“What… what was that…” I panted for breath, feeling the hard stone floor appearing beneath me as I all but fell down after the teleport. I had seen for myself that monsters did not have any karma, but that thing did. It had to be a person of some kind, right?
“Core… your items… it saw through them.” I spoke with a trembling tone.
“The Ekhan’s set items should possess impervious stealth to anything but specifically designed countermeasures within the first three tiers of the four primary energies.” The dungeon spoke, a bit of surprise showing in its voice. “Therefore, if you were detected, there are only three options. One, the target knew which items you were using and had the countermeasures prepared. Two, the target is using an energy outside of the four primary. And finally, three, the target is using power beyond the third tier.”
I immediately wanted to discard the first and last possibilities. Even I myself didn’t know that I would be using Ekhan’s set until the day before the infiltration. Aside from that… power beyond the fourth tier? Currently, such power was being researched by many nations, but nobody had scratched the surface yet, from what I knew.
Which meant that the person was using a different type of energy. Something like chakra or one of the other fusions. One of those must have an ability that let them overcome the items I was wearing.
Once I had calmed down, I took my time explaining what had happened to the dungeon core. I skipped over the details of karma, saying that I felt something was suspicious about Loren, or that it seemed unnatural how so many servants were sleeping in the exact same position.
“Hmm…” The dungeon core mused when he was done listening to my explanation. “The nature of the being that you witnessed does not follow the known traits of World Spirits, so that may be directly eliminated.”
“It is possible that the creature could be an aeon, summoned with the likeness of the girl in question before killing her and enslaving the rest of the staff. In such a case, there is likely to be a summoner nearby. However, maintaining a summoning for that duration is extremely costly, so aeons are typically only used as needed.”
“It is possible that you saw someone who had obtained perfection.” There was an odd tremble to the core’s tone when he said that. “However… that is unlikely. A being that has achieved perfection would have little to gain from impersonating a local politician. Perhaps if it were a king or queen, or someone with unrestricted access to one.”
“Which brings me to the final possibility. You said that this Loren figure possessed red hair?”
I was a bit confused at that question, but nodded my head. “Yes. Originally, she was born with black hair. However, she started dyeing it red after her thirteenth birthday.”
“Are you familiar with Martial Spirits?” The core asked after I had finished my explanation.
“Only… vaguely? They are beings in Bloodhaven that serve the First Blood, Scarlet. If a monk visits their lands, they have the chance to obtain the favor of Bloodhaven citizen and form a pact of power.”
“Do you know what this pact entails?” The core asked, causing me to shake my head. “In order to enhance the strength of the monk in question, the Martial Spirit directly enters their body, and they form a symbiotic relationship. The monk gains the use of the Martial Spirit’s energy, and the spirit in turn feeds on the growth of the monk.”
“However, although their lives become bound by this pact, their deaths do not. When a bonded monk dies, their Martial Spirit becomes free. The final act of the pact is to devour the soul and blood essence of the monk they were bonded with. If the energy is sufficient, this is used to give birth to a new Martial Spirit.”
“Okay… what does that have to do with her hair, though?” I asked with understandable confusion.
“Human-form Martial Spirits all possess strikingly red hair.” The core answered in an almost mechanical tone. It didn’t say how it knew all of this, but it seemed extremely confident in its knowledge. “Whenever a monk forms a pact with such a Martial Spirit, their own hair will similarly turn red.”
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“So… you’re saying that Loren made a pact with one of these things… and now that she’s dead, it is doing all of this with her face?” I was doing my best to understand all of this, but it was not the kind of subject I was used to.
“Correct. I cannot say for sure if this Loren began these activities before her death, or if it is entirely the work of the Martial Spirit. However, I can say with confidence that this should be what you are dealing with. Martial Spirits have a unique way of detecting energies, especially of people who have taken the lives of another.”
