[I can give you power].
It was a trick of the demon. It was literally a ploy from the demon.
But Camus couldn't refuse. She had no other choice.
Whatever it took to starve to death on a cold stone floor at the bottom of a pitch-black abyss, she had to make a deal.
"Okay, what's the deal?
[Simple, after you die, I will take over your body, and I will carry out your wishes].
'Okay. I'll do it, contract.'
[Oh? So soon? You're a good negotiator. You're smart. It's worth watching].
The demon smiled softly at Camus.
The demon then revealed her true name.
[My name is Seere, and by the power of the 8th demon who crossed over from the demon world to the human world, I have made a contract with the human Morg Camus....]
Seere, the demon. She made a contract with Camus to take over her body after her death and fulfill Camus wishes while she was still alive.
Camus made the deal before the spark of life she carried was extinguished.
And now.
Tsutsutsutsuts...
The demon Seere inhabited Camus's body.
And as soon as Seere took control of Camus's body, the first thing she did was....
[Uh!? What is this!? You're not dead yet!?]
was to freak out.
Camus's eyes narrowed as she felt the other personality inhabiting her body.
'Did the Master arrange this?'
At the last moment, Snake oxidized all the damage that was supposed to be directed at Camus in his embrace.
The result was that Camus was only half dead.
According to the contract, the demon Seere can only claim the body after Camus is dead, so in this case, only half of the body would be Seere.
The demon Seere, now in possession of half of Camus body, began to jump up and down.
[This is ridiculous! It was a shock she couldn't have survived! If you're a human, you should have been dead by now, but how are you still alive!]
Seere turned and looked at Snake's body, which was now sitting upright in front of Camus eyes.
[Aaaah! It's the mage's doing, damn it, I should've taken what was his, even if it was just a little bit of a physical disparity].
'Take away?'
[Oh, no, I didn't take it away, I just meant that I should have made a fair contract and taken it.]
'Take it away. Did you mean to trick me into taking your body for nothing?'
[No! It's not like that...!]
Seere blurted out.
Camus ignores it, and pushes herself up.
It moved. It's not what it used to be, but her body listens.
However, her body doesn't feel quite as balanced as it used to, with Seere controlling one part of her body and Camus controlling the other.
In the end, Camus and Seere had to compromise.
[Damn, it's twisted, but it's twisted tight, so here's the deal. You use this body for half the day, and I'll use this body for the other half of the day].
'What do I get in return for doing that?'
[You're so shameless, you should have been dead and gone by now if it weren't for me. Oh, shit, I'll just wait a little longer until you starve to death].
'Quick, tell me, what can you do for me in return for me lending you my body.'
Finally giving in to Camus's prodding, Seere replied irritably.
[I have the ability to find hidden treasure, including when it's human, and I'm good at killing livestock and beasts, which makes me a good match for a black mage whose job it is to resurrect the dead].
But Camus didn't seem too interested in the latter ability.
'Good at finding people?'
That was enough for him.
And that's how Camus entered into a two-way contract with Seere.
They would wake up when each other fell asleep.
* * *
Camus then held Snake's funeral and searched the Black and Red Mountains again.
However, she had informed Morg that she and Snake would be practicing their closed training together.
Adolf was worried, but Lespane let it slide.
'Sister, Marquis Snake, how can you trust him!'
'He is not a man who would do any harm to Camus.'
'But the Marquis of Snake is a delegate of the Dark Hall! Besides, we have heard nothing of him as yet!'
'...Say no more about it.'
There was no way anyone could have been more disgusted by the words of Lord Lespane of Morg.
So, officially, the Marquis of Snake, a delegate of the Dark Hall, and his apprentice, Camus, went into seclusion deep within the family home.
As time went on, the prying eyes slowly faded away.
In the meantime, Camus continued to search the jungle alone, with little success.
Until, that is, he picked up a strange object from the depths of the forest.
"... This bone?"
The bones of a black mage with a powerful grudge and magic were lying on the ground.
'Why is a black mage of this caliber lying dead here?'
Camus immediately channeled her mana to create a lich.
The high-ranking undead named Ahheman became her faithful servant.
...A little more time passed.
It was after several undead pieces she had painstakingly created were lost. Camus, who had been concentrating on searching and researching in the Red and Black Mountains, decided to come out into the world.
[What? The undead you sent to the city disappeared?]
Seere was also annoyed.
