" Seraphine, can you heal the soul wound? "
The atmosphere became heavy. Everyone knew about Ramiel's situation, but it had been a kind of taboo subject until now. The women felt their hearts beat faster, and their hands became cold.
Seraphine remained silent. From the first second she met Ramiel, she sensed that something was wrong with his soul. For God's sake, when she was alive, she was one of the strongest beings in the world. Sensing a decaying soul was as natural to her as breathing.
The flames in the necromancer's eye sockets flickered, scanning Ramiel's body. At her current level, achieving insight into the former hunter's soul wasn't easy. But when she finally succeeded, she fainted. Only after several long minutes did she regain her voice.
" Forgive me, master, for the lack of formality... But how are you still alive? " - Seraphine tried to sound natural but still hadn't recovered from the shock.
The necromancer knew it was bad, but she hadn't expected it to be this bad. Ramiel's soul was barely held in one piece. There were cracks and fissures running through its dark surface. Sometimes a fragment of the former hunter's soul most simply evaporated, leaving behind it a black void breathing unfathomable darkness. The whole held together only because of a massive chain wrapped around the core of existence. But even that chain would soon be of no use. The destruction had gone too far.
Ramiel smiled sadly. He asked only one question.
" How much? "
Seraphine looked at him as if he were a monster. It was a true miracle that Ramiel could function normally instead of being driven mad by unbearable pain.
The necromancer was genuinely terrified of the former hunter. If she respected him before, she was now panic-stricken. Someone who could maintain his sanity in the advanced stages of soul decay was definitely not simple. His willpower had to be unbreakable.
" Four months, at best, you will survive four more months. I'm sorry, master, but I can't help you. It's too late."
Seraphine's words sounded like an executioner's sentence. Four months, or even less. That was how long Ramiel had to get out of his predicament.
The necromancer was puzzled. She expected to see panic in the former hunter's eyes or anything related to fear. However, the expression of his eyes remained unchanged. They still emanated an icy coldness. Even his face remained calm.
" Forgive my insolence, master, but you don't seem to be moved by this. " - Seraphine chose her words carefully. Now that she knew she was treading on fragile ice, she had to be careful.
" Four months..." - Ramiel sighed. " That's two less than I expected. "
Caera and Asme's hearts, stood still. For them, Ramiel had become the whole world. Currently, they couldn't imagine life without him. The thought that he would leave them in four months terrified them to the core.
Feeling the horned beauty tremble, Ramiel hugged her.
" I've been in worse situations before. Moreover, panic will not help me in any way. I'd rather focus on finding a solution than senselessly waste time despairing over my fate. "
Seraphine tilted her head involuntarily.
" Then why are you still sitting here? "
Ramiel laughed when he heard her question. The necromancer didn't wait long for an answer.
"Do you think I can fight with such injuries? I may look fine from the outside, but I'm still feeling the effects of yesterday's pact. It will take at least a day before I can manipulate mana properly. Otherwise, I might as well commit suicide. It will be a lot less painful. "
Ramiel wasn't exaggerating. The shock of the sudden deterioration of his soul had disrupted the flow of mana in his body. Currently, the former hunter's insides were no different from a rough sea during a storm.
" So, will you finally tell us what exactly happened yesterday? " - Avi was the first to break the awkward silence. Curiosity was eating her up from the inside. All the while, she tried to restrain herself, but patience wasn't one of the fairy's virtues.
After her words, all eyes turned back to Ramiel. The man felt slightly pressured, but he didn't care.
" What exactly do you want to know? "
Avi, without giving anyone a chance fired out first.
" What was the artifact you used yesterday? "
The fairy's question caught Seraphine's attention. After all, this matter concerned her directly. She may have come back from the dead as Ramiel's pawn, but she still wanted to be in control of her fate to some extent.
Ramiel mused for a moment, digging through some of his memories. He tried to recall a certain event that had happened in the not too distant past. When he was ready, he grunted.
" The artifact... among hunters, we called it Angel's Fluff, but the term Slave's Oath is more fitting. Its rank hasn't been precisely defined. It fluctuates between chaos or something above it. Basically, no one has ever studied it thoroughly. "
Ramiel stared dully into empty space for a moment, maintaining uncertainty.
