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nA jolt sent his consciousness back into his original body, and Nikolai found himself to be looking at the hard soil of the alley. It took him a moment to understand what happened, but he could feel that his ghoul was slowly regenerating.

nNikolai could send the ghoul back into his pocket dimension, but it was more convenient to have eyes underground. The events earlier still left rage within him, especially toward Valkyrie.

nHowever, a part of him was mad at Sergio, even if he knew that the alchemist was manipulated. A dark, invasive thought appeared in his mind: he was right about his friend being needy and pathetic.

nNikolai hurried to chase it away because he never thought that way about his friend. It was true that Sergio was easily manipulated, but he was not pathetic or needy. On the contrary, the alchemist was the strongest because he never ran away from people like Nikolai always did.

n

"However, what is that underground space?

" even with the knowledge from the 1st Termination, Nikolai was not sure about the structure of Abani Ruins.

nAll he knew was that Hyde managed to tame a spirit in this place, allowing him to become the criminal overlord of Rosia truly. This was the story he learned from Lilith during their dealings with the man.

n

"This place is… an underground dungeon,

" muttered Nikolai as he closed his eyes. His undead could not move because most of his body was pierced through by spikes, but the place was unmistakably some ancient underground dungeon.

nThis might spill some unexpected harvest and be a better way to find Hyde. Nikolai calmed his heart down before he stood up and walked to the edge of the giant hole.

nAn abyss below was filled with maze-like paths and unknown moving creatures. Nikolai can see that his ghoul managed to destroy the outer part of some dungeon, but it was regenerating like a living monster.

n

"My darkness must be the reason behind this anomaly,

" muttered Nikolai with unease.

"Ash must be waiting looking at me right now, but this matter takes priority.

"

n

"Over there!

"

n

"The dark being should be there!

"

nNikolai looked at the church and waved his hand before jumping into the hole, which closed behind him. His body started to fall into the infinite abyss before a voice spoke to him.

n

"Another challenger,

" whispered a feminine and seductive voice.

"A human… no, but an intelligent being, none else. So are you a monster… or a challenger?

"

n

"My answer should make a difference. What is it?

"

n

"A monster will appear inside my dungeon to fight for me and feed on my powers. As for a challenger, they will appear at the starting point to prove themselves.

"

n

"And what am I proving, exactly?

"

n

"The right to be my master,

" a pair of green eyes appeared in the darkness in front of him.

"What is your choice, anomaly?

"

n

"I will be a monster.

"

nAfter he decided, Nikolai felt his body get pulled by some unknown force to the side. His head grew dizzy until a scene appeared in front of him, and he was standing on his feet.

n

"This is… a magic workshop?

" asked Nikolai with confusion as he looked around. Magic was a mysterious thing, wielded by none other than the gods. However, humans tried to understand it, and the result was enchantments.

n

"Welcome, monster. This is my abode and the place where everything takes place. You are the first intelligent monster to appear, so your task will be simple: choose those who deserve my power.

"

n

"And what will I benefit from this?

"

n

"That is indeed only fair,

" said a voice from behind him, and Nikolai turned to see a floating woman upside down. She wore a black dress that stuck to her pale skin.

"However, you chose to be the monster of this dungeon. There must be a reason.

"

nNikolai stared at the floating woman, and his eyes squinted. She looked ethereal, and her body was barely concrete. So this must be the spirit that Hyde found.

n

"There are people that I want to kill, and they are in this dungeon,

" smiled Nikolai, and the spirit looked surprised before she started laughing.

n

"You are fun, monster. This is the first time a being eviler than me enters this dungeon, and I will rely on you to make a choice.

"

n

"And what if I want to leave?

"

n

"You can do that at any moment,

" her body turned upside down, and her feet touched the floor.

"Then, how about we make a better deal. There are a lot of humans coming into these ruins. You kill them all, and I will be yours. This aligns with your goals, right?

" she said while throwing herself at Nikolai, leaning on his chest.

n

"You are an evil spirit, but why do you want a contractor?

"

n

"That is what my contractor decided, that is all. That man gave away his life for me to be sealed here for a worthy hero. But, unfortunately, it seems he does not understand that even a spirit turns evil after killing hundreds of thousands.

"

n

"You are an ancient being,

" muttered Nikolai as he looked down. The woman's black hair flowed like a river, flying behind her.

"I understand. This will indeed align with my goals. Furthermore, I have some recruits.

"

nAs he said so, Nikolai waved his hand. The darkness spilled as his undead appeared, including his ghoul. The spirit looked at the scene frozen in place before she slowly turned to Nikolai.

n

"You are… the God of Lost Souls and Ruler of Undead, Val.

"

n

"I took this power away from Val,

" answered Nikolai before pushing the spirit away from his body.

"I will use this dungeon of yours to harvest some souls.

"

n

"Val is not a name, but a title for he who rules the dead,

" the spirit said while cowering away.

"However, you are far too weak to be a sovereign. You must be a candidate!

"

nNikolai did not refute her words because there was never a case of a mortal wielding a sovereignty fragment. Instead, the spirit looked at his undead with fear, but they were still too weak to pose a threat.

n

"This is truly a fated meeting,

" grinned the spirit.

"I chose well to allow you as my leading monster. There is no monster other than those who feed on the dead.

"

n

"You talk too much for someone sealed for so long,

" frowned Nikolai before he looked around the room.

"There must be a dungeon core over here. Give it to me so that I can make the proper arrangements.

"

n

"You know about that, too,

" the spirit burst out laughing before she took off a ring and threw it at him.

"I will count on you, mortal. So let this be fun!

"

n

"Whatever, crazy woman,

" Nikolai caught the ring and wore it around his ring. This development was not something he expected, but it was not bad. Valkyrie cannot escape this dungeon unless she defeats him.

nAs he wore the ring, Nikolai was connected to the dungeon. However, there was more than just her party, as there were several others. Hyde should also be coming into this place soon, so it was better to kill her quickly.

n

"This stupid alchemist,

" frowned Nikolai as he realized that Sergio was healing Valkyrie.

"I must separate them.

"

n

"Ah, someone you care about?

" floated the spirit beside him and touched his shoulder. Nikolai could tell that she was looking at the same scene he was seeing.

"That woman is strong, and the man is weak. The monsters in this dungeon will eat the man without the woman. Good plan.

"

n

"That is a bad plan,

" sighed Nikolai before he decided to think things through.

"I have a question. Am I in control of the monsters?

"

n

"You are not their god, unlike your cute undead monsters,

" pouted the spirits.

"These darlings have been helping me for years. I allowed them to have their own free will.

"

n

"That is… idiotic, but fine. Then, I should be able to rearrange the dungeon.

"

n

"I used the energy to regenerate the hole that you came through. You need to kill some humans and use their souls to recharge the core.

"

n

"This sounds more and more like a game!

"

n

"I got bored of it quite quickly, so show me something fun!

" begged the spirit as she glued her body to his.

"And I will give you a special kind of reward, hehe.

"

nNikolai stared at the spirit and could tell where this was leading. This spirit can touch him and even feel like an actual human for some reason. Furthermore, she was attractive with long, flowing, silky black hair and a pair of big green eyes.

nTheir eyes met, and the spirit seemed to be leaning forward to kiss him. Nikolai stared at her silently but did not push her away this time. Instead, as their lips were about to touch, Nikolai asked:

n

"Are you a succubus?

"

n

"…what did you just say?

" froze the spirit.

n

"A succubus demonic creature who fools men, either sleep or awake, to have sex with them and absorb their powers. Are you after Val's powers? Maybe the one who summoned you was an old perverted geezer?

"

nSLAP!

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