"B-bastard..." Jasmine whispered, her voice faint and shaky. "I’ll... kill you..."

Those words—weak, trembling, but full of spite—cut through the haze in Arthur’s mind like a blade.

His eyes went wide open.

He froze.

His fangs retracted instantly, and he jerked his head back from her neck.

A single drop of blood fell from his lips and hit the ground.

Arthur’s breathing came fast and ragged, his chest heaving as he held Jasmine’s unconscious body in his arms. Her head lolled against his shoulder, silver hair spilling across his jacket.

"What the hell..." he muttered, staring down at her pale face. "What the hell did I just do to her...?"

His hands trembled slightly.

He looked around the alley as if seeing it for the first time.

"Wait... when did she even get here?"

Before he could process anything further, a soft chime echoed in his mind.

Then another.

And another.

System notifications began flooding his vision, one after another, stacking in glowing text that he couldn’t ignore.

[ DING ]

[ Blood Bond Established ]

[ Target: Jasmine Cael Ashford ]

[ Status: First Kin Created ]

[ Bond Type: Master–Kin Link (Permanent) ]

Arthur’s breath caught.

Another notification appeared.

[ Kin Binding Process Complete ]

[ Shared Abilities Unlocked ]

[ Talent Detected: Elemental Lord (SS-Rank) ]

[ Talent "Elemental Convergence" will now be shared through the Kin Bond. ]

[ Host may access partial elemental authority through bonded connection. ]

[ Kin may retain original talent with enhanced synchronization to Host’s abilities. ]

Arthur’s eyes went even wider.

His mouth opened, then closed.

Then he almost yelled.

"What the hell?! She’s my what now?!"

He stared down at Jasmine’s unconscious face, then back at the notifications still glowing in his vision.

"Kin?! I made her my kin?!"

His voice echoed in the empty alley.

He looked at the faint puncture marks on her neck, already beginning to close, and then at his own bloodstained fingers.

"Oh, hell no... this is bad. This is really, really bad."

Arthur stared down at the notifications still glowing faintly in his vision.

"How the hell did this happen?" he muttered.

Then he yelled.

"You bastard system! Where the hell are you?!"

A calm, emotionless voice echoed inside his head.

[ Stop yelling, Host. I’m right here. ]

"How the hell could you let this happen?!" Arthur shouted.

[ It’s not my fault, okay? You were the one who pounced on her before I could do anything. And why are you so worried? Look, you even got a good ability through her. ]

Arthur’s face twisted in frustration.

"Are you fucking retarded?!" he yelled. "She was one of the main characters—a heroine for one of the main leads!"

He ran a hand through his hair, pacing slightly while still holding Jasmine’s unconscious body.

"I wanted to beat that bastard up by repeatedly using her. Through that, I could’ve accomplished two goals—making Evangeline the queen and taking revenge on a certain bastard. But now it’s looking grim. I can already sense trouble from her."

Arthur sighed deeply, forcing himself to calm down.

"Let’s just forget it," he said quietly. "This never happened."

He opened his inventory with a flick of his wrist and pulled out a small glass vial filled with glowing red liquid—a high-grade healing potion.

He tilted Jasmine’s head gently to the side, exposing the puncture wounds on her neck, and poured the potion directly onto them.

The liquid glowed faintly as it touched her skin.

Within seconds, the wounds closed completely. Not even a blemish or scar remained.

Arthur stared at her peaceful face for a moment.

"The moment she wakes up, she’ll forget everything. That’s all," he said to himself, though his tone lacked conviction.

He adjusted his grip and lifted her properly into his arms, carrying her like a princess.

He started walking toward the palace.

"Nothing ever goes as planned," he muttered under his breath. "Fuck you, gods... if you’re watching."

He kept walking, cursing the gods with every step.

-------

Inside the city, everything was finally under control.

The monsters had been vanquished.

Mages were already hard at work, reconstructing buildings and repairing everything that had been destroyed. Stones floated through the air, walls rebuilt themselves, and broken streets smoothed over as if nothing had happened.

Evangeline and Aiden had been searching for Arthur for a while now.

But they hadn’t found him anywhere.

Aiden sighed in frustration.

"Where the hell did that guy run off to?" he said.

Evangeline frowned.

"Let’s just hope he didn’t run off to fight the demon on his own," she said quietly.

Aiden shook his head.

"Only an idiot would do that. Only someone like Miss Yuna can beat something like that single-handedly."

Evangeline glanced at him.

"Now that you mention Miss Yuna... it seems there’s some kind of connection between the two. Do you know anything about it?"

Aiden’s expression shifted.

He looked away with a sad smile.

"Yes," he said quietly. "I just recently found out. And you’ll be surprised to know... Arthur is her disciple."

Evangeline’s eyes went wide.

"He’s her disciple?" she said, disbelief clear in her voice.

Aiden nodded.

"Yes. I heard them talking." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Evangeline sighed.

"Then why are you sad? It’s good for us." She paused. "I wonder just how much he’s hiding from us..."

Suddenly, a voice came from behind them.

"Hiding what? And from who?"

Both of them froze.

They turned around.

An unbelievable sight appeared before them.

Arthur was standing there, holding Jasmine in his arms like a princess, her silver hair spilling over his forearm.

Evangeline and Aiden both ran toward him.

"Where the hell were you?!" Evangeline yelled.

Aiden looked at Jasmine’s unconscious face.

"And what happened to her?" he asked, concern clear in his voice.

Arthur shrugged.

"Nothing happened to her. She’s just unconscious. Must’ve pushed herself too far."

He walked forward and handed Jasmine over to Aiden without ceremony.

"Now she’s your problem," Arthur said flatly.

He turned to Evangeline.

"The first prince—he was behind the attack. Aiden knows. He’s seen the people who helped him. Now you two can go and capture them."

Aiden blinked.

"Are you talking about the guys we saw in the hall?" he asked.

Arthur nodded.

"Yes. Those guys. Now go. I’m going to rest. I’m tired."

He turned and started walking away.

"Arthur, wait—" Evangeline called.

"Arthur!" Aiden shouted.

But Arthur didn’t stop.

He kept walking.

Suddenly, two more people stepped into his path, blocking his way.

It was Yuna and Queen Eliana.

Yuna looked angry, her arms crossed and her eyes sharp.

Eliana, on the other hand, was smiling at him—but it was the kind of smile that promised trouble.

Arthur stopped in his tracks.

As he took a deep breath.

"Just my luck," he muttered.