Would you like to use life force?

Looking up at her fiancé, she studied him one last time.

Samuel was a tall, muscular man, befitting of his class as a swordsman. He had his battle gear on, compromising of metal armour on his body, a longsword and a medium metal shield. The armour he had on was drenched in blood, but the clear silver sheen of the polished metal still shone through, giving the feeling of a heroic man, returning from war. And maybe, in some ways, this was true.

His short, light brown hair, which was usually carefully styled, was a mess. A clear proof of the challenge this battle had been. His moss green eyes, which she had tricked herself into believing showed his love, were finally revealed to her. She could now clearly see the contempt he had so sloppily hidden from her before. The contempt that didn't fit in with her yearned reality, the contempt she had previously ignored.

Evelyn felt her carefully constructed world shatter like broken glass. Forced to face reality, she felt something snap inside her.

Her heart, previously filled with love for this man, now only held hatred. The look in his eyes and the words he had spoken were enough for her to finally accept the truth; everything was a lie.

She had lied to herself for as long as she could remember, telling herself that everything was okay. But she was done now. In her final moments, she accepted it. They had never loved her, not any of them. They had used, abused and neglected her… and she had let them.

Taking a final look at the man above her, she decided.

'Even if I die now, I refuse to die alone.'

Doing her best to turn over, she crawled towards the dying monster behind them. Every move of her body hurt, and it was getting harder to breathe with every second as blood blocked her airways.

"Evelyn, what are you doing now?" Samuel's voice sounded from behind her. "Do you really think anything will change if you move away from me? You will die either way! You can't heal yourself, and there is no-one around to save you!"

His laughter followed her as she crawled away, but she could barely hear him. His voice sounding as a requiem calling her towards her demise. She ignored it. The only thought in her mind was to get revenge. Only a few meters left. She was almost at the monster's body.

The big, black silhouette was lying in front of her. With her vision faltering, she could now only see the outline of the large shape, but she knew it was still alive. There had been no message of it dying, and that was her hope.

Reaching it, she put her hand on the rough surface of it skin, feeling its scales cutting into her hand. She ignored it.

Using the last of her strength, she activated the healing. She had never tried healing a monster before, but the familiar warmth that came with healing gave her some comfort.

* Insufficient Mana and Willpower available for healing. Would you like to use life force?*

The systems familiar message rang in her head. It was a message she had heard often when she first started healing for her parents. She had never told them using life force was a possibility when her strength was lacking, afraid of what they might have demanded of her. As her skill level had gotten higher, the range and severity of wounds and diseases she could heal had increased.

But now, she was happy the possibility was there. Mentally telling the system yes, she felt her remaining energy sap out of her. An excruciating pain shot through her numb body. Her whole body shook, but she kept her hand firmly on the monster, making sure there were no interruptions in her healing. The scales kept digging into her hand, cutting deeper as her blood flowed, but she barely sensed it. The pain from using her own life force was too overwhelming and blocked everything else out.

Tears streamed down her face and a scream escaped her lips as the agony became too much. Never had she thought a pain like this could exist. But she kept going, sending her life force into the monster to the best of her abilities. For her revenge, she could endure it all. After all, ignoring her own pain was something she had grown accustomed to long ago.

As ripple after ripple of agony shot through her body, the pain kept her awake. Her mind that had slowly been drifting away, stealing her vision, was awakened once more.

The sound of her gurgled screams and the coughs caused by blood filling her airways was accompanied by the sound of Samuel's shouting. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but he sounded desperate. Scared.

The blood kept dripping out of her mouth as the coughing finally stopped. And then she smiled.

The pain was finally gone. She could still feel her life force healing the monster, but it was no longer accompanied by pain or hurt. Only a feeling of calmness. Peace. Tranquillity.

She let out a final breath, allowing her life to end, content with her last effort. She had felt the monster stir under her palm, which gave her a hopeful comfort.

'So healing monsters was possible after all.'

Feeling her body get lulled away to darkness, she faintly heard the systems voice telling her she had unlocked a new class.

  *New class: Black Healer*

Congratulations! You have completed the hidden legendary quest, healing an S-ranked monster on its last breath by sacrificing yourself. Your immensely caring heart should be an inspiration to all healers, both human and monsters alike! For not caring for the wounded's different race and even sacrificing the last of your own life fore, you have been given a new chance at life.