Chapter 95: My Protection for You

Chapter 95. My Protection for You

Two hours passed.

They were, without exaggeration, among the most painful two hours of either of my lives.

I nearly passed out three times.

My curse had flared so many times.

By the fourth bangle, my shirt was soaked through with sweat. My hair clung damply to my forehead, my hands wouldn’t stop trembling, and every breath came slightly too fast because my body had apparently forgotten that breathing wasn’t supposed to be a conscious activity.

That would’ve been the intelligent decision.

Make one bangle, rest, recover, repeat tomorrow.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop thinking about the Light Temple.

If they moved tomorrow, I’d regret waiting.

If someone targeted my wives tonight, I’d regret waiting.

And regret was considerably more difficult to cure than pain.

So here I was.

Last bangle.

My Light Mana poured into the final S-rank crystal.

The curse answered.

[Curse Stability: 27%]

Okay.

That was lower than I’d intended.

Black veins crawled visibly beneath my skin, spreading from my chest toward my neck and arms. My vision pulsed with every heartbeat.

I bit down harder on the folded bundle of cloth between my teeth.

I’d started using that after finishing the second bangle.

The purpose? Preventing the terrifying Royal Magus from screaming loud enough to summon his wives.

Just a little more.

[Curse Stability: 25%]

The final formation snapped into place.

Done.

I immediately stopped channeling Light Mana.

With shaking fingers, I pricked my skin and squeezed out the final drop of blood.

It landed against the crystal.

The bangle flashed.

[Bloodbound Distress Link Established.]

Finished.

All five.

"ACK—!"

The cloth fell from my mouth as I doubled over.

My hand clutched my chest.

Damn, that hurt.

There was no elegant description for it anymore. My mana pathways felt flayed open, my heart hammered against my ribs, and the curse tore through me with enough force that my knees nearly gave out beneath the table.

The door opened. "Rey?"

Seris.

Her footsteps stopped abruptly.

"Rey!"

She crossed the room in seconds.

One arm wrapped around me before I could collapse completely, her other hand grabbing my shoulder as she stared at the black veins covering my skin.

"Your curse."

"I’m fine..."

"You are obviously not fine."

Fair argument.

I forced air into my lungs.

[Curse Conversion].

The effect tore through me.

Corruption twisted into Forbidden Energy, rushing through pathways already stretched far beyond what they’d comfortably hold. The pressure became almost unbearable for several seconds before something inside my mana structure shifted.

Expanded.

[Forbidden Energy Capacity Expanded: +10%]

[Evolution Progress: 84%]

My breathing gradually slowed.

The black veins retreated beneath my skin.

Pain became an exhausted throb instead of active torture, and I sagged against the edge of the worktable.

There was my positive side.

Between the repeated conversions I’d forced today, my Forbidden Energy capacity had expanded by roughly forty percent overall.

Was that worth feeling as though someone had repeatedly poured molten iron through my veins?

Debatable.

Research results? Excellent.

Personal experience? Terrible.

Seris didn’t share my scientific enthusiasm.

"Do you need something?" she asked quickly. "Should I call Ariel? She can check your condition."

I caught her wrist. "No."

"Rey."

"I’m fine. I really am."

She stared at me.

I could practically watch her deciding whether punching me unconscious would qualify as medical treatment.

Eventually, she reached for the clean cloth lying near my worktable.

Then she wiped my forehead.

I didn’t resist.

Mostly because I lacked the energy.

Also because I was fairly certain I currently resembled an undead creature that had crawled out of its grave, taken one look at the morning sun, and immediately decided death had been the better option.

Seris cleaned the sweat from my face.

I looked at her.

Really looked.

Her crimson hair framed a face that usually carried confidence bordering on arrogance, but right now there was nothing proud in her expression.

Only worry.

"What did you do?" she asked quietly. "Why did your curse flare that badly again?"

Her gaze moved across the worktable.

Five bangles.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Those accessories?"

Then she looked back at me.

"We have enough money now, Rey. You don’t need to push yourself this hard to make things to sell."

I smiled weakly. "No. I didn’t make them to sell."

Seris frowned.

I reached for the nearest bangle. "For you."

She went silent.

"And Ariel. Lily. Nia. Liora."

I took her hand.

Seris allowed it, although suspicion remained in her eyes.

"It’s protection."

I slid the bangle over her wrist.

The artifact immediately responded to its wearer.

Silver-white mana flickered across the metal, and the band contracted smoothly until it rested perfectly against her skin, not tight enough to hurt, but secure enough that it couldn’t simply slip free.

Seris stared at it.

I tapped the embedded crystal.

"Emergency barrier. Emergency healing. Both activate automatically if you’re in serious danger."

Her eyes lifted to mine.

"And the last enchantment is connected to me. If either activates, I’ll know. It can’t be removed easily once it recognizes the wearer either."

Her brows rose. Then she looked at my trembling hands. "Why?"

I blinked.

"Why do this to yourself?" she continued.

She raised her wrist between us. "I thought Lily already told you last night. We aren’t damsels."

"I never thought you were." I leaned back against the table. "Because you’ve all done enough for me."

Seris became still.

"I wanted to do something for you. Even if it’s only a little."

Her eyes sharpened. "This isn’t a little."

"For me, it is."

"Rey, you nearly collapsed."

I looked away. "My enemies are changing tactics. Eventually someone will realize attacking me directly is inefficient."

"And they’ll target us."

"Maybe."

Her expression hardened.

I hated seeing that possibility confirmed in her eyes, but Seris understood strategy too well for me to soften it.

"I know you can defend yourself," I continued. "That’s why this isn’t replacing your strength. It’s another layer." I tapped her bangle. "If someone gets past you, this reacts. If something happens that you didn’t anticipate, this reacts. If you’re injured badly enough that you can’t heal yourself, this reacts."

My gaze met hers.

"And if all of that fails..." I smiled. "I react."

Seris stared at me for a long moment.

Then she looked down at the bangle again.

Her thumb moved across its smooth surface. "Idiot."

"Probably."

She lifted her wrist closer to her chest. "But it’s beautiful," she whispered.

I blinked. That had gone better than expected.

Her smile bloomed. "Thank you." Her voice had become quiet.

I nodded. "You’re welcome."

Before the atmosphere became dangerously emotional again, I gathered the remaining four bangles and placed them carefully inside a small box. I closed the lid.

"I’m taking a bath before breakfast. I need to make myself look less dead."

I pushed myself away from the worktable.

The room immediately tilted.

I took one step.

My knee disagreed with civilization.

Seris caught me around the waist before I could fall.

I stared at the floor.

Neither of us spoke.

She sighed. Then her arm tightened around me. "I’ll bathe you," she said.

I froze, torn between pure happiness and complete, speechless shock.