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The night went on as the Harpy Tribe celebrated the victory of their rescuers alongside many others. Meanwhile, Ervas and Veronica, alongside a few of their friends were reviving the last Harpy Warrior that had died in the battle.
?
The corpse was reanimated through Life Attribute Mana and then the soul of the dead Harpy was inserted inside, quickly making it alive once more.
"It still has Ranks…" muttered Ervas, as he inspected the information of the man who had just been revived, he had become a Live-Undead instead of a completely alive person, possessing Ranks and not Jobs.
In the world of Kritias, aside from the Reincarnated Souls who had the Samsara System, the people always would attribute Ranks to monsters, as they were the only beings who could 'Rank Up' instead of changing Jobs.
The difference between a monster and an intelligent race always came to the question: 'does it has Jobs or not?'.
Although inhuman, elven, and dwarven societies, demons and beast-kin were often considered to be monsters, it was obvious that even those such as Liches were not monsters if they were able to change Jobs and not Rank Up into greater and more monstrous creatures.
Ervas and Veronica were rather conflicted about this, as not even with all of their capabilities, they were not able to completely 'revive' a person, getting them back to their original status as intelligent beings with Jobs, and instead, converting them into something like a new type of Undead that possessed Ranks.
"Ah… I am really back to life! My body feels warm, and my heart is pumping…! Thank you very much, Ervas-sama, Veronica-sama!" thanked the last of the Harpy Warriors to be revived.
Even if they were considered 'Undead', they were 'Live-Undead', meaning that, in simple terms, they were Undead with all the capabilities of a living being, such as warmness, blood flow, a pumping heart, and a healthy body.
Ervas and Veronica had already seen them 'Rank Up' on Nick, whose appearance never changed at all, but that his physical capabilities strengthened, and his Race name would often reflect the Job they represented in a way.
It was as if they were simply changing Jobs through Ranking Up, while also receiving the power of their bodies 'evolving' and growing stronger. Although they had not seen any other bigger change, those that were Live-Dead amongst the Bear-kin had ranked up through this battle, and things such as their old bodies were rejuvenated, while their claws grew bigger and sturdier, their bones and muscles were made stronger as well, and even their basic capabilities such as their five senses were made better.
Alongside this, those that were Live-Dead converted from Ervas and Veronica were able to learn skills such as Phantom Form and Phantom Materialization, or even Special Five Senses, Skills often only present within Undead-type monsters.
"Do you not feel bad about having Ranks or being considered… a monster?" asked Ervas.
"A monster? I am not a monster! I am a proud Mountain Harpy, my lord! Even with Ranks, I am still me! And that is what matters! Monsters are savage and don't possess a sense of identity as selves, but I know very well who I am!" said the proud Harpy Warrior, at his response, Ervas couldn't help but smile.
"I see, I am glad that you feel so well, sorry if it came off as offensive, I was just a bit… worried, I suppose," said Ervas with an apologetic look.
"Ah, my lord, don't feel bad, your power is outstanding! No need for such apologies, I am just happy to be brought back to life by your and Veronica-sama's grace!" said the Harpy Warrior, quickly getting up as he began to stretch his body, feeling reinvigorated.
"Well, glad to help! There is a big feast going on outside if you want to eat with your newly revived body," said Veronica.
"Oh! Amazing! Thanks!" said the Harpy Warrior, flying out of the tent as the last one that was revived, the tent was now emptied of them, only the children remaining.
Ervas and Veronica sighed in relief as they began to work on the children now, first of all, they began to Sevapheso, whose Feroya was awaiting his awake for some time, flying around them.
Ervas and Veronica began to glance at Sevapheso's Soul, using their great dexterity in the manipulation of the Soul and Phantom to slowly extract the curses within the boy's soul, and then, using Soul Repair, they began to repair the broken areas, stitching together his mind back to sanity, as he was currently on a state of coma.
After a few minutes, Ervas and Veronica feed Sevapheso's soul with their Mana and woke him up as a Dead Spirit.
"Oh… Ah! What?! Eh? Where… Where am… Huh?"
Sevapheso opened his 'eyes' as he instinctively activated his senses as a dead spirit, glancing around his surroundings, meeting Ervas and Veronica, and then Feroya who was floating next to him.
