Re:Animated, Reliving Life in Another World From Zero

by Tall-Gothic-Guy

A Necromancer is easy to describe, but what people rarely ever know about them is that Death is their final wish above everything else. To return to dust and Rest in Peace in the Afterlife. Give a Death Mage the Curse of 'Return by Death', however, then Emurdol Viandegroc will eventually realize that dying in another world is easier said than done. (Graphic and Mature content)

14. Papa's Little Girl

Listen, An'k. The Spectral Realm live by rules that are completely incomprehensible to ours in the Living Realm. Why do you have a nose? It's to smell. Why do you have eyes? It's to see. Why do you have a body? It's so your Soul can exist in the Living Realm and make changes. Without a body, you are incapable of influence or change.

In this world, you need to walk, run or ride in order to reach a certain place. In the other, the certain place goes to them or they simply arrive there without walking. To do something, you need to use your hands and exert energy and force to accomplish it. In the other, the sooner you want it, it's already done. In order to understand another person or exchange thoughts, you need dialogue and communication. In the other, you already understood each other even if you have met for the first time.

"Why is it like thaaaat?"

Because there's no such thing as 'distance' or 'boundaries' in the Spectral Realm. Everything is composed as One Being. A Singularity.

In the Spectral Realm, everyone can feel your emotions, hear your thoughts and understand you to the point that they are completely capable of thinking like you. The same way applies to you too. You can empathize others in such a way as well, capable of understanding them wholeheartedly. You can't do that in the Living Realm. Never. Because there's always something that stops you from doing that. Whether the difference in opinion, views or emotions, we can never understand each other completely.

What knowledge you know, the others will know too. They are you, after all. What desire you have, it's their desire too. It can go the other way as well, because you are them. What they have is yours too.

That is our Afterlife, An'k. When we perish, we will head to the Spectral Realm and be received with understanding and empathy. The other Souls will know what we have been through, know what we've done, know our emotions, and the Dragon will remember the moment forever. He will comfort us with his Knowledge.

"Does…does that mean we lose ourseeelves? Our sense of seeelves?"

That's not supposed to be a question. You have been reincarnated countless times, how many sense of selves have you created before you created the Self called Meili Portroute? Our Soul already has a sense of self, born from the many Selves they gathered and mixed together in their Living Life.

"Do we remember our old Seeelves?"

Hmph, it's possible but it hardly ever happens. Even in the Order of the Serpent, there has not been one who remembers their past Life for centuries.

I know you might be asking: why do we want to go to the Living Realm even though we are going to suffer from it and the Spectral Realm was the perfect place? It's because we want to, An'k. You may not understand it, because you're still alive. We want to be born in Existence again because we wish to impart our knowledge and wisdom to the Living, because we want to give change so everything could be better for them. Your Soul wanted to as well before you were born, including mine. They made the choice to go back to the Living, without hesitation and without regret.

Even if we do not remember our reason why we were born to this world, even if we came out wrong, even if we were born with horrible lives, even if we did not come back as a complete human, even if we did not live for too long, we still try because no matter how we are born, we always end up leaving behind knowledge and Wisdom to the Living with our actions. Always.

"Woooow…."

Beautiful, isn't it? That's why we Priests look forward to the Afterlife; to bring home our knowledge, share them with the other Souls, and rest happily in the Dragon's breast.

"If I wanna be a grandmaaa?"

To live till you're old and withered? Go ahead, do as you wish. Humans have the right to decide that. Once I let you go, you can have all that your Freedom can give you.

…...If I were to tell you that we can enforce the rules of the Spectral Realm to this world, would you believe me?

"….uum…."

…...We can. That is one of our many wonders as Priests of the Serpent, and there are others more beautiful than it, but since this is the Living Realm and the Living are made of flesh, the rules cannot be realized to its full extent, but it will put the odds in our favor.

Hold my hand and we can begin.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

"Lord Roswaal will be with you shortly." Said the Red Maid as she went away to retrieve the master.

"I'll just be here like a gooood girl."

After the initial greetings, Meili was taken to the reception area of the mansion, seated on a soft couch with a table in front of her. Her posture uncannily straight and noble, away from the backrest with her hands interlocked above her white knees. If it weren't for her snake-like gaze, seductive smile, her casual if half-revealing clothing of jet-black that highlighted her white flesh and hair, and the constant sway of her floating hair that indicated her hostility, she would have been mistaken for an aristocrat's daughter and not a venomous presence.

And the girl's aware of that. She was once an assassin after all, and disguises are part of her expertise. Knowing how others see her is part of the package. She's simply fitting in the setting inside a nobleman's manor, even though her wardrobes lack the part and her true colors are blatantly showing through her face. It seemed she retained her habit of playing around on the job.

The bone wand on her lap clicked. It was a beckon, so she began humming again, maintaining a C-minor note.

The resident Souls and Spirits in this manor are quite plentiful, and most of them are young. The latter happened to be one of the master's ancestors. Some barely managed to age past a decade and a half, and even more are those who didn't even reach a decade.

The Souls of deceased children, especially when they are very young, are the quickest to return to the Afterlife. However, they are equally capable of lingering in the Living Realm as a Hollow for as long as they wished if their emotions were too strong before death. To see so many young ones are baffling.

They mutter the same thought over and over.

Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen. Stolen.

Meili had a slight worry over why, especially when they are strongly tied to this place. Her face, however, betrayed nothing. She still smiled coquettishly and stared predatorily into something unseen, frozen except for her hair.

Just like a corpse.

She was proud of herself for perfectly emulating Papa whenever he's idle. No blinking. Barely visible breathing. Steady as stone except for the hair. And a frozen countenance. A perfect match.

"Rem brought some tea, Honored Guest."

Without turning her head, olive green eyes snapped to look at the blue maid pushing a cart to the table and watched as she poured tea into a cup and placed it on the table close to Meili.

"Thank you, Blue Maidyyyy." The child warmly thanked, wearing an inviting look in her expressions towards the girl called Rem, contrasting with her youthful looks, "I haven't drank anything civilized in two weeeeeks. All I've ever got were river water, spring water, and sometimes some of the weeeiiiird stuff Papa makes me drink. Blood tooooo."

She nearly saw the maid blanch before it was amazingly suppressed without giving away anything, "Rem is honored to be of service."

Meili's smile widened, almost wickedly. The maid did not mean any of that, but the young necromagus did not try to address it. She reached for the saucer and cup carefully, sliding her left fingers underneath the plate while her gloved right hand carefully held the handle without breaking it, doing so with the movements of a dainty little princess with practiced ease. Fitting for the setting of a nobleman's house.

Blowing on the steaming tea to cool it down for several moments, she took a sip and delighted in its rich taste. Meili nearly sneered at the discovery thanks to her developed sense of taste.

The ingredients are poisonous….if there was too much of it, that is. There was a shared secret amongst household servants that most tea ingredients are poisonous but not lethally so that it leaves no aftereffects. Only in excess amounts will it ever end someone's life. A killing tool she had utilized a couple times before.

In conclusion, this maid was not trying to poison her. Looks like there won't be any trouble for the moment.

Smiling brightly, she exclaimed, "This tastes gooood! Did you make this, Blue Maidyyyy?"

"Yes, Honored Guest, but my Sister makes a better brew of tea compared to me so your praise is wasted on Rem."

Still maintaining that sunshiny smile, Meili asked, "Then what if I tell you that I would like your serving of tea from noooow on?"

With practice and with ease, the maid's expressions never twitched the slightest, showing no emotion in her features and exhuming the presence of a dignified and humble maid, making the gesture of Happiness with her right hand; middle and ring fingertips touching the thumb while the index and pinky fingers are stretched out, a fox. "Rem is much honored to hear that."

Meili smiled widely, making no attempt to hide the wickedness of its impression on herself as she drank her tea some more.

Having the blood of her Papa, however, she cannot miss the expertly-veiled hatred in the orbs of blue. In the maid's mind, she's not welcome here and would have done something irrational if this wasn't the place where she could easily be seen attacking a guest without warning, even if Meili was the culprit of an incident not too long ago.

Since being reborn, her instincts and her senses have grown sharper than when she wore the name of Portroute, and her newfound habit to look closely into anything around her granted her the ability to discern things that most people would miss on the first glance.

The first among other things she could see are the emotions of others through eye-contact. Wear a cute smile and a sweet gaze, then no one will realize what she's doing. Such a seductive look truly doesn't fit her age, she is perfectly aware of that, but if it disconcerts others, that makes it easy for her to manipulate things in her favor.

Steadily lowering the cup to her lap, she was still again and her mind wandered to Papa, the dark smile still adorning her features without betraying any sort of emotion.

I wonder how's he feeling now….He and Grandma really had a big fight.

It was at that time when she discovered her gift to read the emotions of others, and she saw the hurt and pain in Papa's green eyes, devoid of the warmth and affection it carried whenever they turned to her. Despite his assurances that he can forgive her, he is still shaken by what the skeleton's actions had led to; poisoning the maid and forcing Uncle Viandegroc to release the Shade, which took away most of his lifespan.

There is still a rift between them, Papa pointedly not looking at his Mother's direction and the latter still as a statue in the background, away from her son's distance while exhuming a despondent aura.

Papa…how are you gonna forgive Blue Maidy if you can't forgive your mama first?

"Honored Guest, if Rem may dare to ask…." The maid said hesitantly.

The polite way it was delivered drew most of Meili's attention that she turned her head to face the girl directly. If the tone is like that, her question is very likely sensitive. The little girl could tell what the question is already.

