Adore got up from her spot, put everything away except the black pond, and made her way out of the building. The sight outside was astounding - over 30 undead frozen in place thanks to the barrier she put up. She wondered if the reason for them coming this way was because of her turning into a dark magus and emitting so much dark mana.

Speaking of that, now that she was a dark magus, she was supposed to gain her own book of curses tailored to her magic type. But she assumed this would happen in time, or she had to do something specific in order to gain it. But she decided she would figure all of that out once she got home. Until then, she had something she needed to do.

-------------

Adores made her way to the big house further in the village to make her acquaintance with the heart. She was a little nervous since the undead was a high 2nd-tier undead and she was a low-3rd-tier dark mage. She was much stronger than it obviously, but her opponent had human-like intelligence that could rival hers. So, she was a little unsure of herself. But she had already decided to make the heart her new companion, so she was going to do her best to contract them. She cancelled her barrier and shattered all the undead frozen in place.

--------

After a few minutes of walik towards the big house, Adore was now faced with some high 1st-tier undead. She wasn't too worried about them since she was now a 3rd-tier dark magus and far more powerful than them. She simply took out her sword, engaged them in battle. Quickly sliced the first one down the middle, killing it instantly.

She then turned to the left of her and aimed a crescent-shaped dark-blue slash at it, slicing it in half instantly. The next one used magic and fired a fire arrow at her, but Adore easily dodged them and aimed her hand at it

out of instinct, saying

"Heavy as a river".

The skeleton's movements drastically slowed down, and its bones slowly cracked under the invisible pressure weighing it down until it was crushed into thousands of bone shards. Adore was a little shocked at this. The spell she just used was not one she had practiced before, and she cast it so naturally.

She wondered if it was one of her curses that she was supposed to gain after becoming a dark magus. She thought she would get a physical book, but it seemed there was a possibility that may not actually be how it worked but she didn't know that for sure. As she was thinking this, she could started sense there was something new in her soul space, So she decided to take peak.

In her soul space was a dark blue book with strange runes floating near her mana circles with the word "cancer" at the center. It was huge and she assumed taking it out of her soul space could be and option but she wonder exactly what that would look like, sense it was as big as a small house.

She assumed this was her book of curses, But given it's size she didn't have time to look through it nor figure out how that would even work. She had a heart to catch and a mystery to solve. She wanted to know what happened to this village and why. She assumed the heart would be the only one here that could tell her. She was honestly a little excited to see how strong she had gotten. Adore had a feeling her strength level would be not that of a normal 3-tier mage. She was looking forward to seeing how true that was.

So Adore made her way to the big building the heart was most likely staying in, judging by the mana signature she sensed from the building. Adores mice where getting restless so the decide to start a conversation with her on the way there; they were all eager to finally be able to fight alongside Adore soon and gain more strength. Adore was also looking forward to it, mostly because she knew they would be getting humanoid forms once they became 3rd-tier mythical beasts.

"Master, you were amazing, and your mana points are over a thousand. You definitely won't have a problem defeating that undead. I sense their mana points are, at most, 900," said Twyla.

"Thank you, Twyla, but even though my mana points are higher, it doesn't mean I should let my guard down. I don't know how intelligent the heart will truly be, so I have to be vigilant," said Adore.

"Yes, I understand that, master. I would never ask you not to be," said Twyla.

"I know, Twyla. I'm just letting you know that regardless of your opponent's strength level, never get too cocky. That could be your undoing," said Adore.

"Yes, master," said Twyla.

"Master, when we become undead, will we look like those monsters?" said Robby in disgust.

"Of course not. You won't be normal undead. You'll still be mythical beasts. The only thing that will change is that your souls and mana will be black like mine. Once I do the undead contracts with you, so don't worry

about changing in any way. You'll look the same until you all evolve into 3rd-tier mythical beasts," said Adore.

"Oh, okay, master. Not to be rude, but if I was to end up like those things, I would rather not become undead despite its perks," said Robby.

"And that's fine. I understand that. I would never make you do anything you were uncomfortable with," said Adore.

"Well, I thought the undead looked cool, and I wouldn't mind being a cool skeleton monster," said Alice.

"I'm sure you wouldn't have, unfortunately, that won't be happening though, Alice," said Adore.

Once Adore's conversation with her mice came to an end, she found herself at the door of the big building with the heart in it. As excited as she was to face it, she was also equally nervous and unsure. But despite that, she pushed through and opened the door, making her way inside the building. The building was actually what seemed to be a mayor's office, and it was big. It had a front desk area and a hallway leading to a set of stairs.

Adore knew that once she made it down that hall and up those stairs, she would be seconds away from the heart. She didn't know how she felt about it, but she knew she had to keep going. She made her way down the hall, which had some doors here and there. The whole building was surprisingly up to date, and it reminded her of the house and building in the city of Pisces. She soon reached the first step of the stair case and made her way up the stairs. When she reached the top of the stairs, she found herself in a wide living area that was filled with dry blood and pieces of various body parts that moved around and squirmed. It was disgusting.

