Unsealing Emptiness

Outside, the winds were still cool and the weather was clear, unlike how it should have been in this Howling Province.

Ozul still hadn’t gotten used to these strange inscriptions or runes.

“Come out with me,” Ember said as she again smirked, anticipating their reactions. She doubted there could be such a complicated mechanism in their Broken World.

Ozul curiously followed her out and just as he stepped outside the gates, the whole background changed again!

This time, they weren’t surprised because the scenery had changed, but because they weren’t in the same town anymore!

Ozul could detect right away that the density of Spiritual Essence in the air, let alone the building structures, was completely different.

.....

Only then did he realize that the dilapidated mansion wasn’t really interesting.

“As you may have guessed already, it is the gate.” Ember’s voice sounded out from his side as she gloated at their reaction.

She didn’t see much expression on Ozul’s face, but she’d become accustomed to it at this point.

Her ego was satisfied by the reactions of others.

Among Ozul’s group, other than him, only Raven realized what she meant.

It wasn’t that the rundown estate was made entirely different from the inside, but the gate which teleported them to another location. Which meant that the actual estate was someplace they didn’t even know!

Bringing them back inside, Ember began to explain,

“The gate is connected to many estates, some abandoned and some hidden from the public all around this kingdom. Getting from one corner of the kingdom to another isn’t a problem for us. That is a privilege for only those under me.”

Although she had lost her powers long ago, the artifacts, the resources, and the experience would never leave her.

“As of now, the gate is connected to the Waterfall County.”

Only now did Ozul notice the man sitting beside the gate in a sleeping position. He hadn’t thought much of him before, but now that he paid more attention, that man seemed to be controlling the gate teleportation.

‘It’s concerning that I wasn’t able to notice the teleportation until now...’ he thought in his mind.

Although he felt something off about the estate, he didn’t feel as if he was actually teleported to another location while walking through that gate.

‘I’m not invincible, I have to be more careful...’ he mentally noted before bringing his focus to the task at hand.

Bringing them back inside, Ember gave them a map which Ozul studied before giving it to Raven who stored it in her Spatial Ring.

“I don’t care how you help those kidnappers. All I want is for the Count Lord’s son to go missing after their attempt. Do whatever you have to do, just make sure it can never be traced back to you.”

“What will be the compensation?” Ozul asked. Depending on that, he would decide whether to do it or not.

After all, it would be easier for him to do things if the trio had all formed their Core. By his estimations, it shouldn’t take more than a week for that to happen.

Ember squinted her eyes. She still didn’t like the fact that all of them refused to officially become a part of their organization and instead opted to act like hired mercenaries. Just how many Beastkin would have dreamed of getting a chance to join them, and here these people didn’t care about it.

She thought for a moment and then said, “If you can please me, I might think about taking out a high-tier Earth Grade weapon just for you. Though you will each get 8-Star Earth Grade Spiritual Arts regardless of how you complete this task. I will make sure to check that all the Spiritual Arts are suitable for you.”

Ozul began to contemplate whether it was worth his efforts or not.

On one hand, he didn’t know how rare an 8-Star Earth Grade Spiritual Arts would be, but on the other hand, he had seen the effects of a 7-Star Mortal Grade Cultivation Technique. In just one day, Raven had received a huge boost in her strength.

‘Why don’t just grade the Spiritual Arts from Mortal Grade as well instead of Earth Grade? Useless...’

When Ember saw him weighing his options, she couldn’t help but feel a little indignant.

“Let me tell you that an Earth Grade Spiritual Arts is rarer than a Cultivation Technique of around the same rank. You might find peak Mortal Grade Cultivation Techniques in the Waterfall County, but you can bet there won’t be a single Earth Grade Spiritual Arts higher than 5-Star here. At least not outside the County Lord’s estate.”

Ozul read her emotions, and she didn’t seem to be lying about it.

