Bro, I'm not an Undead!

(A/N: Bonus Chapter).

Within a rather simple and fairly neat house…

“Do you know what this is?”

“…”

“You know, refusing to answer my question will not be beneficial to you in any way. As someone who yearns to eventually rid yourself of my hold, it would do you some good to figure as much as you can about me, no?”

A brief bout of silence ensued after this statement.

“…What is it?”

“That’s more like it. This… is a Creed Seal,” Actuass said as he held up a thick green card the size of his palm.

It had extremely complex runes drawn in a spiral formation with a dark colour, the object oozing of a very potent energy that nauseated Revia who donned a clunky hooded robe.

Her silver hair had been washed, regaining its past beauty and her skin looked a bit healthier, discounting a slight drop in its usual lively shade.

“Its purpose is to either create a set of rules for the individual that it is implanted on, creating a situation where the victim’s soul, body and mind are forcefully bound to the respective conditions attached to it or… to create a set of rules agreed upon by both the user and the target.”

“The former is the easiest to do, but its results are usually not as potent while the latter produces the best results, but in truth, no one is willing to wager their soul for such. No one ordinary that is…”

Revia glared at Actuass’ masked face.

“Will you use that on me? It’d be easy if you used the first option right?” she asked with a unveiled disgust.

Actuass paused for a moment, his hazel eyes behind the mask showing hints of amusement.

“You still see me as a monster it seems, even after I washed and stitched you up. Regular healing won’t work on you but I’m sure the unbearable pain has subsided, has it not? Given all this, do you still think I have any interest in having more puppets?”

“You seem to enjoy using others. Didn’t you use something like that back in the Isise when we fought? It was something like a double right?”

“Hmmm…” Actuass hummed. “Indeed. But, I don’t need you as one such as those. Besides, how would you eventually escape me as you wish if I bound your free will?”

Revia took several breaths while glaring intently at Actuass before turning away, her face all wrinkled up in unveiled fury.

This was the worst thing to ever happen to her.

Falling to an enemy only to have that same enemy make her his immortal slave.

How distasteful.

“Come, let me finish…” Actuass said as he once again brought over the conversation to the Creed Seal.

“You’re familiar with the Giants right?”

“…Yes..”

“Good. They invented many forms of magic, including higher applications that break known and unknown boundaries. Some of these were taught to us as a whole and some were not. For instance, there is the Tie of Exchange, a secret contract technique used by the Giants to protect self interest.”

“Is that and this… Seal the same thing then?”

“Not exactly, but the principle is the same. This Seal is imbued with powerful runic orders that claim the victim’s soul, body and mind. However , all this comes at a cost. To someone like you who was raised with the notion that your talent was unrivalled and that your Divine Blessing could carry you to the top, this would be news to you. However…”

“No one in this world passes certain bottlenecks of power without making a Creed with something or themselves. Giving something so that another can be obtained. Such a thing doesn’t exist in lower forms of magic but when you reach the Incandescent Stage, it becomes clear…”

Revia’s eyes narrowed as as she heard things she hadn’t before.

Contradictions to what she knew.

Did this man mean to say that she had been using lower forms of magic?

“So then what? You want to train me to become something like you?”

Actuass lowered his gaze as his eyes fixated on the Creed Seal.

“This Seal is just one of the many that I have prepared. Moving with caution all these years has yielded its fair share of surprises, but my hard work is about to be rewarded,” Actuass said ignoring Revia’s verbal spit.

“And? What are you going to do with these the—” the young lady’s face turned from confusion to realisation as her mind churned out a possibility.

“This has to do with that event you have planned with the EverSword House isn’t it?”

“Indeed. That’s part of it. Someone else has entered a Tie of Exchange with me over that event so I won’t be the only one trying to reap benefits from it,” Actuass said with a light exasperated breath.

Revia’s brow creased. She still had a lot she didn’t understand about that simple trip to the EverSword House.

“If you’re so strong that you don’t even need to fight me personally, why not just go on with your plans? Why waste your time with all these convoluted plans? Is help from that House even necessary?” the silver-haired lady asked.

At this point, she might as well extract the details from Actuass as he asked to clear herself of the curiosity.

Actuass looked mildly pleased to hear her ask him these things.

“There are a lot more moving parts than you think. I’m not so bold as to launch an all out war on this world. Unlike the Evenfall, we don’t have that much devotion to the one who guides us. I’d rather ally myself with a national powerhouse with vast connections first.”

Revia scoffed with her visage showing her displeasure and discontent.

“Sounds cowardly, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, when it all unfolds, it will become clear that each step has a purpose.”

The former Paladin Champion frowned further. This man seemed to really be confident that he had accounted for everything.

Yet, even after accounting for this, she couldn’t help but wonder…

“What exactly do you wish to achieve? What’s your goal?”

—

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