--------------hearts pov

"Why is this happening? Are they here again? Why would they come to hurt us more? Haven't they had enough already? What more could they want? No matter. I have to protect the people of this city, regardless of what ever it means so they won't. with or without the goddess Flossie's protection."

The Heart was very aware of the fact that someone was causing mayhem in his town. He didn't want to intervene personally, so he sent one of his strongest patrols after them. Although The Heart was somewhat intelligent, he had a warped perception of what was going on around him. He was unaware that the residents in the town were undead and he was trapped in a state of denial that they would never recover from as long as he was the heart . This denial was due to the fact that they were in denial of there situation when they where killed, so they were now stuck in denial even in death.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Oh someone's here in my living quarters l... you Fool how dare set foot in here after taking her away from us." said the heart

The Heart made its way to the area where Adore was to make her acquaintance. When he arrived at his living room area, he was met with the figure of a 12-year-old girl with dark skin, black hair, and black mouse ears. A huge vase was floating and glowing red vase a few feet above her head, as she stood there with a sword that was a little too big for her.

"Did they send you here little girl? do they have no shame? your but a child how is it possible that you where capable of defeating Issac, he's a very skilled Warrior to fall to a child is impossible."

--------------------- Adores pov

Adore was a little confused about what the undead was talking about. She wasn't sure if he was talking to her or just talking about her and she just happened to be in the room. But seeing that the undead wasn't as aggressive as his predecessor, she knew it was definitely The Heart. She hoped that maybe she wouldn't have to fight him and instead talk him into making a contract with her. She didn't know how a fight would look in the building she was currently in."

"Hello Mr heart. I don't know if your aware of this but you are a undead, and I'm a dark magus I can free you from your trapped state of mind if you would like. But you would need to make a contract with me. " said Adore.

"heart? What are you on about? Why would I do that? and undead what non sense. What are you talking about? do you see me, I look nothing like and undead." Said the heart

Adore looked at him in shock she had and idea that they wouldn't understand that they where undead but she didn't know there reality could be so warped that they'd see themselves as still living and breathing people it was apoling to her she was at a loss for words what was she supposed to do in this situation.

"Well sense you aren't going to talk I will. I don't know why they would send some one your age to do such horrid things but regardless of your age. what happens to you now that you have committed these outrages acts are your own doing, I will feel even less bad about it knowing you've been tainted by the darkness, child or not. " said the heart.

Adore found it ironic he would say that she was someone tainted by the darkness, seeing as he was himself self tainted by the darkness as well, but she understood that some how he was not aware of that fact, and probably seen his self as the same man he was before he died.

"So tell me what did you all do to the statue of Flossie? the gift given to us by the goddess that bless are city for years, tell me now and I may spare your life." Said the heart

"Um, I have no idea what your talking about, but I assume that's the thing who ever attacked y'all was hear for. I knew it wasn't just a fruitless attack I would have never guessed it was for a statue though. but what do they gain from taking some ones deity of worship away? Said Adore.

"How dare you act as if you no nothing of what happened to are goddess you... You fool give her back so that Flossie may bless are lands again, or I will have no choice but to strike you down you demon." said the heart.

"Master I believe what ever was taken from them was and artifact of some sort that most likely granted them with florising crop and wealth, by healing there lands contisantly causing there land soil to be rich and able to grow what ever they planted." Said twyal through there psychic link.

"OH. how did you guess that?" Said adore.

"Well he kept talking about the statue blessing the lands and people who have crop artifacts usually refer to there effects this way. goddess and gods love to gift these type of airfacts to there followers to insure they can continue to feed and house more people that they can also teach about them and expand there following, and if you ask me I assume this is Because God's and goddess need a following to gain more power and influence, but that's just a guess." said Twyla.

" Oh that makes more sense, I'm guessing talking this man into contracting with me will go nowhere so I may

have no choice but to fight him, so get ready for a new friend." Said Adore.

" So you're ignoring me are you? well I tried to reason with you, now you must die." Said the heart.

The Heart then pulled out a sword and covered himself in a blood-red aura before charging at Adore at an alarming speed. This gave her barely enough time to parry his first attack. There, the two swords continued to clash into each other continuously as they moved around the room, busy and determined in their defense against each other's attacks. Adore was greatly surprised at how skilled The Heart was in swordfighting. He was leagues ahead of her own sword skills, and the only reason she could keep up was that she was 10 times stronger than him. In reality, if they were on the same level, she would have been in trouble.

Frost bite

Aqua control

Speed10+

Defense 10+

Strength 10+

The Heart was pushed back several feet, giving Adore the upper hand. She used this moment to her advantage and activated her mana armament and strengthened it by adding more mana to surround her sword. She rushed at The Heart with more power in her attacks, causing the undead to be pushed back by the clashing of their swords. However, he made sure not to leave any opening for her to use against him.

