It was like he'd spent his whole life blind. One second, the world was mired in darkness and uncertainty, and the next, it was filled with clashing colors and possibilities.

Strife was everywhere.

Strife could not be avoided.

"Sorin, what's happening?" came Gareth's voice. "How are you? Answer me now, or I'll have no choice but to take aggressive action! "

Sorin looked back at Gareth and saw that a bow was pointed at his back. "I'm fine," said Sorin to Gareth. "I just had an epiphany, that's all." Before anyone could react, he made a grabbing motion and lifted the sick merchant off his bed.

"What are you doing?" exclaimed Gareth. He loosed his arrow, but Sorin, having already predicted this, dodged the shot effortlessly.

"Why don't you calm down, Sorin, and tell us what the bad man did that upset you so much?" said Lawrence.

"You are attacking a defenseless individual," said Fenrig, hefting his axe. "If you do not let him go, I too will be forced to cut down."

Only Astley seemed unconcerned by what was going on. Her eyes were glazed over, as though in a trance. "Do you see it?" Sorin asked her.

"Almost," said Astley. "Perhaps use a little more force?"

"Sorin, back down now and explain what's going on," said Gareth, noodling another arrow. This time, he infused the arrow with Winds of the Watchman. Even Sorin wasn't confident in his survival if he was hit at point-blank range.

"The answer was hiding in plain sight," Sorin muttered as he used his poisonous aura to infiltrate every inch of the man's body. We were just looking in the wrong place. Mana, body, and spirit. Everyone is an amalgamation of these three forces, and weakening one will naturally weaken the others. How about now, Astley?"

"I've identified the target," said Astley. "Permission to exorcise?"

"Permission granted."

Astley slapped her hands on the ground and summoned an altar adorned with nine golden chains. A small white flame burned atop it. The Myth-Binder threw a three-star demon core on the fire and began tracing the air as she spoke.

"I!

"Summon in my name!

"The fire of the Wish-Giver.

"The chains of the Imprisoned One.

"A force to exorcise this evil spirit!"

White fire gushed out of the altar and enveloped the merchant's naked body. He screamed as his spirit was simultaneously burned and poisoned.

"Are you in on this, too, Astley?" shouted Gareth. Just tell me what's going on! You have until the count of three!"

"We're exorcising the evil spirit that's latched onto this man's soul," Astley explained lazily. "There are a few nuances, but basically, Sorin attacked the fat merchant's mana and body to strain his spirit and reveal the conflict that exists within."

"So you know you're currently killing him?" asked Gareth.

"Hardly," said Astley. "Though the man is in great pain, trust me when I say that I'm doing him more harm than good. Ah, here it comes!"

The air around the man distorted as the man's spirit, unable to endure the scorching wish-fire, shot out of the man's body. It tried to leave the room, but a silver net caught the spirit and pulled it back into the mass of flames.

"Whatever this thing is, it's on tight," said Sorin. "I'll need to surgically remove it." He flew up to where the merchant was suspended and placed his finger on the man's head. Black veins appeared on him as Sorin injected Madness, Violence, and Strife into his body, bringing it well past transformation limits. A portion of the corruption transferred to the man's spirit and began to transform it. Almost as soon as the process started, a black mass split off from the spirit and flew towards the room's open window.

"Where do you think you're going?" said Astley. "Heed my call, Soul Catcher!" A ghostly figure shot out from her grimoire and swiped at the spirit with its long claws. Unfortunately, the evil spirit was both small and quick. It managed to reach the open window safely and was about to escape when Lorimer suddenly appeared in its path and clamped his tiny jaws on the creature.

Astley stuffed the creature into a bottle and handed it over to Sorin. "Wait, so this person is sick because of this evil spirit? How does this make any sense?"

