Chapter 166: Who are you, and what did you do with my lady?

“S-seriously, you want that” I was a bit puzzled by Seraphina’s choice, but she seemed so sure that she didn’t seem to want to change her mind.

[What, you can’t?]

“…well, yes it has existed in the past, so yes it should be in the Akashic records, but… well, it’s your choice, whatever you want.”

An Aetherdraco. That was the creature Seraphina had chosen. It was one of the most exotic and powerful beasts I knew, at least among my memories. I had to admit that her choice was logical; that species was incredibly versatile and had amazing potential and strength.

However, I preferred something more… normal. Perhaps a feline, a canine, or even a fox, of course not normal but apex beasts of those species.

The reason was simple: at some point, when they reach a certain level, divine beasts can become humanized, retaining certain features of their original form. As far as I know, this is how beastmen and some other humanoid races, such as vampires, came about.

still ignoring that, if it was my choice I would have opted for something that could fly, like a dark phoenix or a superior griffin, like the griffin of the abyss. I even considered a superior dragon or one of its many variations. But the Aetherdraco, while technically a type of dragon, could not fly.

What was worse was that if I had to describe the appearance of the creature Seraphina had chosen it was similar to that of a giant pangolin.

Sure, it wasn’t exactly a pangolin, but it was the closest thing I could describe it with, it was a versatile powerful being with many advantages, not losing in the slightest to any creature I am aware of right now and a very logical choice I would say, but….

’Despite everything, do I feel disappointment? I don’t know how to explain this’.

Not to mention, there was nothing in common between that beast and me. Being a beast of earth and metal elements, it had no connection to me, except for my crystal magic, which was a hybrid of earth and light.

Although I had recently considered seriously developing an affinity for earth to improve the performance of this useful magical branch, the most powerful skill I found was ranked (C), which would downgrade to (D) when I copied it.

That’s why I seriously considered seducing Alexander, who, I believe, has the strongest earth affinity in the academy. I’d take on an appearance that matches his taste, something similar to Alice, and once I could see his stats, I’d corner him and politely extract the skill, which should rank between (A) and (S).

This was one of the plans I had for the next charge of the spear. The last time I used it, it was to gain spear affinity, and since the ability wasn’t very strong, it didn’t consume too much energy—in about half a month, approximately. Alexander, depending on the circumstances, could open himself to a new world. (Let’s pray he doesn’t stray from the path).

..

I sighed and continued with the engraving, using some of my blood. I concentrated on capturing my intention, on making it clear what creature I wished to be born.

I could not invent a beast that had never existed, but, luckily, the Aetherdraco had been real in the past. With a strong will, I conveyed to the egg everything I knew about this beast, hoping that it would fit that mold.

Although there was a small chance that a slightly different creature would hatch, there was nothing I could do about it.

Finally, I finished the rune engraving, using Hydra’s blood as reinforcement in addition to my own. I felt, through resonance, that the egg had begun to take shape.

My sensitivity to intentions helped me to perceive these kinds of changes, although there was no visible indication on the egg itself.

I placed the egg in a circle previously carved into the ground, made with powder of specific materials, such as crushed bones and other catalysts, combined with runes written in the blood of beasts.

In my previous world, this would definitely be seen as a demonic ritual to summon something, and indeed, in this world they do exist, though this one did not have that function….

I started going over the spell I was about to say. It was too long and complicated, needing all my focus and parallel thinking. It was a non-elemental spell, so I had no affinity to help me.

Luckily, my affinity for runes, though different from elemental affinities, helped me shorten the chant and cover many of my mistakes to the point of performing it perfectly.

While elemental affinities help the user to perform magic by skipping processes or passively covering up mistakes, affinity with runes strengthens the runes themselves, increasing their speed of creation, casting and effectiveness.

It does not help to bypass processes, but it makes magic creation so fast and accurate that it is sometimes even better than elemental affinities. Moreover, it is universal for all runes, including divine ones.

