“Salicia… uh, are you okay?” I asked hesitantly.

“No…” She responded, “Carmine’s dead, how can I be okay.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Not only was she speaking again, but she even recalled Carmine. I had feared that Salicia would have been some kind of doll without a personality, but it seemed like without Calypso’s influence, the old Salicia had returned.

“What… exactly do you remember from the last few days?” I asked cautiously.

“Hmmm? Were we building an army of Bandits to contend with that bastard Lord Reign? Now, we’re working our way down her dungeon to prove we’re worthy of the Bandit Hero joining us!”

Was this what they called interpreting events to your convenience? It seemed like her mind had managed to reshape the events of the last few days to imply we made contact with the Bandit Hero and were now doing a test she had set out. I didn’t know if this was what Calypso had programmed into her mind, or if it was something she had come up with on her own. Either way, it seemed like the old Salicia had reappeared the second she walked into the safe room and was cut off from Calypso’s miasmic control.

The big question now was whether Calypso would regain control of her once she left, or if this was semi-permanent. That’s when a thought popped in my head and my eyes fell on Miki. Given her ability to manipulate the soul, it might be possible for her to protect Salicia and keep Calypso from taking control of her. If that could be achieved that would be best.

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“Miki.” I chose to use Slave Communication so that Salicia didn’t hear any of this. “Would you be able to make this version of Salicia permanent? Is there any way to protect her from Calypso’s control?”

“Master… I’m not sure.” She admitted, her eyebrows ruffled as she thought about it. “If what you said is true and she’s a dungeon monster, then her corrupted soul would likely be damaged if I tried to do anything. You’d need someone skilled with controlling miasma. You or Shao might have a better chance at that.”

“I see…”

“But Master, right now, I think I should focus on you.”

“Huh?” These words came out loud.

“Master, you’ve been inflicted by a terrible curse. You look as weak and sickly as I did before Master helped me. I wanted to say something sooner, but there was nothing we could do about it. Part of the reason I wanted to get to this room so quickly is because the dungeon miasma is further damaging your soul.”

“I thought I was getting better.” I said helplessly.

“Perhaps, if you weren’t in the dungeon, but the curse inflicted on you has been steadily festering. In time, you might have been converted into a miasmic creature.”

“That’s possible?”

Actually, the idea that a miasmic creature could become mana and vice versa made sense. After all, demons were supposedly creatures that came from a dungeon, but Shao was clearly mana based. I hypothesized that when a monster left the dungeon, they slowly purified their soul until they became mana, and when someone entered the dungeon, they would slowly be corrupted by miasma unless they could resist it.

Given our resistances, it was difficult for the miasma to corrupt us, but that didn’t account for me being cut with a cursed blade. I should have realized it sooner, but even though the miasma on the 1st level was so light, it would have made it that much more difficult for me to heal!