The door swung open, and Elinor’s mouth drew into a line as she surveyed the hurricane she’d walked in on; to her left, down the small hallway, was the main door, front and center was the kitchen, where Paul lay bleeding out of a wound in his head, which instantly drew her attention.

  In the corner of the kitchen cowered Raul and Vincente, behind an upturned kitchen table that had seen better day.; At least they had had the brain to take cover when something was sniping them through the windows. The wide, open door to her right led to the jungle, where Elinor watched Eduardo take a projectile in the back of his head.

  Butter’s tinkling snicker followed, still unable to do much with her damaged wings, and she’d have to refashion it to repair her butterfly construct.

  “Well, doesn’t this look like fun; two down already, huh? Is that a weapon?”

  Great, she internally complained, eyebrows furrowing as Raul screamed, lifting a pistol. Really….

  “Zombie!” Raul’s shakily fired the gun—it missed. Elinor didn’t flinch, surprising herself a little as it hit the door beside her. “Satan! A gateway to Hell!”

  Vincente grabbed Raul’s arm, shoving him back, and tried to take the weapon. “She’s alive, idiot—we need her! You, find cover…”

  “What are you talking about?” his manic henchman cried. “She has white hair—a-and her face! It’s white, Vince—it’s the Crystal!”

  Butter’s huff mirrored how Elinor felt; technically, he wasn’t entirely wrong, but kidnappers she knew how to deal with, random assassins in the dark, not so much.

  Elinor’s calm voice seemed to silence the two, dismissing them as a threat. “Aren’t you hardened criminals? I believe we have more pressing things to concern ourselves with, so could you two soldier up a bit… You’re embarrassing yourselves.”

  “To be fair, you are extremely difficult to kill if you do have a lot of Death Orbs, and they don’t know about the true vessels of our souls. Should we take a little caution due to it being low—is that music?”

  Stepping into the kitchen, her focus went to the door as a shrill flute pierced the night, causing the two men to squirm and mumble to one another, yet something else quickly drew their attention—Paul, the supposedly dead man with leaking brains, screamed, jerking unnaturally.

  “What are you doing?! Stop it!” Raul cried, tears leaking out of his eyes.

  Elinor quickly linked the instrument to the action, spotting red vines squirming within the wound in Paul’s skull. She sighed, realizing she’d entered a horror movie at this point—good thing she was a monster, as well.

  “As hard as it may be for you to believe, I’m not doing this,” she growled, stepping closer to the twitching man instead of retreating. “If you’d like to survive, I suggest you calm your friend down, Vincente.”

  Butter, jump on the plant as I restrain him and suck it dry.

  “Huh?! You want me to what to that?”

  If it’s moving, why not test it—I can… Ugh. Don’t be a priss, Butter!

  “You’re supposed to be the priss… Mmgh-hmm-hmm. This is how nightmares are made,” she hissed, attempting to glide down to his head as Elinor straddled him. The vine crawled beneath his skin, likely causing unimaginable pain for the kidnapper, yet Elinor was drawn to another fascinating detail—[Life Tap] could be used independently of the butterflies.

  Green flames erupted from her hands as she drew upon the man’s swiftly diminishing life force, and Butter used her legs to latch onto one of the vines, screaming about how disgusting it felt while being whipped around.

  Paul’s arm jerked up to close around her throat—not that she needed to breathe—attempting to squeeze the life out of her as Elinor did the same, only far more effectively. Tears streamed down the man’s enflamed cheeks, and Butter delivered some positive news.

  “Priss! Priss! This thing has an insane amount of life force… Let me reform real quick—get back here, you wiggly snake!” she laughed, taking a complete 180 on their first battle. “It’s connected to something else… Oh!”

  The flute ceased, followed by a loud croak before heavy thumps preceded a figure that fell from the roof to land somewhere in the backyard, likely one of their assailants.

  Paul’s iron grip around her throat weakened, his skin shriveling as he aged rapidly; by the time Butter returned to her shoulder, she was sitting atop a decaying corpse. The last vestiges of life fed into her veins, leaving a pile of dust where once a man had been, and just before Paul disintegrated, she saw a network of brown, shriveled vines intertwined throughout his nervous system.

  Butter hummed as even that was broken down into carbon. “I managed to get not one, but four Death Orbs out of that—one from the plant, and three from him. I purified two, since I can only bring you two, and I didn’t want to risk it dying due to its lost host.”

  Elinor got to her feet, spotting a wrinkled, alien hand quaking in the doorway, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vincente raise Raul’s gun and, without hesitation, shoot her in the head—everything went black.