"….how have you come to know Ser Emurdol?"

Ah, the Living…..so predictable, just like how Papa taught me.

She put a pale finger to her chin, looking up into the ceiling in exaggerated pondering, the smile on her face turning into a leer, "Well, maybe if you had actually listened to him and waited in the village while he's rescuing meeeee, he wouldn't have lost his throat trying to save you from the bad doggies and the bonies, and he would still be able to tell you aaaaaall about it."

Her olive green eyes glowing bright, she turned her look towards the blanching maid who barely stopped herself from lashing out of her maidservant persona and flinging out that giant flail she was warned of. However, that perfectly stoic mask that she had been keeping up after recovering from hearing Meili's intimate affiliation with the man named Emurdol Viandegroc broke.

She looked ready to cry.

Morbid satisfaction rolled across the young necromagus' form, her leer turning sardonic. She wasn't expecting to find catharsis and found the sensation rather unwelcome. That wasn't her intent here. Meili's a good girl.

But still, she did broke Papa's heart….maybe she deserved it….just a little.

"…Rem….Rem was—"

"Oooh myyyyy! What a surpriiiiise this is for my eyes to seeeeee!"

The most flamboyant voice to ever grace Meili's ears made her skin crawl, and she thought she was desensitized to most things now since multiple murders and her death. The rumored Court Magician of Lugnica finally shows himself to her for the very first time as he descended down the stairs with a large smile, and he was as weird as the gossips say. Topped with silky dark blue hair, his face completely covered with white makeup, and his eyes were mismatched in color. There were mentions of his attire being bizarre, and her expectations were exceeded when she saw it for herself: a high-collared cape with a skintight outfit decorated exaggeratedly with shapes and gold linings, and halved vertically into two shades of violet in the middle.

He really does look weird…and acts like it too….

Putting down the plate on the table, keeping the cup in her left hand, and smiling flirtatiously, Meili stood up from the couch, holding the wand in her right gloved hand and held it to her chest, the small skull and finger bones clicking and clacking in greetings while she bowed without looking away from the extravagant noble. "Pleasure to meet youuuu! My name's Meili and you truly look as weird and eccentric as they saaaay!"

The man held up a white gloved hand, to stop the red maid following behind him from saying something sharp in defense of her master. "Ah, my reputation preceeeeedes me! Though you may already know, allooow me to introduce myself." He bowed deeply, a hand to his chest and spread the other to the side. "My name is Roswaal L. Mathers and the pleaaasure is all mine to meet the Mastermind of the Wiiiitchbeast Incident."

Her smile remained planted to her face as she righted herself and sat back down, "My big thanks for not killing me on siiiight! It would have been a problem if you did before I even relayed myyy message."

"Yeees." The happy smile likewise remained planted on Roswaal's face as he sat down on a separate sofa across the table in front of her. "You would force us to devour our own entrails if we triiied anything violent. Oooh, how horrible thaaat would beee!"

This lord is very funny.

"Yay!" She raised her wand up happily, "I'm very happy to see some sense in people after what not having any led to two weeks agoooo!"

She drank her tea nonchalantly as Meili saw a minuscular flinch in the blue maid's stance.

"Yeees." Roswaal's smile dimmed in brightness but it was still there. "A truuuuly unfortunate turn of events that could've been avoided. Poor Ser Emurdol."

The maid's cheeks were tightening, and the turmoil in those orbs of blue were slowly getting apparent. The red maid beside her noticed it as well, so she held her hand in comfort.

The lord eyed the wand in her hand before facing her, "I've come to hear from Ram that the message yooouuu carry comes from the man himseeeelf." He held his elbow across his abdomen while the other hand supported his cheek, interest glowing from his smirk, "Aaaand you refer to him as 'Papa' now, you even carry a little something that would deeeefinitely come from hiiiis hand. Just what interesting deveeeelopment have occurred after he left to get yoouuu, the perpetrator?"

Still maintaining the flirty smile, she set down her empty cup and leaned back into her backrest, relaxing her stiff body while still maintaining her guard, having already employed a few Souls in the area to her service while Roswaal was talking in case things go horribly wrong.

"I was dead, punished for what I did, and Papa brought me baaaack to life. His mama left me to die of hypothermia after destroying my haaaand." She answered plainly, putting the wand on her lap before pulling off her glove, revealing the brown hand she was given as part of her rebirth. Despite her Uncle's assurance, it has not regained its physical sensations despite many days. "Pretty, ain't it? He made me a new one while I was sleeping. He said it was made it out of fingers and meat from the baaaad doggies."

"The ulgarms, you mean." The lord inferred.

"Mm hm." To illustrate, she sprouted out long claws out of her fingertips and wiggled them before retracting, telling of the abominable structure it was made of as well as the unique capabilities witchbeasts are capable of. "I don't know if Papa killed them all or not but we kept 3 bad doggies just in case, making little bad doggies in case we need them for somethiiiing. New bad animals are gonna takeover, you knooow. Territory's free game now that they're gooone. But since I am here, I'll make sure they don't do craaaaaazy things. Even if the barrier's broken again, I'll tell them not to goooo."

"Then I'm veeery happy to hear that!" Roswaal clapped his hands in celebration, "With your eeeeefforts, the village of Earlham can fiiiiinally hunt for game without the danger of the witchbeasts."

She reflected his enthusiasm on her face, smiling brightly, hiding the contradicting emotion behind it while nonchalantly drawing out the bone kris from her belt with her left hand and resting it on her lap. "I'm glad you got something out of Papa's blood, sweat and teeears. Or maybe I should say reeed tears? We do cry blood, even though it's not blood, just colored differently but whateveeeer. Don't forget his voice box too, he's been using the ghosties to talk siiiiince losing it!"

This time, the maid did flinch. She had maintained her chatty and amicable tone, speaking as if she was talking about someone else's achievements that lacked any horrid details. Meili was a good actor, a testament of her time as an assassin infiltrating many places in her past occupation.

Still, even if she didn't drew the kris out, what she said gave away what was boiling beneath her. And the clown of a lord knew what it was.

"You're angry…." He said in a low tone, lacking any drawl. His smile was still there, but a firm grimace now crossed his features covered in makeup, "….angry for Ser Emurdol."

Even if it's now exposed, her flirty smile, diction full of sugar, and her inviting gaze did not leave her face. It tenaciously planted itself on her face like a poison flower, "I'm talking to one of the people who hurt Papa, how else would I feeeel?"

"And the neeeeeerve you have to be angry on the behalf of your viiiictim and point fingers at us as the ones to blame for what haaaaappened to him."

"I know very well that everything was my faauuult." She pointed out, "I staaaarted it, after all. If I haven't been there, there would not have been any iiiiincident. He would not have to go back inside the forest and lose his throat or even go there in the first place. If only I have met him sooner before I broke the baaarrier….."

Then, hostility.

Her floating hair began waving and swishing from an unseen wave in front of her, her olive green eyes glowed maliciously like a torchlight, and her smiling blunt teeth full of shiny white started morphing, slightly extending; sharp canines that characterized the ulgarm. The mana in the air and from multiple sources were being siphoned to her core, tainted and processed in the same way she was taught, turning it into energy only her kind could use, and it leaked out of her form, enshrouding her in auras of green like a slow-moving fire.

"….I could have saved him from Blue Maidy."

This was the only time her voice dropped an octave, a dark emotion slipping out of her persona before her smile began exhuming amicability and hostility in a bizarre unity again.

Spikes began growing out of her right hand's joints while it held the kris, her left gripping the bone wand tightly, clicking and snapping according to the erratic movements of the Souls she employed that nobody could see except Meili.

The maids acted accordingly to what she's doing. Blue drew out that flail while Red drew a thin little stick from her thigh, a magic wand of her own. Whether they remember what harming her would do to everyone in this mansion or not, she's satisfied not knowing.

Besides, her Papa did enjoy tormenting people for their stupidity.

..…I do too.

"But the way the incident was handled ain't something I'm gonna let go. The villagers were supposed to report if the barrier is broken, and they didn't. Papa was trying to solve the incident, somebody tried to stop him. Somebody was supposed to stop Blue Maidy from doing anything stupid, look what happened. Somebody warned Red Maidy to keep Blue Maidy from doing anything stupid, what good did that do?"

Then her hostility sapped away like an eye blink; her hair subjected to gravity, her eyes returning to a dim light and her form containing the surging power within her. She transitioned from a menacing threat in the form of a darling little girl into a mere child holding bone instruments as if they were toys.

This one moment of herself being vulnerable gave her the only opportunity to speak her mind without emulating the persona of Elsa.

"The way I see it thoouuugh….It's all Blue Maidy's fault."

Red stomped her foot, creating the loudest snap in the reception area and her form was enshrouded in a cloud of wind energy with her hand aimed towards Meili's direction. "Kindly take back your words, Honored Guest!"

Big mistaaaake~!

Meili tilted her head to her direction, visibly unthreatened but she returned the courtesy of being hostile, reemphasizing the Necromagus image on her person, "Are you saying I'm wrooong, Red Maidy?"

"Don't even think about being blind of your own actions." She retorted coldly, "Do not even think your deeds are less significant than Rem's. You were the sole cause of everything wrong that happened. If only you haven't been there, none of those things would have happened to Ser and to Rem!"

This time, Meili's malice was bare in her wicked smile, aiming the point of her kris at her right thigh.

"Then she should not have been a shitty maidy like you."

The wind blade flew.

A rift in reality opened.

The kris sunk down into flesh.

