Just as the first ghoul to reach Dion and Ino was about to bring down its bone sword upon the two weeping figures, a whip of red-hot flames, with a razor-sharp blade at the tip, sliced through the air. It plunged straight into the ghoul's head and burst out the other side. The sheer force of the blow caused the creature's lifeless body to immediately crumple where it stood, sending a spray of hot, dark blood splattering over Ino and Dion.

The two figures flinched and whipped their heads around to see all the ghouls that had been chasing them suddenly fall one by one to the ground as whips of flames tipped with blades pierced through their heads.

"Wh-what?"

Both stared, their panic momentarily replaced by sheer confusion. They watched a final ghoul collapse just meters away, revealing a figure far more horrifying than the ghouls themselves.

It was a woman who appeared like a true demon, complete with sharp, menacing horns, and clad with armor decorated with dark, dried blood.

The two were instantly about to panic again when their eyes caught another figure in the far distance, behind the terrifying woman. He was bent over, holding his knees and panting heavily in exhaustion, like someone who had just finished running a desperate relay.

'Cedric?'

***

Cedric's POV

——

Present…

'Thank goodness... we made it in time,' I thought as I straightened up, drawing in a ragged breath. I began tiredly walking towards the duo kneeling on the floor in the far distance.

After receiving the notification earlier, I had immediately told Celeste to go help Dion, after which she took off in a blur before I could even finish. It was sad that we couldn't save Evelyn, but at least Dion survived.

Celeste strode up to the duo. They were visibly trembling when they saw her approach. Towering at over two meters tall, with red eyes and gray skin covered in blood, she did indeed look truly terrifying. But she immediately raised both hands in a wide, visible wave, signaling her non-hostile intent.

When I finally reached Dion, I saw him pale as chalk with one hand clutching his injured flank. A beautiful silver-haired girl with dark skin and gray eyes was holding him tightly while also placing one hand on his injured flank.

'That must be his bond, uh…?'

As soon as I thought that, a tiny screen popped up atop Ino's head:

[Bond name: Ino]

Then it disappeared as soon as it appeared.

Seeing Dion in this state, I knew he was going to die soon if I did not help, so I immediately raised my hand to open my inventory and take out a health elixir.

However, before I could even dip my hand in it, Ino locked her teary gaze with mine and said urgently. "I go by the moniker Maenad of the Ritual Madness. I am Dion's bond. Your bonded ability is that you can grant material wishes right?"

"Huh? Wishes? Oh… yes, I do that."

[You have acquired 5 Karma points.]

[Available Karma points: N 2,360 / P 150]

Ino immediately lowered her head and pleaded. "Please… we do not have our haversack with us because the ghouls took it. All the elixirs we had were in it." Her voice grew more desperate. "If you could please grant us a health elixir, I promise that I will be indebted to you for as long as I live."

Mmm…

I was already planning on giving one out anyway.

Looking at them, for some reason, I felt like doing something good for once, without expecting anything in return.

I immediately dipped my hand into the inventory, took out a health elixir, and tossed it to her.

"You don't need to pay me back for this."

She caught it and looked at me with intense, grateful scrutiny.

I then quickly added. "Consider it a gift that I'll pay the cost for myself. After all, it is also my wish that Dion does not die here."

She nodded in swift, profound gratitude, while also clutching the vial tightly. Then she turned back to Dion, and immediately began feeding it to him.

Just then, a notification popped up to my side.

[You have acquired 50 Karma points.]

[Available Karma points: N 2,360 / P 200]

'Looks like doing good has its benefits…'

I looked away from the screen to the swampy ground not too far from Dion and his bond.

Looking at the dead body of the girl, Evelyn, I couldn't help but feel a profound cold ache in my chest.

I remember that when I first transmigrated, I saw everyone as just NPCs. I couldn't see them as anything but that. In fact, at a point, I even ended up categorizing the people I came across into two groups: relevant and irrelevant NPC's.

But somewhere along the line, it looks like that changed without even me realizing it.

When did things change?

I do not really know…

What I do know is that when I look at the body on the floor, I do not see an irrelevant NPC. All I see is a girl who was sent out by her family to defend their world by journeying to the world beyond the veil. A girl who got unlucky to wake up in a really dangerous territory after crossing the veil. A girl who lost her bond, and tried her best to escape this bloody territory, without one.

I sighed, bowed my head a little, and closed my eyes.

'May you rest in peace, Evelyn Marcus.'

I opened my eyes then knelt down beside her body and gently closed her lifeless eyes which were still open.

However, right when I lifted my hand from her corpse, a notification suddenly popped up, causing me to flinch, and when I read it, my eyes widened even more:

[Would you like to use the bonded ability: Chrysalis to bestow new life upon the character Evelyn Marcus, in exchange for 500 karma points?]

…What?!

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