The fog had thickened into a suffocating wall, heavy and wet like the air before a storm. Every step inside the Forbidden Zone felt like walking into the belly of something ancient, something watching. The eerie quiet that had followed their last encounter gave them no peace—just a tension so thick even Jax sobered up slightly, his lute quiet against his back.
But the real terror hadn't yet begun.
They found it near the center of a shattered cathedral, half-buried in the earth, broken columns reaching up like the fingers of a drowned god. That's where the monster waited.
It didn't roar. It didn't lunge. It just moved.
A grotesque thing—seven limbs that ended in mismatched claws, scales peeling like cracked glass, and a mouth that opened along three axes like a mechanical flower blooming wrong. Its eyes weren't even on its head. They were embedded into its chest, pulsing, watching, unblinking.
Lina tried to attack first. Fire rained from her sword, but the beast twisted its body like water, impossible angles bending out of harm's way. It retaliated with a wave of pressure that shattered stone and hurled Kaela across the cathedral like a ragdoll.
Kira saw the opening. She moved fast—too fast—flipping through broken pews, her daggers gleaming. She launched herself into a spin, aiming to strike the beast between its mismatched eyes.
She made contact.
And the monster didn't even flinch.
Its tail, which no one had seen before, whipped up from the ground like a viper and skewered her through the side mid-air.
Time stopped. Not magically. Not system-induced. Just raw, paralyzing shock.
Kira gasped. Her daggers fell from her fingers, clinking onto the stone floor as her body crashed down next to them. Blood bloomed beneath her like ink in water.
"No," MC breathed. Then louder. "No no no—Kira!"
He was moving before he could think. Iris called out, trying to activate time-slow, but it was too late. He dropped to his knees beside her, hands shaking, looking at the blood spreading fast across her cloak. Too much. Way too much. Her eyes were fluttering.
"I'm fine," she lied, again. "It's just… a scratch."
"Don't joke," he snapped, voice cracking. "Not now—don't do that."
He had no potions. Luna had been flung away by debris. No time. No help. Just pressure and chaos and her blood on his hands.
Then his System pinged.
[Healing Light – Level 1: Copied from Luna]
"What?"
His hands began to glow.
MC didn't think. He just pressed them to her side. Warmth surged through him, wild and unfocused. Light flared, raw and bright and completely unrefined. He didn't even understand how it was working—was this Luna's spell? Was he doing it wrong?
It didn't matter.
The blood flow slowed. The wound sealed. Not perfectly, but enough. Kira coughed, blinked, then winced as she sat up with a groan. "Ow. Okay. Ow. What the hell was that? You... healed me?"
"I—I guess?" he said, still stunned, hands hovering like he didn't trust them. "I mean—I didn't mean to. It just—activated."
"Great," she muttered. "Now you can be everyone's favorite healer, too."
He blinked. "Are you mad?"
"Yes," she said, eyes narrowing. "You almost died from panic, you idiot."
"I almost watched you die!"
"…Oh."
They both shut up for a second.
The others caught up. Luna immediately scanned Kira, her magic finishing what MC had started. Iris stared at him, eyes wide, processing what she'd just seen. Lina looked between him and Kira, something unreadable in her expression.
Jax, slightly out of breath, muttered, "Guess the harem king can save lives now too. What's next, childbirth?"
"Not helping," Kaela groaned from the back, limping forward with a bruised leg.
As they gathered around, MC realized something terrifying and awe-inspiring all at once: he'd copied Luna's power without knowing it—and it had worked. The system wasn't just copying skills. It was copying moments—desperation, emotion, intention.
And somehow, that was enough.
Kira leaned against his shoulder, exhausted but alive. "Don't get used to being my hero," she mumbled. "I still don't trust you."
But her grip on his arm didn't loosen.
And MC, for once, didn't make a dumb joke. He just nodded.
They weren't out of danger.
But at least now... he could save someone.
END OF CHAPTER 59