I was still stunned by her statement when she suddenly began to erupt with miasma. Before I could react, her miasma slammed into me. I let out a cry as I slammed back into the wall.
“Deek!” Lydia cried out as I was suddenly attacked.
The distraction caused her to take a wound. I instinctively went to cast a spell to heal her, only to find that the miasma that entered my body had restrained my ability to use mana once again. All of the girls went from easily conquering their enemy to struggling as their attention grew divided between me and the endless barrage of Bandits that attacked them.
“Ignore me!” I cried out, feeling like I had a ten-ton weight on my chest. “I’ve… got this…”
I wish my words had more strength, but they were extremely restrained under the power of Calypso. Her body glowed with a menacing miasmic aura. I could immediately tell that she was using an advanced skill from the Dark Priest class.
“Hahaha… do you think you have things handled?” Calypso’s voice rang out like a bell. “You were always a puppet running along on my strings. You’re not even a real boy anymore.”
“Calypso… you don’t have to do this!” I shot back through clenched teeth.
“Look at your women struggle. It’s because of you that they can’t fight at their full strength. Can’t you see? You are their weakness.”
Her words were another blow. She had managed to ascertain my greatest fears and jab them right into my heart. Ever since I had cut my soul and been damaged, my strength had declined significantly. I had leaned on the girls to help me more and more because I didn’t feel like I could do things myself. I convinced myself that I didn’t need to be strong as long as they were strong. Now, in just a few words, Calypso had unmasked how silly those beliefs had been.
I was captured by Calypso. Had it been the old me, I would have at least been able to summon up the power to fight back. There was no guarantee I would win against her, but I wouldn’t be struggling helplessly as I was pressed down. I could feel the miasma invading inside me, and some instinctual part of my Dark Priest job told me exactly what she was doing. She was trying to destroy my soul. Once the last vestiges of my soul had been torn apart, she’d be free to insert her soul into my body. At that point, I would truly become the girl’s greatest weakness.
Calypso must have seen the realization in my eyes because she gave a malicious grin. “You understand now. Once I take your body, I’ll also gain all of your achievements. All of those blessings that you’ve tried to hide will become my power. So, will all of the bonds you made. That’s right, your women will become my slaves. Your dungeon will become my dungeon. I will take your power, and add it to my own.
“As for why I won’t make an alliance, isn’t that obvious? You’re the weakest part of your party. Your girls prop you up, but with your damaged soul and weak physique, you’re nothing. A party is only as strong as the weakest link, and you were supposed to be the lynchpin of your group. As soon as you fall, they all fall. This is why I never feared your party, since it was fundamentally flawed from the beginning. Support them? You are the cause of their downfall! In the end, you’re nothing but a pathetic little girl!”