Chapter 357: Awakening

The incomprehensible red and black half-transparent dome burst like a bubble, turning into normal smoke and getting blown over by the wind.

"...ombie?! Zombie!"

With the barrier gone, everyone could hear the desperate voice of the young red-haired girl.

"Cranberry!"

Lord Blackberry called out and rushed to his daughter supporting the body of the fallen boy.

"That... that wouldn't be the son of Pear and Nectarine, would it...?"

One of the villagers that gathered around the dome and saw the whole fight whispered in unease pointing at the lifeless body of the brown-haired boy.

"No, impossible, Kiwi was sent off to the Envys territory to study!"

Someone said hurriedly.

"Could you even imagine him doing something like that?! No, besides, that girl is calling him Zombie or something. It can't be Kiwi."

Another one added.

"..."

But amongst them, two hunters who saw the boy killing a monster while he was still a three-year-old looked at each other with mixed feelings.

"Sweetie, it's okay already. Are you unharmed? The scary monster is gone, you can let go of that boy...!"

Lord Blackberry got to his daughter and reassured her, trying to pull the corpse out of her embrace.

"NO! DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY! HE IS MINE...!"

The girl cried out shaking her head and backed off almost falling over because of the lifeless body's weight.

"Sweetie, watch out! HUH?!"

*WHOOOSH*

Lord Blackberry gasped in worry, reaching his hand after his daughter, but before he could grab either her or the boy's corpse both of them got enveloped by a powerful white light that unleashed a shockwave that pushed the man away.

"Magic awakening?!"

Someone from the crowd gasped out loud.

"!!!!!"

"But it looks so powerful! What magic is she awakening to?!"

Someone else called out in disbelief.

At the same time inside the pillar of light, the little red-haired girl saw a series of messages...

/Initiating magic awakening

Type: Necromancy

The first one said.

"Necromancy...? Ah! I will be able to resurrect him?! Yes! Yes! I want it! Hurry! Give it to me!"

As soon as she read it, Cranberry's eyes widened and she called out while hugging the unresponsive body.

"Hurry up and let me bring my knight back, you stupid system!"

...she might have gotten a little too heated over it too.

That might have been a reason for the next couple of messages to be like...

/...

/Calculating...

/Magic type adjusted

Necromancy »» Dark Arts

"H-haa?! What is this Dark Arts?! You stupid system, you better not try to take him away from me too! Mine! He is already mine!"

Cranberry hunched down, burrowing her face between the boy's shoulder and the base of his neck, clenching her hands so hard that her knuckles turned white.

/Awakening complete

/Please select your familiar

"Ah! Him! Zombie! I want Zombie!"

As soon as the red-haired girl saw the new message, she perked up and called out, shaking the boy's body.

/Familiar selected...

/The selected target is dead

/The Dark Arts user requested the familiar's species to be assigned as undead monster, subtype 'zombie'

/Request accepted

/Reanimating the target

"Ha?! What exception? Wait, I meant his name, not his species!"

Cranberry gasped and called out but she did not revive any message in response.

Instead, the color of the body of the boy she held close turned blue and his brown hair become jet-black...

/Reanimation complete

"...?"

The same happened to his eyes, now black like a starless night - open and looking at the girl's face from a very close distance.

/Initiation complete

Familiar selected

Name: Kiwi

Race: undead (zombie)

"E-eh...? Your name is Kiwi...?"

Cranberry blinked in confusion and furrowed her brows looking at the boy's blue face as if she was cheated.

"Absolutely not. You can change it so please make it Zombie... Whoa..."

The blue boy frowned and shook his head before realizing that the two of them are surrounded by the white light instead of the murky red one that he remembered from the first playthrough and gasped in surprise, looking around.

"!!!!"

But while he was doing that his eyes suddenly widened and he put his hand to his mouth, as if the words he spoke shocked him...

Or rather, as if he was shocked that he could speak normally from the start...

"Make it Zombie...? System, change his name to Zombie."

