I felt relief the moment I saw the body of the demon collapse. I made sure her eyes never landed on me, not even in death.
I waited a full minute.
Then I walked to her head and grabbed her hair from behind, holding it in a way that kept her eyes from facing me.
I dug a small hole in the cave and buried the head, forcing the eyes to face downward.
Only after finishing did I hear Natasha's hoarse voice. She hadn't spoken since I killed Laura.
"So… you're cautious. You think that wasn't her first death?"
I walked over and sat in front of her.
"Caution is necessary in situations like this. I don't want to earn the hatred of a demon close to the Third Level."
Natasha smiled faintly.
"Who are you? And why did you save me and kill that demon?"
Honestly, several clever answers crossed my mind. The kind that would make me sound heroic.
But I decided to tell the truth instead. Maybe it would calm her.
"I'm not really sure. I didn't want a beauty like you to die."
Natasha's eyes widened in shock.
"Beauty? Don't you see the torn skin on my face? The ugly wound in my stomach? Are you mocking me, boy?"
I raised my hands in surrender.
"Sorry if it sounded sarcastic. But I truly find you… interesting."
I pointed lightly at her face.
"Beauty isn't always about the face. You're attractive in other ways. And even that face can be fixed with regeneration doses."
Some of the tension left her expression.
She looked up at the cave ceiling.
"Hah… I thought I survived, only to be saved by a pervert with strange ideas. That doesn't sound very reassuring."
My jaw dropped.
"What? Did you call your saviour a pervert?"
Natasha looked at me with clear disgust.
"If you're not a pervert, then what is that supposed to mean?"
She pointed with her tongue toward my pants.
I blinked in confusion and followed her gaze downward.
A heavy bulge.
For a moment I almost covered my face.
I quickly adjusted my pants to hide it and looked back at her apologetically.
"I apologise again. That happened because of that demon. You know her magic. I didn't have time to deal with it while I was hiding."
Natasha's suspicion didn't fade.
"If that's the case, then why didn't it disappear after she died? It should've vanished, right?"
I answered immediately.
"I can't explain that. It involves some of my secrets. And besides… You called me a pervert. So who exactly was looking at that area?"
Without answering my question, Natasha muttered,
"As expected… all men are perverts. Imagine that. Out of all creatures, I run into a perverted human in the Abyss."
A sudden wave of anger surged through me.
"Say that again. At least we men aren't ungrateful enough to call our saviour a pervert. Damn… what a waste of my first good deed for a creature biased against men."
Silence filled the dark cave. Only the faint light remained.
My response seemed to shut her up.
I noticed the hostility in her eyes slowly fade. She took a few minutes to calm herself before speaking again.
"I'm sorry, my saviour. I went through something terrible not long ago. The betrayal… and everything that followed… it still affects me. I truly apologise. That was my mistake."
Her apology cooled my anger quickly.
Honestly, I had been furious.
Imagine saving someone only to be accused like that.
To be fair, she had logical reasons for suspecting me. But given the situation, it should've been obvious that the demon was responsible.
As for my body's reaction… well.
Part of it came from the unnatural strength and vitality of my body at my level.
And part of it was simply because I was still a young man who had never experienced something like that before.
Of course, I couldn't say that out loud.
That was one of my secrets. A hidden advantage.
When I snapped out of my thoughts, I moved closer and began removing her restraints.
That demon had been truly vicious.
Parts of the chains were embedded deep inside Natasha's wrists.
Large sections of her skin were torn and cracked.
My respect for her rose instantly.
To hold a conversation in such a condition… required real strength.
Maybe I could do the same.
But that would probably be because I was a vampire.
She had endured it as a human.
Despite the painful groans that escaped her while I removed the chains, she never resisted me.
The moment the last restraint came off, she collapsed forward.
I caught her before she hit the ground.
Then I used my bracelet and pulled out several recovery potions, spraying them over her wounds.
After four full bottles, the injuries started to heal. Her condition improved quickly.
I gave her a large coat once her fever began to drop.
She never spoke during all this.
Nor did she resist.
The only thing I noticed was small tremors whenever I had to touch her.
It wasn't hard to guess why.
She had probably suffered something terrible at the hands of men.
To start the conversation without forcing it, I first gave her some water. She was clearly dehydrated.
Even then, she didn't ask me anything.
Pride, I suppose.
So I spoke first.
"Do you feel better?"
Natasha looked at me with clear gratitude.
"Thank you. If I live through this… I will repay this debt."
I smiled slightly.
"Of course. Just remember, the interest on that debt is extremely high."
She answered immediately, completely serious.
"It should be high. That's only fitting for someone who saved my life. I will be very generous, boy."
I frowned.
"Are you pretending… or did you really not notice I was joking?"
She drank slowly from the water before replying.
"Boy… free help can sometimes be more expensive than paid help."