Level Up Love Life System

Chapter 8: Emergency Sync Step Activation

Felisa’s scream echoed as if shattering the fragile crystal of reality. A blinding white light exploded from her body, striking the black blade that had nearly pierced Saddam’s chest. The sword disintegrated into dust, swept away by a violent wind. Zara, standing nearby, shrieked in pain as the holy light scorched her skin. The demon recoiled, her face distorted by rage, before finally being swallowed by the darkness of the collapsing dimension.

Saddam was thrown backward, gasping for air. He watched as Felisa fell to her knees, her body trembling violently. The black armor that had once enveloped her slowly faded, shifting back into a majestic silver that now appeared dull and cracked. Saddam crawled toward her, ignoring the sharp pain radiating through his joints.

"Felisa! Are you back?" Saddam shouted, his voice hoarse.

She looked up. Her eyes, which had been glowing red, slowly returned to a clear sapphire blue, though they looked incredibly weary and hollow. She stared at the hands that had nearly used a sword to kill him. Silent tears began to fall. Felisa covered her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably from the trauma she had just endured.

Saddam didn't waste a second. He grabbed Felisa’s shoulders and pulled her into a warm embrace. He no longer cared about military regulations or the etiquette between a subordinate and a superior. He just wanted to make sure she was still there. Felisa tensed for a moment, but she finally gave in, burying her face in Saddam’s chest.

"I... I almost killed you," Felisa sobbed. Her voice sounded fragile, a far cry from the cold and untouchable Valkyrie she usually was. "I couldn't control my own hands. I saw you as an enemy, Saddam. What have I done to you?"

Saddam gently stroked Felisa’s silver hair. "That wasn't you. Zara was controlling you. You didn't do anything wrong, Captain."

"Don't call me Captain when it's just the two of us," Felisa murmured softly. She looked up, her gaze deep and full of longing. Their faces were so close that their breaths nearly mingled. "Call me Felisa. Just that."

Saddam gave a thin smile. "Alright, Felisa. We need to get out of here right now. This dimension is collapsing."

Just as Saddam spoke, a massive piece of the dimension’s ceiling crashed down around them. The ground beneath their feet began to split. Saddam grabbed Felisa’s hand and started running toward the exit, which appeared as a faint glimmer behind a purple mist. However, a stone gargoyle left over from the earlier swarm suddenly appeared and lunged at them.

Felisa tried to draw her sword, but her scabbard was empty. Her weapon had been destroyed along with the curse. Saddam glanced at his system screen, which was flashing an emergency notification.

[Skill Sync Step: Emergency teleportation active. Warning: Requires five seconds of intimate physical contact to reach a safe distance outside the dimension.]

Saddam looked at Felisa. There was no time for hesitation. He pulled her firmly by the waist, slamming her body against his chest. Felisa’s eyes widened, her face turning a deep shade of crimson due to their sudden intimacy. Saddam cupped the back of her neck and brought their faces so close that their lips were almost touching.

"Trust me," Saddam whispered.

Felisa didn't pull away. Instead, she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Saddam’s neck. They were locked in an embarrassing yet passionate embrace as the monster lunged. Just before the creature’s claws reached them, a blue light enveloped them both.

The world around them spun like a whirlpool. Saddam felt a strange sensation, as if his body were being torn apart and stitched back together. When they finally landed, they didn't hit hard ground, but rather a pile of luxury goods inside a jewelry store on Maximilianstraße.

Their landing was chaotic. Saddam was on the bottom, with Felisa sprawled on top of him in a position that left several parts of her silver armor exposed. Both were panting heavily. The jewelry store was silent, the only sound being the synchronized thumping of their hearts.

"Saddam," Felisa called out in a low voice. Her eyes were fixed on Saddam’s lip, which was bleeding from a small cut.

"Yeah?" Saddam answered, his voice husky.

Felisa didn't say anything. Instead, she leaned down, bringing her face closer to his. Saddam’s heart felt like it had stopped. Was this what they called a romance in the middle of the apocalypse? Suddenly, the store’s window shattered into pieces. Three giant stone gargoyles stood outside, staring into the shop with glowing eyes.

