Summoned and Unwanted

695 Red snow

Second after the other, dozens upon dozens of earth spikes rose from the ground. It didn’t take more than ten seconds for the log wall the be replaced by a five-meter-tall wall made of hard earth and with spiked tips.

Everyone inside the village became trapped. The on;y way out was to climb over a five-meter-tall earth spike wall or destroy enough of the wall to escape.

Vincent became so shocked that his mind went black. Fortunately, Kazumi was with him at all times. She assertively gazed all around them and understood the new crisis they were in.

[Vincent. Snap out of it.]

[Although being trapped with this monster is very bad, I can see strange mana fluctuations inside and outside the bear. I think the bear is currently recovering after using too much mana in a short amount of time.]

[Like how I live on mana, the bear also lives on mana. With the mana acting so chaotic both inside and around the bear, I think it will not be able to move that well.]

Vincent snapped out of his daze. He looked at the undead bear and noticed it was immobilized. The body didn’t move, and the tendrils remained intact for now.

It took a split second for Vincent to understand this was the best opportunity to make a run for it. While Vincent didn’t know how long the undead bear was going to remain immobilized, he needed to use the last of his Overheat duration and remove an earth spike for the Dullahans to escape.

“I will not move for some time. Let’s see how far we can go.” Vincent told the Dullahans before gritting his teeth and running on his injured and exhausted legs.

.....

The eight Dullahans didn’t utter a single word. They nodded once and followed after Vincent while carrying between five to eight fainted Cefeye each.

Vincent quickly arrived in front of the Dullahans gathered in a circle beside the earth spike wall. He noticed some of the fainted Dullahans had woken up, and other injured Dullahans were like the others looking at the center of the circle.

Vincent smirked while thinking, ‘I think Awa is thinking about what to do next.’

However, when Vincent approached closer, he heard two Dullahans crying. The voice was of a man and a woman. Vincent also heard Plow angrily bark as well.

Two Dullahans noticed Vincent’s approach. They moved out of his way and what was at the center of the circle became visible.

Zero’s arm was extended, and it was stabbing the corpse of a female Dullahan with an arrow in her hand. The tip of the arrow had blood on it. The woman Zero killed was none other than Labh’s mother, the previous clan chieftain.

Awa was on the ground. Her head was on her mother’s lap, and the wound in her stomach was being pressed by her father’s hand.

Plow looked at Vincent. “Awa Awa is feeling very very bad ouchie. Plow is scared.” *Pho...* Plow said in a wavering voice and tears welling in her eyes.

[This situation has taken a turn for the worse. Awa has been stabbed by the arrow in the woman’s hand. Wait! The woman Zero killed is the clan chieftain.]

Vincent focused his gaze on Awa and brought up her status window. He wanted to see if the woman he rescued, wanted to escort home, and later got him involved in a life-threatening crisis was dead or alive.

.

[Name] Awa

[Race] Dullahan

[Age] 19

[Condition] Critical Condition, Major Bleeding, Major Bloodloss

[Traits] Blood Tempered Body Stage One, Soul Link

[Class] None

[Stats] Strength 9 || Agility 4 || Perception 12 || Mana 124

.

[Awa is not dead yet. But... she is at death’s door.]

Vincent was too shocked to think clearly after watching Plow about to cry. The little time they spent with Awa was with them was enough to make them feel devastated.

Vincent moved forward, and the Cefeyes on his shoulders fell to the ground.

The eight Dullahans following Vincent noticed what was happening at the center of the commotion. They were shocked to see the person who was leading them lying under red snow colored by her blood.

Zero looked at Vincent. It pulled out its arm and told Vincent, “Zero. Failed. To. Protect. Zero. Killed. Attacker.”

[Vincent. What are you going to do now?]

[Will you use the last twenty Soul Power to save Awa’s life, or will you use it on yourself and use Soul Reset?]

[Are you going to make a run for it with Plow and Zero, or will you remain with the Dullahans?]

Vincent didn’t know how to respond.

If Vincent did as Kazumi mentioned, not only was he going to let Awa die, but so many children, unborn children, and Dullahans were going to be abandoned to die as well.

Vincent looked at his chest. A frown appeared on his face while making up his mind.

‘My last option is...’ Vincent gently shook his head. He approached Awa and her parents.

