-Chapter Nineteen-

A Brewing Conspiracy

Aelius looked up at the setting sun from within the encampment of the Mercenaries. The Daniesvich family had quickly arranged his party a tent to rest in, before they leave in the morning of the day after tomorrow. Night was quickly coming, and he quickly expelled his frustration, turning away from the sky and returning to his tent where he poked his head in.

“...Ria,” he called, finding her seated with her arms sternly crossed in the corner.

“...What?” she asked him in annoyance.

“I’m heading out for a bit. Hold down the fort while I’m gone. Look out for Lia if anything dangerous happens.”

“Yes, your highness,” she rolled her eyes behind her mask. Aelius didn’t say anything back to her snarky remark and silently turned away, leaving the camp behind him and swiftly leaving the Manor.

In the setting sun, masses of citizens were trafficking from workplace to home across the countless, busy streets. Among them, a young man hid into an alleyway and took his fox-mask off, revealing his young face before he slipped back into the crowd unnoticed, making his way deeper into the heart of the suburb. Eventually, he came to a bustling and lively night district with stalls, bright lights and glowing windows sprawled out before him. He paid attention to little of it, going straight for a nearby alleyway instead, where upon stepping in, he came upon a small shadow in the dark. Approaching closer, Aelius found his eyes meeting the gaze of a young, dirty child, leaning up against the wall, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

“W-... yes?” the child stammered, straightening up, as Aelius reached into his pocket to fetch a weighty, silver metal.

“I need a guide who knows the area well,” he told the child as he presented the coin, and the child’s eyes lit up with opportunity.

“Yes! I know just the thing to do!” he assured the man, his eyes dazzling. Without taking the coin, he spun around. “Follow me- uhh, please follow me,” he corrected himself. Aelius paid no mind to the child’s speaking mannerisms, simply silently keeping behind him as they began to disappear deeper into the mix of dirty alleyways.

Eventually, the boy stopped at a turn and spun around to face Aelius. “I’ll be right back.” He disappeared around the corner, leaving Aelius’ eyes darting around his surroundings for but a moment before the boy returned. Aelius noticed he returned alone as he situated himself opposite him, idly waiting for something. Or someone. Not too long passed by when that person arrived, revealing a small girl accompanied by a boy somewhat older, and close to Aelius’ age. The girl looked up with big, green puppy eyes, two long twin tails of brown hair falling down past her shoulders.

“The coin,” the first boy whispered to Aelius, and he quickly flicked it to the older boy. The other quickly caught it, looked down at it, and then turned away.

“Keep an eye out,” he told the younger boy and then disappeared back into the alleyway whence he came, not to be seen again.

“H-hello,” the younger girl who was left behind greeted Aelius from below. “My name is Lotte and I’m familiar with this area. I’ll guide you to wherever you need to go,” she gave a small bow, still clumsy but evidently taught to her by someone else. If it were his past life, he would’ve been the type of guy to give the young child a friendly smile and maybe a pat on the head, but he’s been far too long in the world now to have enough energy left to spare.

“Good,” he staunchly nodded and turned away, returning back towards the commercial area. “I’m looking to buy something exotic. If you know of any auctions, or maybe a good store.” Lotte’s soft footsteps pattered across the ground as she huddled to overtake him, taking the lead instead.

“I know some stores which have expensive and high quality goods but… nothing that passes as exotic. An auction might have something, but the only place that is holding one tonight is… a little bit hard to get into,” she admitted dejectedly.

“It’s no problem, just take me there,” he told her, and she nodded with determination before speeding off.

They arrived at an isolated building in the rest of the suburb. The front was designed like a church with a pointy roof running up three or four floors above their heads. The entrance was wide and open with torch light shining through, but was guarded by two buff men dressed in neutral black.

“You can go back now,” Aelius nodded to the young girl.

“Okay,” she disappeared into a nearby alleyway, but remained to see if Aelius could enter or not. As he approached the men, they stepped forward to block his way.

