-----

Ervas and Veronica had decided to move back to the squirrel-kin tribe before Pekorina's group and we're now assessing the former captives that had finally woke up from their long slumber.

​​

Amongst the many that woke up, Ervas and Veronica were talking with Pekorina's family, and presenting them the 'new' Pekoran…

Pekonisia, Pekorina's big sister, who looked almost exactly like her little sister, with chocolate-colored and glossy skin, silvery-white fur, an adorable face, and emerald eyes, but with a more mature body, wider hips, and chest and a more serious expression on her eyes woke up from her slumber… with the first thing that she saw being Ervas' dead fish-like eyes that seemed to stare into her soul.

"Ah! A ghost?!"

Pekonisia instinctively jumped off the bed as she crawled away from Ervas.

"I'm not a ghost… My name is Ervas, nice to meet you. I am one of your little sisters, Pekorina's friends," said Ervas.

"Pekorina?! F-Friend? I do not remember any friend like you… but… Ah! My head… where… where are we?! Weren't we captured by those lizardmen and then put to work like slaves in a mine? " asked Pekonisia, who didn't remember any of the memories of when she was used Oggoth as a tool to multiply his army, but only those memories of working hard in the mines underground Oggoth's dungeon, which they used the materials mined from it to craft rudimentary equipment and weapons for the monsters.

"That's right, we rescued you in time… it took us a month, but we managed to do it. We apologize for taking so long, but we needed to do a lot of preparations…" said Veronica behind Pekonisia, her voice scaring Pekonisia again, as she jumped off the floor.

"Hyaaa! W-What?! I could not even feel your presence! And… hm? Do I know you from somewhere?" asked Pekonisia as she glanced at Veronica's face created through the Phantom Form Materialization… and also her Abyssal Soul presence which leaked out of her armor, creating a small atmosphere that seemed welcoming of Pekonisia.

"No, I think you may be mistaking me for someone else… My name is Veronica, I am… well, it is complicated but Ervas and I used to be one person before, long story short, we are separated, I am also a friend of Pekorina, but I consider myself more like her mentor and auntie" said Veronica.

"O-One person…?! T-This… explains why both of your souls are so akin to each other… Wait, was I always capable of distinguishing souls like this? I was but a humble gatherer…" muttered Pekonisia.

"I think that it might be because your body was covered in our mana when we healed you from your injuries. Do not worry, everything will be fine now. You are currently in the tribe of the squirrel-kin. We somehow managed to rescue you and the rest of the captives. It was tough, but good work for enduring until now" said Ervas.

Pekonisia was a bit stressed at first, but after being informed about what happened and who were these people, she slowly calmed down.

"I see… I don't know why but you two have some kind of aura that really makes me want to believe your words… so I will, mostly because my family is in here as well…" said Pekonisia.

"It is understandable to be cautious after what you went through. Your sister Pekorina will be in here in a few minutes, so I hope when you met with her and hear her version of everything you can trust us more… However, there are things that we must inform you first before she arrives," said Ervas.

The moment Ervas dropped those words, Pekonisia's mother and little brother woke up from her sides.

"Hmm…? Where… where is this place? This is not the dungeon… And these soft bedsheets… have I finally died?" wondered Pekonisia's and Pekorina mother, Pekobelle, who was almost similar to her, but had even greater assets on her body and long and silky hair made into braids.

"Mama? Big sister?" asked the little rabbit-kin boy, the little brother of Pekonisia and Pekorina, named Pekoramu. He had the same features as the rest of his family members, such as glossy and chocolate-colored skin, silvery-white fur, and emerald eyes.

"Mother! Pekoramu!" said Pekonisia as she tightly hugged both of them, tears beginning to flow from her eyes.

"P-Pekonisia? Where are we? I am… my head feels a bit dizzy…" said Pekobelle.

"I missed you, big sister!" cried Pekoramu, who had been separated from his family when he was being captive.

"I missed you too! You do not know how worried I was about you! Sniff…" cried Pekonisia.

Ervas and Veronica glanced at the emotive scene from the sides with a mild smile.

What they wanted to tell Pekorina and the rest of the former captives was about the innocent soul resting within their bodies aside from theirs, but because they had both erased the bad memories, they considered that it would be a better idea to chose another occasion when things settle down a bit more, especially because the innocent souls within them were nothing more than cells for the time being.

"We should let them be," said Ervas, telepathically talking with Veronica through the No-Attribute Spell 'Telepathy'.

"You're right, it would be better to let them be for now… Let us not give me any more burdens, they need to recover and regain the life within their eyes... I just want them to be happy," said Veronica through telepathy.

"Yeah, we must support them... And Oggoth, that wicked demon god... We shall not rest until he is slaughtered by our very hands..." said Ervas.

"I am glad we share the same goals. And for now, we must not give them more burdens," said Veronica.

"However… about Pekoran…" said Ervas.

"Yes, we must inform them about that immediately… other families lost some of their family members but their dead spirits are with me, we must visit each family and inform them of the news, and then ask to make them met with the dead spirit of their familiar, so they can talk thing out and decide what to do," said Veronica.

Just as they were telepathically talking about that, Pekonisia and her mother and brother noticed that Pekoran, the father of the family, was nowhere to be found.

"Excuse me, but where might father be?"

"That's right… Pekoran isn't here? Was he put somewhere else?"

"Lord Ervas, Lady Veronica… is father alright?"

Ervas and Veronica nodded.

"He's fine… but because of a series of things, he… has changed a lot…" said Ervas.

"Pekoran, you can enter," said Veronica, as Pekoran came from outside the tent where the former captives were moved…

"Changed a lot?" asked Pekonisia, as she saw a large figure entering the tent.

It was a fully armored man, releasing an eerie and fearful atmosphere…

"F-Father?" asked Pekoramu.

"OOOOOOOOHH" roared the armored man, whose armor was completely dark and blue, with spiky shoulders and helmet.

"Isn't this a Living Armor?! How can this be father?" asked Pekonisia while dripping cold sweat.

"Ah, he's still having problems getting used to it…" said Veronica as she slapped Pekoran's torso armor and helmet

"Agghh…! I think I can talk properly now… it is very hard to tune in the soul to speak…" said Pekoran as his face emerged as materialized phantom form as he took out his helmet. A handsome young man appeared, with chocolate-colored skin, emerald eyes, and white hair, alongside two rabbit ears popping out atop his head. His face was particularly covered in scars.

"Eh?! He's not a Living Armor but papa?!" asked Pekonisia and Pekoramu.

"Pekoran!" cried Pekobelle as she hugged her husband… his body was cold and eerie, but she somehow felt the warm love of his husband's soul deep within the phantasmagoric coverture.

"I've missed you so much… I am sorry for being so weak… for letting you all suffer through so much… I will make sure that something like this never happens again" said Pekoran.

"Father!" said Pekonisia and Pekoramu as they jumped to their father's arms, he was made out of hard and cold steel, but he was still their father, they felt it. His warm eyes, his voice, his connection with them… even if he had died and become undead, he was still the same as before.

Ervas and Veronica not only possessed the ability to raise the dead but also to not let them lose their memories, their sanity, their emotions. Although they were different physically, they were just like any other person.

"It took us some time to bind his soul into the weapons and shield he wanted… but it ended quite smoothly," said Ervas telepathically communicating with Veronica.

"Indeed, I hope that we could fulfill his wishes well enough," said Veronica.

-----