Death's Door

Camilla arrived at the inn, Dark Lord"s current location.

But to the snake demon"s dismay none showed up when Camilla arrived.

"Milord?" Cautiously, Camilla entered the bedroom.

What was before him was a strange scene.

A demi-human and a demon were sharing a bed.

Jun"s arms were wrapped around Runfar tightly like he was some kind of hug pillow.

As for Runfar, he seems to have pretty much given up the struggle and pa.s.sed out from being crushed by Jun"s mighty embrace.

Even with his enhanced undead strength he could not break free.

"Master Runfar!" Seeing Runfar"s face completely blue, Camilla freaked out.

"Huh? What? Kyaa!" Jun who woke up after hearing a loud noise was also alarmed at the state of Dark Lord, or more like horrified that she pretty much was strangling him to death like some sort of constrictor.

What followed was Camilla using every means he had available to make Runfar breathe: chest compressions, mouth to mouth….

* * *

"Well, I had worse mornings" Runfar muttered.

If anything, he felt violated.

Being blown up like a balloon through mouth to mouth and overwhelmingly heavy chest compressions did not help the matters.

After several minutes of resuscitation, Camilla managed to bring Runfar back to consciousness.

"I am so sorry, Master, I got carried away!" Jun bowed down with her head on the floor.

"Do not worry about it, things like that happen every now and then…ouch"

Even if his body was half undead, being squeezed so tightly all night long still hurt.

As far as he could tell, he ended up throwing out his back because of it.

Healing damage to his undead side was easy, just absorb more mana, but his left side was still flesh and blood, which meant that after throwing out his back, he needed some time to let it heal.

"I can walk it off, probably…."

Afterwards, Runfar told Jun to take a break and head back to the Sevilles Mansion.

"Is it truly for me to leave you here, milord?"

"Don"t worry, Camilla will make sure milord is safe" Camilla replied with a thumb up.

With a sad smile, Jun vanished from sight.

* * *

"I may have overestimated by ability to recover"

"No need to worry, Milord. Camilla will always be here to help"

Camilla was helping Runfar to walk, with Runfar"s hand on his shoulder.

"By any chance, do I look suspicious?"

"Not at all, Milord. Camilla made sure that Milord"s disguise is top notch!"

Before heading out, Runfar had Camilla apply fake skin to his right side as well as add some cosmetic correctives. If his half mask was ever knocked off, he needed to have not a skull, but a scarred face underneath it. As a snake-demon, Camilla was a master of disguise, able to make someone like Dark Lord look the part of Runfar Sevilles.

By now, Runfar came to rely on Camilla for such things, at least with him; Runfar did not need to pretend to be strong or stoic. That was the reason Dark Lord considered Camilla to be his best friend rather than a simple subordinate, and something told him the feeling was mutual.

As they were walking through the streets, they saw a strange looking woman with a veil over her face and a gigantic crowd surrounding her.

Apparently she was a fortune teller and by the looks of things, a very popular one.

"What Madam Merina foretells always comes true!"

"She told me yesterday that I will meet the love of my life today, and I have!"

"Everything Madam Merina predicts always comes true. She is a G.o.dsend!"

A fortune teller with the ability to foretell a person"s future, and by the sounds of it, she is usually right with her predictions.

"What a pathetic sight. So many humans leave their fates at the hands of that woman. Camilla is amazed at human gullibility"

Camilla was not convinced that the Fortune Teller could be legit, his voice full of skepticism.

As for Runfar, he did not seem so doubtful.

"That pathetic sight is a Secondary G.o.ddess, leading a mundane life, hiding her true ident.i.ty."

"Wait, Milord. Are you saying…?"

"Yep. She is the real deal"

"But a G.o.ddess?! How can milord tell?"

"I am not completely sure how it works, but it is something along the lines of: if you ever see a deity"s true form, you will always be able to recognize any deity, regardless of disguise or concealment"

That was the truth. Runfar at one point ended up attending a Banquet of G.o.ds, witnessing the true forms of so many deities.

