Rebirth Of The Bastard Spirit Summoner

The Servants Library, Darell's Estate

Blergh!

Kaeri buckled and coughed up blood, her arm clenched around her side. She looked deathly pale, and her blonde hair now had multiple red strands scattered in it.

She fell to her knee and coughed repeatedly, her vision blurring with tears.

Gilus Nassaris… among the elven race, there were a few who, in addition to their skill as a mage, awakened a second power. Awakening this second trait was what signified that an elf could ascend to the realms of high elf.

Kaeri's power was Gilus Nassaris, the ability to create incarnations of herself—the power to cheat death.

But even such a powerful ability had its limits. She could only create two incarnations in a certain period of time, and their deaths took a heavy toll on her body.

Yet somehow, she had managed to die twice in under a month.

The first incarnate had died after Darell commanded her to defend him with her life.

A spear through the chest.

Now the second had died trying to break her wretched curse.

Kaeri slammed her fist against the floor, frustration engulfing her like a thick mist, and then she cried, her breath hitching as she wiped her face.

She felt disgusted—disgusted not just at herself but her failures. She was an elf of noble background, and yet she was kidnapped. As if it wasn't bad enough, she was now a slave.

That had been her final try, her big opportunity to destroy the slave mark, because by the time she could use her incarnations again, she doubted she would be the same person she currently was.

"Ahhhhh!" She screamed and held onto her shirt. Her chest felt tight, her heart laden with the burden of failure.

They were like invisible weights pulling her down, causing her to feel heavy inside.

She remained like this for a few minutes, sometimes quietly sobbing, sometimes pounding her fist in frustration, before eventually rising to her feet.

With shaky legs and a detached expression, Kaeri walked towards the window and pulled it open, feeling the cold wind brush against her skin.

The servants' library was on the third floor…

She glanced at the floor below, wondering if just maybe… maybe death would bring her peace.

At least she would be away from Darell's plague.

At least she would not witness the day she would eventually break and be used like a whore.

"Maybe—"

"What good will that do you?"

Kaeri immediately turned in the direction of the sound, her eyes widening as she laid eyes on the man.

'How did he get here?' She had been so torn that she didn't even notice when he entered the room.

The young man had long grey hair that fell freely by the sides of his face, and his grey eyes were calm, like a still river.

He was sitting down close to the door, a book in one hand, and a mop resting by the other. But when their eyes met, he rose to his feet and slowly walked towards her.

"It must be tough, isn't it? Doing your best only to come up short… Cursing your own weakness when you see your world crumbling before your eyes."

Kaeri lifted her shirt to wipe her tears. She did not want to cry in front of a stranger, yet his words only made her cry more.

The man glanced at the slave mark on her neck and sighed, looking honestly disappointed. Then his eyes moved over to her hair.

"You must have gone through a lot…"

"This is not your business, I don't need any words of comfort!" Kaeri screamed in frustration, pushing him back a couple of steps.

But the man didn't relent, instead, his eyes darkened.

"Comfort? What are you? A fucking baby?"

Kaeri was taken aback, her mouth hung open but no words of retort came.

"You sit here wallowing in your failures, walking toward the window like your solution lies at the end of a three-story drop."

"It's disgusting."

The man held her by her shoulders and shook her forcefully, as though he planned on shaking the grief out of her body.

Kaeri could do nothing but watch. For a moment, she forgot her grief and instead was focused on the intensity in the man's eyes.

His eyes were fierce, and yet she could see a certain warmth in them, a slight compassion that hid behind the cold exterior.

"You think you have time for this moping? Be fucking real. You have no time. All your crying isn't going to make tomorrow go away."

Kaeri pushed him—a vain attempt to escape, to get away from his words.

The way he spoke… it was as though he had gone through something very similar and was also finding his way through the fog.

That was why everything he said stung, because she knew he was right. But she had already decided to give up.

She did not want to hope any longer, only to fail at the end. And yet, when she opened her mouth to reject his words, instead she yelled:

"What do I do?! What can I do?! Do you know how much I've tried?! You think I just gave up without trying?!"

Her grief turned to anger, and her anger into rage.

Who did he think he was? What had he suffered that gave him the right to speak to her as though she was a kid?!

"Do you even know what pain feels like?!"

The man's expression changed, first it was surprise, and then that surprise twisted into excitement.

"You asked what you could do?" he said as he leaned closer to her, up until their faces were a few centimeters apart.

There was a certain madness in those grey eyes, a madness that made Kaeri want to avoid him and yet drew her closer as well.

It was the look of conviction, a man who would go to any lengths to see his ambition fulfilled. The look of a man lost to his dreams.

But what were his dreams?

"Revenge," he said, his smile broadening.

"Huh?"

"What you need is revenge…"

It was as though the mere thought of revenge excited him, bringing him a degree of pleasure nothing else could bring.

He let go of her and took a step backward, offering her his hand. And as though the situation was not tense enough, a strong wind tore into the room and blew against them, causing his hair to fly back.

When Kaeri saw what was hidden behind them, she stiffened, warning signs blaring in her head.

The elders had warned them since their milk ages…

—Stay away from half-elves.

And yet she was doing the exact opposite.

"How would you like to help me kill Darell?" the man asked.

He wanted her to help him kill the man that had treated her like a dog, the man who had taken away her freedom…

There was no other answer.

Kaeri took his hand in a firm handshake. Once again she had decided to hope, all because of his ramblings.

And yet it felt good. Maybe… just maybe this time she would succeed.

"Ridiculous…" she muttered, a ghost of a smile appearing on her tired face.

"What do I do?"

He smiled and leaned close to her, whispering a few words in her ear, words that made her doubt if his plan had any chance of working.

That was because he told her only one thing:

"Follow my lead."

As the man began to walk towards the exit, Kaeri hesitated before calling out to him.

"My name is Kaeri. What is yours?"

He paused and, without turning, said, "It's better you don't know." He then walked toward the door and held onto the handle.

"But for the sake of this mission, I guess you can call me… Umm… Stard?"