The shadows in front of us moved and formed into a humanoid figure.
There stood Aldaril Sano, the Avatar of Death. He summoned his lantern and looked back at us.
"Looks like I'm just in time. Although, you probably don't need my help," Aldaril said.
We really don't. Any second, Isabella would have just erased them all. Still...
"It's still appreciated. We're a little outnumbered, so I guess it helps..."
Aldaril seemed somewhat confused.
"You can summon undead too, right?" He said.
I had to stop for a second as the realization hit me.
Oh...I forgot about that...
Was it weird to have so many abilities that I simply forgot that I could do these things?
I'm only human, after all...
"You forgot, didn't you?" Aldaril said.
"I...no! I didn't forget!" I said angrily.
I totally forgot.
"I can clearly tell that you're lying. It's written all over your face. Tell the truth. You have to set a good example for others," Aldaril said.
"I kill people all the time. No one says a word about that. But I tell one lie and suddenly I'm in trouble?" I said.
"Just tell the truth!" Aldaril said as he looked around.
"YEAH, I FORGOT I COULD SUMMON DEAD THINGS! BITE ME!" I said.
"Good. Now, we can get this over with... Also, try to be a little more friendly, okay?" Aldaril said.
What the hell is with you, right now!? THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT!!!
As I raised an eyebrow at his strange behavior, Aldaril reached his hand towards Isabella and a magic chain passed through the center of her chest.
"Huh!? What is this!?" Isabella said suddenly.
"Sorry, you have an energy that I need to borrow for these things. It shouldn't hurt," Aldaril said.
Isabella didn't seem to be in pain, but she had a mildly uncomfortable look on her face as magic streamed into Aldaril's hand from the chain.
Then the chain disappeared and Aldaril's lantern rose higher into the air.
It released a wide pulse of light and all of Aldaril's undead now shone brightly with divine power.
Despite being contradictory, they began obliterating the Corrupted behemoths with ease.
"What...what is this!? My soldiers are being slain so easily by simple undead knights!?" Rostak said angrily.
"Not just the knights..." Aldaril said.
He placed his hand over his eye and moved it to the side.
His Eye of Death began to blaze with a bright pale blue light.
Then Aldaril burst into spectral flames as his skeletal lich form manifested.
His lantern changed into a spear and he was enveloped in shadows. Less than a second later, he reappeared behind Rostak and stabbed him in the spine with it.
At the same time, skeletal hands shot from the ground and grabbed Rostak before he could move. They dragged him to the ground.
Then I could see his body begin to wither away as he convulsed on the ground.
"Impossible! How am I being affected by this!?" Rostak said.
"This is the Embrace of Thanatos. All who touch his blade are filled with his curse. It will rot your body from the inside out. You probably won't die from it because of what you are, but you'll still be immobile for a while. In the meantime..." Aldaril said
He aimed his spear over the back of Rostak's heart and it shone with divine power taken from Isabella.
"There it is..." Aldaril said.
Then he stabbed Rostak in the heart.
Rostak stopped moving as his entire body began to break down and crumble do dust.
At the same time, all of the remaining Corrupted behemoths crumbled as well as the contamination zone began to disperse.
"Wow... That was pretty impressive," Isabella said.
"I specialize in killing people...and things that aren't people. That is my role as the Avatar of Death. It's just what I do..." Aldaril said.
His flesh reformed as his spear changed back into a lantern. Before he came back to us, he picked up Weakness by its hilt and dragged it back to us. It had reverted to a massive sword in its sheath.
"Mizik, I think you should hold onto this. It's important, right?" Aldaril said.
"Yes...how did you know?" I asked.
"You looked like you wanted to grab it yourself. What is this thing? Some kind of big-ass sword?"
"It's a legendary magic sword. A Corrupted version. I still need to figure out how to cleanse it..."
"I see... Well, I'm hoping I can use this as a means of securing a position as one of your allies...and apologizing for the things that happened during our first meeting. Anyway, Zaran Academy was attacked as well by these monsters and they seem to be appearing all over the place... Nasuria was terrified..." Aldaril said.
"I'm sorry, but...who is Nasuria?" Isabella asked.
Aldaril looked surprised and smiled proudly.
"Sorry, I forgot to introduce her. She's my apprentice," Aldaril said.
He slowly moved his lantern and it shone on his shadow. Then it rose up to form the shape of a very young girl. She looked no older than ten.
When the darkness cleared, I could see that she wore a very similar, albeit less complex, version of Aldaril's armored robes. She was a demi-human girl with fox ears. She had long black hair with white on the tips of her ears. There were also streaks of white in her hair. Her eyes were deep blue.
Nasuria looked at all of us and suddenly seemed terrified. She hid behind Aldaril and clung to him tightly.
"It's okay, Nasuria. Say hello to everyone," Aldaril said.