Three occurrences happening at once and the effects were instantaneous: the thrown spell was sapped away; the rift allowing one of the employed Souls to break out and devour the wind blade, making its misshapen form visible for a milisecond; and sharp ivory stained with dry blood sinking into Meili's thigh.

What the two maids weren't expecting was that the sensation of pain that came with it happening on their thighs as well, including the open wound. In the exact same place on the right thigh, they suffered the agony and crumpled to one knee in yelps of pain, dropping their weapons and nursing the copiously bleeding wound, the flesh within horribly shredded for no apparent reason.

Afterwards, the venom found on the dried blood of the wavy blade began spreading from the wound and flowed slowly across their entire bodies, visible white skin marred with branching black veins. Blue's attempt to heal halted, the excruciating sensation disrupting her mental focus as her body locked up suddenly, freezing her in the stance of gripping her thigh with one hand while the other was ready to cast water magic. Red fell rigid to the floor on her side ungracefully when she reached out to her sister, concerning her safety over her own, only to fall short of her reach as her body locked up as well.

The only sound present were the rapid rattling of her wand, and the choking and the rasped breathing. Their entire body down to the jaw was locked in place, but their untouched throat and lungs indicated the mercy given to let them breath, allowing them to live and feel every lick of pain. It overpowered the sound of flesh squelching, coming from the ivory knife that was slowly twisted side to side and buried on the small thigh, slowly digging deeper into the meat as it's held by a brown hand adorned with many dreadful spikes.

Compared to the two, Meili's not bleeding or suffering any complications from the venom.

Under Papa's tutelage, she was taught to make her own brand of poison. When not using her beasts to put down a target, witchbeast poison is her second option. She was once too frail to properly wield even a knife, so she settled to one of the old and simple but practical tools for the job. Being a seemingly cute and innocent little girl, it's practically easy to get under someone's guard and nick them with a needle. Learning how to make her own concoctions was almost a delight with her Papa, especially when he readily accepted her challenge to recreate the recipe she made herself with one hand before she could with both hands.

Her handcrafted poison isn't as lethal as his blood, but she made sure it replicated what Papa's poison had done to her before her first death. It doesn't match the function to decimate the immune system, merely causing agony and locking up muscles but it did immobilize her victims, plus there was the black veins.

The Curse of the Iron Maiden, a reality-warping incantation that partially enforces one rule from the Spectral Realm to this world; mutuality. The maids already carried it since they made Meili talk back at the gate, and now they are experiencing firsthand what a fundamental rule of reality so alien to this side of life would do to people: if Meili is hurt, it is natural to share the torment for her sakes.

The distinct difference, however, was that she's no longer susceptible to the sufferings of poison anymore, especially the ones she made. Her revival from the death by one of the worst toxins known to existence validated that.

Even if it hurts, even if twisting the knife made her grit her teeth, even if the bloody tears forced themselves out of her sockets without her consent, she did not wane from projecting the product Emurdol Viandegroc's guidance have borne fruit to: a little terror in the making, showing the worse she could do.

Full of smiles filled with sharp teeth and glowing eyes crying blood, Meili continued where she left off, "Just how much did Papa lose for Blue Maaaiiiidy? Time? Patience? Faith? A throat? 65 years of his liiiiife?"

The kris' point was directly touching her thigh bone, making her pause a bit in her twisting and digging.

"He was only here to rest for 5 days and you can't give him eeeeven that? Are you just that bad at controlling your servants or does Blue Maidy simply haaaaate Papa?"

She kept her stare trained on Roswaal the whole time, even before Red confronted her with her spunk. Even with the overwhelming pain on her thigh, the staring contest with the lord is still happening.

The nobleman himself was consistent in poise and expression as she is, still as a statue in his position, placing his ankle atop his knee and interlocking his fingers atop his lap and never breaking his mismatched gaze of yellow and blue from her.

His smirk had diminished lightly but it was still there. It carried the flare that he was still in control, and Meili complimented this man for his composure despite the harm being done to his servants. He is the Court Mage of Lugnica, but even he should know what harming her would mean if he does anything stupid like Red did.

"Did Ser Emurdol tell you to rub it in our faces?" He asked grimly and lowly. "Was that the message you bear with you?"

Did Papa tell her to make sure the people in the mansion realize the full extent of the damages they made, directly or indirectly?

"No." The answer was dull and toneless, devoid of her usual sweetness. "For two weeks since he adopted me, I was loved, fed, taught, and cared for, spoiled like a little deeaad princess. He never actually told me anything about what he went through because of yooouu all. He only told me little things about everybody heeeere. Emily was iiinocent. Pucky was cuuute. Betty was aloooof. Rosy was fuuuny. Red Maidy Rami was hoooonest. And Blue Maidy Remi was annoooooying. But when I was dead, alone and scared in the Afterlife before Papa gave me a new life, Angels showed me what my actions leeeeed to. Aaaah, how Papa was hurt….Blue Maidy would not leave him alone before I even did anythiiiing in the village."

Angels who were complete demons in their living life, except for Uncle Viandegroc who was yet to become one but still. They were anomalies who deserved to die for what they did to Papa, still the same people who destroyed her shameful and bland, empty self, creating a blank slate that she had been carefully filling up to this day.

As of now, she's fulfilling her role as her father's daughter avenging his honor.

So she pressed down the kris on her thigh bone, trying to break one of the hardest parts of the human body. The sensation was funny, and it's going to be a lot less funny when it simply cracks. Judging by the struggling chokes of the two maids increasing, they knew what they were in for.

"I am his cute baby girl, after aaaaall." This time, she no longer smiled. Her red tears continually dripped on her jet black long sleeves, and there was no stain to be seen on the colorless fabric. "You hurt my Papa and I am very very very very aaaaangry. The others are okay, they did nothing wroooong. But you, Rosy, what can you doooo? After everything that happened to my Papa, especially when he and his Mama are now having a fight because of Blue Maidy, how will you pay him baaaack? Hm? How? He even wanted to commit suicide when he cannot talk anymore after waaaaking up. How are you gonna compensate?"

Her thigh bone felt like it was starting to get displaced from her leg, if that was even possible, and pain was starting to erupt from it, a testament of her increasing pressure down on it just to spite them, making her red tears flow even harshly down her face. If she was allowed to show a hint of anger, this was her means of conveyance.

She won't grace them with the standard show of anger. She falls to her fiery emotions just like anybody else and everyone in this mansion, including herself, will be suffering a lot more than a stabbed thigh. With power like this, emotions are an impairment and dangerous to her wellbeing. Papa had a good reason to take her freewill away from her. She learned that lesson very well after lashing out from annoyance with pent up energies brimming up inside her while many Souls were in the vicinity.

Her anger is not a simmer—no it is absolutely not. It is a forest fire literally trying to break out of her body by splitting it apart and destroying the entire mansion the sooner the incarnation of her emotions escapes. She did not stab her thigh just to make a warning from harming her, this was a means to distract herself from her own fiery emotions and to keep herself from exploding in a mess of blood and gore. Despite her discovered prodigious aptitude to the dark arts, her abilities of Emotion Suppression vital to her survival was still novice.

Despite being with him for nearly two weeks, his warm behavior around the young Necromagus gave her the heart to grow the daughterly love and fondness she now has for Emurdol Viandegroc. Meili reciprocated her father's feelings very dearly, and her fury out of what happened to him because of these people is not something she could hold down without the cost of pain.

But that all depends on Roswaal's response. If his answer doesn't satisfy her…..well, she can tell Papa that the people of this mansion are a lost cause. They're better off rotting as recyclable supplies for her training.

"I will take responsibility." Roswaal responded solemnly.

Her eyes narrowed, letting more red to leak out, holding back her knife from digging any further just so she could listen carefully.

He stood up from his sofa and knelt to one knee, bowing his head and putting his hand to his chest. "The faults of the servant falls to the master, therefore let me bear their sins and suffer the consequences so please, spare my precious staff from your wrath. I am a man of my word, and I have promised the right compensation for Emurdol's efforts. If that can satisfy you, then I shall do so with the limits of my power."

Meili was speechless, but her face betrayed nothing like always, a firm line on her lips while the tears ran. She did not expect the Court Mage of Lugnica, greatest of all magicians in the Nation, to readily throw away his pride like that for someone like her, especially when she had enacted an incident that made things even worse for her father. Even someone like Roswaal should know that. Now that he's actually taking responsibility, Meili isn't sure how to react anymore. She expected resistance—hell, she wanted him to retaliate in the behalf of his precious staff, tell her that she has no authority to expect any apology from him—she wanted him to give her a reason to lash out at everyone here.

….I wasn't really expecting this to go well, did I? Papa did tell me to expect nothing but still….

With a resigned sigh, she stopped the mana siphoning, pulled the kris out of her thigh without the slightest wince, no fresh bloodstain coating the blackened ivory and held it in-between her teeth. Gone was the dangerous little dark mage of floating hair and glowing eyes. Now she's reduced to a weary little girl fresh from showing off a talent with a thousand people watching. There wasn't any thrill or fulfillment that should come with it since Papa isn't even among the audiences but the satisfaction was enough.

Taking a little bottle out of a small bag behind her waist and a small pouch of bone dust, she turned the latter over and spilled out the contents above her lap, the white powder floating like a cloud under her will before each particle conjoining together into one mass. Eventually, it formed the upper half of an ulgarm's skull.

Popping the cap of her bottle off, she poured a slight amount of the red healing liquid down the skull with a bowl-like structure before bringing the rear part of it to her lips, drinking half of the bitter liquid to get rid of the pain and headache before pouring the rest on the gaping hole on her thigh that stubbornly refused to bleed, closing it as if time was rewound.

