Chapter 9: To Move Forward or Turn Back

– Who are you...?

A man in a red cloak blocked his path, his voice laced with suspicion. Kaega didn't answer, merely holding up the bone emblem in silence. The faint light from the guard's torch reflected off the ghastly white surface of the bone. Seeing it, his attitude immediately changed, his voice becoming strangely reverent.

– Are you Lord Magana? You look a little different from the rumors. Please, come in. The girl in the prophecy has been found. Now, you just need to deal with her.

"It worked." Kaega let out a silent sigh of relief but showed no emotion. He was led deeper inside by a man who called himself Tetor. The scene before him was more horrific than he could have imagined. In the middle of the cave was a giant, star-shaped magic circle, its rings filled with ancient runes glowing with a dim red light. At the center, a huge, grotesque mountain of flesh, formed from the corpses of miners, was still twitching slightly as if it were alive. And atop that hideous mountain, Lira was tied tightly to a pillar, surrounded by red-robed figures kneeling and muttering crazed prayers.

– Marana, your job is to draw the blood and perform the ritual. Now, let me test you...

"Dammit, what is he going to test?" Kaega tried to remain calm, listening to the whispers around him, trying to memorize the prayers dedicated to the god they worshipped.

– Show me your loyalty...

Kaega took a deep breath and began to recite the fragmented words he had heard, trying to piece them together into a complete prayer.

– O god reborn from death... Your child has been waiting... now let us bathe in the blood of the chosen one... to wash away the filth... the advent of the Blood Cult... will bring us to eternity...

Upon hearing this, Tetor's whole body trembled violently.

"Did he find out?"

He grabbed Kaega's shoulder. Kaega didn't resist, just observed silently.

– I should have... I should have invited you sooner... We have missed a bishop of our Lord for so long... Here, my lord, take this and perform the ritual. As for me... I no longer feel worthy to be in His presence.

He tremblingly handed Kaega a dagger made of bone, then without a moment's hesitation, he drew another knife and stabbed himself in the stomach, ending his life in a fit of fanaticism.

"Madmen..."

Kaega wasted no time on the dead man; he moved towards Lira. The little girl was tied up, her eyes filled with fear and despair, but she couldn't cry out when she saw a red-robed figure approaching.

– "Kaega... is that you? Why...?"

The little girl was stunned. Her eyes seemed to realize her own foolishness, then quickly turned to pleading. Kaega said nothing, his eyes grew cold, but not for her, but for the kneeling figures around them. He stood opposite Lira.

– First... the blood of the chosen one...

A man standing nearby gave the order. Kaega had no choice but to step forward, under Lira's horrified gaze. He approached the little girl with the bone dagger.

– "Lira, I'm sorry, try to bear the pain. I will find a way to get us both out of here..."

Lira's eyes widened, realizing Kaega wasn't betraying her, but before she could understand what was happening...

AGHHHHHHH!

Kaega made a long but very shallow cut on the palm of the little girl's hand. Fresh blood flowed out, trickling down onto the magic circle at their feet, causing it to flare up with a bizarre red light.

– Alright, next is the offering for the chosen one...

They took a bowl and used a knife to stab into the grotesque mountain of flesh. As the knife plunged in, the entire mass of flesh convulsed violently. A thick, black, blood-like liquid oozed from the wound.

"Are they planning to make Lira drink that? No way, it's too dangerous..."

Kaega felt he couldn't delay any longer. While the cultists were focused on the flesh pile, he immediately used the dagger in his hand and stabbed a nearby guard in the neck.

AGH! The man was stabbed in the neck but still managed to let out a scream.

"Dammit, missed the vital spot."

– TRAITOR... WHAT FOOLISH THING HAVE YOU DONE...

The man next to him roared. Kaega pulled the dagger from the throat of the man he had stabbed and quickly cut Lira's ropes. The little girl was free, but something was very strange... The cultists weren't attacking them; they were just kneeling, their heads bowed low.

– The altar has been activated... the impurity has... touched the Lord...

They mumbled. Kaega noticed that the blood of the man he had just killed was flowing into the magic circle. But unlike Lira's blood, his blood was turning the circle black.

"What is happening?"

As Kaega wondered, he felt... an overwhelming fear. Not an ordinary fear, but a primal terror rising from the depths of his subconscious. Someone was coming. His presence, though not yet arrived, was enough to paralyze Kaega. Like a rabbit before a lion, a power he could not resist.

– The impurity has clung to the Lord... His advent has been corrupted...

Behind him and Lira, something was forming from the blood of the dead man and Lira's blood... It was "Him"... the Blood Cult God. His form was incomplete. When he appeared, the cave shook violently as if it would collapse. Coal dust rained down from the ceiling, making the air even more suffocating.

– You... who disrupted my resurrection ritual...

With that, he pointed his hand at Kaega.

– "...Wither~"

His soft-spoken word was enough for Kaega to feel more than half of his strength drain away. A feeling of weakness and fatigue washed over him.

"Dammit, is this a curse?"

– This sickness will slowly eat away at you, until you have no strength left, dying in writhing agony.

Kaega threw a bag to Lira. It was the bag of the man he had just stabbed in the throat.

"When that Blood Cult member was cornered by numbers... he took out a teleportation scroll from his bag..."

– Lira, hurry, get up, use your blood to open the portal and run... I'll hold them off! Cough... cough...

