Helen saw her life flash before her, and for a brief moment the ruined square vanished from her mind as countless scenes from her past flashed before her. She thought about her parents. She thought about the high hopes her father had for her.

And most importantly, she thought about Zich.

Time seemed to slow down. Her fingers loosened around the staff, and she closed her eyes as if accepting it. The bone chain was already at the edge of her throat, and she could not think of any clean way to escape it.

At that exact moment, Zich’s body moved on its own. His feet pushed off the stone and his arm swept up with Blood Arc in a straight line, cutting the bone chain apart just before it could snap around Helen’s neck.

FWOOOSH!

The severed links scattered across the square and clattered against the broken fountain. The force of the slash also left a thin red line in the air, and one nearby skeleton lost its head when the edge continued through it by mistake.

Helen opened her eyes in shock. The chain was gone, her throat was still intact, and she was still alive, which made her stare at Zich with a blank expression for a second before the truth hit her fully.

Zich had saved her life.

A trace of surprise passed through her eyes, and her chest rose and fell once in a quick breath. Even now, Zich only stood there with his usual calm face, as if cutting a death chain at the last second was just a normal thing he did every day.

"...You are welcome," he said flatly, not even turning to look at her. "Now we are even. I owe you no more debts."

Helen swallowed hard and stared at the broken chain pieces on the floor. The fear still had not left her, but the shock was already turning into warmth, because she knew very clearly that if Zich had moved half a moment later, she would have been dead.

Her lips parted, but no words came out. The battlefield noise returned around them.

Without hesitation, she joined the fight once again.

Zich did not waste the opening Helen created. His body moved forward again, and Blood Arc cut a second bone chain cleanly while the Elite Undead Knight stepped in beside him and forced the Bone Claw backward with one hard sword swing.

Bone fragments flew across the square, and the monster staggered half a step before raising its chain arms again. Zich’s eyes stayed cold, because the fight only got easier when the enemy showed where it wanted to strike.

However, the loud clash, combined with the earlier flare, pulled attention from every street around them. More skeletons climbed over walls, and more couriers dropped from roofs.

The undead rushed toward Zich like a tide, but the strange part was how many of them ignored Helen and kept drifting to his side instead. He tightened his grip and kept his posture straight.

Varok frowned when he saw the ring of undead tightening around Zich. The square had already turned into a hunting ground, and the pressure below it felt worse with every second. He did not rush forward yet. He only watched the openings close and the Bone Claws push again and again, while the white-haired summoner kept fighting with an annoyed expression that made the whole scene feel even more dangerous.

At the same time, Jayden and the shorter Velhari arrived on the roof behind him, both drawn by the noise. Jayden stared down with an amused smile on his face.

’Would you look at that.’

None of them spoke, but the expressions on their faces were already enough to show that the square had become far too crowded.

Varok watched for a few seconds longer and finally saw it clearly. The Bone Claws were not pressing the front at random anymore. They were sliding around Zich and trying to lock onto the backpack hanging behind him.

As for Zich, he still kept fighting forward, cutting one chain after another, while the Elite Undead Knight smashed a skeleton aside so hard that its chest collapsed inward and bone pieces scattered across the stones.

"They are focusing on his backpack," Varok muttered with a cold expression. "If he drops it, they would stop."

The giant Velhari looked at the scene and scoffed quietly.

"Stubborn human."

Varok frowned, his grip tightening on the spear. More undead were climbing in from the surrounding streets now, and the ring around Zich was getting thicker with each passing second. The sense of dread grew worse. It was no longer a small fight; it was turning into a real battlefield.

"We should leave him behind," Varok said after a short silence. "If he will not move, we cannot drag him out."

Helen turned at once, her eyes flashing with anger.

"We cannot just leave him there."

"You can argue later," Jayden replied flatly while looking down from the roof. His voice was cold, but his gaze stayed fixed on Zich for only one brief glance. "Right now he is only making the circle tighter."

Helen wanted to move anyway.

"Zich, come back!"

Zich did not answer her. He only cut through another chain and kept standing where he was, stubborn as ever, while the undead kept circling toward his back. The sight made even Varok understand that this human was not planning to retreat. Not for soul stones and not for anything.

That was when Jayden moved.

He dropped down beside Helen and struck the side of her neck with the hilt of his sword in one clean motion.

THUD!

Helen’s eyes widened. Her body went limp, and she fell backward into his arms without a sound.

Varok looked over once, then back toward Zich.

Jayden caught Helen before she hit the ground, gave one last glance toward the market square, and smiled faintly.

After that single look, he turned away with the others and fled the scene, leaving Zich all alone.