Please Use My Body

The bonfire burned, dry wood cracking, illuminating every corner of the night.

A faint glow rested on the tip of her nose.

Hazy and warm.

Xu Xi's eyes were slightly closed, the shadows of flames flickering across his face.

He was reminiscing—about his observations of Servia, as well as the past she had recounted. In the end, all the anomalies had found a reasonable explanation.

Because of that hideous face.

Because of that tragic, painful life.

The girl subconsciously avoided her undead self.

She donned armor.

Grasped a sharp sword.

Adopting the identity of a "hero," she approached the village, earning the trust of its people.

At the same time, Servia's wariness toward Xu Xi's identity as a sorcerer also stemmed from past events.

A sorcerer had destroyed the girl's home.

Turning her into something neither human nor ghost.

In truth.

Even now, Xu Xi could sense a faint trace of vigilance—buried deep in her heart, an instinctive reaction born of fear.

"Great Sorcerer, may I ask..."

"Why did you save me?"

The dry wood burned fiercely, crackling incessantly.

Orange-yellow flames reflected off the armor, casting patches of rust-stained yellow. The undead girl, puzzled, voiced the question that had weighed on her for so long.

To this.

Xu Xi did not hide the truth.

He admitted that her courage had moved him—and that he was intrigued by her state of existence.

"Your condition is unique, suspended between life and death, maintaining a delicate balance. I find it fascinating," Xu Xi said.

Servia suddenly understood.

She lowered her head, examining her skeletal hands.

Then touched her face.

Indeed, even in these times when the undead roamed freely, her body was an extraordinary case.

Ordinary people would recoil in fear, but for someone like Xu Xi, a sorcerer, it was only natural to be curious—even to desire studying it.

"Of course. Feel free to use my body as you wish."

The undead girl agreed without hesitation.

She was already dead.

Devoid of flesh, only bones remained.

If she could assist Xu Xi, repaying the debt of his saving her life, she had no objections to lending him her body.

Besides.

Servia herself was curious about her own condition. Perhaps Xu Xi, as a sorcerer, could provide a proper explanation.

The two reached an agreement swiftly, deciding to begin their research the next day.

The bonfire swayed in the night breeze.

Now leaning left.

Now tilting right.

Dancing gracefully, illuminating everything around them.

Perhaps it had been too long since she had spoken normally with another person, but the girl's spirits were unusually high, her questions endless.

"Great Sorcerer, how do sorcerers cultivate their powers?"

"Great Sorcerer, what has become of the world outside?"

"Great Sorcerer..."

"Great Sorcerer..."

Xu Xi patiently answered each of Servia's inquiries.

It was nothing much.

Just a soul, long isolated, eagerly venting its pent-up frustrations. Xu Xi understood that feeling well.

Finally, after answering her last question, Xu Xi asked in return:

"Servia, have you ever thought about the future?"

The future...

Her cheerful mood came to an abrupt halt.

The girl fell silent, forcing a smile with that horrifying visage. "I suppose... I'll keep being a hero. The people here still need me."

"Have you never considered leaving?"

"I have, but... they need me."

Hugging her knees, she lowered her head.

Servia's voice was tinged with loneliness.

Was it that the villagers needed a false hero, or was it the false hero who couldn't bear to leave them? Even she couldn't discern the truth anymore.

Hiss—

Xu Xi tapped the bonfire with a finger.

The dimming flames roared back to life, surging fiercely.

He didn't look at Servia, didn't gaze upon that desolate expression. Instead, he watched the wild dance of the fire and spoke softly:

"Servia, you're actually quite remarkable."

"Great Sorcerer, are you... referring to me?"

"Yes."

The girl's astonishment was palpable, her emerald-green eyes wide with disbelief. Never had she imagined that Xu Xi—who had obliterated a minotaur undead with a single spell—would praise someone as weak as her.

The clanking of metal echoed.

The sound of armored plates colliding.

"I think... you must be mistaken."

Servia shook her head, rejecting Xu Xi's words. "I'm not strong. On the contrary, I'm weak."

"You've saved many people, Servia."

"But... I'm not a real hero. I can't save everyone. I don't have true power."

The undead girl was lost, still denying Xu Xi's words.

Did saving others make her remarkable?

Compared to those she had rescued, there were far more things she couldn't do.

She couldn't bring her deceased parents back to life.

She couldn't defeat powerful undead.

She couldn't save the lives that slipped away before her eyes.

She was powerless.

"That alone is remarkable, Servia," Xu Xi's voice remained gentle, his eyes reflecting the blazing fire. The flickering light cast shifting patterns across the undead armor, painting the girl in an unusual hue.

To fight despite fear.

To fight despite hopeless odds.

Even a true hero.

Might not possess her perseverance.

And so, Xu Xi believed Servia was extraordinary.

Though her appearance was grotesque, a monster in the eyes of ordinary people, her spirit—unseen by most—shone brilliantly. A soul truly radiant and beautiful.

"I..."

The undead girl sat quietly, her skeletal hands clasped together beneath the armor.

There was so much she wanted to say.

That she wasn't as noble as Xu Xi claimed.

That she saved others partly out of her own loneliness.

So many things.

Too many words.

But in the end, all of them dissolved into the silence of her soulfire. Nothing left to say, only the trembling of cold armor encasing a spirit.

"BOOM!!!"

Thunder roared.

The rain, which had ceased earlier, returned with a vengeance.

The hero Servia shivered in fright.

"Are you alright, Servia?"

"G-Great Sorcerer, I'm... I'm fine..." Servia forced a steady voice, though it trembled.

In that moment.

Xu Xi wondered if he had misjudged her.

[You saved the "hero" on the brink of death.]

[And from the "hero's" own words, learned of her tragic life.]

[Servia Clawphire]

[Once the rising star of the Clawphire Family, destined for a bright future and a happy life—until a necromancer's spell turned her into a half-human, half-undead aberration.]

[She is a false hero struggling in the darkness, yet also a true hero who fights to save others.]

[You acknowledged the girl's deeds and formed a partnership with her. In return for your aid, Servia agreed to let you study her body.]

[Tonight, thunder rages.]

[Hero Servia encounters the storm, fighting valiantly but ultimately defeated.]

[Hero Servia has fallen.]

[Hero Servia curls into a ball.]

"Great Sorcerer, p-please don't look at me..."

"It's... a bit embarrassing..."

Thus spoke the hero Servia.