Reborn: Apocalypse Ready. War Goddess by My Side novel Chapter 3

In eastern Rowenville, tucked inside an aging civilian district, there were no towering apartment buildings in sight, just rows of worn, modest houses.
The girl had only reached the front door and she barely even take off her backpack.
A drunken voice came roaring from inside the house.
"You bitch, where's my booze? Go buy me another bottle already!"
"With what money? There's nothing left!"
"You talking back to me now? You think I don't know you've been hiding money? Go buy me booze right now, or I'll beat you to death!"
Sobbing broke out from inside.
"Then kill me already, Howard! I don't even want to live anymore! If it weren't for Bianca, do you think I'd still stay here taking care of you?
"In all these years, have you ever earned a single cent? All you do is drink and gamble. Are you even a man?"
"Shut up, bitch. How dare you mouth off at me! Without me, do you think you'd still be alive?
"I'll kill you!"
Smack!
The slap rang so loudly that it could be heard from outside the house.
Something crashed over immediately after.
The girl's eyes reddened instantly.
She bolted inside like she'd lost her mind.
Then she saw her mother collapsed on the floor, blood running down from her forehead.
Bianca froze for half a second before her entire body started trembling uncontrollably.
"Mom!"
She rushed over and helped her mother up from the ground.
Her heart twisted painfully at the sight.
Then she shot a vicious glare toward the drunken man standing nearby without a shred of guilt on his face.
At this point, she hated him more than anything.
Howard White didn't care about the injured Vanessa White at all when he saw Bianca come home.
"Girl, go buy me booze!"
Tears were already streaming down Bianca's face.
"Why don't you just drink yourself to death? Get the hell out!"
The second Howard heard that, his temper exploded.
"You little brat, you think you can talk back to your father?
"You're dead!"
He staggered forward and slapped Bianca hard across her delicate face.
Smack!
Even through her daze, Vanessa's heart shattered at the sight.
"You animal! Howard, she's your daughter!"
The force of the slap knocked Bianca onto the floor, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
But she didn't cry out. This wasn't anything new to her anymore.
Her heart had already gone cold. She swore to herself she'd take her mother and escape this monster as soon as possible.
"Bianca, are you okay?"
Vanessa pulled Bianca's fragile body tightly into her arms.
Bianca shook her head calmly.
"I'm fine, Mom. Come on, I'll take you to the hospital."
She tried helping Vanessa to her feet.
But Howard had no intention of letting them leave.
"You've got money for a hospital but not for booze?
"Move! Go buy it, now!"
Howard roared drunkenly, swaying on his feet, as if he could collapse at any second, yet somehow still obsessing over alcohol.
Bianca glared at her alcoholic father with pure hatred in her eyes.
"Then kill us if you've got the guts!"
Howard barked out a furious laugh. "Fine! I'll kill both of you today and be done with it!"
He looked like a wild beast now, eyes bloodshot and completely devoid of humanity.
Grabbing a wooden stick nearby, he swung it viciously at the mother and daughter.
"This is what you get for not buying me booze!"
At that moment, Bianca truly fell into despair.
She could only hold her mother tightly. If they were going to die, then fine. Living like this had stopped meaning anything a long time ago.
Vanessa let out a terrified scream.
"Ahhh!"
Right at that critical moment, someone suddenly charged into the house.
The newcomer wrapped both Bianca and Vanessa in his arms and used his own back to take Howard's blow head-on.
A heavy thud echoed through the room.
Bianca waited for the pain that never came. Stunned, she realized someone was shielding both her and her mother from behind.
She turned sharply and found a face right beside hers. A familiar stranger.
It was Steven from her class. The same Steven who liked Lilliana.
Why is he here? And why is he protecting us?
At that instant, Steven felt like the first ray of light to break into Bianca's pitch-black world.
Meanwhile, Steven's face was twisted in agony. Forget being anybody's light. Right now, he didn't believe in light. He believed in fists.
Damn it. With this weak body of mine, taking a hit like that hurts like hell.
Without a Divine Sigil protecting me, this body really is pathetically weak.
But there was no time to worry about that now.
Steven whipped his head around and stared at the drunken Howard.
Howard cursed furiously, "You damn bitch, is this your boyfriend?
"Good! I'll beat both you cheating bastards to death today!"
Howard raised the stick again and swung it down.
A sharp glint flashed through Steven's eyes.
How could someone this disgusting even exist?
The second the stick came down, Steven reacted instantly. His combat instincts were still there.
He sidestepped Howard's drunken swing with a quick shift of his body.