The thick coal dust made it hard for Kaega to breathe. Lira looked at him, tears streaming down her cheeks, her mouth mumbling.

– Before coming to Aquila, my father was an alchemist...

– What are you talking about, Lira... hurry and run, I won't let these madmen do anything to you...!

– He said, if the coal dust is too thick in a confined space...

Kaega stepped in front of Lira, despite being crushed by fear and weakness... his legs still managed to stand firm... his eyes never broke contact with the Blood Cult God... He was still up there... like an omnipotent god looking down on him like a squirming insect. But he suddenly flinched a little...

– I'm sorry for dragging you into this...

Suddenly, a push sent Kaega stumbling forward... his vision abruptly changed. Before him was the outside of the cave; a magic portal had transported him out. In that portal was the image of Lira...

– Thank you for showing me that I'm not the only one in this world with humanity...

Lira smiled the same innocent smile as two years ago. In her hands were two magic scrolls. One was disappearing into the hand wounded by the cut he had made, the other was being used. The portal closed, and from within echoed the screams of the Blood Cult God.

– THAT CRAZY GIRL!!!!

–No, Lira!!!!

The portal closed, and the trembling cave was rocked by a massive explosion, causing it to collapse. Kaega sat there, staring at the cave, the fire in his eyes extinguished... replaced by an overwhelming despair... He didn't scream, didn't cry, just sat and watched the cave slowly collapse, burying deep within it the child he had sworn to sacrifice himself for, now lying there forever...

"The first failure... perhaps I was... too hasty, but at that moment, I really couldn't think of anything else. Everything was just a gamble... I thought that as long as I could save her, whatever happened to me would be fine... but that smile..."

– HELLO KAERA... IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME.

His train of thought was cut short. Morveth appeared again, but this time, he wasn't talking to the devastated Kaega, but to a shadowy figure behind him. A taller version of Kaega, but looking weaker, was standing there, watching everything that had happened.

Kaega turned his head, his face cold, his eyes calm and fearless.

– It's been three years, hasn't it, Morveth...

Morveth gave a faint smile.

– After three years of suffering from the curse's disease...

The future Kaega was no longer afraid; he replied.

– Planning to sell me a healthy body?

Morveth wasn't angry, just smiled.

– No~... that alone won't be enough. But this will be the final price for you, Kaega... return to this moment... MONEY... HEALTH... POWER... STRENGTH... AND FINALLY... THE RESURRECTION OF LIRA...

Kaega's eyes widened as he looked at Morveth. He continued softly.

– The price is the same as before...

Morveth awaited Kaega's decision, but he shook his head.

– Hey Morveth, you know, when Lira died, I was truly desperate. If you had made your offer then, maybe I would have accepted...

– No... at that moment, that thing of yours had been saved... by that smile...

– Perhaps so... ha...

Kaega gave a faint laugh. His eyes looked towards the just-closed portal. From his perspective, Lira's face was no longer clearly visible due to the pain brought by the curse's disease. But her final innocent smile... he would never forget. It was no longer cunning and calculating, no longer the look of someone who would do anything to survive...

-That look was one of gratitude and appreciation. The little girl chose to sacrifice herself... for me, the person she believed was the only one, the last one who cared for her not for any benefit, but so she could move on.

The sturdy stone wall had cracks, though there were no tears. But the tremor could not be hidden in a person who was always cold and ruthless to his enemies. He now just replied softly.

-Perhaps for her, not becoming a monster... being able to rest in peace without being completely corrupted by this place would be the best thing I could do for her...

– But you took it... the book on resurrection...

– Perhaps it was just a little curiosity. Honestly, I've gradually forgotten her face after getting sick...

Kaega chatted with Morveth like an old friend.

– ...So you won't agree, will you? This is the last time...

For the first time in three years, the corrosion from the curse disappeared, albeit briefly, but the image of the person he had chanced upon at the tavern for shady activities... a kindness in this hell... appeared again...

– I think there are still some people like me in this place... and I think I still need to protect it carefully...

– Ha... a waste of effort... Then farewell... I hope you won't regret it...

Morveth laughed bitterly, as if this was the first failure of his life. This time, Morveth was the first to leave. Kaega looked at his past self for a moment longer, then continued on the path he had chosen, no longer looking back at the past...

Returning to the present, after Kaega passed out...

Lyne approached Kaega. The body of the Head Measurer had shrunk to the size of a normal person, revealing a featureless silver mask.

– That's... a mimic? A creature that transforms into the shape of another by channeling life force into it?

Lyne suddenly realized this Head Measurer wasn't real.

"But to create such a creature, one must give up half of the original's soul... That Head Measurer, how mad must he be? How angry must he be that his puppet was destroyed?" Fear crept into Lyne's mind. Their enemy was not only strong, but also insane and cruel beyond imagination.

She didn't think much more, her worried gaze turned to Kaega. His condition was very bad. After that devastating blow, he was seriously injured. Lyne looked at the weapon Kaega had used. It was six human bones, probably from Erpert, with one end sawn off, still emitting the smell of burnt Thunder Powder. She wasn't sure what it was, but she put it in her bag and gently, carefully helped Kaega away.

– "Stop... leave him... you don't need to save him."

The malicious voice in her head appeared again, but this time, she paid it no mind.

"Why did you have to save me... weren't you... just trying to survive? Kaega, what kind of person are you in the end..."

Lyne's face was complex. With a worried look, she carefully helped him into an alley, looking for a place out of sight to treat his wounds.