Because life is more important than freedom

Caera and Asme saw the situation and felt fear in their hearts. A huge battle had just taken place, and Ramiel was again threatening someone with a sword. He was literally asking for trouble.

Without waiting for instructions, the women sided with the former hunter and took up fighting positions. Asme prepared a simple spell, and Caera strained her bow, aiming at the kneeling figure.

The necromancer tried to understand the reason behind her master's aggressive stance, but nothing came to mind. Not having much other choice, she tried to alleviate the conflict with dialogue.

" I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, master. "

Ramiel's cold eyes looked deeply into the blue flames.

" You were once a ruler of the empire, you should understand." - The former hunter said calmly. He was firm in his actions. If he detected a threat, he wanted to nip it in the bud. Raising an enemy who might betray him later was missing the point. He had already made a similar mistake once, and he didn't intend to do it a second time... Not this time.

The flames in Seraphine's eye sockets shone, experiencing a daze. At the same time, the necromancer was confused. There was no way she could betray her master. In the first place, Nenneke and the dungeon's core wouldn't allow her to do so. For another, the fundamental laws governing the universe wouldn't allow it.

Besides, if Seraphine could oppose him, she would have done so at the very beginning of their conversation.

 " Master, forgive me for my audacity, but your suspicions are pointless. Like everyone here, I am bound by the laws of the universe to serve you. Any attempt to oppose you is leveled by the dungeon. " - Seraphine chose her words carefully. She was slowly creating a psychological portrait of Ramiel in her mind, but a few minutes of conversation was far too little to do anything concrete.

" Ramiel, I think you are exaggerating. There has never been a case of a creature summoned from a dungeon defying its master. If that were the case, you wouldn't have sent so many units to their deaths. Besides, Nenneke's oaths are unbreakable. " - Avi decided to bring Ramiel down to earth. He sometimes burned stupidly, but now he passed himself.

Despite the fairy's efforts, the former hunter didn't buy her version. The rat reinforced his belief that his appearance in this world was no accident. Since only Nenneke could make such powerful contracts, she must have had some purpose in sending him here. Maybe she just wanted to facilitate necromancer evolutions, but Ramiel didn't believe it. Such a solution seemed too simple, naive, and cheap. Even a child of a few years would have noticed that something was wrong.

Assuming, of course, that Nenneke really had her fingers in it.

" Tell me, if Nenneke gave you free will at some point, what guarantee do I have that you won't betray me? One more thing: I forbid you to lie or say things contrary to your desires. "

There was silence in the air. Ramiel stared at Seraphine, but she remained silent. The necromancer seemed heartbroken. She had just regained her life, and already she had to lose it.

 " See? You and I know the answer. A person who has already known the taste of power once will seek it for the rest of life. You may have become undead, but your human nature remains."

The flames in Seraphine's eyes dimmed, and the stench of death faded.

" It has been an honor to serve under such a talented man. Since I was summoned to the dungeon as a skeleton, I have watched your movements. If you don't do anything stupid along the way, master, you should go far. " 

Seraphine knew that she wouldn't be able to get out of the situation unscathed. As she recalled, she had been watching Ramiel from hiding. Although she was too weak to make any interactions, her mind registered every event and detail.

During this time, she admired the young man facing adversity. She also saw the other side of him, the one he tried to hide but kept quiet about it. She had lived in this world too long to know when to bite her tongue.

The fairy looked at Ramiel uncertainly. She didn't know if a stone had accidentally hit him on the head during the fight... He was acting irrationally, to say the least, questioning the loyalty of the summoned units. If the laws of the universe didn't entangle them, the dungeon wouldn't be able to function.

Her thoughts, however, didn't have the slightest influence on the decisions he made.

" I will ask you only once, do you want to live, Seraphine? " - Ramiel sounded cool and dry, but at the same time threatening.

His words confused the necromancer. With each exchange of words, the former hunter contradicted himself. First, he threatened her with death, and now he asks if she wants to continue living.

" Yes, master... I want to live. Only suicidal people don't want that, and I don't identify with them. " - Seraphine replied with unwavering determination.

