Chapter 183 – The Unspoken Hurt (I)

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]

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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…