For a mental link connecting with the Corruption of Fate, the thing making the Prophet twist and turn its brain, it felt so… weak.

When she made connections with Hyde and Frenese, she could feel their presence on the link’s end, so, even if they were ignoring her, she knew they were there. But the same couldn’t be said about the Corruption’s link.

It just kept going, barely detectable, with nothing on the other side, the link eventually escaping from her grasp.

Like shouting to the void, knowing that something was listening, yet being unable to prove its existence.

She had sent her message, yet there was no way to know if it had reached anything. The only proof of the Corruption’s presence was the segment Hyde was holding onto, from where she had wormed her way in.

“Establishing mental links with unknown entities is a rash move.” A voice, one that she was unable to pinpoint the location from where it came, answered her. It didn’t feel hostile, nor blurred, like the furry-handed Deriliam, yet there was something about it that disgusted her, down to her core.

She examined that sensation, not feeling it normal, as if it was forced out from her. She found the culprit quickly, it being her own Esca.

There was something about it trying to repel the Corruption’s presence, down to a hostile degree, making her want to break the connection.

Yet she pushed her disgust back with force, taking a deep breath and swallowing her desire to gag. “I’m assuming you aren’t prideful enough to let some mockery doom us both.”

Once again, she didn’t feel her answer reach anything nor anyone, simply going forward down the mental link until losing its strength, weakening and disappearing.

That explains why no one found out about the Corruption being linked with Dianthus beforehand, not even Arhontissa. If I didn’t know it was already there, I wouldn’t feel anything at all.

Then, how did Cardomos know? That was the only question she had no answer for, not even a single conjecture or suspicion. The Prophet knew because of the holes made by it, but Cardomos wasn’t omniscient in principle. He saw as far as his eyes went, and what his Esca allowed.

As far as Velvet knew, which obviously wasn’t the whole story.

“And,” She added. “That you can’t do anything so as to keep your presence well hidden.” If she was sure of something, it was that the Corruption didn’t actively do things, and Dianthus was the one doing stuff.

Because Dianthus did some random ass things sometimes, with zero explanation. Like, it wasn’t that strange things happened around him, but that he actively caused them. So, if anything, the Corruption gave orders to him, and he followed them in his own manner.

Now, were they cooperating? Or was the Corruption simply controlling him?

No, if there was mind control, Arhontissa herself would’ve sensed it. So, at the very least, they were allies.

“You smarty things are so tiring to deal with. You should look someplace other than your brain.”

“What?” The first you was plural, while the second one was singular, which put her in alert, making Velvet look around.

She was not that dumb to just be ignoring the fact that she was in the Death Realm. Her paper figurines had been scattered around her since the moment she stepped into the Realm. And, aside from a few lost souls, she didn’t feel anything else.

“You are being hunted.”

Yet she didn’t doubt those words, even when she couldn’t prove them. The first reason why, was the use of the word ‘hunted’. It didn’t mean that she crossing the being mentioned was a matter of chance, but that it was going after her on purpose. And, her paper figurines could be detected, and thus, avoided.

Velvet continued walking as if nothing was wrong, so as to not alert the creature. The last thing she needed was for it to give chase.

Her figurines could go as far as five hundred meters, but she had settled for two hundred. She had used five of them on Cardomos’ trial, which left her with fifteen, ten of those being the ones circling her.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

With the fairy dust used for their creation, she could call them back instantly, if the need arose. Yet, doing so right now would arouse suspicion, especially if the thing was keeping some of them in check.

If she knew where it was, she could move the other paper figurines.

“Hyde, do you feel something?” Demons could sense stuff she couldn’t, after all.

“No, it’s probably too far away.”

“Southwest.” A voice cut in. It wasn’t the Corruption’s, but Frenese’s.

Why are you collaborating now? She was surprised, but the Devil answered quickly, almost anxious.

“From the Predator Paradigm.”

Oh, so he was just hungry. Orrr not. “You didn’t eat the Gluttony mages inside the pocket dimension, why so interested now?” She remembered that the mages from that Paradigm, and derived from it, went insane, killing and eating other mages, not being eaten by Frenese.

Nereus was one of them, after all.

“They fill more when they themselves are full.”

… So it was hunger. “Do I have your help to deal with it, then?”

Silence followed, the Devil seemingly hesitating. He wasn’t ignoring her like usual, and Velvet could feel the hunger coming from him, even from behind all the seals.

He’s probably thinking how big of a chance I have to confront that thing. Not that much, it seems. Yet Frenese clearly wanted to eat it, or he wouldn’t hesitate that much. And she could bargain with that.

If she managed to open the door of cooperation outside the deal once, the second time it would be easier.

And, a low chance to hunt that thing back successfully wasn’t no chance. So she could-

“Don’t try to fight it.” When she was going to belittle it for ruining her opportunity to gain Frenese’s trust, the Corruption continued. “You will have your chance in the future.”

“...”

“A better one.”

Resigning herself, Velvet started thinking about how to shake the thing off her tracks. The Death Realm didn’t have wind, so it wasn’t following her scent. Yet, just in case, she used a spell to make two of her figurines smell like her, before sending them off.

“How is it tracking me?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” The Corruption answered.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? Aren’t you seeing it?”

“I can see it, yes. I can also see it continuing after you.”

Did that mean that The Corruption could see the present and the future of someone, but not what happened behind the scenes? Or was its vision limited? “What does it look like?”

“Like a wolf with long, thin legs, hair short and black.”

That didn’t help, at all. There were plenty of wolf-like things, especially on the Gluttony Paradigm. Frenese was one of them, and so was Navros, Nereus’ pet.

“Frenese, how do you detect prey?”

“By taste.”

It made sense. Frenese not only had a triple mouth, connected by the corners, but mouths full of teeth all over his back. All of them had tongues, but not eyes or noses. Plus, the tendrils that worked as fur looked slimy, so the chance of those also being able to taste wasn’t low.

But Frenese was a Devil. Usually, demons and normal monsters weren’t so… extra.

“Is it doing anything to keep track of me? Like pressing its ear to the ground?”

“It’s looking at you.”

So it was a matter of sight.

Overgrown vines everywhere made it impossible for it to simply have amazing eyesight, so it was more than that.

It's been chasing me for a while, which means that it doesn’t eat things normally found here, like ghosts, so it probably eats living flesh.

It needs a type of vision that lets it differentiate between a ghost and a living being. Ghosts can speak and make noise, and living dead might look like humans from far away, same as banshees.

So, the thing that makes it easier to tell them apart is body heat.

“It has thermal vision.” She said, grabbing hold of the southwest paper figurines. “So let’s give a real feast to its eyes.”

Several explosions followed, as she hoped that Cardomos didn’t like his plants that much.