Ramiel looked at her for a moment and sent the twin swords back to the space ring, or rather, exchanged the weapons for something else. In his hand now lay a snow-white feather. The thing emitted a bright yellow light, and something resembling a halo floated above it. In one second, the ambient temperature rose several degrees.

Asme felt conflicting feelings toward the object. On the one hand, the strange warmth attracted her soul, but on the other, she felt extreme hatred toward it. The horned beauty clenched her fists so tightly that blood flowed from hand. With all strength, the woman restrained from throwing at the object. 

However, Ramiel didn't give her the opportunity to do so. He bit his thumb, dropping a few drops of blood on the mysterious artifact. The halo above him absorbed them, changing from pale yellow to dark red. Strange and incomprehensible runes appeared, swirling around the feather. Several minutes passed before the artifact absorbed them and was ready for use.

Sweat trickled down Ramiel's face. Activating and maintaining the artifact, was beyond his strength. It carried with it certain consequences. His skin lost its healthy hue and scarlet streams flowed from his nose. At best, he had a few minutes left behind before he passed out.

" Accept it. This will only work if you really want it. " - Ramiel wheezed and handed the artifact to Seraphine, surprising her. The necromancer was ready to die, but her master offered her a second chance.

She accepted the opportunity without a moment's hesitation. She didn't know what this thing did, but one thing she was sure of was that there would be no second chance. If she didn't take it now… it would definitely be the end for her.

After reading Seraphine's will, the feather entered her body and spread a pleasant warmth over it. The woman felt as if she had a living organism again. A cacophony of feelings flooded her mind, leading to a temporary numbness.

However, the process didn't end there. A magic formation with a radius of up to ten meters appeared beneath Ramiel's feet. Behind him, a figure over two meters tall emerged from the shadows. Her face and figure were hidden under a dark cloak. Even if one looked at her face for hours, one would still see nothing but impenetrable darkness.

The mysterious entity placed one hand on Ramiel's back, and the sound of crackling metal rang out in the air. One of the chains that was wrapped around the mysterious newcomer loosened. With a loud rasp, it threw towards Ramiel, permeating his body. He felt the object bind itself to his soul.

At that moment, Ramiel was playing with fire with only a drop of water at his disposal. His soul was already in a deplorable state, and putting additional pressure on it couldn't end well. At best, it would shorten his remaining time by a month or so. At worst, he might die in a few minutes...

 Suddenly, a jet-black chain shot out of his chest, wrapping around Seraphine's bony neck. She felt an incredible discomfort from the intrusion into her soul. The chain wrapped around her soul as if nothing had ever happened, and the mysterious feather stood guard over it, forming something like a padlock.

Dark smoke coming out of the mysterious entity's sleeves glided up Ramiel's leg. His instincts screamed at the potential danger, but there was nothing he could do about it. As the smoke reached the chain, it penetrated it. A moment later, there was a flash of light, after which everything returned to normal. No trace of the mysterious gentleman remained except for the slave pact between Ramiel and Seraphin.

Avi was shocked by what she saw. What was it exactly? The fairy didn't know.

When the initial shock passed, she focused on a crucial matter.

Where on earth did Ramiel get the strange artifact? But most of all, how did he hide something so powerful from her? The fairy had direct access to every memory of the former hunter. Even those whenever he was born and his mother changed his diapers! For this the origin of the mysterious artifact intrigued her so much.

It took Avi several minutes to come to her senses. She was the first person to awaken from lethargy. Wanting immediate answers, she showered Ramiel with questions. However, the latter didn't have the slightest desire to answer any of them.

At the moment, he had more important things on mind than satisfying the fairy's curiosity. Namely, he had to keep himself on his feet somehow, which wasn't one of the easiest tasks. The whole world was spinning before his eyes, making him nauseous. The former hunter's limbs became like cotton wool, and the nosebleed didn't improve the situation.

Ramiel could no longer keep his balance and collapsed onto his butt. His breathing became erratic, and his consciousness slowly drifted into the land of oblivion. Before losing consciousness and scaring the woman to death, the former hunter managed to coax out a few words.