I would say it is even more of a “cheat” skill than that of the twins, who can double or even triple the strength of their users.

Eventually, I began to chant, forming more solid and complex runes than I was normally capable of without the rune affinity. Still, it was a long process.

“O Animae peregrina, ex corpore liberare quaerens,

iter tuum incipias per vias aeternas, ubi nec dolor nec vincula morantur.

Aqua te purificet, ut sine timore procedas;

Ignis te reviviscat, ut novo ardore fulgeas.

Per Terrae roboris pactum solvatur,

ut tua forma a carne discedat in pace.

Aeris spiritus te ducat per arcana,

ad novam vitam et novam formam.

Proceed, anima libera, ad lucem et quietem,

ubi silentium sacrum te amplectitur.

Sic fiat, et transeas ad domum renovatam.”

“TRANSITUS ANIMAE.” ( SOUL TRANSFER )

When I finished, I felt a tugging inside me. Yes, it was a spell designed to change bodies or transfer my soul to a new one; not for nothing was it a taboo spell. But I used it to do this.

I strongly resisted the spell using my blessing and protection, but there was an extra soul inside me. It was just a normal soul, of someone who hadn’t gone through any metamorphosis before dying, and couldn’t resist the pulling force.

And for my part I felt nothing different during this process, when the suction sensation ended everything was silent….

“Seraphina, are you there?…” There was no response.

“Good, looks like it worked. Now for the finishing touches.”

I quickly took the egg in my hands. It was now a fertile egg with a soul inside. It was only a matter of time before it hatched. It was time to sign a contract, different from how it is normally done.

It was easy. I just had to put some of my blood in the shell, usually just by touching it if I chose you I would create a soul and consciousness and the contract would be created naturally. That was the way it was, in general, but with all this changing because of my intervention I had to do a non-standard method….

But before I could even do anything, I felt a connection to the egg forming. I realized that Seraphina was probably inside and conscious, and that it did everything on its own without any need for me to intervene.

Finally, the egg, like a beam of light, went into my chest and would stay until it hatched. It may seem silly for it to come back inside me again, but now it could not read or know what I was thinking, just as it could not ever attempt to possess my body Although the chances of it ever succeeding were always very low,

Now it will be a divine beast and my companion. He will be reborn as a new individual. That was the compromise we reached: once it can humanize itself, it will work with me for a while and help me fulfill my goals and responsibilities.

Then she could leave, of course, tied to a powerful contract that I will create for that time so that she would not turn against me, since knowing her she was very capable of doing so.

Anyway, right now we are bound forever, and she would not be able to break it no matter how strong she is. But I am a man of my word, and I will set her free. After all, I owe her the body I am using and will use until the end of my life.

“Well, now I’ve finished everything. If anything else happens, I swear I’ll just ignore it.”

Click.

I snapped my fingers, and the room was clean of dust and blood with no need to clean up.

“Girls, you can come in now.”

I said to Elena and Alice, who were outside the room, in what would be the foyer. This place was not unlike an apartment: it had a kitchen, a foyer, and two bedrooms, one mine and one Elena’s.

I didn’t even take a bath, I simply purified myself. Finally, I threw myself on the bed while I took off all my annoying clothes, staying in boxer shorts. I undid the metamorphosis and even the parallel thinking.

The doppelgänger was charged with mana and wasn’t doing anything, so it wouldn’t disappear during the night.

“Big sister, have you finished what you were doing yet? The doppelgänger in the room wasn’t moving at all. Elena said it was because you weren’t inside.”

“Yeah, well, I was doing something that needed all my concentration. Well, girls, I’m tired, so there’s not going to be any action. Let’s just go to sleep.”

“Huh? Really? Beeeeno…” said Alice, as she happily made her way to bed, but Elena suddenly stopped her.

“Wait, Miss Alice… It could be dangerous…”

“Elena’ what are you doing? what’s dangerous?… Hey! Why the hell did you take George out? What did I do? I just want to rest!”

