Chapter 9: To Move Forward or Turn Back

Kaega's hand tightened around the bone emblem, the twisted symbol of the Blood-Eater Guild. Dressed in a red cloak stained with dried blood, he stepped into the cave. The air inside was thick and suffocating, a mixture of the musty smell of earth and the foul stench of flesh and blood. The darkness was so dense it swallowed all light; Kaega could only navigate by the monotonous, eerie chanting that echoed from deep within.

– Who are you...?

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

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

"It worked." Kaega silently sighed in 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 inscribed with ancient runes that glowed with a dim, red light. At its center, a grotesque, pulsating mountain of flesh, formed from the bodies of miners, twitched as if still alive. And atop this disgusting mound, Lira was tied to a stake, surrounded by red-robed figures kneeling in prayer, their mouths muttering mad incantations.

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

"Damn it, what is he going to inspect?" Kaega kept his composure, 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 overheard, trying to piece them together into a complete prayer.

– O god reborn from death... your child has been waiting... now bathe in the blood of the chosen one... to cleanse the filth... the advent of the Blood-Eater... will bring us to eternity...

Hearing this, Tetor's whole body trembled.

"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 been without one of Your Grace's bishops for so long... Here, my lord, take this and perform the ritual. As for me... I no longer feel worthy to witness His Grace.

He tremblingly handed Kaega a dagger made of bone, then, without a moment's hesitation, drew another knife and plunged it into his own stomach, ending his life in a fit of fanatical devotion.

"Madmen..."

Kaega wasted no time on the dead man and walked towards Lira. The girl was bound tightly, her eyes filled with fear and despair, unable to even cry out as she saw a red-robed figure approaching.

– "Kaega... is that you? Why...?"

She was stunned. Her eyes reflected the realization of her own foolishness, then quickly shifted to a plea for help. Kaega said nothing, his gaze cold, but not for her—for the kneeling figures around them. He stood before 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 terrified gaze. He approached the girl with the bone dagger.

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

Lira's eyes widened, realizing Kaega hadn't betrayed her, but before she could understand...

AGHHHHHHH!

Kaega made a long cut across her palm. Fresh blood flowed out, dripping onto the magic circle at their feet, causing it to glow with an eerie red light.

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

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

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

Kaega felt he couldn't delay any longer. While they were focused on the mound of flesh, he swiftly used the dagger in his hand to stab the neck of a nearby guard.

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

"Damn it, not a fatal blow."

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

The man next to him roared. Kaega quickly cut Lira's ropes. She was free, but something was very wrong... The cultists weren't attacking them. They were all kneeling, their heads bowed to the ground.

– The altar has been activated... the filth has... touched His Grace...

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

"What's happening?"

As Kaega wondered, he felt it... an overwhelming fear. Not 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 filth has tainted His Grace... 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 "His Grace"... the Blood-Eater God. Its form was incomplete. As it appeared, the cave shook violently as if about to collapse. Coal dust rained down from the ceiling, making the air even more suffocating.

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

With that, it raised its hand towards Kaega.

– "...Wither~"

That one soft word was enough for Kaega to feel more than half his strength drain away. A wave of weakness and fatigue washed over him.

"Damn it, is this a curse?"

– This sickness will slowly corrode you, until you have no strength left, and you will die in writhing agony.

– Lira, hurry, get up, we have to get out of here! Cough... cough...

The thick coal dust made it hard for Kaega to breathe.

– Before I came to Aquila, my father was an alchemist...

– What are you talking about, Lira...?

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

– What do you mean? Let's just run...

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

Suddenly, Kaega's vision shifted. He was outside the cave, a magic portal having transported him out.

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

Lira smiled, the same innocent smile from two years ago. In her hands were two magic scrolls. One was dissolving in the hand he had cut, the other was being used. The portal closed, and from within echoed the screams of the Blood-Eater God.

– THAT MAD GIRL!!!!

– LIRAAAAA!

The portal closed, and the trembling cave collapsed in a massive explosion. Kaega sat there, staring at the cave. No screams, no tears, just staring...

– GREETINGS KAERA... IT'S BEEN A WHILE.

The Morveth appeared again, but this time, he wasn't speaking to the stunned Kaega, but to a shadowy figure behind him. An older, yet frailer version of Kaega, who stood there, watching everything that had happened.

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

Morveth smiled.

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

The future Kaega was no longer afraid; he replied.

– Here to sell me a healthy body?

Morveth wasn't angry, only smiling.

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

Kaega's eyes widened as he looked at Morveth. The creature spoke softly.

– The price is the same as before...

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

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

– No... at that moment, that thing of yours was saved... by her smile...

– Perhaps... ha... – Kaega gave a faint smile. – Letting her rest in peace before this place completely corrupted her is the best I could do for her...

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

– Maybe that was just a little curiosity. Honestly, I've started to forget her face since I got sick...

Kaega spoke to Morveth like an old friend.

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

– 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...

This time, Morveth was the first to leave, disappearing on his own. Kaega chose to continue on the path he had chosen, no longer looking back at the past...

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

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

– Is that... a mimic? A creature that takes the form of others using life force?

Lyne suddenly realized this Head Measurer wasn't the real one.

"But to create one of these, he would have to give up half of his own soul... That Head Measurer, how mad is he? How furious must he be that his puppet was destroyed?" Fear crept into Lyne's mind. Their enemy wasn't just strong, but unimaginably insane and cruel.

She pushed the thoughts aside and looked at Kaega. He was in terrible shape. After that devastating blow, he was severely injured. Lyne looked at the weapon Kaega had used. It was six human leg bones, likely from Erpert, sawed off at one end, still smelling of burnt Thunder Powder. One of the unsawed ends was also cracked...

– What is this thing...

She wasn't sure what it was, but she put it in her bag and carried Kaega away.

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

The malicious voice appeared in her head again, but this time, she paid it no mind. She carried Kaega's battered body into an alley, and the two of them disappeared into the darkness.