After a short moment of silence, Miria opened her mouth. “We are his s—”

  ~Don’t reveal everything. We don’t know if he can control only Master’s body or his abilities too,~ Selene’s voice rang in her head.

  “—ervants. Combat slaves,” Miria quickly finished her sentence, seemingly without even breaking the word as the two conversed mentally. She pointed at her collar.

  “Hmmm… Never seen your race around… Eh, not like it matters.”

  “Since you can switch bodies, if you release our Master and go back to the boy, we swear to not do anything against you and leave instantly. We won’t tell anyone about this either,” Miria tried negotiating with the Horror.

  He chuckled again and shook his head. “I’m really tempted to listen to such a beautiful girlie, but unfortunately, I need this body to leave this damned place, so I will be borrowing your master for a little bit. That kid is too weak, but this guy is pretty much perfect.” He glanced down at his hands and smiled to himself. “If you don’t get in my way and follow my orders, he might have a chance to live.” He slowly approached Miria with a wide grin and cupped her cheeks up. “What do you say, pretty?”

  Even if it was Ast’s body, Miria clearly felt repulsed by the aura he emanated and hastily stepped away with a displeased face.

  “Don’t you dare touch me. I belong only to Master.”

  “Oh? Quite the loyal slave we are. Am I not your master now?”

  “You may have his body, but not his soul and heart,” Miria retorted.

  Suddenly, an idea popped up in her mind. She returned close to him and grabbed Ast’s throat with her furry hand. He raised an eyebrow at her action.

  “Try anything funny with me and I’ll kill Master and then myself. It’s not an empty threat.” She squeezed her fingers harder. “The two of us are much stronger than him. There are no limitations on my slave mark. You need him alive, don’t you?” She glared Asterios straight into the eyes, leaking some of her killing intent she was able to direct at the Horror.

  Ast’s eyes widened a little before they returned to normal. It was long enough for Miria to notice the change. He then showed an evil grin again, but she knew it was just a facade.

  “Feisty. I like those. But it’s as you said. I’d rather get out of this abandoned shithole than taste a random woman once, not even in my own body. And I bet he’s done you plenty already with how crazy you are after him. Used goods are not really my thing.” He shrugged and she let him go.

  Selene finally joined Miria by her side. “Let’s go then. You better instantly leave my Lord’s body the moment we step outside.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, not so fast. If it was this simple, I would have used that kid over there. I need a strong body for a reason, don’t you think? If you help me nicely along the way, I may try my best to keep him alive after I’m done, huhuhuhu.

  Asterios let out a sinister chuckle as he passed between the two girls, tapping them both on their shoulders. Miria and Selene exchanged a worried and frustrated gaze. Following the Horror was their only choice.

  Chapter 16

  Key to Freedom

  The Horror led the girls through the prison’s corridors with confidence. They quickly understood that he must have been familiar with this place before. Selene started wondering what his connection to the underground structure was and how she could possibly use her abilities to their advantage. He needed to do something here for him to be free. She still didn’t know if the monster had been sealed or born with this restriction and if it was possible for her to influence that in any way.

  Meanwhile, as Selene racked her brain over the situation they had found themselves in, Miria kept glaring at Ast’s possessed back as they followed the Horror. She was cursing her inability to do anything to help her master. She wasn’t stupid and knew very well that Selene was much more suited for all that was spiritual or magical, but that didn’t relieve her of all the blame she was putting on herself.

  They entered a different part of the underground complex, much less resembling a prison and closer to something akin to the living quarters, most likely of whoever watched over the area. It wouldn’t be surprising if it belonged to guards or jailers.

  Arriving in front of a tough-looking arched wooden door, they finally stopped. The Horror nodded to himself with a grin and went to open them, but nothing happened after he tried pushing the handle. The monster slammed against the planks using Ast’s body, but again, to no avail.

  “Fuck!” He kicked the door furiously. “That bastard must have locked them when leaving! There’s no way he left the key anywhere here. Gah! Why is this body so fucking weak!”

  Miria and Selene exchanged glances while watching him struggle. They were now sure that the Horror didn’t know that Asterios was a Summoner and viewed him as just your usual human with two combat slaves or else it would instantly order them to open the door with Ast's influence over them.

  He finally turned around and faced the two girls. “Stop standing there like mindless dolls and think of something! Or was he dragging you around only as playthings and nothing else?!”

  ~He doesn’t seem to have access to Master’s memories,~ Miria spoke to Selene mentally.

  ~At least one thing is in our favor,~ she answered and started walking closer to the man.

  “Move aside,” she scoffed at the Horror and placed her hand on the door.

  First, Selene closed her eyes and sent a few pulses of Spiritual Sense inside to probe the structure of the room on the other side. There didn’t seem to be anything dangerous lurking beyond, and the entryway wasn’t blocked. She traced a glowing circle that spiraled to the center with her fingers, closed her hand into a fist, and pulled it back.

  “HAP!”