  A long stream of air shot through her cheeks as Elinor sank into her throne on her pillar, a tad pissed he’d shot her. Then again, he’d just seen a deathly-looking teen hyper-accelerate his friend’s age without blinking while being choked, so, fair enough.

  “Well, that could have gone better,” she muttered, sensing Butter’s proud return with her prize as the blonde appeared opposite her, legs crossed and showing a bit less damage. “That’s seven out of ten down for you today, Butter?”

  “It is,” she chimed, smirk directed to the void as she likely perched her butterfly near the ceiling to watch things unfold. “How much did you get from that Paul fellow?”

  “About one and a half. Interesting… It doesn’t look like I can raise those that I fully drain, and the bulk comes at the end. I could be quite the serial killer,” she absently admitted, scanning her Feats and general information again as she waited; her emotional state after killing was concerning. “How goes things on their end?”

  “Raul and Vince?” Butter asked. “Freaking out at what you did, and… hold on…”

  She vanished, taking control of her outer body again to probably fly outside to discover whatever Elinor had seen before her third death today.

  See the alien outside?

  “A rather… odd-looking creature,” her doppelganger reported. “I suspect he was connected in some ritualistic way to that plant because I drew life from him, as well… Goodness, it was attached to his eye, and he ripped it out—green blood just falling everywhere—he’s about to kill the remaining two. Should I try to stop him?”

  Thinking quickly, Elinor decided against it. Go into the house—stealthy, since you’re a freaking flashlight—and drain, heh, Vincente, since he was the one who shot me. Leave the superstitious one with the answers alive.

  “Priss, are you sure? Vincente seems to be the brains of this operation; wouldn’t he have more information for you?”

  Paul was the informant, but he’s dead, which means I need to go to his partner, Eduardo.

  “I suppose that works, as well… I’ll just be here, creeping across the floor. The monster outside is still recovering and likely panicking after what happened to him.”

  Elinor let Butter monologue her path into the kitchen as she studied more of the effects of her new powers. It appeared that if someone survived [Life Tap], then they could eventually recover, which meant she could have a life farm—something to think about in the future.

  The alien missed his shot, causing the kidnapping pair to take cover and giving Butter the opportunity to creep up the back of the man’s shirt to lightly sink her tiny mouth into Vincente’s body, drawing out life-giving nectar; he was so full of adrenaline, he didn’t even notice.

  Strength failing him, he didn’t even fight back, and her fatty assassin butterfly returned to deliver her spoils.

  “I don’t want to hear you complain anymore, Priss,” Butter smirked, puffing up her chest with pride while settling back into her chair. “I believe I have contributed six orbs at this point—granted, I did eat another, but I’d say it was the right call.”

  Elinor sighed, presenting a smile and acknowledging her efforts with a short clap. “You are proving… somewhat useful.”

  “Humph. Somewhat? I have battled filthy rats, crawled around in the dust, attached myself to disgusting vines—that left me painted red, might I add—and taken down one of your kidnappers singlehandedly, and as a tiny insect! I think I deserve a modicum of praise, is all I’m saying, Priss.”

  “I see the effort,” Elinor chuckled, feeling much better now that she had five and a half spheres in her Death Pool. “Has Raul died yet?”

  Butter shrugged. “Meh. He’s freaking out as what… appears to be acorn-sized thorns being peppered into his body from the window—oh, he’s dead. The poor man didn’t even get off a shot,” she giggled. “I do enjoy this ceiling, relaxed view of observing things.”

  “Haaa. Is it still outside?” Elinor asked, preparing the next strategy that she hoped would net her a win against this alien since she knew overpowering it would likely not happen.

  Her fatty bunk-mate vanished with a groan. “Let me check… Hmm. He is resting below the window rethinking his life.”

  It’s a he? Elinor asked, reforming her body and being as silent as she could to not tip the creature off. How do you know?

  “A figure of speech,” Butter returned, rolling her eyes. “You take everything so literally.”

  Just watch him.

  “Hehe.”

  Trying not to step on her fallen garments since she’d need them in a moment, Elinor saw Raul’s hand not far away and Vincente’s dusty clothes nearby. Reaching out her hand, a lump dropped down her throat, and she activated [Raise Dead], automatically going through the options she’d already selected.

  Intelligent, Poor-Grade… Ghost.