[That must have been Dantalian, that bastard. He's got bad taste in his mouth and likes to take what belongs to others. He must have seen some well-made undead running around the city and stolen them for his own, it's obvious].
Seere and Dantalian had crossed over to the human world together, but they didn't seem to get along very well.
"I don't know about the other undead, but we need to get Rose back."
I felt like I had been out of the world for too long, so I sent them to find out the latest news about the city, which was a problem.
Camus immediately left the forest and headed for the city.
On her way to Indulgentia's orphanage where Dantalian was supposed to be.
She heard that there was a festival going on at the Colosseo Academy in the distance.
'It has nothing to do with me now.'
Since Vikir's death, she hadn't thought about the academy.
Camus passed the Academy by and headed straight for Indulgentia.
And then.
"...!"
Camus could see the ruins that had been left behind.
Who could have left Dantalian's lair in this state?
Camus quickly scanned her mana.
Fortunately, Rose's soul and body were here.
Though it was shattered and scattered, Camus' powerful black magic could bring it back to life.
"Dantalian, you lowly thief. How dare you...."
Camus pushed the others aside and resurrected only Rose.
Tsutsutsuts...
When she had just reclaimed her third cousin.
"...Who's there?"
Camus sensed something was watching her.
A figure in black robes and a plague doctor's mask.
An ominous aura radiated from him.
[Eight Corpse Seere. 'King of the Dead'. You are my copycat].
An eerie voice modulation came from his mouth.
Camus shook her head, not sure who was imitating whom.
"Who are you?"
[Don't you know me?]
"I do not know. Not like you."
[You don't seem interested in what's going on in the world. Don't you even read the newspaper?]
Camus snorted lightly at his question.
"...Newspaper? Why would I read such a thing, I have nothing to lose in this world."
After Vikir's death, Camus turned her back on the world, even if it was a family affair.
Afterward, the mysterious man said.
[The Demon Kills].
"If you can, do it."
It was Camus's first battle against an opponent of her caliber since becoming a black mage.
* * *
"...ugh!?"
Camus opened his eyes.
The battle with the Night Hound had been intense.
His aura, especially at the end, was like the sun, almost blinding.
"What was that?"
Camus thought as she ran a hand through her greasy hair.
The first time the Night Hound had drawn his bow, he had momentarily let go of the leash of reason.
The barbarian archery that had killed Vikir could never be spared, not after seeing the man who wielded it.
But as the battle continued, something was off.
The Night Hound, whom I knew only as an archer, drew his sword and emitted an aura.
It was too dazzling to see clearly, but I knew I'd seen it before.
'What?'
A million thoughts raced through Camus mind.
Could it be that Vikir was still alive?
What if he had survived his grave wounds and found his way into barbarian society, where he healed and learned the art of archery?
'Come to think of it, that bow wasn't even an ordinary bow. It was obviously carved from a spider's exoskeleton.
What if Vikir eventually came back to life and took revenge on Madame Eightlegs?
The fact that he didn't return once he was healed could be due to something like amnesia.
'... Of course, it's all wishful thinking, but you never know, right?'
In the first place, Camus had risked his life on the tenuous hope that she could find Vikir's remains and bring him back to life.
There was a possibility that Vikir had been lucky enough to survive that night.
That he might have been accepted as a member of the tribe instead of being killed by savage barbarians.
He might have learned to be an excellent archer from them.
The possibility that they had killed the Madame of the Eightlegs, a depths nightmare.
And the possibility that all these possibilities overlapped and overlapped.
But that slim chance subconsciously tugged at Camus's emotions, and even in his stunned state, he forced Rose to track down the Night Hound without killing it.
"...Okay, I'll go check it out right away."
As soon as she recovered, Camus created an underground chamber beneath the ruins that no one knew about.
In addition, she kept a "life vessel" there, just in case.
A life vessel was a container of highly concentrated black mana, a warlock's second heart.
Camus had arranged for Rose to be able to teleport here if her life was in danger.
"Do you understand, Rose? If I collapse, you must bring me right here, because that's the only way I'll survive."
Rose nodded slowly as she listened to Camus's conviction.
It couldn't hurt to have the insurance, if only for the sake of coming here in the first place.
'Time to find out.'
If Seere really did have the ability to 'bring you into contact with those you wish to meet', then it was worth a shot.
Camus clenched her teeth.
She followed the trail of the night hound's escape to the darkened Imperial City.
Pow, pow, pow!
Fireworks lit up the night sky.
Toward the Colosseo Academy, where a festival was in full swing.