"Even Miss Velzard and Miss Rimuru…"
"They always give off such a mysterious vibe."
"Because we're not from this world."
Damien's answer left Darkness visibly shocked.
But soon, the girl recalled rumors she'd heard. "Could it be… you're actually from another world?"
The Konosubaverse had its own concepts of other worlds and reincarnation.
Aqua had sent countless reincarnators here, sometimes flooding the world with cheat items, much to the goddess Eris's dismay.
"Yes and no."
Damien said, "We are indeed from another world, but not the kind you're thinking of."
"What do you mean?"
Instead of explaining further, Damien raised his hand and touched Darkness's forehead.
In an instant, a flood of information surged into her mind.
"This?!"
Darkness's eyes widened, her face filled with shock and disbelief. "It's… it's really like that?"
"The Cardinal World, magicules, monster ranks, and the authority to traverse worlds…"
At first, learning that Damien wasn't human but some kind of demon sent a jolt through Darkness's heart.
In the Konosubaverse, monsters were hardly seen as benevolent.
As a follower of Eris, she was staunchly opposed to monsters, never compromising with them.
The thought of giving herself to a monster sent a shiver through Darkness, and yet…
Well, her dream had come true.
The noble knight had fallen into the hands of a monster.
So, what followed would be the classic fall-to-evil arc, right?
Snap!
Damien flicked Darkness's forehead, snapping her out of her corruption fantasies. "None of that nonsense."
"Pay attention and finish receiving the information, you masochistic knight!"
"Ow~~"
Chastised by Damien, Darkness instantly lost any will to resist.
What could she do? Damien was just too powerful.
Even if it meant falling to darkness, she'd accept it!
"Huh?"
But as the concept of Cardinal World monsters unfolded in her mind, Darkness realized she'd misunderstood Damien.
While both were called monsters, they were fundamentally different.
The Cardinal World's monsters were less 'monsters'…
And more like 'demi-humans,' distinct from humans!
Like dwarves, elves, or Lycanthrope.
They had their own civilizations, nations, and, aside from appearance and habits, were nearly indistinguishable from humans.
The Konosubaverse also had elves and beastman.
They weren't discriminated against.
"I see."
Darkness sighed in relief. "That scared me. I thought, I thought…"
For some reason, the girl broke into a lecherous grin, clearly imagining something inappropriate.
"You're actually disappointed?!"
Damien caught the regret in Darkness's tone, leaving him speechless.
"I!"
Darkness jolted, quickly defending herself. "Tch, that's only because it's you, Damien, who'd corrupt me, so…"
That was the one thing Darkness was absolutely firm on!
Only Damien could corrupt her and turn her to the dark side.
No one else, no matter what they did, could sway her heart even slightly!
Even if she were a sow, she'd be Damien's sow alone!
"Not bad resolve."
Damien was fairly pleased with this. "Don't worry, I'll satisfy you. That's our deal, isn't it?"
"Mm."
His words brought back memories of last night, sending a flush of heat through Darkness's body.
Unfortunately, even with her robust constitution, she hadn't fully recovered.
'Sorry for not satisfying you fully, Lord Damien.'
"Alright."
"Now that you know my identity…"
Damien extended his hand to Darkness. "Will you become my familiar and serve as my guardian knight?"
Following Artoria, Damien had found another knight.
"Ah."
Darkness forced herself to rise, clad only in a translucent silk gown, and knelt on one knee. "Lalatina Ford Dustiness hereby swears."
"I shall be your sword and shield, following you faithfully for all eternity!"
Clang!
Damien drew Darkness's knightly sword from nearby, lightly tapping it on her shoulder. "I accept your oath, my knight!"
It wasn't just an oath of loyalty... a familiar contract was formed in that moment!
"Ugh!"
As the contract took hold, an invisible bond formed between Damien and Darkness.
A surge of magicules flooded her body, beginning to transform it, causing the girl to let out a pained moan.
Fortunately, Darkness's willpower was unshakable.
Mere pain couldn't make her flinch!
Soon, the transformation was complete.
Darkness's status panel appeared before Damien.
[Lalatina Ford Dustiness]
[Race: Saint]
[Magicules: 990,000 EP (Semi-Awakened)]
[Unique Skills: Defender, Devotee, Ascetic]
[Special Skill: Eternal Shield (Binds life, body, mind, and soul; as long as life remains, none will be damaged)]
"Three unique skills and a special skill?"
Leaving aside the fact that her three unique skills meant Darkness had a high chance of gaining an ultimate skill upon awakening…
This special skill alone made her familiar slot a guaranteed win.
"Eternal Shield…"
The moment Darkness acquired this special skill, Damien gained it too.
Its inheritance condition was one million magicules.
In other words, any true Demon Lord under Damien's command who had awakened could share the Eternal Shield special skill.
As for its effect…
The description might be hard to grasp.
In simple terms, it digitized Darkness, Damien, and others.
Like characters in a game, they'd only lose health when attacked, without suffering physical dismemberment.
That was the nature of Eternal Shield!
You could deal damage, even kill them, but you couldn't maim them before their health was depleted!
"What a broken special skill."
Special skills were broken precisely because they had almost no upper limit.
Of course, that didn't mean Eternal Shield was invincible.
The same Eternal Shield, when used by Damien versus Darkness, produced vastly different effects.
***
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