Because We're Friends!

I headed up the castle with Epsilon and eventually came to a stop in front of a heavy door that looked like it led to some kind of warehouse. Two guards were posted outside, but I let them take a quick nap.

"It's in here..." Epsilon said, her expression grave.

"That's right."

Classic Violet-san. I could feel a grim Ki pulsing intensely from the other side of the door. I pushed it open and stepped inside the warehouse.

A massive hole had been punched into the warehouse wall, allowing shafts of moonlight to spill into the room. A single pedestal sat in the center. Bathed in the lunar glow sat a lone, withered black finger.

Oh, Violet-san. Look at you. You’ve seen better days.

"Master Shadow! Please, exercise caution."

"It's fine, it's fine."

I waved her off flippantly and walked toward the pedestal. After all, we're friends. She was probably just trapped here, same as back in the Sanctuary.

Still, that was a pretty big finger for a human. That hideous black look reminded me of Possession...

I wonder if the quality of the Magic Power is the same, too.

Hmm. If you can survive as nothing but a finger, you’ve definitely forfeited your humanity. She called me a Human Marvel once, but she’s way more of a marvel than I’ll ever be.

In my opinion, Possession is basically a Magic Power Frenzy or some kind of mutation. It’s less of a disease and more of a biological constitution. That’s the vibe I got when I cured Alpha and the rest—the term "genetic trait" fits it best.

Possessed blood is unique. But even if Alpha and the others had let their Frenzy run wild, they probably wouldn't have ended up looking like Violet-san. Their blood isn't as concentrated as hers. If anything, it felt like Violet-san was the original source...

I reached out and touched Violet-san's Finger.

"It's dangerous, Master Shadow!!"

Violet-san's Finger reacted to me immediately.

"Yo," I said.

I channeled a bit of Magic Power into it as a greeting, and the digit began to twitch and throb.

"Kill me," huh? Those were the last words she said to me.

The finger curled, twitching as if to nod. If I wanted to respect her wishes, I could just erase it from existence without a trace right here and now. I certainly had the power to do it.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that," I muttered. "We're friends, after all."

The finger thrashed as if lodging a protest.

"Look, I'm gonna need a guide when I go looking for your other parts."

The finger wiggled as if pondering the point before giving a twitchy nod.

"I'd like to take you with me, but you're a little on the large side. Can you shrink?"

Again, Violet-san curled the finger in on itself as if thinking hard. For a finger, Violet-san's Finger was currently larger than my entire arm.

"It's fine if you can't. I'll handle it."

It was the same process I used to cure Possession. In Violet-san's case, the blood was so concentrated that she was way more of a pain to deal with than Alpha and the girls, but since I only had to fix a single finger, it wouldn't take long.

I flooded the digit with my full Magic Power, and Violet-san's Finger was soon enveloped in a Bluish-purple Magic Power. When the light subsided, a normal-sized woman's finger remained.

Specifically, a Left Little Finger.

It was pale and slender, with a perfectly manicured nail. For some reason, it was trembling rhythmically. Perfect. Now it fits in my pocket.

The severed end was a little gross, but... wait. I could feel a faint Magic Power Trace on the stump. The signature felt similar to Freya (Temp). Did she cut this off? The Magic Power had weathered too much for me to be certain.

"All done. Let's move out."

I turned back to Epsilon, who was staring at me with her jaw on the floor.

"Wh-Wha—?! Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!"

"Come on, let's go."

"Wh-Wha? Uh, yes! But... whaaaaaaaaaaaa?"

I ended up dragging Epsilon along behind me. She’d basically broken and couldn't say anything but "wha."