"The wheel of fate has spin once again, and will surely now lead the world into a new direction..."
The Shaman elder was like talking to herself after looking at Kain for brief, raising her chin and closing eyes while crossing her hands. Kain who had just gawked while rise his face because the elder was quite tall, now began to look at the others one by one with a confused look.
"Madam... they..."
"Our guest? I persume? Take it easy, I can guess what you want to do Dorem, Well well well"
The elder immediately opened her eyes and looked at them alternately to then stop at the girl who was asleep behind Kain. Although it is not clear Azel can tell if the elder is being surprised, she focuses entirely on this sleeping young girl.
"Blue hair?... Impossible, you guys? How did you find... no. Oh, I see of course, of course, that makes sense. Hmmm looks like I don't have to be too meddling with the will of the heavens, Wahahaha Dorem! Yourself really brought something nice here!"
After doing a serious monologue now he laughed very satisfied, but Dorem and the others were still stunned and confused by what had just happened because everything was so unclear. Then not long after, Kain strike to interrupt.
"Umm sorry? But..."
“Oh! Geez! I forgot myself because I was so happy, it seems we need to introduce ourselves to each other. Well my name is Coda Qaris Ratree, Elder Shaman of this small Village. Oh?…unn?”
The elder then extended his hand as if to ask for a handshake, Kain welcomed the goodwill and quickly grabbed Coda's hand with a smile. However for some reason Dorem looks quite restless and Sido also looks surprised that he glances at his father after hearing Coda say her full name, Dorem just touches his chin as if telling Sido to stay calm.
“Kain, nice to meet you”
"Kain eh? Well well, this is exactly what I imagined, you've come a long way, it seems. Well, from your overly open attitude, you got quite a bit of trouble on your way, am I right?”
"Eh? No really, although it was quite difficult at first but it was all a worthwhile experience”
"Hahahahaha your mother really has educated you well, that person must feel proud to have a brilliant son like you"
"You praise too much, I still have many shortcomings here and there"
“Hahahaha right, right, and looks like you should start not being careless in putting down your wallet Kain”
“Ha ha… yes, Eh? Umm??”
Cain felt strange with Coda's answer who had just let go of their handshake, because he felt he had never mentioned anything about losing his wallet. But before he could ask, for some reason he felt his head slightly dizzy and lost his balance for a few seconds. He immediately steadied his footing, and shook his head slightly. Coda stepped towards Azel now, with a serious look without hesitation extending her hand which was also firmly gripped by Azel.
"And you?"
“Azel...”
"Wel well, there's no need to be perturbed, you have a question I suspect?"
“Maybe I should just ask, Qaris? Well after Ra'livi I shouldn't be surprised, but still.”
“I see I see, I am indeed from that Clan. Or rather, my great-grandfather who was fed up with the Dragon God who keeps sending his brothers and sisters to death decided to leave Dragonia as soon as the opportunity arose, Didn’t Dorem told you?”
“Yes, but is it okay? Even though it's a Clan name, but in its usage. Only a few people bear that name, usually they only use their respective surnames. At first I thought it was an honorary title because…”
“This is indeed an honorary title, youngman, passed down from generation to generation to those who deserve it. Well well! Even though you only lived there for a few years, you didn't waste your time, did you? Hahahaha looks like Lord Greylant has a plan of his own."
Azel's eyes widened at the words he heard, he immediately reflexively stepped back and took off their handshake. Did Dorem send any information about them before they came here? No, because Azel remembers he never once mentioned Greylant. But he could have concluded that because Azel had indeed lived in Urk, and Urk was Fafnir's territory which was an honorary title that Greylant had held for so long.
“A hard life has forged you Azel, Wow! But it seems we focus on much more important things first, Kain please take the girl to the center of the room. Girls! Immediately prepare a comfortable bed for this girl”
The Lizardmen girls who were previously busy with their work now moved and quickly prepared what Mrs. Coda ordered, Mrs. Coda herself approached a table and wrote something on paper very quickly and then put it in an envelope and sealed it.
"Sido! Send this to Adali, to the Major!”
"Eh?"
“Don't refuse Sido, this is definitely important! right madam?"
"Of course! Come here!”
Sido received the letter somewhat hesitantly, and as soon as the letter was transferred to his hand suddenly the elder grabbed his shoulder and looked at him seriously. Sido squeaked a little as if he was dealing with something very dreadful.
"Listen child! This letter is very important. You must immediately go to Adali and don't stop... even to say hello to your beloved girl!”
“I I understand Madam...”
"Are you stupid? It was the woman who danced, did you think dancing under the moonlight would look romantic?”
"I think I need to leave immediately madam..."
“Haaaaah~ war dance? Really? you suck huh?”
