"Huff... so many wounded..."
Under the stunned gazes of the city guards, Rayelle set down two stretchers bearing injured soldiers beside Chloe and stretched her arms with a yawn.
"This kid’s strength is really something, huh?"
"She’s an Extraordinary Being. Of course she’s different..."
Stunned as they were, their hands never stilled. With the guards’ help, the civilians injured in the earlier battle were quickly gathered onto the empty patch beside the garden.
"Thank you," Chloe murmured, offering a faint smile to the weary guards, Aerin, and Rayelle.
"No need to thank us! Honestly, having you here saves us so much trouble." A silver-armored man—clearly the guards’ captain—grinned as he rubbed his bald head, stepping forward to clap Chloe’s shoulder. "The Church’s healers are all deployed elsewhere. Without your magic, many of my brothers wouldn’t have made it."
"Alright, boss, don’t bother Chloe. Let her focus on healing," another guard chimed in, nudging his captain aside with a laugh. "Yeah, yeah—delaying treatment won’t do anyone good."
The guards formed a loose human barrier around Chloe, shielding her from the chaotic crowd.
Chloe closed her eyes halfway, kneeling among the wounded. Her hands clasped together.
Crimson threads of light spiraled outward from her, gently weaving around the injured.
"What’s that?" Rayelle whispered, curiosity bubbling in her voice. Having seen little of Chloe in the story before her sacrificial death, Rayelle knew almost nothing about her.
"Her Extraordinary Power," Aerin replied simply, watching Chloe intently.
Amid soft, watery murmurs, bleeding wounds slowed to a trickle. Gaping gashes visibly knit together with fresh tissue, gradually closing the gaps.
Watching Chloe’s focused expression, Aerin’s eyes flickered with nostalgia. She’d been healed by those same gentle, skilled hands as a child—Chloe always minimized pain while mending bodies.
"Sequence 30: Bloodsource," Aerin murmured, just loud enough for Rayelle to hear.
Bloodsource—a double-edged sword. In knowledgeable, compassionate hands, it could resurrect the dying. In cruel ones, it became a weapon of slaughter. Chloe was the former. Even the Church’s healers envied her gift in this world starved of medicine.
"Done." Chloe opened her eyes and rose. The worst wounds were sealed. "Bandage them now. Let nature finish the healing. There are too many—I lack the mana for full recovery." She clicked open a medical kit, pulling out bandages. Aerin and Rayelle joined her.
Soon, several "mummies"—bodies swathed head-to-toe in gauze—lay around them.
"You’ve... overdone it," Chloe said, fighting a smile at Rayelle’s handiwork. "Leave breathing holes. Yes, like that." Under Chloe’s guidance, Rayelle fumbled through basic bandaging.
Nearby, guards patrolled wearily. Rayelle noticed their exhaustion.
"Hey, mister," she called to the nearest guard while wrapping a wound, "you all look swamped. Shouldn’t you rest?"
The guard shook his head with a bitter chuckle. "Kid, you don’t know. With demons and Dragon Kind pressing our borders, most of us are stretched thin on perimeter duty. Bandits from war zones keep slipping into Bonn City. We’re working double shifts, yet gaps still slip through..."
Rayelle’s gaze softened with sympathy. She turned toward Chloe, who was now speaking quietly with Aerin.
Then Rayelle spotted it: more bloodied, half-dead guards had silently gathered near Chloe, awaiting healing. Without hesitation, Chloe raised her hands again. Crimson threads flared. Minutes later, the soldiers stood, whole and grinning.
"Thanks, Miss Chloe!"
"Having you around puts my heart at ease."
"Honestly, good souls like you are rare these days."
They crowded around her, pressing humble gifts into her hands—handwoven baskets, chipped ceramic cups, flower crowns. Chloe accepted each with quiet grace.
"Miss Chloe’s really loved, huh?" Rayelle sidled up to Aerin, voice hushed. It made sense. Her power healed nearly any wound, and her kindness drew people like moths to flame. She reminded Rayelle of Chriss.
Watching Chloe surrounded by grateful faces, a quiet ache bloomed in Rayelle’s chest. *Such a gentle soul... to die so horribly six days from now, on Crimson Moon Day.* These guards. Aerin. Chriss. They’d all lose a healer, a friend, a sister. Rayelle couldn’t fathom their future grief.
*I will save you.* She clenched her small fists, whispering the vow to herself. At first, Chloe had been just another NPC to rescue. But days of shared moments had fleshed her out—a brilliant healer, a devoted sister. Someone irreplaceable.
Rayelle’s eyes flicked to the corner of a tainted slip of paper peeking from Aerin’s pocket. *The Chaos Sect’s initiation test.* Tonight, she’d infiltrate them. Uncover their plans. Save Chloe.
And her sister, Chriss.
