846 Cursed Bloods
"Is this... necessary?" Revia asked. The folds on her face as she grimaced at what she saw, only added to how she didn't see what was before in a pleasant light.
Her counterpart, on the other hand, didn't even flinch. She was crouching down, sullying her robes in blood without a care. The clotting crimson seemed to soothe her, actually, providing a sense of comfort.
The sharp dagger in her hand ripped through the neck of a human corpse for the umpteenth, and blood sprayed to her face. She wiped it away with her hands and sighed.
"It's necessary. Tedious... but necessary," this woman said.
She rose and looked all around at her work.
The hundreds of thousands that had perished in Inhone City lay sprawled over the ground, amid the large chunks of debris, dilapidated builds, entrails, scattered fruit from vending stalls, cheap clothing, and all that could be found in the lively hours of the city – before the attack hours earlier.
Several residents, including those of prestigious Guilds had been wrecked, leaving nothing intact. However, as gruesome as it all seemed, there was evidence of the majority of the city's population escaping before they were completely wiped out.
A great tower cast an eerie, long shadow into the city from its entrance. Even though what it had held within it had long soared to other places within this world, the tower still had a fierce sense of sacredness. At least a dark version of it that could be likened to taboo.
Revia and Fulina weren't affected, however.
Both had felt worse, having traveled with Actuass.
The silver-haired former Paladin Champion looked at the many corpses. Different from Fulina who seemed subtly pleased by this work which she had invested many hours in since Actuass left, she just had to question the justification for this.
"What's the use in cutting their necks? I know the brand of Necromancy you use is different from Actuass, but what does this accomplish?" she asked.
Fulina kicked over the corpse she had been working on. It laid face down on the ground, revealing the cleanly cut spine behind the neck.
"Undeath and Necromancy are a science. Without understanding that fact, and committing it to superstition and morality, this power will become shallow," she explained while watching the ground get dyed red from the stream gushing out of the corpse.
"To make sure the movements of the corpse are more precise, I sever the spine at the neck to remove the reliance on the brain for physical functions body; that task is left to the Undeath energy that I pass into the corpse. The energy also preserves the mana core after death, and in the case that there isn't one it acts as a substitute."
Regardless of how much uglier Revia's face became as she heard the full explanation for the requirements of this Necromancy, Fulina only grew more pleased with herself.
She looked at several thousand fresh corpses that she had set aside. Unlike the one she had just finished fine-tuning, these were special specimens of hers, after all, she had killed them herself.
They worked way better with her Undeath Concept, Faithful Message Undeath.
"With Actuass' help, I've reached a level where I can use the souls of corpses that haven't been dead for long to augment the corpses' strength. I'm sure you're familiar with how the concept of using a willless soul as an energy source," Fulina said.
Revia's grimace turned deeper.
She recalled the millions of souls dropping down into the complex seal that Actuass had made.
Thinking that she had just aided such a thing made her still heart shrink.
Fulina noticed her reaction and scoffed.
"Still fighting with your conscience?" she said.
"Yeah."
"Then where are you going to find the resolve for what you actually want to accomplish? What was it again? Taking down the Purity?"
Revia scowled.
"That's a shallow way of putting it," she glared at Fulina.
"Is it? Well you never really shared with any of us the specifics of your actual goal, did you? I was convinced when you attacked that Paladin Champion at the stadium meaningfully though. Making sure you fulfill your role was all that ever mattered to Actuass anyway,"
Revia's silver seemed to lose several shades of beauty with each instant she had to be forced to reaffirm her new resolve.
Fulina was right though.
No one had really been interested in the specifics of what Revia wanted to do. All they knew was that she wanted to go against the Purity.
"Elita," she said, garnering the attention of Fulina who had begun to think she had no desire to share her hopes. "Elita was my friend. A sister even. When I joined the Purity, I was very young. I barely understood anything. I saw only the possibility of being exploited, of dying, of losing things I loved. You know how my story went before..."
Fulina nodded before leaning against a cracked wall.
"Of course, before that Priest came with a fantasy calling," she mocked.
Revia ignored.
"Elita was the only person to change my outlook. She was kind. She was loving. She had a few overly idealistic thoughts that even I as a child disagreed with but that's what saved me," she said, her face turning. "Despite all she was, she was often treated unfairly by the higher-ranking Knights in the Purity. Even Paladin Champions. At first, I thought she was a wolf in sheep's clothing... that there was something really about her but..."
Fulina raised her brow.
"But what?"
Revia sighed.
"I was scared to ask her for the longest time. I didn't, in fact. I only found out when I became a Paladin Champion. Apparently, Elita came from a long line of Cursed Bloods."
"Cursed Bloods? What are those?"
Revia turned to Fulina.
"Actuass didn't tell you, huh?" she mocked Fulina in turn, but likewise, she ignored. "Those used as vessels in the Second Grand War had to pay an additional price even after dying to the immense power they would hold in the short term. Those connected to them by blood would perish unless they had strong bodies that would allow them to withstand the curse."
"Interesting," Fulina said with a smile. "There's always a price for swindling Rules. So this Elita..."
"The Purity has been keeping track of all Cursed Bloods. They keep them close, preventing them from having children with normal people. They don't live the best lives, but if one of them proves to have talent, they are trained to become Purity Knights. Elita was the only one I know to become a Paladin Champion though."
"Is that an impressive feat? How does this curse affect Cursed Bloods?" Fulina asked.
"It exploits any weaknesses. Normally, it kills children within a year of birth, but I guess Cursed Bloods have been evolving over the years. Some of them grow to adulthood and old age. For most though, even the least concerning sickness or injury will be turned deadly by the curse, killing them."
Fulina whistled, her interest portrayed more in amusement than empathy.
"So Elita fought through all that to even become a Paladin Champion? That explains your idolizing."
Revia gave a hollow laugh.
"Well... the curse wasn't the only thing waiting to exploit her weakness. Her becoming a Paladin Champion wasn't favored by everyone. One slip-up and her Paladin Champion status was revoked. Last I saw her, she was treated as though she had committed mass murder."
Revia remembered that day, visiting Elita in her little room – like a fancy prison.
She hadn't been able to do anything then. Rather, Elita was always against her acting out when she was such a high-ranking Paladin Champion.
Now though, with Elita's disappearance, Revia had slowly begun to awaken her new resolve. It only started with Elita after all, and only grew as she learned of a series of other things the Purity lied about.
She hated that Actuass was such a reliable source of information.
Fulina shook her head.
"And you took it upon yourself to actually help in the deed," she said with a laugh. "Why does the Purity hate Cursed Bloods anyway? According to their fabricated history, aren't vessels heroes? Surely taking care of their cursed relativesshouldn't be that big of a deal."
"It shouldn't," Revia said with another sigh.
To this, she refused to elaborate. Fulina didn't mind.
"Well, seems like you have a problem with authority," Fulina said before pushing off against the wall and walking towards a group of corpses.
"Do you blame me? The cowardly Pelian Royal Family, the selfish EverSword House, and the greedy Guilds Association. None of these really motivate me to stay in line."
"Fair point," Fulina said. "Good story. Now let's get to work. We have to make this region a stronghold that Guissepo doesn't grab ahold of before Actuass comes back."
Revia reluctantly nodded.
Soon, she saw hundreds of thousands of corpses rise, a raging red flame within their socket, while a haze of the same hue rose from their bodies.
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