"I'll be leaving ma'am!!!"
Sido didn't waste time and immediately ran out of the house, Azel could see at a glance the frantic face of this Lizardmen. Azel who is now touching his head because he felt dizzy just a moment ago, seems to be aware of what they are facing.
"So I see, Qaris doesn't seem like an arbitrary title, huh?"
“Well well, that title of Black Reaper isn't bullshit either, is it? Alright, Dorem and you guys please leave me and our guests… I want to talk to the two of them privately”
“But madam… why did you tell them about your title?”
"No need to worry Dorem, just like you who trust them I also guarantee your trust"
After taking a deep breath for a moment, Dorem finally stepped outside and gave a soft nod at Azel and Kain before being followed by the other Lizardmen.
"Ummm we're not in trouble are we?"
“No need to worry Kain, instead I want to thank you for saving this girl. Wow, didn't I think that the Damn 'Mist Monster' was an Elite troop from Bisrakh, and you two could escape from them? Well well, the will of the heavens is sometimes beyond expectation!”
"Eh eh eh?"
Kain looked confused over everything he had just heard, instead Azel looked at the Elder with a more serious look. Mrs. Coda touched the little blue-haired girl who was lying on the bed slowly, she then opened her palm which gave off a blue aura that looked like water vapor and slowly made a movement like examining the whole body of the girl.
"Qaris is a title for those of you who can read other people's minds?"
"Eh? Uh? Eh?"
“Huhuhuhu Wow, you conclude that because you can never lie to 'Lady Kholkikos?'”
Azel's expression was flat and his eyes suddenly went blank as if remembering something far away at the bottom, he closed his eyes afterwards as if he had found what he was looking for from those memories.
"Unfortunately that's not quite right, 'Object Reading' if you want to call it. An ability that was passed down from generation to generation to the Qaris Clan in secret, however this was not something that could be taken for granted even for the extremely talented. Like the Holy Regalia, this ability seems to really choose its user.”
"Object readings?"
Kain's face who was sitting cross-legged next to Mrs. Koda looked bright as if he was interested in something, Coda just smiled as he glanced at her even though she didn't stop the movement of his hands.
“If summed up briefly, this is like looking at the memory of an object, looking at the past. The more skilled the user is, the further back he can see and at some point, the user can also apply it to living things... and those who have passed that point deserve the title of Qaris."
For the last sentence Mrs. Coda glanced at Azel who was standing against the wall near one of the windows, he seemed to keep his distance from this woman.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Well? you still don't believe it? Azel?"
“What you say sounds very reasonable, but why say it to us foreigners? Wouldn't it be much better if you kept it to yourself? I can't see this as recklessness, with the fact that the Lizardmen I met seemed to hint that you can read minds and they succumbed to it. Was it because I had lived in Dragonia under the auspices of Greylant? Or do you have other hidden intentions?... wait, if you look that far maybe...YOU"
“Ze Zel-chan! Your face is scary! Wait! Why did you take out your sword!!!”
Azel took out a sword from his CR with a look as if he was ready for battle, Kain looked panicked with the atmosphere suddenly turning tense.
“Well well well even though your strength has decreased, you didn't let your instincts dull Azel. Very nice! Amazing even! Heaven really chooses those with a heart of steel KAHAHAHAHA!
Kain was getting panic with Coda's answer, he looked at Azel and Coda one after another. Azel glanced at the window to see the situation, indeed when he raised his aura there was one of several Lizardmen who seemed to stand up from their seats but after hearing the laughter from Mrs. Coda who was very loud, the Lizardmen seemed to sit back down.
“Sorry sorry well well well… it's been a great day. In the first place, what I just revealed is a hereditary secret that even only me, my predecessors, the elders here and maybe mine successors the girls in the future… if the heavens will it.”
"So, why then?"
"Even though it's only a few seconds of contact I've seen years of memories of both of you, well though not in detail for every moment to me those few seconds seem like months. Normally I only look at the summary of memories from the past few days or weeks to determine if an individual or group we suspect is dangerous or not, but you two are too special. Especially you Azel..."
"Because you saw my secret then you tell your secret, right? Equivalent exchange?”
“That is, if this secret of mine reaches Dragonia. Dragon God must have dragged us back, betraying the will and hard work of our ancestors who went through with the risk of life is not an option I will take. You see Dorem is quite upset to hear me introduce myself by my name and title? Few people know my title here, well I will talk to Sido later”
Azel folded his arms again even though he was still holding the sword, he knew that 'Object Reading' was not a random thing, although it can be done in several ways but normally this ability is very limited in its use. Being able to see memories of objects in the past week is a great achievement, but the ability to see memories from years back? Can it even be applied to living things in a short time? This is really an out-of-the-box interrogation method that is as dangerous as the 'Oracle', no wonder in Dragonia there are only two people who hold that title as Azel remembers. If the general public finds out then the user will always be in a state of danger, because there will definitely be many who want it even the other Gods.
