I Can Contract Beauties

"I-t’s already too late."

Edith’s weak and helpless voice resounded in Miguel and Aaliyah’s ears.

"Why? Didn’t you manage to save him before using t-t-that method?"

"Yes. But this case is different."

Edith shook her head. She lifted off the mask of her face, revealing a beauty that was not in any way inferior to Aaliyah.

Alas, this beauty no longer has her usual confidence and valiance.

"It’s their mutual-destruction tactic," Edith paused for a moment before she explained.

"When a demon is about to die, they will self-destruct and emit this demonic miasma to create a mass of infection around them, wanting to bring those who defeated it to the grave along with them. If a warrior not strong enough was subjected to this explosion, they would no longer have a choice but to become a demonized creature. Nothing can save them anymore..."

She sighed and looked at Miguel with a smile, "Don’t blame yourself. This is entirely my fault. I did not expect that even after combining almost all of my skills into one final attack, I would still fail to destroy it instantly." Edith shook her head full of regret.

Her hand tightened as she gripped Miguel’s hand tightly.

"Even though it was just a short time together, I enjoyed every moment of it. I mean it," she said.

The scene of her lips touching his lips earlier suddenly resurfaced on her mind, making her smile a bit.

"No way..." Aaliyah slumped to the ground. Her eyes slowly teared up.

Losing a companion was never a good feeling. Her experiences from her past life resurfaced in her mind at this moment. Tears started to fall on her face, not knowing how to react to this sudden death of a recent companion.

Although their time together was very short, as ’innate beasts’ connected through Miguel, both of them still felt as if they were extremely close from the moment they saw each other for the first time.

The thought of losing her awakened a distant memory of Aaliyah. The pain she felt was the same as when she lost her sister back then.

Edith pursed her lips upon seeing the tears in Aaliyah’s eyes. She could not say anything to console her.

As a person who lived in an era of war and conflicts against the demons, she was aware of the unpleasant feeling when losing an important person in your life.

In the end, Edith merely smiled and stated, "Come on. Don’t think too much about it either. This is life and it is not always pleasant."

"Right, it’s better if you guys finish my life before my mind gets corroded by the demonic miasma. I may seem like boasting, but with my current strength and after getting demonized, none of you two will be able to defeat me," Edith stated confidently with a smile, trying to shift Miguel and Aaliyah’s attention.

After the battle earlier, the three of them had leveled up by leaps and bounds due to the experiences rewarded and their performance in the battle.

Edith has leaped to Level 4 directly along with Aaliyah, Miguel has been promoted to Intermediate Elite Summoner while the jet-black grimoire has upgraded to Beginner Silver Grade.

Aside from that, the three of them also received a batch of rewards from the World’s Will due to their unbelievable performance.

Most of Miguel’s skills have been promoted by 1 level, the grimoire received 2 more blank pages, an increase in summoning time limit for both summons as well as another major upgrade for the absolute shield.

Some of Aaliyah’s skills had been upgraded and evolved to higher level, while Edith has received two new powerful skills due to her major contribution in the battle earlier.

Saying that both Aaliyah and Miguel not being able to defeat her if she became demonized was not without reason. She was indeed correct in that aspect.

Hearing what Edith said, Aaliyah felt a lot of words get stuck on her throat.

Losing someone was already a very unpleasant feeling, how much more if you lose them with your own hands?

Aaliyah’s eyes started to cloud in confusion and distraught. Her breathing became rougher as the thought of killing someone important with her own hand filled her mind.

At that moment, a hand suddenly tapped her shoulder, awaking her from her own stupor.

She looked up and realized that it was Miguel.

Warmth coursed through her shoulder as she felt Miguel’s soothing and calming gaze.

"Calm yourself down. It’s not too late yet. I still have another solution in mind," Miguel stated with a sigh.

"Really?" Both girls exclaimed at the same time as hope ignited in their eyes.

The gloom disappeared as they both stared at Miguel expectantly.

Miguel nodded his head with a solemn expression on his face.

"Well, I can’t guarantee its success. But it’s still better than doing nothing right? We can consider this a last resort thing."

He looked at Aaliyah and said, "Anyways, let me handle this. Return inside the grimoire to recuperate first."

Aaliyah looked at Miguel intently for a few seconds, pursed her lips together before she nodded her head softly.

"I understand. I trust you."

She transformed into a streak of light, entered the grimoire and disappeared from Miguel and Edith’s vision.

Seeing her leave, Miguel heaved a sigh of relief and stared at Edith intently.

"Y-you did not lie, ri- arghh?" Edith asked, but her words were cut short after she felt a sudden pang of pain on her left chest.

Miguel hurriedly pressed his hand at the top of her chest, casting the newly upgraded [Mystic Mend], soothing the sudden pain that she felt.

However, that was all that the Level 2 [Mystic Mend] could do. Alleviating the pain for a brief period of time.

Miguel looked at her with a deep gaze and said, "Yes. However, before I do it, I will need to explain a lot of things to you. Only when I receive your consent after you hear the explanation will I be able to do it."

"No need to explain. I consent." Edith stated with a confident gaze. Her trust towards Miguel was boundless and deep.

Whether this was due to them being connected as Innate Beast and Summoner or her own feelings and views, only she herself would know.

Hearing Edith’s hasty decision, Miguel could not help but shake his head and smile a little. As her master, he would be able to sense her thoughts and through their deep connection with each other. As for her reply, it indeed came from the bottom of her heart. However, he wondered if her answer would still be the same after she heard the method.

"Anyways, let me explain it first."

He looked at Edith intently and seriously, not taking the situation lightly.

"Have you heard of the term, Dual Cultivation?"

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A/N: Yep, here we go.

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