The battle is over. The blood giant disintegrated and I no longer felt his presence. The allies were retreating from a difficult battle, and the guardmen began to enter the territory, searching the area.
I watched the whole scene from Gwan's perspective, but it was unlikely that anything out of the ordinary would happen next, so I disconnected from the tracker and went downstairs, remembering to take the money Skell had left with me.
"Hi, we need to set the table for seven, can you arrange it?" I asked the owner of the place.
"Easy, just connect two tables and it's done, what about the dishes and payment?" the man with the mustache asked.
"Something hearty and meaty, like steaks. Spices and drinks of any kind, if alcohol is required, we will order additionally. Everyone will pay for themselves."
"All right," he nodded, then went into the kitchen.
***
I headed in the direction where I had previously sent my scout bugs, since I knew that Noctua was located there. Just in case, Ahar and a level 4 artifact mage, Jackie, came with me.
When we got to the right place, the enemy's body was already wrapped in my bugs, which turned into a large bag of flesh, containing Noctua.
Jackie walked over to the bag, putting sealing runes on it. Now she can't get out of there without help, but we still needs to act carefully.
***
A big dinner was ready. I sat down at the table, waiting for my teammates. I spied on them through the tracker, and they were already approaching the doors of the establishment.
"Good evening, my friends!" I shouted, inviting them to a long table. "Was your mission successful? Have a seat, don't stand at the door!"
At first, the team seemed discouraged, but after that they enthusiastically sat down at their chairs and bit into the delicious fried meat seasoned with lush spices.
Torches on the walls, two large chandeliers on the ceiling, the noise of people returning from a dangerous mission and the delicious smell of food filled the first floor of the tavern with a joyful atmosphere, the light was warm and pleasant.
Max, Vector, and Skell ordered alcoholic drinks. Skell had just sat down next to me.
"Hey, I'm sorry again for lying, have you already told Mother Isabela about everything?" he asked, putting a small piece of meat in his mouth.
"It's okay, I understand that it all looked suspicious. Anyway, during our morning meeting with her, she asked me leading questions, which I answered."
"Well, anyway, soon everyone will find out about everything, and we will become heroes if the Baroness fulfills all her promises. As for you, I'm not sure. After all, you didn't participate in the battle in any way."
I just smiled at this statement, realizing that I would most likely have to change my identity, because Noctua had been captured.
"By the way, maybe in the future our paths will part, but you are still a member of our team. And in the paragraph about the awards, it was said that the whole team would appear at the Baroness's mansion if everything went well. Anyway, why don't you come with us?"
"It's a very tempting offer, I can't refuse. Why did you decide to call me if I'm a spy?" I was perplexed.
"Because this is just the presentation of orders, statuses and money, there will be nothing secret there. Just stay close to us when we get to the manor, otherwise the guards might throw you into an underground dungeon," the team captain smiled.
"Okay," I nodded, starting to eat the steak.
***
"We'll put her in a dungeon with magcrystals," I decided.
"Yes, sir," Jackie and Ahar replied in unison, heading deeper into the basement under Her Grace's estate.
In front of me and behind them walked a bag of flesh measuring under 2 meters, instead of legs it had six spider legs, three on each side. Sealing runes were painted on the surface, and there was also an open hole for air to enter inside.
Having reached the very last cell, the bag went inside, after which it opened, giving the prisoner a short freedom.
Jackie and Ahar immediately dragged the body to the wall, from which hung iron chains with handcuffs. Noctua lost its iron bird shape as soon as we entered the room. The same goes for the bag, which opened due to the absorption of magic by the crystals inside.
Magcrystals are bright green gemstones that absorb magical energy from everything, ignoring the magical resistance of the target. The only thing that does not lend itself to their direct influence is the energy of the soul, light and darkness.
But that's until the mage decides to use them. If the mage does try to use, say, the energy of the soul to destroy the bracers, then the crystals will detect this and begin to absorb energy, which will either significantly reduce the effectiveness of the spell, or even neutralize it altogether.
Now I came closer to her, examining her injuries.
She was in a deplorable condition: weak breathing, a parasitic stump hanging from her anus, bruises all over her body, especially on her stomach, broken and twisted feet and toes. Also, the place where she was sitting now was already a pool of blood.
I looked at her pockets. I found one teleportation crystal inside one of them. It was blue-green in color, the size of a child's palm. If you squeeze it hard, it will split and activate, transferring the person to a place previously recorded in its magic code. I think that summoner could have prepared those crystals.
