Lucian and Ebony's gazes met for a second as she swallowed hard. After considering it for a moment, both nodded their heads, thinking the same thing.
"(I'd rather die than kiss you)"
The girl moved closer to the elf again, and this time, using all her willpower, she tried to heal him so he could kill all their enemies, but nothing changed.
The elf began to break out in a cold sweat, searching for a way out of the situation. His sword lay on the ground next to the dagger, but his body could no longer endure any more strain.
That was when Ebony noticed an insect passing near her feet. It was small and had a broken leg. It was a cockroach that refused to die.
"(Gross, I didn't know these insects existed around here… But I guess I can't complain if in the end I'm just like you…)"
Unable to use her magic, she slowly resigned herself to kissing the elf, but it would be her first kiss, so she kept trying to deny the idea.
The elf suddenly collapsed onto the rubble, clutching his shoulder in pain as he struggled to breathe.
"I'm sorry, dear, I think this is as far as we go, you're already exhausted from saving our enemy."
"Exhausted… Yeah, exactly, I'm very exhausted, I don't think I can use any more magic…" Ebony said as she knelt down with a tired sigh.
"Aha, tired…" The masked man crossed his arms as he looked at the lovers. "Fine, stop the drama, just kiss him and that's enough for me."
"Umm… Well, you see, we're not that kind of couple that goes around kissing in public like vulgar teenagers. A kiss is something private… It's because of my religion," the girl replied.
"I knew it… Liars!" The mage clapped his hands, and his lackeys leapt forcefully to reach the top of the rubble. The sound of their bones breaking upon landing could be heard.
"Stop! Please, let us keep our decency and try the healing one more time… Please…" Lucian looked at the mage in pain.
"Go ahead and try it then, but it better work, or I'll make your corpses kiss."
The elf took Ebony's hand and looked at her seriously. The girl didn't understand at first, but after a moment, she nodded.
Sitting on the ground, the elf closed his eyes. The girl raised her hands as if begging the heavens and spoke a single word out loud with all her faith.
"Heal… Please"
{{Life Magic: Healing}}
A green circle appeared at their feet, its faint light lasting only a few seconds. When the spell ended, Lucian pushed himself up with one hand on his knee and stood as if nothing had happened.
"Thank you for your patience, my dear… Ebony… She's a bit slow at these things." Upon hearing the elf, the masked man clenched his fists, bloodied by his wounds, and could only sigh in disappointment.
"So, can you let us go now?" Ebony replied while still kneeling on the ground, sweat covering her forehead.
At that moment, the mage pulled a small journal and pencil from his leather belt. He began writing the lovers' names, the time, and the day. It was the registry of the vows under his charge.
"Due to a legal loophole in our fifth rule, I will let you go. However, I will take this record to our elders to decide what to do with you both. Don't think you're free yet, the Surveillance period of your vow is still pending."
"Surveillance?" Ebony said as she tried to recall something like that from the game. Normally, the cult was just an intermediary for vows that came and went like the wind.
"I will place one of my students in charge of you. He is young and inexperienced, but he will serve as an arbiter to follow you for a full year. When that time ends, I will return and, based on his judgment, I will kill you or let you live."
"Do whatever you want, idiot, but you won't find lies in our lovely marriage," the girl replied as she swallowed hard and clenched one of her fists.
The masked man looked at the girl with doubt and rage, but then he grabbed his mask and removed it with difficulty. Between the mask and his human skin were strands of coagulated blood that tore with the movement.
The face behind the mask was young and bore no visible scars, but the moment the mask was fully removed, the boy collapsed onto the ground.
"(Disgusting, what the hell is that? I thought it was just a mask)" Ebony thought as she held back the urge to gag from the smell of rot.
At that moment, the mask flew violently onto the face of the least injured cultist. The man's neck began to twist as the mask adjusted itself like a parasite.
"Do not try to harm my student. I have a pact with him, so if you kill him, I will know immediately and hunt you across the entire continent."
"And if he dies by accident or because someone other than us kills him?"
"I'll hunt you anyway."
"What the hell, we're not babysitters, idiot."
Ignoring the girl's complaints, the masked man pulled up his hood and left the area along with all the cultists. He glanced sideways at the girl and held up a finger, reminding her of the time she had left.
"Miss, are they gone?" Lucina said while looking at the horizon.
"Yes, they're gone." Hearing this, the half-elf collapsed exhausted among the rubble, his breathing heavy and his body worn out.
The blonde looked at the scene with sadness and shame for failing to heal him. At that moment, she loosened her fist, freeing the cockroach she had been hiding, which flew away with its body intact.
"It was a great idea… Husband… ha ha ha, I can't believe it worked…"
"Ha… You did a good job… Although we're still not completely safe," Lucian said, pointing at the unconscious boy with a hole in each palm.
"What will we do when he wakes up?"
"I have no idea, but it'd be best if you treat his wounds or he might bleed out. I don't know how your magic works, but you need to figure it out fast."
"Mmm… Don't worry, we don't need my magic to save him…"
Ebony stood up and tore strips of fabric from her clothes as she approached the unconscious boy. She spoke a single word.
"Heal"
{{Life Magic: Purification}}
The pieces of cloth glowed softly, ending spotless and white. Ebony had improvised sterilized gauze using magic.
"(I didn't think I'd ever do this again… I guess this is what they mean when they say the world goes full circle)"
As she pressed the cloth into the wound to stop the bleeding, she remembered those classes in medical school and the lessons with her mother. Those years weighed heavily on her with pain, how distant they felt compared to her current reality.
After finishing bandaging the boy, she looked at the elf, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, so she went to treat him as well with improvised gauze and bandages. At that moment, a system message appeared before her.
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Your Incarnation changes have been successfully registered.
Name: Ebony Strange
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After reading the message for a moment, she formed a sad smile and held back her tears, accepting her new life, until another message appeared before her.
[---------------------------------]
Hello hello, Ebony. I didn't think you'd make it out of that. You're smarter than you look, but your tongue won't save you forever, and if you die, I'll get very bored, so I decided to send you a little wedding gift hahaha.
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