"What will you sacrifice?"

"What do you mean? So I have to sacrifice someone?" I asked urgently, and she smiled.

"You can’t play hero for free here, Host. There has to be a sacrifice..." She paused and stared out the entrance ."Either you give up the life of one of your beast-men, or your lifespan, or Azrael doesn’t wake up," the cat said, and my eyes darkened.

"Give up one of my beast-men... no... Take my lifespan. I can’t let them die!" I said urgently, and she chuckled.

"You want me to save him at the expense of your life?"

"Yes?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

".....My life doesn’t mean much anyway, but theirs... I have to protect them. They deserve so much more. I promised to care for them, and I will," I said determinedly and watched the cat’s eyes sparkle with something I couldn’t grasp before she dismissed it instantly.

"Since that’s what you want, it has been granted. Azrael lives. None of your beast-men will be sacrificed, but you.... Host.... you have to find them..."

Hearing her words, my eyes widened. "Find what?! What do you mean?" I asked, and she smirked.

"Starting from this moment, you are separated from your beast-men in this world. You have to find each one of them within two days, and your lifespan will be returned. If you don’t... then your fate is far worse than death...." She paused and gently rested her head on her paw.

"Do give the readers a good show, Raven," she said, and everything returned back to normal. I glanced around and then down at my hands... Azrael was gone, and the cave... I was no longer there!

I was on the ground, my attire drenched and covered with the mud that settled on the floor. "Where was I?" I thought inwardly when I heard howling from a mile away and froze.

"She actually separated me from my beast-men, that darn cat..." I cursed out, biting my lip. At that moment, I heard heavy, hot breathing from the bush. I watched it sway... something dangerous and large was probably nearby.

I steadied my feet, holding tightly onto my sword. Let’s first kill the little monsters... if I could level up, finding my beast-men would be easier.

More importantly, I had taken a sneak peek at the map of this world before stepping here... The little monsters were probably south.. let’s head there for now.

"Don’t worry, guys. I’ll find you all," I said determinedly and wandered off. But that second, my stomach made another sound, and I paused... There was nothing to eat, and I was already feeling this drained and weak.

I paused to catch my breath when I heard approaching footsteps and looked up, Liora with her beast-man?

"Liora!" I called out, waving, and she stopped. She turned to stare at me, and her eyes widened.

"Raven!" she called out and rushed towards me. I felt at ease. I wouldn’t be alone for the meantime... but then I noticed something.

Where were her legs? And the eagle beast-man behind her, his features were slightly altered, almost indistinguishable... Her clothes were not covered in mud, despite the ground being a total mess... something was wrong.

It was a ghoul: a shapeshifter that mirrors the image of a person you care about or seek. Very dangerous.

It rushed to hug me, but I drew out my sword and sliced straight at it. The ghoul turned into a flare of light and dispersed like smoke.

"Clever girl. I haven’t met someone like you in years. The last person I came across, I chewed off the flesh from her bones... lucky she stayed alive through it all, i do enjoy a fresh meal," the voice rang out in the air, cold and void. It sent goosebumps crawling across my skin.

"Show yourself. Isn’t hiding petty?" I asked, and the ghoul’s laughter filled the air, laced with mockery and something bitter.

"Petty? Even if I reveal myself to you, you will never be able to kill me. Young Duke... or should I say..."

"Shut it!" I yelled instantly, and she went silent. I raised my hands in the air, attacking where I had heard the earlier sound coming from, the southern part... yet I couldn’t grasp the exact spot.

"How dare you give me commands!" the ghoul yelled, and I chuckled, snapping my eyes open.

"As Raven, the daughter of the Duke... even the strongest will bow to me," I said proudly and heard clattering teeth.

"Very good! You are here. I can kill you off easily," her voice went dark and guttural. The moment she said my name, I felt a gust of wind and was immediately sent flying, thrown miles away. My body slammed into a tree behind me, and my grip on my sword loosened as it fell away. I collapsed to the muddy ground and coughed, trying to gasp for air when I felt the ghoul’s hands tighten around my neck.

"Now I’ll end you..." she spat venomously, almost like she hated me personally.

Did the original Villainess hurt her or her loved ones? The thought made my eyes widen. If I didn’t do something, I might actually die.

"St-op," I managed to struggle out, but her grip tightened.

"Just die already. I hate you. You... you did this to me," she screamed, and the entire tree behind us went into a swirling frenzy before being blown away from the ground.

"Did I... h-hurt you?" I asked, trying to buy time, and her grip loosened slightly.

"You don’t remember?" she asked, still in shock and disbelief.

"H-yes," I said gently, massaging my neck, and her form suddenly appeared clearly. She was a pale middle-aged woman with white hair, her eyes tired, like she had been sick for years.

