Sitting on a rock while eating a steak with a side of roasted potatoes, I waited for the commander to wake up. I missed YouTube; there was no entertainment in this world. Sigh.
After a brief moment, while I was still eating my dinner, he finally woke up.
"Where am I? What did you do to my companions?" he spoke in a shaky voice. Good, I needed him scared, not like an idiot who thought he was some sort of hero if he didn't talk while I interrogated him.
"Hey, I asked you a question." Without responding, I simply made a shadow graphic with my free hand and muttered, "Orochi."
Orochi is a giant snake shikigami that can quickly attack and ensnare its master's targets. It appears suddenly from the shadows to immobilize the target within its mouth, making for an effective surprise attack. The Great Serpent's size allows it to overpower large opponents and can also be used to keep a target in place while another shikigami attacks. I also found out that it can control its size and has very deadly venom.
A white snake with black markings appeared from my shadow. "Orochi, keep him in place and don't let him move a muscle," I told my friendly snake and continued eating.
"No, please, I beg you! I have a family! Don't kill me, please!" He fell to his knees and pleaded.
"Also, Orochi, shut his mouth for me." My trusty friend quickly wrapped around the commander's body tightly and closed his mouth with the tip of his tail.
After finishing my meal without entertainment, I slowly walked toward the commander and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whose orders were these?" I asked, closing the distance between us.
"Keughhh," a groan escaped his mouth.
Looks like he won't answer. "Orochi, break a bone."
Crack. "Aaaaahhh!"
"How many soldiers came with you?" He didn't answer. "Again."
Crack. "Aaaaaaah!"
"What are you trying to do with this device?"
"Orochi, again."
"I'll talk! I promise I will! Stop, please!"
Putting my hand over one ear, I exploded his eardrums. His own cries were inaudible as I nullified them. Gripping a patch of his hair, I brought his face close to mine. "You'll reveal everything… one way or another," I said, releasing the full impact of the veil of mana pressure on him.
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Cleaning my hands and face, rubbing the blood off and changing my clothes, I snapped my fingers, and the corpse of the commander caught fire, burnt to ashes by the white flames.
The intel I managed to get from him was interesting. He said they were everywhere, but I didn't get much from him because of the curse, and I killed him the moment I found the book that had a lot more information. Their mission was to collect more information about this continent and find powerful families and people who would join their side to bring this continent down. There are hundreds of spies; every city in this continent has spies, and many families have already turned to their side.
The families that have already turned against this continent are written in this book, along with the families they are in contact with and, lastly, the families that will be contacted in the future. They still hadn't contacted the Rose family; I'll wait and see the old man's choice. Sigh There is a lot of corruption in this doomed continent.
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(In another place)
Grace Rose sat in the dim light of her room, the shadows of the evening creeping in like unwelcome memories. The walls, once adorned with laughter and warmth, now felt like a prison, echoing the silence that had enveloped her life since that fateful day.
She cradled her belly, a reminder of the love she had lost and the life she had fought to protect, with the flicker of hope that their child would carry on his legacy.
But hope had turned to despair. As her son, Ellis, grew, he became the light of her life, the color in her world. He was her only pillar, the reason she got out of bed each day. Yet, he left, leaving her shattered and alone once more.
Days turned into weeks, and Grace fell into a deep pit of sorrow. She stopped eating, only to keep herself alive, stopped meeting people, and the world outside her window faded to gray. The laughter that once filled her home was replaced by the haunting silence of loss. Ellis was gone, and with him, her will to live.
As the seasons turned, she remembered a need for vengeance. She finally walked out of the room toward her maid, Riva. "Riva, give me the location of Adam," she said in a low, broken tone.
"But, Lady Grace, you need—"
She couldn't let her finish. "I said give me the address and know your place." With the address in hand, she left.
One fateful evening, she found him—a dilapidated hut deep in the woods, hidden from the world. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and the shadows danced ominously as she approached. Her heart didn't beat—not dead, but lost in sound—ready to avenge the man who had given everything for her.
"What do you want, and who are you?" he spat, his voice dripping with contempt.
"You don't remember me? That's unfortunate," she said, her voice cold.
With that, she lunged at him, her body augmented with mana. The fight was brief; he was weak, and she was fueled by years of pent-up rage.
After biting him for hours, she released him, only to watch him crumble to the ground. Blood pooled beneath him, and she felt a twisted sense of satisfaction.
As he lay there, bleeding and broken, Grace felt a strange sense of peace wash over her. "We are not finished with this," she said before knocking him unconscious and binding him with a rope.
She tortured him for three days. He pleaded, but she didn't listen, until he died from blood loss. His face was unrecognizable; he had no nails or teeth, and one of his eyes was missing. The room was colored red by his blood.
