

Wile Pen thought to himself, the crooked nose man noticed the others lack vigilance; he spoke, "Alright, let's hurry in potions, we don't know if she'll run or if there's some other faction in the area, let's surround and capture her before we determine anything else."

"Right."

Pen and the others said as they ran at high speeds, quickly arriving around Little Rose, they then eyed the area with sharp eyes, but no matter which direction they stared, they could feel no mystical power fluctuations.

"Haha, Pen, it looks like we were right; it's truly just a coincidence, come let's grab her and head back; she doesn't seem even to be conscious." The crooked nose man said as he finally eased his worry.

Pen nodded as he walked over to Little Rose; when he arrived closer, he couldn't help but speak out loud.

"Hey, you said she's unconscious, right? But how can she be standing so perfectly still?"

"Hmm?" The others also only realized this; the crooked nose man frowned as he now thought it was a bit strange. He soon felt a strange presence, as if his instincts were warning him of some kind of danger, but sadly, it was already too late.

In this instance, Little Rose opened her closed eyes; a bright purple light shone from them as a brilliant purple fire scattered from her body, shrouding her entire surroundings.

Before these men could even react, or even cry out a pitiful yell, they were burned into ashes that scattered with the daytime winds. The flames retreated around Little Rose's figure as she finally became conscious.

Naturally, she didn't know of the previous situation, as right now, her attention was caught by the world, which was a bit different in her eyes.

She could see bright lights from different areas, one of them being a light very much similar to herself, giving her a feeling of warmness as it stood in silence right behind her.

"Mama!" Little Rose said as she ran towards Ria, who only now appeared from the shadows as if previously she had melded with the alleys' darkness.

Ria stooped down and picked her cute little daughter that ran into her arms, her face showing a gentle look as she spoke while kissing her cheeks.

"That's my good Little Rosey, who's my cute and smart little girl."

"Me!" Little Rose said as she rubbed her cheeks on her mother's face.

"Were you scared?" Ria asked with a loving voice.

"Mm... no..." Little Rose said, tightly clenching her dress collars.

Ria smirked at this as she properly held her with one arm and poked her fat little cheek as she spoke, "It's not good to lie to your mother."

Little Rose trembled a bit in her embrace before she looked up at her with her large eyes and spoke, "Mama, I missed you."

"Aww... my poor Little Rose, don't worry, Mama won't go missing again, but even if I do, you should remember that so long as you use that method, you'll be able to find Mama, okay?"

"Okay." Little Rose said in a cute tone of voice.

Ria then held her and rubbed her back before looking around at the cindered ashes scene, her eyes coldly flashing before returning to normal. Soon, mother and daughter had calmly left the terrifying scene, destined to go witness forever and unknown to all in this city.