More miasma spread out. It was now so thick that it blocked my vision. It was much like the time we had traveled to the newly formed dungeon by Chalm, Mina's dungeon. It was the place where I had found Lydia. It was the place where we… pain shot through my mind and body. Was I really going to die here? Were we all going to die in this dungeon? The life was draining for me. I had nothing left…
"Life… of course… I'm… an idiot."
I had Slave Master equipped, and it had a skill I had considered so horrible, that I had blanked it out of my conscious and never even considered using it. If Miki hadn't been the one who used its counter to help me live just a moment longer, I perhaps never would have thought about it.
"Steal…Slave Life!"
Through the slave bond, I targeted Shao and began to take life from her. Instantly, my body started to recover. Humans consisted of a spiritual body, a mana vessel, and a body. These three things could be attacked. The mana vessel was the hardest thing to destroy. However, if it was extinguished, someone would pass out. The spiritual and physical bodies, however, were directly linked to a person's life. If you destroyed a soul, the physical body would collapse lifelessly. Perhaps it could be turned into a zombie or puppet, but it would never be human again. Meanwhile, if the physical body was harmed, it was a natural result.
The attack of miasma had attacked both sources. Healing spells could repair the physical body, but attacks against the soul were different. That was someone's very life source. The only way to replenish life was by taking it from another source. Of course, even life could be replenished with enough time, but only with rest and care.
What I hadn't known at the time when I gave life to Lydia in Mina's dungeon was that her lifeforce had already taken many various blows. That final cut had caused her spark of life to flutter out so that no matter how much I healed her, I couldn't revive her. That was why I had to use my own life to substitute hers.
Now, my own life was in a similarly damaged state. Yet, there was a massive energy well, I had enslaved the Demon Lord herself. As I healed my own life force, I would weaken hers. In this way, it was the perfect attack. At least, that was what I thought. As my wounds started to heal and I found myself able to get up, I collapsed again down to my knees.
Her life force wasn't pure but contaminated with miasma. Shao let out a cry, her previous levitating stopping as she collapsed. The miasma between use spread apart, a single line of miasma connecting her heart with my own. I was pulling her lifeforce right out of her, and the Demon Lord's corruption with it!
This disruption in her miasma flow had somehow caused her to be unable to fight back. Had I done this earlier, would all of this be avoided? I didn't think so. She had previously shaken off every slave skill I used on her. Had I attempted it earlier, she would have just immediately cut it off with her mana. However, that last attack had used up the majority of her power. She could no longer resist. As I grew stronger, she grew weaker. A horrible darkness started to seep into my soul.