Evelyn was completely stunned when she heard the words coming from Qonvale's mouth.
It was shocking that Qonvale was able to read the Silverstar Pack's plan of having her here like an open book, she decipher exactly what they wanted just from stepping inside the castle. Naela told them that she was an expert in curses, but they doesn't know she was this skillful.
Adhara already masked their intention with the cursed creatures, but that's not enough for Qonvale.
On the side of helping them find the rogue cursed creature that is roaming free inside the Humming Damned Forest, the Silverstar Pack also wants Qonvale to check on Gistella who is affected by a curse that came out of nowhere.
It should happen after the fight against the cursed bee, but none of them knew exactly when.
Most importantly, none of them knew how Gistella was affected by the curse in the first place. If the curse inside the cursed bee was transferred to her, that doesn't make sense as Adhara was the one interacting with the curse repeatedly.
Out of everyone, she should've been the one affected instead of Gistella.
Knowing that fact, the curse must come from somewhere else. Not intending to hide it anymore, Evelyn nods her head grimly, "Yes, one of us got affected by a powerful curse. It makes her hallucinate of meeting this 'cursed creature' that is trying to get to her, and this happens rather ofther. She's restless most of the time because of that"
"Nature of curses are mysterious, sometimes it's more than what meets the eyes" Qonvale replied.
But soon enough the door to the meeting room was opened. Rex and Adhara enter the room before their sight lands on Qonvale, "Since you know already, why don't you take a look at her? I want your take on the curse as I have also done the research of my own" Rex said.
Even through the door and the walls, he can hear the conversation between Evelyn and Qonvale.
"Please, lead the way. I'll gladly check her condition and give my opinion about it" Qonvale replied with a slight smile, she stood up before Rex leads the way to Gistella's bed chamber with the hope that he can learn more about the curse without needing to pay 10 million gold to the system.
Upon arriving at the bed chamber, Rex opens the door gently before making his way for Qonvale.
Inside the room, Gistella is lying on the bed weakly while leaning on the beautifully crafted headboard. She glanced at the door when she heard it open, her weak eyes then saw Rex and a woman that seemed to be a Dark Elf entering the room.
Rex's heart ached when he saw Gistella's condition, her face is weak and her eyes are puffy.
Despite still being able to move and walk on her own, that was only because she was forcing herself and also because of the powerful bloodline that makes her body very resilient. If she was a normal entity that have a seventh-rank realm power, she would've been crippled and not able to move a muscle.
A weak smile can be seen on her face, illuminated by the sunlight seeping from the window.
Not realizing it himself, Rex quickly stepped towards the bed before he grabs Gistella's hand which feels very cold to the touch. For a Werewolf, her body temperature is dangerously low, and that's not a good sign.
Kneeling beside the bed, Rex's eyes soften as he asks, "How are you feeling?"
"Not great..." Gistella replied truthfully, still with a brimming smile on her face despite her condition.
Stepping closer to the bed from behind slowly, Rex looks back and saw Qonvale's white eyes are fixated on Gistella. Glancing at him for a moment, Qonvale smiled and gestured to hold Gistella's hand, "May I...?"
Rex nodded his head gently before he stands up and take a couple of steps back.
Qonvale gives a light smile at Gistella, looking at her directly in the eyes despite being blind. Sitting at the edge of the bed, she then reaches out her hand to hold Gistella's hand. Her hand is very smooth yet icy cold at the same time.
While holding Gistella's hand, Qonvale's eyes rolled back slowly before she closes her eyes.
Even though he doesn't know what Qonvale is doing, she seems to be trying to locate and feel the curse inside Gistella's body. Rex is watching from behind warily, he was not used to a stranger touching anyone close to him like this.
Maybe he was being overprotective, but this change on him is a new one for him.
It started when Gistella gave him the best night of his life, the night when he doesn't need to worry about the nightmares that has never left his sleep for more than fifteen years. For once in a long span of time, he managed to sleep and doesn't have any kinds of nightmares.
A peaceful sleep, and enjoyed every second of it. And the change started from that day.
Soon enough Qonvale opens her eyes before she turns her a head a little to face Rex behind her, "How is it? I know that the last time I checked, the curse is still a juvenile but the link is growing. But I was not able to decipher the nature of the curse"
"I'm surprised that you have knowledge in the curses field" Qonvale replied, expressing her surprise.
She then quickly nodded her head, affirming that what Rex said is true. "As you said, the curse is still juvenile and is not developed enough with the host to be identified. For the current moment, it's impossible to find out the curse and develop a way to get rid of it" Qonvale explained while still holding Gistella's hand.
Upon hearing this, Rex's shoulders slide down, he feared that Qonvale also can't provide any help.
Now it seems his fear has come true, Qonvale who is an expert in curses also can't find a way to identify the curse inhabiting Gistella's body. Without knowing the curse inhabiting her, there's no way to find a way to get rid of it.
