CHAPTER 59: MEDUSA, THE VILE NECROMANCER

Edna sat cross-legged on the ground, her posture almost bouncing with excitement.

The faint candlelight caught the spark in her eyes as she cradled the small black stone in her palms.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" she asked, leaning forward like a child waiting for the rules of a game.

Azel exhaled slowly, not because he was tired, but because her enthusiasm was infectious in the most distracting way.

"Push some mana into the stone," he said.

She nodded firmly.

A moment later, the stone fractured in her hands with a sharp crack. Tiny shards dissolved into silver dust, swirling briefly before vanishing into the air.

"A burst of mana will come out of the stone and flow into your body," Azel continued, his tone slipping into the patient cadence of a teacher.

And sure enough, it did.

A surge of cool energy rushed into Edna’s chest, spreading outward through her veins like a sudden winter river melting into spring.

She gasped softly — not in pain, but in exhilaration as her heartbeat quickened.

She could almost feel her senses sharpening: the faintest rustle of the curtains became crisp, the coolness of the ground felt richer, and even the steady rhythm of Azel’s breathing behind her was impossibly distinct.

When a mage reached a stage like this, they wouldn’t be able to sense any magical energy outside but rather focus everything into their body.

"It’s... so much," she whispered.

"Now comes the hard part," Azel said, stepping closer so his shadow overlapped hers. "You have to compress your magic around your heart into a circle. That’s how you enter the First Circle. It’s fine if you can’t do it at once — it usually takes—"

But he stopped mid-sentence.

Because the air had just changed.

It was subtle at first — like the faint pull before a tide turns but it grew heavier, more potent, until the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

The space around her shimmered faintly, the mana thickening until it almost hummed.

’She’s already doing it.’

Edna wasn’t even looking at him anymore.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing slow, and her hands rested lightly over her heart as if guarding something precious.

Azel could feel the rotation beginning — the delicate yet forceful shaping of raw mana into the perfect, unbroken loop of the First Circle.

Most mages took hours to even sense the proper compression point; Edna had found it within minutes.

Well that was her Mana Genius talent at work, who would have guessed that the Second Empress would be a natural genius at using Mana?

He leaned back against the wall, arms folding loosely across his chest.

"Of course," he murmured under his breath, almost smiling. "She’s not normal."

But he knew better than to interrupt, there were ways to interrupt a mage when they were making their circle but the rebound could kill the Mage in question.

Breaking that kind of deep focus could shatter progress. So, with the quiet ease of someone accustomed to balancing multiple priorities,

Azel stepped away, giving her space to complete the work.

There was something else he’d been meaning to do — and the timing couldn’t be better.

He slipped a hand into his inventory, pulling out a single card.

Unlike the warm orange hue of Lillia’s summoning card, this one was a deep, glossy black, its surface traced not with lines but with interlocking circles that seemed to shift when viewed from different angles.

’Finally.’

"Summoning cards are the best thing that’s ever happened to me," he muttered, glancing back at Edna.

She looked utterly serene, sitting with her shoulders relaxed, the faint glow of magic surrounding her like moonlight on water.

Her silver hair was even getting more defined, and the impurities had started coming out in slow bursts.

He found himself staring for a moment too long before shaking his head.

This was no time to get distracted...

He crouched near the far wall, away from Edna’s working field, and held the card between two fingers.

[Would you like to use ’Black Summoning Card’?]

"Yes."

The card lifted from his hand, hovering briefly before drifting to the floor.

The circles on its surface began to spin in opposite directions, faster and faster, until they blurred into a perfect black void.

"Come on," Azel said softly, voice edged with anticipation. "Warrior."

The air thickened immediately, carrying the charged stillness that comes right before a thunderstorm.

From the darkness blooming at the center of the card, a figure stepped forward.

At first, she looked like a nightmare given shape.

Her hair was a rich, deep violet that spilled around her shoulders like spilled ink.

She was a fraction shorter than Azel, yet her presence loomed taller.

Her eyes — completely black, without iris or white looked like they were pools that could swallow thought.

From her forehead, two horns curved upward, sharp and gleaming as obsidian. And the aura she carried was suffocating; she was dangerous in a way that transcended mere strength.

For a fraction of a heartbeat, Azel’s muscles tensed — not from fear, but from instinct. She was stronger than him. Right now, she could kill him before he could even move.

Then she smiled.

"Master~" The word rolled off her tongue like honey, smooth and intimate.

And just like that, the horns vanished.

The black of her eyes dissolved into a bright, crystalline blue.

The oppressive aura faded, replaced by something warm and inviting.

Her violet hair remained, shining softly in the dim light, but she now appeared entirely human.

She wore a flowing black dress that shimmered faintly, its fabric reminiscent of silk spun from shadows.

The system’s text scrolled in his vision:

[Congratulations! You have successfully summoned ’Medusa’, The Vile Necromancer]

[Bond Level: 2]

[Type: Attack/Support]

[Special Trait: Soul Connection]

[Lillia recognizes you as her Eternal Master.]

Azel blinked.

’Bond level two already?’

When he summoned Lillia, he had to start at LV.0 and now they were at Bond Level Max, but Medusa had already started at two?

[It’s because you’re handsome, Host.]

"Eh?"