Too bad I can't do Reconstruction very well except for scratches.

Feeling it perfectly healed as she twisted and extended her leg, leaving only a small slit of a scar, she rose up to her feet without trouble and slotted the kris held in her teeth back to her belt before walking over to the pair of frozen maids. Setting down the bottle and the skull to the floor, she took out her wand and hovered her spiky brown hand sporting long talons above Blue's steadily-bleeding thigh. Shaking the wand in a calm pace, Meili watched carefully as the visible black veins on the maid's pale flesh, especially her neck and face, slowly receded back to the point it started, returning her beauty back to the way it was.

As a fair field of white was there again, the mobility in them was slowly coming back. Facial muscles are given back their freedom and the first expression made was a crease of her brow. No surprise there, the pain is still present. Her poisons aren't that soft even if cured. Moving would still hurt, like blood flowing back in bloodless limbs.

Everything above the chest now unlocked and free of blight, her arms can now move as they slacked on her sides. Her unharmed leg now mobile, Blue fought to stay upright in her kneeling despite the lingering pain and Meili was impressed for the maid's fortitude. She didn't even whimper. Standing up alone is painful.

A whole minute later, her entire body is free of the black taint and they seeped out of her wounded thigh in the form of oozing, disgusting black liquid that defied gravity and instead floated to the cupping hand of witchbeast flesh.

Leaning back, Meili waved her outstretched finger in a circle around the blob of venom, ignoring the maid collapsing on her side to ease her nerves and relax her cramping body as she healed her thigh. The blight spiraling like a hurricane in the center of her twirl, it slowly morphed into a floating black ball of toxin mixed with the maid's blood.

Tapping the toxic orb with her finger, rippling from her touch and leaving it there to float, she sheathed her wand before picking up the skull and bottle. Pouring only half since the maid already healed her thigh, she held Blue's cheek in mocking tenderness and had her face the skull.

"Drink up and the pain will say bye-byyyeee~~" She crooned with an equally mocking motherly smile, stroking her tiny thumb across her supple cheek as she neared the rim of the skull to Blue's soft lips. "It's the same one Papa used to clean you uuuup~~"

Blue complied wordlessly and without any resistance, even pulling the skull to her lips and drinking from it, her face scrunching up from the bitter taste.

Her subservience only killed Meili's inclination to play around. Resistance is sometimes the crux of the fun and she won't be having any of that now. Taking her hand away and leaving her to hold the skull herself, the necromagus grabbed the floating black orb with her talons and knelt down close to Red's stabbed thigh, repeating the process of shaking the wand and nearing the poisonous ball to the opening, gathering more blight and increasing its size.

"Um…" Meili turned her bleeding eyes to her left, having finished the extraction and leaving Red's mobile body to writhe pathetically on the floor, having the least amount of fortitude compared to Blue. The latter herself was now knelt before Meili, holding the skull and the bottle in both hands, "…how much should Rem pour?"

Suddenly having her cooperation was still baffling but she went along with it, "Half." She answered, suddenly emulating Papa. When he isn't explaining something, his words are short and straight to the point in that monstrous voice.

Resting Red's head on her lap, Blue raised up her head and neared the brim of the skull to her lips. While that happened, Meili took the bottle and poured some on the gaping thigh, healing the shredded flesh and closing the wound, the red liquid spilling to the carpeted floor.

Putting the cap back on, she swiped the skull off Blue's hands the sooner it was empty with full disrespect in movements, leaving the latter surprised and Red infuriated, the poison orb following around her like a planet.

She suddenly stopped mid-step before she reached the couch, "Oh, almost forgooot."

Finished with pocketing her bottle and reducing the skull back to dust inside the pouch, she drew out her wand again and shook it close to her ear, the fingers and the small skull rattling rapidly.

With a loud snap that gave the impression of finality, she slotted it back to her belt. With the thorny joints of her brown hand, she gave superficial cuts to her palm by brushing her left one against it. Looking behind her, she saw the two maids looking at their own left palms, expecting to be cut as well but found none.

They were now free of the Curse.

"There." With that done, she flopped down back to the sofa and slacked against it, putting the attention back to the original point of her presence, reconstructing her palm while so. "Now, as for that messaaage…."

"That display of cruelty waaaasn't the message?" Roswaal asked with a smile, his voice raised in mock-incredulity and mock-horror, "Just what other hoooorror do you have in stoooore for us?"

She flashed him a cute but cruel smile, speaking in suggestive tones, "Oh, you'll know soooon." She learned more than simple curses wrought by simple knowledge. Though she is a lesser necromagus, she still has a handful of surprises to show but for now, Papa's orders come first. "But all that was just me veeenting. Now, as I were saaaaying….Papa wants to come back."

She set aside her usual self and projected the image of a proper Priest of the Serpent in the making, "He promised that he will work to help Emily before and he's going to stay true to his word. He sent me here to warn you all of this, but right now, he's currently under recovery." Sparing a glance to Blue, she continued, "He's willing to forgive Blue Maidy, and he wants to forgive and forget all that has happened two weeks ago. Too much grudge in his thoughts won't make him function properly. Not only that, it will cause too much trouble to everybody around here. That won't help in Emily's fight for the throne either."

"Then we shall weeelcome him again with open aaarrrms and a proper apology." The clowny noble's expression was full of delight and accomplishment it almost looked like the recent disagreement minutes ago didn't even happen. This man could easily manipulate the atmosphere with his very presence. "Pray teeeell, when can we expect him to come baaack?"

Her smile began emanating a sardonic air, borderline sadistic, "When he's ready to forgiiiive. He wants to but that doesn't mean he can riiiight now. Papa's heart is still broken, and I know he's staying away because he'll kill Blue Maidy the sooner he sees her agaaaaiiin."

"How considerate." The lord commented, "Is that aaaall?"

She stood up, speaking with full conviction, "Papa demands amnesty for my sakes from you. The Meili Portroute who enacted the witchbeast incident is dead. You won't see her, ever again. My new name is Meili Sinnuldel, apprentice to Emurdol Viandegroc, my Papa, and I have the right to act on his behalf."

"Granted." Standing up, Roswaal's grim face and tall height suddenly made him project a different air compared to the usual clowny one before. It made the atmosphere stiff too, as if Meili stood in the presence of a King. For all its worth, it finally made him fit the title of Court Mage of Lugnica. He raised up a white gloved hand and spoke in a solemn tone, "By the power invested in me as the Lord of this domain, I, Roswaal L. Mathers, hereby pardon the crimes of Meili Portroute and welcome you, Meili Sinnuldel, to my household and those close to you without a price."

This time, the necromagus' sweet smile was genuine, the bleeding tears nothing more than an aesthetic. "Just don't get in my way and all of us can be best friends, okaaay?" She clapped her hands together with her wand after putting her glove back on her right hand, "Okay, now that we're done here, I'm gonna go get a baaaath. Don't worry about showing me my rooooom, I'll take the one Papa uuuused." She already set herself walking on to the guest quarters.

"I'm preeetty sure that would have beeeeen my suggestion even if you didn't ask." He replied with amusement, eyeing her all the way.

"Oh waaaiiit…" Meili stopped herself mid-step again, looking over her shoulder and looking at Roswaal directly in his yellow eye, "Papa wanted to know….when Blue Maidy finally woke up from the poison, did you make sure she was rested and stay in bed like a good giiiirl?"

"Well, yeeeees." He confirmed her father's expectations in a matter-of-factly tone. "Despite her protests and objections, we practically impriiiisoned her in her room for the sake of her heeeaaalth. Rem haaas been through so much, after aaall…not as much as your beloved faaather, of course."

Pursing her lips and olive green eyes flashing lightly, she nodded in acknowledgement and walked away, fully aware that her demeanor is starting to look different compared to before but she didn't care. She just walked on.

The internal horror was nowhere visible on her face, even if no one has a direct view of her face.

I was supposed to ask that first before I give the message. Oh nooo…if they have said 'no' after everything I've said, it would have been soooo embarrassing!

I was supposed to get out and shun the place if they said 'no'….…..if they don't care about their servants then it would have been okay for me to be a bad girl and kill them…

A bright blush flowed across her entire face of pure white, her glowing eyes threatening to overpower the color of red as the mortifying realization hit her.

….lucky me they said 'yes'…..aaaahh, that would have been sooooooooooo embarrassing!

Just how much of a close-call that was could not be any funnier than it already is.

"Hihihihihihihi~!" Her giggle had the strength to overpower even the worst ice spells running down people's spines, and her brightly glowing eyes matching the might of a bonfire exposed the beginning of her fun.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Ram scowled after the young girl's back, eventually disappearing into a turn of a corner and into the hallway. She turned to her master, "Lord Roswaal, was that wise?"

"Of cooouurse." Roswaal sang, nonchalant over the successful evasion of a violent spat from happening, "It's not like we would want aaaaaaany repeat of what happened, do weeeee? Besides…even if she released yooouu and Rem from sharing her pain, who's to saaaay I don't?"

Her shocked expression slowly morphed into a grimace, fuming from the inside over how the girl had basically one-upped everyone in the room.

"That little one thought eeeeverything through." Roswaal attempted to elaborate what she was thinking, "She gave you both a false sense of opportunity when she dispelled that curse. You thought to apprehend her, didn't you? If you had, however, what happens to her happens to me too. Considering how she's willing to harm herself, I would not be surprised if she purposely provokes you into hurting her no matter what punishment you have in mind."