The Heart soon matched Adore's attacks with as much force as she did in order to counter her technique. He then cast a spell called "Hazy Explosion," causing blood-red runes to form on his sword casing. Every clash of their swords to cause small explosions , creating more force in his attacks that was a little overwhelming for Adore, since she was half his size. It commenced to push her back.

Adore recognized that fighting The Heart head-on was not ideal, so she pumped a significant amount of mana into her arms to strengthen her next attack. By doing so, she successfully pushed him back, creating some distance between them. Adore then took this opportunity to jump several feet away from the undead and use it as a moment to assault him with some long-range attacks.

"Ice bullet"

"Ice spike"

An onslaught of ice bullets and spears was aimed at The Heart, yet he was quick to react and cast a spell called "Blood Fire Shield." In response, a blood-red fire shield appeared in front of him, successfully defending against the incoming attacks aimed at him while burning the room around him

"watter spear"

A massive spear of water, about 9 meters long and 1 meter thick, crashed into The Heart's shield, destroying it. He tried to defend himself with his sword, but the attack was too powerful, launching him ruthlessly through the walls of the building. He eventually crashed into the floor outside. Without hesitation, Adore rushed outside through the big hole in the wall.

"Water wings"

Adore was now hovering above The Heart, relentlessly sending an onslaught of dark blue crescent mana attacks his way. The undead opponent did his best to parry and dodge the attacks, as he was caught off guard. Nevertheless, he successfully defended himself against each one of her assaults. At this point, Adore experienced the same strange feeling that she had when she fought and crushed the last undead in order to get where she was. Instinctively, she raised her hand and muttered the words .

"Heavy as a river"

A powerful force came crashing down on The Heart, sending him to his knees in an instant. Adore slowly descended in front of the undead, while black runic patterns appeared on the skin of her left hand. Once she landed on the floor, she touched his head and demanded "State your name, Black Soul." The undead could

not resist her authoritative request and immediately complied.

"I am Thomas strongarm the fire blood swordsman" said the heart

"I Adore blackson contract you Thomas strongarm"

The black runes then started to crawl all over the undead's body as he floated in the air, and his flesh slowly began to regenerate. His organs were the first to be restored, followed by his muscles. Layers of skin began to form until he was a naked man floating before Adore. He had pale skin, brown hair, and red eyes. Adore landed on the ground with Thomas, and he immediately covered up his genitals and other sensitive parts that were exposed.

"Oh how undesent, could you please give me some type of clothes" said Thomas.

"I'm sorry I didn't exspect you to gain a full human from. This actually isn't supposed to happen." Said Adore.

"Oh wow well give me a second as I retrieve some clothes from my liven quarters."

The undead quickly jumped to the second floor of his building and disappeared into the hole created during their fight. After about 20 minutes of waiting, he made his way back down carrying some very well-made clothes. He was wearing a red suit with a white shirt and white ruffles around the collar. He had a black monicle and a red bow-tie, along with some black dress shoes with red heels.

"Thank you so much for freeing me from that dreadful state I was in. You see, I was trapped in constant state of denial not able see things for what they truly where. I'm sure you would like to know what happened to us," said Thomas.

"yeah sure that would be nice"

"Well, I am the mayor of this city, and we were raided by an organization called the Holy. They are a group of mages, swordsman, along with one or two knights. They usually hire bandits to raid villages that have any type of holy artifact, for what reason I don't know. If it were just some bandits attacking, we would have been fine, but they had two 3rd and one 4th-tier-mage with them. The bandits were nothing to scoff at either; they were all high 1-teir arua and magic users, and the strongest of them were mid 2nd-tier-swordsman. They were ruthless and destroyed and killed everyone without mercy before taking our statue of Flossies, our goddess."

"Oh I'm sorry to here that I guess I'm no better huh I just came in here killing everything for my own personal gain." said Adores

"Oh please don't say that I am now for ever your sword and we'll live for you regardless of what you motivation are, I only ask that one day when I'm strong enough you allow me to challenge the holly, and take them down for what they have done to me and my people."

"Of course and don't worry I'll be there with you, but before we can do anything like that we have to know what there motivation are and why they need holy artifacts. I'm sure that's something we can try and find out in the meantime even know where not strong enough to challenge them ourselves"

"Yes of course my lord"

Adore then put Thomas in her soul space, brought out Robbya, and rode him back home. She was tired and didn't want to think too much about the Holy organization today; they could wait. Right now, she needed some much-needed rest. So she raced back home until she was just a couple of miles away from it. From here, she gave her mice a break and let him rest in her soul space.

She thought it would be fine to walk from here since it was still daytime. She thought it would be best to report her work to the guild the next day to receive her payment. Once she was just a few feet away from her home, she sensed a powerful presence in her home. She was shocked. What was able to get past her barrier and how? Before she could run, a lady came out of the house dressed in all purple and looked at Adore with visible shock.

"Specimen 6?" said the lady in confusion.