In the situations room of the Sect, medical teams had cleared the bodies and only a few soldiers who were still injured lingered nearby. A black sphere appeared, this time it was on the teleportation pad. Wu Hai didn't want to startle anyone, given the way events had unfolded just hours before.
"{Follow me, I must make this quick.}" He led Vira to the Medical Ward where his father's body was stored. As he got closer, there was a dense chilling fog.
Wu Hai entered the room and found it vacant, a rolling vapor was surrounding the Patriarch's body.
"Ahh.. So, you've finally decided to show up!?" The familiar voice of his father rang out and Wu Hai froze for a moment. Hovering in front of him, just over the corpse, was a non-corporeal body, though, its light was quickly fading.
"I don't know how long my energy reserves will hold out.." Ooran's voice quivered, he hadn't expected to survive his attack, he had assumed his failure long before the incantation had left his lips.
"This.." Wu Hai fumbled for a moment. 'I never expected this.' He began to panic, 'I need a vessel for his soul.' He struggled, whatever he chose could be permanent. Soul Extraction was one thing but infusion was a different matter, he had to be careful and choose appropriately.
There were thousands of items in Wu Hai's collection of spoils. None of them were very suitable for the task at hand, all he had available were the inflexible or rigid, non-useful junk. The only other Spirit he knew that was bound to an object was Qu, however, Wu Hai didn't have a spare pagoda. Then it hit him, and a brick, about the size of an automobile landed in front of him.
Wu Hai Scattered various materials around, anything that he had in his inventory that nourished souls was already being used on Hana. 'This has to work.' The Bodies of Custodians were his largest prize but he had originally preserved them for something else, Wu Hai then thought about the chance to save his father's spirit and it no longer mattered to him.
'To bind the wheels of fate, sometimes souls can alter its path.' 12 corpses landed in a circle around the block of Cyan Soulstone and Wu Hai withdrew a bottle of blood. The blood was stretched to a thin line and bridged the gap between formation flags. Runes were laid on the corpses and they were turned into totems. Everything was starting to line up and energy was converging, building up to perform the formation's activation.
Each totem possessed nearly a third of their original strength, with so many, the Emperor was confident in the energy output to perform the ceremony. There was one final worry, if it didn't work, there would be nothing left of his Father, nothing left to mourn over, not even dust would remain.
"IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR, EVACUATE THE BUILDING." Wu Hai gave an order and his voice sent tremors in every direction.
He waited and when someone gave him the all clear, he clapped gently and began to chant.
Five minutes passed, the charging of the formation had begun and he stood there as energy gathered around the Medical Ward.
"{This won't work}" Vira pointed to the slab of stone.
At the same time, a strange and small demon came out of a pocket space to report to the Demon Queen. "{The Hunter has arrived, he brings the Egg you requested.}"
Vira channeled a small formation, the hunter was summoned to her side, kneeling.
"{As requested, fulfilled. My reward?}" The Hunter Demon did not dare to raise his head, he kept kneeling and waiting for an answer.
"{Emperor Zao. Do not stop your actions but hear my words. That spell formation will never work as is.}" Vira's voice was certain, there was no room for question in her words.
"{What would you have me do? Abandon my Father?}" His words were strained, it was taking a lot of his concentration to bridge the gaps in the formation, the raw energy of the Custodian corpses only helped once the activation was enacted.
"{No, nothing so dismal and boring. Use this Hunter's body instead.}" Vira pointed to the Hunter Demon. "{Fear not, Loyal Hunter. I am in need of this body, however your reward will be worth the exchange.}" She didn't stop her hands and extracted his soul, the body fell lifeless. With another wave of her free hand, a small crystal ball appeared and the demon's soul was drawn inside.
"{There.}" She dusted her hands off after setting the crystal ball onto the table. Then, she directed the empty body to the formation. It hovered just over the block of stone. "{Go on, he's fading}"
"Don't put me in that soulless butcher!" Patriarch Ooran's spirit pleaded with Wu Hai.
Wu Hai shook his head in disagreement, "Stop it. Zao Ho has been half-demon for more than a decade, is he soulless as well?" The statement choked Ooran and his image dimmed a little more.
