Chapter 694: Hag (1/2)

What is a Hag?

It is a creature who is considered as a mutated Demonic Beast. Depending on their mutation, the shape in size of a Hag might differ from one to another but despite this, they all share a few common features which makes it easy to identify them.

The first common feature they have is that, they are humanoids. They have arms and legs as well as a body and head which similar to that of a human. They also possess some form of intelligence, some of them could even talk using human language whilst also knowing arcane language to understand demonic beasts.

The second common feature they share is that whatever mutation a Hag goes through, they will always take the form of a very old lady. Usually, Hags can shapeshift into a form that makes it easier for them to move around, for some reason though they always ends up looking like an old lady who's just a few steps away from their coffin. Once a Hag is enraged, they might discard this form and return to their original appearances but for the most part, if they were just left alone, they will always look like an old lady.

And lastly, the most common feature they share and also the easiest way to tell if the creature is a Hag or not, would be their Auras.

Auras of the Hag are always cursed. This is mostly because they practice curse spells and hexes as their main form of combat. By using mediums like a sacrifice or ritual, they can impose certain conditions to their enemies. They could even terraform the land in order to make suitable for their needs. Some of the most powerful Hags can even kill someone without needing to see them or even get close to them, just knowing the person's name and a the right amount of sacrifice is enough.

No matter who you ask, they will say that Hags are downright terrible. They are abominations created through mysterious dark rituals which can pollute an entire world easily if they wanted to.

It is very difficult to kill a Hag since, despite their 'old lady' appearance, they possess the raw strength necessary to level an entire city in no time. They can be fast, have bodies that are as tough as diamonds on top of being able to use Dark Arts to hex and curse somebody. Some Hags can even pull themselves out from the grasp of death and live again.

At a glance, Hags doesn't seem to have any form of weakness however this isn't true. The fact that they are branded as abominations means that the Heavenly Laws despises them. No matter how much of a genius a Hag is nor how long they lived, they will never be able to wield the power of laws in their entire lives.

Additionally, in order to evolve to their next form, a Hag needs to confront a Heavenly Tribulation every single time. At least 80% of the Hags that existed since the ancient time either died from Heavenly Tribulation, or was killed by people who can wield the power of Laws.

Still, despite their this fatal weakness of theirs, it doesn't mean that confronting a Hag will be easy. In fact, anyone who knew that they'll have to confront a Hag needs some form of a plan if they wanted to ensure their safety as well.

Today, Vendrick is about to meet the first Hag of this lifetime.

---

”Ugh, the stench here is...ugh.”

The smell of this place can make anyone retch in disgust. Even a sewer would smell than this horrible stench.

However, just from this scent, Vendrick already knows that there is a Hag nearby. In fact, if he truly wanted to scout using the safest method, he should stop here and not go any further. His sense were sharp enough to notice the lingering aura of a Hag here, so it's pretty much confirmed. No need to think twice.

Unfortunately, Vendrick wasn't satisfied with just this. According to his standards, this won't do at all. Aside from the fact that this place definitely has a Hag, he basically got nothing. He already knew about the existence of a Hag, his instincts already warned him about so he wasn't surprised at all. What he needed was more intel...

So instead or retreating, Vendrick decided to continue going deeper into the territory. If anything, he just made sure that he was more vigilant since he at an unknown territory by now.

To someone else, this place wouldn't really arise too much suspicion. There's the stench yes, but considering that this forest is crawling with Demonic Beast, they will mostly likely end up thinking that this stench is coming from a decaying demonic beast since the place didn't really look different from the general theme of its surroundings.

This of course, will be a huge mistake.

”Tch, terraformed.” Vendrick spat quietly as he continued moving slowly. He was being really careful to not leave even a single trace of him behind.