Unexpected reunion (part 2)

"Gublubblub. (We thought we could outsmart Kazimir and his people. We participated in the training, learning as much as we could but still restrained ourselves to show only meager and insignificant results, hoping they would dismiss us after wasting their time.)"

"Blub. (But instead of that, they sent us on just another training mission, when they led us to a place with a high concentration of malice and killed us with magic that resembled Venus Beast Trap...)"

Amo and Solange bubbled in discontent, sounding ashamed of themselves in Zorey's mind.

"Gublubblub. (It was just as if they knew exactly what kind of undead we would turn into if they did it like that.) Blub. (Then they continued experimenting on us, feeding us various monster carcasses until we were deemed battle-ready.) Gublub. (When they were content with the result, they got an eager necromancer and subdued us after getting -incapacitated-)."

"...!"

Amo revealed, not bothering to go into too much detail – even so, Zorey flinched and looked between the corpses of the adventurers and the direction from where the necro slimes+ slithered.

"...a necromancer who wasn't afraid to fiddle with the artificial undead... was... was he named Kaipo, by any chance...?"

Zorey gulped down his saliva, feeling the bile going up his throat as he was reminded about his friend, a boy who was pretty like a girl and wasn't a stranger to such experimentation, even in the past.

Did... did he kill his friend, not recognizing him while in a frenzy...?

"Blubblub...? (Kaipo...? That does sound familiar...)"

"!!!"

Solange's gelatinous body wobbled as she recalled, sounding a bit intrigued, and her translated thoughts caused Zorey to falter back as he interpreted it as the worst scenario.

"Gublub. (His name wasn't Kaipo. It was Dewei. Sorry for the misunderstanding – she recalls the name you said because Dewei and Kaipo were apprentices of the same master, and Dewei had a severe inferiority complex towards his senior.)"

Amo, who appeared to lose less intelligence than his sister, oozed forward and gave the much-needed context.

"Huh?! Oh! Oh, thank the System...!"

Zorey's eyes widened and he breathed out in releif.

"Say... were you the only people experimented on like that?"

The black-haired boy composed himself and asked.

He didn't have much faith in the possibility of the pair of siblings being the only victims.

"Blub. (No, of course not.)"

"Gublub. (But we were amongst the handful of ones considered successful.) Gublub. (The failures were dealt with by Paladins just like Erol.)"

Solange and Amo's skulls submerged in the violet goo composing their bodies moved towards each other, and they let out the necro slime noises that were translated into the comprehensible language in Zorey's head.

"...they are creating undead... and then use Holy Smite to get rid of most of them...?"

The young priest of death took a sharp breath and asked, thinking about the message from the past he had seen with his own eyes after the level-up.

"Blub. (Yes.)"

"... (...)"

Solange gave a short answer while her brother remained silent.

"Where are they doing that...?"

Zorey nodded his head a few times in silence and then looked at the pair of necro slimes+ and inquired.

"...blub... (We don't really know...)"

"...?!"

Solange's gelatinous mass slumped down as she admitted in a dispirited blub.

"Gublubblub. (We were killed near a swamp, near the Little Cure village far west of Grand Herbal. After that, we were immediately incapacitated and subdued, entering into the contract with Dewei. We spend the most time in the pocket-dimension that the contracted undead stay in, without a view of the outside world. When we were experimented on, it was in an enclosed area without any windows or the skyview.) Gublub. (Sorry.)"

Amo once again hurried with an explanation, but although it gave the reason for the lack of knowledge, it certainly didn't provide Zorey with the information he wanted.

"Gublub... (Hey... Zorey... since you are a priest of death, I want to ask you for a favor...)"

"...? (…?)"

Amo used the moment of silence and blubbed to the black-haired boy, making his sister wobble in unease.

"Yes?"

Zorey gulped down his saliva, partially expecting what it could be about.

"Gublub. (Could you use appease undead on my sister and me?)"

"...blub... (...oh... yeah...)"

He asked, and Solange visibly deflated and blubbed sadly.

"Gublub. (Back when I was alive, I heard that appeased contracted undead have a chance of surviving holy smite.) Gublub. (We want revenge on Kazimir and everyone who took part in turning us into this mess...)"

Amo blubbed, and his gelatinous body grew a few tentacle-like appendages from the sides.

"Gublub. (But not to the point of getting completely annihilated with no chance of respawning as a human being.) Gublubblub. (Staying here and actively helping you punish that bastard would be the best outcome, but being returned to the System and properly respawning is fine too.)"

"...blub... (...I want him to pay...)"

Amo ended up answering the question Zorey was about to ask – that being the small chance of actually staying behind as an appeased undead – and Solange let out a quiet blub filled with animosity.

"...I... haaaa..."

Zorey opened his mouth and hesitated for a moment before breathing out and lowering his head to make a pitiful expression.

Vernlily wasn't able to stay behind, and she appeared to be apologetic for leaving him behind.

"You do see that I became a red-name, right?"

He took a few seconds to calm down before straightening his back and looking between the necro slimes+ and pointing out the obvious.

"Blub. (Level 60 red-named.)"

"... (~O~)"

Solange blubbed, and Amo wiggled his appendages in agreement.

"..."

Zorey slumped his head as he looked to the side.

It was all happening so fast.

Way too fast.

Everything was fine just the other day.

Just a few hours ago.

"You better believe that no matter the outcome, I will make you join me. Whether you will stay or respawn properly. I will find a way to track you down whether you want it or not by that point."

The boy said as his expression turned dark.

The necro slimes didn't say anything back, but they also didn't try to move away, so their resolve was rather apparent.

"Appease undead. Appease Undead."

Zorey didn't want to drag it any longer – the proverbial bandaid had been torn already, after all, and the salt wasn't going to sprinkle itself on the open wound.

*HAAAA~*

The warm light emanating from the undead became more intense and seemed to envelop the entire parameter of the ruined monster village.

...but instead of the characteristic crack that should resound as the earthly remains of the undead would split open to release the zeros and ones, ephemeral pearly bubbles raised from the earth and....

*UMPH* *UMPH*

The doubled shockwave spread inside the defensive walls as the two monsters bounced up and down.

"...!"

Tears shone in the corners of Zorey's eyes as he gazed upon the pair of undead siblings who appeared to be focused on him.

"Well then... umm... I never did that before, but... P-pakt?"

Zorey laughed nervously and put his right hand forward as if offering a handshake, and both necro slimes grew appendages at the same time to grab it.