Freedom

"[Coiling Winged Serpent,]" these were the words Mae uttered right after Rakna readied himself.

A magic circle suddenly expanded under her feet and a massive figure slowly emerged from it. It encircled its summoner and hissed loud enough for the entire place to shake. How a sound with a pitch as soft as that caused such a result was a mystery to Rakna.

He calmly observed the giant ebony snake with two pairs of wings coiling around Mae and glaring at him with its piercing green eyes.

"[Black Marsh,]" the lamia uttered and the snake acted. It opened his mouth and released a flood of volatile poison into the air. Rakna raised an eyebrow at that and used Appraisal on the creature in curiosity.

"Oh? That snake has Poison Magic. So, it's not just dependent on you," he commented.

"You're awfully relaxed for someone who's getting surrounded by lethal poison."

Rakna huffed and his eyes sharpened. "[Shadow Step,]" he uttered and was shrouded in shadows for a moment before he appeared right in front of his opponent, his glaive buried in a wall of small snakes impulsively raised by a wide-eyed and shocked Mae.

"Good reaction. You would have lost your head otherwise," he said coldly, uncaring of the poison he was inhaling, and extended his hand to touch the snakes. Immediately after, his body produced even more mist and a dozen of reptiles died in the blink of an eye.

Mae shuddered and jumped away, conjuring tens of wind blades at the same time. Rakna casually stepped aside and dodged all of them with unbelievable precision, only using Sonata to destroy the very last one.

Right after, the winged snake proceeded to lunge at him and Rakna spontaneously turned into a werewolf and blocked its advance with a single hand. He flexed his fingers and his claws dug into its scales as he forcefully slammed half of its body on the ground. His palm then glowed with power and the snake struggled for a few seconds before turning limp.

Rakna let go as if he was handling trash and started walking toward the fear-stricken lamia. "Don't you know that reptiles are cold-blooded beings? I just have to touch them and they'll die from the cold," he said as his aura became even colder, enough to deter the snakes that were trying to get close to him.

Mae stepped back. She thought she would be ready to handle this guy in her strongest state even if he were to transform. But she had never been more wrong. Just seeing the imposing wolf was nothing compared to actually confronting it in person.

"H-how are you unaffected by the poison?" She stuttered.

"Unlike a certain idiot, I didn't forget that I have state-of-the-art technology inside my body," he deadpanned, glancing at Allan suddenly looking sheepish while the group was protected from the poison by Evelyn's magic. "The nanomachines in my system destroy anything harmful to me. Toxic substances are useless against me."

"I see…" Mae muttered. "That is quite impressive. I didn't know technology could be so effective."

"Well, mine are quite special. Normal nano-machines would never be as reliable," Rakna replied.

"Is that so?" Mae mumbled and her eyes shone with power. Countless snakes emerged around her followed by numerous wind projectiles. Two other winged snakes appeared and charged a spell in their mouth. This time, the wind seemed to be mixed with a red color; a gaseous acid.

The lamia was starting to get pale from the overexertion and the fact that the werewolf in front of her wasn't even showing a hint of worry wasn't helping her.

Rakna was in fact wondering what the best course of action was. Getting up close to her was quite hard because of her snakes. Even if he could kill them with cold, he had to get close and he would then be subjected to their bites. Poison or not, it would still harm him.

He also couldn't just use Flash Step to attack her by surprise since the skill in itself, while useful, wasn't always practical. It was easy to trace and the step in itself would take at least half a second to be fully completed. It was more than enough time for an enemy to react and counter him. He could also use Natcattiram Cataract but it was a bit overkill and risky, especially indoors.

'Let's get rid of those two first,' he thought and used Flash Step, but not to move toward Mae but to get to a spot where he would have both giant snakes in a line. The location he chose was on the wall of the castle.

He stood horizontally on it with his claws as anchors and summoned a cold star bow along with a threatening bladed arrow. The realistic and metallic form was several times scarier than when it was made of raw energy.

Mae's eyes widened when she saw that and hastily waved her hand. "[Wing Guard!]" She shouted and a wall of tempests was erected between Rakna and the snakes. She then commanded them to get out of the way but it was already too late.

