“Muahaha~ I am the Goddess of Necromancy! Mortals, kneel before me!”
As a black-and-white divine aura rippled outward, a certain white-haired loli was blown away by the sheer force, tumbling several times on the ground in a disheveled heap!
Meanwhile, the majestic Goddess of Necromancy sat with her legs crossed on her divine throne, looking down with disdain at the kneeling figures below.
“You there! Come forward~ Kiss the back of my foot~” she said, slowly extending her slender, beautiful leg, presenting her delicate foot to Elea, who was kneeling on the ground.
“Great…Great Goddess of Necromancy, I am your humble servant~”
Watching the girl reverently take her foot in both hands and plant a pious kiss, Vail felt an immense sense of elevation and satisfaction!
Hahaha~
This is the majesty of a goddess…
This is…huh?
Suddenly, she felt like she couldn’t breathe…
Looking closer, the white-haired loli who had been devoutly kneeling before her had transformed into a massive white-scaled, red-eyed python, coiling tightly around her!
A pair of crimson eyes glared at her maliciously!
“Wahhh!!”
Whoosh!!
The next second, Vail’s eyes snapped open, and she looked around in confusion.
The reason she couldn’t breathe was because a certain wicked woman was pinching her nose with one hand and covering her mouth with the other!
“Wahhh…huff, huff…you…”
The moment she broke free from the grip, a translucent, crystalline thread stretched between Vail’s lips and the wicked woman’s palm.
Hm?
Ignoring Vail’s resentful, accusing gaze, Elea frowned, looking at the glistening patch on her palm.
It wasn’t that she found it dirty, but…in that glistening patch, in Vail’s saliva…
Elea saw a darkness.
“This…”
The young lady brought her palm to her nose and gently sniffed.
Cold, silent, decayed…it was the scent of death!
This was a death aura ten, no, a hundred times purer than the black mist she had conjured from her runes, which couldn’t connect to the realm of the dead.
Without caring that the other three were watching, Elea immediately…licked her palm.
Whoosh—!!
Instantly, a dense aura of death surged through her mouth and into her body!
At that moment, even Yumina and Jenny could clearly see black mist swirling around Elea, forming skeletal hands that seemed to lift the young lady upward.
Her already crimson eyes seemed to glow even brighter in that moment, emitting an eerie, profound light in the dim room.
Have I…broken through?
She had spent three days and nights researching in this room, unable to grasp the key, concluding that this world had no “underworld” and thus no way to access necromantic magic.
And now, just by licking the “residue” of this useless goddess…she had broken through?!
Thinking of this, Elea stiffly turned her head, her glowing crimson eyes fixing on the still-dazed goddess sitting on the floor.
“You’ve been hiding this from me?”
Perhaps because she had just broken through, Elea was struggling to control her magical output.
Her words seemed to resonate with a soul-shaking force, causing Yumina and Jenny, standing nearby, to cover their ears with pained expressions.
“Huh? Hiding…hiding what?”
Vail blinked, startled, then widened her eyes at Elea.
This girl…had she actually become a necromancer?!
When did this happen?
Didn’t she say she’d made no progress, unable to connect to this world’s underworld?
And didn’t this world not have an underworld…?
Hm…
Leaning closer, Elea carefully studied Vail’s expression.
“W-What are you doing?”
Vail’s body trembled, her eyes locked on the electric prod in Elea’s hand.
Hm?
She doesn’t seem to be lying?
“You…really don’t know anything?”
Elea’s voice gradually lost its soul-shaking quality, and the glow in her eyes began to fade.
“What? Should I know something?”
Vail felt like crying but had no tears, her dark eyes blinking innocently.
After thinking for five seconds, Elea slowly stood up and turned to Jenny.
“Your task is to gather intelligence and build your own network in this city. Be ready for my orders at any time.”
As Elea finished speaking, Yumina, without needing any prompting, untied the money pouch from her waist and placed it in Jenny’s hands with a smile.
Clink…
Ugh?!
So heavy…
Still reeling from the earlier soul-shaking moment, Jenny dazedly peeked into the pouch.
It was glittering…all gold coins…at least two hundred of them, right?
Her father’s weekly stipend was only thirty-five silver coins.
Two hundred gold coins were worth more than double her family’s entire savings…
“This… this…”
Jenny was at a loss for words.
She had only just met this young lady, right?!
Were gold coins…really worth so little?
“This is initial funding. It’s a bit modest, but that’s normal. Once you show results, you’ll get more. For now…go get yourself some decent clothes~”
Before Jenny could ask, Yumina cut her off.
Huh?
Modest?
I…
Jenny felt her worldview rapidly collapsing and rebuilding, finally settling on the towering figure of the young lady.
“Yes…yes! I’ll go through fire and water for the Young Lady, no matter what!”
This time, her words carried even more conviction than before.
“Phew, alright, go prepare. I’ll contact you when needed…”
Elea rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
“When we gather in three days, hire some skilled hands, or…you could bring your father along.”
A knight certified by the kingdom, even if only in training, would undoubtedly be stronger than an average mercenary.
“Yes, Young Lady!”
Jenny quickly bowed, adopting the same form of address as Yumina, calling Elea “Young Lady.”
As Jenny left the room, Elea finally turned her devilish attention to the pitiful goddess, Vail.
“Yumina, go stand guard at the door.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
“Huh? W-What are you going to do?!”
Watching Yumina’s retreating figure, Vail desperately wanted to stop her but could only flail helplessly.
Click!
As the door closed, the candles burning on the wall seemed to dim slightly, as if stirred by a breeze.
Step, step, step…
Vail’s face was covered in question marks as she watched the Young Lady approach and kneel on one knee before her.
What’s…what’s going on?
What does she want?
What should I do?
“Behave.”
Whoosh!!
The next second, before the goddess could process her thoughts, her collar was seized.
Suddenly, her vision went dark!
Something seemed to press against her!
A sweet, cloying sensation filled her nose…
Soft, warm, moist.
It felt like her tongue was being stolen…breathing…becoming harder and harder…
Why was she feeling like this?