"Is there no other Option?" Ooran asked once more.
"I'm afraid not, I was trying the foundation stone but it lacks a core to bind the soul." Wu Hai considered trying the Gygax Cup, the Crusher, Darkflame Blade, a Hammer and even a ring. All of them seemed like poor choices, there was no telling what could or would happen in the future and it was still better to give his father the ability to fight back. The Demon Hunter's body was quite agile and well developed.
"Father, Ho has been a half demon for years, besides, demons have souls, they are tethered to their cores after gaining intelligence but the soul still resides inside. Now, stop being a fool and accept!!!" Wu Hai screamed the final few words, pleading to his father and wishing to avoid his loss.
Patriarch Ooran had always been around strange situations and had even tried to give his life for the sake of his family. Hovering in front of him, a second chance, one he wasn't sure he wanted to take, was being forced upon him. Family, it took on a different sense of meaning for the Patriarch in that instance.
He opened his soul and accepted the fate that awaited him.
The Emperor watched as the corpses dissolved into bits of energy, consumed in full by the formation. More than a decade of hunting vanished in an instant but none of that truly mattered, the soul of his father now hung in the balance.
Dazzling lights exchanged between the Patriarch's non-corporeal body and the Demon flesh. The face of the Demon began to vanish and the Patriarch's expression began to superimpose over it.
"{It seems to be working much better now.}" Queen Vira searched her belongings and pulled out a leathery ribbon and tossed it into the formation. "{I think I know why you only chose eight demon houses.}"
"{Why is that?}" Wu Hai asked, he didn't falter the formation and sweat was still beading along his forehead.
"{Because you can see the future.}" She started to laugh and an explosion happened.
Her laughing stopped immediately. The stone beneath the Patriarch exploded. The body of the Demon Hunter was floating crucified with its arms outstretched in the air.
"{Its time for you to give up your old body..}" Wu Hai called out to his father and the apparition vanished. The Ice Sculpture, the body of his father began to disintegrate into a mist and flew into the Demon's body.
A bright golden flash happened repeatedly, blinding Vira.
"{So bright.}" She shielded her eyes and recovered.
"{AJOVO SILK SELKEA}" The Patriarch spoke, it came out gargled. He coughed. "SO MUCH POWER!" Repeating himself, Ooran flexed his arms and legs while he stood in place.
"There is a lot going on, I will explain shortly. Grab my shoulder and come with me." Wu Hai felt like a terrible curse had been lifted from his shoulders, the death of his father because of his delay had really dragged him into a state of semi-depression.
"Where are we going?" Ooran asked.
"Away." Wu Hai flicked his fingers and the trio teleported back to the Blood Theater.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Hana saw her father arrive, there was the hunter demon standing beside him like an equal. For some reason, he was giving off a strange and familiar aura. When he ran up and hugged her tank, her facial expressions went wild and she wanted to shove the hunter off. A large hammer appeared overhead and started to come down but it was caught by the Emperor. "Father, he.." Hana poked her head out of the tank and started to speak but stopped herself.
"Relax, its not as you think.." Wu Hai paused his daughters attack and turned to Vira. "{Give me the egg.}" Vira passed it over. He put the massive hammer away into his ring and exchange the new egg with the one inside the crystal box. The cultivated egg was vibrant and very healthy, giving off a strong aura.
"Hana, this egg will remain with you until it hatches, let it connect with you. Your grandfather will remain here with you." There was no time to reveal everything to her in strides, Wu Hai ripped the bandaid off as quickly as possible and it shocked even the Empress.
"Is this true? Patriarch, is that you?" Kuzunoha gave him a hug and Hana saw the affection in his eyes.
'It really is Grandfather?' "Grandfather, you've.. gotten a tan." Hana was at a loss for words and blurted out nonsense.
Ooran patted her head and turned to Wu Hai. "{AF ASELY SALKS LAWNCIO}" he tried changing to the Demon language but again it came out like gobbledygook. Sighing heavily, he repeated himself, again, "Its okay Hana, I'm here."
"What's next?" Hana asked her father and stared at the egg in his hands.