"[Dáinsleif]," the werewolf's voice echoed as a streak of blue light easily smashed through the wind and continued, going through the heads of the snakes, destroying their brain along with the spells that they were preparing. As a result, they exploded into tornados of wind and poison. The 'arrow' pierced the wall and disappeared soon after.

Mae clicked her tongue as she covered her eyes but didn't lose track of her target's mana. With a thought, she ordered the hundreds of snakes around to her to attack at once. Some of them secretly had acidic poison. She was hoping to be able to take him by surprise with them but it was dashed away by what happened after.

"[Star Hearth,]" she heard, and before she knew, hundreds of chakrams appeared in the air above her before raining down. She hastily shielded herself with snakes and wind but her small army wasn't as lucky.

The throwing weapons slaughtered them directly and indirectly, after imploding. Additionally, the aftereffect of dropping the temperature killed the survivors.

Mae was starting to understand what being helpless truly felt like but she still believed she could defend against him for longer. But she was once again proven wrong when she abruptly lost every grasp on his presence. Whether it was by sight or through spiritual sensing.

She also couldn't feel anything strange that would signal the use of fast movement technique but to her shock, a figure appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye and thrust a spear at her. She gulped as an oscillating blade touched her neck, drawing a line of blood that slowly flowed down.

"…how did you-?" She didn't even have to finish her sentence before Rakna pointed at something on the ground with his free hand. When she followed his finger, she saw a broad dagger planted there and reflecting her appearance.

"Reflection," he said, seemingly not wanting to explain more and she let out an exasperated scoff.

"I lost... Just drive that blade through my neck," she uttered wearily and he looked at her without emotion on his face.

"Wait, Rak!" Allan raised his voice, thinking that he would really do it. "You; do we really have to kill you like this every time?" He asked the lamia with a deep frown.

She smiled back. "Yes. Don't do it and not only will you never complete the Dungeon but I will be eventually forced to attack you again. I told you; I'm a toy. If a toy doesn't obey, it definitely doesn't need free will. I will try to kill you no matter how bad I do not wish to."

"Is there truly no way?" Flavia asked, recognizing the feelings of pain flashing in the eyes of their party's brawler. She was still stunned by how these two seemed to have developed attraction to each other so quickly. "What about an overflow? If this Dungeon overflows, will you be free?"

Mae laughed bitterly, not noticing how Rakna's eyes were not looking at her anymore but moving from one side to side as if he was reading something.

"An overflow? That is worse than imprisonment here. When an overflow occurs, the residents of a Dungeon are stripped of their reason. I would truly just become a beast," she said. She eyed Allan for a few seconds before looking away. "I would love to leave… but killing me is the only option."

"…what about you, Nyx?" Evelyn asked, empathizing with the lamia. She had heard from the others that the black-haired woman was a former divinity. Perhaps she would have more insight. "Do you know a way to help her?"

"I am not sure," she night goddess said hesitantly. "If I knew how this Dungeon worked as well as the details of its connection with her, maybe I could tell you something. But if I had to guess, both her soul and body must have been corrupted some way."

"You're right," Rakna suddenly said and everyone looked at him. His eyes were roaming over a certain system window in his vision. "Her body is wired to function in the Dungeon's interest even if the mind isn't in accord. As for her soul, it's chained to the Dungeon. If the Dungeon is somehow destroyed, her soul will follow. If there is an overflow, the hold on her soul will be relinquished but, instead, her ego will be erased and her body will be controlled by a sort of parasite."

Mae blinked in surprise. "How do you know all of this?"

"It's handy to have a guild chat full of veterans," Rakna simply said. "I was asking them while you were rambling about how hard your life is."

The lamia's eye twitched. 'This guy's really not the cute type,' she grumbled internally.

"Then, did they say if there was a way to do it?" Flavia inquired.

"Sort of," Rakna shrugged. "They've thought of an idea just now but they never bothered enough about this to try anything like it," he explained and retrieved Sonata. He turned back into a therian and before she could react, grabbed Mae's neck.

"Rak?!" Allan panicked a little and his childhood friend simply waved him off.

"I'm not killing her…. kinda," Rakna responded, not so reassuringly, and looked at the lamia in the eyes. "I will attempt something. You will either die for good, never to revive, or be free. Are you willing to take the risk?"

