Chapter 1321 (2/2)

Sydney grimaced. “That would be much simpler to track. But no, we’ve not located a vein large enough to function as an egg. We’ve gathered quite a bit of the mineral in question for our experiments in artificially producing such an egg… but progress has been slow.

“No, the reason head researcher on the project disappeared… along with a… interesting monster we recently discovered. It’s called the Impending Rock… it has no real abilities to harm people, aside from its size and weight, but whatever substances are around the Impending Rock will be dissolved and absorbed, becoming a part of it.

“We ultimately discarded the plan because the amount of minerals required in the short term was prohibitive… Based on our observations, if it absorbed enough magical plastic and raw minerals… it could become solve the problem of self-propagation to create the giant egg we wanted.”

“Not to interrupt,” Roy said slowly, “But this thing grows right? How did they steal a rock? How large was it?”

Sydney seemed to notice the gleam of excitement in Roy’s eyes but overlooked it to answer his question. “It was large. Almost as large as a house, at Level 39. But when the Impending Rock is shattered, it doesn’t die. It just reverts to its Level 1 form, which is the size of a fist.”

“So the best research on elemental focai and a bold method to create an extremely large vein disappeared. And you think you know who committed the crime?” Neveah said slowly.

“If he isn’t here already… and there is no way he would willingly miss Randidly’s birthday…” Sydney replied in the same slow tone. “...It’s likely Ace. He always had a dark sense of humor. What he could make with a living focai… a monster like that… would be a gift that made him laugh.”

*****

Ezekiel shivered, standing on the ridge next to two other figures. Below them, the ground dropped away and was swiftly devoured by the hilly forest in the area around Kharon. Unfortunately, the trio dare not approach any closer to the Kharon, because of the absolutely monstrous group of individuals patrolling.

Their images were bright and vicious in the dark night. Rather than humanoids, monsters seemed to be rotating methodically in the shadows of these treelines around Kharon.

But from their vantage, they could also see a wooden raft drunkenly riding a wave of emerald light through the sky. Although its course was rather meandering, it was clear that it was making a beeline for Kharon. What was even more intimidating was that it was obvious that the powerful patrols noticed this vessel, yet did nothing to stop it.

“If we wanted to sneak into the party, we would just need to make use of the moss spirits,” Ezekiel said slowly.

Ace snorted. “I stink of blood and death; would the moss spirits really accept us?”

Ezekiel shrugged uneasily, all too aware of the shadowy figures moving amongst the trees below. There was no way of knowing whether they would be intercepted as a threat to Kharon, but after watching group after group of guests and terrorists walking boldly forward and being accurately diagnosed based on their images, Ace was unwilling to take the chance.

“Maybe this is a good thing,” Ace said softly. “I’m not ready to give Randidly the gift that he needs-”

The rest of his sentence was lost in a series of hacking coughs that shook Ace. Hunching over, Ace struggled to control his body as wet and crimson blood oozed out of his mouth and nose to drip onto the few hardy stalks of grass that covered the surface of the ridge. But as soon as that blood touched the ground, a halo of withering spread outward. The stalks shivered and died in droves.

The woman standing with the two men frowned. “I told you it’s too much to keep that substance within your body. They might call it Lifeblood Essence, but that blood-”

“Enough, enough,” Ace waved his hand airily as he straightened and wiped his mouth. “It’s the only way to keep it potent long enough for the egg to be ready. And then I can give Randidly the gift he truly wants. A homegrown villain to change this world for the better.”

Ezekiel grimaced. “If that was what he really wanted, he wouldn’t have killed Straud so quickly.”

That caused Ace to begin to chuckle. So much so that more blood began to ooze out of the corners of his mouth. And Ezekiel didn’t miss the way that his ears were also starting to drip blood. It was beginning to stain his leather shirt. “That’s an entirely different thing. Straud was ultimately a foreign threat. And most importantly… it was a threat that didn’t understand the grandeur of our current stage. Straud was a small man with small fears-”

“A man that almost killed you both when you saved me,” The woman pointed out.

Ace continued without noticing her interjection. “-a man concerned with returning desperately to the past. A man who could not see outside the venue of our worlds. A man who had no appreciation for the horror of the System around us… no, that was never what Randidly wanted. This whole time… he’s been waiting for me to realize my true potential.”

Ezekiel and the woman had shared a glance. Ace had grown increasingly… manic since his consumption of the Lifeblood Essence stolen from Straud’s ritual. At this point, Ezekiel started to feel rather leery about continuing to associate with the man. But since he had come this far…

Plus, some part of Ezekiel’s Class couldn’t help but wonder what Ace tasted like...

“What about you?” Ace suddenly said, sending a bright smile Ezekiel’s way. “It’s your son’s birthday. I think as long as you keep that in mind, the patrols shouldn’t bother you much. They let the Nemesai through, after all. Didn’t he extend a personal invitation to you?”

Smiling nervously, Ezekiel lifted the unadorned box in his hand. It was only wrapped in brown paper, but as Ace had said, it felt like a talisman against the powerful images Ezekiel felt in the surrounding trees. “...yes. But are you sure you don’t want to make an attempt? You’ve been talking about this party all week.”

“Nah, it hurts to admit, but I’m not ready for this.” Ace’s eyes glittered as he looked toward the luminous form of Kharon in the distance. The strange raft continued to sway and slide its way toward its destination across the night sky. “Randidly Ghosthound… is powerful. So powerful that even now I’m afraid. But I can’t run away from our confrontation, right? He was my best friend. I owe him that much.”