“Invitation,” one of their gruffy voices lowly asked him. Aelius eyed the man for a moment before he fetched the pouch of coins from his waist side and tossed it onto the guest-board beside them. The guard curiously eyed up the pouch before turning to his friend, giving the other man a nod, and then disappeared into the church building. Meanwhile, Aelius was left alone with the remaining guard, who absently stood before him until a moment later, the first guard returned with a person in tow behind him. Aelius found it to be a young woman in her early twenties, dressed in a colourful exotic dress. As they arrived, the guards handed the pouch to her and stepped aside. She gave Aelius a beaming smile and a quick bow.

“Please follow me, esteemed customer.” Aelius felt the corner of his lips tilt upward. Until now, how many people have turned him away just because of his age, but now in the underworld, it’s money that does the talking.

“Are you putting up all of this gold for bidding?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Yeah. What I don’t spend, I’m sure will be returned to me, of course, right?” She gave him an affirmative smile.

“Of course. What brings someone like you so young to our Auction House?” she further asked as she led him to a nearby desk and began to scribble down on various paperwork, tallying up the gold and silver coins in the pouch.

“I’m just looking to buy something nice with a bit of money,” he shrugged. “I hope the inventory won’t disappoint.”

“Well, it will depend on what you’re looking for, of course, whether what we have will match up to your standards.” She quickly fetched out a mask from a draw, along with a small hand-held sign with a number on it, and a pamphlet. “Please take these and follow me,” she passed them over and led Aelius deeper into the building. He eyed the masquerade mask for a moment before he donned it, and then began to browse through some of the first pages of the pamphlet. It was a list of the things being put on auction that night, he observed as the woman guiding him turned down away from the main entrance deeper into the church-like building, and instead brought him to a small, single door in the corner of a corridor, hidden from sight. Upon pushing it open, it was revealed to be a spiralling staircase downward, which Aelius followed along until they reached the bottom. At the end, it opened up into an entirely new reception area, this time with much darker lighting, not very expressive of the church like above at all.

“Do you see anything that interests you?” the woman asked, glancing at Aelius flipping through the pamphlet.

“Not yet, but I’m sure there’ll be something.”

“Yes. Don’t forget to stay within your gold limit, unless you have more money. We have a strict no refund policy. Many impulsive customers have dug their own grave here,” she warned him and he gave her a smile.

“You shouldn’t so openly admit something like that about your place of employment, but thanks for your worry.” They came to a set of double doors at the end of the wide carpet and the woman pushed it open to lead him into a wide atrium filled with bleaches and a stage at the bottom. Upon entering, Aelius found there were at least a few dozen customers masked up just like he was.

“Please take any seat you like. My role ends here for now. If you buy something, return to me to finalise the transaction.”

“Okay. Thanks,” he nodded to her, and she gave a smile before spinning around and returning to the doors. Aelius turned away as well, his eyes taking in the building for a moment before he went to take the nearest seat. Dozens of thoughts ran through his mind as he flipped through the pamphlet, and snuck a glance at the already part-way through auction.

“Going once! Going twice!... And… sold! Freya’s Ivory Vase goes to the Madam at 29.” Aelius looked down at his signboard, reading 74. The next item that came up was also a pointless yet incredibly expensive item. As more and more items passed by, Aelius quickly realised with a sigh that even items with close to no value were getting bid on for incredibly high prices. Any item that came up with even a smidge of value that the bidders recognised would drive the price up even higher. His mind wandered to whether he should just rob the Auction House’s storage, but shook his head in disapproval. I’m not strong enough to attract attention like that yet. If I were on my own, it’d be no problem. But I can’t escape authorities easily with Lia and Aria. Not to mention, I could endanger the Commission for the Daniesvich Family. He sighed heavily and began to flip through the lengthy pamphlet again when he heard a door slam shut down at the stage as another woman in an exotic dress strolled to the stage and presented a small, cracked ball to the crowd. It appeared to just be ordinary stone, in the shape of an oval in the woman’s palms.

“The next item is… as everyone sees, a stone! The person who put this up for auction claims it is a stone that has existed since ancient times and actually possesses the power of a Deity. Whether you believe such a story or not is entirely up to you! Bidding begins at… 2000!” Murmurs travelled across the hall as the other bidders whispered to each other in confusion.

“It looks just like a normal stone.”

