Cough!
Cough!
A couple of short miles away from the Humming Damned Forest, Giana and Prof. K takes a quick stop at a nearby lake, washing their faces and resting in silence. None of them said anything or even look at each other.
On the side, Prof. K reaches out his hand to the sky and started inspecting it.
Since both of them has been turned into Werewolves, their minds were conscious and open to any changes in their bodies. But one of the most evident changes was the fact that their bodies feel to be heavier.
It's not that their minds were playing tricks on them, they actually become heavier.
Prof. K inspected his hand under the brilliance of the sunlight before he sighs dejectedly. For some reason, his mind feels clearer, and his senses were amplified to the point of making himself feel dizzy.
Earlier, before he got turned, his senses were quite sensitive already.
Using his gift to control toxic green smoke that has been with him since he was a teenager, he was able to conjure an unnoticeable portion of them around himself, not enough to intoxicate normal humans but also potent enough to let him sense anything it touches.
Due to that, he was quite hard to be sneaked on and ambushed.
Out of his years inside the SCO and hosting as the Green Messenger, King John was the only one who was able to sneak into him. But that's a special case, King John is not exactly a normal human.
But now, he can feel the surroundings in more ways than one.
It's like his human senses were taught and given equipment to be ten or even a hundred times more keen. Although it would eventually be a good thing, this sensation was akin to a wailing ringing sound directly to his mind.
Prof. K even feels dizzy as he start seeing doubles, he was forced to lie on the ground.
Similar to him that was starting to be overwhelmed by the changes from turning into a Werewolf, a Noxious Emerald Werewolf to be exact, Giana also experienced the same but it seems she has it worse.
"Haarghh..."
Out of nowhere, Giana leaned to the side and started vomiting black blood.
Not only was she vomiting black blood, but the amount was disturbing. Giana then weakly went over to the water and tries to wash the blood off of her. "If being a Werewolf actually transform our bodies, then your state will become worse and worse. Since your body is still adjusting from having the spirit cores forcefully extracted, you're weakened and would probably develop a severe Mana-Body Debilitation"
Upon hearing this, Giana can only lie down on the rough ground tiredly.
Both of them were riddled with injuries that are already started to heal from getting out of the Humming Damned Forest, their fatigue is beyond measure, and resting is much needed.
Still, they can't do that, they need to go back as soon as possible.
"Never mind that, you don't need to worry about me. It's best that you think of a way so that we can enter the Great Barricade without being spotted and be recognized by Intra as Werewolves..." Giana said, panting heavily while looking at the bright sky.
As the two of them have things to do, this problem needs to be solved as soon as possible.
Without a doubt, if the two of them enter human territory recklessly in their current state and without any preparation, then they would be recognized as Werewolves and would instantly be surrounded by the military and Awakened.
Sighing lightly, Prof. K then waved his hand and takes out something from the green smoke.
Giana glanced at the thing in Prof. K's hands and find that it was a needle-like object, blinking with red dots at the tip. "Don't worry about that, I already developed this in case Lord Rex wanted to get back with us again. This can help the wearer to be untraceable by Intra"
"But the bad news is, I only have one. So I need to make another one for you" he added.
Not even a trace of hesitation can be seen as she nodded firmly, the branded rune in between her breasts glowed before she replied, "Just do what you need to do, I want to make right of my wrongs. I only want that, and the sooner I finished the tasks, the better it will be"
"I'll find a good place to hide near the Great Barricade until you come back" She sighed.
Upon hearing this, Prof. K turns his head towards her despite the dizziness overwhelming him. "Don't die until I came back, Giana. No matter what, we're now in this together, and I definitely can't do this alone"
"Yeah... I'll try" Giana smiled wryly as the situation is way worst than she had initially thought.
Just as the two of them sighed deeply, finding their situations very difficult, a blast of energy suddenly brushed their skin, forcing them to sit back up and glanced to their left where the energy came from.
At the sensation of the energy blast, Giana and Prof. K frown.
"I've sensed this energy before, but I can't quite remember from where," Giana said.
But unlike Giana, Prof. K instantly recognized this energy, "It's cursed energy, I've never felt one this strong before. And also, I think it's coming from the castle's direction. Are they under attack?"
~
Meanwhile, inside the human territory, Ratmawati City.
In a particular underground room of a building, there seem to be two figures clad in all-black and layered with red and black robes respectively. From their crow mask, it seems they are the messengers from the SCO.
Each of them was standing in silence, looking at the middle of the room.
None of them said anything as their beak faces the puddle of blood and intestines, smearing the floor, walls, and ceiling with crimson color. At the center, there's an absence of blood, meaning that someone imploded just now.
"She's one of the Black Hands under my wing..." the Red Messenger said lightly.
Upon hearing this, the Black Messenger glanced at him briefly before turning to the puddle of blood again, "Well, she died honorably since she managed to deliver a message to us. Sacrifice is necessary in this world"
The Red Messenger clenched both of his hands when he heard this.
"I know sacrifice is necessary. But that doesn't mean I'll send them to a particular suicide mission just for information, that doesn't sit well with me" the Red Messenger said grudgingly in a muffled voice. "I reckon there are other ways than this"
"Silence yourself, don't put yourself in trouble" the Black Messenger warned.
