Rimold was never one to stay in the sect for long periods of time. Since Red arrive, the rogue was always an inconsistent presence, making trips that could last months to other towns in the region and only communicating with them through letters. They were used to it, but it just so happened this last trip of his lasted for more than six months already.
The arrival of his letters during that period was inconsistent, and the rogue only claimed he was pursuing a personal matter, travelling all over the neighboring regions. Hector was none too pleased with that, but since Rimold didn’t have a fixed address, the elder couldn’t communicate with him.
Suffice it to say, upon learning of his return, both Red and Domeron were shocked. They exchanged glances before they both walked outside.
‘I can’t sense his fluctuation.’
Red looked around in confusion upon arriving outside. There was no Rimold anywhere, only Allen looking at them with a smile while holding a piece of paper in his hand.
Domeron frowned upon seeing this. “Where is he?”
“He’s not here.” Allen shook his head. “Well, at least not yet.”
“Then why are you screaming that he’s back?!”
“Here!” Allen handed over the piece of paper to Domeron. “I found that message in my room!”
The man examined the piece of paper with a scowl. Red peeked over Domeron’s shoulder to see its contents.
It read: ‘I have something really important to discuss with you and the others. Meet me on my hideout at the southern edge of town. Red will know the way. Do not let Hector know about it.’
Domeron grunted in annoyance. “How do you know it’s Domeron who left this letter?”
“Who else would leave something like that?” Allen asked. “Besides, I recognize his handwriting. It’s not the first time he left me a message like this.”
The man sighed. “So let me get this right. He sent you a secret message just to avoid Hector knowing about his return, and the first thing you do is to come running to the main building and shout about it for all to hear?”
“Uh…” Allen stumbled over his words. “I-I was just too excited about him being alive after all that has been happening to us.”
Domeron frowned. “Indeed. If the imperials can track us, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to capture Rimold while he’s out of town. Still, if he’s safe and sound, that’s all that matters.”
“Right.” Allen nodded. “So, can we go meet him already? It seems by his words that this is a very urgent matter!”
“Well, it depends.” Domeron looked up towards a window on the second floor. “Can we go meet with him, Hector?”
Allen shivered and followed the man’s gaze. Hector was standing by the open window, glaring down at the young master with an angered expression.
“Do what you want!” Hector waved his hand at them before turning around to walk away. “Just make sure you don’t die!”
The windows shut close by themselves as the elder went back to his room.
Allen seemed at a loss. “I thought he would be angrier.”
Domeron ignored the young master’s remark and looked at Red. “Do you think this is a trap?”
Red frowned in thought. “Hard to say. Either way, I doubt they would try anything so daring in town.”
“Agreed.” The man nodded. “I will accompany you to that hideout either way.”
“You? Accompany us?” Allen looked surprised.
“Yes, me.” Domeron stared at him. “Why? Is there a problem?”
Allen shook his head. “N-No, it’s just… You rarely ever join us in our missions.”
Rather than rarely, it was more accurate to say that Domeron never joined Red or Allen in their forays, in or out of town. Up to this day, the youth had yet to see Domeron display his strength in anything but training. He often wondered if this idleness would cause the one-armed swordsman’s skills to get rusty, but he was always proven wrong once they sparred.
The man was still the most skilled swordsman in town by far, and Red didn’t doubt for a second that he could deal with almost anything below the Lesser Ring Realm, even with just a single arm.
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Still, there was still another question in the youth’s mind.
“Why do you want to come?” Red asked.
“I am the only person in this sect who hasn’t displayed their strength in public.” Domeron said. “All the imperials have to go off of me are rumours from more than ten years ago. If they are bold enough to try something in town, then they won’t be expecting my presence there.”
Red nodded. “That makes sense. Still, after the ghouls in the forest, I think anyone trying to kill me will use far more strength than any of us can deal with.”
Domeron smiled. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
After seeing the swordsman’s confidence, the youth didn’t say anything else.
“Do we want to call anyone else?” Allen asked.
“There’s no need.” Domeron shook his head. “We don’t want to catch anyone’s attention, so we’re going light when night arrives.” He looked over at Red. “You can use that time to rest and find yourself some new clothes.”
Red was taken aback for a second. He was so focused on the matter at hand, he completely forgot about the fact he was bare-chested.
The youth frowned. “My uniform is ruined.”
His clothes weren’t just for decoration - they were a specially crafted protective garb. As much as they weren’t effective in stopping the ghouls’ acid, they still afforded him precious few moments to take his clothes off and save his body from further damage.