And I had done so… I had directly killed Dolan, and had the dungeon kill the other two. Even if Jeza and Guile didn’t count, Dolan certainly would for this case. “So there’s no way to stop her from detecting me..?”
If what the core was saying was true, then things were worse than I suspected. Loren, or whatever was posing as Loren, had met me in person after I had already killed Dolan and the others. If her senses were as refined as Dolan was saying, then not only did she know where I had been hiding, she also knew who I was now.
“Incorrect. There are methods, now that I am aware of the nature of the target. Countermeasures have long since been created to defeat various energy-forms, Martial Spirits included. I shall immediately begin production of the necessary items.”
I felt myself beginning to feel hope again after I heard the core’s words. However, his next statement sent chills down my spine. “Be advised, after going over the information, and considering the conclusion that this ‘Loren’ is a Martial Spirit… I have come to an unpleasant conclusion. Those servants, as well as the Count himself, have long since been killed. From your description, they are currently acting as blood puppets for the Martial Spirit, putting on the appearance of life in order to decrease suspicion.”
“So, if I kill Loren…”
“Correct. All of her puppets will immediately perish. However, as they are already dead, this should not be a concern.” The core confirmed my worries, though seemed to be trying to comfort me at the same time.
“I understand.” I gave a firm nod. “Make whatever you can. Once you’re done, we’ll begin the hunt.”
Part of me felt like using the guild to send a message to Bloodhaven. Surely the First Blood wouldn’t want her subjects to be acting in this manner, right? She may even appear herself to take care of the problem for me. But… there was always the chance that she would approve of the behavior, that ‘Loren’ wouldn’t be punished for her actions. As such, I took a deep breath, thinking it over.
“Core… do you have any way to send a word to the Guild?”
“I do.” The core confirmed immediately. “Do you wish to contact Bloodhaven?”
“Not right now.” I shook my head. “When I begin my hunt, please send the message to the guild, notifying them of a rogue Martial Spirit in this town. I’d prefer my identity be left out of it. That way, they get the information, but shouldn’t be able to arrive in time to stop me.”
“Understood. I will delay sending the message until you have returned to town.” The core confirmed.
After making that decision, I allowed the dungeon core to focus on production, while I busied myself with remodeling the dungeon itself. Given that Loren knew my ‘scent’, going back to town was dangerous. As the daughter of the Count, or worse yet with him as her puppet, she could come up with any number of excuses to arrest me.
In the worst case scenario, my AC unit would be confiscated before I had the chance to use it, preventing me from fleeing. After that, she’d be able to silence me with nobody the wiser. No, I couldn’t take that kind of risk.
So, I put myself to work as well. The first thing that I did was to build a shrine to Accalia within the core’s room. This place was now my second home, so it was only right for me to be able to carry out my worship here.
When that was done, I offered a prayer to the Goddess, asking her for strength. My bow was placed in front of me while I knelt on the ground. As always when I prayed, I felt a gentle warmth encompassing me. “Thank you, Goddess.” I muttered silently, the warmth becoming just a bit more pronounced.
After I was done, I found that there were twelve new arrows laid atop my bow. Each one had a blue arrowhead with arcane patterns engraved. Their shafts were made of a particularly dark wood, and I tested the flexibility, finding them a bit more firm than I was used to.
“These are Bloodslayer arrows.” The core began to explain. “As the Martial Spirit’s weakness is magic, they are designed to release disruptive pulses of mana to detonate a Martial Spirit’s internal energy after impact.”
“Naturally, it remains your task to hit the target. However, depending on the strength of the Martial Spirit in question, it should only take up to three arrows to kill a Human-Form target.”
“Then why did you give me twelve?” I couldn’t help asking, looking at all of the arrows before me.
“Naturally, it remains your task to hit the target.” The core spoke again, and I swear I felt just a bit of sass when it repeated those words. I narrowed my eyes, a small grin playing at my lips.
“You just made a joke, didn’t you?”
“I’m sure that I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Of course, the core immediately denied my accusation.