Chapter 215: My Neck Will Be Your Sheath (2)
[...?]
Camus looked stunned for a moment.
A metal skewer extended from her hand and pierced Vikir's stomach.
[It's midnight, little one].
An unpleasant voice emanated from the crack in the mist that had been torn open like a mouth.
The eighth demon, Seere.
At midnight, it began forcibly controlling Camus's body.
[Oh, no! No...!?]
Camus cried out in desperation.
But the heaviest thing in the world is an eyelid.
For a moment, Camus's head snapped open like a marionette with a broken thread. And soon a completely different expression appeared on her face.
Her eyes loosened slightly, and she smiled bewitchingly.
The demon king Seere, who ruled over the herds of corpses and bones, was there.
"...!"
Vikir recognized Camus at once.
How could he forget those sticky eyes that held so many of his companions in the line of fire?
[Hohoho- you're the same Vikir, I've heard so much about you from my 'roommate'].
Seere said as she looked at the Vikir in front of her.
Unlike other Ten Commandments, which usually referred to their original owner as the 'host', Seere was referring to Camus's consciousness as a roommate.
'A form of roommate rather than ...host? A strange relationship.'
Vikir stepped back, covering the hole in his stomach with his hand.
Certainly the corpse queen before him was different from the other Ten Commandments.
She's half Camus, half Seere, and they've come to an arrangement where they share the day by mutual agreement.
Perhaps this is why the demonic aura didn't seem so strong when I first met her.
Vikir regenerated the wound on his stomach using the power of the bog salamander.
Tsutsutsuts...
The speed of healing was lower than before. It wasn't because her regeneration power had decreased, but because the damage from the magic had become more powerful.
The dark mana floating in the air had also become much thicker since the body's controller had changed from Camus to Seere.
'Is this 100% of her?'
Vikir swallowed hard and looked up.
In front of him, Seere, who had begged for Camus's body, was walking towards him.
[I almost ruined the job in the end because of one trivial emotion. This is why all humans are thrown away. They don't understand the greater good.]
Demons generally have no concept of gender, but they still vaguely distinguish between male and female bodies.
Seere was technically a female, and as such, her voice, gestures, facial expressions, and everything else was tinged with deadly color.
And when it manifested in the body of Camus, the impact was enormous.
But fortunately, there were no males around here that could be charmed within Andromalius's barrier.
With a strong will, Vikir cleared his mind of Seere's disturbing aura.
He asked in a calm tone.
"How long has it been in your body?"
[I don't know? It's been a while, I guess, because it was around the time she was mastering the Art of Complete Revival...]
Vikir's eyebrows twitched at that.
The veteran who had lived through the Age of Destruction had eaten not only sword rice, but also quite a bit of magic rice.
As such, he had a vague idea of what Seere was referring to as a 'art of complete revival'.
Seere spoke in a mixed voice.
[If you're a swordsman and don't know, the 'Art of Complete Revival' is a magic that drains the caster's life and brings the target back to life completely. In short, it's like giving away one's life].
However, to cast this spell, the caster must have the remains of the target.
A certain amount of the target's body parts, such as ashes, blood, nails, and hair, must be present for the spell to be complete.
Vikir asked briefly.
"But that foreign magic is considered taboo even among black mage, right? The rebound penalty in case of failure is too large compared to the slim possibility of success."
The 'rebound penalty' refers to the strain placed on the veins of the entire body, including the brain, by the explosive backflow of mana if the spell fails halfway through.
At that, Seere laughed out loud.
[Hohoho! That's right, you're admitting your stupidity right after you've had an affair. But hey, I am gratefu, because I got this body thanks to this stupid bitch doing something like that].
"...?"
Vikir frowned. Seere grinned from ear to ear.
[This kid had dabbled in all sorts of black magic that was forbidden even by his own family, and had a mana surge].
"...!"
Mana Surge is the most burdensome of the rebound penalties, and is the most feared by all mana users.
Simply put, the mana in your veins bursts and spurts out of your veins, wreaking havoc on your body, and the danger is nothing short of a stroke or cerebral hemorrhage.
Most will die instantly, but there is a small chance that they will go berserk, rampage, or turn vegetative.
In some cases, the accumulated mana is released all at once through the sweat pores of the body, causing an explosion of terrifying proportions.