But even then the Red Messenger is still reluctant, his eyes are still fixed on the puddle of blood that was created by someone that he knows for years. It was right then the door behind him was opened, and a figure walks in.
Clad in a sleeveless shirt and a black majestic cloak, it was clearly King John.
Upon entering the room his cold eyes landed in the puddle of blood, he then stopped without wanting to dirty his boots from the blood. "What happened here? Explain the situation to me"
"Yes, my King." the Black Messenger turns at King John and bowed slightly.
Glancing to the side, the Black Messenger finds that the Red Messenger didn't even turn to face King John which makes him quickly add. "One of the Chosen Hands teleported back. It was fine, but then her body suddenly implode, I think an attack reached her. We should assign her a proper burial, her rank is quite high, and she's close with the Red Messenger"
"Did she say something before dying?" King John asked, ignoring the sentence completely.
The Black Messenger was caught off guard but he quickly recovered from his surprise and replied, "Yes, she said that it worked. Her body managed to deflect an Elemental Weapon from an eighth-rank realm Awakened.
As soon as he heard this, King John glanced at the Black Messenger in interest.
"Awakened...? Is it the Silverstar Pack?" King John asked.
Since the attack was done in Supernatural territory, then there's no reason they would meet an Awakened there. If she was really saying the truth, then there's a high possibility that it was the Silverstar Pack.
"I'm not sure, my King. But that's possible" the Black Messenger replied.
Not intending to dwell any longer, King John nodded his head and instructed with an authoritative tone, "Pin that woman's location before she teleported here and report it to me, I'll be waiting for it"
"M-My King, what about the burial? Should I proceed?" the Black Messenger called out.
But without even turning around or even showing any sign of empathy, King John then replied with an unbothered tone, "Do whatever you want about that" he said before leaving the room.
Only his cold words remain, echoing inside the room as his back disappeared.
Pausing for a second, the Black Messenger slowly glanced at the Red Messenger before he reached out to hold the Red Messenger's shoulder. "Don't take his words to heart, I know that he cares. It's probably due to stress that he became like this"
"No..." the Red Messenger suddenly said, cutting the Black Messenger's words.
Also glancing at the Black Messenger, he then added with a grim tone, "King John become like this ever since he met with that thing, he changed, and he now doesn't see us as his subordinates anymore. Damn me if you want, but he might also not see us as humans too"
~
"Why are you here and how do you find me, Calidora?" Rex asked.
Although he wanted to pay back Dealkandrax and the insectoid creature for blatantly attacking them, he was not going to pursue them now. It's still unknown why they are this desperate in obtaining the curse inside Gistella.
If he were to guess, the Witch of Chaos might be injured and they needed the curse.
One might think that this is the perfect time to pursue them and end the Witch of Chaos. But Rex can't act recklessly like that. If he was dealing with curses, he needs to be very meticulous as the System even said that curse power is an anomaly.
Rex doesn't want to risk getting a full-blown hex from a cornered tiger like the Witch.
Since she managed to injure the Executor, it's unwise to face her recklessly.
Additionally, he has no idea of the full extent of her injury. It might be life-threatening, or it may not. Both of her pets' reaction is not really a good place to determine that, they could be overreacting for all he knows.
On top of that, there's also Gistella whom he needed to think about.
Even though she managed to survive this ordeal and even got most of the curse taken out, her condition is still unstable. Rex wanted to stay by her side and see if there was anything he can do to help her.
Calidora's eyes sparkled before she grabbed Rex's hand with both hands dearly.
"Finding you has never been a problem, and I'm here because I missed you... and your blood" She said with sparkling eyes, the same eyes that she was using the last time they met that gives an air of possession.
Upon hearing this, Rex pulled his hand away and turns around.
Due to his clenched jaw, it was clear that he was holding back from not tearing Calidora right here and right now, knowing that he needed her despite the fact that she was the one that use Rosie as a sacrifice for the Origin's Cutlass, Blood Devourer.
But it seems Calidora noticed that she puts both of her hands on her waist in disbelief.
"Do you hate me?" She asked.
Rex glanced back at her before he replied, "Yes, very."
"Is it because of the woman, Rosie that got sacrificed for the weapon?" Calidora asked again.
Once again, Rex nodded his head firmly. It was still clear in his eyes, the aura emitted by the Blood Devourer has the scent of Rosie and that he can't forget until the end of time. The picture of Calidora holding the Blood Devourer is engrained inside his mind deeply.
Just then, Calidora shakes her head with a sweet smile on her face.
Although this annoyed Rex, he was surprised when Calidora gazed at her now with a sense of seriousness that he never saw in her. "For the record, I'm the one that stalls her death. I'm the one that begged my mother to delay sacrificing her to the Origin"
"I did that in the hope that you would come, but you are way too late" She added seriously.
Upon hearing this, Rex tilted his head to the side slightly before his eyebrows dipped into a frown. It was clear that he was caught off-guard by Calidora's statement, "W-What...? No, you're lying"
"Really? Do you really think I'm lying?" Calidora asked dubiously.
She then stepped closer and stand right in front of him, "Look into my eyes"
Gazing intently at the pair of red eyes that are now showing a sliver of certainty, she then added in a whispering tone. A tone that makes Rex's entire body shiver, "Look deep into my eyes, Rex. And tell me, do I seem to be lying or am I really telling the truth?"
"Or do you need someone to blame so you won't feel guilty?"
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