Chapter 83 The Valkyries (1) The Oath
Mana Oath.
Mana Oath and other Oath magic is a magic similar to curses without any dark or evil mana necessary in the process. Mana Oath is one of the strongest Oath magic that existed, and one of the Oath magic that couldn't be broken once the magic Oath was made.
The Mana Oath creates invisible chains of mana created by the caster itself that enveloped the heart of the caster. Those who break the Oath will have their heart crushed by the chains created by their own mana.
Mana Oath is a magic that not all people are capable of using. The creation of the magical chains needed a considerable amount of mana and a resolute heart. A sliver of doubt or unsure about the oath wouldn't activate the Mana Oath.
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"I, Surena Ekaitza, former loyal knight of the Veilleux House, hereby swear that I will dedicate this life that had been saved by you, for you alone. By the sword on my hand, I offer you my body and soul," (Surena)
[The leader of the half angels, chosen of the slain, Surena Ekaitza, had offered her soul to the host. The 'Mana Oath' had been detected.
Accept/Refuse]
A strong woman kneeled before him, and a blue notification screen appeared in his sight. It's all happened so unexpectedly, making it difficult for Lyan to process.
(Mana Oath? is this girl sane?) (Lyan)
Lyan is clearly aware of what Mana Oath is. Even in the demon world before, the Mana Oath is famous.
"Wait, wait, wait. What the hell are you doing?" (Lyan)
"I'm swearing my allegiance to you. I was told to dedicate my life to the person who saved my life from a certain death. I never thought the day would ever come, but it turns out it did," Surena let out a playful chuckle.
"No. There was still some chance for you to fight back at that time, you could still win but you just wavered, so it couldn't be said as a certain death," (Lyan)
"Yes. But if I continue to fight, then Emilia would get killed. We've promised each other that we'll die together, so it could be said that by saving her life, you saved my life as well, no?" (Surena)
(I can't deny it...) (Lyan)
*Sigh!*
Looking at the sight before him, he remembered the words of the old sage about his previous life before.
(When you decided to save a person, you must be prepared to take care of them till the end, huh... I understand the logic, but it's unexpected for a mercenary to be asking me to bound her with a Mana Oath...) (Lyan)
"I was afraid that the one who would save our lives and made us owe our lives were a scumbag that happened to have a powerful strength. But if it's you, you saved us even though we show you our hostility, and you show your secret to save others. It would be reassuring to serve someone like you instead," Surena's head bows even deeper.
"We'll offer you our soul and our body. We're capable of fighting and you can use our bodies for pleasure as well. Serving the one who saved us is an oath we made with my former master, I'm afraid I need to serve you even if you refuse us," (Surena)
(I see...) (Lyan)
Listening to her final explanation, Lyan finally understand the gist of it.
(So serving the one who saved her is another Mana Oath she made, huh? Former master... She mentioned that she was a former knight, didn't she? Looks like if I refuse her, she will still continue to pester me and would make things even more troublesome instead) (Lyan)
*Sigh!*
Another sigh left Lyan's mouth.
"Fine, then I'll accept," (Lyan)
Immediately after Lyan's words, the word [Accept] on the screen shone and black chains appeared from her chest.
""Eh?""
Not only Lyan, but Surena herself got surprised when she saw the black chains appearing out of her chest. She didn't feel any discomfort or pain, but she could now see that the chain coming out of her chest slowly reached Lyan and entangled his wrist.
The chains entangled Lyan's wrist like a blade on its sheathe, but the black chains entangled her whole body before finally stopping.
*Clank!*
A sound of metallic collision appeared, and the chains suddenly disappeared.
"W-What did just happen...?" Surena asked dumbfoundedly.
"I don't think I'm sure what happened either," Lyan replied with a shrug.
Surena checked her body to make sure nothing happened, but there is now a black tattoo on the back of her palm. It's a picture of a sword and a pair of wings. As she touched the tattoo with her other hand, a voice appeared inside of her mind.
<The leader of the half angels, chosen of the slain, Surena Ekaitza, had offered her soul to the host. The 'Mana Oath' had been completed. The insignia of the Valkyries had been placed>
"Insignia... Of the valkyries...?" (Surena)
<The host could now summon the Valkyries by commanding the summoning grimoire>
The black grimoire suddenly appeared before Lyan, opening a certain page of it. After passing the [Contract] section and the spirits, the page stopped at a new certain page.