" Angel Fluff works quite simply. The artifact connects two souls in a simple servant master relationship. In our case, I act as the master and Seraphine as the servant. Despite the uncomplicated effect, I wouldn't advise you to underestimate it. People who have been foolish enough to try it have ended up tragically. "
Seraphine was delighted with Ramiel's explanation. She knew that the artifact wasn't simple. If she had doubts before, now they died, along with her freedom. From now on, the fate of the necromancer rested in Ramiel's hands. Seraphine consoled herself with the thought that her new master didn't seem foolish.
" So... I am your slave... master? "
The former hunter heard resignation and despondency in the necromancer's voice.
" Yes and no. Technically, this is my protection against betrayal. I have no intention of restricting you specifically. I will apply the rules that the dungeon has imposed on you. Unless you give me a reason, I have no intention of abusing Angel Fluff. I think you understand what I mean by that? "
Seraphine nodded her head. Her predicament wasn'tt as dire as she had first thought. She will serve Ramiel faithfully for the rest of her life, but he will not hinder her growth.
This was, of course, a big blow to her pride. In previous life, she was a powerful empress before whom every power in the world had to bow down. But as if she didn't see it, being a slave was better than dying again. Who knows, maybe serving under Ramiel won't be so bad after all.
" I understand, Master. I hope for fruitful cooperation. " - Seraphine hid her pride and bowed humbly.
" I am glad to hear that. " - Ramiel smiled in spirit. He loved working with smart people. It was comfortable. Simply delegating tasks to someone competent is wonderful.
However, his happiness couldn't last forever. Avi flooded him with another series of questions.
" How did you acquire something so absurd? And how did you hide it in your memories? " - Avi emphasized the second question. If something could escape the eyes of the Nenneke, it must be something special. At all costs, the fairy had to find out what it was all about. After all, the future of the dungeon of damnation could depend on it.
" Make yourselves comfortable. It will be a longer story. " - Ramiel felt the twin peaks press against his back, and a gentle breath brushed his neck. At the same time, Asme leaned comfortably against his chest, playing with the man's fingers. For a moment, he felt like a grandfather telling a Christmas story to his grandchildren.
" It all began about three years ago. At that time, I wasn't considered one of the strongest people on earth, but that was about to change. Once upon a time, a being came to our world who ordered us to call him an angel. He wouldn't tell us his name or anything about himself. He said we were beneath him to know that. Anyway, he was right... The mere presence of the angel was enough to annihilate the entire planet. "
The former hunter sounded a bit grim, but the women heard a touch of admiration in his voice.
" Its majesty surpassed anything we had known so far. The six huge and powerful wings were extremely impressive. He was no taller than the average man, but his wings added several inches. His dark blue eyes could freeze oceans with a wry look, and a gentle wave of his hand could destroy mountains. However, the most dangerous thing about him was his aura. People within its range felt a kind of natural security and attraction. This was extremely illusory and misleading. Many people lost their lives because of it, antagonizing the newcomer. "
The former hunter paused for a moment.
" Along with the angel's appearance, the world was panicked. Riots broke out everywhere, and people feared for their lives. A real mess was created. The Catholic Church caused an uprising by invoking the existence of a God... It didn't end well. Hundreds of thousands of people and talented hunters lost their lives because of blind faith. "
" However, luck smiled on us. Contrary to the worst fears, the angel turned out to be something of an ally. He came to our world with a proposal. Soon, a dungeon like never before appeared on Earth. Only eleven people could enter it. Getting to the point, the angel offered to help us. The dungeon was to contain a member who had betrayed his race. He himself couldn't go to kill him, but we could. He was to use some ancient magic to subdue the fallen angel, giving us a chance to kill him. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had any chance. "
" For the trip to the dungeon, a team consisting of the then ten strongest hunters was assembled. The last eleventh place was left vacant. As you might guess, it belonged to me. The organization's leader responsible for managing the world's dungeons stood up for me. He was the strongest of us all at the time. A sympathetic older man in his 60s, he liked me and, above all, knew my skills. He knew that I would do an excellent job in the dungeon. This was, of course, met with objections, but in the end, no one had anything to say. "
" Apart from him, of the people I knew, my friend Max took part in the raid. The fucker was ranked 10th at the time, solely due to his Chaos Rank armor and weapons. "
At the mention of the man, a sad smile appeared on Ramiel's face. He didn't know if he would ever see him again.