Plow ran to Vincent. She snuggled with his leg and wiped her tears. “Plow is sad.” *Pho...*

Vincent lowered to his knee. He lifted Plow and rubbed her back. “Do you want me to save Awa?” He asked.

“Yes.” *Pho!*

“Our daughter can be saved?” Amie asked after hearing Vincent mention hopeful words.

*Cough* “Can my sweet daughter.” *Cough* “Live?” Lamin asked while coughing. His current condition wasn’t that great. He was most likely staying awake because of his strong will and adrenaline.

“Yes. I can...”

“What the! The Cefeye pushed itself down!” One of the eight Dullahans who carried a lot of Cefeyes exclaimed.

Vincent turned his gaze and saw the female Cefeye with an oversized tiger’s skull on its head and a scarf around its neck standing.

The female Cefeye smelled the scent of blood, and its large eye moved on to Awa. The iris expanded when noticing Awa on the ground as if it had recognized Awa.

*Skee?* The female Cefeye muttered in a high pitch.

The female Cefeye began walking to Awa as if she was in a trance. Any frown or glare landing on her was ignored. She kept walking until arriving beside Vincent.

“What do you want?” Vincent questioned, but the Cefeye also ignored him.

“Go away.” Amie angrily said while she feared the female Cefeye could harm Awa.

“Go away, or I will fight you if you don’t.” The weak Lamin stated while letting go of Awa’s hand and clenching his fist weakly.

[What is the Cefeye going to do? Don’t tell me she intends to kill Awa?]

Vincent gently shook his head. -I feel no malice coming from the Cefeye.-

“This little one had found Awa’s body. Even though they stole her clothes, they didn’t harm the body.” Vincent gave the female Cefeye a head pat. “However, they placed Awa’s body near a small campfire they managed to light. I guess both share a small connection.”

Awa’s parents didn’t know if they should be angry or thankful. Regardless, they remained weary of the female Cefeye’s mysterious intention.

The female Cefeye lowered and grabbed some of the red snow. She bit her finger and dripped her blood on the red snow with Awa’s blood.

Afterward, the female Cefeye plucked one of its hair-like spikes from its back and placed both the snow and the hair in her mouth.

Everyone became confused as to what was happening. The female Cefeye was acting as if she was making some sort of mysterious ritual no one could comprehend.

[Vincent. I know you want to see what she is trying to do, but time is ticking. Overheat will end soon. Awa will die soon. The bear will begin to move soon.]

Just a moment before Vincent was going to respond, the female Cefeye started coughing and vomiting a large amount of blood.

The female Cefeye gave everyone the impression of losing her life for some reason. This strange occurrence caught all of their attention.

Vincent looked at both the female Cefeye and what appeared to be the hair-like needle she chewed on.

.

[Name] Cefeye

[Race] Cefeye

[Age] 2

[Condition] Critical Condition, Life Bound (Awa), Vitality Transfer (10min), Regen Transfer (10min),

[Traits] Hair Control, Hair Tail

[Stats] Strength 4 || Agility 17 || Perception 12 || Mana 0

.

[Third Eye activate.]

[Life Bound description.]

[The user has chosen to share the same fate as the being named [Awa]

[The user will die if [Awa] dies, and the user will enter a hibernation state instead of suffering death.]

[The user will share the traits with [Awa], and once a day, the user can offer boons in exchange for the user’s health.]

.

[Name] Life Bound Cefeye Hair

[Condition] Undamaged

.....

[Grade] Mythic

[Description]

A hair offered by a female Cefeye who had already passed her tail to a trusted person willingly. When this condition is met, the female Cefeye can create a hair at the cost of its health to be bound with the being who it is meant for and ingests this item.

.

[Mytic grade? This is the first time this grade has appeared. Does this mean the item is so valuable that it is a myth?]

Vincent quickly grabbed the hair. “I will feed this to Awa.” He said with a determined tone.

“That thing almost killed the Cefeye. Are you now going to feed it to my daughter?” Amie questioned urgently.

“The Cefeye has placed her health inside this hair, and only when Awa swallows the bloody hair can the vitality the Cefeye lost start transferring.”

“But...”

“Amie. My dear wife. I want to save our daughter at all costs.” Lamin said.

Amie looked at Awa. After taking a moment to think, she nodded.