"Next, you absorb all the soul essence with the egg in your possession. Additionally, even after your done absorbing it, get into the bloodpool with egg. Get into the bloodpool even if the egg hatches and absorb it until I return. Your grandfather will remain here with you, I have arranged to have Master Lu Sha bring your pets. Ah.. about this." Wu Hai used a communication stone and paused his conversation with Hana. The Cultivated Egg, drowned in soul essence was handed to over to her and he said, "Be right back."
The Emperor performed his disappearing act and returned very quickly.
By his side when he returned, were the Astradon and Kentao, and standing beside them was Dissait. Dissait's expression was poor and he walked forward to Hana with his hands out and a ring inside his palm.
"Young miss, I am terribly sorry for your loss." he paused and saw the Hunter Demon standing next to him. There was a strange and frosty aura lingering on the Demon's body and Dissait took quick notice of it. "Inside this ring. Please understand that you were in a state where your actions were not your own." She grabbed the ring, "Young miss?"
Hana got sad, her aura exploded and she began to weep. The blood inside the pool began to push away and slosh. Even inside the tanks and several meters away from the edge of the bloodpool, she was still affecting thousands of gallons of blood. When it flew into the air, some of it drifted away but what didn't drift away splattered across the ground and eventually fell from the sides of the Island, drifting off into the many blood streams of the Blood theater dimension.
Caoimhe had been an honorable friend and even sacrificed itself in the name of her safety. It was a little much for her to take in all at once, just minutes ago, she had believed her grandfather dead and that was a lie. Now, it all became a little too real. She held the ring in her hands and brought Caoimhe's body out into the dimensional space.
A red light consumed it and Caoimhe's body scattered into debris that floated among the bloodstream. Hana didn't even have time to say a prayer for her fallen friend, she was gone. Hana broke down into tears and the Empress went to console her.
"There is never a good time to hear about the loss of a friend or loved one, with the losses the Sect and Kingdom has been experiencing these past few years and especially these recent days, i'm just glad to see my granddaughter is still alive." Ooran tapped on the tank as Hana hung over its edge, speaking on occasion.
"How many have disappeared?" She was inquisitive as always, even now under such pressure and pain.
"Of those we can count, we're at nearly ninety young girls, all innocent much like you. There was a report recently while you were away and knocked unconscious. I believe it was a girl in your class, Phera that disappeared this time." Ooran watch Hana scream under the fluid into the breathing tube in fury, igniting her bloodline and absorbing the power in the tank all that much faster.
She was angry.
Wu Hai prepared what he could under Wahchung's guidance. He listened to his fathers words and gulped, maintaining his focus on the instructions. There was a lot to be experimented with, most of what the Mata Turtle Spirit told him was conjecture. Faith. "Faith doesn't heal all wounds, sometimes it widens them. She'll have to believe in your ability to help her, your confidence matters in this as well. Belief is a powerful tool, its too bad that message gets mixed in with fanaticism and depravity all too often. You say that you have the enemy that did this to her, where is the body?"
Wu Hai produced the stones of the Father and Son, they rolled on the table gently like small potatoes. "This is all that remains."
Wahchung's eyes widened. "Ultinian. Hey, stupid child.. put this one her tank, allow her to absorb it."
"Absorb the rock?" 'It does radiate.. could it really be that easy?' He tossed the rock into the tank and it slowly fell to the bottom, grey and bronze light filled the tank like a back light.
Hana could feel a surge of energy throughout her body.
"Did you just call me stupid child?" Wu Hai turned to grab Wahchung. "You brilliant little lazy fucker.. good job." Wu Hai rubbed on the turtle shell and picked up the other rock. He tucked it into his robes and turned to Hana. "Hana, don't forget what I've told you. Father, you contact me if anything happens while I'm away."
The crystal box had space to spare, there was an additional black spot demon egg and a crystal ball containing the Demon Hunter's Soul. When Wu Hai checked it one final time before stowing it away, he saw that there was much less energy than a few hours before. 'These guys are gluttons.' He poured several pitchers of blood from the bloodpool into the crystal box, topping it off. "I'm not forgetting anything am I?"
He snapped and his spiritual sense locked onto the remains of the Nightwisher. It flew into his hands and Wu Hai destroyed it completely, a wisp of black smoke dissipated as it was annihilated.