Chapter 127 - Helping Kamei
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Frank sighed, as he stood up in the chamber and extended his Shadow, taking away Ruby, Zhulong, Nezhit's corpse, and his soul which was calmly waiting to be remade into an Undead.
Due to Wasp's fight, Nezhit took an enormous hit, and his entire head was blown off, killing him instantly even if he was Undead.
Thankfully, Hades who had taken over Frank's body saved his soul and corpse inside of his shadow through the Dark Death Devil Magic' Shadow Storage Spell.
"Grawr…!" said Ruby, she seemed rather hungry, but she was overall fine, the same for Zhulong, who roared angrily at Frank.
Both of the little dragons jumped over Frank, licking him and releasing tiny sparks of lightning or warmness to his cold Undead body.
"You two… Sorry about all of that… All of that was… my fault. I should have been better prepared, I should have… done things quicker. I should have grown stronger… Instead of taking my time, I should have hurriedly… done things… I…" muttered Frank.
"My lord, this wasn't your fault…" said Nezhit's soul, hovering near Frank.
"Indeed brat, even if you prepared, that guy, Wasp, was insane, on a completely different level. Even if you prepared as much as you possibly could, it would have been impossible to predict him coming for you," said Hades.
"But… If I had been stronger… All of this… My mother… my stepfather…" muttered Frank gnashing his teeth in pain and sorrow.
"Calm down brat, and listen. Let us do things at our own pace. You have this dungeon, and you even got some deal with the gods in here. At the very least, you can be safe for some time in here. Let's not forget the past, but also let's not simply concentrate on that alone. Man, I was divided into countless pieces and drifted in space for eternity, do you think I was weeping all the time?" asked Hades.
"I…" muttered Frank.
"Cheer up, my lord. We can get through things together," said Nezhit.
"Indeed, Master! Count on me… I want you to rely on me!" said Orb.
"Everyone… Thanks… Perhaps I am overthinking things. Let's see what I can do now instead of simply tormenting me over what has already happened," said Frank.
Frank opened his item Box as he put down several butchered monster corpses to feed Ruby and Zhulong, who were rather hungry, jumping into the food immediately.
"Well, let's get you back on track, Nezhit," said Frank, as he raised his hands and exuded an Aura of Death Attribute Magic, showering Nezhit with it and slowly moving him back to his body.
His body was successfully raised… thing is, his head was still separated from his body.
"Ah, let me stick it back…!" said Frank.
However, Nezhit answered Frank through his head, which began to exude a blue-colored phantasmal essence, letting it float around.
"This… is strange, my lord. It seems that I've become something called a Dullahan," said Nezhit.
"Dullahan?! Brat, don't stick his head back then!" said Hades.
"Eh? Dullahan… That's… a headless Undead?" asked Frank.
"It seems that my Stats even increased, my lord… Who would had thought that I just needed to lose my head, hahaha," laughed Nezhit.
It seemed like Dullahan was a rare Undead-type monster species, which seemed to have higher stats than the conventional Undead that Nezhit previously was…
Although it was odd how just losing his head made him have higher stats than before, Frank felt like if Nezhit did not mind, that it was fine.
Nezhit was still able to put his head over his neck, but he could always separate it, and it seemed like if he did, he received some kind of Curse ability through his eyes that slowed down enemies.
Nonetheless, feeding would become rather awkward, as the food would fall off his head if he ate with it separated, so he had to be mindful to maintain his head stuck to his neck when eating, which he managed to do slightly.
"Well, I am glad that you're fine, Nezhit…" said Frank, as he glanced at his Shadow Storage once more.
He glanced through the darkness, as he saw the little body of a girl floating in the darkness.
She seemed to be sleeping, as if in a vegetative state.
Her long and black hair waved, as her face seemed to have dried out from all the tears she had cried.
"Kamei…"
Frank's sister, Kamei, daughter of his mother and stepfather, and one of Frank's most precious things in his life.
Only to imagine what she had gone through made Frank's chest ache.
"What are you going to do about her, brat?" asked Hades.