  The flames engulfed the body, turning it to ash for an ethereal, shapeless mass to rise out of the fire, being unable to take on a proper form at this Grade, nor take a Class. Currently, it seemed her undead would start out at Tier-F upon reanimation, evolving Grades at Tier-S, and being capable of achieving a Class at Common Tier- C.

  Raul instantly lowered to the ground, the tone of his confused voice entering within her Nexus. “Empress… What is happening?!”

  Elinor was curious about how this bond worked but had more pressing issues to handle as Butter hissed, “The creature saw the light! Oh! Oh! Our first servant! Shut up and listen to what we have to say. And welcome, Raul; it’s a pleasure having you do my dirty work.”

  He instantly complied, but she could feel his discomfort, weak struggles against her command futile as she moved to the door without hesitation.

  Elinor ruefully shook her head at her gluttonous twin’s comment; she was her High Monarch, which did mean everything she brought under her rule was her servant, but she could at least act a bit more humble, being the leech she was.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  The hot jungle wind struck her face, not that it bothered her deadened senses, as she exited the house, yet her crown and energy-like veil falling out the back kept her hair managed by some magical property.

  Finding her hands behind her back as Butter landed on her shoulder, Elinor’s undead heart was surprisingly still for being naked in the open. Rounding the side of the house, Elinor stopped to study these aliens that were supposedly attacking this town—she wanted to laugh.

  Crawling, struggling to reach her with Raul acting as the chilling, strength-sapping fog attached to him, was what Elinor could only describe as an orange-skinned toad-man. Spotted with white swirl patterns, she judged he would have stood over eight feet tall if fully extended.

  Her first alien contact—or perhaps mutant—and all she felt was morbid curiosity. Green liquid oozed from his eye socket, where he’d apparently torn out whatever linked the toad to the vines. The creature’s skin was wrinkled, and she guessed its dulled orange color was due to rapid aging.

  “Well done pacifying him, Raul. What a wonderful execution and pair we make, Priss,” Butter chimed, hovering into the sky to circle the toad, like the disguised covetous shark she was. “So, ghosts have curses they can inflict on those they linger around?”

  [Decrepify I], Elinor internally explained, not wanting to cause noise to attract attention while still observing the alien toad, now only able to flex his fingers into the soil and glare at her, Poor-Grade units cannot select their Feats, so we were lucky Raul randomly got a useful curse.

  Elinor knew she shouldn’t linger too long in the open since others were likely around. She could hear screams in the distance, but it seemed the kidnappers had chosen a rather abandoned part of town, and the bulk of the invasion would be centered inside the general populous.

  She needed to get to her parents, yet rushing in would only be suicide; this new tactical approach and tempered emotions were as much a weapon to her as her other abilities. Raul would provide what she required, which was why she went with this approach.

  Drain what’s left of him Butter, and keep watch; I’m going to plot our next step, Elinor ordered, noticing a faded body brand on his right shoulder of a crescent with a spike through it.

  “Can we make it a rule that if there is more than I can carry, then I get to purify the remainder?” Butter casually asked, descending on the tortured toad as Raul’s soul squirmed. “I wouldn’t want to ease my heel off our opponent’s neck, as they say.”

  Finding his flute and a crude-looking iron knife he’d dropped upon experiencing Raul’s curse, she reached down to collect them. I suppose you do require a rather significant daily calorie intake, she mused, examining the wet crimson liquid still slicking the blade.

  “Indeed,” the butterfly giggled. “As you say, I am quite—hey! No, funny business, ugly.”

  The toad’s long tongue shot out, only to fall limply to the soil as Butter landed on his head, bathed in emerald flames, and Elinor didn’t hesitate in gathering the items he’d left, moving to also collect the leather-like belt he tied around his waist; she didn’t bother with the spiked seeds he used as bullets.

  Rounding the house to her new ‘base of operations,’ Elinor eyed Eduardo on the way inside; she needed him for answers, yet it was a huge resource cost to raise another intelligent minion without knowing the time—even if Poor and Common-Grade had no upkeep price—she was dealing with too many unknowns to function without energy to spare.

  A thought came to her with a smile, and she checked his pockets, discovering his phone; Butter finishing her meal by the time she’d used his fingerprint to unlock it for the time: 11:13 p.m. They had made the Death Orb deadline in time, but it also meant she’d been missing for hours; her parents must have been worried sick.

  Entering the house with her goods, she closed the door behind her; Butter and Raul flew through the window, the latter seeming to realize his new place in life. She felt a tad uncomfortable with the cloudy ghost nearby while naked, but it wasn’t difficult to brush off for circumstance as she set the items on the table.