" It's nothing terrible... I need to sleep a little... Just... a little... " - The former hunter didn't finish. He lost consciousness, igniting a small fire of unhealthy panic.

The women rushed to Ramiel's side, their faces painted with horror. They only calmed down when they carefully checked his vitals. After the initial inspection, they felt better but still needed a professional assessment.

 " We - we have to take him to Fe - Felix. " - Caera turned to Asme. In stressful situations, her habit of stuttering recurred.

The horned beauty removed two fingers from the former hunter's neck. Just as she was about to speak, the fairy's voice interrupted her.

" Ramiel is fine. You don't have to worry about him. He just needs rest. I'm not sure how, but the artifact interfered with the structure of his soul. It's a miracle he didn't die in the process... If he survived it, then nothing should threaten him anymore. " - The fairy tilted her head to the side and put a finger to her lips." Unless his soul is about to disintegrate, but I doubt it. He is tough and avoids the grim reaper's scythe like a cockroach. Although, it's the cockroaches that should study up to him. "

Avi's words soothed the women's hearts. Asme, however, had some reservations.

She already knew how deplorable a state Ramiel's soul was in.

 " Nevertheless, Felix should watch him. " - The horned beauty's apodictic tone made it clear that she wouldn't make any concessions on this subject.

Avi didn't argue. She considered it a waste of Felix's time and mana, but it was worth it if she could appease the women. After all, Ramiel's injuries lay not on the physical body but on the spiritual. Felix didn't have enough skills to help him.

Soon, Caera, with the help of Asme and Rascal, put Ramiel on the wolf, tying him down with a rope so he wouldn't fall. The succubus' gaze went to the still-kneeling Seraphine. Asme knew that the necromancer wasn't at fault.

The horned beauty left the unconscious Ramiel in the hands of the elfess and helped the necromancer get up.

 " You are Seraphine, aren't you? "

The woman hesitated for a moment but finally accepted a helping hand. She still felt weakened after the interference in her soul.

" And you are? "

The horned beauty exuded a smile. Although she tried to be nice, Asme had a strange feeling that she wouldn't get along with Seraphine.

" I'm Asme, nice to meet you. The elfess with the sky-blue hair is Caera, and The green goblin with the broken sword is Rascal. The little flying thing is Avi, our dungeon fairy. She may seem cheeky sometimes, but you'll get used to it. 

Seraphine nodded. Her mind was occupied with thoughts of a different kind. What exactly had Ramiel done to her? Of course, Asme was unaware of the necromancer's thoughts, so she spoke as if inspired.

It was rare that she could talk to someone other than Caera or Ramiel, so she wanted to make the most of the opportunity. As for Avi, Asme had long since given up. The fairy couldn't talk normally with anyone other than Ramiel. Her insolent nature would have made even a Shaolin monk furious.

~~~~~~

Ramiel didn't wake up until the next day. Opening his eyes, he could feel every nerve screaming for mercy. This morning, he had a massive headache.

Surprisingly enough, the former hunter felt extremely light. Clearly, no one had made a pillow out of him.

He was both pleased and disappointed. He was used to the feeling of twin peaks pressing against his torso in the morning.

Ramiel lay like that for a few more minutes. Only the smell of cooked food lifted him from the bed.

" Higher need... " - The former hunter muttered and got up. He was greeted by the lovely sight of Asme and Caera cooking together. The women seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Without knowing why, Ramiel felt a strange warmth around his heart for a moment. It seemed extremely familiar as if it had accompanied him for most of his life. But it vanished even faster than it had appeared, leaving a strange emptiness.

Is it that bad with my soul? - The former hunter muttered grimly in mind. As if on cue, his smile turned into a resigned grimace.

Ramiel attributed his strange mood to an injury to his soul. He didn't even accept the possibility that he was beginning to like women. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, he was very wrong.

After all, he was just an ordinary man, a little stronger than the rest. He could act like a cold-hearted asshole at times, but inside, he still subconsciously craved warmth and something more. That was who he was, and he couldn't change it.

The question was... Would he accept his feelings?