  Her attack punched a huge hole through the wooden door, sending splinters inside. The frame was solid enough to withstand the force without breaking any of the hinges, which was quite commendable when considering the amount of strength that she had put into the strike.

  Selene stepped to the side and glanced at the Horror. Judging from the expression on Ast’s face, he completely didn’t expect her to be this strong after seeing her spiritual abilities before.

  “Is this enough?” she asked.

  He grumbled something and made it through the hole. Selene and Miria followed closely after him.

  The chamber they entered looked like a spacious office. There were many bookcases and shelves all around the room. An impressive wooden desk was placed in the very middle. From all the dust lying on everything, they could easily guess that no one had been around in decades, if not longer.

  They walked around the desk to the further part of the chamber where the Horror was currently standing with his hands on Ast’s hips. After moving closer, a silhouette sitting on the floor with their back to the wall entered their sight. But, instead of a person, it was a skeleton in tattered clothes. Not much was left of them. The girls noticed a long stiletto lodged in the person’s sternum, most likely the cause of their death.

  “Fucking treacherous brat. You are lucky there’s no way for you to still be alive after all those years or I’d make sure the rest of your life was a living hell…” the Horror murmured quietly, unaware that they could hear it.

  He looked back at the girls. “Alright. I don’t want to spend here any more time than necessary so you will look for something with me. There has to be a relic in this room somewhere. An object from my past that binds me to this location. I don’t know what it is exactly. It may be one of my rings, necklaces, a book, my wand, my dagger—not that one in my chest though—or anything else I used. I kept all my stuff here so unless that shithead miraculously guessed what might become the relic and foresaw me becoming a Phantasmal Horror in the future and stole it, there’s no way we won’t find it here,” the Horror explained to the duo.

  Then, he pointed at Selene. “You with the white hair, you should be able to recognize it much easier than the other bitch since you seem more sensitive to spiritual energy. I will instantly feel a connection with it when it enters my sight, so you blackie keep rummaging through the shelves too and throwing things onto the floor. And remember, no funny ideas or this guy will suffer in your place. I made sure he retains all of his senses,” the Horror said with an evil grin. “Ah, and don’t you think that destroying the relic will get rid of me. Instead, it will get rid of the only way I can leave this godforsaken place. And if that happens, I’ll make sure to torture all three of you one by one until you turn into dust, starting with this brat!”

  He waved his finger at each of them and turned around to start looking for the item.

  ~Do you think he is lying?~ Miria asked Selene as they started going through the shelves too.

  ~I don’t know, but I’d rather not risk it. Maybe I’ll be able to understand more if I get my hands on that relic. Come on, let’s focus on searching first. I don’t want him to dirty our Master’s body any longer.~

  In thirty minutes, they went through half of the shelves, drawers, and other containers in the room. Nothing caught the eye of their temporary leader. Selene didn’t notice anything special about any item either.

  An hour later, the Horror was slowly starting to get agitated and demolished his own desk while looking for the relic inside. The girls feared that he would completely lose his cool and hurt Asterios. Miria looked at Selene with a worried gaze. Only she could achieve anything here.

  Selene took a deep breath and walked to the center of the room. She crouched down and drew tens of blue glowing sigils on the stone pavement, creating three circles with them, one inside another. She then added one bigger symbol in each of the four directions and finished her array with a pentagram, filling the most inner circle.

  With everything ready, Selene sat down in a cross-legged position in the middle of the magical formation and closed her eyes. She connected it to her spiritual circuits and began fueling it with her mana. Ripples of spiritual energy started flowing through the air and her consciousness detached from her body.

  Everything in her sight, except Asterios, Miria, and her own body, was completely grey. Every time a spiritual wave hit them, their own circuits resonated and answered by sending a small ripple back. Selene started looking everywhere to see if there were reactions anywhere else, gradually increasing the strength of the spiritual probing.

  Just as she was going to hit the limit of what she could achieve without the Awakening, Selene noticed a faint flutter behind the bottom of one of the bookcases. After staring at the space there for a few seconds, she realized that something must have been there.

  Canceling the technique, she stood up and walked up to the spot. “Can you help me a little, Miria?”

  The panthergirl arrived by her side and Selene quickly explained her intentions to Miria through their connection. Both girls grabbed each side of the bookcase and pulled it with all their strength boosted by Physical Strengthening, sending it flying towards the other wall. The wooden furniture crashed against it and shattered to bits.

  The Horror waved away the kicked-up dust while coughing and came closer to them. “Cough, cough. What the fuck was that for, hah?!”

  Selene and Miria pointed their fingers at the now barren wall. Specifically, at the two, upper, metallic hinges that had some of the broken-off wood still in them. It was obvious they had held the whole thing quite firmly.

  “Whatever. You got anything here or just felt like trashing my old office out of frustration?”

  They moved their fingers down in complete sync. He followed them with his eyes, and they widened after a sizable iron key lying behind the bookcase entered his sight. The Horror quickly crouched down, picked it up, and jumped back, displaying the item above his head.

  “Fin-fucking-nally! I should have known it would be you, you damned piece of lovely junk!” He screamed in joy and then brought the key down to look at it more. “Alright! It’s finally time we ended this fucking charade! I agree.”