“Is that exactly why, who are you, and what did you do with my lady? She would never make a statement like that. You should have investigated further if you wanted to impersonate her.”

“…..”

’Was she serious?’ I looked at her and couldn’t help but draw a blank, as she really seemed to be serious. I looked at Alice, and she looked nervous, not knowing what to do or who to believe.

“Haaah. Hey, Elena. Okay, you want proof? Perfect. I’ll tell you that you have a mole in a peculiar shape on your lower right lip, hidden until you move it. I only discovered it when I was doing some tongue work. And Alice has a mole near her back door; it looks great when she uses a butt plug. Okay, now stop the nonsense and let’s go to sleep. Work your magic and put my pajamas on.”

“….even if you were the real one, you should stop saying that kind of thing to prove you identity.”

“hey what else can I say that no one else knows, besides you still doubt me even with what I said!”

“E-Elena, I don’t think this is an imposter. Although it’s weird, my big sister requires rest too, right? Maybe she’s in her day. Remember, she’s still a woman.”

“….”

It’s true that I suffered from that before, but when I inherited the legacy, that feminine need I forcibly eliminated it with morphogenesis.

Also, as you move up in rank you also get some control over that, and you can suppress it for a long time. I, especially, gave the girls a technique that served that purpose and didn’t interfere, with our routine of getting strong…if it was for that valid and understandable reason….

’No, rather this is getting unnecessarily complicated.’

Luckily, though with suspicion still on her face, Elena put George away and approached me in her pajamas. Quickly, and expertly, she put them on me. Finally, I was ready to sleep, but suddenly I felt the urge to…..

“Oh, they fell into my trap! Hueheuehue!” I said, as I grabbed Alice, who was next to me, pretending to take her hostage.

“….”

“I was almost discovered. They seem to know their lady well, but not well enough. Now this beautiful half-Elf is in my power. hueheuehue!”

He was playing, but Elena didn’t react. Not at all.

“Hey, Miss Elena, don’t you care about this hostage?”

Before she seemed so convinced it wasn’t me. Now she was impassive. she didn’t understand the reason as she was still squaring me with suspicion when I dressed.

’well, whatever, I’ll just annoy alice a little and …’

“My lady, I recommend you stop playing games if you don’t want to get another stabbing. And, Miss Alice, it’s only My lady playing, so put that dagger down.”

“Huh? What? Oh! Alice, calm down. I was just kidding. I was just kidding! It’s me, I swear! Come on, you know when I’m lying, don’t you?”

Shit. I hadn’t noticed, but Alice, who I was supposedly holding hostage in my arms, was holding a dagger she pulled from who knows where and seemed to be looking for an opportunity to use it.

I had no choice but to reassure her and try my best to convince her, now I felt I was creating more unwanted problems for myself.

’Mental note: don’t make tasteless jokes to Alice and, if I do, be on the lookout for possible stabbings.’

..

.

“sorry big sister<ಥ_ಥ>”

“don’t worry Miss Alice, if anything should happen, it’s my lady’s fault.”

“Hey, you were the one who started that impostor thing! Rather, why were you so calm if the joke was for you, not Alice?”

“Well, I don’t think there’s anyone in the world with such a disgus… ehem, unique as my lady, so there was no need to doubt her identity.”

“Damn it!!, Elena, were you going to say disgusting?”

“(¬_¬)”

“Fine! Let’s stop this. I’m really tired. Alice, don’t worry. It was my fault. Besides, one or two stabs are nothing to me even if it’s in the heart.”

I comforted Alice, who looked sad since she almost stabbed me, even if it happened it wouldn’t have been the first one, of the day.

Finally I lay back down on the bed, now together with all of them. I used to take turns, and today I would hug Elena while we slept. I hugged her, and felt Alice hug my back.

Finally, with the comfort, which I had become addicted to, we began to sleep.

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