My body kept taking damage in every exchange. I had to end this quickly to help Lord Tork. Every time I looked over at him, his situation seemed worse. I'd stopped thinking about my own wellbeing—I just wanted to eliminate as many monsters as fast as possible.

  I focused solely on using my swords to slash at every monster near me. Their numbers were finally dwindling. When Tork came into range, I supported him with a few V3 or V4 spheres. Since no citizens were nearby, I started moving more freely, which separated us for a while—just a few dozen more to go. Hang in there a bit longer!

  Only about fifteen monsters remained. A quick glance showed Sol's uncle pinned against a solid wall, battling his last foe. Without my help, he would've died fighting so many grade 3 monsters. I think I'm going to make it!

  When only a lion-like beast with huge fangs and a malformed creature with razor-sharp jaws remained, time began to slow. I watched Tork defeat a monster that looked like a fish-human hybrid. He landed a searing blow to its face—but the creature pierced his abdomen with a spear.

  Losing control of my emotions, time seemed to move in slow motion. I froze. The lion sank one of its massive knives into my left leg, and the other beast ripped off my right arm below the shoulder in one blow. The pain snapped me out of it. I conjured an ice sword above the lion's head and drove it down, then used my sword to sever its fang.

  The black-and-purple creature lunged at my head. For the first time in ages, I felt something different—my sword's edge was sharper. I felt like I could cut through anything. A swift sidestep let me evade its strike, and then my arm moved on its own to slice the monster in half.

  Missing an arm and with a fang lodged in my thigh, I used charged steps to appear beside Tork. Desperation filled me. Without my frozen core, I wouldn’t even be able to move. I tried to do what Sus did for me—inject life mana into him to help him recover. His body was covered in wounds. Blood poured from nearly every part of him. He was missing some fingers and had a massive spear driven into his torso, pinning him to the wall.

  "Thank you for the help, Maki." His voice was a soft whisper. His life force was fading fast. I managed to link my mana with his and began trying to heal him slowly.

  "Don’t waste your mana on me, Maki. You need to heal yourself." He coughed blood from the strain.

  "What are you saying? Don’t talk—let me heal you." I used the last of my mana reserves to close as many wounds as I could. Glia’s mana helped a little, but not enough. I had never treated another person before—it was difficult to insert my mana into his body to heal him.

  "There’s no turning back. I’m already one step from death, but thanks to you, I can at least say goodbye to someone." Tears fell from his eyes, blood from the corners of his mouth. I managed to stop some bleeding, but there were too many wounds—too deep.

  "Stop, Maki. It's not enough." His Imra pushed me away. Panic seized my mind. I wanted to keep helping him, but we both knew the sad truth: it was impossible. All I could do now was give him a few more seconds of life.

  "My niece loves you with all her heart. Please love her just as much." With tears in his eyes, he mustered the strength to look me in the eye. His body was nearly gone, but his will remained strong. "At first, I didn’t want to approve of you. But after seeing you fight and give everything to help this fool, I realize you’re a boy worth trusting." His voice grew softer with each word.

  "My parents despised me because I never reached Ruby rank. But my brother and his family always loved me." His voice trembled with quiet sobs. "Tell them I was always grateful, that I’ve always loved them, and I gave my life for them and their land." His voice faded, harder to understand.

  Stolen story; please report.

  I stayed by his side, holding back the urge to cry and scream. My heart shattered watching this scene, but I had to be strong—for him. I had to stay by him until the very end.

  "Please take care of them—especially Sol." He gave me one last look, lowered his head gently, and closed his eyes. Tears began to fall. My eyes, glassy with pain, refused to close. My body trembled from the helplessness. I clenched my fist until it bled from grief and frustration.

  The world went silent. I stood there crying in front of him. I couldn’t save Sol’s uncle. Her second father had just died in front of me. I felt immense disgust with myself for failing to help him, for letting him die. Just then, I sensed four people enter my domain. I recognized three of them. I didn’t turn—I couldn’t take my eyes off the person before me.

  Point of view: Marga

  We ran from the bunker as soon as the guard confirmed that Lord Tork and Maki were close to finishing off the remaining monsters. With the four of us, it would be easier to finish things. But what awaited us was far different than expected.

  Corpses of various monsters lay everywhere, the scent of blood thick in the air. Each creature had clean cuts, frozen or charred parts. One thing was clear—they had been slaughtered.

  Did Maki do all this? He's only Emerald rank. How could he take on this many grade 3 monsters? Not even Mains could manage that... Dozens of questions filled my mind as we walked past more and more monster corpses.

  We kept going, looking for the two of them. Sol led the way until she suddenly stopped. When I caught up, I also froze at the scene before us.

  The two people we were looking for were a few dozen meters away. It was one of the worst situations imaginable. The four of us stood motionless, like statues. Maki was missing almost an entire arm. Lord Tork was pinned to the wall with a spear. Both of them were drenched in blood, with visible wounds. Tork looked far worse—he seemed to have no life left in him.

  I wanted to say something or move, but my body wouldn’t respond. I was scared to approach because of the bloodlust radiating from Maki. He felt like a sad and furious monster at the same time.

  Sol was the first to move after a few seconds that felt like hours. She sprinted toward them. As she got close, Maki suppressed his Imra, and time resumed for the rest of us.

  Sol hugged her uncle. Her sobs were loud and gut-wrenching, straight from the soul. Someone who was like her father had just died. Her legs gave out from the weight of her grief, and she fell to her knees, clutching her beloved uncle.

  Maki hadn’t moved an inch—he just stood there, staring at the scene. When Arisa reacted and ran to them, I followed close behind. I couldn’t stop looking at Sol, thinking of myself a few years ago when I lost my...

  As I neared Maki, I saw his body trembling slightly. Arisa hugged Sol, trying to comfort her. I joined in. We embraced her without saying a word—there were no words for this moment. A simple hug could offer more comfort. A few seconds later, Sol released her uncle and sat beside him, burying her face in her knees. Her cries became silent.

  Arisa and I let go and turned to look at Maki at the same time. The young noble before us still hadn’t moved. His body was covered in blood—none of it seemed to be his, except for the massive fang in his leg and the missing arm. I stayed beside Sol, who held my hand tightly, while Arisa approached Maki.

  Point of view: Arisa

  The scene before us was the worst. I felt sorry for Maki—missing an arm and pierced by a fang—but my instincts told me to comfort my friend first. When I looked into Maki’s eyes, I realized those injuries were nothing compared to the wounds inside.

  I walked over slowly and hugged him, ignoring everything else. The blood, the stains on my clothes—they didn’t matter. My friend, the one I had feelings for, was suffering—both physically and mentally. His body stopped trembling, and finally, his eyes moved from the fallen Lord Tork to Sol, Marga, and me. His blurred vision cleared. He looked at me for several seconds and kissed my forehead. I heard a soft, "Thank you."

  I let go of the hug. With his only arm, he yanked the fang out of his leg. His face contorted in pain. But then something incredible happened—no blood gushed out. The wound visibly healed. There was only one explanation. My mouth whispered, "Life mana."

  He took my hand and walked over to Marga and Sol, who were sitting on the ground. He thanked Marga the same way, ruffling her hair, then knelt in front of Sol. My friend lifted her head slightly to look at him. Maki simply said, "I’m sorry, Sol. I failed you." He didn’t move. Neither of them spoke again—they just stared at each other for a long time.

  Sol reached out and gently caressed Maki’s face. She tried to speak but couldn’t find the words. Her deep grief and inner turmoil made it hard to process her thoughts. The words stuck in her throat. Today is a day we will never forget.