Chapter 244: Possession

"Just what the hell is that monster..."

Vanessa spoke through gritted teeth, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

Dirt slipped between her fingers as anger and desperation radiated from her.

Despair enveloped her heart as she tried to stand up, only for her to fail as her arms, which she used as a pivot, gave in.

She looked at her hands, though dirty, were without injuries.

"I..."

Vanessa did not know what to do.

Although the Soul Contract enabled them to transfer their injuries, their exhaustion was another matter altogether.

And although aether was powerful, being at the Starless Realm, their energy reserves were simply lacking.

Vanessa looked ahead.

Despite them giving their all, the grotesque monster showed no signs of exhaustion.

At this moment, it picked up the unconscious Perto with its skeletal arm and opened its three mouths wide.

It looked as if it wanted to eat the human it had defeated.

’No!’

Vanessa struggled, but before she could get up, she noticed something amiss.

The grotesque monster seemed to have suddenly stopped moving and was looking in a certain direction.

’Isn’t that where Brutt—’

Tap... Tap... Tap...

Before she could finish her thoughts, she heard footsteps.

It was slow.

Calm and steady.

Unhurried, as if the person walking was simply strolling around a park.

’Reinforcements?’

Vanessa thought as she followed the monster’s line of sight.

However, what she saw made her speechless.

The source of the footsteps was none other than the headless Brutt.

Brutt... or rather, the headless body walked in the direction of its decapitated head.

As it arrived, it quickly crouched down and picked its head up by the hair.

Vanessa and the grotesque monster who still held the unconscious Perto were all frozen in shock as they watched the strange sight.

"I didn’t expect to experience being decapitated... this is a first for me."

The headless body spoke as it ’attached’ the head back onto its neck.

Crack— Crack—

As his head was attached successfully, ’Brutt’ cracked his neck with eyes closed.

"Ha... that feels better."

Hearing her friend’s voice, Vanessa felt strange, "B-Brutt? Is that you...?"

Her voice stuttered as hesitation was all over her face.

The person she was staring at was indeed her friend.

She was sure of it.

However, the way he acted, as well as the way ’Brutt’ spoke...

It was different.

Vanessa could not put a finger on it, but she knew that the ’Brutt’ before her was different.

At this moment, ’Brutt’ started walking towards the grotesque monster in a relaxed manner as he picked up the broken blade not far away from him.

He glanced at Vanessa and smiled.

For some reason, the way he smiled reminded her of someone.

’Regis...?’

Vanessa did not know why she thought of that particular person.

"You’re still at the Starless Realm? I guess we would need to have a meeting. Let’s work on the establishment of the corporation when we get back."

’Brutt’s’ words seemed nonsensical and totally random.

However, Vanessa did not take long before she understood what he meant, as well as what it implied.

As he walked past her, ’Brutt’ looked at the grotesque monster ahead.

"I would really appreciate it if you could lay my friend down..."

GRRRRRR—--!!!!

The grotesque monster roared, its three mouths spitting saliva.

It then hurriedly flung the unconscious Perto away before charging towards ’Brutt’.

[Lux Aeterna]

Vanessa heard a singular chant before she saw a pair of feet standing before her.

She looked up and saw ’Brutt’ carrying the unconscious Perto in his arms.

"W-Why are you here? How about the monste—-"

THUD!!!

Before Vanessa could finish speaking, she heard a loud noise, which prompted her to turn her head.

There, she saw the grotesque monster’s huge body collapsed on the ground.

No injuries could be seen on it apart from the broken blade that was covered in flames, which was impaled on its black core.

’Brutt’ looked down at her and knelt before setting Perto carefully on the ground.

"I’ll leave the rest to you. Perto’s wounds should be healed already. Report what you’ve discovered back in Harmonia. Tell me what happened when we get back, okay?"

"Alright." Vanessa nodded, her face full of exhaustion.

"Thanks for saving us."

Thud—

The only reply she received was Brutt’s body collapsing beside her.

"Really... thank you... sob..."

Amidst the darkened forest, only the soft sobs of a young girl drifted with the evening breeze, fading like whispers into the night.

