"Well apparently, I can..." I shrugged nonchalantly, returning his suspicious stare.
"Impossible!!!" He exclaimed. "How did you opened it!?" He demanded, his voice laced with disbelief and astonishment.
"Umm... Just like any other book" I responded bluntly, demonstrating it by opening and closing the grimoire casually.
He remained silent for a few moments, contemplating quietly, his gaze shifting between the grimoire and me. "Return it to me" He finally spoke, his tone serious and firm.
"Why should I?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes slightly.
"That grimoire is not meant for someone like you!" He exclaimed sternly, glaring intently at me.
"Not meant for me? Should I care? Nahhh" I shook my head, taking a step back. "Let me guess, you can't open this grimoire right? That's why you're so desperate for it now" I smirked mockingly, taunting him.
"Young man, return that grimoire to me!!" He demanded angrily. "That grimoire holds immense power which you are not worthy of!!" He growled, his voice filled with frustration.
"Then why would you put it up to sale in the first place?" I asked myself internally. "I don't think so buddy" I rejected bluntly, shaking my head defiantly. "I bought this grimoire and it's now mine" I declared confidently.
"You don't know who you are messing with, young man" He warned ominously, his voice laced with malice.
"Yeah... I don't know" I said casually, taking a few steps backwards.
An eerie aura emanated from him, enveloping the shop instantly. The candles flickered wildly as a sinister wind swept through the room. His crimson eyes began glowing brightly beneath his hood, illuminating his sinister grin.
"I'm sorry master, I have been patient enough" Rhea suddenly spoke up from behind me, stepping forward, her blue eyes blazing fiercely. "I won't allow such insolence towards master any longer" She stated coldly, clenching her fists tightly.
Zalruk's eyes widened slightly upon seeing Rhea, his grin faltering momentarily. "An undead?" He muttered in disbelief. " You even used the Auris inside the grimoire!?" He exclaimed incredulously, staring at me intensely.
His crimson eyes narrowed dangerously, his sinister grin reappearing. "It seems like you are more than meets the eye" He observed, his gaze shifting towards Rhea briefly. "Interesting... Very interesting indeed..." He mused thoughtfully.
"Master, let your servant deal with this scum" Rhea requested politely, glaring daggers at Zalruk.
"Hmm.. Why not?" I nodded in agreement, stepping aside casually.
Zalruk suddenly bursted out laughing maniacally, his sinister grin widening. "A mere undead challenging me?!" He scoffed arrogantly, shaking his head dismissively. "Go ahead and try!!" He challenged mockingly.
"With pleasure" Rhea responded icily, closing the distance between them without hesitation.
Without warning, Rhea charged recklessly towards Zalruk, throwing a fierce punch at his face. Her fist collided violently with his jaw. Her movements were swift and fluid, her punch connecting cleanly, sending him crashing into shelves behind him. Items scattered across the floor as Zalruk landed harshly on the wooden floorboards.
"Quite remarkable" Zalruk commented, rising to his feet effortlessly, brushing the dust off his clothes. "However, it's not enough" He declared.
He raised his left hand and aimed his palm at Rhea, chanting couple of incantations under his breath.
"Salerat" He finally spoked. His hand started to emit a dark energy that gathered around his palm. The same energy started to engulf Rhea, surrounding her completely.
Rhea struggled helplessly as she was enveloped by the dark energy, unable to resist it's power. Her eyes widened in shock and panic, desperately trying to break free. But it was futile. Her struggles were in vain as she was completely trapped within the dark energy.
Zalruk smirked triumphantly, lowering his hand slowly. "As expected, very disappointing" He remarked.
However, Zalruk suddenly sensed something amiss as his smirk faded away instantly. An overwhelming surge of death energy erupted from Rhea, dispersing the dark energy surrounding her instantly.
"How!?!" He exclaimed incredulously, staring intently at Rhea.
Rhea glared murderously at Zalruk, her blue eyes glowing fiercely, her body emitting a black mist. Her hair floated wildly, her skin turning even more pale. Dark veins began appearing all over her skin, giving her an eerie appearance.
"Hahaha, to think that you could summon such a powerful undead!" Zalruk exclaimed, grinning widely. "Very impressive, young man" He praised sincerely. "The Auris you used was Rayth, wasn't it?" He questioned confidently.
Auris? What is that? He said this too earlier. Were he referring to the summoning spell? Well I did summoned Rhea successfully using the undead summoning spell, Rayth.
"Rayth huh" I murmured thoughtfully, pondering over his words carefully. "Yeah, I did used the spell" I confirmed, nodding my head slightly.
"Rayth is one of the high-level Auris inside the grimoire" He revealed. "However, its price is quite hefty" He added.
Yeah, it drained my life force to summon an undead. I experienced first hand how costly Rayth actually was. I see, so he refered the spells in the grimoire as "Auris" huh?
"Enough talking" Rhea interrupted coldly, glaring daggers at him. "Die" She stated bluntly.
"Woah there, so scary" He chuckled slightly. "I changed my mind" He said, turning his head towards me. "You can keep the grimoire" He declared unexpectedly.
"Huh??" I uttered in surprise, confused by his sudden change of attitude. He was behaving aggressively earlier yet now, he suddenly changed his mind?
"I wish to make a deal with you" He proposed.
"Deal? What deal?" I questioned warily,
regarding him suspiciously.