  “I’m… sorry for kidnapping you, Empress,” Raul mumbled, trying to gain some rapport.

  Elinor suppressed a growl upon seeing the ‘No Signal’ icon, vision snapping to the broken window where the massive semi-transparent stained glass dome could be seen above the jungle.

  I don’t want your apologies, she crisply stated, changing directions to redress in her nightwear, starting with her underwear and bra. Cope to yourself, and repent by serving me. You know what my parents look like?

  “…Yes,” he choked, shivering at her commanding tone.

  Then go find them. You’re a ghost, so you shouldn’t be noticed, and don’t stay too close to draw attention to them. Contact me when you discover where they are.

  “I-I won’t fail you! Just… please don’t hurt me.”

  The cloud drifted away, leaving Butter to land on her shoulder, transferring two orbs, making her total six and a half, which would cover their daily phylactery tribute.

  So long as you do as your told, I won’t need to. Walking downstairs to recover her silky shorts, Elinor sighed. Butter, could you watch outside and make sure I’m not ambushed? By the way, get any purified orbs?

  Her bunk-mate returned her annoyance. “Afraid not.”

  Unfortunate, she muttered, pausing at her half-rotten corpse. What should I do with this?

  “Keep it!” Butter instantly replied. “I think I can use it to restore my body once we complete this ridiculous 2,500 energy soul renewal.”

  Elinor glared at the stinking flesh that used to be her. What if I want to use it to get my body back? Regardless, Butter, do your job; is anyone creeping about up there? Be a little useful.

  “Priss! You have that artificial body! I’m a butterfly—and, no, you rude Priss, it appears to be rather still at the edge of the forest and abandoned buildings. I believe our friend may have been a scout, so we should expect a follow-up search party in time.”

  Probably… Haaa, Elinor sighed. I suppose it would be nice to have you on your own bed… but it wouldn’t really change much, considering we can speak through this crown Nexus I have.

  She could practically see the golden girl puff herself up like a blowfish. “Not change much? Not change much?! I would be able to talk, dance, dress up, and groom myself! It’s everything, Priss!”

  I meant for me, Elinor grumbled, scratching at her ear. You’ll still be an annoying voice in my head… heh, head servant.

  “Cute…”

  Climbing the stairs, Elinor straightened the table and sat in a nearby chair by the shattered window, studying the bizarre phenomenon overhead as lights streaked to various locations in the jungle from various points in the dome.

  It could be their transportation method, which meant they needed to be cautious, and Butter mentioned movement further away, Raul confirming that it was a toad invasion—he believed it was the end of the world.

  According to him, they had massive crocodile-toad beasts the size of rhinoceroses; Elinor’s first thought was to wonder how much Death Energy they could offer. She really was all sorts of messed up in the head now.

  She listened to him explain what he saw as he drew closer to the more populated areas of the jungle town, passively examining the well-designed and decorated flute, displaying the same crescent-spike mark the toad had tattooed on his right arm.

  It seemed remaining calm to identify precisely what she was up against had been paramount to her survival because Raul discovered dozens upon dozens of aliens moving in methodical sweeps.

  Scouts crept along roofs and within shadows, somehow marking potential threats to be neutralized; flashing powder was thrown into the air that exploded like a bomb, lighting up an area for the giant crocodile toads to corral the inhabitants.

  The creatures were likely sent in first to test the waters since even bullets bounced off their plated hide, and those that jumped forward to confront them were swiftly dealt with, yet it didn’t appear to be their goal to kill everyone. Raul identified four distinct groups that acted somewhat autonomously from the others: the discolored green, with spots, pure green without markings, blue, with tiny pink triangles, and lastly, the orange she’d already seen.

  Time passed, and midnight took their two orbs. Butter whimpered a little as her fortitude took a hit since she didn’t reach her daily ten requirement.

  “Mmgm-hmm-hmm… It hurts… so much, Priss… Everything hurts…”

  We’ll get it today… with interest from these aliens. Hang in there.

  “Gah! I hate this. Why do I have to rely on you?!”

  Let it out, Elinor snickered. I know you mean it.

  “I am going to murder whoever made me into… into this! Haaa. I want to cry… I want to do something!”

  Elinor resonated with the feeling. I’ve got a free shoulder if you want…

  “Priss… I hate you… I hate you, I hate you, I hate you… Why are you being nice to me?” she sniffled, floating back down to rest on her shoulder and weep. “I have to experience this… chunk of my soul being bitten out of me every day; what did I do to deserve such punishment?”