"Sevapheso!" cried Feroya, running towards him and embracing him in a phantasmagoric hug.
"T-That voice…! Ah…! No… It can't be…! Fe… Feroya?!" asked Sevapheso in surprise and awe, his phantasmal eyes showing the great surprise he was experiencing.
"Yes… It's me, you idiot…" cried Feroya.
"But how…? Ah! My body? Where is it…?! I am… a Dead Spirit?! Has the Necromancer caught me in a trap?!" asked Sevapheso in fear.
"No, you're dead," said Ervas.
"D-Dead?!" asked Sevapheso.
"Indeed, I killed you… Sorry about that, but it was the only way to defeat you and the Metallic Monster that was parasitizing you… Your Phantasmal Aura has also been suppressed," said Veronica with a bitter smile.
"Killed me…? Ah…!" muttered Sevapheso, as his mind quickly began to run once again, showing him a stream of memories of what had unfolded a few hours ago, from his unwavering rage up to the battle against Veronica, where no matter how much hate he used, he never was capable of defeating her… The last thing he remembered within such fragments was that a monstrous creature took over his mind, overcharging it with negative emotions until his mind grew completely insane.
And now, he was suddenly sane again, but the memories of such thing remained. He also finally found the reason behind being dead, and after Ervas and Veronica gave him a brief explanation of everything else, he finally came to terms with having died and how Feroya at his side was also still dead.
"Death… Is it such an ambiguous thing, to think that having our flesh die does not mean that we simply disappear…? Well, it was obvious with all of the Undead monsters I have seen, and even the Dead Spirits… but experiencing it yourself is a completely different deal, to be honest…" muttered Sevapheso in between tears.
"It's strange, I know… but being an Undead is not so bad, you know? Maybe before this, it was quite terrible by how weakened and filled with horrible emotions I was, but after Veronica-sama helped me become a Ghost, my mind has never felt this clear and serene before…" said Feroya.
"Is that so…? I… I see, Feroya… I am… I am sorry for everything I have done. I was just putting all the fault into your mother when I was also at fault for your death. If I had not given up on you so easily… I was intimidated by my parents, I really did not want us to be expelled from the tribe… It was all… so chaotic. But I cannot simply use that as a reason behind my foolish actions… I was just being an idiot…" muttered Sevapheso.
"No, Sevapheso, I am the one who must apologize…" muttered Desephise, who was resting in the same tent.
"Desephise-sama…" said Sevapheso.
"Mother…" said Feroya.
"It was all of my faults. I started everything. My character, my nature, the way I thought of others… I was too selfish for being the chief of a tribe, way too selfish… I was simply… too immature. I am at fault for having ruined the lives of you two… and also, the lives of all these children from my tribe that are sleeping in here… I wasn't a good enough ruler for all of you…" apologized Desephise.
Everyone fell in silence as Desephise's words dropped, but Veronica quickly lightened the mood.
"Ah, but all in the past now! Right? As long as all of you feel sorry for what you have done and for the mistakes you've committed, there is still a chance to come together and become better persons, right? All of you are still here, nothing has ended yet, there are still chances to build up a new life!" she said.
"Indeed…" said Ervas.
"That's right! Just as Veronica-sama said!" said Feroya.
"Yeah… I can't say anything about that… I just… I await your opinion, Sevapheso…" said Desephise.
"No, it's fine. I agree with that… I have already died, it is not like there is anything to lose anymore… But now, there might be something to keep fighting for… Desephise-sama, Feroya-sama… Let's keep looking at the future and let's work together to bring the peace and prosperity of our tribe…" said Sevapheso.
"Well said," said Veronica.
"That's right," said Ervas.
"Sevapheso… You have grown into a fine man, you're deserving of my daughter… I now realize that your love is true and not just a thing of the flesh as I thought, even after death, your emotions remain, truly… it is beautiful…" said Desephise.
"And I will remain at her side… For eternity if that is possible… Veronica-sama, Ervas-sama, I want to be a Ghost as well and remain with my beloved, we will fight together," said Sevapheso.
"Sevapheso…" cried Feroya.
"If that is what you desire…"
"We are no one to deny you the path you have chosen."
Ervas and Veronica suddenly began to pour large amounts of Mana into Sevapheso's ethereal body, as a bright emerald wind emerged from within the core of his soul.
Flash!
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