Physically, the wolfkin wasn’t any different. However, he wasn’t acting like a standard citizen either. It was like he had gone completely feral. I reached out and cast several different spells to alleviate status misalignments and to heal him. After using Cure Disease, Cure Poison, Remove Curse, Purify, and even Ablution, the wolfkin was still growling in a low voice, unrecovered.
“This might not be something you’ll be able to resolve,” Astria spoke quietly. “We might need the other girls to resolve this.”
“Where are my girls? Have any returned?” I turned to her questioningly.
“They… have not.” Astria shook her head. “I do not know where they are.”
“Shao returned to my old world,” I explained. “I adjusted her bond so her life was no longer connected to my own before she left. I wasn’t sure how it would respond to us being in different worlds, and I wasn’t going to risk her life on it. Besides, the need to restrain her with a bond no longer seemed necessary. As for the Slave Guild, well, she’s in another world, how are they going to know? Either way, she should be safe there. I’m not even sure she’d be aware I died.
“As for Lydia, she went north looking for a skilled swordsman to teach her beyond the restraints of her levels. Terra went underground, following an ancient tunnel to the Deep with Garnet to recover some rare minerals. Miki went west to a certain dungeon to improve her undead abilities. Other than Shao, all three of them said their journeys could take up to three months, so it’s not too worrying they haven’t returned yet. However, if they think I’m dead, that changes things.”
“Miki would be the closest.” Celeste declared.
“Her ability to deal with souls would be very valuable. We should try to find her immediately. Daughter, you have speed. You should be able to find her and return quicker than anyone else.”
“Right!”
I didn’t respond to their decision, as my attention was instead focused on the growling man. I had tried to purify him, and I wasn’t able to fix him. However, what if he was under some kind of karmic infection? It would be something similar to what I had experienced in the Twilight Dungeon. I switched out my White Mage job for Mimic instead. This time, I tried to place him under Karmic Control.
The girls let out cries as I reached through the cage and touched him. However, as soon as I touched him, he let out a whimper. I reached into his soul, and there I found it. For lack of a better word, it was a form of soul control. White Mage purification and Ablution was simply far too broad to catch something like this, which was hidden in the soul itself. I flipped the switch. The man let out a sudden scream and then collapsed to the ground.
The man who had guided me here let out a cry. “Wh-what happened?”
“He’s fine,” I stated after doing a quick check. “He’s just unconscious. When he wakes up, he should have his mind working again.”
“So, there is a solution.” Celeste let out a breath.
“Astria… what exactly is going on?” I demanded.
I had been putting off this question for a while until Astria was prepared to tell me, but now I didn’t feel like I could wait any longer.
Astria’s face flushed. “What is going on in Chalm… I’m not sure Master will be able to fix it on his own.”
“Damage?” I narrowed my eyes. “I think you need to tell me exactly what happened in Chalm.”
“Yes…” Astria looked down. “I’m not sure if I can describe this properly. In short, Chalm is now a dungeon, and everyone in it are Elaya’s monsters!”
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