Lyrianna could only give a sorrowful smile at her bad luck. She had been sacrificed so quickly.

  She just needed a little more time or support, and she would have had accomplished something grand for sure! If only her fifth brother hadn't been on an expedition!

  She had recently been researching the humans on the surface. It seemed like some of them had unlocked the secret of revival.

  She still remembered how excited she had been when sharing the news with her House. Harnessing this power would make the dark elves unstoppable!

  She had been promptly disparaged.

  All the "Immortal" Braves were so weak that they could be completely disregarded. So what if they were getting stronger? An ant would always remain an ant, or so had she been told.

  "Hehe, good riddance, little sis. You shouldn't have wasted so much time paying attention to the surface." The mocking voice of her third brother echoed.

  Ironically, the power of the Braves she had been researching would have allowed her to tide over this calamity. She was about to retort but suddenly froze!

  Wait, Braves?! What if the ghoul was one?! They were odd, misunderstood beings, after all. Without waiting, she rushed toward the slave pens, ignoring the insults behind her.

  "Pfft— Are you gonna cry? How weak-minded!"

  She barged into the metal cages, startling the disfigured occupants and making them cower in fear. She instantly interrogated the humans.

  "Quick, tell me everything you know about the Braves!" She eagerly asked.

  "W-we really don't know anything about the source of their power, mistress!" fear gripped their hearts, any thoughts of resisting long gone.

  "I don't care about that anymore. Do they ever glance at empty air? You said they respawn in Sprigfield, right? Is that always the case?" She bombarded them with questions.

  The more she talked to them, the more convinced she became of her hypothesis. That's why he did not fear death one bit! Now she just needed to find his weakness…


  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━


  As soon as Jack sensed his captor come back, he instantly noticed her change. The incomprehension and coldness in her eyes had turned to amused curiosity?!

  "I've finally figured out what you are! You're a Brave!" She thundered triumphantly, arms proudly crossed over her chest.

  "Brave?"

  "No need to play dumb! You can drop the act. While I can't kill you, I can restrain you forever. This should be a fate worse than death for your kind, am I right!" She grinned.

  Jack almost had a heart attack as he heard her statement, but then he noticed a shadow in her eyes, one of regret. It had increased as she had mentioned the word "forever".

  "Your time's limited." He probed, sensing her tremble. He was right! "You're wondering how I know? You just told me." Her disbelief was hilarious.

  "I see….Guess I'll have to resort to plan B. Your kind can endlessly respawn, but even for you, there should be a penalty to dying, right?" She remarked.

  That's when he turned pale. If she were to kill him repeatedly…he'd be happy! This would be an instant escape!

  "I see!" She happily grinned as she approached a dagger toward his heart, perfect!

  But right as she was about to pierce his body, she suddenly took out a dark seal with a spider design. Jack turned pale, for real this time!

  "Dark Mistress, please give this daughter your blessings, allowing her to bring forth your darkness upon this world!…." She chanted.

  "How about we make a deal?!" Jack uttered in a hurry.

  "Naw, I'm good." She smirked, quickly finishing the ceremony, cutting her thumb and his, mixing their blood together.

  [Dark Elf Lyriana Initiated a Bloodline Contract!]

  "Denied, denied!!!" Jack screamed.

  "Denying your denial! Dark Mistress, please witness this union!" She giggled.

  [The Power of the Dark Mistress Suffuse the Area!]

  [Death's Chosen Activating! Thanatos Awakens!]

  Thank god! His patron deity would save him from this bullshit! At this moment, he was so glad! But, just as he was rejoicing…


  [Thanatos is Entertained!]

  [Bloodline Pact Established!]

  [Your Soul Is Now Linked to Lyriana!]

  [A fraction of her power flow through you!]

  [Your Magical Power Has Drastically Increased!]

  [Congratulations! Respawn —> Silver Spider City!]

  "?!#@?"

  What the hell was this?! Thanatos could have totally prevented this madness! Talk about a backstabbing goddess. How much did she enjoy the drama! He couldn't afford to die anymore!

  "Now, don't worry! I'll be very gentle when I stab you deeply." Lyriana whispered, with obvious joy in her eyes.

  He couldn't believe this mad elf!

  What she had just done was a ritual that her race almost exclusively reserved for married partners! Now they were linked, and any harm coming to one would affect the other.

  "Why?" Even he couldn't keep his calm.

  "I'll be dead in a day. I wanted to succeed in at least one thing before leaving this world." She explained with a chuckle.

  "?!?"

  "They say losing one's blood partner is the worst torture. Hehe, this should affect even a Brave, am I right!" She beamed.

  What kind of mad revenge from the grave was this?! How the hell was he supposed to deal with this?! Even now, her blade was slowly approaching him.

  "Wait, freaking explain yourself!" He screamed.

  She humored him, sharing her personal circumstances before giving him a beautiful smile. "You should be coming back here after dying. Let's try it, shall we!"

  "Wait, let me think!" He cried out, her pausing for an instant.

  "Any last words?" She whispered, but he ignored her.

  This event changed the whole situation. Neither of them could die in the short term, or he'd be stuck/cursed, but it gave him an ally. She, too, needed to flee her fate.

  "You'll survive, and so will I. We're getting out of here." He remarked with assurance.

  "Pfft— You're obviously misunderstanding the difficulty of—"

  "Of escaping Theron the Butcher? Oh, believe me, I know more about him than you do." Jack's eyes showed a will of steel. He could already picture countless obstacles……