"H...hi..." She said.
"She's...so cute!" Isabella said happily.
She walked over and knelt down in front of Nasuria with a gentle smile.
"Hello, Nasuria! I'm Isabella! It's nice to meet you!"
Nasuria hid under Aldaril's cloak to get away.
"Sorry, she's a little shy around strangers... Although it probably doesn't help that Mizik looks so menacing," Aldaril said.
"Do I look menacing?" I asked bluntly.
"I think you look wonderfully handsome and sweet! But that might be my adoration for you talking," Isabella said as she smiled.
Ugh...please stop... You're going to kill me by talking like that... But please don't stop, Isabella... Damn this curse...
"Mizik, you usually look kind of pissed for some reason. Is something bothering you?" Aldaril asked.
"I'm cursed. It makes me this way. Normally, I'm actually pretty friendly...." I said.
"I see. Hey, Nasuria, try saying hello to Mizik. He's not so bad!" Aldaril said.
"..."
"Eh...I tried," Aldaril said.
"Who is she? Where did she come from?" Isabella asked.
"She was abducted from her parents after they were murdered and taken to a laboratory. They intended to experiment on her and make her into a weapon to destroy Elysium. They combined her body and soul with a nine-tailed fox they captured. She doesn't even know her real name... They called her Subject 027," Aldaril said.
"That's horrible! Were there others?" Isabella asked.
"Unfortunately, none of them survived. They were all so horrifically mutated and insane that I just put them out of their misery. Nasuria was the only one capable of normal thinking and speech. Also, Nasuria is the name of the fox. Their minds were also fused together, so she prefers that name... She wasn't old enough to know her own name when she was abducted..."
"I hope you've been taking good care of her then. Please continue to help her," Isabella said.
"I intend to. I've been trying my best to raise her, but I don't think I'm very good at parenting," Aldaril said sadly.
Suddenly, Nasuria poked her head out from under his cloak.
"No! Master Aldaril is really kind! Thank you for everything!" She said.
Aldaril smiled wearily at her and ruffled her hair and ears.
She looked up at him and put his cloak back over her head. She looked happy as she stared up at him.
"Mizik, if we had a daughter, would she be adorable like that?" Isabella asked.
"Definitely. But unfortunately, we can't have children right now. I'll do my best to fix it when all of this is over," I said.
Isabella had a content smile on her face as she clung to my arm.
"No fair! I want to have Mizik's baby! I'll treasure it forever and love it with everything I have!" Cassandra said.
And then there's you...
As Isabella and Cassandra started arguing amongst themselves, Nasuria looked at them curiously.
"Umm...is she okay? She's arguing with herself..." Nasuria said.
"She has two souls sharing the same body. Herself and her sister, Cassandra," Aldaril said.
"That sounds like fun! I wish I had a sister... Then you could take care of both of us, Master!" Nasuria said happily.
"Eh...I don't know... Raising one person is already kind of..."
Nasuria looked almost ready to cry at his comment.
"I-I mean...that would be great! Haha..." Aldaril said nervously.
"You have your hands full, don't you?" I asked.
He nodded and looked over at Isabella and Cassandra...both of whom were still arguing.
"Seems you do as well, Mizik," Aldaril said with a slight smile.
He placed his hand over his eye and changed it to look normal.
After that, we decided to head back to the Astrum.
* * *
A short while later, we sat down with Aldaril to ask him about joining us on our mission.
Nasuria was present, but she wouldn't look at us.
"I have a proposal for you, Aldaril. It's a bit sudden, but I want to ask you something," I said.
"Please do. I'm here to help, after all. Just like I said five years ago," Aldaril said.
"Vakra is building a ship for us. It'll be capable of moving between worlds. I'm putting together a crew to help fight the Corruption across these worlds...and I want you to be part of it as our onboard army," I said.
"Who...is Vakra?" He said.
"The Mad Admiral. He didn't tell you his name?" Isabella said.
"No, he was too busy trying to kill me when I went on a rampage..." Aldaril said.
"That's understandable. But he's really not so bad. Kind of an asshole, though," I said.
"That's an understatement..." Isabella muttered.
"So...you want me to join you on this ship to fight alongside you two across several worlds? That's a hefty proposal..." Aldaril said.
He looked at Nasuria and she peered up at him curiously.
"I don't know... I have to take care of Nasuria. I can't just abandon her. She's my apprentice, but...more like a daughter right now. I can't just pull her out of her home world like that. It would be inconsiderate... As much as I would like to say yes."
Suddenly Nasuria glanced at the two of us and then looked up at Aldaril.
"If Master Aldaril says so, then I'll follow you anywhere. I don't really like Delvandal. This world is full of bad people..." She said.
"Are you sure? It might not be a good world, but it's still your home," Aldaril said.
