The voice was deep, strong, and ragged with emotion. Evelise gasped, letting go of the banister, and ran. She completely ignored Sid, the destruction, and the awkward situation. She rushed to the massive, kneeling figure and imdiately threw her arms around the knight’s neck, burying her face against the woman’s shoulder.
"Yes! It’s ! Oshan, it’s !"
Evelise cried out, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.
Oshan, the knight guard, froze for a mont, then shuddered violently. Evelise pulled back just enough to reach up and remove the heavy steel helt. What was revealed was a strikingly beautiful innocent looking woman with sharp, strong features and light blue hair pulled back into a simple ponytail. Sid, watching from his position near the door, slapped his forehead lightly.
"Oh my god, I knew it! That’s the guard— the butler looking brute who was always glued to Evelise side back in the Dead Chapter!"
He muttered under his breath, realizing he’d recognized her secondary form. Tears stread down Oshan’s face as she looked at Evelise.
"Lady Evelise... how? How am I alive again? And how are you alive? W-what is happening? I saw you in the cathedral— you were being eaten! How... how is this possible? All this ti, I just rember... the eternal cold..."
Evelise pointed a trembling, tear filled finger at her.
"Slow down, Osha. I know that feeling too, the eternal cold, the darkness. I’m just glad you’re alive. You’re safe now."
"No, I’m glad you’re safe, Lady Evelise... but who saved us? Who brought us back?"
"By him!"
She shouted, her voice breaking.
"That... that necrophiliac freak touched you, and then sohow a miracle happened! It revived you— us!"
"Hey! Maybe try being thankful before throwing around insults."
Sid said weakly, rubbing his temples.
Oshan, ignoring Sid’s objection, pushed herself to her feet with a grunt, displaying her enormous, powerful fra clad only in her undergarnts. She stood for a beat, processing the impossible reality, then she imdiately bowed down lowto Sid, a gesture of profound respect that shook her whole body.
"Thank you, Sir."
Oshan’s voice trembled with genuine emotion.
"Thank you for giving life again, even after I failed my Lady."
Sid was genuinely touched. The raw, heartfelt gratitude almost made him tear up, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in years. He quickly composed himself, replacing the emotion with his usual bravado.
"Y-yeah, no problem. It’s what heroes do... hehe!"
He said, trying to sound cool but clearly flustered. Then he leaned closer to Evelise, making a teasing face.
"That’s how you say thanks after I revived you, Evelise— not by slapping !"
Evelise rolled her eyes, but before she could answer, she suddenly realized Oshan was standing there, almost naked in front of Sid. Her face turned crimson, and she let out a sharp, furious shout.
"Sid! Her clothes! Give her your jacket, you idiot!"
Sid, jarred from his sentintal mont, quickly shrugged off his strear jacket and tossed it to Evelise, who draped it protectively over Oshan’s shoulders.
"Th- thank you again Sir."
Oshan pulled the jacket tight, her expression shifting to remorse.
"Lady Evelise, I am so sorry."
She said, her head bowed again.
"I failed my duty. As your personal knight guard, I let you be bitten... I deserve death. Throw in the torture chamber!"
Sid’s eyes widened.
"Whoa, hold up! That’s way too much! I just brought you back to life— don’t go throwing it away already!"
Evelise grabbed Oshan’s large hands, holding them tightly.
"No, Oshan. You don’t fail ."
She said firmly, her own tears finally stopping.
"I was the one who failed myself and chose to beco dead."
Sid stood back, leaning on the cracked marble, his eyes genuinely tearing up as he watched the two won— the forr noble and her personal guard, who looked more like sisters... comforting each other. He had done it again. He had revived two zombie girls, one a SSR herbalist beauty and the other an SSR Tank. He had unknowingly rebuilt a family.
"This is... actually kinda good."
He whispered, wiping a tear before it could fall. The cold midnight air drifted through the ruins, and under the pale moonlight, the three of them stood together— finding a rare mont of warmth in the apocalypse.
Sid, watching the display, felt a genuine warmth that was quickly shattered by an uncomfortable mory.
"Yeah, this is great, guys. Really heartwarming," Sid muttered, limping forward, clutching his sore ribs. "But it would be even warr if soone—cough, Evelise, cough—could explain why I woke up with my head pounding after you gave a sleeping pill the size of my thumb and snuck out of the cabin without ?"
Evelise, mid-hug with Oshan, flinched. The joy on her face clouded over, replaced by a montary flash of guilt. She didn’t answer directly. Instead, she pushed away from Oshan and scanned the chaotic hallway, her voice gaining a desperate, practical edge.
"Thank you, Sid. Really. You saved us both..."
She said, carefully sidestepping the topic of the drug.
"Seeing YOUR BUSTED KNEE... it reminds why I ca here."
She reached down, pulling a large, heavily stuffed shoulder bag from beneath the folds of the velvet curtain. When she dropped it, it hit the marble floor with a heavy, clattering sound like dozens of glass bottles packed together.
Evelise then glanced sharply at Sid’s braced right knee, her eyes narrowed with concern and annoyance.
"Your knee is so f*cked up, you know that? What did I tell you?"
She scolded. Her voice shot up, morphing into a commanding tone.
"I ordered you to stay in bed and recover! What possible reason could you have for climbing two flights of stairs and getting into a death match?"
Sid managed a shaky grin, his tone deliberately intimate.
"It’s obvious, Evelise. Without you by my side, I might lose my mind out there."
He gestured vaguely at the zombie infested wasteland outside.
"I ca after you."
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