System vs Rebirth

The diva gradually opened her eyes, meeting the curious stares from the others. She didn't realize what was happening to her body after a spirit mark appeared.

"How are you feeling?" Old Ru asked, still circulating his energy into her body to check her condition.

"Right now… I feel refreshed." The diva looked down, falling into deep thought. She turned to Noel and lowered her head. "I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything earlier."

He had a hard time because she was unable to use her spiritual energy to cool herself down, so the least she could do was apologize.

"It's fine. Tell me everything. I don't think the pain was the only one, right?"

"Mhmm." The diva nodded. "At the beginning, it was indeed painful… No, I felt like being burned from the inside, my organs were melting, my blood was evaporating, and my muscles were scorching. I couldn't really describe the pain.

"I don't know if anyone could handle it, but I definitely was able to hold on for a while. However, once you started circulating the flame around my body, I felt like there was another source of energy entering my body.

"My mind split into two, one was my consciousness that endured the pain, the other one was like a dream. Inside, I met a mermaid, similar to me.

"She said she was a spirit who governed water. Unlike any other waters, this water had the ability to enhance recovery. While it could give some boost in my power, its main feature would remain the same.

"After talking to her for a bit, she ended it by saying that she would be my spirit. She also told me that spirits were not chosen, not from either side, but were destined due to our compatibility.

"After that, the pain subsided. I could feel that the spirit was controlling my spiritual energy at the last moment, saying it was a gift of a first meeting. Then I woke up."

Noel thought for a moment while Anna said, "That sounds like a conversation with a spirit. And I'm assuming that after the moment she said she would be your spirit was when the spirit mark appeared.

"And that gift was the water that we saw earlier, aiding your recovery." Anna crossed her arms.

"Spirit mark?" The diva was a little confused, but she noticed that people were staring at her stomach. It was there she found the tattoo. "Is this the spirit mark?"

"Yes."

"I see. I finally have the spirit…" The diva muttered. She felt relieved that everything went according to plan. The diva bowed to Noel. "Thank you for removing my curse."

Noel shook his head. "If only my control was better, you might not even feel any pain. The only way to solve this was probably if I reached the next stage."

"I can aid you with this new power."

"I know." Noel turned to Old Ru and the overseer. "As you have seen, I can probably help the high-level people because they have a stronger mentality and durability. If I do this for others, they might end up dying.

"However, because I've cleansed everything, including your bloodline, the generations after you will definitely be free from this curse as well."

"I see. So you want us to wait until you reach that stage?" The overseer pondered.

"Doesn't that mean you're going to face the demon king first?" Old Ru asked for confirmation.

"Yes. This is the only solution as well as my determination." Noel's expression was solemn. If they wanted to remove the curse for the entire beast kingdom, they would need him alive.

Of course, the Beast Kingdom had the intention to fight the demon king. However, Noel's action was just forcing them to get involved more deeply.

There was also a high chance that if they failed, not only would their kingdom be destroyed, Noel would also die. In other words, there would be no one who had the power to remove their curse.

But if they didn't take this chance, they might not be able to erase the curse for generations to come.

The overseer glanced at the elders.

"I personally don't see a reason to reject." The Venom Overlord smiled wryly. "The demon king is a being that will definitely destroy not only those humans but also us. Even the record said that the humans helped us when we were attacked by the demon king's army, right? And that was the reason why the humans suffered a great loss, including the grand commander."

"I also don't see a problem. If we're going to be destroyed, it's better to fight back." The Vampire nodded in agreement before raising his hand. "But can I delay this removal thing? I can wait until he reaches the next stage."

"Yes. I think that's a good idea." The Phantom somehow agreed with him, scared of the intense pain that rendered the diva unable to do anything. Her face was so pale that she even forgot to add '-nya' at the end.

"What's wrong? Are you two scared?" The Arctic Queen smirked from behind before pushing the Phantom. "By the way, you're next, right, Phantom?"

"Wait. I think it's fine if I don't do it right now-nya!"

"Promise is a promise." The Venom Overlord added while wrapping his arm around the Vampire's back to prevent him from escaping.

"I wonder if I should aid this sneaky cat? I believe she is strong, right? At least she is boasting that she has nine lives like in the legend."

The Phantom's face turned white.

The overseer finally made a decision. "I understand. In that case, this will be our stance. We'll prepare ourselves for war against the demon king, aiding our human friends. After this, the Diva will aid him to a certain destination and ensure his safety until he's back."

The diva nodded.

"Then, the Arctic Queen will follow him, helping him with all the necessary tasks. The Venom Overlord will work together with the Gluttony to prepare our army. The Vampire and the Prophet will search all our records to find all information about the demon king, especially its weaknesses.

"The Buffalo King would serve as an example so that the people can accept living with the spirits."

Now that the overseer had given the order, all of them went on one knee, saying the same thing. "As you command."

The overseer turned to Noel and stated, "This is our resolve."

Noel's expression was solemn. "We won't lose."

"I heard that you were locating some ancient demons recently, Phantom." The overseer asked.

"Yes. It was his request-nya," the Phantom confirmed.

"Yes. Considering there were two of them, I was thinking about letting her fight one." Noel pointed at Anna. "And the elders would definitely like to try their new power. But because you hadn't gotten used to it yet, wouldn't it be better to work together to take the other one down? This would also weaken the potential army of the demon king."

They didn't have any objections. The Arctic Queen pushed the Phantom from behind while saying playfully, "To do that, we need to remove this curse first. Now, now. It's your turn now, Phantom!"

"W-Wait. N-Nyoooaaa!" She was screaming at the top of her lungs.