Wait… that’s not how your script is supposed to go. Rhys had the strange urge to say those exact words out loud, but the situation around them didn’t give him the chance. The Abyssals quickly recovered from the sudden ambush and began pushing back against the familiars. Their numbers were simply overwhelming. Even with Xander’s group assisting, the monsters still outnumbered them. Rhys narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t bring himself to fully trust Xander and his companions. Still, this chaos created a perfect opportunity. “Gaelion!” The wolf immediately reacted. With a powerful leap, Gaelion lunged toward one of the Abyssals that was already locked in combat with a hobgoblin. The hobgoblin flinched in surprise when the wolf suddenly appeared beside it. However, Gaelion’s movements were precise. His tail flicked through the air with incredible accuracy, slicing straight through the Abyssal while avoiding the hobgoblin entirely. Once the hobgoblin realized what had happened, it

“I think I found the solution.” Rhys smiled faintly as he said those words. The person who had just arrived at his campsite was none other than Maeve. He had no idea how she had ended up wandering this far, but one glance was enough for him to realize that something was wrong. Her condition was terrible. Dark circles hung heavily beneath her eyes, her skin looked pale, and her entire posture seemed unstable. She swayed slightly as she stood there, as if her body could collapse at any moment. Compared to her, even Xander and his group had looked far more energetic. Behind her, the vampire familiar still carried her usual calm demeanor, but the tension in her eyes revealed how worried she truly was. “Well, well…” Rhys narrowed his eyes slightly. “To what do I owe the pleasure of two lovely ladies visiting my camp?” He tilted his head with a teasing smile. “Did you come all this way just to surrender?” Maeve immediately bit her lip. She hadn’t expected Rhys to look this relaxe

“Why were you even born as a woman?!” The shrill scream echoed through the large mansion, sharp enough to pierce the silence of the hallways. Inside one of the distant rooms, an eight-year-old Maeve sat curled up on the floor. She pressed her hands tightly against her ears, trying to block out the voice that continued raging somewhere beyond the door. Her small body trembled. She buried her face into her knees, biting her lips to keep herself from crying out loud. In her heart, she wanted to scream back. Shut up. But the words never left her mouth. “Father… please help me…” The words slipped out weakly, barely louder than a whisper. If her father had been there, things would have been different. She was certain of it. Every memory she had of him was bright and warm, filled with colors and laughter that seemed to belong to a completely different life. Her father’s voice echoed softly in her mind. “I know you’ll grow up to be strong, Maeve.” “You are my pride and joy.” “

“Mmm…?” A faint sound escaped Maeve’s lips as her eyes slowly opened. “…It’s warm.” Her voice came out rough, as though her throat had gone dry from exhaustion. Her muscles ached, and her entire body still felt heavy, but strangely enough, her mind felt far clearer than before. The cold that had tormented her earlier was gone. “You’re awake?” Rhys’s voice reached her ears. The sound instantly reminded her of the events before she lost consciousness. “!” Maeve jerked upright in surprise. Her eyes widened as she realized Rhys was sitting beside her. Well… not exactly beside her. A line of neatly arranged stones separated them, forming a small barrier between two shallow trenches in the ground. “I…” She didn’t know what to say. Rhys raised a hand casually and pointed toward Risa. “Just to be clear,” he said calmly, “I didn’t do anything strange. I only moved you here. Your familiar saw everything.” Maeve quickly turned her head. Risa stood nearby, calmly stirring someth

Both of them returned to the shelter soon afterward. Maeve and Risa were already preparing for the fight. But the moment they saw Gaelion, both of them froze. The wolf was much larger than before. With his current size, there was no way he could sit comfortably on Rhys’s head like he used to. Maeve stared at him in disbelief. “…You grew?” Her eyes shifted back and forth between Rhys and Gaelion. “Yeah,” Rhys said casually. “With this, our chances against the Abyssal just improved.” Maeve frowned slightly. Familiars becoming stronger wasn’t unusual. But dramatic physical changes like this usually only happened when a creature evolved into a higher race. Gaelion hadn’t evolved. He had simply regained part of his original strength. “Enough talking,” Gaelion grumbled impatiently. “Eat faster.” His tail flicked irritably. “I’m getting tired of waiting.” “I want to tear that Abyssal apart already.” As they walked back toward the campfire, Maeve couldn’t stop thinking abo