“Umm umm, so? Is everything okay?”
"Well, I gland if so Kain. I feel very embarrassed because of my actions that are quite presumptuous to peek at your private lives, to be honest I did it intentionally because I couldn't help myself. Wow, age doesn't stop this old woman from being mean, so for this please can you please forgive me"
"Uh huh, how? Aren't we the ones asking for help?"
"He's quite slow granny, so stop it. Tch, I just hope there's no problems after this. And wouldn't it be much better if you didn't talk much? I still don't quite understand why you are revealing your most important secrets, I think it would be better if you just keep it with your people."
“Trust and belief, I need that from you. Because we've seen many of them who despite being escorted by fate but still stumble down and no longer get up, this old woman's soul screams at my consciousness to do something abot it before this life burnout and only regret that acompany me on next life. Its kind like a wish… therefore allow me.”
Before both Cain and Azel could say anything, Coda clapped her hands once and stood up to walk towards another room. But after only walking a few steps, he suddenly looked unsteady and sat back on the floor, Azel saw that the red ornamental tattoos all over the Lizardmen's body were slowly thinning and disappearing.
“Is that Prana? As far as I know, doing 'Object Reading' also requires a lot of 'mana'. If what you said just now is true, how much 'mana' did you use?"
“Well Well well, no problem no problem… even if it takes my life away, it's a fair price. I've seen something extraordinary that’s worth a mountain, just wait here a moment"
Coda seemed to force her old body to get up and walked slowly into a room, not long after she came back and was seen carrying two transparent bottles, one of which she was drinking. Her steps were steady enough and then she sat back cross-legged next to Kain and the little girl who was sleeping in the middle of the room.
“Fuhhh, Dragonia's Elixir is really powerful! Thank goodness I didn't faint before drinking it, KAHAHAHAHA!”
Coda took another sip of the golden liquid from the bottle until it was finished after laughing, Elixir was indeed called a God-class Potion whose manufacture was kept secret. It even said that even though you on the brink of death cause by very serious wound, with a sip or a splash of this magical liquid, you can be sure you are saved. Don't ask bout the price, because to get it fror with the normal way, one has to participate in a money war called auction.
Not a normal item that you can get just by selling a kidney thought Azel, and seeing Coda drink it without hesitation made Azel think the situation Coda had just faced was very serious and life threatening. He could see that there were several dozen bottles located in several glass cabinets and shelves in this room which Azel was sure that the quality was definitely 'Exelent' and 'Wonderful', and his status as a Shaman made Azel even more aware that Coda wasn't kidding.
"Phew, Well well. First of all I think we should do something on our little girl, the condition is quite alarming with this strong curse. To think that I could meet a curse that I only heard from my predecessor's story, this is another new experience!”
"Curse? This girl is cursed?”
“On purpose, of course! Although I don't think it was meant to hurt or threaten her life, it's still pretty bad. And this curse gives a layered effect, wah wah 'Whisper of Tranquil' spell still applies even though he is unconscious? this could be a problem! I took back my words just now about the non-life threatening curse, if this girl were to just lay on the side of the road I'm not sure anyone would seen or notice her unless that person has aura that is very sensitive to the surroundings!”
"That's how it is, even Dorem's group doesn't notice if we don't mention it"
“Oh my, but what if it was this girl who said hello? Is the spell void?”
"Normally yes! But in this case it may not be that easy, the problem is the foundation of this curse. It's a very powerful blood curse, I've lived for decades and it's the only time I've seen something this terrifying.”
"Blood curse?"
“It's a dangerous and forbidden type of magic, using the blood of the user or the target as the medium. In Ishtora, illegal possession for this magic book will be criminalized, one of my colleagues once looked for it on the black market and the results were quite disappointing. However… no, forget it”
“Well, well, I agree that woman named Rozene is really dangerous. You are so lucky man, Azel”
“Ugh, let's focus on this girl first. And can you stop doing that, hearing a stranger I just met talk about my personal life is enough to make me uncomfortable."
"I also know that curses are not good, in my hometown we have a saying 'if you curse someone there will be two graves created and one of them must be for you'"
“Huhuhuhu you're right, you're right. But in this case, the blood curse is like a sword that creates more graves than the user's. Enough, let's move on. If my guess isn't wrong, then"
Again Coda palms slapped loudly and slowly the blue-haired little girl opened her eyes, but even she seemingly regained consciousness but her expression remained flat and the consideration to look empty.
"She's awake!"
