AHEIAID Chapter 16: [Beep—] Got Hurt
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When Joey was seven years old, he went with his parents to his grandmother’s house in the countryside for the holidays.
His grandmother had a huge wolfdog guarding the house. Because there were so many people around, the dog started barking wildly, broke free from its chain, and charged straight at Joey.
To everyone's shock, the big wolfdog didn’t bite Joey. Instead, it pinned him down and began engaging in some rather embarrassing and inappropriate behavior.
This incident later became a recurring joke among the relatives. Every holiday gathering at Grandma’s house, someone would bring it up with a teasing tone:
"Hey, do you guys still remember when Joey was seven? Haha, our big wolfdog..."
"Of course, I remember! Hahaha!"
The whole room would burst into laughter, and they would tell the younger generation who weren’t there at the time, making the house fill with even more laughter.
As for Joey, the person at the center of this story, he could only force an awkward smile.
To others, it was just a funny and amusing anecdote.
But he still remembered how scared he was—how humiliated and angry he felt, crying helplessly as he struggled to break free, only to be pushed down into the muddy yard by the wolfdog. His parents, instead of helping him, only stood there laughing at his misery.
...His memories of that day had become blurry over time.
But the fear remained—burned into the depths of his mind. The feeling of the wolfdog’s excited panting against the back of his neck, the twisted laughter of the people around him…
His little self-esteem had been crushed that day.
That was the first time Joey truly understood what despair felt like.
Even though he later grew up still liking dogs and was willing to visit his grandmother’s house, he developed an intense aversion to dogs clinging to his legs. Just seeing it happen would make his hair stand on end and his scalp tingle.
Because of that experience—
During his university years, whenever a girl screamed because a bug crawled into the classroom, and the boys around laughed or dismissed it, saying things like, "What’s the big deal? It’s just a bug." or "She’s faking it, girls are all like that," Joey would always stand up without hesitation, grab the multi-legged intruder, and toss it out.
It had nothing to do with being dramatic or attention-seeking.
Just because you aren’t afraid of something doesn’t mean others aren’t.
People fear different things.
So now, when that enormous eagle—carrying at least 150 pounds of weight—stepped on his back and started making that kind of movement, Joey forgot how to breathe.
His childhood trauma and the current humiliation overlapped in an instant!
Despair surged over him like a dark storm cloud!
His eyes widened, pupils contracting and dilating. His fingers dug into the rough twigs of the nest, and his entire body froze like a fish frozen solid in ice.
【Host…】
【Host…】
【HOST!!】
A panicked voice, growing louder and closer, pulled Joey back to awareness.
He gasped sharply, his face visibly paling. His whole body trembled violently, and he let out a mindless, desperate scream. One hand gripped his pants, while the other flailed wildly behind him, eyes shut tight, trying to push away the massive bird.
【Host, you have to calm down! If you struggle like this, you’ll only provoke it!】 The system was frantic. As a support system, it had no offensive capabilities—it could only try to soothe Joey with words, hoping he’d snap out of it.
"I’m going to die… I’m going to die…"
【Die? What do you mean, die?! Host, what’s wrong?!】
Joey couldn’t hear the system anymore. He kept shaking his head, mumbling incoherent words, his voice thick with despair.
"Help me! Someone help me!"
"I…"
"Get it off me! AHH—get it off!! System, Garius…!"
"I can’t take this—get it off me…!"
Seeing its host on the verge of a breakdown, the system frantically turned its attention to the giant eagle and the four people at the door. The eagle didn’t seem to be attacking Joey, just impatiently stepping on his back. But thankfully, the four people had already rushed forward to pull Joey away.
【Host, don’t be scared. It’s okay now, it’s okay. Those guys at the door are dragging you out. Stop struggling.】
By the time Saxis and the others managed to yank the terrified, hysterical Joey away—who was still kicking and thrashing even after being rescued—everyone was left in a disheveled mess.
Some of the injuries were caused by Xiu Lulu’s unwilling struggle after having its "partner" taken away.
Some were from Joey’s frantic resistance.
Reina looked at the human, whose eyes were brimming with tears, feeling both heartache and lingering fear.
"Oh my god, he's terrified!"
Bard rushed over, carrying a medical kit. "Quick, check if he has any wounds… What happened with Xiu Lulu?"
"Who knows?!"
Reina, feeling a headache coming on, pulled Joey into her embrace and gently coaxed him to take off his clothes so Bard could check his back. Bard examined his smooth, thin shoulders where his butterfly bones protruded slightly and found a few small scratch marks.
