Screech!
A Hhoka flew around the treasury, giddy with the bountiful food it sensed around the place. As a pest, the wheat stalks were delicious food for it. Moreover, there were more than enough there to last a month of ravenous consumption.
Just as it intended to chomp onto a wheat stalk, it was called forty by Vhiny who used it to descend to the ground slowly, followed by Nedy and Stunra.
"So there was a place like this within the Sect." The moment Stunra stared at the wheat stalks, she was stunned before blinking in realisation, "I see. Indeed, it makes sense for the Sickle Deity to control the Sect. After all, the wealth amassed here through assassinations is no joke."
"Moreover," She looked around and spat out upon seeing experiment tables, vials, containers with various organs, and a variety of miscellaneous items enough to turn a normal person pale with fright, "Any sick experiment they wish to do can be performed here without public backlash."
"I can feel a lot of lingering Fear in this place." Vhiny inhaled slowly before coughing in disgust, for the Fear was related to the Fisherman Devil, unsuitable for her that employed the Pest Devil's Fear.
Vhiny's eyes lit up as she said in a hurry, "The Fisherman Devil must be here."
"It was," Stunra's expression turned bone-chillingly cold as sharp killing intent oozed out of her. She had arrived at the part of the treasury where a broken glass container stood. The viscous solution within had spilled out.
Even though her current self couldn't feel either Faith or Fear, Stunra observed goosebumps form on her skin as a chill pervaded her spine, enough to make her knees go weak. It was evident that even the viscous solution contained a suffocating amount of Fear.
It implied that within the glass container used to be the Fisherman Devil's corpse. But now, it was no more, obviously stolen. It didn't stop at that as a set of words were engraved on the glass, triggering her anger.
"Too slow, noob. Thanks for the grub!"
Bam!
Stunra slammed her fist on a nearby piece of glass, ignoring her bleeding hand as she screamed, "Damn you, Iota!"
Vhiny arrived at her shout and stared at the empty container in shock, trembling in disbelief as she muttered, "The Fisherman Devil's corpse…has been stolen?"
"They shouldn't have gone far," Nedy spoke in a hurry when the Hhoka on her back began to dig deeper into her, influenced by Vhiny's emotional state of anger. To void becoming the Hhoka's meal, she offered her opinion, "There's just one way to enter and exit the Sect. We wasted more than an hour digging our way through the ground, but all in all, Iota was only two hours before us here."
"Besides," She said in confidence, "This is the Fisherman Devil's corpse we're talking about. It's impossible to absorb it in a day or two. If he's not compatible, the Fisherman Devil's Fear would simply devour him. And if he doesn't use a specific method, it would be impossible for him to become the Fisherman Devil. As for the method, I don't think anyone knows of that, since the Fisherman Devil made no preparations regarding it before he died."
"And without any special modes of concealment protecting the corpse, I would be able to sense the Fisherman Devil's Fear." She concluded, "Of course, other Spirits too might feel it. Keyn and Lady Vonne would be able to sense it better as they have a greater range. If they find it, they would consume it."
'Even if they can't consume it, as long as it's in their possession, I cannot claim its power.' Stunra thought as she clicked her tongue. She looked around, noticing a lot of treasures. But, none were close in value to the Fisherman Devil's corpse.
"We need to hurry," Vhiny said as she stared at the flight of stairs leading out of the treasury. Based on its route, it would just lead into the Sect. She carried Stunra on her back, "Let me carry you since we need to conserve time."
She and Nedy rushed up the flight of stairs. But a moment later, Vhiny stopped all of a sudden.
"What happened?" Stunra frowned.
"Nothing," At Vhiny's command, her Hhoka made a complete round through the treasury, looking through every nook and cranny, unable to find anyone hiding there. "I thought he might be hiding somewhere here."
"If he was hiding here, the intense Fear emanated by the Fisherman Devil would be ringing our senses nonstop." Nedy sighed at the missed opportunity as she pointed at the viscous solution on the ground, "Even the solution meant to block out all modes of Faith and Fear contains such a dense signature of the Fisherman Devil's Fear. So his corpse should be radiating with it to the extent even a normal person could feel it."
"You're right, I wasn't thinking straight," Vhiny recalled the Hhoka and rushed through the flight of stairs. Once she arrived at the end, she kicked forth, slamming the door open.
Arriving within the Sect, she stared in surprise, "The entrance to the treasury was right here?"
The treasury entrance was adjacent to the Sect's entrance, perfectly concealed because it pretty much coincided with the layout of the flight of stairs. "We could have saved ourselves an hour of digging if we knew of this beforehand."
"Let's hurry," Stunra frowned as the trio rushed out of the Sect, "We need to find him before the others."
Making the wheat stalks big enough to hide and conceal their bodies within was a smart move. But, the simple note left by Iota was a genius manoeuvre. By taunting them, he made it seem as if he had long since escaped with the treasure.
To prevent anyone else from snatching the treasure, they had to hurry and enter the race to obtain the Fisherman Devil's corpse. Unfortunately for Vhiny and Stunra, the Fisherman Devil's corpse was no more.
They had just entered a wild goose chase.
Within the Sect's secret treasury, Iota was calmly hibernating as he absorbed the powers of the Fisherman Devil. For the time being, he was safe.