"I only want to follow you. I don't care where we go," Nasuria said.
When she hugged Aldaril and smiled.
"Ah...well, I guess it's decided. We can join you. But only if you allow Nasuria to join as well," Aldaril said.
"I'm not against it. But will she be able to fight when she gets older?" I asked curiously.
"Actually, Nasuria was made as a weapon of war. Although, she can't control her powers yet. I'm training her as my apprentice for that reason," Aldaril said.
"Is it just me...or does she look a little like Hikari?" Isabella asked.
"A little...but it helped me get over losing her. If she's compatible, I night even give her the Eye of Order," Aldaril said.
"You would give me something so precious!? If I could be like Hikari, I would be really happy!" Nasuria said with a smile.
"Eh...yeah..." Aldaril said nervously.
"Just promise me that you won't put her on the field of battle before she's ready. I don't want to be responsible if she gets hurt," I said.
"I promise," Aldaril said.
Suddenly, Nasuria looked over at me.
Her eyes seemed to be focused more than usual.
"Who are you, exactly? That you would call upon my keeper for his help?" She said in a serious tone.
"Excuse...me?" I said confusingly.
"I would like an answer," Nasuria said.
There was something about her demeanor that felt...far more mature than normal.
"I am Mizik Iratus. The Chosen...Hero...to destroy the Corruption. The monsters we fought a short while ago were spawned by it. I want Aldaril's help in killing the one responsible for creating it," I said.
"Hm. And what does he get out of it? Are you just using him?" Nasuria asked.
"Nasuria, please. Be nice," Aldaril said.
Nasuria completely ignored him and continued staring at me.
"How about being able to continue existing? That's pretty much what everyone gets out of it. Destroying the Corruption means that worlds won't be devoured by it anymore," I said.
"Oh really? I'll have you know that my keeper has been very kind to me. As such, I have grown rather attached. If you allow him to die, I will make it my life's goal to hunt you down and destroy you. Is that acceptable?" Nasuria said.
"Sure, but all I can say is good luck with that. I'm not exactly easy to kill at this point," I said.
"Then the terms are agreed upon. Please be kind to my childlike self, Mr. Iratus. She is rather naive and shy. Although this is likely due to her actually being a child. Regardless, we are in your care. You may resume your...negotiations," Nasuria said.
Suddenly she seemed confused and looked at Aldaril.
"Master Aldaril, I think it happened again..." Nasuria said.
Aldaril sighed and rubbed her head.
"Sorry, Mizik. Like I said, Nasuria was fused with a child during the experiments. Their personalities haven't fully merged, yet," Aldaril said.
"She seems...nice..." Isabella said.
"That's the fox. Nasuria. Neither of them know what the child's name was other than subject 027," Aldaril said.
"It's kind of like my sister and I...isn't it?" Isabella said.
"Mostly. But unlike you, Their souls aren't separate. These two can never be split apart. It has been happening slowly, but their memories and personalities are converging. Eventually, a new persona will likely surface. This will be the true Nasuria," Aldaril said.
Suddenly Isabella looked very afraid.
"Wait...is it possible that my sister and I could also do the same thing!?" Isabella said fearfully.
"If I combined with Isabella...then we could both be loved by Mizik at the same time... That sounds wonderful!" Cassandra said as she began fidgeting and looking shyly at me.
I looked at her and she put her hands on the sides of her head, then looked away while squealing.
You have issues!
"Hmm...I'm not detecting any signs of that inside her. Their souls are roughly, yet intricately stitched together. They haven't been fused in any way besides that. Actually, given enough time, I'm sure we could separate them and extract one. Although...where to put it..." Aldaril said
"I don't want to leave! I'm not ready to pass on! I can still live! I want to be with Mizik forever... I-I must atone..." Cassandra said as she suddenly looked terrified.
"Relax. I won't do that until a proper body has been made for you. I intend to keep you around for a long time, Cassandra," I said.
"R-really!? That makes me so happy!!!" Cassandra said joyfully.
Then she grabbed onto my arm and started rubbing her face on my shoulder.
You never learn, do you, Cassandra?
"Well, if that's what you want. There was an Avatar of Creation back home but..." Aldaril said.
"But?" I said.
"He's not likely to be very friendly. He was one of the group of people that murdered Hikari..." Aldaril said.
"Well...I'm sure we can find another way," I said.
Aldaril nodded.
"We'll join your crew and help in any way that we can. We're in your care, Mizik," Aldaril said.
"Then it's settled. Welcome aboard, Aldaril. We can discuss your position and roles at a later date. For now, just stay with us. We're going to Port Sagral," I said.
"That place...? I hope you're ready for a fight, then..." Aldaril said.
"Why's that?" Isabella asked.
"Because that's where Akari is keeping her army."