Tatatata…
The empty spiral staircase wound endlessly downward.
Along the way there were doors and hallways, proof that many rooms lay here, storing who knows what.
But Amisa didn’t take them into any of these rooms.
She just kept descending until they reached what was roughly the third basement level, and stopped in front of a large iron door.
“My lady, please change into these clothes first. It might be a bit cold inside,” Amisa walked over to the side of the iron door, opening a nearby chest.
Inside were coats, pants, hats, and gloves—clothes one would only wear in the depths of winter.
In fact, even just standing out here, they could already feel it.
The temperature down here was at least ten degrees lower than above ground…
Without anything to keep warm, they’d probably be sneezing in no time.
Whoosh…
The group bundled into the thick clothes, and at that moment, Amisa reached out…and pushed open the iron door in front of them.
Creak—!
The heavy door slowly swung open, and a burst of bone-piercing cold and damp air rushed out from the gap!
“Hiss—”
Yumina instinctively pulled her coat tighter around herself, staring into the dim room beyond and swallowing nervously.
The unknown…was always the most terrifying.
Clap clap!
But…it was the same routine.
Amisa simply clapped her hands twice where she stood, and the inside of the space instantly lit up bright as day.
Only then…did the three of them realize.
Right.
This was their own house, not some creepy underground tomb or dungeon.
“My lady?”
Seeing Ilea frozen for a moment, Amisa tilted her head slightly and called out in mild confusion.
“Ah…let’s go. What’s inside?”
“It’s some research material the madam prepared for you after learning your powers were related to death—the corpse of a follower of a higher being.”
Amisa answered plainly, with no attempt to hide anything.
A follower of a higher being’s corpse?
No wonder…
Veil had said it smelled like a corpse down here.
Ilea’s eyes lit up slightly.
She did indeed need some powerful corpses as research subjects right now…
Her dear mother really was incredible, managing to get her hands on something like this.
As they chatted, the three of them walked into the iron door.
The space inside wasn’t huge, about a hundred square meters.
All around were jars and bottles of various kinds…
But most eye-catching of all was the stone table in the center.
On top of it…lay something that looked…quite humanoid.
The creature was about two meters tall, with a very sturdy build.
Its body was covered in greenish scales, with thin webbing between its hands and feet.
Its head was something like a fish…or a lizard?
But whatever it was, its eyes were now clouded over, and its body could no longer move.
This was a corpse, and a very dangerous one in life…
As a necromancer, Ilea could tell at a glance.
“A Small-Scaled Deep Dragon Fishman. Legend says they are the followers of the higher being ‘Drowning Abyss’.
These creatures, according to the tales… were originally just coastal fishermen, cursed into this form after harvesting shells and fishing.”
As Ilea approached the corpse, Amisa quietly explained at her side.
“Followers…”
Ilea reached out and pinched the fishman’s arm.
The muscle was very firm, but completely lifeless.
Still, if she could revive it as a zombie, it would probably become a very strong asset.
“By the way, if you used the flesh and blood of this thing as a material, could you become a transcendent being?”
Ilea looked curiously at Amisa.
Now she was certain.
This seemingly timid maid was absolutely not as simple as she appeared on the surface.
“In theory it’s possible. But if you consumed it recklessly, there’s a high chance you’d be transformed into a similar kind of follower, or your mind could become unstable…”
Amisa’s voice was still soft and timid, but what she said was exceedingly clear.
“The most valuable parts of the Small-Scaled Deep Dragon Fishman are its gills, scales, and blood. The gills can be used to craft magical items, the scales are great material for inner armor, and the blood is an excellent transcendent reagent. As for me…the most valuable part should be…this skeleton.”
After listening to Amisa, Ilea stroked her chin and came to this conclusion.
“Alright then, my lady, I’ll wait outside by the door. If you need anything, just call me. If you have questions, feel free to look through the books nearby.”
Having explained the basics, Amisa bowed slightly to Ilea.
“Mm, go ahead.”
This girl really knew her place—knew what she should and shouldn’t see…
Watching her figure retreat, Ilea once again felt curious about this bespectacled maid.
Maybe…she should ask her mother if she could have her?
Clack!
As the iron door closed, only three girls were left in the room.
“Veil, do you think if we used the wandering souls in this scroll to revive this corpse, it would work?”
Ilea took out the yellowed parchment from her bosom and placed it next to the fishman’s corpse.
Eh?
How should I know something like that…
Veil held back the urge to roll her eyes at this wicked woman, pretending to think for a second.
“Probably not~ Those souls are too weak.”
“Hmm~ If you keep slacking off like this, I’ll cut off all your desserts for a month. And replace all your dinners with boiled green peppers…”
“Cough cough, wait! I’ll think of something!”
Veil instantly perked up, giving her nominal master a resentful look before circling the stone table several times.
To be honest, as the eternal, great, noble, beautiful, and majestic Goddess of Death, these most basic of basics—little tricks like transforming corpses…
She had almost never used them at all, okay?!
Being born at the top, she also found it quite troubling!
Born as a god—she was very sorry…
If she ever needed undead creatures, she could just reach into the underworld and pull them out directly…
Thinking of this, the down-and-out goddess made a grabbing motion in the air, only to be met with the other two giving her looks as if they were staring at an idiot.
“Why don’t…you try kissing it?”
Ilea pointed at the corpse’s fish face.
“Ugh! I absolutely will not!!”
“Pfft~”
Seeing the goddess all bristled up, the young lady reached out and pinched her cheek.
“Just kidding, don’t worry~ I’m actually a bit of a clean freak~”
Eh?
What did that have to do with anything?
Ignoring Veil’s confused look at the strange comment, Ilea slowly walked up to the stone table.
In fact, she had already thought of a method earlier.
Alright~ she admitted she had never really expected Veil to come up with any good ideas in the first place.
Whoo…
Ilea stretched out her left hand and gently pressed it to the fishman corpse’s chest.
The aura of death inside her slowly stirred and, like countless ants, seeped through her skin into the corpse.
Her crimson eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Thump thump…
“Ugh ee ?”
And just then, the corpse on the stone table suddenly jerked!
It seemed as if it would sit up any moment, its limbs and head trembling violently, startling Yumina standing nearby.
Under those shimmering, multi-colored scales, it seemed like countless worms were squirming nonstop.
“Come on…all of you…come to me…”
Veins bulged on Ilea’s temple, and even in this freezing room, a sheen of cold sweat appeared on her forehead…
In the next instant, on the fishman corpse’s chest—right beneath the young lady’s hand—a fist-sized bulge abruptly rose up…
Gurgle!
At this moment, the fishman’s corpse looked far more shriveled than before.
Everywhere except for the chest seemed to have lost most of its moisture…the skin sunken in.