Within the depth of the darkness of the grimoire, Eira awakened.

Edelweiss, the spirit of the grimoire, was sitting in a ball, clutching the grimoire in her chest.

“You were sleeping for too long. I took care of your old co-worker,” she said.

“Is that so.” Eira pushed herself up to her feet. “I thank you for that. I suppose I’ve been injured gravely.”

“I already took the potions you had tucked away. Your body is healed. You can wake up at anytime now.”

“That was nice of you,” Eira said. “Thank you, Edelweiss.”

“Your subordinate will die soon. He made a deal with me for more strength, but he was defeated by the lumberjack.”

“Which subordinate?”

“The one that talks like an ass.”

An image of Riot popped up in her head. “Well, he’s not a subordinate. I lost my position. He’s a co-worker. A truly dumb one. Do you know the statuses of Malcolm and Dalton?”

“All I can sense is that they’re alive,” she said with a huff.

“I see.” Eira breathed in a sigh. She pulled the spirit in a tight embrace. “Thank you for telling me that.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The spirit looked away in embarrassment. “We’re partners after all.”

“Yes. Yes, we are.” She embraced her tighter.

#

Chad hovered over Riot’s body. His eyes had rolled up in his head, and his mouth foamed as he twitched like a bug that had been stabbed by a needle.

His grip on Moon Cleaver tightened. He needed to die.

Tentacles wrapped around his axe’s grip, stopping him from lopping Riot’s head off. He turned his head up to the woman that stopped him. If he remembered correctly her name was Eira.

“I need you to stop,” she said. The book in her hand was glowing quite ominously. Chad shuddered.

“This man is too dangerous to live,” he explained. His expression darkened. “He threatened my wife. I know they have history, but I will not allow him to threaten my wife and unborn children. You understand right? What I must do. Why I must do it.”

She turned her head to the left, than to the right. “He’s an idiot, but I need him to live. You can fight me, but it will be futile. You won’t be able to kill me in your state.”

She was right, but that didn’t matter. If she insisted on letting him live, then he would fight her. He directed his glare at her now.

Eira held up a hand. “That being said, if you let me take care of this idiot, I can guarantee he won’t attack your wife and children. This idiot made a deal with my grimoire. His soul is mine to which I can order him to do as I please.”

Chad lowered his axe, and the tentacles retreated back to the book. “I still have to kill him. He’s my target.”

“You already killed him. It was the only way for him to make a contract with the grimoire. You did your job. You were never tasked to kill him a second time, just the first.”

He chewed on this and nodded. “Okay, I can live with that, but you are a grimoire user, so I want this written on paper.” He jabbed his finger at her.

The tanned skinned woman gave a small smile. “That, I can do.”