Mae hardened her expression. "Yes. Both are better than what I have now anyway."

"Then, whatever happens, do not resist," he warned and his eyes flared with a transparent flow of power. It cloaked his entire body before detaching itself and switching to the lamia as if it was swallowing her.

"Evelyn, can you restore a broken neck with your life magic?"

"Eh?" The succubus yelped at being called. "You mean… after death, right?"

"Yes."

"I… can. It shouldn't be too hard. Why?"

"Then get ready," he said and commanded his soul power to attack the lamia. Mae trembled when she felt the foreign intent entering her soul but complied with his warning and let it happen.

Before long, she gradually became unable to stay conscious and she blacked out. The second she did so, Rakna silently put strength into his arm, and the sound of her spine breaking grimly echoed in the castle.

"Rakna!" Allan couldn't help himself.

"Calm down," Rakna borderline ordered him with a callous voice. His hand was still holding onto the now-deceased woman and his soul power was still around her. Then, with his other hand, he made a grabbing gesture and pulled.

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❮ ◈ ❯

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Soul Scourge has leveled up!

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You have completed Grit Castle!

Difficulty: Fiendish

Number of Participants: 5 | Average Level of Participants: 39

Rewards: 20 000 Talys, Petrification Antidote x3, Skill Card 'Stone Eye'.

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You will be transported out in a minute!

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❮ ◈ ❯

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Rakna dismissed the notification and under the eyes of everyone, a see-through version of Mae was yanked out of her corpse and made to float next to it. She also had some weird rope-like links binding her limbs to the ground.

The lamia was in a state of shock as she stared at her translucent hands and her lower snake half not touching the floor. She tried to say something but her voice didn't reach anyone.

"Use telepathy. You can't produce sound waves as a ghost," Rakna told her and put down her limp body. "Evelyn, heal her. Hurry up before we get teleported out"

"Y-yes!" She said and rushed to the body before starting to work on her neck.

"Now, next step," he said and looked at what appeared to be her bindings to the Dungeon. His eyes glowed once again and invisible hands made out of soul power reached for them. They instantly began to wrench them. Rakna scrunched his eyebrows at the resistance and poured in more power until the ropes burst apart.

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❮◈❯ Soul Scourge has leveled up! ❮◈❯

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"{W-what are you doing?}" Mae asked in a daze before Rakna once again grabbed her neck.

"Quiet, it's not over yet," he said and glanced at Evelyn. "Done?"

"Almost… there! It's back to normal!" The succubus said as her life spell was completed.

Rakna grunted and waved his hand. The body was sucked inside his spatial storage. When that was done, he used the rest of his soul power to envelope Mae again, and soon after, they were all transported out of the Dungeon.

When the party reappeared in the desert, they all looked stunned as Rakna was still holding onto the lamia's soul. Without addressing them for even a second, he quickly fished out the corpse from his ring and dragged her toward it.

"Enter it. There will be a rejection; I'll help you in the process. Don't resist," he said and shoved her into her body without further explanation. He then redirected his soul power, imagining a sort of sewing needle fixing the connection between the body and soul. "Evelyn, don't stop healing her body. Flavia, get over here and use your telekinesis to make her heart beat."

The two girls were still lost but they nonetheless complied with his orders. The others got closer to watch and Allan kneeled on one leg next to the unconscious lamia.

"I never used my telekinesis on something I can't see…" Flavia whispered uneasily and placed her hand on Mae's chest. She focused and pictured the emplacement of her heart before gently putting a pulsing pressure on it with her Nirvana Skill.

Rakna was tiring quickly as he manipulated his soul power, he had also activated Fabled Sight to narrow his peripheral sight and get rid of unnecessary distractions.

Evelyn was covering the body with Life Magic, and Flavia putting everything she had into keeping a steady heartbeat; this lasted for nearly five minutes. It was a tiring process for all involved until finally, a finger twitched.

Mia gasped and shot her eyes open. She sat up panting and looked down as she quivered violently despite herself. She clawed at the sand and froze at the feeling of the grains in her fist. She raised her head, feeling as if she was in a dream, and looked at the people around her.

"Say welcome to freedom," Rakna uttered, combing his hair with his hand and wiping off the sweat on his forehead at the same time.