Red examined his Spiritual Sea. Although it was still stabilizing, he sensed the vast reserves of energy that were now available to him. An early stage Lesser Ring Realm cultivator would struggle to use too many Spiritual Arts, as their energy was limited, but a middle stage one didn’t have this worry.
Right now, Red felt he could use the wind blade spell dozens of times before being spent. Of course, this was likely an exaggeration because of the feeling of breaking through, but the fact of the matter was that he wouldn’t need to worry about spending Spiritual Energy for simple techniques.
As for sword arts, that was a different matter.
He was confident in creating a sword arc, but there was still a gap between that and initial mastery of the sword styles, and since they were sect Spiritual Arts, he guessed they would spend more energy than normal as well. It was something he would need to experiment with before assessing his battle prowess.
Quantity wasn’t the only improved aspect of his cultivation, though. His Spiritual Energy was purer, and it flowed through his body more easily, such that his spells were more powerful and could also be executed more quickly. Overall, this was a great boost to his power, but he tried to put it into perspective.
‘Jumping between small Realms doesn’t provide a considerable upgrade.’
This made sense, he supposed. There was no fundamental change in the energy available to the cultivator, so they wouldn’t be able to access stronger spells or improve their current ones. It was all to say that, although one might be a small Realm above someone else, it wasn’t enough of a difference to completely disregard those below them, and Red knew this firsthand.
His cultivation was weaker than the Shadows, but they both died in his hands because of his secret demonic technique and his artifact. A cultivator could make up for this difference in strength with superior weapons and techniques, as Red had done, and he wasn’t arrogant enough to think he was the only one capable of it. Someone weaker than him could also be hiding secret techniques, and there was no rule saying that stronger cultivators couldn’t use tricks or surprise someone weaker than them, either.
Someone like Nikon, for instance, was not only in the peak of the Lesser Ring Realm, but he had been around long enough to have amassed their own arsenal and trump cards. Could Red also take him by surprise and kill him in a single move? It was doubtful, in which case Nikon would have the overwhelming advantage because of his cultivation.
It was difficult to imagine a scenario where Red emerged victorious in that situation.
‘Cultivation base alone does not provide me with enough confidence.’
Perhaps this wouldn’t be the case in higher realms, but right now, he felt this was the truth.
“What’s the strength of an average sect disciple?” Red asked Aurelia through his expanded awareness.
“It’s impossible to answer that without a point of reference,” she said.
“How do they measure up against a rogue cultivator in the same realm?”
“Against a rogue cultivator?” She snorted. “There’s simply no comparison! Both their circulation technique and Spiritual Arts are on completely different levels, and an early stage Lesser Ring sect disciple would have as much energy in their spiritual sea as a middle stage rogue cultivator. They would have no issues defeating someone in a higher stage, and some of them could even beat late stage Lesser Ring cultivators depending on their talent. It is not unheard of for some cultivators to fight people in an entire higher Realm than them either. That Silver Knight can probably do that, if I had to guess.”
Red thought to himself for a while.
“How would I fare against a sect disciple?” He asked.
“On the same realm? Hmm… With all your powers and tricks, you would have a chance, but it would be a tough fight and you might lose. Against a core disciple, though, you would lose without a doubt.”
“Were you a core disciple?”
Aurelia laughed. “What do you think?”
Red didn’t respond. He was satisfied with her assessment of his strengths. To be put in the same realm as an average sect disciple, even without all their advantages, was more than enough for Red, at least right now.
“Do you have any advice on how to defeat that demonic cultivator?”
“Yes, I do: don’t fight him until you’re at the late stage of the Lesser Ring Realm.”
Red frowned. “Is he that strong?”
“It’s not about that… Of course he is strong, but the matter of the fact is that I simply do not know about this Infernal Emperor they worship, nor what kind of ability he grants to his worshippers. Demonic cultivators all have powers that make them annoying to deal with, even if you’re aware of them. Now, going against them without even knowing what they can do? That’s asking to die!”
He recalled her mentioning there was no Archdemon called Infernal Emperor during her time alive. Red only knew about his name from books, but information about their abilities or origins was not available to the public, and searching for them was taboo.
However, it just so happened there was a source of information about the cult right next to him.
“You,” Red looked over at the imp.
Emer, who was organizing materials by the side of the living room, looked at him in surprise.
“Yes, master?”
“What are the abilities of your cult?”
Red refrained from asking this for a long time. He knew otherwordly influences were already very interested in him, and learning more about the cult of the Infernal Emperor might open him to corruption without him even realizing it. But since it seemed confrontation between them was inevitable, what choice did he have?
“A-abilities, master?” The imp seemed nervous, as usual, when speaking about his cult.
“Have you never seen them fight?” Red asked.
“S-Sometimes, but I wasn’t part of any operations, master.”
“Just tell me what you know.”
Emer looked around anxiously, as if he was afraid someone was listening in on their conversation. This made Red frown.
“You have already betrayed your cult. Whatever punishment was forthcoming, you already paid with your life.”
