Aiden clicks his tongue softly. "Still stubborn, huh."
He steadies himself and tries again.
This time, he pours more intent into the spell. The temperature in the room drops noticeably, and the shadows along the walls seem to stretch toward the corpse.
The leader's chest rises.
Not with breath, but with something else.
Bones crack faintly as the body stiffens. The blood around the wound darkens, sinking back into the flesh unnaturally. The man's eyes roll, the whites turning dull and lifeless before the pupils settle into a hollow, dead stare.
Then he sits up.
Aiden releases the spell and lets his hand fall to his side. He watches carefully, ready in case the summoning collapses.
But it doesn't.
The newly risen undead stands slowly. His body hasn't begun to rot yet, but death is unmistakable. The skin has taken on a faint violet hue, especially around the lips and fingertips, and his eyes… his eyes are wrong. Empty. Cold. Completely devoid of life.
Anyone who looks at him closely would know at once, this man is dead.
Aiden feels the connection settle, solid and stable.
Second attempt. Success.
He allows himself a small smile. "Looks like I got lucky today."
The undead thug leader lowers his head slightly, awaiting orders.
Aiden lets out a slow breath as the connection to his newly gained undead settles.
'Damn… this new skill is completely broken,' he thinks.
Back in the game, things were never this simple. If he wanted stronger undead, he had to rely on gacha, pure luck layered on top of grinding. From level one to nineteen, he'd been stuck with nothing but basic skeletons, no matter how skilled he was. The gacha only unlocked at level twenty.
'I wonder if that'll still happen here,' Aiden muses. 'Or if the system has other plans.'
Before he can think further, a sharp noise cuts through the air.
A muffled cry.
Something crashes inside the room beyond the corridor.
Aiden's expression changes instantly.
Without hesitation, he dismisses both undead. Their figures dissolve into faint motes of light, vanishing as if they were never there. The hallway feels suddenly quieter, heavier.
He moves forward and pushes the door open.
The sight inside makes his chest tighten.
Lira is there.
She's curled up on the floor near the bed, naked, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her body trembles uncontrollably, eyes unfocused, cheeks streaked with tears. Red marks circle her wrists, and her breathing comes out in shallow, broken gasps, like she's afraid to make any sound at all.
For a moment, she doesn't even notice him.
Aiden feels a cold anger rise in his chest.
"Lira," he says softly, carefully.
She flinches hard at the sound of his voice, shrinking back against the wall. Her eyes snap toward him, wide with fear, then recognition slowly sets in.
"Sir… Aiden?" she whispers, her voice barely audible.
"It's me," he says, turning his gaze away immediately and shrugging off his outer cloak. He steps closer but stops a few paces away, placing the cloak gently on the floor and sliding it toward her. "You're safe now."
Her hands shake as she reaches for it, pulling the fabric around herself like a lifeline. Only then does her body finally give out. She presses her forehead to her knees, silent sobs wracking her frame.
Lira clutches the cloak tightly around her body, her fingers white from the force of her grip. Her shoulders shake as quiet sobs escape her, one after another, as if she's been holding them in for far too long.
"Th-thank you…" she says, her voice breaking. "You saved me."
Aiden lets out a slow sigh. The tension he's been holding finally slips, just a little. He doesn't move closer, giving her space, his eyes fixed on the cracked floor instead.
"I'm sorry," he says quietly. "If I'd arrived sooner, you wouldn't have had to go through this."
Lira shakes her head immediately, tears still falling. "No… no," she says, forcing the words out. "You arrived just in time."
She swallows, her breathing uneven.
"That bastard… he didn't do anything to me," she continues, voice trembling with lingering fear and anger. "He left before he could… before he could rape me."
Aiden nods slowly. "I see…" he says, keeping his voice calm. "I'll step outside first. Take your time."
He turns away without waiting for a response and closes the door gently behind him.
The hallway feels colder the moment he's alone.
Aiden leans against the wall and lets out a long, tired sigh. He'd only met Lira yesterday. They were strangers then, barely more than that even now. And yet, if he thought about it honestly, today's suffering traced back to him.
If he hadn't killed those thugs at the inn yesterday, none of this would have happened.
They wouldn't have come back strongly.
The thought sits heavy in his chest. He runs a hand through his hair, frustration and guilt mixing in silence. But regret won't change anything. What's done is done.