"It's an Algea—a variant at least," said Sorin. They're also called Spirits of Affliction. Judging by your reaction, you've never heard of such creatures. Algea are a rare type of undead creature that feeds on pain and suffering. They parasitize targets and afflict them to gain energy. Once their target perishes, they move on and parasitize another convenient target.

"Algea are myths. This one wasn't even corrupted like most myths we've seen—probably because it was sealed inside that old pyramid. When Aeris destroyed the pyramid, the spirit was released. It immediately possessed Aeris and afflicted everyone in the city."

Gareth frowned. "Didn't you say it only afflicts the person it parasitized?"

"That's why I said it was a variant," said Sorin. "Actually, it might be more accurate to call it an original specimen since it was sealed for so long.

"There are three basic types of Algea: Torturous Alega, Traumatic Algea, and Plage-Bearing Algea. The first type inflicts physical suffering, the second type inflicts emotional suffering, and the third type inflicts acute disease.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"If it was a sequence of people getting sick, I would have identified it in an instant, but in this case, it was able to infect entire clusters of people. There are no records of such occurrences, which was why I missed the obvious answer."

"So it's been traveling all over the city?" asked Lawrence. "Because it's not just spreading from one location to the next. It's hopping."

"I'm confused about that as well," said Sorin, who wasn't an expert in undead spirits.

Surprisingly, it was Fenrig who answered this question. "We barbarians have some experience with spirits, as our shamans raise them for various purposes. When you feed a fire spirit enough fire, it will eventually reproduce. Perhaps it's not just one spirit anymore, but many?"

"Hm…" Sorin scratched his chin. "It's not impossible. I've never heard of an Algea splitting, but since this thing can infect multiple people at once, it would be able to accumulate energy extremely quickly." The only way to confirm this would be to test the next outbreak center."

Sorin put a transmission jade to his mouth and sent a message to Governor Loveless. "We've found the cause of the plague and a cure. Also, your daughter may still be at risk."

Only a few seconds passed before the air distorted, and the governor made a personal appearance. The governor was an experienced individual and immediately saw the crux of the issue. "A spiritual parasite?" he said, waving the bottle over. It's this thing that's been causing all these issues?"

"There should be more," said Sorin. "One of them should still be in your daughter, which is why her condition has been on such a stubborn decline and is likely refusing to completely recover even though you've artificially sanctified her flesh."

"I had a feeling things weren't going so well," muttered the governor.

"Can you assist us in locating the other spirits?" asked Sorin. "Once we extract them, the disease should lose its backing and fizzle out."

"There's no need for all that," said the governor. "Now that I know what I'm looking for, finding such creatures and extracting them is as easy as lifting a finger." The air turned golden, and the entire city held its breath as the demigod's aura filled every crevice and every crack, then pulled back into his body. Three identical evil spirits flew into his palm and joined the one Sorin and company had captured.

"That should be all of them," said the governor, crushing all four Algea. Well done, Physician Kepler. Thank you for saving my people. Thank you for saving my daughter." Then, as quickly as he'd arrived, he vanished, leaving Sorin and his companions slack-jawed at what had just transpired.

"Demigods are much more powerful than I'd ever imagined," said Sorin. "I'd heard stories, but they just don't do them justice."

"Is it just me, or did he seem super upset at you?" asked Lawrence.

Sorin shrugged. "Probably. If I'd been just a little faster, he wouldn't have had to do something drastic to protect his daughter. They both paid a terrible price and in the end, it was all meaningless."

"I don't think Loveless is a good last name for him," said Lawrence. "He should change it. Hey, do you think he'll have it out for us? Should we leave before he decides to lock us up in the dungeon?"

Sorin shook his head. "He won't do anything. He's a man of duty and only considers the best interest of humanity. Still, we probably shouldn't take any chances. Just give me the rest of the day to close out this case before I leave and compile a report. The Medical Association needs to know what happened so they can better respond to cases like this one in the future. And what's with that smile, Fenrig? Is something funny?" Though Sorin was happy they'd solved the case, thousands of people were dead. He couldn't smile even if he tried.