His words seemed to give the imp some confidence. He looked back at Red and nodded.
“Does master know why we-… they are called the Nine-Star Cult?”
Red shook his head.
“The nine-star is a symbol of the nine elements of the I-Infern-… of their lord’s domain over nature. Fire, water, air, earth, wood, metal, lightning, darkness, and light - He controls and influences all elemental energy and His worshippers can also gain access to his domain.”
“They can use all elements?” Red asked, surprised.
“Theoretically, yes, but their vessels can only carry so much. They only choose one of the elements to focus on - a facet of His authority that is represented by one of His angels.”
“Angels?” He was confused.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Y-Yes, master. His angels…”
Red was about to ask more, but he caught himself. This wasn’t relevant information, so he didn’t need to know it.
“What element did you brother use?”
He remembered Cassemir invoked a purple energy shield in front of him to block his attack in their brief confrontation.
“H-He focused on the Loreth’s domain, the Angel of Light.”
Red frowned. “There is no need to speak their names.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, master!”
“Just don’t do it again,” he said, trying his best to wipe the name off his mind. “I assume there is something more to these elements that makes them special, correct?”
“Yes, master,” the imp nodded. “Each of them represents a virtue of the Infernal Emperor. His light represents his knowledge and gives his worshippers a glimpse into the hidden truths of the world.”
‘Hidden truths?’
It sounded like this power had something to do with perception. Was this why Cassemir was able to read through Red’s actions back when he first arrived in the capital?
“It’s better to put this creature’s explanation in context,” Aurelia interjected in his mind. “He was told the version that his leaders wanted him to hear. If you had to guess what it actually does, I would presume this light can induce madness in both the user and the target, or something akin to that.”
He was compelled to agree with her.
“What about the other elements?” He asked the imp.
“I’m not too clear on all of them, but… They all have a purple aspect to them, a symbol of his influence. Fire represents the passion of the Emperor, water his serenity, earth his tenacity, air his joy, wood his vitality, metal his courage, lightning his authority, and both darkness and light represent aspects of his wisdom.”
Red sighed. This sounded more complicated than he was expecting, and he needed to absorb all this knowledge knowing they represented something far more sinister than the imp’s description made it seem.
“You call him the Infernal Emperor, right?” He asked.
Emer nodded. “Yes, master.”
“Yet, he represents all these positive aspects?”
“Yes, master.”
The imp didn’t seem to notice the contradiction in these two things. There was an obvious negative connotation in the word “infernal”, yet the cultists still used that to describe their Emperor. It made little sense to Red, but he had to reel back his curiosity before the conversation veered towards the cult’s actual doctrines.
“Other than light, have you seen any of these powers?”
“Y-Yes, I’ve seen the fire aspect before, master,” the imp seemed as if he had recalled something uncomfortable. “Some of our cult members were being punished for failing a task. T-The one punishing them burned bright with the Emperor’s fury a-and he… killed all of them as if he was possessed by a beast.”
‘A berserking state?’
Red was familiar with this state, mainly because the lizard demon from long ago and the slaughter demon imprisoned in his sword were both possessed of said states.
“What about Nikon? Do you know what power he possesses?”
“N-Nikon?” The imp trembled at recalling the man. “He has the metal aspect, master!”
“Is that so?”
He recalled what he saw from the man. Nikon had shattered Emer’s head with a single punch, without the use of Spiritual Energy or an artifact, something not even Red was confident in accomplishing. This indicated that his physical strength was at an extremely high level, which lined up with the idea of metal and its toughness.
Afterwards, Red asked the imp other questions about these elements, redirecting the conversation whenever it happened to wander in a dangerous direction. He didn’t gain much information beyond the powers of the light and fire, but he felt as if he could make some educated guesses about what the other powers could do.
Still, as the conversation dragged on, an uncomfortable feeling grew in Red’s gut. It was minor, and he might have missed it if he wasn’t paying attention to his state, yet, given the context of what he was doing right now, he immediately called the conversation to a close.
“This will do for now,” Red said, dismissing the imp.
He sat down and went over the information he had just learned, all while monitoring this unexplainable feeling that surged through his body. It had stopped growing as soon as the conversation with the imp ended, but it still lingered, only disappearing after a few minutes had passed.
“Did you feel that?” Red asked Aurelia.
The woman’s figure manifested in front of him, and she had an unusually serious expression. “No, though I can guess what it is you felt. ”
“Corruption?” It was his best guess.
“Definitely, though where it came from is the important question,” Aurelia looked him over. “Mentioning an archdemon by name so many times is not a good idea. Just being knowledgeable about them is enough to open yourself to corruption, much more for you who they seem to have taken note of.”
“…I thought I was being careful.”
“You were. There’s just nothing you can do that will be one hundred percent effective.”
Red frowned. He recalled that Emer, when he was still a human, had discovered his identity as a demonic cultivator with the help of his medallion, which presumably connected him to the Infernal Emperor. Was Red still under the watch of this archdemon, even though he couldn’t feel it?