Conflicted and still feeling rundown by the guilt trip she received, Rem turned to Roswaal with an uneasy face, "What will we do, Lord Roswaal?"

"Exaaaactly as intended, Rem." The lord cryptically answered, "We follow her demands aaaand accommodate her wishes so our Ser Emuuuurdol can come back. Oh, and Reeeem?"

The little sister stood ramrod straight, ready for any demand, "Yes?"

For the rarest of times to ever happen, Roswaal spoke with a very firm and demanding tone, pointing a finger at her, sending an unbearable wave of pressure on her person just by being the receiving end of it and his stern gaze.

"No more independent actions, okay?"

She bit her lip, looking down on her feet, "…Yes, Lord Roswaal."

"Very good!" The lord's mood was very quick to turn a 180, clapping his hands in the air, "Now that we're doooone here, I'll return to my study. Ram, Rem, be kind to our guest, okay?"

"As you wish." Ram bowed automatically.

"….I shall." Rem bowed lightly, eyes downcast and staring at nothing.

Both sisters kept their heads lowered while their master went away, and when Roswaal was no longer within ear shot and his footsteps no longer heard, their postures straightened and Rem quickly went over to weep on her sister's shoulder, accepting the consoling hugs and head pats.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

With a song and a wand in hand, Meili danced her way over to the room of the heiress, hums and clicks accompanying her presence. A little sway to her hips here, a big swing of her body there—just a little something she's learned from festival dances and other assignments she participated in. Since she's got nothing better to do, she might as well do this to pass the time. Besides, the feeling of power is sometimes too hard to compress, especially when she dominated that room. It felt like she could do anything and nobody's going to stop her, not even the people of great power living in this place.

She's well aware of the anguish she caused to that blue maid, and frankly, she could care less. She had a close look of the hurt goes through her Papa's mind every single day before coming here. She could have been apathetic about it but a knot kept forming in her gut whenever she's aware of it, compelling her to be concerned, and she's getting sick of it. Doing this much should get rid of that knot for good. Papa would approve….maybe.

She paused in the song and dance, pondering it carefully.

He might not take well to having the opportunity to get back at the maid being taken away from him when the damage is already done. Her orders don't include attacking the maid in any way.

….

…...

…...…

"Nah, he'll forgive meeeee. I'm his sweet baby giiiirl, after all." With all the carefreeness her age could allow, she dismissed any possible consequences and went on her way, resuming the beat.

"~Meili knocks on the door, posing like the poor~
~comes the kindly couple with bouncy kids of four~
~Poor, sweet Meili, why you out so late~
~They let her in the household, easily taking the bait~

~Cry, cry, little Meili cried~
~Weeping, bawling, said she got rejected~
~Mama and papa left her, left to rot and die~

~They pity little Meili, they give her drink and food~
~Warm clothes and a comfy bed, she's in a happy mood~
~Good night, sleep tight, they snuffed the candlelight~
~Pitter-patter goes the floor, the witchbeast came to bite~

~Cry, cry, the kiddies cried~
~Mama and Papa, they suddenly died~
~Gone little Meili, with a sweet goodbye~"

With a final click-clack of the wand, the song reached its end.

She blew a raspberry. "Lame. Too ugly. Too normal, gotta be more catchy." She holstered her wand, pulled off her glove and rubbed her brown thumb against her cheek, feeling the leather while she pondered over something. "Think the kiddies became slaves now….or maybe they starved….hmm….wait, did I have the cursies eat them too? Or was Elsa there?"

She sighed, having enough of the theatrics and putting her glove on. She's out of ideas and getting bored, plus she has orders. She should just be quick and do them before she gets to do whatever wants before night arrives.

First.

"Puckyyyy, I know you're there….." Her Papa told her of a Spirit that has the half-elf as a daughter, is very tiny and adorable but is one of the Apocalypse Beasts. As soon as she walks past the mansion gates, she must expect Puck to be watching her, especially this instant. "Papa told me about you, so come out and let me pet your fluffy fuuuur."

"Aw, and I was about to make a cool entrance or something." An androgynous voice remarked, blue lights materializing in front of her before they solidified into a cute and tiny silver-furred cat with a tail as long as its entire body. "How'd you know I was here?"

"KYA!" She was instantly squealing with delight, reaching forward and grabbing Puck out of the air, hugging the Spirit to her face, rubbing her cheek against him. "YOU ARE SO CUTE, I WANNA KEEP YOU AND TAKE YOU TO BED WITH MEEEEE!"

The Spirit giggled at her unrestrained affection, weakly pushing against her soft cheek, "No! No! We just met, kiddo! You gotta take me out to dinner first!"

"Okay!" Meili held Puck at arm's reach, exposing lots of sharp teeth with her sweet smile, "It's a tryst! Once I get my chores done, let's go pick flowers from the field I saw out there and make a bouquuuueeet! And when we're done, let's go to the village and eat an appa togetheeeer, and then let's go make a skeleton together when we get baaaack!"

Puck blinked, "Okay, everything was going well until the last one." He finally squirmed out of her grasp and floated in front of her, arms crossed, "Fess up, kid. I know you're going to Lia's room. What are you trying to do?"

Meili hid her hands behind her back, scuffing her shoe on the floor while blushing, emulating the poise of a girl meeting her crush, "To find yooouu~"

"I'm flattered. And what's the other reason you wanna go to her room?"

The blushing young girl disappeared, and in its place is a Wyrmm digging her way to the surface to become a fully-fledged Serpent. "On Papa's behalf, I'm here to thank Emily for helping him figure out a cure for Blue Maidy's sickness weeks ago."

"Ah, that day." The Spirit had a proud smile on his lips, staring at the moment many days prior, "Yeah, proud of my daughter. Betty had a hand in it too. The way I see it, I think they should get a lot of credit for helping him figure out the solution."

"Then let's gooooo! Then we can thank Betty together right aaaaafter." Meili went to jog on forward, going around the Spirit.

"Wait!" Puck quickly floated back to her front, holding up a tiny paw as a stop. Meili froze obligingly, violating the laws of physics as she only had one foot on the ground on tiptoes behind her, yet to alternate to the other foot as it is still bent and level to her thigh. "Apologize to Lia first before you give her the thanks. You did try to tarnish her honor by trying to kill the kids."

Meili frowned, pouting as she set her other foot down and placed the other one beside it. "Hey, at least they didn't diiiieee. Papa saved them and her image before it got woooorse."

"Do it or you're never gonna pet me."

"Mmm…." Her mood now downtrodden, she only had a light pace as she headed for her destination.

Located at the third floor, found several paces from the right side of the hallway, she reached her room and knocked on the door with her gloved hand. Then she stood straight, placing the same hand atop the left one in front of her waist, her stare pointed upwards to where a person's face would be, considering her stature.

"Um, yes? Who is it?" The girl inside asked after no followed indication of who knocked.

"Lia? Somebody wants to see you." Puck gave Meili a short glance before continuing, "It's a guest."

"A guest!? Oh dear, and nobody told me!? Hold on, I think my hair is a bit muddled! And I don't think I look presentable at the moment!"

"No, Lia, it's okay. Just come out. I don't think this kid's gonna care about how you look, even if you're all covered in grunge."

"That's riiight!" Being desensitized to gore is one thing in her first life, things like filth and grunge, especially if she has to touch them, is another thing entirely. Apparently, it is also one of the things she must have for her role as an up-and-coming Priestess of the Serpent. Thankfully, being dead once allowed her to earn such mental conditioning easily. She even used her own vomit and poop when she experimented with her poisons without retching. "I'd like you more if you're all covered in blooooood! That'll make me want to hug you lots till you squeeze out some mooore!"

My days, that made me sound like Elsa.

Distaste colored her face for a moment, shuddering from a chill running down her spine and she gripped her arm to calm down. Her anger just sparked there, and she almost failed to hold it down.

Easy, Meili. Don't get cranky and just puff cheeks. Like Papa said, pretend you don't know how to be cranky and are trying to. Grrrr…..grrr…..grrr…

A hand held her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Her olive eyes widened, the harsh glow in them dimming quickly, consciousness lashing back to the world and she realized that the occupant of the room had already opened the door and was now looking at her with concern, having a pale hand resting on her left shoulder.

She never seen an elf in her life, even if half-blooded, but she hadn't expected more besides just pointy ears. Her voice is as clear as a bell, and she equaled Meili with her pale features; silky silver hair in two braids and smooth porcelain white skin. Even with a simple pink pajama dress, it becomes her quite well. She's very pretty too, and while Papa told her to never care about the flesh, she found her amethyst eyes to be beautiful and a bit envious of them.

So this is Emily, the silly half-elf Papa told me about.

Meili's new signature smile, now returned to human blunt teeth and sweet as sugar, is put on. She twirled her braid with her left index finger, "Oh, sorryyy! Just got a little lost in my heeeaaad. The voice said I should puff cheeeeks."

Lying is now beneath her and she shall never do so again, her Papa said. But he also said that Exact Words are as magicalas the wonders they both can do. She must be creative in order to exploit it, and in this case: it's her own voice that told her to puff cheeks. Therefore, it's not a lie.

"Voices?" Instead of finding it weird, Emily was sincere in her surprise, "What kind of voices? Are you a Spirit Mage too?"

Meili's smile disappeared, only gaping for how gullible the half-elf actually is. Papa had told her of this quirk but she didn't know at what extent that was.

She closed her mouth and gulped, retaining as much composure and poise she could before she embarrasses herself and clicked the rhythm of greetings with her wand before putting it back to her belt, "Nice to meet you, my name is Meiliiiii Sinnuldel. You must be Emily, riiiighht?"

