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SSS-Class Overlord: My Harem Rules the Realms (18+)-Chapter 83: A Comrade?
Chapter 83: A Comrade?
Ethan exhaled slowly, wiping grime and blood from his cheek with the back of his sleeve. The
silence in the dungeon was suddenly oppressive, ringing in his ears after the chaos of battle.
Cracks snaked across the marble floor where Liora’s final scream had echoed, and motes of dust
sparkled in narrow shafts of blood-red light.
Finally over... he thought, turning toward Daniel and Reyna to check on them.
But before he could take a step forward, a sharp electronic chime cut through the silence and he froze.
[System Notification]
[New Alert: Resurrection Protocol Detected.]
[Target: Liora Nightraven.]
[Status: Eligible for revival under Comrade Contract.]
Ethan froze. "...What the fuck?"
[System Notification]
[No need to worry, Boss. You can bring her back... as your comrade.]
He blinked several times, gripping Warlord’s Fang as though it might help him physically grapple
with his own disbelief. "Wait. Hold up. The vampire woman? The one who literally tried to rip out
my lungs and feed them to me?!"
[System Notification]
[Correct.]
[Also, her name is Liora Nightraven. Please show some respect.]
Ethan dragged his hand over his face. "Respect? I turned her into a pile of dust."
[System Notification]
[And now you can un-dust her. Isn’t that neat?]
Ethan closed his eyes, breathing in and out as if counting to ten would make the world sane
again. "Okay... fine. How?"
[System Notification]
[Proceed to the remains of the Vampire King’s statue. Cut your hand, pour blood onto the
central runes, and I’ll handle the rest.]
Ethan looked across the chamber. The shattered remains of a colossal statue lay strewn across
the floor—fangs bared in an eternal snarl, stone eyes still glinting with malevolence even in ruin.
"Well... guess I’m not getting that vacation," he muttered.
He limped over rubble and shattered columns, footsteps echoing like drumbeats in the emptiness.
Dust curled around his ankles as he knelt beside the statue’s marble torso.
Intricate runes crawled across the stone surface, pulsing faintly like a creature’s pulse under skin.
Ethan raised his blade and dragged it across his palm, a shallow cut opening beneath the steel.
Blood welled up, vivid crimson against pale skin. He grimaced but pressed his palm to the runes.
The instant his blood touched stone, a low rumble shuddered through the floor. The runes flared
to life, their glow swelling from faint red to blazing crimson.
[System Notification]
[Blood accepted. Beginning resurrection sequence...]
A cyclone of shadows and scarlet light erupted around the base of the statue. Wind howled
through the chamber, hurling shards of debris and whipping Ethan’s hair into his face.
Dark energy spiraled upward, coiling like a serpent of pure magic. Sparks of bloody light danced amid the vortex.
From within the storm, a silhouette began to take shape. A slender figure condensed from swirling
mist and crimson glow, long hair billowing like a royal cloak behind her.
Then the energy exploded outward in silence, a shockwave rolling across the room. Ethan
shielded his face, squinting into the settling haze.
And there she stood—completely naked.
Ethan’s jaw dropped. His brain short-circuited like a blown fuse.
Liora Nightraven—once a towering, murderous vampire queen—now stood blinking at him, bare
as the day she was born. Shadows and glimmers of red light rolled off her pale, flawless skin like
silk falling away from glass.
She planted her hands on her hips, eyes flashing. "Ethan Graves, you fucking killed me!"
Ethan flailed his arms like he was trying to swat invisible bats. "I brought you back too!" He tore
his black cloak from his shoulders and hurled it at her face. "Here! Take this! For God’s sake, wear
that, MF!"
She snatched the cloak from mid-air, one elegant eyebrow arching high as a queen’s crown.
Meanwhile, a thin trickle of blood leaked from Ethan’s nose.
[System Notification]
[Alert: Boss, you’re a pervert.]
Ethan spun to glare at empty air. "Shut up, System!"
[System Notification]
[...Sorry, Boss.]
Liora rolled her eyes and wrapped the cloak around herself, fumbling with the ties as she secured
it tight across her chest. "You’d think a ’hero’ would have a little more composure."
Ethan wiped his nose and grumbled, "You’d think a centuries-old vampire would come back with
clothes on."
She sniffed, folding her arms across the cloak. "It’s not like I chose to respawn in the buff."
Ethan raised a finger as if to argue, then just dropped it with a sigh. "This day just keeps getting
weirder."
He took a breath, forcing himself to shift gears. Enough with the comedic nightmare—time for
business.
"System," he murmured under his breath. "Scan her stats. In my mind."
[System Notification]
[Scanning Liora Nightraven...]
Lines of digital text flashed before his eyes, a shimmering blue curtain of data.
[System Notification]
[Liora Nightraven
[Class: Crimson Nocturne]
[Rank: S (Currently Locked)]
[Strength: S]
[Agility: S]
[Intellect: S]
[Endurance: S]
[Charisma: S]
Ethan let out a low whistle. "Holy shit... all S-rank? You’re basically a walking nuclear bomb."
[System Notification]
[However, her full power is locked due to resurrection cooldown protocols.]
Ethan crossed his arms. "Figures. So for now, she’s just S-rank, huh? All right... we’ll get you
back to your full strength."
Liora scowled. "Ugh. I suppose I’ll help you on your little mortal journey. The pact’s already sealed
—and I can’t break it, apparently."
She extended her hand toward him, palm open, fingers curled like claws. "Deal?"
Ethan stared at her hand for a long moment, then clasped it firmly. "Deal."
As their hands joined, a subtle crimson glow pulsed around their fingers. Shadows rippled across
the floor, then faded like a departing tide.
Liora tilted her head and smirked. "For the record, if you ever call me ’MF’ again, I’ll rip out your
tongue."
Ethan burst into laughter, despite himself. "Yeah, yeah. Welcome to the team... partner."
And so, among broken stone and swirling shadows, an unlikely pact was forged—a vampire
queen and the mortal who killed her, bound together by blood, fate... and no small measure of
exasperation.
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