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"As long as you can restore me to normal..."
Beta met Edgar's gaze and spoke with complete sincerity.
"Whatever the price is, Mr. Edgar, you can have it."
"My body, my life... even my soul." đĽş
She didn't want to die in such a hideous state.
For that...
She was willing to give up everything.
Besides, Alpha was obviously living well now. Surely she could be the same.
Edgar studied Beta in silence for a moment before breaking into a smile.
"I'm very satisfied with that answer."
"Don't worry. The only thing I want is for you to become my servant, just like Alpha."
The moment he finished speaking, Edgar reached out and rested a hand on Beta's head.
"Mm. Nice. The feel is every bit as good as Alpha's."
"Synchronization."
He praised inwardly as magic power poured from his palm.
A dazzling glow enveloped Beta's entire body.
The black blotches marring her fair skin vanished completely. â¨
At the same time...
The agony that had made every second of life unbearable disappeared without a trace.
In its place came a long-forgotten feeling of relief.
Feeling the changes within herself, Beta's eyes turned red as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
"It's cured..."
"It really is cured."
"This is a miracle... a genuine miracle."
She immediately dropped to one knee before Edgar and bowed deeply. đ§ââď¸
"Thank you, Mr. Edgar. I'll spend the rest of my life repaying this kindness."
The way she looked at him had completely changed.
As though she were gazing upon a god who had granted her a second life.
"Since you insist..."
Edgar smiled faintly and extended a finger. A tiny bead of blood seeped from the tip.
Beta blinked.
"Mr. Edgar, what's that...?"
"Nothing much. Just one step of the reincarnation ritual."
"I see."
She nodded before asking, "Do I need to do anything?"
"Of course."
"Mm!"
Expectation lit up her face.
She couldn't help being curious about the ritual for becoming a demon.
"You just need to take off your outer clothes." đł
The instant those words left his mouth, all of Beta's anticipation froze into utter confusion.
She stared blankly at him.
"Is... is this reincarnation ritual actually legitimate?"
No matter how she thought about it, becoming a demon and taking off her clothes had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
"Don't worry."
Alpha patted her shoulder and briefly explained both the reincarnation ritual and the status panel.
Only then did Beta let out a sigh of relief.
"So that's how it is..."
She had already resolved herself to serve Edgar.
But if things progressed that quickly, it was still a little too much for her to handle.
Still...
She hadn't expected becoming a demon to come with so many benefits.
No wonder Alpha looked so healthy and full of life.
Having made up her mind, Beta quickly removed her outer garments.
Yet when her graceful figure was finally revealed before Edgar, a blush still spread across her cheeks.
Some things...
You didn't stop feeling embarrassed about just because you'd prepared yourself.
"Stand up."
Taking a deep breath, Beta slowly rose to her feet and straightened her posture.
The next second...
Drops of golden blood fell onto her skin.
Her body trembled as she instinctively looked down.
A faint glow spread across her fair skin.
Then...
An invisible force surged through her body, steadily transforming every part of her. âĄ
So this is what becoming a demon feels like...
Her strength was increasing without pause.
Beta's eyes widened, barely holding back a scream.
Her body had never felt so light.
Even more astonishing, her magic power was growing at a visible rate.
A moment later...
Rip!
A pair of wings and a tail, the unmistakable marks of a demon, burst forth from her body. đ
In that instant, Beta felt limitless power coursing through her veins.
Lines of status information appeared across her skin.
[Beta]
Race: Demon
Master: Edgar Lucifugus
Level: L12
Skills: Elf Form, Demonic Grimoire
Elf Form: Uses demonic power to assume an elf form, allowing the use of all abilities inherited from her elven bloodline.
Demonic Grimoire: Can store spells within the grimoire and cast them freely at any time.
Reading the status, Edgar's eyes flickered.
Elf Form was exactly what he'd expected.
"But this Demonic Grimoire skill..."
He stroked his chin and nodded to himself.
"It's pretty impressive."
With the Demon Spear and his limitless magic, he could already unleash thousands of spells in an instant.
But even that had its limits.
This skill was different.
As long as there was enough time, an unlimited number of spells could be stored away, only to be unleashed all at once when needed.
Hearing his evaluation, Beta's eyes sparkled.
"So... my skill is really that powerful?"
"Absolutely."
Edgar smiled, copied down her status sheet, and handed it to her.
After getting dressed again, Beta immediately began reading through it.
She skipped all the basic information and went straight to her skills.
Demonic Grimoire certainly sounded incredibly powerful.
But...
She looked up at Edgar with an adorably puzzled expression.
"Master... what's magic?"
Edgar blinked before quickly realizing the problem.
Right.
This world was a rather strange one.
Although people had many ways of using magical power, the concept of "magic" in the conventional sense simply didn't exist.
"Magic is just another way of using magical power."
Giving her a gentle pat on the head, he briefly explained the principles behind magic before handing her a spellbook.
"Here. Study it on your own first."
"If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me."
"Thank you, Master."
Beta's eyes lit up as she eagerly accepted the spellbook and began flipping through it.
Before long...
She raised a hand as magical power surged outward.
Buzz!
A glowing magic circle materialized in midair.
The next instant, a bolt of lightning shot forward, blasting a massive crater into the ground ahead.đĽ
"S-So amazing..."
Beta stood there with her mouth hanging open, her excitement growing by the second.
Another genius.
Watching the scene unfold, Edgar wasn't the least bit surprised.
He'd already noticed a pattern.
Whenever one of his servants possessed a skill related to magic, their magical talent was almost always exceptional.
Off to the side, however, Claire and Alpha couldn't help feeling a little envious.
They had studied spellbooks too.
Both of them possessed magical talent, but compared to Beta...
They clearly weren't in the same league.
Boom!
At that moment, a deafening explosion echoed from the distance.
"There's a battle going on."
"The magical fluctuations are incredibly strong. Whoever's fighting isn't weak."
Alpha and Claire reached the same conclusion almost instantly.
"Good."
Edgar looked at them with approval.
"It seems you've both gotten the hang of basic mana detection."
Mana detection?
Beta immediately perked up.
So that's another demon ability?
She quietly clenched her little fists.
Looks like I still have a lot to learn.
At the same time...
Edgar summoned his system interface.
His eyes gleamed as he looked at the flashing Demon Contract notification.
My luck has been pretty incredible lately.
Another future servant has practically delivered herself to my doorstep.
Though...
This candidate seems to be in a bit of trouble.
According to the contract's sensing ability, she was currently being hunted. đď¸âđ¨ď¸
And both she...
And the people chasing her...
Were not human.
"..."
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