Then he slid to Howard's side and slammed a vicious chop into the back of his neck.
Howard collapsed to the floor on the spot, completely unconscious.
A burning pain shot through Steven's palm. It felt like he'd cracked a bone. That strike had used almost all his strength. He honestly wasn't sure it would knock the guy out.
Still, seeing the drunk unconscious, he finally let out a breath.
Then he turned toward Bianca and Vanessa.
"Bianca, are you okay?"
Bianca still looked dazed. She couldn't understand it. This boy, who barely ever spoke to her at school, had suddenly appeared here and saved them.
Steven also froze for a moment.
It was hard to connect the girl in front of him with the future Ember Eternal. The woman who would one day stand above everyone else like an untouchable queen now looked heartbreakingly fragile, tears clinging to her delicate face, a streak of blood at the corner of her lips.
Steven had seen posters of the future Ember Eternal before—cold, elegant, and untouchable, like a goddess looking down upon the world. Who could've imagined that at this point in time, she was still such a thin, vulnerable girl?
And living through something this awful. No wonder she spent her future alone. A family like this could freeze a person's heart solid.
For a moment, Steven felt like he'd crossed into another lifetime. He still couldn't believe that in this life, he was standing this close to the future legendary Ember Eternal.
Vanessa called weakly, "Bianca..."
Bianca snapped out of it. "Mom, I'm okay."
"Come on, let me help you up."
"I'll help too."
Steven quickly stepped over and helped lift Vanessa to her feet.
The three of them glanced at Howard lying unconscious on the floor.
Tears kept streaming down Vanessa's face, full of regret and exhaustion.
But she still asked hesitantly, "Is he..."
Steven answered calmly, "Don't worry. He's just unconscious. He'll be fine.
"But you're both hurt. You need to get treated right away."
Vanessa nodded and tried hard to steady her emotions and stop crying.
"You're Bianca's classmate, right?"
"Yes. I'm in Bianca's class. My name's Steven."
Only then did Bianca finally look over at Steven.
"Thank you... You got hurt too, didn't you? Is it serious?"
Steven shook his head. "I'm fine. You two are worse off. Let me take you to the hospital."
Vanessa immediately shook her head. "No, no, it's okay. Thank you, Steven.
"I'm sorry you had to see something so humiliating."
Steven shook his head. "None of this is your fault. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.
"But your injuries really need treatment. Mine too.
"And you probably don't want to wait for him to wake up and start hitting you again.
"You should leave first."
Vanessa hesitated. The problem was money.
Bianca spoke up softly too. "Mom, we can just go to a small clinic. It'll be okay. I still have a little money saved."
Steven didn't say anything.
But now, he understood how badly this family was struggling.
At last, he understood why Bianca had disappeared from school for an entire week in his previous life.
Today must've been the day she and Vanessa got beaten badly enough to end up hospitalized.
Who would've thought the future Ember Eternal had lived such a miserable life as a student?
With Steven helping them, they went to a nearby clinic and got all their injuries treated.
A long bruise stretched across Steven's back.
The sight of it filled Bianca with guilt.
After everything was done, the two of them stood outside the clinic together.
"I'm sorry you got hurt because of us." Bianca lowered her head, nervously rubbing her small callused hands together.
Only now did Steven really take a proper look at her.
Her features were honestly beautiful. She just looked thin from years of poor nutrition.
But her eyes were unbelievably clear.
Thinking back to his last life, Lilliana being called the school beauty was a joke.
The real one was standing right in front of him.
Give Bianca proper nutrition and a little care, and she'd leave Lilliana in the dust.
Steven smiled gently. "It's fine. I'm a guy. I get hurt during sparring all the time anyway. I'll recover fast."
Bianca looked up at Steven for a brief second and realized he was staring at her. Her face heated up, and she quickly lowered her head again.
"I'll pay you back for the medical bills."
Steven shook his head. "It's okay. It wasn't much."
"No. I have to repay you." Bianca shook her head stubbornly.
Steven smiled and let it go. If she insisted on paying him back later, he could always refuse then.
"Are you two still going home tonight? Once he wakes up, he definitely won't let this go."
Hearing that, confusion flickered through Bianca's clear eyes.
"If we don't go home... where else can we go?"
Steven hesitated briefly. Maybe I really should bring the future Ember Eternal home.
"How about this? You and your mom can stay at my place for now. At least you'll be away from that drunk."
The moment those words came out, Bianca froze. She stared at Steven in disbelief.
"Huh?"
For a second, she thought she'd misheard him.
He's inviting us to live at his house?