Cynthia then raised her head and looked at me. I instinctively avoided her gaze and focused on the bone monster.

I hope she doesn't remember me. That's what I was hoping. After I defeat these monsters and save her, we'll leave her alone. Hmmm... that sounds like a nice plan.

I then examined the monster in front of me. It stood at least two meters tall, entirely made of bones. Its deep eye sockets glowed red, staring sharply at me.

I raised Indra in Gun Form.

"Alan. Look," Bob suddenly called out.

I turned to him and looked in the direction he pointed. My breath caught again for the second time.

What I saw was Kaoslith inside the wreckage of a near-destroyed, massive ship.

"Kaoslith..." I instinctively muttered.

"You two know Kaoslith?" Cynthia suddenly asked.

I immediately flinched in surprise.

"N-no... we don't," I replied, trying to lie convincingly.

"Don't lie to me. How could you recognize it with just one glance? You clearly know something," Cynthia said, trying to stand, bracing herself with her sword. Her eyes were sharp as they locked onto mine.

"Relax, girl. Why are you so emotional? Just sit there and watch us save you, got it?" Bob tried to ease the tension.

"I don't remember asking for your help. I can handle it on my own," she shot back.

"Yeah yeah... said someone who nearly got killed by a skeleton," Bob mocked.

"Say that again."

Suddenly, a dark aura emanated from her the Fear aura. It activates automatically when a Dark Knight's emotions become unstable. For veterans, they've learned to control it; it's a sign of their mastery over their mind and emotions.

But for Cynthia, who had suffered for far too long, she had no way of controlling it.

Any living being struck by this aura would enter the Feared state. The weak would faint on the spot, while the stronger ones would simply freeze in fear.

But what she saw in front of her shocked her.

"Bob, don't make a scene here," I said to him. I didn't want her attacking us after we just saved her, even if she was injured now.

"She's the one who started it," Bob replied.

The two men in front of her showed no signs of being affected by her aura. That could only mean two things, either they had skills that countered debuffs, or...

...they were very strong.

In her life, only a few people had ever resisted her aura. And now, two more had just been added to that list.

"What are you guys doing?" Linus suddenly approached.

"Why aren't you attacking the monsters? What are you waiting for?"

As he got closer to us, Plump suddenly panicked when he saw Cynthia. The little guy immediately started struggling, forcing Linus to leap off him and fall to the ground. Plump then ran as fast as he could.

"Hey, Plump! Where are you going?" I shouted.

He dashed away, faster and faster, and once he passed the 100-meter mark, he vanished into glowing blue particles.

"What's wrong with him?" Linus asked.

He then looked at Cynthia, squinting as he focused on her face, until the memory clicked.

"I know you. You're one of the royal knights. Cynthia, the Cursed Dark Knight," Linus said casually.

I flinched slightly at the name.

Cynthia lowered her head. Three men arrived at the same time, and all of them were immune to her aura.

That could only mean one thing...

All three were strong.

"Cursed Dark Knight? You mean she's cursed?" Bob asked.

"Yeah. Many of the soldiers under her command died, but she always came out as the sole survivor," Linus explained.

"What? Is it even okay that we saved her? Won't we get killed next?"

Bob instinctively took a step back.

Oii oii oii...

What did I ever do to deserve two of the dumbest people as my closest friends?

If you're going to talk bad about someone, at least wait until they're not standing right in front of you! Not while they can hear every single word!

I turned to Cynthia. Her fists were clenched tight, her lips bitten, and her body trembling...

"And I also heard... her parents were killed-"

"Okay okay, enough, you two!" I quickly cut Linus off.

"Let's finish these monsters first, alright?"

"Fine. Linus, we'll continue after this," Bob said, still too casually.

He turned back to face the skeletons, who were kind enough to wait for us while we finished chatting.

I shook my head and looked at Cynthia, who still had her head lowered. Her long black hair hung down, covering most of her face.

"You, rest for now, okay? We'll protect you," I said, trying to sound gentle. Then I noticed blood trickling down from her right calf. "You're injured, let me heal you. Linus, take over this one for me."

I signaled Linus to handle the other skeleton.

He nodded and swung his staff, readying his stance.

The skeletons resumed their attack, and both Linus and Bob charged forward to meet them.

I crouched beside Cynthia and examined her calf. There was a piece of bone embedded in her flesh most likely a fragment from the skeleton's weapon.

"Please stay still," I said as I carefully pulled the bone out and tossed it aside. Blood immediately began to pour from the wound.

"Heal!"

I held both hands above the wound, releasing a soft green aura. The magic took effect instantly, regenerating the torn flesh on her calf.

Cynthia looked at me. Her eyes were filled with confusion… but also calmness.

She could feel the healing, a gentle warmth, soothing and comforting.

It was far more tolerable than Kelar's harsh healing, which, even for someone with her pain tolerance, felt like torture.

"Why…" she finally spoke.

"Hm?" I looked up at her.

"Why are you all helping me… even though I'm cursed?" she asked.

Before this, anyone who found out would immediately distance themselves, afraid the curse might spread to them too.

But this kindness was something new to her.

"Because everyone here, including me…" I smiled.

"…is cursed too."

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