117 Birmingham Road, Hillsdon District.
Fors anxiously looked at the man in front of her, named "Ash Black."
"So," Ashes implied, "you want me to solve the curse problem without handing you over to the EverNight Church?"
"Cursed?" Fors was momentarily stunned, but then she felt even more certain that Ashes could solve her problem and nodded hurriedly.
She only knew she was tormented because of using the stone bracelet. However, she had no concrete answer.
But Ashes' tone seemed as if he already knew it was a curse.
If he knew it was a curse, wouldn't that mean he might know how to break it?
"Can you do it?" Fors asked with a bit of hope and expectation.
"I can indeed help you," Ashes nodded slightly, but then asked, "But why should I help you? Or rather, what can you offer in return?"
"I..." Fors opened her mouth, but eventually bit her lip and lowered her head in silence.
Yes.
Why would he help her?
He was a NightHawk, and she was just a wild Beyonder who would lose control during a full moon.
Aside from the bracelet, she had nothing valuable, and the bracelet was now in Ashe's possession.
In other words, she had no value now.
"I... I have nothing to offer you right now," Fors smiled bitterly, the slight hope in her heart once again dimming.
"No." Ashes looked at her deeply, and slowly said, "You still have something valuable to offer, for example, yourself."
"Huh?!" Fors instinctively shrank back, weakly saying, "I won't sell my body!"
Although she said this, her heart started to ripple.
Hmm.
If it can really solve the curse, it might be worth it.
Just think of it as being poked by a stick, it won't cause any physical damage.
But what if he uses this to coerce her into becoming his slave forever?
No, that can't happen!
But he actually looks decent; if it's with the intention of dating, maybe...
Although Ashes hadn't said anything, Fors, being a writer, had already imagined many inappropriate scenes.
"What a coincidence." Ashes said blandly, "I'm not interested in your body either. I mean you as an 'Apprentice' and as a Beyonder."
Fors, interrupted from her imagination by Ashe's blunt "not interested," felt relieved, as if her chastity was preserved, but also slightly indignant.
What? She's not bad looking!
Although not as good as Audrey, she was still a beauty, right?
"But," Fors, returning to her senses and considering the situation, asked doubtfully, "aren't you an Apprentice yourself?"
"I'm a NightHawk, and you're not." Ashes' calm reply made Fors understand his intention immediately.
He wanted her to become a mole among wild Beyonders, to gather information for him.
In this way.
He could capture more Beyonders, rather than just her.
The merit of capturing a group of Beyonders is undoubtedly greater than capturing just one.
But this means becoming a traitor among wild Beyonders.
Such a thing, how could she accept it?
She had no choice but to accept it!
"Deal!" Fors agreed without hesitation, sincerely saying, "I can be your mole among wild Beyonders, but in return, you must cure my 'curse'."
"Mole?" Ashes had a strange expression but did not correct Fors' misunderstanding.
"Alright then." Ashes pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I can't be certain I can solve your 'curse,' everything will have to wait until the next full moon."
"However, I must remind you, if I can't solve your 'curse,' I will still hand you over to the EverNight Church."
"Like I said, the EverNight Church has rich experience with cases like yours."
For Fors' "curse," Ashes indeed had more than one way to lift it.
For example, using the Tear of Healing or the Cursed Stone.
But those were from the Dark Souls world, and he couldn't be sure they would work in this world.
He had to wait until the full moon to experiment.
If it didn't work, she would have to be handed over to the EverNight Church.
The EverNight Church did have rich experience in this regard.
For instance, Old Neil.
Hmm, although Old Neil was still confined, he should be fine now...right?
"Full moon?" Fors muttered, nodding quietly, though her eyes showed complex emotions, she whispered, "The next full moon is next Wednesday."
"Next Wednesday, so July 25th." Ashes confirmed the date and nodded lightly, "Alright, then next Wednesday, here again, is that okay?"
"Mm-hmm." Fors nodded repeatedly, then timidly asked, "So, my bracelet..."
"I'll keep it for now." Ashes looked at Fors' slightly expectant light blue eyes and said calmly.
Fors lowered her head in disappointment.
Of course, he wouldn't easily give back such an important item, right?
However.
Now that she was caught by this self-proclaimed NightHawk, her freedom would likely be restricted.
Although this man said he wasn't interested in her body, who knew if he would use the pretext of surveillance to do something to her?
She didn't mind much, just think of it as being poked by a stick.
However.
She was now worried about Xio.
Although she had made a deal with Viscount Glaint, considering his desire for potions, he shouldn't back out.
But if she couldn't appear, whether Xio could be successfully rescued was still a problem.
Thinking of this, Fors felt uneasy.
"I... can I..." Fors bit her lip, wanting to make an additional request to the NightHawk in front of her.
But when she looked up, the living room was empty, and she blinked her light blue eyes.
Gone?
He just left?
Didn't he even need to monitor her?
"Fors Wall, the Magician?" Walking down the street in Hillsdon District, Ashes silently recited Fors' name.
Just like "Fool" and "Justice," this name also felt familiar.
But, as usual, he couldn't recall anything, which was no longer surprising.
However, developing Fors as an informant wasn't just because he was soft-hearted.
An undead has no such thing.
He simply wanted to broaden his intelligence network—
Although he had the intelligence network provided by the EverNight Church, and for now, the EverNight Church was still considered an ally.
But this "ally" was not absolute.
Since the EverNight Church gave a hint about the Dark Emperor, it meant they obviously knew more.
When the EverNight Church chose to be cryptic.
And at the same time, they gave Ashes more hints to gather information through gatherings.
But so far, this hint seemed useless—
Whether it was NightHawks or so-called gatherings, they were all low-level circles, unable to access the Dark Emperor's information.
Of course.
Ashes knew very well that the EverNight Church had no obligation to tell him everything.
And if he wanted to know more, he would undoubtedly need to complete some tasks for the EverNight Church.
This was also part of an equivalent exchange.
But although Ashes did not intend to actively oppose the EverNight Church, in case the EverNight Church could not provide valuable clues.
Ashes felt the need to prepare two plans, collecting information privately.
And Fors, who seemed familiar to him, happened to come to him at this moment.
One could say.
This might also be a kind of fate.
(End of this chapter)
50 Power stones = Extra Chapter