Erica stared blankly at the crow in front of her, unable to react for a moment.
"The crow… can talk?"
Vega folded its wings neatly in front of its chest and gave a polite bow.
Its gentlemanly demeanor stunned Erica for a second, but she still couldn't ignore the fact that it was, a crow.
"Please allow me to briefly introduce myself, miss."
"I am the Evil God, Habika."
"The Evil God Habika?"
Erica murmured that name, but clearly, she had never heard of it before.
She knew the Empire's history well, there had never been any record of such a god.
"Well, it doesn't matter even if you don't know me. You can call me by my current name, Vega."
"Now, please allow me to ask you again."
"Do you truly wish to save Viktor Clavenna?"
Erica finally came to her senses. At this moment, she didn't care who the other party was, what identity it had, or whether it really had the power to do so.
Like someone grabbing the last straw on the edge of despair, she nodded over and over again, desperately hoping the evil god before her would save Viktor.
Vega closed its eye and let out a soft laugh.
"The ritual isn't over yet. If you wish to save him, you'll need to offer your own strength."
"Believe in me. Become my follower, and I will help you fulfill your wish."
The black magic circle on the ground spread like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, slithering toward Erica's feet.
Dark mist began to rise around the formation, encircling her.
She had never seen this kind of magic or this kind of formation before, it made her feel an intense sense of dread.
Because this was… an evil god, wasn't it?
Erica had no other choice. She could only nod and agree.
As long as becoming its follower could save Viktor, that was all she wanted right now. Without a shred of hesitation, she quickly said, "I agree. I'll believe in you. I'll become your follower."
Vega gazed at the devout girl, its single eye radiating mature arrogance.
"Very good. I acknowledge your sincerity."
Its gaze shifted toward the unconscious Viktor lying on the ground.
In its heart, it sighed.
"To think there's actually a girl willing to go this far for you, Viktor."
"You really have unknowingly gained something precious."
In an instant, mist spread from Vega's body, as if it were injecting power into the formation beneath them.
The black magic circle began to twist wildly, tendrils extending from its edges to dance across the ground. Then, with a flash of light, it enveloped Vega and Erica together.
A second later, the light shattered like a broken mirror, and the formation vanished.
Erica opened her eyes, trying to sense any changes in herself.
But… nothing happened.
Not even a single mark appeared on her body.
Was that the contract-signing ritual?
If Vega knew what this girl was thinking, it would probably laugh its beak off.
Because it had no teeth.
Signing a contract was never something that could be done by just saying a few words. That dark magic circle had only been a one-way link to a believer.
To truly sign a contract with it?
At the very least, she'd have to go through a proper agreement like Viktor did.
"Is… that all?"
Erica asked doubtfully, her tone full of obvious urgency.
Would this really be enough to save Viktor?
That's what she believed.
Vega looked at her with a quiet smile, narrowing its eyes.
"Before I save him, I need to ask you a question."
"Why are you here?"
'Why were you on top of the volcano?'
Erica paused. After a moment of hesitation, she could only tell the truth.
"I heard… the volcano crying."
"It said it was in pain."
"Oh?"
Vega glanced at her with sudden interest, and in that instant, it understood everything.
It narrowed its eye and chuckled softly, as if leading her on step by step with its words.
"And then? What about now? Can you still hear anything?"
Hearing Vega's question, Erica frowned and shook her head.
"I can't hear anything now," she said.
Naturally so.
Vega turned its head away, thinking to itself, 'Because the Calamity of Fire… has already been forced into slumber by that terrifying man…'
It would probably never forget that scene.
When the last "Magic Ark" sank into the heart of the volcano, the erupting pillars of flame and magma froze in place.
The "Ark" devoured everything, including Guldon.
In truth, Guldon could have resisted that kind of attack.
If it had been at full strength, it wouldn't even have been scratched by such war magic.
But at that time, Guldon was already wounded, its body leaking magma, its once-proud defenses reduced to almost nothing.
In the end, Guldon turned into lifeless rock, shattered deep inside the volcano, and fell into forced slumber.
As for why it was slumber and not death, because calamities do not die.
As long as there are magical elements in the world, calamities will continue to exist.
And Viktor becoming what he was now, it wasn't because he was injured.
Having witnessed his battle with the Fire Calamity, Vega didn't believe there was anything left in this world that could harm Viktor.
Right now, he was in a state called Magic Overload.
Using the magic he had borrowed from Vega, he fought Guldon without rest for three days and two nights.
But that power was never truly his own.
The magic Vega had allowed him to use wasn't limitless, there was always a threshold.
Normally, that threshold wouldn't be reached.
But Viktor was anything but normal.
When his magic finally ran dry, Vega's connection with him was forcefully severed.
But even that wasn't enough to make him faint.
The truly insane part was that, before Guldon fell asleep, Viktor tore off a piece of Guldon's magic core and forcibly fused it with himself.
That's why Viktor's body now looked like it had magma flowing through it, he was digesting Guldon's magic essence.
He had already burned through all his own magic power and then absorbed an enormous external source on top of it.
If he didn't faint, who would?
Still, it wasn't anything serious, a few days of rest would be enough.
For now, what intrigued Vega more was the girl before it.
'Interesting, very interesting…'
'A girl who can communicate with a calamity, she probably doesn't even realize how valuable she is.'
'This time, I've really hit the jackpot.'
Just as it was enjoying that thought, it suddenly heard hurried footsteps.
'Someone's coming?'
Vega squinted toward the slope with a smile. Its sharp vision caught sight of a silver figure.
It immediately recognized who it was, but now wasn't the time to reveal itself.
To avoid getting tangled up in trouble for itself or Viktor, Vega flapped its wings and flew to his side.
It clamped its beak onto Viktor's collar.
Its voice echoed in Erica's ears as usual.
"You've saved Viktor. I'll make sure he knows what you did."
"We'll meet again next time."
As soon as the words fell, right before Erica's eyes, Vega's body began to expand, the black crow instantly transformed into a massive black-feathered eagle.
It grabbed Viktor by the collar and flapped its wings, soaring into the sky.
A gust of fierce wind swept out, blowing away all the loose stones nearby. In almost an instant, it disappeared from Erica's sight.
"Viktor…"
The dark figure grew smaller and smaller beneath the sky, fading until it vanished completely from her view.
When Gwen finally arrived, she found nothing. She hadn't been able to catch Viktor for questioning.
Instead, she saw the black dot in the sky disappearing into the distance, her face dark and heavy.
"Viktor? What on earth happened here…"
Then she noticed Erica.
Erica's body was covered in burn marks. Kneeling on the ground, she forced herself to smile, as if using the last of her strength.
Then, with a thud, she collapsed unconscious.
Gwen, "…"
She walked forward slowly and picked Erica up.
When she looked back up at the sky again, all that remained was the endless downpour of rain.
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