With a satisfied heart, she turned away, leaving the hut. She walked back through the woods, the weight of her actions settling on her shoulders. She had avenged her husband, but the scars left by her son remained.
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After a month of killing soldiers and searching for a place to establish my base, I decided that Beast Glades was not a good choice, so I left and went elsewhere.
(Two months later)
I was walking near a medium-sized lake, casually sending echo sound waves around me until I felt it—a hollow place deep inside the ground. I looked around for the entrance and searched for days before finding it under a tree. Upon entering, I discovered how deep it really was. After walking for about fifteen minutes, I found a big space. "Wow, it's so perfect," I muttered before exploring the area. I set up my tent to sleep there that night.
After waking up, it took me two weeks to draw a blueprint of what I needed: the size of the house, how many rooms, a place to train and practice my spells, a laboratory, extra houses for potential guests, and finally, how to supply it with water and light.
I needed dwarves—lots of them, earth conjurers. The next day, I started the base of what I could do, and after one week, I finally finished and set out to find dwarves to build the house and the rest.
It took me a month and a half to find a willing group, and I offered them a job with a high salary. I took twenty of them with me and started working on the projects.
After three and a half months, it was finally finished. Standing in the middle of my new base of operations, surrounded by blood and corpses that were on fire, I said, "Beautiful."
Looking down at the dead dwarves, I muttered, "Thank you for your service, and I promise that I will deliver the money with extra to your families." Sorry, boys, it's a secret base; I can't let you leave.
They built the house and the other structures, closed three openings that led to my base, and opened a tunnel for emergencies. Now I had three tunnels: the one I first came from, the one they built, and the last one I constructed. We also found a way to supply water and light; we used mana crystals for light and also for water supply from the nearby lake, along with a disposal system—I didn't want it to stink in here.
They also built me a fake lake and created many green spaces around the base without me asking. What nice people! The main house is the biggest and fancier than the rest; it even has a garden. The dwarves showed me how to use the mana crystals to keep the place clean and the plants supplied with water all the time without needing human interaction.
Every time I went out to buy things we were short on, I brought back furniture and food. After three days, I finally finished furnishing the house, from furniture to kitchen supplies. I had it all, even the laboratory and the green spaces were completed, so I decided to leave the empty houses for the future.
As days passed, I sat in my new house, thinking about my future plans. Now I just needed tons of food and to get the corrupt core, and I would finally finish my first phase. Oh yes, the dwarves' families—I would go tomorrow morning so I wouldn't forget about it.
After two months of wandering around the continent, I finally returned to my base. During my time away, I paid the dwarves' families the money I owed and gathered a lot of random supplies for my base. I also resorted to stealing food, . Now, hear me out . it could get too expensive sometimes
it felt wonderful to come back home. I still had five more months until the Dire Tombs incident happened, so I planned to train for the rest of the time and finish my base, on top of taming Tiger Funeral, my second-to-last shikigami.
As I began my training, the months passed quickly.
The first month brought no major events, just my normal routine. I started to feel a breakthrough in my mana art, specifically in my simple domain. The second month also flew by, and by the third month, I successfully tamed Tiger Funeral.
Tiger Funeral is a bit special; she has some sort of connection to the soul. I can generate soul contracts, and if you break one, you'll suffer a soul injury or possibly death, depending on the terms of the contract. In addition to her strength, agility, sharp claws, and perfect stealth, I believe she can also harm the soul, but I haven't tested that yet. I plan to experiment more with her. Yes, she's a girl, and I can sometimes understand her through our link. She was the first shikigami to communicate with me, which is strange; it's not talking, but I can somehow feel what she wants.
The fourth month passed quickly as well. I had a significant breakthrough in my mana art; it was 70% ready, and I developed a few more spells.
One week into the fifth month, I decided to take a break and rest for a week before heading back to the Beast Glades. Now, I'm standing at the entrance of my base after sealing it with mana locks. "I think my vacation is finally over. One more stop before heading back to my mother," I muttered under my breath sadly. It was wonderful to stay away from people and not have to act all the time. Sigh.
Doing a shadow graphic of a bird with my hand, I summoned "Nue."
Nue is a winged shikigami armed with great speed and electric-shock wings. It can support its master by carrying them while flying to increase mobility and can attack with its heavy wings charged with electricity, shocking anyone it hits and leaving them temporarily paralyzed. It's especially effective for taking opponents posted in high places off guard or in combination attacks with other shikigami. In addition to basic offensive applications, Nue's speed and wings can also be used defensively to shield its master from harm. Nue soared into the sky, its wings crackling with energy as I prepared for the journey ahead.