"Emily?" Emily expressed surprise at the butchery of her name, "No. It's Emilia."

"Emilyyyy." She got her confirmation, so she nodded. "Okay, nice to metchaaaa too."

"It's Emilia!"

Meili failed to acknowledge the correction and bowed, head lowered just enough to be level to her chest. "Low as it looks, I ask for forgiveneeeesss."

"Eh?" Now the half-elf is surprised for a sudden show of apology without even the context known to her. "Wha…why are you apologizing?"

Wryly smiling, she explained herself, "Remember that little incident when the kids were cursed by witchbeastiiiiees? That was meeeee. I was responsible for what haaaaapened."

Silence. A rather stiff silence.

"If you hate me for that, thaaaat's okay." Her voice was casual as ever, sweet but not amiable. She kept her head down the whole time, looking at her own feet. "But I was already punished for what I did if that makes you feel any beeeeeetter." She pulled the cuff of her glove down just a bit of her replaced flesh, "Seeee? I was just following orders but I don't think that's gonna heeeelp much. The thing is, I'm giving up on contract killing and I'm cleaning up my act as a good giiiirl. Just wanna say I'm sooorry."

She clearly sounds insincere, especially with her rather low tone of voice that's barely trying to sound regretful.

Suddenly, her hands were suddenly held by Emily's own, making her lift up her head and stare back at a sympathetic pair of amethyst eyes. "But you didn't do it all by your own initiative, did you? If somebody else made you do it, then I don't think you should apologize for that. I'm just happy that you decided to turn a new leaf so all is well." She then smiled. Though it is small, it would effectively set a heart on fire.

Inwardly, Meili was cringing back at such words. Papa had told her that Emily has a kind heart that could borderline stupid, and it shows. If somebody is willing to do such things without hesitation and do not regret it, they don't deserve any sympathy. This girl's clearly too softhearted to feel real malice.

Still, she can't lie that the genuine mercy she received is actually refreshing.

Smiling, she held out her arms towards Emily, beckoning her over for a hug. She perfectly emulated the image of a daughter asking for a lift from her parent.

Strangely, Emily's giving her a hesitant look, shooting unsure glances towards Puck and back to her. Meili was very certain that this was a rather enthralling gesture, especially from a cute girl like herself. It even worked once on an assignment. "Um….is it okay for me to embrace you? Even though I'm a—"

"Oh, just accept the hug already, Lia!" Puck snapped, "This kid already knows what you are. If you don't give it to her, you'll just make her cry."

Ah, yes. She remembers. Half-elves don't exactly get the most respect from lots of people, and this girl's no different. No wonder she's hesitating. She doesn't receive affection like this aside from Puck, her only trusted other, especially from a stranger. It might be possible that not even this mansion's servants seems to genuinely care for her. No wonder Papa gave her the option to abandon it if they had said no.

"Uh…here." With uncertain movements, Emily knelt down and entered into her arms, allowing her to wrap them around the half-elf's neck while the latter wraps hers around her chest. Meili gave her little pats on the back and a bit of a squeeze while Emily did nothing else.

Doesn't even know how to hug right, poor thing. Meili leaned back and gave a kiss to her cheek, making a loud pop and hugging her again, "That was a thank you from Papa, Emily. What you said really helped when he made the antidote for Blue Maidy."

"Eh?" Emily drew back from the hug, holding Meili at arm's length, "Wait, that sounds as if you're…."

"You hear, Lia? Emurdol actually adopted this kid." Puck made the facts clear, indicating to Meili with a paw, "And I think they're perfect with each other. You see the resemblance, right? White hair and the glowy green eyes, especially that little wand on her belt."

She let her olive green eyes flash briefly, just so Emily could see how close she and her Papa are now. "We also share blood toooooo. After that, we exchanged vows and very much in love like a little married cooouuuple!" While holding her blushing cheeks and swaying side to side, green energy leaked out of her form and gave her body an otherworldly sensation of being groped. Emotions are a danger but there are some emotions that aren't generally lethal. She can handle this much, "We think about each other everyyyyday~"

"Aw, that's sweet." Emily looked at the left hallway, then to the right. Back to the left, then to the right again just for good measure, she faced the wiggling and blushing Meili and asked, "Um, where's Emurdol now?"

She froze, lowered her hands and looked to the side, smiling wryly, "Not heeere. He's….a little buuuusy. He and his mama had a fiiiiiiight. They need some space away from each other foooor a while. It'll be alright, they'll be back together in tiiiiime." At least that's what Papa said. He said that he'll forgive her in time, he's just not sure when.

"Oh no. What happened to them?" Concern filled Emily's eyes, "Why'd they fight?"

Olive green eyes snapped to face the half-elf, disbelief coloring the dim light. For a moment, there was a stiff silence, turning awkward, going on for a whole minute, and the Spirit Mage pair started to shift in place, unsure how to continue.

Meili was as still as a statue for as long as it did, never blinking or visibly breathing, and before a very unnerved Emily could ask if she's alright, the latter's suddenly mobile, shooting the spirit a visibly incredulous look.

[She never knew?]

The Spirit could read minds, Papa said. Time to test that theory.

Puck pursed his lips, giving her a knowing look and subtly shaking his head.

"Um…." Emily, overwhelmed by this pressuring silence, failed to realize the exchange.

Putting on her smile back on, Meili hugged Emily's waist briefly and went away to Papa's quarters, skipping childishly in her steps and humming a song. She left the half-elf completely lost in her own head, wondering what just happened.

She kept her smile on, even though what's within doesn't match.

Emily doesn't know anything.

Blue Maidy tried to kill Papa, she doesn't know. Papa hates Blue Maidy even though he saved her, she doesn't know. Grandma killed Blue Maidy because of that, she doesn't know. Blue Maidy feels bad because of what she done, she doesn't know. Because of that, Papa's now angry with Grandma, and she doesn't know!

I can't believe this Mansion! How innocent is Emily gonna be!?

The final step of her skip ended in a stomp, a loud crack echoing in the silence of the hallway before she sighed and walked normally towards the room, two doors away from her. Her gloved hand stopped midway as it reached for the knob, her nose catching the smell of tea. Smiling, her blunt teeth turning sharp once again, she turned the knob and was proud of herself for correctly expecting Red to be inside, crossing her arms in the middle of the room. No tea in sight, however. The scent followed her anywhere.

She forgot that the skeletons that assisted in Blue's operation weeks ago had been left behind here, standing idly in the corner of the room, waiting for their master or another Necromagus to claim them.

"Did you clean up my room for meeee? Thank yooouu!" She held out her arms, beckoning Red for a hug, preparing a Nightmare Curse under her palms, "Come and get some huggiiees!"

"Ram will pass." Red dismissed, pointedly looking at her palms, as if she noticed the scheme. "The arms that are ever allowed to hold the cute and perfect Ram are Lord Roswaal's."

Her smile stretched wider when she heard the word 'perfect', showing more of her sharp teeth. She lowered her arms and put them behind her back, "What do you waaaant? Can it beeee quick? Because I wanna sleeeep. Papa and I did so much together, I didn't even sleeeeeep normally. And I miss sleeping on a beeeeeed. Practice heeeere, classes theeeere; experiment, experiment, Papa worked me to deaaath."

"Quite the father he is. And you still love him, despite that?" Red asked politely, impressively hiding her undertone of spite in her maid persona. "Does he make your heart burn whenever you think of him? As the culprit of the incident, it is highly doubted he would forgive you that easily."

Olive green eyes glowed, "Are you doubting Papa's love for meeee?"

"Ram doubts that he would simply let you off with a dead hand. Your dogs took away his voice, destroyed his trust in us or Rem, and his place in our mansion."

"Does Red Maidy think I or Papa don't knoooow that?" The honey quality of her voice devolved into a chilling drone, but the smile remained there. "Papa knows better than to blame meeeee. He did torture me thooouuuugh. He skinned open my back and took away my insiiiides…"

"And you're still in love with him, that you think about him the same he does about you? Can Ram trust that your claims that you two are mutually in love?" Red's words have been consistently polite and professional, never a hint of spite in them even though what's within is clearly otherwise. It was amazing. Papa had told her that Red was an incompetent maid, useless and weak. This performance from her threatened to debunk the claim. "Has he spared you from every little bit of his wrath that you are struck smitten when he found one of the leading causes of his losses that was you?"

"Every little second I think about Papa…." The sounds of the world grew silent, and it made Meili's hissy whispers as loud as a blade sliding out of a scabbard. "….I think of the ways I'll cut him open and what I'll see insiiiide….." Her arms slowly reached up to hug herself, blushing hotly and wiggling in an unnervingly snake-like sway. Eye contact was never broken, and the glow became as bright as a lamp. "One day, I'll be able to open his chest and squeeeeze his heart." Her left hand reached up to her mouth, and an index finger went inside, her impossibly-red tongue rolling around it salaciously. "It'll be taaaasty, and we'll be together forever~"

She never made it clear if this is either a twisted form of affection for Papa or a blatant expression desire to pay back the pain she suffered under him. Not even Meili knows which one her heart desires. She cannot consider herself normal before her second life, and now it's even worse. She doesn't know what's normal anymore.

Red was very still, maintaining her crossed arms and glaring at her, but the disturbed flare in her eyes was enough to satisfy Meili that was dying to get something out of her.

"Papa loved me to biiiiits. Hugs, kisses and cuddles, I was spoiled rooootten." These things clashed magnificently against the spite she had for him. Whenever a fire builds up and was about to go out of control, Papa douses it just as quickly, "He hurts me, he teaches me; he cuts me, he guides me; he curses me, he holds me; insults me, keeeeeeps me."