Sighing as he realized the importance of these resources, he suddenly felt tired even though it hadn’t been more than 20 minutes since he woke up.

“Alright... I will do it... Give me a detailed map of this place...” his voice trailed off into silence as he vacantly looked at the ground. Life would have been so much easier if only he wasn’t restless in his pursuit of answers.

Ember smiled at his response, but before she tossed him the map, she didn’t forget to tell him, “I’d advise you not to bring any of them with you this time. Waterfall County isn’t like the Howling Province.” ‘...that, and I would very much want some time alone with them...’ she spoke the last sentence in her mind.

Ozul didn’t say anything and only nodded. He also wouldn’t have made them run small errands if it was that dangerous.

He grabbed the two scrolls from Ember’s hands. One depicted a detailed map of Waterfall County, while the other had vital information regarding the County Lord’s estate and the thugs plotting to abduct the heir.

As he went through the second scroll, he was taken aback by the fact that even the specifics of why that group of thugs sought to abduct the heir were noted.

After all, stealing a merchant would have been a lot easy and risk-free if they only desired money.

He was about to leave when he paused his step and turned around. He looked dead straight in Ember’s eyes, and threatened, “The gate better be still connected to here after I am done.”

He couldn’t trust her since she was clearly greedy for Raven. She may likely resort to severe measures to gain her desires. This might entail brainwashing or exploiting a bizarre relic to compel the three to serve her.

Nothing was out of possibility.

As if amused by the cautious nature of Ozul, Ember’s voice thundered throughout the estate,

“Heh... You are too tense, boy. I, Ember of Destruction, give you my word that no harm will befall your friends in your absence.”

Hearing the words ‘Ember of Destruction’ caused many of the other Beastkin to flinch before they all resumed their activities as if they were blind and deaf.

Ozul didn’t miss this and read Ember’s emotions. He nodded in satisfaction after confirming that she meant her every word. Though now he had her title to think about.

As they glanced at her pompous expression, Zier and Blaze thought to themselves, ‘Seems like she was really some bigshot in the past.’

Ignoring their strange looks, Ember smiled at Raven after confirming that Ozul had finally left the estate, “We have a lot to talk about. Come on, follow me.”

. . .

As Ozul stepped out of the estate, he was again teleported back to Waterfall County.

It was midday, but there was only occasional Starlight reaching the ground through the thick clouds. A gentle breeze softly touched his cheeks as he flew above using the Purity.

He reread the map after reaching a suitable height from which he could see most of Waterfall County and memorized the important sites.

A forest ran from north to east, behind which lay the borders of another kingdom. To the west of the county, there were a few minor towns and cities, but they were unremarkable.

Unsurprisingly, the County Lord’s estate was almost in the middlemost of the Waterfall County.

After going through the map, he opened the other scroll which had a lot of details jotted down about the County Lord and the group of thugs who were going to kidnap the heir.

“Tiger Fangs,” he muttered their name under his breath.

After reading the reason why they wanted to kidnap the heir, Ozul thought the matter was more complicated than he previously assumed.

They weren’t kidnapping that boy for ransom. It was a grudge instead.

The son of the County Lord was a lecherous man. After refusing to sleep with him, a woman was once kidnapped and killed by him. That woman was the innocent sister of the leader of Tiger Fangs.

After he learned what happened to her sister, he was furious and now was planning to torture County Lord’s son in the name of justice.

‘Justice huh?’ Ozul scoffed in his mind before slowly descending to the ground.

The group of thugs called Tiger Fangs themselves kidnapped and tortured many innocent people for various reasons and only now do they want ‘justice’.

Another sigh escaped his lips as he began to plan what he wanted to do with his task.

He looked back at the gate from which he had arrived here, and this time it was just a small house on a dark street with no people whatsoever.

‘There are no inscriptions or runes...’ he noted as he took a closer look at the gate. Shaking his head, he decided to think about it later.

He had to make sure an abduction went smoothly...