Chapter 168

White light exploded from Miki’s hands. I had a theory that her resurrection spell wouldn’t be simple. With more regent fairy dust, I predicted it would be able to act stronger. In this case, I needed the spell to work at maximum strength. It always left me wondering why a resurrection spell would destroy a ghost. The second I saw Karr disappear, I had wondered if he was really gone.

That got me thinking that perhaps all it did was free him from the curse. His spirit was still in this dungeon, trapped, but it was no longer bound to serve as Astria’s level 20 boss. As to where it went? It was probably wondering the halls, much in the same way I had found Celeste.

Spiritualist might gain a ghost summoning ability eventually, but Miki didn’t have anything like that right now. The only thing she had was Resurrection, however this was a special resurrection formed from the ability mana control. This led to my second thought. If someone died in a dungeon, they were not able to be resurrected. This was because the dungeon trapped their spiritual energy and kept them from leaving, and the curse ate away their spiritual energy. I reckoned that if a priest was brought directly into the dungeon, they might be able to resurrect a spirit. This involved literally pulling the spirit out of the clutches of the curse, but I believed it could be possible.

It’d just require a powerful priest and a spirit that was fresh. What I had instead was a spirit “accepted” by the dungeon, Karr, so that he wasn’t being consumed for energy and an Op version of resurrection that I could sub with additional fairy dust. The result…

The bright light began to coalesce and form into the body of a man. I worried that Astria would attack while we were casting this spell, which took over a minute. When the spell finally finished, an old man was sitting there on his knees. He looked up, glancing around, confusion on his face.

“What… happened? Wait… Astria? Is that you?”

Astria hissed, backing away. “Karr… how… you’re alive!”

I nodded. “Yup, I brought him back. Lord Karr of Chalm. My slave here has managed to resurrect you within this dungeon. It took two resurrections actually, and the second one cost a king’s ransom in fairy dust, but I knew it was the only way to finally get things out in the open.”

Astria snarled. “I know everything he has done! How dare you bring him back!”

“I didn’t bring him back to answer to you!” I shot back, causing the dark Fairy Queen to balk. “I brought him back to answer her!”

My finger landed on Celeste. She flew back down and landed on her feet, staring at the man in front of her with a complicated expression.

“A-another fairy queen?” Karr said in wonder.

“No…” I shook my head. “Your daughter.”

Karr’s mouth fell open. It was clear he hadn’t realized he had a daughter. Astria had been pregnant with Karr’s baby when he fell ill and died.

“My daughter?”

“Karr… I want you to explain to your daughter what you did!” I snapped. “I want you to explain what you did to those fairies.”

Karr’s pupils shrank to pinpoints and he shot me a look. “You know?”

I nodded. “What do you think this place is? When you died, Astria found out the truth. She turned your entire mansion into a prison so that no one could resurrect you. It’s been twenty years since that day.”

“Twenty years…” Karr closed his eyes and shook his head. “I remember now… I have earned your ire, my love… I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t call me that…” Astria growled. “You have no right!”

“I don’t get it…” Celeste demanded. “Father, what did you do?”

“I…” He lowered his head and sighed, unable to say the words.

“Remember when he accidentally revealed the location of the fairy spring, and they were attacked and enslaved?” I spoke up. “It was no accident. He told them where it was. He gave the fairies to the slavers on purpose!”