"Roar... roar roar..."
A sound echoed in Xia Xin’s ear. She slowly opened her eyes. Her head throbbed with pain. Ugh… after completely draining her mana, her body felt terribly weak…
Something was nudging her arm…
"Ugh…" Xia Xin sat up and glanced around. Xila, Sally, and Remiel—all unharmed. Phew, such a relief.
Huh? Remiel?
What was she doing here?
Xia Xin rubbed her eyes. Had she seen wrong? Or was she still dreaming? How could Remiel suddenly appear beside her?
Wait—system messages flooded her vision…
[Task I: "Destroy Kebento Factory" completed. Reward: Gloves of the Sorceress.]
[Task II: "Wanted Poster" completed. Reward: Magic Scroll · Forbidden Spell · Hellfire.]
[Experience greatly increased. Level up: Lv90 → Lv91.]
[You have gained a Blood Clan retainer.]
[Name: Astaroth · Beast of Calamity.]
So the tasks were done…
Well, with that massive meteor strike, Kebento Factory being flattened made sense.
But why was the Wanted Poster task complete?
Greed Zachary, the factory boss… she’d never even met him! Why did it just… resolve itself?
Maybe he’d been inside and got crushed?
That wasn’t impossible.
But this Blood Clan retainer…
Xia Xin froze at the name.
Ca… Calamity Beast?!
No way! This made zero sense!
Why would the Beast of Calamity become her retainer?!
Bug! Definitely a system bug!
If… if this was real, then the thing nuzzling her arm earlier…
Xia Xin turned her head slowly. There it sat—the Beast of Calamity, looking harmless on the bedside table.
Its white fur and crimson eyes oddly matched hers. Soft beast ears twitched. Pink little feet swung gently. It looked like any ordinary young beastkin girl.
Admittedly… kinda cute.
Ahem! Don’t misunderstand! Xia Xin liked cute girls, but not this young! Nope, absolutely not!
Besides, this was the Beast of Calamity!
Anything branded "calamity" couldn’t be good!
…Huh, that sounded weird.
Never mind—focus. What did it want?
"Roar! Roar roar!"
The Beast of Calamity leaped onto Xia Xin’s lap, roaring excitedly.
But she couldn’t understand a word.
"Roar?" It tilted its head, grabbed her hand with sharp claws, and bit her glove.
Hey! Stop that!
Drool splattered everywhere!
Wait—this glove…
Xia Xin noticed a pure black glove on her hand. Perfect fit. Warm. Comfortable.
The task reward?
[Gloves of the Calamity Witch]
[Type: Equipment]
[Exclusive gear of the Calamity Witch. Crafted with unique materials and techniques, holding many incredible powers. Unique, non-renewable item.]
[Note: Indestructible. Undiscardable. Ungiftable. Untradable. Self-cleans with elemental energy. Adjusts size and color to user’s will.]
Powerful-looking… but useless without details! How was she supposed to know its powers… Ah! Stop biting! You’re hurting my hand!
"Mo… nv…" The Beast of Calamity mumbled brokenly. "Zhu… ren…"
"Ah…" Xia Xin guessed its meaning but needed confirmation. "Can you understand me?"
"Roar!" It nodded.
"Alright. I ask; you nod or shake."
Another nod.
"You’re an ancient demon god, sealed into this form?"
Nod.
Good. "Saint Lemil—her—did you bring her back?"
Nod.
"You became… willingly became my retainer?"
Nod.
"Because of my strength? Like summoning meteors?" Xia Xin knew it wasn’t her doing, but as the Calamity Witch—where she walked, ruin followed. A meteor wouldn’t surprise anyone.
The Beast shook its head.
"Just because I’m the Calamity Witch?"
Nod.
"Only my identity makes you follow me?"
"Roar roar!" It nodded hard, earnest.
Well… "Calamity Witch" and "Beast of Calamity" did match. Xia Xin didn’t mind another retainer. One more couldn’t hurt.
First time’s new, second time’s routine.
But the real issue…
"I’ll let you stay. But promise—no more hurting people or destroying things. Understand?"
"…"
Silence.
Xia Xin’s heart raced. Retainer bond or not, this cute thing was a level 150 demon god. One wrong move…
Another meteor-level disaster.
"Zhu… ren…" The Beast moved. Sharp claws gripped her shoulders. It shoved her down onto the bed.
Wait—what kind of weird twist was this?!
Xia Xin felt like an interrogator who’d questioned a vicious criminal… only to get pinned down, turning the session into something unmentionable!
No way! Being overpowered by such a tiny… ancient-but-physically-young beastkin girl? Her witch dignity was ruined!
Ah!
Her… purity… gone…