Because of this, he was one of the few mortals who could tell that the Fortune Teller was actually a Secondary Deity.

And as a Servant of Reaper, he possessed the ability to see things that are not supposed to be seen. Combined with the ability to see G.o.ds,

Dark Lord was one of the few mortals who possessed the "True Sight", the ability to see everything that should be hidden, such as G.o.ds, spirits, and ghosts.

It is normal for a deity to possess "True Sight", but for mortals to develop even a partial one is very rare. In Dark Lord"s case, he had a full version.

Though, "True Sight" was the only ability Dark Lord possessed "naturally", acquired before he ended up in this world nine hundred years ago. Every other ability, he ended up gaining along his journey.

Ability to loop back in time, given by Chronos as a curse to torment him. She was the main reason he was in this mess to begin with.

Demon eye and horn, awakened by Demon King, Arin Draco, as a gift for saving her life. It used up too much mana, so it was not event that useful, at least in Dark Lord"s opinion.

And the ability to absorb mana, by-product of the imperfect conversion into an undead creature. But it also came at a price of losing flesh on almost the entire right side of his body, forcing him to wear fake skin and disguises to conceal his "not so human" parts.

Needless to say, a lot of things have happened to him in a relatively short time span.

"But if she is a G.o.ddess…"

"We probably need to get out of her before she notices us"

Runfar made a mental note of the Secondary G.o.ddess"s location. When his body is feeling better, he ought to pay her a visit.

As fast as their feet could carry them, they covered quite a distance between them and the Secondary G.o.ddess.

"We could have just teleported, you know?"

"Ugh! Camilla did not think of that"

"Ha ha ha, no worries, it is pleasant to do light jogging once in a while. Hmm…I wonder…"

Dark Lord asked.

"Camilla, the poster I asked Meros to put on the boards of Adventuring Guilds…did the certain S-rank adventurer take the bait?"

"Not that Camilla knows of, Milord"

"Oh well. The Mask of Shadows can wait"

A powerful magic item, currently in the hands of the S-Rank adventurer, it was something Runfar eventually wanted for himself.

According to the rumors, the mask allowed the user to become, manipulate, and travel through the shadows.

As the Dark Lord, Runfar saw it fitting for him to be in possession of such item.

* * *

"Is it truly ok for Camilla to leave Milord here?"

"Do not worry, my friend, I will be fine. Just take a break and look around the city, maybe you will find something interesting, who knows? I don"t intend to make every one of my Shadow Lords work without a break, and that includes you."

"But Milord…"

"I insist, Camilla. Just take a break. Don"t worry, I will be fine. It is not like I am going to encounter someone dangerous here; this is just a pub, a place to eat. Unless the roof falls down on my head, I will be fine"

"Camilla believes Milord"s words, but if Milord needs help, please do not hesitate to summon Camilla"

"I promise. Thank you, my friend"

Without even noticing it, Dark Lord hugged Camilla with his left arm. The gesture came as a surprise to both of them; Dark Lord didn"t even notice how close he was to that snake demon.

After an awkward silence, Camilla made a small bow before teleporting out.

With Camilla now away, Runfar ordered a meal and a mug of wine from the pub.

Shadow Lords needed a break and he could not deny, he needed one too…from everything.

He knew he promised not to drink anymore, but maybe just a little…As he was gulping down the contents of the mug, he heard a voice from someone who had just entered the pub.

"Runfar? Is that you?"

Runfar immediately ended up spitting out the wine he was drinking. Hesitantly he looked behind him.

That voice. He knew that voice all too well…

"It really is you! I am so glad to see you!" Runfar felt the air exit out of his lungs as someone proceeded to tackle and hug him on the spot.

It was Leon Revilles, Knight of Light, dressed as a woman.

"If there really is a G.o.d who controls my destiny, he must have a very sick sense of humor."

"So much for staying away from danger. Technically I did stay away from danger; it is the danger that always comes to me!"