Chapter 183

  The Unspoken Hurt (I)

  So, what's the plan?

  Ah, silly me, like I have someone to ask this question.

  Well, I did ask it--to Long Tao--but he simply shrugged and left it off with, 'I trust you, Master'. Which, if true, is an extremely empowering thought; but because it's not, it's extremely frustrating.

  What was the plan?

  Well, I have now narrowed it down a bit, at least--while he would not be staying in the castle, he's likely staying somewhere near it, probably in a cave system of sorts. I imagine that the sacrifice ritual would require some space, at least, so we can exclude the smaller, 'one-room' caves.

  It would also explain why he suddenly stopped moving around--it was perhaps the case that he wasn't either sure how to commence the ritual, or he needed to collect other things besides the bodies, and once he had them all, he settled here. Or, perhaps even more likely, he'd already prearranged this place a long time ago while he was going around, collecting things he needed.

  And the last clue--the vessel.

  This can't be just anybody--rather, the requirements are so specific I don't even understand how possible it is to accomplish. Well, it's not without some... unsavory means. Chances are that he groomed someone from childhood for this precise purpose, ensuring as close of a mimicry as possible, but that actually kind of works in my favor.

  One thing I do have to first ask Lilia and Zhu is who the fiend would even try resurrecting. Anyone going to such lengths won't waste it on nobody; the person in question is likely quintessential to who he is as a person. Maybe his father?

  I don't know.

  It was when I was on my way to the barracks to see if I could catch a word or two with them that I noticed something was... off.

  There were people running around with anxious expressions, and it didn't take long for me to pick up on what happened: seven people were... missing.

  That was right, seven.

  It was an escalation that I honestly didn't expect. Did he notice us? Is that why he accelerated whatever his plans are? Dammit!

  I hurried over to the barracks, where the chaos was even more prominent--it seemed that the entire castle had settled here and were shouting over one another. Peeking inside, I saw Lilia and Zhu sitting anxiously at the central table where somebody was chatting about something.

  Looking over at the 'Captain', I used my eyes and frowned; there was an... addition that wasn't there before.

  [Soul-Cursed (Epic) -- the Thrall's very essence has been cursed and is being actively eroded. A high-level Demonic Curse can easily be solved... if it can be discovered in time]

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Huh.

  "Excuse me," I pulled one of the people nearby and asked. "What happened?"

  "Ah? You're that newcomer?"

  "Uh, yes..."

  "Seven people went missin'!" the man said. "Seven! Oh, the heavens loathe us!"

  "How did they go missing?"

  "Nobody's knowin'--when Captain went to check, there was only... some sludge mixed with their clothes..."

  Huh... again.

  Captain went to check...

  A completely different MO...

  A random new demonic curse...

  ... no. No, no. It can't be, right? She's just a kid! She's only seven!

  I mean, yes, she's a 'Demonic Inheritor', but that's just a title--just because someone's a priest doesn't mean they're holy, and just because someone's a psychiatrist doesn't mean they're impervious to struggles.

  Ah, dammit.

  I can reject the idea in my head however much I want, but my damn gut is telling me it ain't wrong. She really did kill them.

  Lilia must have noticed me at some point since I saw her disappear into the shadows of the nearby derelict buildings, and I followed. She seemed twice as anxious as the rest, probably because she thought whatever I did caused an escalation.

  "What the hell happened?!" Yep, there it is.

  "Okay, okay, before you freak out completely--it wasn't me, and I guarantee those people weren't taken or killed by the Blood Fiend."

  "H-huh?"

  "Look, uh, just... just know that, okay? I do have a question for you: the unique trace of blood energy as well as the circumstances of the Blood Fiend's life lead me to believe he's trying to do the... unthinkable."

  "Unthinkable? You... you mean, he's trying to bring somebody back to life?!" She exclaimed in shock, as though all the pieces of the puzzle in her head suddenly fit together. "Yes!"

  "W-what?" The sudden burst of excitement from the previous anxiety was a bit of a whiplash, I must admit.

  "His brother! He had an older brother that was executed for conspiring with cultivator forces!" she said. "From what I've heard, the two were extremely close, but his brother died when the Fiend was barely eight or nine years old. And he hadn't started changing for a while after, so I never considered it..." she started mumbling to herself, lowering her head and pressing her hand into her chin. "I read about it in the old tomes; the idea of bringing something back--the Ancient Sages have all but screamed that it is impossible, and the consequences for even attempting it are so dire that any member of the clan who does it would be punished with immediate death." You guys sure love your executions, huh?

  "If he's trying to resurrect--yes, that's why he was roaming and why he suddenly stopped... but the Vessel--no, the boy!"

  "There's a boy?"

  "Yes, there's a boy that occasionally sneaks in here and steals some of our supplies! We noticed him ages ago, but since he was just a kid, and he only stole a bit of food and some clothes, we never bothered with him! His bones are around 22 years old, give or take, which is the age the Fiend's brother got executed."

  "So... it's him? He could be the Vessel?"

  "Yes," she nodded, her expression darkening. "But... I never tracked the boy to where he lived, so I... I don't know."

  "He's probably in one of the caves, a mid-sized one," I added. "Though, considering the size of this mountain alone..."

  "There's hundreds of them." Figures.

  The boy?

  Hmm?

  Hey, didn't we come across a pair of shamans on our way up, and wasn't one of them a young man? I mean, I never actually saw him, but I have a gut feeling that Long Tao likely 'scanned' him, and could probably track him down...

  "Keep an eye out on the Captain," I said. "If he starts to get sick, uh, just... just behave normally."

  "Sick? Why would a Thrall get sick? No, rather, how would a Thrall get sick?" she asked with a rather suspicious gaze.

  "... fleas, flies, and other pests."

  "Huh?"

  "I have to go."

  I cleverly extricated myself from the uncomfortable questioning and headed straight back to our little abode with two very, very clear goals:

  One: ask (beg) Long Tao to reveal the young man's location, and

  Two: have a chat with Light where I very calmly explain to her that you can't just walk around killing people for no reason.

  Yeah.

  May as well have said, 'My goal is to conquer the world and be crowned its Emperor!'. Even that sounds more reasonable in my head...