  She didn’t respond with any harsh comments, letting her release the stress and agony of having her soul shaved off, sliver by sliver, as something extracted its piece of flesh.

  It lasted thirty minutes, and Elinor watched the forest for her golden twin through her agony, reflecting on everything Raul fed her. Each of these toads had different skin colors and markings; from what he described, some factions weren’t too keen to be near or work with the other, and all of them had different goals.

  The packs of discolored green toads with mix-matched spot patterns were the most brutal, being the tamers of the giant, defensive monsters they used to gather the frightened, trapped population, methodically pushing them to various places to bind everyone they found into a line to prompt into a march back into the jungle.

  There were thousands upon thousands of people in this town, yet these aliens were at least five times stronger than a man, making it no contest for women or children, and they were swift to deal with any weapons such as guns or knives.

  By the sounds of it, these toads acted in specific clans or cliques, hosting very different methods for approaching this invasion.

  The crocodilian tamers used axes, shields, and spears, savagely dismembering and studying the biology of those that refused to comply; with their colossal monsters, few resisted after a few examples were made. Luckily, none were her parents.

  Raul went to the hotel they’d rented, which was overrun by another clan she’d already met—the orange toads—these ones using flutes to frighten and intimidate. A special class of warriors used them, which worked alone, while their other members favored long-ranged weapons like blowpipes that shot neurotoxin.

  Examining the pouches on the belt she’d taken from the special unit, she found a variety of barbed projectiles, each coated in various substances that didn’t affect her undead body.

  “God, help us,” he mumbled. “They’re putting everyone to sleep, room by room, and carrying them on cots into the jungle with bags of random items.”

  “Slaves, no doubt,” Butter casually responded. “It seems this is an abduction. There’s likely well over a hundred of them piercing this town; it’s indefensible—doomed. Our best option is to find your parents and pick these toads off one by one, building up your ghost army to curse and drain them.”

  It was a solid plan, and the pure green aliens didn’t appear to be harming anyone, acting more like cowboys with their lassos or knocking people out via a wooden talisman they had around their necks that produced a blinding radiance.

  The blue clan stayed as a full group on a big building, observing the orange toads make their passes through the hotel and the massive glowing gem, yet it was here that Elinor’s mind came to a halt as she gained a level; she’d need to return to her diamond to further explore it.

  [Level Up - Level 3]

  [1 Stat Point Added: 1 Available]

  [1 Feat Extension Added: 1 Available]

  Raul’s excited voice drew her out of her reverie. “Empress! I-I found your mother in the hotel lobby, locked inside with two police officers—the ones that were guarding the crystal—she’s not hurt. I think she’s waiting to see if you return or if someone calls for a ransom… What should I do?”

  Thoughts racing, she sat back in her chair as Butter expressed her own concerns.

  “She is surrounded by dozens of orange and blue toads, deep inside the town, and another flute player just exited the jungle, studying Eduardo’s body and the house. I think Raul needs to return.”

  Hmm. I don’t like it, Elinor snarled, rising to her feet and rolling around her arms to prepare herself. I’m going to have to leave her, but if it’s these orange toads, then she’ll be knocked out; you’ve confirmed they’re still alive, Raul?

  “Yes, Empress, they’re still breathing when taken away.”

  We’ll follow them once we deal with this threat, she stated, moving to one of the closets to carefully open it a crack, placing the flute and bag outside of it. Retreating to the small inlet in the front room, she waited for him to take the bait and open the closet to blindside the creature.

  Butter…

  “I’m here; I’ll take the ceiling to drop down on him when you jump out—on second thought, I don’t think Raul will make it in time, the enemy is already approaching the house.”

  “I’ll hurry!”

  No. Keep searching for my father. We know who to follow to save my mom. It kills me to let this happen, but without a plan and solid understanding of what we’re dealing with, I’m only going to get them killed… Ready for a fatty treat, Butter?

  “I get to purify one?!”

  Let’s make a deal. Every one you help me take out, you get to fill that plump belly.

  “Deal! Not that I have a plump belly! Heh… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… I’m starting to like you, Priss.”

  Hehe. I guess we’re both getting soft, huh? The end of the world can do that, I suppose. Let’s not mess this up; we have the element of surprise and abilities.

  “Double Life Tap go brrr!” Butter cackled, using a word passed around school circles that shocked Elinor and made her smile as she repeated her twin, spiritually giving her most hated enemy—or maybe not so much anymore in this apocalypse—a high five.

  Double Life Tap go brrr.