This seemed to be the case with Camus.
[She was a fearless brat who relied on her talent and determination. Hohoho- there's a guy she'd love to see again? What kind of fool risks her life for that?]
Seere sneered as she looked down at Camus's body.
[If I had a face like this and a body like this, I would never have lived like that... I would have been able to easily beat up young males and become stronger by draining their blood... Ahhh, the world is so hard].
Camus practiced black magic, which was considered too dangerous even by the Morg, the Mage Family.
Only one reason. One day, when she finds Vikir's remains, she intends to share her lifeblood to bring him back to life.
But taboo magic is taboo for a reason.
Outer magic is powerful and fascinating.
Many geniuses who could have made their mark on human history had they lived have fallen under its spell and been destroyed by it, and the number of people who have been buried in the dust of history is countless.
The stronger and smarter you are, the easier it is to fall into the trap, and it makes everyone think that they are different.
And the end result is the same for everyone.
Crippled or dead.
The mana surge causes the veins in the body to shut down.
Camus experienced a mana surge at the last moment before completing her spell, leaving her teetering on the edge.
With half of her brain dead. She was half dead, half alive, not really dead and not really alive.
And then, as a living corpse, a figure appeared in front of her.
[Little girl, why don't you make a contract with me?]
The fall of a noble idealist. A being who had fallen in the most dramatic trajectory from top to bottom.
At the end of the fall, at the bottom, lurking with its mouth open, was the grim demon Seere.
[Well, a normal mage would have died a hundred times over, so this girl's talent for surviving in a vegetative body in such a situation is truly remarkable. Hohoho- I have one good eye, don't I?]
Seere said in a pleased tone, as if she was quite fond of the body she was occupying.
[Maybe if she didn't have that... longing and desperation for a man, she would have been a little less impatient, and with a little more time to mature and grow stronger, she would have been able to perfect the 'Art of Complete Revival'].
"...."
[Hohoho- well, that's all wrong now].
Finished speaking, Seere raised her head and looked at Vikir.
Kurrrrr!
His aura boiled like asphalt.
Only now did the demonic scent begin to flow at a 100% intensity.
Puff-puff-puff!
Black flames and iron skewers flew out, aimed at Vikir.
The magic power, which had never been stronger than before, pressed down on the entire field within the formation and tightened.
"...."
Vikir stepped back and raised his black bow, Anubis.
The hunter's focus remained firmly fixed on the bull's-eye even in these extreme conditions.
Pop! Pop! Pow!
A hole opened up at the base of the flames, and the iron skewers were struck by the arrow and sent flying in a shower of sparks.
Seere chuckled.
[Indeed, the hunter who killed Andromalius and Dantalian, but you can't catch me like that... huh?]
But the demon's laughter didn't last long.
Kirik-.
An unpleasant sensation washed over her face.
Seere frowned and waved her hand.
[...What is this?]
Something like a thin thread is pressing against her face, preventing her from moving forward.
It was thin enough to not be easily observed by the naked eye, but it was quite tough.
It was like a wire.
Karak-
There were countless such threads in the air.
[hack hack hack]]
Little Madam. The creature had set a trap of spider webs around Seere's body.
[What? Isn't that a spider from the Euphoric Hell? Why is it here?]
Seere tried to break the threads with her strength, as if they were a nuisance.
Taeae-ae-ang – Gee-gee-.
Surprisingly, it didn't break even with the strength of a demon king class demon.
Of course, Seere wasn't the type to show off his physical strength, but it was still quite unexpected.
[How dare this bugger...!?]
Seere breathed out flames and tried to incinerate the web.
But there was no way a veteran demon hunter like Vikir would miss a moment of distraction.
Puff-puff-puck!
Arrow after arrow flew, piercing Seere's limbs. None of them were critical, but all were likely to affect her movements.
[Gah!]
Seere screamed, and the hound of death bared its teeth in front of her.
...Whoosh!
The sword's aura burned like the sun.
Vikir unleashed a long black aura blade.
In an instant, Seere shouted in panic.
[If you kill me, you'll also kill this girl!]
The human mind is a fragile thing, easy to play with. From a demon's perspective, it is.
Especially when they're as deceptive as she was.
... But.
"No."
Vikir's grip on the sword was firm, unwavering.
"Only you will die."
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