There were close to over 100 skeletons created from Lestia's Origin: Graveyard Lovers, and it was still increasing rapidly. But they didn't seem normal at all. Finding a pair, they quickly started to move together in sync, rotating their bodies akin to the rocking of a boat.

Ballroom... dancing? They are... dancing...?

Kuro's consciousness has faded suddenly too, and had left everything up to me now. My eyes were bleeding profusely from the strain on my eyes, but I could still manage to see through this short-sighted vision.

This incomprehensible scene made me still for a moment, unable to understand what was currently going on.

But the Abomination did not wait.

"̴C̶u̷t̷t̷i̵n̶g̴ ̵E̸d̶g̷e̴.̴ ̸F̵l̷o̶w̴ ̸A̴c̵c̶e̵l̷e̶r̷a̷t̵i̶o̴n̶.̴"̷

The flaming arms hardened by Harden Skin expelled themselves from the creature like a porcupine losing its spikes. As these projectiles whistled through the air with incredible speed as if cutting the air itself, numerous pairs of skeletons moved over smoothly as they danced.

They were destroyed instantly from the barrage, raising dust clouds from the attacks. But amidst them, both of us were still unharmed.

"Wh-what just... happened...?!"

"Oh, it's White this time~? Huhu~ No need to panic, I understand how to use this ability now, my friends will keep it busy~ The moment you forced it out, it has been inscribed into my mind on how to use it as well. ...My... soul... my naked soul... huhuhu, don't worry about it~ More importantly, you're going to reject my invitation for a dance...?"

Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 3%. [19%]

"!!! N-no..."

My face turned red from Lestia's remark. It was as if she was implying something from that, but I tried not to think about it.

This Origin... is Lestia's soul... this graveyard...?

As if misunderstanding my lack of response from her invitation to dance, Lestia suddenly looked as if she had came to a sudden understanding, and said.

"Oh, audience right? Master is unexpectedly picky about these kinds of things~"

"H-huh?" I did not understand her words at all.

She extended her arms upwards, as if gracing the gods in the starry sky.

"Let us have some audience, shall we?"

When she had finished those words, the ground started to tremble even more violently than before.

And then, this time... real bodies with flesh... appeared from within the ground in the cave.

"...?! I-is that..."

A large number of elves were pulled up from the ground. All of them were female elves.

There was Tash... Tricia from among them, with their mouths covered with worms. They were all contricted with them.

I could see looks of despair on their faces. It was... unsettling, as they appealed silently as they noticed me.

As if crying for help... ...they looked at me with eyes filled with pleas.

"Correct~ I will complete the task that woman, Soma, did not succeed at. For you see, this ability seeks out the non-living in a dungeon and attracts them to a radius around me... And then, I bind these spawns with my Necromancy skills~ Huhuhuhu, I have to thank Master... this is the perfect ability...to make new friends... like Mister Worm over here~"

Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 2%. [21%]

As I looked down to where Lestia was looking at, I saw the silhouette of a giant centipede burrowing through the ground. It had a skeletal frame, and had worms within them that had abducted these elves. There were eight eyes on its head, glowing blue like its Summoner.

"?! Wh-what is... that?!!!"

The skeletons were still dancing, protecting us like meatshields... or bone shields...

A flurry of fire burnt through the bodies of these skeletons, incinerating them with light which was their elemental weaknesses, quickly turning them to dust. But even more took their place, dancing as they bought time against the Abomination which didn't seem to get around it by using other abilities. It was fixated on its flame-imbued 'swords', expending its large pool of mana and body parts recklessly just because it could.

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Making use of the currently 'stabilized' situation with the Abomination at the front, Status Check was quickly activated on the monster beneath.

Silvain Worm L'althukul

[Tamed by: Lestia]

Named Monster. A Tunnel Worm residing in the Stalite Caves that has been exposed to the miasma of a Necromancer for a long period of time.

Restores HP and MP rapidly when burrowing.

L'althukul is a carnivorous creature that destroys ground terrains to grab its prey. It has significantly increased stats against magic because of its skeletal frame.

