Chapter 6 - Chapter 6: Chapter 5 Nasir Town (2/2)
The old blacksmith did not object further.
By the time the frail Irene dragged the iron shovel and bucket of goat’s milk away, Ramon, in the smithy, muttered to himself:
“She really does look a lot like her, my granddaughter was nearly indistinguishable from this girl. Ah, to be thirteen or fourteen and have to care for her younger brother on her own, I fear they’ll have a hard time getting through this winter.”
The presence inhabiting Irene, Karl, sensed a flavor similar to metal, although faint, a sliver of metallic-type Bloodline power existed within the old man’s body.
Perhaps it would be worth attempting to unearth his potential, currently only the young siblings are incapable of doing anything substantial; having “pieces” that can guarantee loyalty is definitely beneficial.
However, Karl also felt that the old man’s days were numbered and his investment might not be worthwhile.
But he also noticed that besides the old man, there seemed to be others in the smithy who possessed the same type of Bloodline power; perhaps these were his descendants or relatives?
Irene, carrying her items, passed by a food stand and suddenly stood staring at the rough, hard black bread, hesitating for a long while before shaking her head and continuing on her way.
That was something that, in the past, she could only have on her birthday. The girl also found it strange, what on earth was going on with her, feeling an urge to lash out.
She walked past a mansion in the center of Nasir City, the white house surrounded by neatly trimmed gardens and paths shaded by green trees.
Overnight accumulated rainwater dripped from the eaves, creating a trickle that tinkled melodiously.
The owner of the white mansion was the town chief of Nasir Town, responsible for assisting the Hovern family’s Baron in managing the affairs of Nasir Town.
Maritime trade was the most lucrative business along the East Coast, and Nasir’s town chief was an exceedingly wealthy tycoon there, a good friend of the great sea merchants controlling the maritime routes, holding sway over many useful connections.
The middle-aged and corpulent town chief, his body hefty, had just finished breakfast and stepped out of his mansion when he immediately saw the girl passing his doorway on the street and his eyes bulged in shock!
It was as if he had witnessed something utterly unbelievable!
“Good morning, town chief.”
Irene greeted with a calm and respectful bow, for the daughter of an ordinary fisherman, the town chief of Nasir undeniably was a personage high above.
Yet after a night of madness, something within her deepest core would never be filled with awe for mere mortals again.
“You, you, you…”
The town chief seemed to want to say something, but after a long pause, he couldn’t articulate it and just shook his head.
Irene paused for a moment, then left, feeling bewildered, her intuition telling her that something was amiss.
In the town chief’s eyes as he watched the girl’s retreating figure, there shone deep weariness and fear.
What on earth was going on?
Those people had clearly made a deal with him that as long as this year’s sacrifice was the orphaned siblings who nobody cared about, the terrifying cult wouldn’t target the town!
At least not this year! For the entire year! Nasir was supposed to be safe!
The sacrifices he had made each year to appease that cult, all for the sake of Nasir, but nevertheless, the siblings had shamelessly survived without permission.
If the followers of that evil cult came looking or if the matter escalated, leading even the imposing Lord Baron or the more formidable Tempest Curia to take notice…
A profound dread nearly swallowed the town chief whole in an instant.
Baron Hovern was the outright owner of the whole Nasir Town and also the only individual in the town to have reached Level 2 as an Extraordinary Exponent.
The strongest on the East Coast, however, was the region’s Tempest Bishop, who was likely nearing Level 3.
From the perspective of a mortal, these powerful beings were almost indistinguishable from true deities.
He trembled all over, plunged into deep contemplation, unable to comprehend a matter of vital importance.
“Strange, why on earth did those helpless siblings survive? It’s completely inconceivable.”
Could it be that something had gone wrong with the Great Priest of the Blood Cult, but he, too, was a real Extraordinary Exponent? Handling two children would be easy for him.
The town chief’s expression turned grave, he must try to reach out to that cult’s evil cultist, and grasp the full situation at the earliest opportunity.
After returning home, Irene immediately checked to make sure her brother was alright, then scrutinized her surroundings to ensure no one else was around before finally taking a deep breath.
She hoped no one had passed by during the time she was away.
For some reason, all those who died had turned into ghastly pale ashes, as if their bodies had been dead for a long time.
The ground outside the wooden house was unusually soft; she gripped the cold, rough handle of the iron shovel tightly, digging forcefully into the moist earth, tremulously burying the ashes completely in the soil.
By the time everything was done, the night had deepened and darkness descended.
The girl’s tired, numb eyes were devoid of any light, as if her fear of death and the last of her innocence, like those ashes, were buried deep underground.
——
A few hours earlier in the dead of night.
Dozens of kilometers away in another East Coast town.
“Ah!”
Members of the Fischer family, Lucius and Byrne, awoke from their dreams one after the other!
Looking at each other, they were speechless for a long while.
In their dreams, they both heard whispers too alien to comprehend, yet impossible to ignore, as if the eerie murmurings were of demonic gods.
Sweat poured down their backs as they sat with wide-eyed terror.
The sudden red brands on their hands ached faintly, like nightmarish omens, or perhaps a predestined fate hidden within their Bloodline.
“The East,” the son swallowed his saliva.
“That’s where the call is coming from…”