After Ophelia left, Roseliel picked up the pair of scimitars again. She scrutinized them closely under the moonlight, her fingertips slowly sliding along the snake-scale patterns on the blades. She recalled what Ophelia had said.
“Captured souls can be fed to it.”
Roseliel intended to test this function.
She took out the coin again and summoned her vengeful spirit.
Back in Maple Creek Town, when Lucia had been called away to record statements, Roseliel had secretly retrieved it.
Now, the vengeful spirit had lost all the imposing presence it had when first summoned. It was transparent and ethereal, looking like a wisp of mist that might dissipate at any moment. To remain intact after being scorched by Lucia’s holy fire, it must have had a tough constitution.
Despite her deep dislike for the original host, Roseliel felt a twinge of pity for the spirit at this moment.
She did a quick calculation in her head: first, it was dragged in front of the Goddess statue to take a strike for her; then, it was treated as a tool all night; and finally, it was brutally beaten by the Saintess. It really was quite miserable.
But then she thought about it—the original host’s downfall was, in the end, her own doing. She was merely helping her clean up the mess. Once she considered that, her guilt quickly faded.
“But how am I supposed to feed it?”
Lacking an instruction manual, Roseliel had to figure it out herself. Eventually, not knowing what else to do, she simply pointed the snake-mouth at the pommel of the hilt toward the vengeful spirit.
Eating with a mouth—very logical!
The moment she aimed it, the gem-encrusted eyes of the snakehead suddenly lit up, as if awakened by something.
Immediately after, the snake's tongue flicked slightly, gently touching the hem of the vengeful spirit’s trailing robes. The spirit’s form began to warp, as if drawn by an invisible vortex, being sucked into the snake’s mouth inch by inch.
She actually guessed right!
“In your next life, be sure to be a good person.”
Watching the vengeful spirit being devoured, Roseliel bid her farewell in her heart.
When the last sliver of the transparent silhouette vanished into the snake's mouth, she felt the scimitars in her hand vibrate slightly. It was as if something had awakened deep within the steel, and the snake-scale patterns on the blades seemed deeper than before.
“And then what?”
There didn't seem to be any particularly obvious change.
She closed her eyes and focused her mind, sending her consciousness down through the hand holding the blades.
A sense of suction pulled at her, as if something were gently tugging her along.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in a pitch-black space.
This space was not unfamiliar to her; this was where she had watched the original Roseliel fade away completely. Perhaps this was a certain space connected to the soul.
She looked around and noticed a green-haired girl lying on the ground not far away. She was wearing a black camisole dress with high slits, her limbs splayed out, lying facedown in an extremely unladylike posture. Her breathing was steady and long; she was clearly sleeping soundly.
“Hello?” Roseliel knelt down and tentatively poked her cheek.
“Mmph...” The girl opened her eyes slightly, thick with sleep.
“Aaah—” She gave a massive yawn, squeezing out a few tears. “Are you my master?” Her voice was very lethargic, like a university student for an 8 AM class.
Her eyes were the same emerald green as Ophelia’s, but within them were patterns resembling snake scales.
“I suppose... so.” Roseliel didn't sound very confident herself.
“Well, you wouldn't be able to get in here otherwise.” She propped herself up and stretched, her joints popping and cracking. “I'm hungry. Feed me.”
She opened her mouth directly and rubbed her stomach, sounding perfectly entitled.
“Didn't I just give you a little bit?”
“That wasn't nearly enough! It was just enough to wake me up.” She pinched her waist, looking dissatisfied.
“But I really don't have any souls right now.” Roseliel spread her hands helplessly.
“Then go hack, go kill, go slice-slice-slice!” She used her hands like blades, waving them around while making sound effects. “I want to see rivers of blood!”
Roseliel’s eyelids twitched. This artifact spirit was a bit too bloodthirsty.
“I'm begging you, Master~” The girl drew out her words, dropping to her knees to grab Roseliel’s hand. “As long as you feed me, I'll do anything!”
“I’ve been starving for a full hundred years!” She traced a large circle with her hands, her expression exaggerated. “I’ve had to survive by going into sleep mode every day. I’m almost going crazy from hunger!”
Roseliel felt a headache coming on from her bizarre behavior. “Fine, fine. There’s bound to be plenty of fighting lately. If there's a suitable one, I'll feed you, okay?” She massaged her temples.
“I’ll be waiting for you!” The girl hugged Roseliel, then leaned into her ear and whispered softly, “If you can fill me up, I won’t treat you poorly~”
The end of her sentence carried a perfect hint of stickiness, and then she licked the base of Roseliel’s ear, sending goosebumps down half of Roseliel’s body.
“Alright, goodnight!” With that, she leaned straight back, falling flat onto the ground and immediately snoring away.
“Wait, lady...” Roseliel went over and shook her shoulder, but she was motionless.
Other people’s artifact spirits were loyal and dedicated; why was hers so bizarre?!
Roseliel felt utterly speechless. Seeing that she couldn't get any more information, she gave up, concentrated her mind, and exited the space.
Judging by the artifact spirit’s words, it seemed that as long as she killed people, she could collect souls for her.
However, since this thing belonged to that Snake Cult Saintess, she had to keep a sharp eye out to prevent any traps from being left behind.
“Where should I put this thing?” Roseliel pondered a new problem.
Although the Snake Cult was a taboo in the kingdom, snakes themselves were not prohibited as decorative elements, as long as they weren't used in specific contexts. So, she didn't necessarily need to hide them.
It was just that these scimitars were too conspicuous, and carrying them around was inconvenient. Furthermore, they didn't have scabbards; presumably, the original owner never needed such things.
If only she could use her soul to store them.
Just as this thought emerged, the two scimitars suddenly took flight out of thin air, rushing straight at her!
The distance was too close to dodge. Roseliel instinctively closed her eyes and raised her arms to block!
I’m not going to die like this, am I?!
The expected pain never came. She cautiously opened one eye and looked down at her hands; there was nothing there.
But on the backs of her hands, two scimitar-shaped tattoos had appeared. One on each hand, the lines were delicate, as if applied with an extremely fine pen nib.
She really could store them? Roseliel looked at her hands over and over, feeling both surprised and speechless.
Was this thing not picky about its master? Could anyone use it? But remembering that Ophelia had also summoned these weapons out of thin air, it wasn't that hard to understand.
Perhaps it really didn't care who used it.
Since the blades were already stored, it didn't matter if she added one more.
Roseliel approached the magic book as well and controlled it with her will, merging it into her body.
The moment the book touched her fingertips, it integrated into her body as naturally as a drop of water falling into a lake, without causing the slightest discomfort. The process was even smoother than storing the scimitars.
Though she still had many doubts, Roseliel lacked the knowledge to judge whether these things were good or bad. She decided to ask Mona once she saw her again.
She lay back on the bed. After all that excitement, she actually felt quite exhausted and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, she was woken up by noise. On a rare day without a schedule, she had intended to sleep until noon. When the knocking woke her, her face was full of displeasure, and she was ready to snap a question.
Luna’s reply dispelled all the irritation in her heart.
Grand Duke Rosenwal had arrived!
Rate on N.U.