An explosion erupted in the room, a sound reminiscent of a giant pane of glass breaking, nigh-deafening that the sound itself practically exploded in one's head and out the ears. The sheer suddenness of it was enough to force Red into a combative mindset, ducking down, drawing her wand and surrounding herself in a protective aura of cutting wind, looking over the room with wide crimson eyes, towards the skeletons in the corner or Meili herself rapidly.

However, nothing is out of place. The window is perfectly intact, the lamps are still glowing normally to indicate the time of day, and the empty vials Papa left behind are innocently sitting on the table just as the skeletons had left them. No glass in sight is ever cracked, chipped or shattered.

Slowly, the look of realization hit Red as she realized that she got played again by the same trick that amplified the sound of any object, including Meili's voice. That was why her breathless whispers and lapping sounds could be heard all over, and this maid is still surprised.

When Red dispelled her wind barrier, stashed away her wand and turned to her again, her throat was suddenly enclosed in a bulging brown hand, bone spikes growing out of the finger joints and an ivory kris held in the other, aiming at Meili's little white neck, digging into the flesh just enough to draw blood, though she didn't bleed. Underneath her palm, there is a little pin prick bleeding in the maid's neck.

The smile became feral, and the glow in her olive green eyes are as bright as the center of a fire. Her dialogue is now coated with passion and poison.

"Papa loves me with all his heart. I love him with all my soul. You can't understand that. Blue Maidy can't understand that. You're all empty, stuck and hopeless with your loyalty to your lord and master Rosy! You both will never become like us! If you ever insult Papa or question our love for each other one more time, I'll make you and Blue Maidy lose your tongues and never eat again!"

Without warning, the skeletons became mobile. They grabbed her by the arms and shoulders, allowing Meili to release her before they manhandled her out the door, not a hint of gentleness in their movements as they threw her out the sooner they reached the portal, her petite body slamming to the wall. Red shot her a cold glare through the gaps of the skeletons' anatomy, holding her shoulder as she rose to her feet.

"If you want Papa to be any nicer to all of you than I am once he comes back, then Blue Maidy better give me a good explanation on why she hurt him!"

And the door is slammed shut as a punctuation by the skeletons, cracking the wooden frame under the force of the blow.

"Grrr!" Quickly commanding the constructs to lock the door, have the curtains drawn and send the room to a dim lighting, the limited illumination provided by the time crystal hung from the wall, and she collapsed on her knees, quickly unbuttoning her black long-sleeved shirt.

Nearly shredding her right sleeves with her finger joint spikes before she retracted them, the clothing was thrown aside and revealing the purple lightning-like scars covering her white torso. They appeared to be freshly inflicted, pulsing in a fast-paced rhythm, and they are currently spreading further to her neck and limbs, covering even more of her pale skin. Meili coughed into her brown palm, looking at the splatter of blood she left on it.

Drooling red, she punched the floor and elicited the sound of concrete shattering under the carpet. Her braid coming loose, spreading all over her face like a shredded white curtain, they barely concealed the red tears running down from her eyes.

There was no smile on her face, only a sharp sneer. Her teeth punctured her lower lip, and this time, they actually bled. Her breathing was wet, paced and shuddering. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears, in tandem with the pulses of her condition, the needles in her veins becoming even more excruciating in every second.

The failure to suppress the fire only made the pain worse.

"Papa….how could you do this to meeeeeee…..!?"

She couldn't tell which is worse. The fact that she is suffering for her troubles of being angry for the person who done this to her, or the fact that he's nowhere nearby to console her from the grief just like before?

"….hc…Papaaa….."

She curled on the floor, weeping and suffering alone for the first time in her second life, the Spirits of the Dead who remained close to her lamenting her grief.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Papa had said that the Moon is actually the Eye of the Dragon when Vra'Ugthol first disintegrated. It had been believed that Her other eye, the Sun, is alive and sentient, watching over anything the light touches. Some believed that She only had one eye, and that the Moon is actually the pupil separated from the eyeball that was the Sun, and when a Solar Eclipse arrives, that's when the Mighty Dragon has awoken once again from her 4 yearlong slumber, setting Her gaze over the earth and the Order of the Serpent would rejoice.

Meili shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Her new culture is too complex for her liking. She'll just remember the main gist of it where the Moon is the Dragon's eye and that she's being watched whenever she's outside. It explained why many Priests before her always perform their arts in the evenings, her Papa said. It's so they could be witnessed by their deity. Her kind don't like the company of the Living, after all.

That she can halfheartedly agree. At this point of hour in the night, she's not interested in any company. An entire four hours spent in her room trying to hold down her body from exploding left her sour. The rest of the day till evening, she spent sleeping. If Papa had been there, holding her close to his chest and kissing her forehead, the pain would have disappeared quickly and she would have gone to see Betty and went on that tryst with Puck.

She missed Papa's cuddles. His mana is so delicious.

She sighed, an unsatisfied desire creating a void in her stomach.

I want cuddles again.

She's yet to find someone else with tastier energies until he comes back.

Blue Maidy was so bland and regular. The flavor she could find from anyone, even from the ones who never used magic in their lives.

For some reason, Red Maidy was saucy. She wasn't able to process it properly under her anger when she had ahold of her neck but she never expected Red to have that sort of flavor. For somebody presumed as weak and inferior, she tastes extravagant.

Pucky was a cold platter, like an ice block. Tastes just like the mana in the atmosphere, tasteless. Like water. She expected more when Papa mentioned he's a powerful monster underneath the guise of a small animal, but apparently he's using the most basic energy to function. Which makes sense. What else do Spirits need besides that?

To her surprise, that silly little Emily nearly matched what Papa had. Less potent but highly processed. It was so good she ate more than a mouthful when they shared an embrace and gave her that kiss. It took much of her not to take any more than her share or even let go of her.

Maybe she should get friendlier with the half-elf, get more chances to her tasty energies. Likely then, she could get to sleep with her. Not that she would replace Papa with Emily. He's a lot tastier and she would choose him over everyone in existence.

But first, she should find out if Betty is tasty or not. She won't touch Rosy, he's too weird for her liking.

With one hand, she turned the knob and headed out to the backyard of the Mansion. A beautiful moonlight night kept the open fields well-illuminated in a haunting white light. Though, she'd like to have a very dark evening where the sky is a dark void and covered in clouds. She's very fascinated with her own night vision. It's like the concept of shadow or darkness doesn't exist anymore…which was weird because she could see shadows during the day.

Noting how the Mansion has its own personal forest just as what Papa told her, she picked the section where it is nearest to where he likely is. He's still in the cave, she could feel it. Brooding like always.

A knot started forming in her belly again at the thought of him being alone and sullen.

"Tch." She tried to force it down once again, focusing on her task instead of worrying about something that will only fix itself….hopefully…

She sighed deeply, shaking her head to loosen the braid and let it float behind her, trailing as if it was submerged in water as she walked. "….I hope he comes back sooooon…."

She stopped walking, her silver hair flowing forwards and shrouding her face. She smiled and turned around, the two skeletons following her following the same motion, staring at Emily who was following behind her. "Why are you foooollowing me, Emily?"

"Oh….um…." Flustered from being found out, she looked around herself, looking for an excuse, then eventually gave up. "…I was just curious as to where you'll trek to in this time of night."

'Trek', she said.

"I'm just gonna plant a little treeee." She showed the half-elf what she has in her gloved hand, "I got a little seed right heeeere."

Emily recoiled backwards, jumping an inch in the air before she neared a fist to her gaping mouth. "Li-little Meili, that…that is a—"

"A seeeeed." Meili insisted with the same smile, holding the skull out to her. "Isn't it cuuuute?"

Emily was struck silent, unsure what to say. When a dozen seconds passed without any more dialogue, Meili turned around and headed to the selected forest. "If you wanna come with me, that's oookay. I guess I'll accept one person watching in my choooore."

"Chore?" Emily parroted questioningly, her footsteps pacing up behind her.

The rest of the trip was quiet, having only the evening insects and birds to fill the silence. Instead of taking the road, Meili went past the thicket and ventured through the thick darkness. Emily had tripped behind her, completely unable to see in the dark compared to her. Feeling merciful, she led the half-elf by the hand and made a little glow emanate from her form, illuminating a little green circle around the two of them, followed close behind by the skeletal duo.

Once she found an open spot on a tiny clearing illuminated by the moon, a patch of ground covered by dry leaves, likely more than a hundred meters away east from the yard, she decided that this is a spot as good enough as it is. With a gesture as she let go of Emily's hand, she ordered the skeletons to dig up a hole.

As the constructs did their work, their hands reshaped into shovelheads to make the digging quick, she turned to face Emily, making the latter flinch lightly when she saw the bright glow of her eyes amidst the green light she was emitting, and told her, "Emily, this is going to be scary so take a…um," She looked behind the half-elf before she continued, "….13 steps back."

"Oh…" Emily looked to where 13 steps back would take her, which was outside the illumination of the aura Meili was making and into the darkness under several trees. She turned to her again, "Um, why? What are you going to do?"

She put on a wide smile, brightening the glow of her eyes and wiggling her left hand's fingers beside her head, whispering ominously, "The ghosties are coooooming…." They call them 'ghosts' in Papa's home world past the Great Waterfall, but in this world, they call them, "Holloooows….! Hollows are coming to visiiiiiit….!"