"I am just glad the honored Matron was not a Face Stealer," said Fenrig. "It would have been most upsetting to have been tricked into causing such a disaster."

"Now that you mention it, that witch was the cause of all this," said Gareth. "We would never have released that spirit if not for Lawrence's 'good luck.' I'll need to include that in my report to the Nighthawks."

"The release of the spirit was without a doubt a disaster," admitted Fenrig. But it would have been much worse if an expert physician had not been present. What could have been a city-levelling catastrophe was reduced to a mere outbreak. I consider this a very good outcome."

Sorin wasn't sure who was right between the two, but one thing was certain: he had paid a heavy price to attain this outcome. Azrakul's prison was now damaged, and a steady stream of Strife-aligned corruption was now trickling into his body, disrupting the balance. His aggression was now off the charts, and it was becoming difficult to assess his state of mind.

"Let's return to our inn and rest up," said Sorin. "I should be able to handle the required paperwork by the end of this evening. We'll discuss what to do in the morning."

Sorin worked late into the night, putting together evidence, test results, and casualty statistics. With the Algea gone, the outbreak was fizzling. The life-aligned physicians in the city were more than capable of sorting out the rest.

Once the report was finished and sent off to Delphi, Sorin spent the rest of the night thinking about Olympian politics.

I knew I should have paid attention during my lessons. Is it the Hyde Clan that's most powerful or the Zeis Clan? I remember there being five Divine Clans as well. Their individual members aren't as powerful as those from the Zeis and Hyde Clan, but they have the backing of Olympia's five guardian deities. Antagonizing them is not an option.

Soon, it was morning. Sorin's night of deep thinking had not produced any concrete plans, but he was surprised at how much he remembered and how much he was able to deduce and calculate from these scant bits of knowledge.

I'll need to do some serious information gathering once we arrive in Olympia, thought Sorin as he went downstairs to meet his companions. At least it won't be a repeat of Delphi. How was I ever so stupid, going in blind and hoping everything would turn out well? It can't just be the influence of Violence.

If Sorin had learned anything during his stay in Delphi, it was that planning was the only consistent way to succeed in life. Risks had to be identified, and contingency plans had to be made.

"Black coffee for me, and half cream, half coffee for Lorimer, please," said Sorin to the Innkeeper when he sat down for breakfast. "And four of the usual. I'm feeling a bit peckish."

"Of course, Physician Kepler," said the portly Innkeeper. "I'll bring everything out right away. Would you like a paper?"

"Sure," said Sorin. "Do you have anything from Olympia?"

"I have last week's paper, freshly flown in," said the Innkeeper. "I'll bring it out to you along with your breakfast."

Soon, Sorin was tucking a small mountain of eggs into his pocket. Lorimer crawled out of Sorin's pocket and dragged himself over to his coffee. He needed a pick-me-up to start his day.

Sorin read as he waited, devouring information for future use. The situation isn't as stable as I'd originally imagined. The Hyde Clan is making waves, and the Zeis Clan is on the back foot. The Kepler clan is taking a public beating, it seems. The Hyde Clan's always had it out for us, but why is it suddenly on the offensive?

Though Sorin didn't care a whole lot about his clan, he knew that achieving his goals would be impossible without its backing. What's more, these turbulent times were a perfect opportunity for his dear cousin, Fineas Mockingjay Kepler, to gain large amounts of influence.

Waiting isn't an option, Sorin concluded as he finished the paper. The more I delay, the worse off I'll be. Nightmare Forest was a good hunting ground for adventurers, even more so than the North Parnassus Forest. It was why Mildred was such a popular base to begin with.

That said, time waited for no one. The longer he waited, the fewer family assets he would be able to secure. Why was I ever so foolish as to give up on easy power? If the Grand Elder is truly responsible for my parent's murder, I'll need all the help I can get.