  The Horror furrowed his brows for a moment as he stared at the key. He felt like he had just said something totally weird and out of place, but he blamed it on his euphoric mind. In fact, his manner of speech had indeed changed near the end, from a joyful and upbeat tone into a calm and composed one.

  He shook his head and looked at the two girls. “Looks like even bitches can be useful at times. I’ll try not to kill your precious master. Although, he will definitely end up as at least a spiritual cripple, hahaha!”

  The Horror laughed at them mockingly. There was nothing they could do now that he had the key to his freedom in his hands. Both Miria and Selene rushed towards him the moment he finished his sentence, aiming for the item.

  “Too slow! All I have to do now is to—catch.”

  Again, his tone changed, but this time it happened mid-sentence and he casually threw the key towards the running Selene, surprising her. She suddenly stopped and jumped back after catching it. Miria positioned herself in between the two to intercept any oncoming attacks, but the Horror seemed frozen from shock too.

  He looked between his hand and the girls in turns and stopped at the fox lady. “I told you not to play any tricks on me! Give it back or I’ll—start pouring your mana into the key and you will kill him.”

  Ast’s body shivered from fear. “What is happ—gods, you are an even bigger idiot than I thought.”

  After the last line, Asterios sighed heavily while facepalming. A few seconds later, his appearance changed into the awakened one and the air around his body started shimmering in dark crimson hues as more spiritual energy leaked outside of his circuits. He then bent forward and opened his mouth wide.

  A black smoke-like miasma poured out of his throat, formed a Goblin-looking shape after getting all outside, and flew up almost to the very ceiling while screeching in pain.

  Asterios coughed involuntarily and wiped off his lips before straightening himself.

  “Why does it have to feel like vomiting… Seriously…” he complained with an awkward smile.

  “HOW?!”

  A slightly ominous old-man-sounding voice resonated through the air. Everyone knew who or what was the source behind it and both the girls and Asterios moved their gazes up at the Horror hovering above their heads.

  “I HAD YOU UNDER MY CONTROL! HOW DID YOU FREE YOURSELF AND EVEN PUSH ME OUT?!” the Horror boomed with shock and anger.

  “Are you sure about that?” Asterios asked.

  “YOU! I CERTAINLY FELT YOUR MENTAL BARRIER BREAKING! THERE’S NO WAY A WEAKLING LIKE YOU COULD RESIST ME! TELL ME WHAT YOU DID OR ELSE—”

  “Do you really think I’m as stupid as you to blabber out all my secrets? Selene, do what I told you. This guy wasted too much of our time already,” he glanced at the fox lady and nodded.

  She instantly began sending her spiritual energy into the item. It surprised her how easy it was. The key seemed to be like a bottomless container that sucked in all the mana that was given to it.

  The Horror’s fog-like form started shivering and trembling irregularly. “W-W-Wait! Don’t do that! I’m sorry! I’ll let you leave! If you spare me, I’ll tell you anythi—”

  Asterios walked up to Selene while looking straight at the black cloud of smoke. “Should have kept your hands off my companion, scum.” He placed his hand over Selene’s and added his own energy into the mix.

  “Nooooooooo!”

  The Horror zoomed through the air towards them but didn’t make it in time. The key the two of them were feeding mana began to glow increasingly brighter until it reached pure-white radiance. A sound of glass breaking stemmed from the item and it shattered into hundreds of little, flashy particles. The black smoke crashed against their faces and quickly dispersed after hitting them, like your usual mist.

  Asterios stepped back and sighed in relief.

  *THUD*

  “Umph!”

  And then something crashed against his chest, making him fall onto his butt. The perpetrator was obvious and currently tightly clutching his body while trembling and emitting quiet sniffles. He hugged Miria back and began gently patting her head with slow and affectionate strokes.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay. Everything is fine and I am fine too.”

  She kept snuggling to him without letting go, but slowly, Miria’s emotions were calming down. He was surprised she held her composure for so long after he had expelled the Horror from his body, as Asterios felt her urge to jump at him from that very moment. But Miria kept herself at bay until it was completely safe.

  Selene walked up to them with a relieved smile too. “How did you manage to fight back against the monster, my Lord?”

  “I’ll explain everything in order, but first…”

  He reached towards the pouch strapped to his thigh, pulled out a vial with pinkish liquid, and threw it at her.

  “Are you able to get back to the boy by yourself?” he asked.

  Selene nodded. “Without an issue. Should I bring him here?”

  “No. Feed him the medicine and stay there. It’s better not to move him without checking his body beforehand. Go first, we’ll join you in a moment.”

  She bowed lightly and jumped outside of the room through the hole in the door. Asterios returned his focus to the girl in his arms who finally calmed down a bit. When Miria looked up at his face, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and smiled apologetically.

  “I’m really sorry for worrying you.”

  She shook her head and rubbed her cheek against his. “No… I’m glad you are fine… It’s my fault for not being able to do anything…”