"Eep!" Emily had been a brave girl since she started following her, not even afraid of the darkness, but apparently, simple fears still haunt her. Her pale features paling even further and suddenly nearing to Meili, holding her shoulders tightly and her head looking left to right rapidly, as if she's expecting to find a transparent humanoid to come from anywhere. "Where!? Where!? Can you—can you see them!?"

Meili cruelly giggled, the mere sound of it having the power to ice anyone's spine upon hearing it. Seeing the shudder on Emily's form, it is very effective. "It's okay, Emilyyyy." She pointed a pale finger past her, "Blue Maidy and Red Maidy were following us the whole tiiiime."

"Eh?" She turned to look behind her, but Meili doubts that the half-elf will see them like she can. "Where?"

"Just over theeere." She pinpointed Red and then Blue as they got close enough to be seen by Emily. The twins wore really stiff faces, having heard of the kind of guests they'll be dealing with in a few moments from now. "When they get here, go to them, okaaay? I need lots of space before I chitchat with the ghooooosties. They don't like noooosy people."

"O-okay!"

Once they were at the indicated distance of 13 steps, Emily quickly ran over to them and stood behind the pair, who stood stiffly but readily for anything violent that happens. Hollows were heavily associated with malice and wickedness, as opposed to what Papa usually deals with that are either compliant, friendly or just deceitful. Uncommonly, they are very malicious like the Hollows. The nervousness these three girls have of them are very justified.

Smiling wickedly, she shut off the illumination she was giving off, leaving only her glowing eyes to be seen in the limited light before turning around and stepping into the patch of ground lit up by the Dragon's Eye. It seems the skeletons were finished in the digging, having made a decent 3 feet deep spot on the ground, big enough to stick a pole in, or a tiny little skull.

Holding the skull out with extended arms, facing her, she looked deeply into its empty sockets, chiding it sweetly as if it was a baby, "You lived a bad baaaaaad life, Mister. All the potential you had, wasted on bad bad things like slaaaving and steeaaaaaling." The first human life she took in her second life, about to become the hallmark of her first successful task outside of Papa's guidance. He is going to be so proud one he sees her handiwork, "Tonight, I'm gonna make you pretty and wonderful as a treeeee. Mwah."

And she pecked the teeth before dropping it into the hole, rolling to its side upon hitting the bottom. Stepping back and letting the skeletons fill back the dirt, she rolled her sleeves and pulled the glove off her right hand, letting its anomalous existence be seen. Pocketing it and pulling out her wand, she tut her teeth rapidly to herald the beginning.

Then….

A shake of the wand, then came a click.

A second shake followed by a second click, and the skeletons stepped away from the filled hole.

A third shake and click, she felt the ground tremble. Only those with the sharpest senses would have felt the sensation on their soles.

A satisfied exhale escaped Meili's lips. It was the perfect placement.

So she sang. A single D minor note and nothing else. Her wand began making a rhythm with its clicks. In the same process, she began infusing mana to the earth. It was visible under the light of the moon, green energy fuming out of her form and sinking to the earth, causing the tremor to grow stronger little by little.

Rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle went the wand in her brown hand, sending vibrations across her entire right arm, nearly losing the beat of its rhythm as its tempo began increasing, forcing her to grip it tightly lest she loses her hold.

Then suddenly, silence. The night insects went quiet. The nocturnal birds shushed. Breaths were held. Everything was still as if time froze to a stop.

And then out of nowhere, a disfigured mass of bone erupted out of the ground in front of Meili with a burst of dirt, shaped like a twisted femur mixed with an oversized ribcage wrapped haphazardly around it.

This time, the ecstasy couldn't be held down.

"Ehihihihihihi! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Cackling gleefully, spinning around and hopping in celebration like a girl on her birthday, feeling the sensation of her body being raked pleasantly, she began to dance. Like a grotesque and horrifying ritual, she swayed and flailed around the bony protrusion of the earth, as if there were strings around her limbs and the puppeteer violently pulled them, practically screaming the song's single note in its continuation. The skeletons became part of the one-woman festivities, clapping their hands in perfect unison to the rattles of the wand.

And the bone sapling grew, bigger and longer, feeding on the mana Meili was releasing in her thrashing and screaming, soon beginning to develop a trunk made entirely of femurs and forearms fused together. Then dozens of spinal columns grew from the top, curling and extending. Rattling. Large ribs and sharpened bone grew alongside them, curling inwards to the trunk like a jester's hat.

Give and take. Offer and receive. Her mana pool is not wide like Papa's. She also cannot drain mana out of the air while doing this or she'll break the rhythm otherwise. She cannot complete this with her own power either. That's why she had many unseen entities providing her the energy she needed, and she'll use that energy to feed the tree.

She had befriended a few Souls before she came to the Mansion, and they adore her. But they do not provide mana without a price. She must pay them with attention, conversation and entertainment.

Clicks to form the words.

Songs to send it across the Realms of the Living and the Dead.

And the dance, this was something she made on her own and added to the mix.

When under emotional outbursts, the Souls would manhandle her body and she would feel every bit of it, whether gently or violently. Instead of resisting, she allowed them, letting her body be dragged around like an unwilling partner of a waltz. The more her body flails under their control, the more entertained they become, and the more mana they'll give her.

An extremely effective way of growing this cute little tree in little time.

The 'branches' slowly grew longer and bigger, hands began growing out of the spines like twigs and shrubs while the sharp protrusions grew even more limbs of barbed bone. They moved and swayed just like an organic tree against the breeze, but there was no wind, and the bones appeared to be hard and solid.

It danced to Meili's tune, the sounds of ivory grinding against ivory almost synchronized to her beat and the rattling sounds are nearly reminiscent of her melody.

Once the growth of the tree has reached a certain point, where the spines are literally coiled around each other or the spiky protrusions of the sharp ivory going through them, with the trunk completely barbed with ribs and preventing anyone from climbing them without injury, and the roots made entirely of femurs ending in hands and feet grasping the earth in a literal death grip, Meili and the Tree become one in song and dance.

Click-click, CLAP.

With just a simple pattern, silence ruled over once again. And just in time, Meili stood at the same place before she became a plaything for the Souls. She stood hunched over, breathing heavily, her hair especially ragged despite its constant bobbing, one hand resting on her knee while the other rolled its wrist, holding the wand that seemed to be cracked and missing a few of its finger parts.

She turned to look behind her, exhausted and wearing only a weary look, the sweat on her face making her floating white hair stick to it, trying her hardest to stand up straight despite how worn out her upper body is.

The three girls stood there in the same place, looking at her and the tree together in complete trepidation, as if expecting more of the insanity she displayed to continue at any moment. The twin maids even had their weapons drawn out, looking at the tree itself like it was a living creature.

She only shot them a sweet, winning smile, likely not mixing well with the bloody tears that ran from her eyes or the red lines on her face that looked like phantom scratches, especially the ones on her bare forearms.

"They're heeeeeeeeeere…..!"

And right on time, the three of them released shocked gasps and a quick step back in perfect unison, terrified gazes looking over multiple places in her general direction rapidly. Yes, they are now seeing distorted humanoid figures in their peripheral vision. If they tried to look at them directly, they will see no one but are still present on the corner of their sight.

It was such a delicious sight. Papa made no attempt to hide that he liked seeing other people, including herself, get freaked out, especially if he was responsible for it. Apparently, she shares the joy of it. Their equal tastes is enough to make her blush and grin.

"You all can go to bed noooow." It's about time that these girls get dismissed. The Souls currently present are needy, and she can't hope to think they could handle them properly like she can. "I'll stay here and be a cute and charming hostess for theeeem. It's okay, I won't geeeet bored."

That was all the prompt they needed to know that they can leave, when they should have minutes ago. Warily, they took careful steps back, eyeing everywhere in her general direction, expecting something horrible to happen. None did, and she gave them a closed-mouth smile, waving goodbye with her brown hand, dissonant to the atmosphere they are under in. Once they reached a distance that was far enough, they turned around and quickly headed back to the mansion.

If those three took the time to look closely, they might notice that the Souls are waving goodbye along with her. They are even wishing them a good night sleep too.

"Good nightmaaaares!" Papa always said that Dreams are the only places where you can rule everything without consequences, a prelude to what she'll have in the Afterlife. Nightmares are just exercises sent by the Dragon for them to conquer over and strengthen the mind from the influences of the Dead, hopefully they can do the same so they can handle these people just like her.

She looked at the wand in her hand and frowned, pouting. It's really battered from the overuse, cracked and shattered. It was rattling too rapidly than it could possibly handle. And the lower jaw of the animal skull looks like it was about to come off. "And he just made this for me this morning….." She muttered sadly.

She felt tingling sensations on her shoulders; pats of comfort and sympathy.

She shrugged her shoulders, "No touchyyy." She sat on her rear, legs curled close to herself, placed the broken wand beside her on the ground, and she put her glove back on before clapping the rhythm of greetings to all who are present.

As if in response, the bone tree began glowing an eerie blue. The source of the light was nowhere to be seen, an unnatural illumination shining on her and its general vicinity in a 10 feet radius, but the dark of the evening as the moon is hidden away behind the clouds is effectively held back despite its unnatural presence.

And amidst the light, she could see the transparent and misshapen forms of the Hollows in her direct line of sight standing close to the tree, looking at her patiently. Some are situated on the branches, seated primly with their feet dangling beneath them. Some are hung upside down like bats, their toes coiled around the branches and swaying side to side. It's easy to tell which among them are the most mature and which among them have died young.

She wore a smile, the pale blue light reflecting off her sharp teeth.

The people gathered ready to pay attention, the seminar can now begin.