“Hmmm can you hear me little girl? Do you understand what I'm saying? Try to sit down”
She didn't respond to any words from Coda and was still lying in the same position even with her eyes open, Coda then helped the girl to sit up and after that Coda once again clapped her hands and said the same thing. But again the girl just kept silent with a blank stare.
"'Marrionete Mark' huh"
“What is that Zel-chan?”
“Like hypnosis which makes a person lose control of his body, makes you controlled like a robot that only hears the user's commands. Really layered eh? Is she conscious?”
"No, it's like she's asleep. It was good, it was much better that she dsdn't know what she had done and experienced so far. Doesn't give her a heavy mental burden when he's awake latter, its gonna like waking up from a dream. I tried to lift the spell several times but it still failed, the foundation is really solid”
“Then wouldn't you be able to trace the source? Like a core point I mean? There must be something tucked away, the thing she used if it wasn't a one-time use magic. Umm, if it's true blood magic there's a possibility that they carved magic marks on one part of her body”
“Unfortunately I didn't find it despite checking it many times, it's like this girl is chanting to herself. Well I shouldn't be surprised if this is the result of the interference of Bisrakh, the highest grade Blood Curse that might use Vampire Blood as the medium."
In his mind, Azel wanted to immediately refute the sentence, although normally it sounds very impossible but if a big country like Bisrakh has the will then anything can happen. Not without reason, Vampires are the Superior Race created by the 'Night God' which was once called the strongest race in the world. So strong is this Race, that they are the only Race recorded in history to ever attempt to kill their own God, and what's even more amazing from historical information is that they almost succeeded.
It was not only their strength that made Azel pessimistic, the existence of Pure Blood Vampire which was said to be very few and nearly extinct after the great war 800 years ago was common knowledge. Their existence was indeed very feared in their time, and seemed to be a scourge for some groups to give birth to the inevitable genocide.
However, recently with the presence of Albion in this World. The very bad stigma against them seemed to fade with the rise of the Interracial Romance franchise in PoP Culture in Istora. And of course the drama of love between Vampires and humans is very popular among young people, meeting under the moonlight and parting cause the light of rising sun. The bullshit that produces mountains of gold hoeed by Capitalist demons, the biggest money black hole for the fools and naive. So Azel Thought.
“Vampire blood curse, I did hear about it from my predecessors. Well Well! Under normal circumstances, this is indeed beyond my ability. And even the healers in Adilheida might take some time to deal with it, however. Kukukuku, it seems that we too were dragged into this great line of destiny”
Coda then took the second bottle that she had brought, she seemed to smile with a mysterious faint laugh when she looked at the bottle so that Azel was curious about what was in it. It was a transparent crystal bottle wrapped in several spell papers so that only the bottle cap was visible, it was so much smaller than the Elixir bottle earlier that it looked much smaller in the palm of her hand.
“Blood definitely has to be fought with blood, but never once did I imagine using the symbol of our pact with the 'Forest God' like this. Or indeed this is a very fitting time to use it, without prejudice to our respect and I'm sure my predecessors also agreed and would do the same. Now..."
Coda carefully opened the bottle cap and the bottle immediately glowed after emitting a unique sound. A fairly unique aura also felt seeping out of the small container, Coda slowly poured the contents of the bottle into the girl's mouth. A few drops of red liquid fell from the lip of the bottle, but the effect was immediately visible. This little girl's whole body glowed quite dimly for a while and at the same time black smoke seemed to come out of her entire body, after the black smoke had stopped coming out and disappeared the little girl closed her eyes and fell back limply on the bed. The light and unique aura of the bottle that Coda was holding dimmed as soon as she closed it, then she immediately checked the condition of the little girl.
“Huff, looks like it worked. She's just tired and asleep, let's give this little girl a longer rest. Her physical condition must have reached its limit after so many days of traveling, but we needn't have worried. There is no doubt about the efficacy of God's pure blood, I guarantee that her condition will definitely recover as soon as dawn breaks. Well well now, looks like you two have some question, I belive?”
'Kain' didn't waste the opportunity he was given, with his eyes already sparkling with a smile on his cheerful face. The question that was asked repeatedly about this and that blood curse to the Blood of the Gods mentioned earlier, instead of making Coda angry she seemed happy to hear it all.
Coda explained calmly and it seemed that she was very natural in phrasing all the answers to 'Kain' questions, like a teacher who really enjoyed the lesson he was doing. However on the other hand, Azel himself couldn't hide his anxiety after hearing about the God Blood that Coda was holding. He seemed to be holding himself back from asking even though his face was also filled with curiosity, then just spent his time listening to their conversation until the end.
“Hmm, how should I start huh? About three hundred years ago, when our ancestors led by the 'Espada Ra'Livi' came to this land…”
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