Chapter 181: The Necromancer’s Bargain

Following the direction of Nether Butterfly’s finger, Bai Yueling saw Vicky’s soul.

She hovered ethereally in mid-air, her gaze vacant, her form indistinct and blurred. Set against the backdrop of the ghostly blue will-o'-the-wisps, she possessed a hazy, almost dreamlike beauty—a beauty uniquely belonging to a ghostly princess.

“Can you revive her?” Bai Yueling asked.

Nether Butterfly glanced at Vicky’s body, her tone indifferent. “An 18-year-old mental mage, poisoned to death by a drider’s venom three hours ago. Aside from the penetrating wound in her chest, the corpse is almost perfectly intact…… Am I correct?”

Bai Yueling nodded. “Completely correct.”

Nether Butterfly lifted a hand to support her chest, the full, soft flesh spilling over the curve of her elbow. Her voice remained calm. “The essence of revival is to pull a soul destined for reincarnation back from the River of Styx, purge the power of death within her, and re-bestow upon her the essence of life. This process requires not only the deceased’s consent but also the permission of both the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of Death. First, the Goddess of Death must withdraw the power of death from the deceased, then the Goddess of Life must grant the power of life to fill the void.”

Nether Butterfly narrowed her smoke-gray eyes. “Let’s set aside the Goddess of Life for now. But that Goddess of Death… she fell not long ago. So, what do you plan to do?”

“I… I don’t know.” Bai Yueling looked utterly lost. “It’s just… the system mission told me to follow Vicky’s soul to find a way to revive her.”

“Hmm…… It seems communication between us is a bit difficult. I don’t understand this ‘system mission’ you speak of at all. Is it some new thing from a thousand years later?”

Nether Butterfly pressed her lips, painted a deep purple gloss, together. She stared at the Ring of the Deceased on Bai Yueling’s finger, pondering for a long while before finally letting out a resigned sigh.

“Forget it. I am, after all, a necromancer. I can勉强 manage to withdraw the power of death, handling the part that falls under the Goddess of Death’s duty.”

“R-really?” Bai Yueling stared at her in shock.

Although she had long known Nether Butterfly harbored many secrets, no matter what, the current Nether Butterfly was ultimately just a level 20 necromancer. How could she boldly claim to perform the duties of the Goddess of Death?

“Miss Nether Butterfly, I’ve always wanted to ask you a question……” Bai Yueling gazed at Nether Butterfly’s stunningly beautiful, cold face and asked softly, “Just who are you?”

Nether Butterfly replied flatly, “Just an ordinary necromancer.”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking.”

“Since the ‘me’ from the future hasn’t told you, then the ‘me’ now won’t tell you either.” Nether Butterfly shook her head. “Rather than obsessing over who I am, you should think about what to use to replace the divine power of the Goddess of Life.”

“I don’t have anything……” Bai Yueling opened her inventory and took a look. The only things remotely connected to the Goddess of Life were a few potions of vitality.

“I’m afraid if there isn’t another divine power to fill the void left by the power of death, she can only become an undead…… Not the kind of undead that’s just a skeleton, but one like me.”

Nether Butterfly gently lifted her robe, elegantly revealing her long, shapely legs. However, her skin was semi-transparent, the pure white bone faintly visible beneath, exuding an eerie, deathly beauty.

“This……”

Bai Yueling frowned slightly. Qingjin and Huilian definitely wouldn’t want to see Vicky become undead.

But what Nether Butterfly said was about filling the power of death……

Bai Yueling suddenly thought of something. She hurriedly parted the slime skin, revealing the fallen angel mark on her lower abdomen, and asked, “If it’s about filling… perhaps the power of dark corruption from us fallen angels could work?”

“Dark corruption?” Nether Butterfly’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. “I don’t really understand. Corrupt me and let me see?”

“Can’t corrupt you. You’re not in a weakened state. But I can let you experience this skill.”

【You have successfully applied the Mark of the Fallen to NPC「Nether Butterfly」.】

Even though the effect of the「Mark of the Fallen」skill was extremely subtle and weak, Nether Butterfly, in her state of full concentration, successfully detected it.

She closed her eyes, carefully savoring the 1% dark corruption power within her body. Her brows alternately tightened and relaxed, her slender, graceful waist twisting slowly beneath her robe, occasionally letting out a soft moan that could easily be misunderstood.

After a long while, Nether Butterfly opened her eyes. Her gaze was noticeably gentler than before. “So this is dark corruption? No wonder the future me gave you this ring.”

Bai Yueling asked, “Then can my dark corruption replace the Goddess of Life and revive Vicky?”

“It can… barely work. But this is ultimately not the proper path. It will bring many abnormal influences upon this girl.”

“What influences?”

“First, although she can be revived as a human, dark corruption has nothing to do with life. Therefore, she will need to constantly replenish the power of life. Otherwise, the power of death will gradually reclaim her body.”

“So, she needs to drink more vitality potions regularly and also seek blessings from a high priest of life, right?”

“Correct. But having died once, the mana within her will inevitably lean towards the domain of death. The most direct influence will be on her profession—it may become a completely new hybrid class combining mental mage and necromancer.”

“Hmm, if that’s all, it’s acceptable.”

Bai Yueling had long felt that Vicky, specializing solely in the mental field, was too one-dimensional. Adding a touch of necromantic elements might make her stronger.

“It’s not just that.” Nether Butterfly looked at Bai Yueling. “As mentioned, she needs to constantly replenish the power of life, and ‘exercise’ happens to stimulate the power of life. However, because she will also be affected by your dark corruption, the form of this ‘exercise’ will be slightly… distorted.”

“Distorted?” Bai Yueling was slightly stunned, sensing something amiss. “Could you… be more specific?”

“Isn’t it clear enough?” Nether Butterfly said calmly. “A full half of her life will be bestowed by your dark corruption. This power will reshape her body and soul, imprinting them with your mark, turning her into a constitution specifically addicted to you.”

“It… it can even be like that?” Bai Yueling’s small cherry lips parted in surprise. “That sounds even more outrageous than complete corruption……”

But upon careful thought, it seemed somewhat logical. After all, “life” and “death” run through a person’s entire existence. Now “death” is in place, but “life” must be replaced by Bai Yueling’s “dark corruption.”

In other words, the revived Vicky would live entirely for Bai Yueling.

Bai Yueling suddenly remembered something, her face turning pale. “Then that ‘exercise’ in a twisted form you mentioned earlier… could it be……”

“You guessed correctly.” Nether Butterfly nodded. “‘Creating life’ is the exercise that best stimulates the power of life.”

“Th-this… th-this……” Bai Yueling immediately clamped her legs together, despair flashing in her eyes. “You mean… I must regularly do… that with her in the future?”

“Of course.” Nether Butterfly nodded. “Preferably once a day for the best effect.”

“Then I’ll die in the literal sense……”