The monsters began to crawl into the cramped space. Felisa quickly scrambled off Saddam, her face turning cold again, though a visible blush remained. She snatched a sharp piece of metal from the wreckage of a display case to use as a makeshift weapon.

"Looks like we don't get to relax just yet," Felisa said curtly, trying to hide her nervousness.

Saddam stood up with difficulty. He could feel his muscles screaming in exhaustion, but the system screen triggered another crucial notification.

[Synchronization surged to 8 percent. Icy Connection skill active. Felisa receives a 50 percent boost to ice power.]

Felisa felt an instant change within her. The hand holding the sharp metal suddenly emitted an intense cold. The metal froze and reshaped itself into an ice blade that was even sharper than her original sword. Felisa stared at her hand in awe.

"Saddam, what did you do this time?" Felisa asked.

"I just gave you a little extra power," Saddam replied with a smirk.

One of the gargoyles lunged at them. Felisa moved with lightning speed. With a single slash, the gargoyle was cleaved in two. Blue ice erupted from the makeshift sword, spreading across the room and freezing the floor and walls of the jewelry store in an instant. Felisa looked like a beautiful goddess of death, every movement both lethal and graceful.

Saddam stood behind her, observing the attack patterns of the remaining two monsters. He saw one monster preparing an area-of-effect attack by slamming its fist into the floor.

"Felisa, get on the counter! Now!" Saddam shouted.

Without hesitation, Felisa leaped onto the sturdy wooden checkout counter. The monster slammed the floor, causing a small earthquake that shattered every diamond display case around them. Felisa didn't waste time. She leaped from the counter, spun in mid-air, and drove her ice sword directly into the monster's neck.

The second monster collapsed. Now only one remained—a larger creature with a crystal shield on its head. The monster roared, the sound shattering whatever glass was left in the store. Felisa looked slightly overwhelmed as her breathing began to turn heavy.

"My stamina is almost gone," Felisa whispered, wiping sweat from her forehead.

Saddam stepped forward and stood right beside her. He knew the only way to win this fight was to increase their synchronization level. He reached out, taking Felisa’s hand and interlacing their fingers. A warm sensation once again surged through Felisa’s body, causing her eyes to glow a bright, piercing blue.

"I'll help you," Saddam said.

The two of them braced themselves for a combined attack. The massive monster charged toward them at a terrifying speed. Felisa swung her sword while Saddam channeled every bit of his remaining mana into her hand.

Their strike hit the monster’s chest dead-on. A massive explosion of icy energy erupted. The entire jewelry store was now completely frozen solid.

The monster was held fast within a massive block of ice that reached the ceiling of the store. However, the force of the explosion was too immense. The ice began to crack and looked as if it were about to collapse right onto them.

"Saddam, look out!" Felisa screamed, throwing her arms around Saddam to shield him.

The massive block of ice came crashing down directly on top of them. Saddam felt as if the entire world had plunged into total darkness. He pulled Felisa close, clutching her tightly in the hope that they might at least survive this destruction. As the ice slammed into the floor, a thunderous boom echoed once more, and a cloud of snow-like dust blanketed everything.

Saddam could no longer feel his legs. He could only hear the sound of Felisa's breathing, which now sounded incredibly faint against his ear. He tried to summon the system, but the holographic screen only flickered dimly before finally going dark. Absolute darkness enveloped the two of them beneath the frozen ruins.

"Felisa? Are you still there?" Saddam asked, his voice raspy.

Silence. Only the lingering hiss of mana could be heard. Saddam tried to move his arm, but something heavy pinned him down. He was trapped. He tried calling out to Felisa again, but there was no response. Amidst the uncertainty, Saddam felt someone's hand gently touch his face—a touch that was both familiar and warm, yet felt as cold as the snow that was slowly beginning to bury his consciousness.

"Go to sleep, Saddam. I'll look after you now," whispered a voice that sounded remarkably like Felisa's, yet it was different—heavier and more mysterious.

Saddam tried to open his eyes, but the darkness felt far more powerful. Before he truly slipped into unconsciousness, he could see the silhouette of someone standing before him, staring at him with a gaze filled with an inexplicable hunger. It wasn't Felisa. And it wasn't the monster, either. Something older and far more dangerous had just emerged from behind the icy ruins.