He reached out with his expanded awareness to the crimson mist within his body. To his surprise, the being was silently shivering, and when he reached to it, it responded.
“Careful.”
Red realized then that what he felt wasn’t the corruption, but rather the crimson mist’s warning. This, of course, worried him even more, since he wouldn’t have been able to detect this perilous state without the being’s warning.
‘Not even being careful is enough.’
Red looked over at Aurelia. “Anything to add?”
“Nothing beyond what I already told you…” She hesitated. “Make sure you’re careful when dealing with this man. It’s clear there are forces at play here that even I don’t understand.”
Her figure disappeared after giving him this uncharacteristic advice, but she didn’t dissuade him from his course of action. After all, being in the dark might be even more dangerous than the risk that came with knowledge.
…
Red informed Lady Ilse about his breakthrough, as he had promised. The woman was eager to learn about this, and she told him they would meet in six days at her manor, on the night of the black market meeting.
She gave him details about the operation, as well as providing Red with a proper disguise. This included a mask, a blonde wig, some merchant’s clothing, and even bags and scabbards to hide his weapons. None of these were artifacts, but as she explained to him, a lot of people would visit the black market under disguises, so no one would suspect him for doing the same.
Finally, when everything was done, Red snuck out of his manor and went to meet with Lady Ilse and Pierre, who were waiting in the Fairclough manor. He snuck past the main gate, something he had already told the noblewoman he would do, and climbed into the second floor toward where he felt the two fluctuations of his companions.
When he got there, he saw the two of them sitting in a waiting room. They were disguised as well, wearing masks, wigs, and clothing that did not give away their identity.
Lady Ilse was disguised as a mercenary, wearing leather armor and carrying a short sword at her side. She also changed the way she carried herself, as if she was used to dressing like this, and if Red didn’t know who she was, he would have thought her just another common adventurer. As for Pierre, he had foregone his plated armor and was also wearing merchant’s clothing, not carrying any visible weapons.
Lady Ilse seemed surprise at Red’s sudden appearance, even though he made sure his approaching steps were heard.
“This isn’t the first time you have done this, is it? I didn’t even hear you enter the house!”
Pierre, however, looked unbothered, as if he had already expected him to appear in such a manner.
Red didn’t respond to the woman’s question. “What is the plan?”
“There is no plan, just a window of opportunity,” Pierre said. “I have checked the plans of Nikon and his comrades, and they will be serving as bodyguards for an auction.”
“An auction?”
“Yes, sponsored by the Golden Hand,” Lady Ilse said. “Unfortunately, this means they will be in a rather fortified place for most of the night, so it will be no easy task to approach them. On the other hand, it also means we have the element of surprise, as I don’t think they would be expecting an assassination attempt targeting them rather than their clients.”
“I have made reservations for us at this auction,” Pierre said. “Most of the details are being kept secret, though, other than information about some of the items being sold. We won’t really be able to know what we’re up against until we’re inside, at which point we will need to improvise.”
Red frowned, looking over at Lady Ilse. “This is not a good plan.”
“This is why he said it is no plan, just a window of opportunity,” she said. “I expect you to recognize that these opportunities do not come around often, Master Viran. If we spend time instead trying to come up with a better plan, our chance will have passed us by.”
“You’re right, but I expect us to react to the situation accordingly as well.”
This was to say, he didn’t plan on risking his life if the situation was untenable.
“Of course,” Lady Ilse nodded. “We will take whatever we can get out of this. Now, Pierre, hand him the file.”
The guard picked up a piece of paper from the table before handing it over to Red. “Those are the details on our targets, as well as some of their powers.”
“… There are nine people on this list.”
“We will prioritize Nikon and his right hand.”
Red read over the file. All nine people were in the Lesser Ring Realm, with five being in the early stage, three being in the middle stage, and one being in the late stage, that being Nikon. Most of them used weapons to fight, according to the report, and only a handful even relied on spells.
As for Nikon, he was written as being a body cultivator.
“Nikon will be the hardest to kill, not just because of his cultivation, but because of his defenses,” Pierre said. “His focus is on body cultivation, and his skin is tougher than even most energy shields. We need a powerful and well-placed strike to at the very least debilitate him before we move in for the kill.”
“I will be responsible for that,” Lady Ilse said before Red could speak up.
He looked over at her. “You?”
“Yes, me. I have prepared myself for this over this week.”
With that, she handed Pierre and Red a vial with a pill each.
“What is this for?” The guard asked, his expression hidden by his mask, but his suspicion was obvious from his tone.
“Just remember to swallow this pill when I tell you to.” She said.
“What about collateral damage?” Red asked.
“No need to concern yourself. I have that handled.”
Both Red and Pierre nodded and stowed away the vial. They could guess as to what she intended to do, but neither of them were about to complain.
They discussed their plans for a while longer, though there was little they could do before the auction began. With that, they finished their preparations and left the Fairclough manor towards the outer city.
Though night had arrived, the capital had just come alive.