Ramiel took a drink of water and then continued. He didn't notice when, but his audience was joined by all the free creatures in the dungeon, listening to his story.
" Some of the participants were hostile to me because of this, but Magnus made it clear that if something happened to me, he would tear them all to pieces. I won't say that I was a little stressed on the day of the expedition. It was insanely dangerous. "
" Preparations were in full swing. We trained in sweat day and night for the arrival of the trial day. When the dungeon appeared, we were already standing armed to the teeth in front of the gate. We were led by an angel. He did his magic in front of the gate, sending thousands of streaks of light into its interior. He let us go inside only after an hour, saying that most of the enemies had been neutralized. Now that I look back on it, his help proved invaluable. "
" Going inside, we were greeted by the sight of a thousand piles of corpses. Then, for the first time, I experienced murder on such a scale... Sigh... The space we found ourselves in was filled with a depressing aura, and the smell of rotting flesh was nauseating. All sorts of skulls and shredded corpses were strewn everywhere. The room walls were made of an unknown mineral, weakening our will significantly. We would have knocked each other out if not for the healer's protective spells. The situation didn't look good, and we hadn't even walked halfway to the boss. "
" By the way, we were definitely not prepared for what awaited us. We felt panicky fear and an urge to flee when we opened the massive door. Some of the front line even took a few steps back. It was quite a peculiar sight. "
Ramiel sighed.
" To our eyes appeared the gigantic figure of a kneeling angel. His skin was rotting, showing us jet-black bones. It resembled nothing so much as the majestic entity we were dealing with. His aura sent shivers down our spines and filled us with panicky fear. His one look was enough to break our morale completely. The most normal thing of all was his ashen wings. You may find what I am about to say strange, but they were beautiful. I liked them more than those of our ally."
" The battle that broke out then lasted continuously for a month. We fought day and night without even having time to rest. During it, some people realized how terrifying my two skills, Leach and Cursed Condemnation, were. The prolonged battle over time only worked in our favor, weakening the fallen angel. Also then, I learned what power the chaos rank weapon carries. "
" At the end of the battle, when our victory was almost certain, some of us lowered our guard. At that time, we lost four people, and two were wounded. I was left with the old man, Max, our healer, and Vanessa on the battlefield. Our situation became hopeless. We were cornered. The fallen angel's skills were not only suited to fighting many opponents at once but also wreaked havoc on our minds."
" Then the old man went to drastic measures, forcibly taking the weapons from the two wounded hunters and handing them to me. "
At the mention of the power of the Chaos Rank weapons, a sincere smile appeared on Ramiel's face.
" Having a weapon adequate to my abilities, the real fun began. Even though it resisted my will, I was able to force it to function properly. The odds on the battlefield suddenly changed in our favor. I then felt like a fish in water. I felt invincible, being able to fight on equal terms. "
" Finally, after a few days of non-stop fighting, we managed to kill the fallen angel. I was carried away at one point and destroyed a borrowed weapon. The hunters were furious, and I had to give up some of my loot to appease them.
" It wasn't that I came out completely at a loss. I then received two swords, the rank of destruction, which served me until the very end. In addition, each of us received one piece of Angel Fluff. However, what I gained from this battle was a priceless experience and a greater understanding of the elements of darkness and space. "
" The fallen angel was a true expert in handling the element of darkness. Thanks to him, I developed many new spells and skills. He was a true inspiration to me. But the real icing on the cake was when I cut off his head. For a brief moment, I was trapped in his domain. This allowed me to construct my own. I wish you could have seen the look on my face when I felt the element of space enveloping me from all sides. I spent a good month there, trying to get out and get the most out of it. "
" When I managed to escape, it turned out that not even a second had passed. The situation in the outside world was similar. We spent more than a month in the dungeon, but it was only an hour for people. "
Avi squinted her eyes. She had listened to Ramiel's story the whole time but couldn't find any reason why she hadn't received these memories. The only thing she could think of was the presence of the being that called itself an angel. Here was another problem, Avi had no information about such a species, and even the description didn't match any of them.