Cranberry made seemed slightly confused but did as the boy requested her to do.

/Request approved

Name changed successfully

Familiar selected

Name: Zombie

Race: undead (zombie)

"It worked."

The girl scoffed to herself slightly surprised.

"It did? It looks like I stopped receiving system messages since I got turned into a basic undead... Anyway, thanks, I don't know what I would do if even you would start calling me Kiwi."

Zombie breathed out and smiled at the girl.

"Ah...!"

Who only then realized that she was still hugging him so she blushed deeply and hurriedly let go and stepped away.

As soon as she did that, the light surrounding the two of them faded and they were able to see everyone gathered around them and vice-versa.

"Sweetie! Are you feeling alright?! What magic did you awaken to? Huh?! Is that a corpse puppet?! Have you become a corpse puppeteer?!"

Lord Blackberry was with his daughter at the moment's notice, grabbing her shoulders and looking between her and the blue boy.

"Ha?! N-no. I was about to get the necromancy but for some reason, it got changed to dark arts."

The red-haired girl shook her head and explained.

"And he isn't a corpse puppet, Zombie is my familiar!"

She added with a grumpy face and wiggled her way out of her father's arms to step closer back to the blue boy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Blackberry, my name is Zombie, I'll be protecting your daughter from now on."

Zombie glanced at the girl and then turned to the bespectacled man and lightly nodded his head while introducing himself.

"!!!"

"It... it can talk?!"

Lord Blackberry only raised his brows but the villagers behind him were utterly gobsmacked.

"It is nice to meet you too, Zombie."

The bespectacled man responded and turned to his daughter.

"Dark Arts, you say... Something sounds familiar about that name - I will check it out in archives as soon as we'll get back home..."

He said furrowing his brows and glanced at Zombie.

"A corpse puppet shouldn't be able to talk, but if you are saying that he is your familiar... curious... incredibly curious..."

Lord Blackberry's eyes light up with interest as he observed the undead next to him from head to toe.

"We will call for the appraiser as soon as possible, ah! One will be visiting your mother very soon, that will be perfect!"

The man smiled with excitement like a child that just received an amazing toy.

"That said..."

He added turning to the side, his expression growing dark As he looked at the crowd surrounding the three of them.

"Did anyone check up on my coachman just as I requested?! If not, get to it! And call for a local blacksmith! My carriage requires fixing!"

He called out in a voice that left no place for discussion and clapped his hands releasing a threatening aura that caused many villagers to start running around to see his requests completed.

"...Cranberry..."

"...?"

While that was going on, Zombie stealthily tugged on Cranberry's hand making her turn to him with a curious expression.

"..."

Zombie hurriedly looked around to check if anyone is focusing on them but thankfully most of the villagers were too busy being distracted by Lord Blackberry's orders to stare at them, so the blue boy reached to his bloodied and torn shirt's pocket and pulled out a tiny box.

"I will always protect, but I still can't do anything about the mental damage for now. That's why I got this to do it in the meantime."

Zombie explained while hastily taking off the tiny box's lid...

...and revealed a set of two matching silver rings, each looking as if it was made out of the most delicate spider's silk covered in the morning dew and frozen in time by a spell.

"!!!!"

"Now..."

Ignoring the red-haired girl's eyes going round at the sight of the artifacts, Zombie followed the instructions he was given by Mirabelle and Olive.

He took out one ring and put it on the ring finger of his left hand - the much too big ring instantly adjusted its size to fit him perfectly.

"...excuse my rudeness..."

He muttered under his breath as he took out the other one and grabbed Cranberry's left hand and slid it on her ring finger, making sure that no one sees what he is doing - and as soon as he did that, her ring adjusted its size just as his did.

"...but please accept this."

Zombie added, looking into the girl's eyes and putting their left hands together.

/You received the ancient wedding ring

Do you accept the proposal?

Yes/No

"...!"

A system message popped up for the red-haired girl leaving her speechless.