“The power of a god originates from the devotion of their believers.”
— Record of Oracles
The overflowing pleasure almost drowned Harvey’s consciousness.
Blood surged through his body. Every drop cheered, urging him to take more.
More life.
‘I can’t do this—’
Harvey slammed his teeth down, biting the tip of his tongue. The sharp, metallic pain forced a sliver of clarity back into his mind, tearing him away from that frenzied euphoria.
He collapsed to the floor, his entire body racking with spasms. He looked like a drowning man dragged from the water, desperately gasping for air.
Hera watched him, a hint of surprise appearing on her skeletal features.
“Little one… why do you resist?” she asked tonelessly. “You possess great power now; you could simply lose yourself in it.”
Harvey looked up, his damp hair clinging to his forehead. He shook his head with difficulty. “I am unwilling to be a slave… and I am unwilling to sink into that.”
Hera paused for a moment. To her, there wasn’t much of a difference between a slave and the soul contract they had just signed.
She let out another delighted laugh. “How interesting.” A thin smile played on her lips.
This was exactly what made it entertaining. Her work as the God of the Underworld was far too dull; otherwise, she would never have responded to such an irreverent summoning.
Unlike other deities, the God of the Underworld possessed a fairly high understanding of humanity. The Goddess of Life was responsible for creating and granting life, but that was where her role ended. In Hera’s view, neither the Goddess of Life nor even the Goddess of Wisdom could understand human emotions as well as she could.
However, understanding did not mean empathy. To a god, a fragile life was merely a brittle ornament.
Hera stood silently, gazing at Harvey and admiring the panic in his eyes until he managed to pull himself to his feet.
The Fire Seal on his chest was still burning. The marks spreading from it continued to sear his body, and every step he took ignited a sharp wave of pain.
He staggered over and gathered the unconscious Lavia into his arms. Her soft, water-blue hair slid over his arms, hanging messily across her chest. Even her expensive and elegant court dress seemed to lose its luster now, making her face appear even more pale.
Even her heart had stopped.
Memories of the past flashed through Harvey’s mind like flickering shadows. To him, the suffocatingly grand Duke’s Mansion was a freezing cage. And this simple daughter of the Duke was both his shackles and his only solace.
“I, I want to save her. What do I need to do? Tell me, please. I’m begging you.” Harvey held Lavia tightly, looking imploringly at the only being who could help.
Hera looked down at the kneeling boy with an indifferent expression. She appeared before him and used her finger bones to tilt Harvey’s chin up, as if inspecting a curious object.
“Don’t you long for freedom, little one?” Her gaze was close, her tone carrying an unusual sense of inquiry. “Why save this human girl? She is the one who imprisoned your freedom, after all.”
“…”
Harvey murmured, “No, it’s different.”
“Oh?”
“She is… she’s a good person. She gave me a peaceful life. Lavia was very kind to me. I can’t just watch her die.”
Hearing this, Hera felt a sense of realization. She had felt this specific human emotion countless times in the Underworld.
Gratitude?
Harvey looked at her with the eyes of a man dying in a desert, desperate for hope. Unfortunately, this strange creature calling herself the God of the Underworld had no intention of offering a hand.
“Do not look at me like that, you poor little thing. Gods cannot interfere with mortals on a whim, nor can I violate a divine contract.”
As Harvey’s expression turned to despair, Hera shifted her tone. “However, you already possess the Authority of the Underworld God. Why not try to solve it yourself?”
Even though her face was inhuman, Harvey could read the mischievous intent behind it.
“But I… I haven’t mastered magic yet,” he said awkwardly. After completing the Apotheosis Ritual, he hadn’t felt any different.
Hera was amused by his reaction and gently stroked the top of his head. “Accept it. Accept the power bestowed by a god. As for whether you can use it to glimpse the true essence of magic and give birth to your own power… that will depend on your luck.”
As she finished speaking, a cold aura surged from her fingers and entered the space between Harvey’s eyebrows. A long, complex incantation suddenly surfaced in his mind, forcibly branded into his soul.
Harvey’s consciousness felt like a lonely boat in a vast sea. It took a short while before he recovered from the numbness.
Hera felt a fresh spark of surprise. This little one had actually adapted to her power this quickly…
At that moment, Harvey was sensing the magical incantation that had appeared in his mind. It was incredibly long—long enough to rival the entire history of the Royal Academy of Rune.
He began to chant. Every word was difficult and obscure.
In response to the incantation, a dark fluctuation emerged from the palm of his left hand. A searing pain shot through his knuckles, accompanied by a strange, rhythmic throbbing.
“Ah, ahhh—”
Harvey groaned in agony as he stared at his left hand. A strange shimmer drifted from his limb, gradually forming the spectral image of a pale, skeletal hand.
[LEFT HAND OF THE UNDERWORLD GOD]
This was magical power from the God of the Underworld. Its function was to drain the life force of others for one’s own use. Similarly, it could return that life force to another. It did not belong to the Four Elemental Magics; it was pure Authority.
Harvey stared at the shimmering light in his hand, his heart filled with the joy of using magic. But he also felt a sense of confusion.
‘Can I even be recognized as a Magic Apprentice by the Magic Association with a power like this?’
‘It feels a lot like Necromancy, which was considered a dark art in previous centuries.’
“Heh…”
Hera’s eyes narrowed slightly. Through the Soul Contract, she could hear everything Harvey was thinking.
Lowly necromancers didn’t even possess true intelligence; how could they possibly understand the true essence of death? To conflate the Authority of the great God of the Underworld with necromantic heresy—such a blasphemous thought regarding her power meant she should probably teach her new little representative a lesson.
Hera maintained her smiling facade, but she had already made a mental note against Harvey.
“You had better move quickly, little one,” Hera reminded him with a smile. “Her soul hasn’t entered the Underworld yet, but if you hesitate any longer—”
She didn’t finish, but Harvey knew time was running out. He reached out and placed his hand over Lavia’s heart.
The power of the Underworld God stripped away from Hera’s presence and surged through the Private Library once more. The residual life force within the girl was forcibly pulled toward him, flowing into his body.
The boiling pleasure returned to his blood, clearer and more intense than before.
“Ngh…!”
Tiny motes of light escaped from Lavia’s body, floating between the two of them. The spectral left hand seemed to wake up, its pale image trembling in the air.
Harvey clenched his fingers tight. The spectral hand mimicked the movement, guiding the floating lights back into Lavia’s body.
Soon, even more life force was stripped from his own body. Harvey quickly felt a wave of weakness wash over him, and his left hand fell limp against Lavia’s chest.
As the feedback ended, the Left Hand of the Underworld God quietly vanished.
“…Did it work?”
He widened his eyes, watching the girl’s elegant gown intently. Beneath his palm, he felt a faint heartbeat.
In that instant, Harvey felt his own breath hitch. A wonderful, unprecedented sensation traveled up his arm and straight into his heart.
“This is… magic.”
Even the passing of life could be reversed.
Harvey whispered softly. The longing he had suppressed for so many years finally broke through. He had used magic. It wasn’t something he was watching, or a fantasy, or a futile attempt in the library. He had triggered this power with his own hands.
The sensation was so real, yet so miraculous.
Hera leaned down slightly, her skeletal fingertips grazing his jaw.
“Yes, this is the magic you craved.” She stared into Harvey’s eyes, the deep blue flames of the Underworld dancing in her gaze. “That feeling of not being able to stop once you’ve tried it… isn’t it wonderful?”
Her melodious tone sounded like a low, whispered love song.