"Turn off the magcrystals for a while, I'll patch her up," I ordered my subordinates.
They headed towards the two crystals that were inlaid into the wall on the left and right, placing their hands on them, which caused the stones to react only to them. Since there were only two crystals in the chamber, I was able to use magic again.
To begin with, I put my hands on her head. Parts of the skin on them began to stretch, turning into tubes, penetrating my patient's brain through her ears or merging with her own skin and skull.
All this was done with one goal – to disable the brain's ability to receive signals from nerves, thereby putting her into a state of complete anesthesia.
Next, I made an incision on her stomach, transforming the index finger of my right hand into a long sharpened bone knife. As a result, I did not cut the flesh, but sawed.
Next, I examined the intestines. It was pierced in many places, the parasite remained inside and almost reached the heart, somewhere hanging on bones and other organs.
I cut off the connecting parts of the parasite, dividing it into the outer part that came out of the anus and the upper part that remained in the body.
I removed it, but since it got tangled and hooked in some parts of the intestine, I also removed part of the colon and small intestine.
Then I repaired all the wounds inflicted on the body by the parasite and myself, after which I returned the skin on her stomach to its former appearance.
I decided not to repair the patient's legs, and instead performed a leg amputation procedure, creating stumps at the site of the injuries.
Finally, I decided to take a look at Noctua's soul, but what I saw surprised me.
Instead of a round little soul, I was met by two cores that were trying to separate from each other. At the same time, the outer layer of the soul, consisting of memories, split. Inside there were dots like honeycombs, symbolizing each of the memories, but in some places these honeycombs entered each other, confusing and distorting memories.
I brought her soul back. I decided to leave the brain in this state and not turn on the nerves. Also, I took both parts of the parasite and ordered my subordinates to follow me. We need to inform Her Grace about everything and start investigating the parasite to find out who helped us.
Although I do not have much hope of identifying the identity of the parasite's owner, since I personally do not count on divination, and a DNA test will be too expensive, since too many people will have to be checked.
***
"Hi," Gwanrom said to me.
I just nodded at him, turning my attention back to the night city full of life. It was probably only 8 p.m. right now, so most of the merchants were still in their seats, inviting people to buy their goods. It was noisy, but fun. Maybe it has to do with my own good mood?
"Have you guessed what I want to ask?"
I looked at Gwanrom. He was tall and thin, under 2 meters tall. He was completely bald, and the look of some cold and emotionless gray eyes could belong more to a corpse, but certainly not to a living person. Pale skin only enhanced this effect. The robe continued to hide the clothes.
"I don't know if I can tell you about it," I honestly admitted, turning back towards the city. "Max knows about it, and I don't want anyone else to know."
"If it's a secret, then I'll understand. In that case, accept my thanks, victory would have been unattainable without you," the man replied humbly, already ready to return to the table.
"Thanks, but I'm more than sure they could have done it without us," I replied with a smile. "Besides, Max was with them, they definitely wouldn't have lost, hehe," I laughed warmly, remembering his face.
"He's really lucky to have you," Gwan nodded, his face not changing in any way.
We both went back.
***
"My lady, allow me to report," I said, bowing to Her Grace.
I was able to enter her small office only after getting permission.
"Stand up," the girl said, looking up from her writing, "and speak."
She was young, she was only 24 years old. She had a thin waist, which was probably pressed by a corset, but even so it looked natural; curly brown hair fell to her shoulders; white skin was well groomed, but the bags under her eyes were still noticeable.
My mistress's nose was just a little larger than usual, her cheeks, despite the healthy thinness of her limbs and body, were still plump, she had long eyelashes, painted eyebrows and lips scarlet from lipstick. She was smiling a kind of formal smile, but her blue eyes were as cold as ice.
"Yes, Your Grace," I replied, getting up from my knee. "The cultists managed to escape using teleportation crystals, but we were able to capture their leader, who also had a crystal."
"With its help, we can continue the pursuit or hand it over to the Imperial Guard to entrust further resolution of the problem to them."
"During the battle, the cultists summoned an entity called the God of War and Blood Emperor. We defeated him, albeit with great difficulty. I'll be honest, I've never heard of such a thing before, it would be a good idea to make inquiries and report it to the Imperial Guard."
"Also, a parasite of an unknown flesh mage was found on the body of the cultist leader, Noctua. Our diviner is now attempting to detect it through divination."
"Very well," Her Grace replied. "You can go now, I will take care of the rest."
"Yes, Your Grace," I bowed, after which I headed away.