"I have to let her get my System so she can adapt to this world… If I expose her to this world outside of the space of my shadows, I do not know what could happen… But based on Ruby and the rest, it seems that if they share my System, they can travel through worlds without feeling any disturbance or oppression…" said Frank.
"I will go wake her up," said Frank, entering into his own shadow.
Although it seemed impossible, when Frank projected his shadow through Shadow Storage, the shadow itself became something like a different space, Frank was able to enter into this darkness for a few minutes before being sent back through some strange effect.
Frank dived into the darkness, reaching Kamei.
He caressed her silky black hair, as he contained his tears.
Frank hugged Kamei, as he kissed her forehead.
"I'm sorry… Kamei…" he muttered.
Sensing the cold arms of Frank embracing her, Kamei woke up, gently glaring at Frank.
"Frank… Frank-nii-sama?" she asked.
She barely recognized her brother, as his eye were now crimson red, his skin pale white, and his black hair was now completely silverly white, there was even a small black horn growing to the left side of his head.
"It's me… I… I have changed a lot… Can you forgive me, Kamei? All of this was because… I was weak, but I promise you that this shall… never happen again," he said.
Kamei's sleepy eyes seemed to shine brightly. She didn't know where she was, and she didn't know why her brother was so different now, she even considered that she might be inside a dream.
But then, the memories surged into her mind, her mother crying in agony as she was mercilessly assassinated, and her father crying, telling her to escape.
She remembered how she was stuck in there, glaring at the scene, completely paralyzed.
She also felt like Frank.
She felt as if she was not able to do anything at all about this.
She felt incredibly powerless.
Who was that man?
Why did it kill her parents?
Why did it want his brother so much?
And what were those strange powers he used, and that… that grotesque tail growing from his back… What was that?
So many questions unanswered, and the only thing clear in her mind was immense sorrow and frustration.
However, she had seen as her brother literally destroy his heart in front of her as the inhumane monster at her side laughed.
But aside from what she thought, Frank was back, he was somehow… alive.
Even if his touch was cold like ice.
Even if his eyes seemed to hold a strange and fearful aura…
He was still her nii-sama.
Her beloved brother.
One of the figures she always looked forward to.
Someone she always had within her mind.
Tears began to flow from her eyes, as she hugged tightly the stomach of Frank.
"Nii-chan, I thought… I thought you died…! Sniff… I am so happy you are alive… I do not know what I would have done if… I was alone…"
"Kamei… I am also happy that you're with me," said Frank, petting Kamei's silky black hair and kissing her forehead once more.
"I will explain everything as we go, let's get through this together, alright?" said Frank, containing his tears as he gave away a gentle smile, something that could comfort his little sister's broken spirit.
"Nii-sama… O-Okay…" said Kamei.
Then, Frank opened his Inventory and took out a book, brown-colored book with a picture of a rock in front of it.
"Kamei. I need you to be stronger… Do you want to be stronger?" asked Frank with a serious tone.
"Stronger…?" asked Kamei.
"This is a Grimoire. A book that gives you the ability to wield magic. Do you want… it?" asked Frank.
"Nii-sama… Is this… real life?" asked Kamei.
"Yes, this is not a dream. Magic exists, monsters exist, and dangers lurk everywhere… This is why… I am sorry… But I need you to grow stronger," said Frank.
"I…"
Kamei glanced at the book as she was showered with the reality of her world, a world of lies and facades, a world that hides the dangers of everything, of the real world she lived on.
When she saw Wasp kill her family was the first time she was introduced to this world of war and sorrow… And Frank wished she could have gotten a better start into this.
Kamei however, decided to not overthink things anymore, and to trust her brother, nodding with conviction.
"…Very well. I trust you, nii-sama…" she said, as Frank sighed in relief. If his sister were to deny the book, he would have needed to convince her through words, which might have taken several minutes, but thankfully, she decided to trust him.
"Thanks, Kamei… Here, hold it," said Frank, grabbing the Grimoire and giving it to Kamei.
It was rather heavy, but Kamei managed to hold it with her two hands.
Frank did it the same way as other times, 'willing' for Kamei to learn the book as a skill of sorts.
And a few seconds afterward, Kamei's sight was greeted by a strange, game-like holographic window.
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