"Listen here, Rhea" I said sternly. "You are mine. You belong to me. I'm allowed to do whatever I want with you. But, I'm also not going to treat you like an object or tool or whatever it is. Did I make myself clear?"
Her eyes widened in surprise "Ohh my dear master, you are so wise and merciful" She said humbly. "I understand"
"Good girl." I gave her another pat on the head.
She quivered again at my touch and this time, her body shuddered as well. Her body was trembling from the pleasure I gave her. it's becoming a habit of mine to pat her head.... And I'm starting to enjoy it...
"M-Master..." She looked up at me, her cheeks were blushing red.
"Your hair is so soft" I said, stroking her silky black hair.
She closed her eyes and her entire face went bright red.
"You really are beautiful..." I whispered as I stared at her face.
She blushed even deeper. Her ears burning red in embarrassment. She averted her gaze from me, looking down bashfully.
"T-Thank you, master" She stuttered, panting heavily.
I couldn't help but worry about her. Is she okay? Well, now that we have established that she's beautiful, that should make her little complex go away or at least diminished...
I can now think about other problems. Like my rotting flesh and skin. There must be a way to fix this. What's done is done, all I can do now is to face the reality of my situation and move forward.
Rummaging through the pages of the grimoire, I was confident that there was a spell in there that could help me. I took my time reading through each page, absorbing the knowledge and familiarizing myself with the contents. There had to be a way to fix this, and I was determined to find it.
Even though I searched for a spell that could restore my vitality, I couldn't find any. Seriously, the spells in this book sounded dangerous for some reason. For example, there's spell that could put a literal curse on someone...
Moving on, I finally found a spell that could possibly help me. Yeah, there's this one spell that allow the caster to "borrow" the life force of another living creature as their own.
It was similar to what vampires do, except instead of sucking blood, I would be literally sucking the life force out of living beings....
It was a desperate measure, but if the spell worked as it said, it could bring my decaying body back to its previous state.
I read further and apparently the spell requires a victim with significant amount of life force for it to be activated successfully. Fuck! That means I have to kill someone for this to work!
Wait... No, I don't have to. It should be possible to drain just a small portion of their life force. I won't be draining their life completely. I'll simply draw out a small amount from them. They'll still be alive and healthy afterwards...
This should be fine, right?
Also, it said "another living creature". So, that should apply to the animals as well. Which widen my options significantly. Yes, this should be fine. I have no problem with this.
***
─The Church of Astalah
"What do mean one of the forbidden books is gone!?" A figure clad in a red robe was standing before a towering statue.
The figure was a woman, her blonde hair and pale skin contrasting against the dark background. She held a staff with a glowing red gem atop it.
"Y-Yes, we didn't know how it was stolen!" A priestess who was kneeling in front of her, answered nervously.
"We just found out that it's missing last night!" Another priestess added.
"If that's so then, why didn't you inform me sooner!?" The woman glared at them angrily.
"P-Please forgive us!" One of the priestesses begged.
The woman's eyes bore into them with an icy stare, her face hidden behind an expressionless mask. She spoke with seething anger, "Your incompetence disgusts me! Find it, by any means necessary, and bring it back to me!"
"Y-Yes, Lady Lilithea!" The priestesses answered frantically.
"Leave now," She commanded, pointing her staff at them. They scurried away without a second glance.
Lilithea approached the statue, kneeling before it in reverence. "Oh, my lord, I ask for your blessings," She whispered in a prayer.
She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She held her staff in both hands and placed the tip on the ground. After a few minutes of meditation, her face changed into a blank expression and her eyes turned pitch black.
"Those who oppose us shall pay the price!" She shouted in dark voice as an eerie aura surrounded her, causing the air to tremble slightly.