There was very little remaining of the Devourer, only a bit of a bloody smear and tentacles was still there with some of the teeth.
I crawled out of the pit, my clothes soaked with blood and things I would rather not know.
Litha was inspecting the explosion area when she saw me. "What was that? Your abilities.....it....."
"Unholy magic," I said, looking her right in the eyes, feeling a bit defensive. "Is there a problem with that?"
Litha snorted and waved her hands. "Problem? I don't care what type of magic you have. What matters is what you use it for and that spell..It carried a mean punch."
I put my hand over my Grimoire, it felt warm to the touch, just like how I was feeling inside. I felt proud.
For the first time in my life, I had strength in my hand, and I had used it. As if I was finally in control of my life. I smiled. I wanted more power so I would never be under the control of others. "Monster Necromancer."
"What's that?" Temur asked. He was still holding his sword but he wasn't emitting any aura right now.
"My Grimoire. It's a spell book. Monster Necromancer."
"Necromancer?" Litha asked, her eyes twitching, she looked at me again with new eyes. "Our set climbing the Tower this time is sure powerful. I'll be having a lot of competitors." She said it as if she was looking forward to it.
Temur tapped the floor with his sword. "So you are a mage."
"Maybe? I think." I said. I opened the book and read the abilities written there again, but no other information was provided. And it was a single page.
"Let's leave all that for later. We'll all explain our abilities later, but for now, we have to get out of here," Litha said, already turning to go, but something flared behind her that made her turn.
It was my Grimoire, it hung above the monster's corpse, emitting a green light.
Temur looked at it. "Monster what again....?"
Litha was also curious as she had never seen anyone with such abilities before, maybe even a few of the Ascendants and Climbers have such abilities as 'Necromancy'. "So?"
I felt it then, the intent from the Grimoire. It wanted me to cast my spell [Unholy Bond] on the remaining Devourer body. I gestured, and the Grimoire drifted closer.
I opened my mouth, and some of the energy replenished from the essence I got from killing the monster flooded out. I read the skill again before I began to cast the spell.
"In the name of Mors, Death Lord." Green magic gathered at my fingertips and sparked into the body. "I open the first gate and bind you to me. Come here, Dev...#####...." My tongue twisted, and another name came to my mouth. "Come here, Hermit."
That was the true name of the monster, and the moment it left my mouth, there came a faint distant grinding sound as if an Iron gate were swinging open. The green fire started to burn the monster's body, but it didn't consume it. Then, a bright green flash left us all blinking, and it was done.
I was already feeling the monster before I opened my eyes, a connection had formed by my spell. It was weak, but it was there. And without looking, I knew my Grimoire had also been updated.
When I finally opened my eyes and looked at it, I was disappointed. "What the...?"
What I saw wiggling on the floor wasn't some kind of badass monster I thought I would finally see.
A worm?
No, it was the size of a worm, but the skin was still the same brown, now mixed with green patches.
We all crouched to look at it in silence before Temur spoke. "Do you also feel the aura coming from it, Litha?"
I looked at all of them, and then at the little monster. I tried to feel with my senses too, but I didn't know what I was supposed to be feeling until Litha spoke. "Yes. This small thing is Iron rank, and... its heart is beating."
I picked it up and put it on my left palm. "Is the heart beating a wrong thing?"
Litha stood. "Not necessarily, but your power is Necromancer, right? Then it should only bring back the dead."
"Don't forget Monster." Temur added. "Maybe it has something to do with it."
"Right. Maybe that has to do with it. It seems modified, too, in a way. Your Grimoire is doing wonders," Litha said.
"What's that?" someone said.
We all reacted differently. Temur's sword was already at the person's neck, Litha had gathered power in her fist, and even I had twisted away and pointed my hand forward.
"It's me!" the voice yelped.
It was the survivor we freed earlier. He was smiling, scratching his head. His Grimoire hung above his head, a blue orb, but it seemed more solid and flickered.
Litha frowned. How did he manage to sneak up on us without her knowing? Not to think that even Temur, with his warrior sense, was surprised.
"When did you get here?" Litha demanded.
"Ah! I saw the explosion and came down here to see what was happening. I saw you kill that monster! How'd you do it? And then you put some kind of green fire over it, and it's alive again!"
I relaxed. "Easy, easy. What's your name?"
"Mopi. My name is Mopi," he moved closer. "What's that in your hand? Is that the same monster from earlier? Wow, but it was big before! How did it get so small? Is that your Grimoire? It's giving me shivering vibes!" He was breathing hard when he finished, but he was smiling and his eyes shone brightly.
I smiled tightly. For some reason, I felt uneasy, but I shoved it away. "Well yes. It's my undead monster now." I couldn't keep the pride from my voice.
Litha rolled her eyes from her place, she was already walking away. "Okay, boys. Break time is over, you can keep your toys to look at later!"
"We don't want to be here when the Government or the Tower Guards come!"