[Valkyries of Love (Surena Ekaitza)
Female warriors that inherited the valor and strength of the half angels and chosen of the slain. They are the warriors of the grimoire of love and the beautiful swords of the summoner.
The strength of the Valkyries will be increased for two folds when they are fighting together with the summoner or within the territory of the summoner. A valkyrie with the title <The Summoner's Wife> will get a further enhancement on their strength.]
(Valkyries of love...? I don't what to react to this cringy name... And this territory... What is the territory of the summoner it meant, I wonder?) (Lyan)
Lyan remembered about the time when chains appeared from the grimoire and bound the high spirits. It seems that the chains represent the contract that bounded with him. But unlike with the spirits, both Lyan and Surena didn't get any additional information about each other from the contract.
"This... You... You're not a normal summoner, aren't you?" Confusion could clearly be seen in Surena's complexion. It's not strange for her to be confused since the Mana Oath she made with her former master is completely different from the Mana Oath she had just done with the man before her.
She had already suspected his uniqueness after witnessing the strength of the summoned spirits, but after feeling the sudden surge of power after getting the insignia on the back of her palm, her surprise got increased more than before.
(Well, with the Mana Oath completed, I guess explaining some things to her would be safe. It's troublesome to explain everything, but at least I'll tell her about the grimoire) (Lyan)
"The truth is... Unlike the summoners you know, I gain my power from this," Lyan shows her the floating black grimoire before him.
He told her how the spirits are contracted through the grimoire, how he gain part of the summoned monsters' strength, and more importantly, about how the grimoire gained the summonable creatures.
"You... Gain the summonable monsters by sleeping with women? I see. I believe you," (Surena)
"No, no, no. I'm telling you the truth here," (Lyan)
"Yes, like I've said, I'm a hundred percent believe in you," Surena said as she nods her head.
"Yes, but if you believed me, why are you hugging yourself as if you're trying to protect yourself against me...?" (Lyan)
In front of Lyan, Surena is sitting while hugging herself as if covering her body from his sight.
(She totally didn't believe in my words, didn't she? Well if I was her, I would think that I was only making reasons to sleep with her as well, though... As if a grimoire that helps you summon monsters by sleeping with monsters would sound true to anyone...) (Lyan)
(In Belle and company's case, they knew about the method of my summoning, aren't they? Well, they should be since their monster children appeared right after our intercourse, after all) (Lyan)
"I'm sorry. I've resolved myself to respond positively if you ask, but I guess I was still surprised with how fast the things are developing. But I guess it can't be helped," Surena started to put her hand on her clothes and was ready to undress.
"Why the hell are you undressing!? I'm not asking to sleep with you! It's fine if you don't believe me, but at least trust me that I don't have any intention of ordering you except for keeping my secrets to your grave. It seems that my identity as a summoner had gotten uncovered, but the information about the grimoire and the rest are still a secret, after all," (Lyan)
Surena's hands stopped in response to Lyan's serious words, but not only her hands, but she also stares blankly at him.
(Having Surena joining my side will help me increase the cards I have. I'm currently incapable of summoning the spirits again until the next week, but my identity as a summoner had already got uncovered. It will be very dangerous-) (Lyan)
"What is it?" Lyan asked Surena that is staring at her with a blank look.
"Fufu! Fufufufufu! You're as interesting as I thought you are, aren't you?" (Surena)
(Huh? What is she talking about?) (Lyan)
"Please take care of me well, master," (Surena)
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<+1 Valkyrie of Love (Surena Ekaitza)>
Name: Lyan Arkanium Evocatore
Occupation: Gold-ranked Mercenary
Money: 49,722,400 Elnes
Weapon: None
Equipment: Black leather cloak, Leather Armor, 1 (Decent) One-handed Sword, 2 (Good-Quality) One-handed swords, 2 Health Potions, 2 Poison Vials
Grimoire's Companions: 8 High Spirits, 1 Valkyrie, Shadow Hobgoblin, Papilio Slime, Galewing Butterfly, Rock Golem, Deadlight, Moonlight Butterfly, Ice Golem