Level 56 Type Dark / Undead Class Elemental Worm

Health 6,896/7,000 Mana 900/900 Strength 7,000 Dexterity 8,200 Luck 0 Intelligence 0 Defense 0 Magic Defense 12,050

Passive Skills Skull Armor LV6, Hunter's Perception LV6, Anti-magic Shell LV5 Active Skills Bone Shield, Whiplash, Induce Passiveness, Cage of Marrow, Skull Tormenting, Screech, Burrow, Tunnel Teleportation

A different window from the Status Window for a normal person appeared, most likely because a monster apart from Lestia's special situation was like this in reality. It was an extremely deadly monster.

The synergistic effect of Lestia's Summoner Passive Skill: Taming Mastery LV MAX, Monster Affinity LV5, Animal Affinity LV5. They paired well with Graveyard Lovers, which attracted Monsters near her for unconditional capture, effectively becoming her familiars.

But I had a bad feeling of what was about to happen. Even though I wanted them to die... I didn't expect to be around to see them.

My... contradictory feelings towards my own brand of justice... they were in the way...

"Wh-what are you planning to do with them...?!"

"Hmm...? You don't seem... pleased...?"

Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 1%. [22%]

Lestia's eyes narrowed.

"I thought... you wanted them to die...?"

"Ugh... b-but..."

Tricia spotted me shortly after, and was leaking tears from her eyes. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

"...!!!"

...If only... things had not turned out this way... I had thought that to myself before...

The life I had experienced during that week... was something I genuinely sought for... but... ...Sometimes...

I ask myself... why must I have been the one... The one to have been defective like this... and cast out at the first sign of trouble... Why does bad things always happen to me... Even now... I have always been carried on Kuro's shoulders...

I couldn't keep up. I can't keep up at all. So I just closed my eyes. Ignoring the pain... Ignoring the judging eyes...

I just walked by... as if nothing had happened.

Now, their lives were in my hands...

...-

"-Well, I'm not waiting for your answer~ Anyone who has harmed Master, or intends to in the future... they belong to the same class of existences... those lower than Monsters."

Lestia's eyes darkened for a moment, before returning to a smile.

Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 5%. [27%]

"Mnnmmphhh!!! Mrrmmhmhhp!!!"

Tricia saw the defective male in front of her. Someone she had despised, looked down on... and yet... the tables were turned just within a day's work. Her face was painted with overwhelming despair.

Ignoring the muffled screams in front of me, I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.

I do not have control over Lestia, because I wasn't the one who had enslaved her. Even if I could... I wouldn't have the guts to do it...

...I'm... ultimately a coward...

"Goodbye, foolish elves. You won't ever become my friends, but you will become shields to protect us from that mistake that I had created... Huhuhuhuhuhuhu~!"

Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 22%. [49%]

"No... please stop... please... please..."

I muttered to no one in particular, as I fell down to my knees weakly. I didn't mean them, because I wanted that to happen... but I felt like I was slowly becoming like Kuro...

His cruelty and lack of appreciation for human life... were values that were slowly transmitting into my head as time passed.

"Huhuhuhuhu~ Let us begin, ...the requiem of death~!"

Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 60%. [100%]

Character: Lestia. Foreign Element: Monster Aptitude has been capped at maximum.

Character: Lestia. Foreign Element: Monster Aptitude has been updated and removed.

Character: Lestia. Foreign Element: Monster Instinct has been obtained.

The flames and explosions from various magic skills were heard from the front, where countless skeleton spawns in the Stalite Caves had been sacrificed like meatshields.

But then, screams began to resound in the cave to add on to the unsettling atmosphere of the graveyard. It seemed as if the constraints weren't enough to stop the sounds of suffering from leaking.

"He...lp! I don't want to die...! It can't end... like this...!!! Huhaahhherrrrrrughhhgh!"

Then bones cracked, and the voice became weaker. It slowly distorted into something even more... disturbing...

I could feel something sprayed onto my body, as the thick stench of blood filled the surroundings.

I resisted the urge to puke, and heard a number of synchronized footsteps coming towards me.

"Goodness... the filth... do not taint Master's body with your abhorrent blood, lower lifeforms...!"

It seemed that a few skeletons were sent over to act like a barrier to stop the blood from reaching me again.

...After a few moments... no more screams could be heard anymore.

And on that night, finally marked the extinction of the man-eating elves residing in the Schmizula Forest.