—That was already considered a minor injury. If Xiu Lulu’s claws hadn't been dulled, with the sharpness of an eagle’s talons, Joey’s soft, pale skin would have been riddled with deep, bloody holes.
Besides his back, there were also shallow scratches on his buttocks and thighs. Even the front…
Through the fabric of his small yellow underwear, which had an animal pattern printed on it, they could see a faint stain of blood soaking through.
That was from when Joey had been lying in the bird’s nest made of branches and got pricked by the twigs.
"……"
"……"
The four of them stared at that tiny bloodstain and swallowed hard in unison.
Schulman muttered, "…It’s over. The little guy’s [Beep—] is broken."
Saxis roared at him, "Shut up! This was all your terrible idea! How are we supposed to explain this to Lord Heine? This is an endangered species, the national treasure of Ottoman! I actually believed your nonsense that it could be tamed!"
Schulman muttered resentfully, "How was I supposed to know he was this fragile…"
"Enough arguing! The human needs medical attention. Judging by the amount of blood, it doesn’t seem too bad, but since he’s refusing to let us check the wound, we have no way of knowing how serious it is."
Reina took a deep breath and looked at them firmly.
"We should go find Lord Heine and get a doctor here."
Hearing this, the others’ faces turned pale. Schulman even clutched his face and groaned in despair, mumbling, "I’m done for… Even if I survive now, Lord Heine is going to kill me later…"
"There’s no other choice."
Saxis looked down at the tiny human who had been through so much in less than an hour and felt a deep sense of guilt. He picked Joey up and said,
"Let’s go."
—
"Lord Heine, you were looking for me?"
Amon hurried upstairs and had just entered the office when he saw his superior glance at the time on the holographic screen. With a calm tone, he said, "It’s been an hour already. Amon, go to Saxis and bring Joey—"
Before he could finish his sentence, there was another knock on the door.
Garius seemed to realize something, and the stern expression on his face softened slightly.
At this time, on this floor, aside from his assistant, only the special operations team had the privilege to come straight to him.
Realizing why they were here, Garius unclasped his hands, which had been resting on the desk, and his previously downturned lips curled up slightly. A rare trace of anticipation flickered in his heart.
He was ready to welcome his little pet, expecting the small human to rush into his arms joyfully.
‘My little pet is finally being returned to me.’
"Come in."
"Yes, sir."
The door opened—
But instead of the black-haired, curly-headed little human running happily into his embrace, Saxis and the others stood awkwardly at the door.
In their arms, his little pet—his Joey—had a face as pale as a sheet. His flushed cheeks were now completely drained of color, his hair was messy with twigs tangled in it, and half his head was buried in Saxis’s armpit. The neatly dressed outfit that the butler had prepared for him was now disheveled. His small hands were clenched into fists, his thin body trembling violently…
The whole scene—
Looked exactly like the aftermath of a disturbing crime, where police officers were carrying a rescued, traumatized child out of the crime scene.
Garius’s half-lidded golden-green eyes widened slightly. His strikingly handsome face instantly turned as cold and menacing as a harsh winter storm!
"Apologies… Um, Lord Heine… there was an accident…"
Saxis and the others braced themselves as they handed over the trembling human.
Summarizing the situation as concisely as possible, Saxis explained how Joey had ended up like this. Once he finished, he and his teammates stood stiffly in front of the desk, heads lowered, not daring to meet their superior’s gaze.
Even just the sheer pressure of Galius’s silent fury was unbearable!
"Ahem, Lord Heine… Right now, the best course of action would be to—"
"Get out."
"Uh—"
Holding the shivering, cold-limbed little human as if cradling a child, Garius lifted his face and stared blankly at Saxis and the others.
The distinctive red ring around his golden-green pupils darkened into a deep, vivid hue.
"I said, get out."
His voice was terrifyingly calm, without a trace of emotion. But the immense force of his suppressed fury was like an invisible tidal wave, making the hair on their arms stand on end.
Saxis and his team practically fled.
Even Amon, standing nearby, shuddered slightly.
"Amon."
"I’m here, my lord."
"Call a doctor from District 13."
"Right away!"
Clutching his chest as if to keep his heart from jumping out, Amon turned and ran.
Now, only Garius and Joey remained in the room.
Garius lowered his lips to the top of the trembling human’s head, pressing a kiss into his hair.
His gloved hand cradled the back of Joey’s head, while his other arm pressed firmly against his thin back, pulling him tightly into his embrace.
"You’re safe now, Joey."
"I’m here."
T/N: Please give support on my ko-fi page, thank you🍊🍊🍊
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