“It’s got to be a hoax.”

“Is there anyone stupid enough to try and waste money on this? 2000 gold too,” Aelius heard, leaning on his elbow in boredom as he inspected the rock from afar.

User has activated the Active Skill Abstergo.

Enhances the User’s eyesight significantly.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at every detail of the rock in the woman’s hands, but could see no significant signs. It really appeared to just be an ordinary stone. No one else bet on it either until finally, Aelius gave a small breath and raised his sign post.

“Oh, the gentleman at 74 has bid 2000. Going once? Any takers? Going twice?” As the announcer counted down, a nervous wave went across the bidders, wondering whether they should bid for it. Some felt a strong curiosity, but as the announcer reached the third count, no one could convince themselves to bid.

“The mysterious stone goes to the gentleman at 74!”

After the stone, not many things caught Aelius’ attention when suddenly, he felt a strong alchemic energy, compelling him to sit up. As the assistant entered with the next item, a box, the announcer began another short introduction, before she opened the box to reveal an ice, blue rose on the inside. Aelius’ eyes lit up at the item.

“A flower that does not wilt! It’s been passed down for generations in the family of the person who brought this item to us. Starting at… 5000!” A few women bet on the flower, no doubt eager and enticed by the idea of an unwilting flower, but those fools had no idea what they were laying their eyes on. The bid hit 7000 and the announcer was reaching the end of his count when Aelius slipped in a bid last-second, and the previous bidders looked around uncomfortably. More than 7000 gold coins for an unwilting flower. The people here were no doubt rich, but not rich enough to waste on something like this. Aelius struggled to hide his smile as the announcer reached the final count and announced it sold. Sitting back down, Aelius quickly began to flick through the rest of the pamphlet. He passed by the page with the blue rose and inspected every item briefly, before nodding to himself in satisfaction that his goal had been achieved. Pulling himself up from his seat, he left the auction room without looking back to return to the desk at the surface floor.

As the lonesome figure returned home in the deeply dark night, he eyed the stone in his hand. The blue rose was put away into his dimensional storage magic. He just couldn’t figure out anything about it. It really seemed to be just an ordinary stone. The powers of a Deity are far too far-fetched, surely? Soon, Aelius came to a store still open by the street side. A magic materials store still operating so late in the night is perfect. It was just what he needed, he thought as he stepped in to be greeted by an old man at the counter. As soon as Aelius entered, he felt a vibrating in his pocket and blinking in surprise, reached in to retrieve the stone from the auction. As he stood between the shelves of magic stones, exotic herbs and minerals, the stone began to shake violently the closer he stepped to any of them.

What does this mean? Aelius wondered in bewilderment. I have to look into this, but at least I have an idea now. He quickly dumped the small stone back into the portal before it could cause anymore chaos, and then quickly made his way to the alchemy section. The shelves were stocked with the typical materials, but there was nothing high quality enough to satisfy Aelius’ needs. He reapproached the man at the counter, who idly sat on a rocking chair in the back area, indifferently reading his book as Aelius stepped up.

“I’m looking for something a bit more valuable than what you have on the shelves. Do you have anything behind the counter?” he asked, and the man gave him a penetrating glance.

“Maybe. It depends on what you want, and how much you can pay. Are you after some higher grade Magic stones?” he asked and Aelius shook his head, dumping the remaining coins in his pouch before the man.

“I want herbs. Exotic ones-” Aelius flinched as he felt an odd energy, and looked past the man to a draw. “What’s in that draw?” he asked, pointing to it and the old man glanced over his shoulder.

“Oh, you interested?” He rose from his chair and reached to pull the draw. As soon as he did so, Aelius felt overwhelmed with a nauseous, enticing smell and energy as the man retrieved a blood-red crystal from it and placed it on the counter. It was about the size of a hand and reflected red light with its clarity.

“...Where did you get this from?” Aelius asked lowly.

“A travelling merchant sold it to me for a low price, saying it has magical properties if ingested. It was only a few weeks ago, and no one paid it much attention so I put it away instead,” he shrugged.

“That merchant, did you see his face?” Aelius asked and the man shook his head.