"What happened?" I asked. The moment I spoke, her eyes darkened. I didn’t only want to buy time,I wanted to know what the original Villainess had done. According to the novel, she was cruel, but nothing was clearly stated except that she tortured her beast-men. I wanted to know her pain.

She hesitated and reached for my neck, but instead, my hands reached her palm. I wasn’t even sure I could touch a death ghoul, but unexpectedly, I could.

Her eyes softened and she looked down at our hands. Tiny tears dropped, landing on my skin.

"It was the snowy season, and my son had a terrible fever. I thought simple medication would help until he began coughing up blood... but no one was willing to help. Out of desperation, I went to you. You were at the empire hospital that day... but you shooed me away and told me if my son died, it was because I was a bad mother. You told me I should not have gotten pregnant, if i hadn’t, he wouldn’t have had to suffer!" Her tears fell faster, and my eyes saddened.

"You told me clearly, ’Go away. If he dies, it’s your fault for failing as a mother, not mine,’ and turned your back on me. I knelt there, throwing what little pride i had left for my child... I thought you would help. The night was cold, but you never came out," she trembled.

The original Villainess was so cruel... she really destroyed a lot of lives. Tears welled in my eyes.

"So I sold myself to the ghouls and gave my soul to the ghouls in exchange for my son’s health... but I was meant to give souls and parts of humans for them to feed on," she cried, staring at her hands. Chains suddenly became visible around her wrists, leading to the ghoul behind her earlier.

"Soul should be set free, not left in torment or in shackles... she watched her son grow without a mother. To him, his mother abandoned him and never came back, but to her... it was a sacrifice she’d make again. You have no right holding her soul in bondage for your evil deeds," I spat.

The ghoul remained unimpressed.

"She chose this when she sold her soul. Young Duke, don’t you understand the laws of afterlife and contracts?" he asked, followed by a creepy laugh.

"Since you don’t, I’ll help you understand... after i kill you and claim your soul."

With that, he tugged on the chains, and the ghoul woman was dragged. "Help me!" she begged before her eyes turned pitch black.

"Young Duke, I’m fine. It’s fine being dead," she said and sped toward me, her hands reaching for my neck.

I ran away instantly. My legs pushed off the tree, and I leapt onto it, jumping and flipping as she missed me.

I landed on the ground. I had to end the ghoul holding her in shackles.

But then a rope shot out and wrapped around my neck, glowing with a ghoul-like energy. It dragged me backward.

"Hahahaha. Young Duke, accept your fate," the ghoul laughed from afar.

I hit the ground hard. "Ungh," I groaned in pain, staring at the sky.

Before I could move, the rope tightened and dragged me across the muddy floor.

I hissed in pain, gripping the rope, trying to remove it. My skin scraped against the ground, and I could feel pain running through my arms as blood splattered.

I was given a chance to think... my back hit a tree, and I was trapped between chains and bark.

The middle-aged ghoul appeared in front of me.

"Dieeeee!" she screamed, but I just stared, struggling, then stopped.

She was still in there. I could see it in her gaze. I wanted to vindicate what the original Villainess had done. Even if it meant I would die. I would rather not hurt her... I wanted her to be free.

My hands shot out and I grabbed her cheeks. She kept screaming "die," but I focused on her eyes.

"You were never a bad mother. Your son didn’t fall ill because of you. You did all you could, and you did save him. He never hated you. He loved you. I apologize for my words last time. I was immature, cruel, and knew nothing..." I trailed off.

The ghoul behind laughed. "You think that will help, young Duke?" he mocked.

"I, Raven, sincerely apologize," I said.

Her eyes softened. The rope binding me loosened slightly.

The smile on the ghoul behind faltered as he yanked at her, but I laughed.

"She’s free... bastard."

With that, I collapsed into the mud. He roared and lunged at me.

I lifted my sword and slashed through the air. I didn’t move, but the ghoul that attacked me stopped midair and split in two before turning to dust.

"And that’s how you clean up a mess," I said proudly.

But then the middle-aged ghoul collapsed, and I quickly caught her falling form.

Her hands reached my cheeks, and she caressed them softly. "Thank you, Raven... you set me free."

I froze.

Her wish to see her son wasn’t fulfilled... she couldn’t go yet, but I watched as her body dispersed and faded into the sky.

A tear slipped from my eye. "She never got to see him... or say goodbye," I mumbled.

But then a radiant light caught my eyes, and I turned.

The Dragon’s Breath Sword was shimmering hot red... huh? Why?

I blinked and—

[Congratulations Host, you have been rewarded with a soul-binding compass and the chosen master of the Dragon’s Breath Sword]