***

Meanwhile, at the Midas Mansion...

A pair of blood red eyes suddenly opened.

"Ugh, my head..."

Regis complained as he sat up in a struggle.

It took him a few minutes before his headache faded into something more bearable.

"Thankfully, everything went well..."

He whispered as he held his chest, carefully feeling his heartbeat.

"...Though I never wanted to step into the Realm of Evil again, I had no choice."

As his instincts kicked in earlier, Regis knew that Vanessa and the others were in real danger.

Thus, he went through the numerous magic spells, aura arts, and evil crafts he had.

Unfortunately, he had nothing he could use.

Thus, he decisively dived into the red space again, known as the Realm of Evil.

There, he instantly sought out the black sphere of the Devil of Death and Extinction and was able to acquire an evil craft that was suitable for his current situation.

"Fortunately... I seemed to have some sort of influence in the red space..."

Regis mused to himself quietly.

It had already been years since his last visit, which was also the time when he met with the Devil of Decay and Corruption.

Despite setting foot on the Mid Stage of Five Star Realm, he postponed getting his evil craft.

This was due to his fear of possibly meeting another devil.

However, he sensed a faint influence over the red space— subtle, but present.

Even so, it was enough to draw in the very evil craft he needed most.

[Soul Possession]

It was the evil craft that he had gotten from the black sphere that represented the Devil of Death and Extinction.

"I’m glad that everything went well..."

Regis said with a satisfied smile, then glanced around at his surroundings.

The room he was in appeared to be one of the guest rooms in the Midas Mansion, judging by the familiar paint and furnishings.

He then scooted to the side of the large bed and got out of it.

"Hmmm, it seems like they changed my clothes as well..."

Regis said in embarrassment as he looked down at the clothes he was wearing.

It was a simple set of light colored cotton shirt and pants.

He felt so comfortable that it felt like he was wearing clouds for his clothes.

After a moment of musing to himself, Regis immediately headed out of the room to find his friends.

He stepped into the hallway and spotted a wall clock hanging in place, its hands ticking softly.

"It’s past midnight already..."

Regis muttered under his breath as he stretched both his arms.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to head downstairs.

"Oh, you’re finally awake."

Aurum spoke as he took a sip of his black coffee, his eyes drifting toward the young man descending the stairs.

"You’re still awake, Uncle?"

Regis replied with a question as he sat down on the couch.

He looked at the various papers that littered the low table in front of him.

"Is that the evidence brought by— what was his name again?"

"Gerald."

"Right. So how was it? Are they trustworthy?" Regis asked as he read some of the contents.

The papers held various titles.

Accounts that held transactions between the Crypto Merchantry and some of the demonic cults.

Records regarding slave trafficking and other illegal trades were also present.

Aurum clicked his tongue, "Well, I think so."

"What are you going to do with these if ever they are true?"

"I’m planning on letting the City Council know, so we can have their cooperation."

"Wouldn’t they have some connections within the City Council?"

Aurum took a sip of his black coffee before smiling, "People like them always lack something. Can you guess what it is?"

"I don’t know..." Regis thought for a while before answering, "Loyalty?"

"Exactly."

Aurum continued with a smile, "People in illegal trades are often experts in washing their hands off of their doings the instant they are caught."

"Oftentimes, they would not hesitate to throw off their comrades just to save themselves."

Listening to Aurum, Regis was able to remember what it was like in the slums.

’I guess, after being away from the slums for years, I’ve forgotten some of the darker sides of people...’

Thinking this, Regis could not help but let out a self-deprecating laugh.

Oblivious to what he was thinking, Aurum finished his black coffee as he finally finished reading the supposed evidence Gerald had given them.

He then turned to Regis and asked, "About the others in the Ruins of Gold..."

"You don’t have to worry about that. Aurelia can do it."

"It’s not that I don’t believe in my daughter, but..."

Aurum trailed off, a hesitant expression appearing on his face.

Regis smiled, "You have my word. In three days or so, I’ll make sure that Aurelia will be able to take care of it."