Chapter 762: Chapter 763: I have you, You are safe. You will live. I will not let go.
Isabella did not have the strength to explain.
She only looked at Cyrus with desperate eyes. "Do not ask questions. Help me open it. I need to swallow it."
Normally, Cyrus would have questioned anything unknown near her mouth. Normally, with her in this state, he would have been so protective that even air would need permission to touch her. But this was Isabella. Strange things always happened around her. Strange things came from around her. Strange things had saved them before and had never harmed her.
And right now, she was begging him.
So he did not hesitate.
He took the bottle, unclasped the small glowing seal with shaking hands, and lifted it carefully to her lips. Isabella drank it in one swallow. It tasted warm, sweet, and metallic at the same time, like honey mixed with sunlight and blood.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a soft golden warmth spread through her body.
It did not take the pain away.
But something changed.
The dangerous tearing feeling inside her eased. The heat from the demon blood stopped rising wildly. Her breathing, which had been thin and broken, became a little steadier. Cyrus felt it too. The pressure he had been fighting suddenly became easier to hold, as if something had placed a shield around Isabella’s body and said that no matter how hard the birth became, it would not be allowed to kill her.
His whole body went weak with relief.
"Isabella," he breathed.
But Isabella was glaring at Bubu.
"Why is the pain still here?" she snapped. "Why is it not going down?"
Bubu floated there with an expression that somehow looked both innocent and wicked.
{It is Safe Delivery, not No Pain Delivery. I told you to buy the full package.}
Isabella almost went mad.
Even in the middle of everything, she almost went mad.
"You greedy demon! You knew I did not have enough points!"
{Debt was available.}
"I am not owing you!"
{Then pain is also available.}
The older woman stared at Isabella as if she had no idea whether the female was speaking to, herself, her ancestors, or suddenly running mad from pain.
Cyrus tightened his hold on Isabella. "What did you take?"
Isabella turned to him, still breathing hard. "It will help me deliver safely without dying."
The effect on Cyrus was instant.
He relaxed.
Not fully, because she was still in pain and the babies were still not out, but some terrible shadow that had been eating his face finally lifted. His eyes became wet for one brief moment before he blinked it away.
"You will be safe?" he asked.
Isabella nodded, though another pain was already rising. "That is what the evil thing said."
Bubu huffed.
{User is welcome.}
"I am not thanking you."
{That is fine. The payment has already been taken.}
Isabella wanted to insult it again, but the next pain hit, and all she could do was grab Cyrus’s arm and scream through it.
The women recovered quickly after that.
Whatever strange thing had happened, they could see Isabella was still in birth and needed help. The older woman checked her again and looked relieved despite her confusion. "Her body is stronger now. The birth path is opening faster."
The younger woman nodded quickly and changed the cloth under Isabella’s back. "Good. Good. Lady Isabella, listen to us. When the pain comes, breathe. When we tell you to push later, you push only then. Save your strength."
Isabella wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
Save her strength?
Where was she supposed to buy extra?
Could Bubu sell that too?
Actually, no. She should not give the system ideas.
Cyrus supported her from behind now, his chest against her back and his arms around her without pressing on her stomach. His lips stayed near her temple, and he kept murmuring to her in that low gentle voice that made her feel a little less alone even while the pain still dragged her under.
"I have you," he whispered. "You are safe. You will live. I will not let go."
The words helped.
A little.
Enough.
The birth continued.
The hours became strange after that. Sometimes Isabella thought only a few breaths had passed. Sometimes it felt like the whole winter had gone by and she was still trapped in the same pain. The women kept working. Cyrus kept holding her. Glimora stayed near her side and only moved when the women needed space. Bubu vanished again after making one last smug sound, which Isabella promised herself she would remember when she was no longer busy trying to survive childbirth.
Still, something was wrong.
The package had protected her.
It had steadied her body.
It had stopped the demon blood from pushing her toward death.
But the babies were still not coming out properly.
Cyrus felt it more clearly now that his panic had eased enough for him to think. The children were strong. Too strong. The demonic blood was not killing Isabella anymore, but it was still wrapped around them like a force that did not want to release them into the world. They were pressing downward, but their own power was resisting the final movement.
His mind raced.
What could cause that?
Fear from the children?
A blood barrier?
A demon instinct trying to keep them inside until the outside was safe?
Almost a full day had passed since the first true signs. Isabella had suffered for hours. Her body had opened. The women were ready. The room was ready. The package had activated.
So why were they still not coming?
Cyrus looked down at Isabella’s exhausted face, and dread crawled back into his chest.
Then, just as another pain began building, a loud commotion rose from outside.
It started faintly at first, beyond the stone walls and past the closed door.
Then it grew.
Shouting.
Running feet.
A sharp beast cry cutting through the winter air.
Cyrus’s head lifted at once.
The older woman froze.
Glimora’s ears shot up.
And outside the room, someone shouted loud enough for the sound to carry through the whole corridor.