“I’ll speak with Frida.” Domeron said. “I’m not sure how long it might take, but we will pay whatever is needed to get you a new uniform. For now, common clothes will have to suffice.”
Red nodded.
Soon after, the three of them parted ways. It was good that Domeron didn’t insist on leaving just yet, since the youth still needed to address some things before going out on another potentially dangerous adventure.
Red returned to his room and closed the door behind him. Then, without hesitation, he sat cross-legged on his bed and entered a meditative state.
He decided to check his body’s condition.
‘Like I thought, it’s all gone.’
There was no Moonstone energy at all in his special acupoints, likely all drained when Aurelia used whatever technique she used to kill those ghouls. This wouldn’t have been a problem if not for the fact the Full Moon hadn’t just happened and now Red had no way to recharge his acupoints before the New Moon came and the curse flared.
‘Well, there is a way…’
Red opened his eyes and took out the insectoid core from his pouch. Technically, the youth could absorb the energy from the crystal to refill his acupoints, but the problem right now is that the core looked completely drained. If Red tried to take any more energy from it, it was likely that it would collapse into dust.
‘I have no other choice.’
Red got up from his bed and took out a wooden floorboard, revealing a large strongbox. This was a container he had devised with Goulth’s help. It required no key, and instead it was full of pressure mechanisms on its surface that one needed to press in the right order to open it. If you even so much as press one wrong button, then a trap would trigger an explosion with a fireball talisman.
Only Red and his master knew the right combination.
After a series of precise button presses on the surface of the strongbox, the container opened up. Inside, Red’s treasure trove was revealed.
Here, he kept all his valuable possessions. From the Storm Blessing manual to his Arcane Scripture manual, all the way to Viran’s single diary page he found in the underground - things he would rather be destroyed in a fire than to fall into someone else’s hand. Of course, Red had memorized most of the contents of both manuals and he kept some encrypted copies of them somewhere else, which was why he was comfortable putting them inside an explosive box.
Still, this wasn’t the only thing in the chest.
Red’s eyes wandered over to the side, where eight Spirit Stones lay and all kinds of formation-building materials lay. It was everything he had gathered over seven years of living in town, a veritable fortune for someone like him. Not all of it was acquired through honest means, but this wasn’t something that phased Red.
If he wanted to build his Parting Storm formation as soon as possible, he couldn’t just wait for opportunities to come to him. So he stole. A lot.
He was smart enough not to do it too often, so as not to arouse the suspicion of anyone in the region. Still, there were some close calls, and Red wouldn’t have been able to accomplish as much without Rimold’s help and guidance on a few occasions.
Now, however, it seemed like he would need to use these Spirit Stones for a new purpose.
‘I hope this works.’
Red took out a single Spirit Stone from the chest, before touching it against the insectoid core. The reaction was almost immediate.
The crystal began to glow, absorbing the Spiritual Energy from the stone, and in turn, the Spirit Stone began to dim. A few seconds later, it had turned into a useless gray lump in the youth’s hands, crumbling into dust against his grip.
Red was surprised at the ferocity of the core’s absorption. He examined the crystal, noticing its green color had gotten slightly brighter. However, it was nowhere near to the levels where it was before, so he knew he needed to continue the process.
Red used stone after stone to refill the core with Spiritual Energy. It was only on the sixth Spirit Stone that he saw some change.
A familiar glint of a silhouette appeared on the core’s surface. The youth would have been shocked by it if he wasn’t expecting it.
A few seconds later, a voice echoed in his ear.
“I thought you would be too stingy to spend your trove to help me recover.”
Red sighed. “It’s not like you gave me a choice.”
Aurelia scoffed. “What now? Are you complaining that I helped save you and your friend?”
“No.” Red shook his head. “I have to thank you for that.”
There was a silence following his words.
“… Aren’t you going to appear again?” Red asked after not seeing the woman’s figure materialize.
“I can’t do it yet.” Aurelia said. “It wasn’t just the core’s Spiritual Energy that I spent to kill those ghouls.”
Red frowned. “What happened there?”
“I am a ghost, Red. A disembodied soul, corrupted by undead energy. The Spiritual Energy in the core and in your was far from enough to achieve what I did, so I had to use something else to do the rest.”
“You used your own soul to do that?”
“More or less.” Aurelia said.
Red hesitated. “… What exactly are you?”
“I am a ghost.”
“What kind of ghost?”
“… A banshee.”
The woman sounded none too happy as she revealed her true nature to Red.