Salicia charged forward, her weapon in hand. She immediately took a casual swipe at me, forcing me to leap back to avoid it. I had to pull back my perception, no longer able to reach the strange bond within Calypso. The girls could see me being attacked by Salicia, and they immediately reacted to it. With the Bandits having lightened their attacks significantly, the girls redoubled their efforts attacking the barrier that separated us from them. More and more cracks formed along the barrier, but it might still be a minute or two before they could finally get through.

“Salicia!” I cried out, pulling out my blade and hitting hers.

After absorbing a great deal of the dungeon’s miasma and replenishing my soul, I was able to resist her strike. Unfortunately, I wasn’t spec’d for close combat at the moment. Furthermore, I was trying to maintain the link with Calypso. I felt like the only way I could defeat her was through this miasmic link. If that was lost, then I had a feeling like she would escape and all of this would have become meaningless.

Salicia seemed completely unresponsive to my words, instead, attacking me several more times. As she did so, Calypso started using her will to extradite me from our attachment. She was resistant to my absorbance and trying to reassert her control over the dungeon. The miasma connection between us continued to shrink, and once again, Bandits began to flood into the rink, forcing the girls to become distracted. Meanwhile, Salicia’s attacks grew more and more brutal.

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If Salicia had been going all out from the beginning, it was possible that she would have defeated me in an instant. However, her attacks were slow and methodical, like a robot simply carrying out its command without any emotions. That’s when I noticed Salicia’s eyes. I had avoided paying too much attention to Salicia recently. That was because she likely functioned as Calypso’s eyes and ears. I was afraid if I put too much attention her way, she’d notice something and I’d be found out.

As I looked into her eyes at this moment, I saw reluctance. I could see Calypso growing frustrated by this as well.

“Kill him! Just kill him!” She cried out.

“Salicia, don’t.”

This wasn’t a slave order. A slave order wouldn’t work on Salicia. A slave order punished someone for acting against their master’s will. It didn’t choose for a person, but it punished them for making the wrong choice. As for Salicia, she had no will. She had no choice. Calypso made her do what she did, so naturally, there wasn’t even a point to the order. However, I didn’t ask her as her master. I asked her myself. I looked directly at her, and she looked back. Slowly, she began to raise the blade in her hand, planning to bring it down on my head. I could see pain and anger, although it was hidden behind an expressionless face. A realization shot through me, and a small smile formed on face. At first, I was going to plead with her. I was going to try to speak to her humanity and the relationships between me and her. Then, I remembered who I was talking to.