Gistella can only smile at Rex, telling him that it's okay through her smile and eyes.
Rex clenched his fists when he saw this, the problems that are weighing them right now seem even more complex than the ones he has experienced before. None of them can be done in one swoop, it's frustrating.
As hope started to dwindle down, Qonvale's voice rang once again, "But..."
When Rex hears Qonvale's voice, he lifts his head and his hope is renewed. "Even though we can't identify the curse inside of her, there's a way to figure out the nature of the curse. As with all living things, curses aren't always harmful to the host despite their outer appearance. More importantly, it usually communicates through the symptoms experienced by the host"
"How can we do that?" Rex asked, his eyes glimmering with hope once again.
Not intending to answer Rex through words, Qonvale stands up and grabs her black staff before holding it in front of her with two hands. "Advance Dark Nature Magic, Curse Evocation..." Qonvale murmured before her black staff glowed with a dark red hue.
Even though he wanted to trust Qonvale, Rex still scan her spell to assess what it is.
<Curse Evocation>
A spell that harnesses the power of the essence of dark nature to evoke the power of the curse, this spell will allow the caster to see exactly the flow of the curse energy inside the targetted objects or living beings.
Upon reading the description, Rex's eyes were attracted when Gistella's body started to glow.
Like snow pellets that are completely made by red light, countless balls of small red lights can be seen coming out of Gistella's body. Qonvale's eyes were fixated on Gistella, assessing the cursed energy flowing inside of her.
"I can see that her constitution is sturdier than any other Werewolves I've seen" Qonvale muttered.
Rex was not surprised when he heard this, Gistella has the bloodline of a High Werewolf Fiend. It's a bloodline known for its defensive abilities, her body that evolved thanks to this bloodline is the strongest in terms of constitution compared to the others.
But soon enough, a frown appeared on her face, and Rex noticed it almost instantly.
"What's wrong? Talk to me" Rex asked.
Qonvale paused for a second before she replied still with a frown on her face, "I've never seen cursed energy flow like this. Instead of damaging her body or lying dormant in her body, the cursed energy flow directly below her mana and also her blood. Weird... it's almost as if this curse is hiding inside her body" she explained.
"Hiding inside her body? Hiding from what?" Rex mutters to himself, feeling the same confusion.
Ending the spell with a wave of her hand, Qonvale then sat back down at the edge of the bed before she looks at Gistella, "Can you explain to me in detail, what did you experience when you hallucinate or when the curse is kicking in?"
"I-It's hard to explain it..." Gistella was reluctant to remember those experiences.
It's clear to the two of them that she doesn't want to remind herself about those experiences. But for the sake of herself, Qonvale assured her, "It's okay, you can take it slow, just try and explain what you're feeling. What do you see? Is it the same images that keep on recurring?"
Gistella glanced at Rex and finds him nodding his head, showing that it was fine to tell her.
"I-It always started randomly, there's no pattern when it happened. It started with a sharp pain that shot through my head each time. After the pain, my eyes blurred for a few seconds before seeing it" Gistella recounted, her eyes filled with fear as she remembered. "I saw this weird... weird creature that carries a scythe like the personification of death. I- I don't think it was an Undead even though its face is a skull, but- but it kept reaching out to me, trying to take me away..."
Upon hearing this, Qonvale's eyes sparkled as she listen to Gistella's explanation attentively.
Putting a finger on her chin, Qonvale then said, telling her opinion about this hallucination, "What you are seeing is an illusion showed by the curse. That thing you describe, it doesn't want to take you away, it wanted to take the curse inside of you. And the curse is showing it to you through those hallucinations to make you stay alert, and ready when that thing announces itself"
"But there must be something that sparks the curse inside you to show you those illusions..."
While Qonvale was pondering about Gistella's symptoms, searching for an indication as to why the curse is showing those hallucinations often, Rex was also dwelling inside his own mind. 'A skull creature with a scythe? I think I've seen it somewhere, but where...?' he thought with a frown.
Just then Qonvale notice a probable answer to this, "Maybe it's tied to the rogue cursed creature"
"Yes... that must be it. It seems the rogue cursed creature should be this skull creature that you see in your hallucinations. Every time it tries to get closer, the curse must've sensed it and alerted you" she added, and Gistella finds it quite logical.
Even though it was random for her, there might be a chance of her not knowing the full picture.
As the two of them are trying to decipher the meaning behind the curse that finds its way inside Gistella's body, Rex abruptly widened his eyes as he realizes something. Gistella and Qonvale noticed the horror on Rex's face.
'Consider the prospect of Kyran is not with us. You are a smart guy, Rex. You can figure it out'
While Rex stepped back in utter shock depicted on his face, Giana's voice rang inside his head which causes chaos inside his mind. 'I-It's tied back to Kyran's disappearance, everything that is happening is pointing in one direction...' he thought in a daze.
'It was the Witch of Chaos all along!' Rex shouted inside his head.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