“No, he wore quite a rugged cloak, I think. And he wouldn’t show an ounce of skin.” Aelius took the gem into his hand, inspecting it closely. As soon as he touched it, Asura descended from the air above him and to the ground, gazing at it with curiosity. Aelius felth is fist clench.

This is a Devil’s stone. He exhaled a shaky breath. This thing syphons magic and turns the victim into a dried-up corpse.

“How much?” he asked.

“Oh, 100 will do. But you must be careful. The merchant told me only people at the Sixth Ring or above can use it.” Hah. Of course, I’m sure he did. A Sixth Ring is quite valuable to absorb after all.

“I’ll be fine,” Aelius assured the man. “And herbs. I need high quality herbs too.”

“Of course.”

The encounter with the Devil’s stone left Aelius in a very foul mood. Normally, he’d be enraged and hot on the trail of any lead to find this Devil who was infiltrating human society, but the storeowner said it was from a few weeks ago. That Devil had likely far erased any footsteps behind it. It was a shame. Technically, the stone was not a ‘Devil’s’ stone. It was what’s called a Coagulated Blood Gem, which Aelius knew from his past life. However, when contaminated by a Devil’s ability, it can become a gateway to absorb the Blood Essence of its victim. There was no way that the Blood Gem being in a random store was a coincidence. Perhaps a conspiracy was brewing, but it seems the Devils have indeed already invaded Farrien. No wonder in his past life, the Saints were so desperate to set foot on the Sacred Continent. They already knew how serious the threat was. In the cover of the darkness of the night, he found an uneventful neighbourhood and settled down somewhere discreet, fetching out a dozen materials from his dimensional storage.

“Even though I’ve spent 8000 gold, we had a really good turn out tonight.” He took the chalk into his hand and began to draw inscriptions at his feet and delicately placed the herbs at the corner points and the blue rose in the centre, along with the blood gem. Asura will benefit greatly from the blood gem. Now there was only one thing left. The vibrating stone on the ground nearby. Aelius reached down to pick up and inspected it one more time. On the outside, it completely appeared to be a normal stone, yet it was vibrating right now. Aelius exhaled deeply, wracking his brain.

User has activated the skill Abstergo.

Enhances the User’s eyesight significantly.

As soon as Aelius reopened his eyes, he was taken aback to see all the Mana flow from the materials were not flowing into the centre of his Ritual circle, but all connecting to the stone instead and then flowing back out to the materials. Is this… some sort of bridge? Aelius wondered with a frown as he returned to the centre of the circle and placed the stone next to the rose before taking a step back to inspect the circle from a holistic view. The stone left the magic flow in perfect harmony, Aelius observed, now that it was in the centre of the circle. The aura of each material was being sucked up by the stone and then redistributed across the entire circle, forming an impeccable net. Aelius took a breath in deep thought.

Should I just try to proceed with the ritual? He wondered as he stepped back to the centre, fetched a small dagger from his dimensional storage, and slit the skin slightly above his wrist. Without even a wince of pain or a change in facial expression, Aelius simply watched as thick blood dropped from his forearm into the circle, and he began to chant quitely under his breath. Like any typical summoning ritual, wind began to pick up as the portal to the Spirit Realm began to open, and Asura was sucked down to the ground, to the centre of the circle where Aelius stood. To his surprise, while the ritual was continuing on normally, the mysterious stone suddenly began to shine blindingly and Aelius felt the power-output of the ritual skyrocket. It lasted only for a moment before it all died down, and all the materials were consumed. Only the stone remained at Aelius’ feet, and before him, Asura fell unconscious and her presence quickly disappeared from the Real Realm, her body fading into nothingness. That was expected already, though. When Spirits lose their consciousness, they temporarily return to the Spirit Realm. Asura will return to Aelius when she wakes up, and at that time, the ritual will have been a success. Reaching down, Aelius picked up the stone into his hands again, inspecting it closely. This is a… Mana catalyst, he thought and a greedy smile spread across his face. Not quite the power of a Deity or anything, no. But far more useful in its own right. We really struck gold this time. He delicately stowed the stone away into his portal, glanced around his surroundings, and then escaped the area before anyone could come and check out the commotion he just caused.