Chapter 53: The Cure

The glass bottle contained a black liquid that didn’t behave naturally. Dhein inspected it for a while and then turned to Sullivan.

“And how do we do that?” he asked if not a bit impatiently.

Sullivan answered with a shrug.

“I have no idea.”

“What do you mean, you have no idea?” Dhein questioned.

“It’s true. In fact, this curse is never meant to be lifted. Attempting to reverse the procedure of making the cursed food itself is near impossible.”

Dhein looked down on his hanging hand that held the bottle. Would they even have enough time to study and understand the curse and make the reversal potion?

He looked at Sullivan.

“One more question. Are you the one who’s in control of turning the victims into monsters?”

The old man scratched his head.

“Ah, you mean those unfortunate souls. No, I have no control over that. Actually, I have eaten the cursed food myself. Your uncle, Raymond Theocheirós, has also eaten it.”

Dhein’s eyes opened wide, his breath hitched.

“I was right,” he mumbled.

Sullivan then continued.

“The Demon King and his seer are the ones responsible for that. But triggering the curse and turning people into monsters isn’t as simple as you might be thinking. In the first place, that’s not how the cursed food works.”

Dhein listened closely and engraved all information Sullivan gave out. For some reason, he was willing to share so much valuable intel.

“As you already know, the cursed food is mainly designed to turn the people of the slums into monsters when needed. The Demon King deliberately did this because as godless humans, the people of the slums had a more vulnerable soul.”

“That’s how the curse works. It connects your soul to the Demon King’s mind. That way, he is granted full access to your very soul where he can comprehend it fully. That’s why we are also required to eat cursed food. So that the Demon King always sees what’s in our souls. The further you are from the gods, the easier your soul will be conquered.

“After the Demon King conquers the anatomy of your soul, he will then be able to manipulate its nature, turning it into the most common monster in Sekhtar.”

Dhein exhaled quietly, absorbing Sullivan’s words. Though it was a bit complicated, he was able to understand the concept the old man wanted to convey.

Throwing a glance towards Fiorelle, he figured that Sullivan wasn’t lying.

Now, it was only a matter of whether they would be able to make the reversal potion in time or the Demon King finishes comprehending the blueprint of his victim’s souls before that.

When Sullivan suddenly leaped backwards closer to the portal, Dhein almost jumped in shock. The old man spoke, his back facing them.

“Well, I gave you almost everything that you need to know. Any more than that and I might as well kiss my humanity goodbye. I guess that’s enough of a price to keep my life?”

He stepped closer to the portal.

“In that case, I’ll be taking my leave. The portal is about to close, too.”

Fiorelle reached out her hand.

“Wait!”

Sullivan stopped for a second, looked at her and then smiled.

“By the way, Allegra, the shape of your face looks just like your mother’s.”

Fiorelle’s arm slowly fell to her side, Sullivan continued.

“Her name was Tersi. She was a half demon, half human who was abandoned at birth.”

His smile turned bitter.

“You have a choice to make, Fiorelle. If ever you find yourself hated by this world, you know where to find me.”

And then, after saying that, Sullivan and the two demons entered the portal. The portal closed, leaving the three in the room in complete silence.

Both Thevon and Dhein glanced at the shaken girl who was gazing into nothingness.

***

The three of them exited the hidden lair and began to trek to the surface by the narrow path leading up to the forest. Putting the small glass bottle in his pocket, Dhein, along with the mage and the witch, walked silently back to the outer Callex.

The walk was silent and awkward, each of them had something on their minds that they would rather keep to themselves.

After walking for twelve hours straight, Fiorelle’s knees finally gave out.

“I can’t… move my legs…” she mumbled, kneeling on the ground.

Thevon also used a tree to support his balance. It was understandable. He had been having it rough for three consecutive days.

Dhein, on the other hand, was completely fine. He had been secretly training his physical body since childhood. Being powerless was already enough of a disadvantage. He couldn’t afford to be physically weak as well.

Catching her breath, Fiorelle spoke.

“I used the spirit of strength ten times already. I have reached my limits. Dhein, will you please let me rest for a second?”

Dhein stared at the exhausted girl. Though he can understand her point, they couldn’t be wasting any more time!

Sighing, he crouched down, put one arm under Fiorelle’s legs and the other under her back. Then, he lifted her off the ground.

As he began walking forward, Fiorelle looked at him with widened eyes, her face red as tomato.

“Eeehhh?! D—D—Dhein, what are you…”

He didn’t answer. He knew he had to control his breathing well to preserve his energy as much as possible. Thevon followed behind him.

As they walked, Thevon couldn’t help but ask:

“Dheinyrus, has everything gone according to your plan?”

Dhein glanced at him, staying silent for a few seconds.

“Not at all,” he replied after a short moment.

After that, they proceeded to walk in silence.

One more hour later, they finally reached the outer Callex where the imperial forces were battling.

It turned out that when Dhein reached Thevon in the inner Callex, the captain of the demonic army ordered an immediate retreat. So, when Dhein arrived, the battle was already over.

He looked at Fiorelle before putting her down to her feet.

That was when he saw his father.

“My son!” Axerion exclaimed with a wide smile. Dhein wanted to cover his ears with how loud and annoying his father’s voice was.

“My pride and joy! Come and give your old man a hug.”

Axerion froze in shock when Dhein walked past him towards Emperor Vedis Venilon, completely ignoring his father.

“That’s rude!”

The emperor looked at him with doubtful eyes before speaking.

“So this is why you lied about Shina’s location.”

Dhein lied about Shina’s location because he knew that she would just flee to another place if the whole imperial army came searching for her in Selense. He wanted to meet her personally to talk to her without anyone meddling in between.

’But that also works, I guess.’

After a brief silence, he raised the glass bottle.

“Your Majesty, I need you to gather all the people who have eaten the cursed food. This liquid can be made into a potion that lifts the curse. We can save their lives.”

Axerion suddenly appeared beside Dhein, leaning close to inspect the black liquid.

“Oh? So that’s the cure?” he muttered.

Dhein shook his head.

“Unfortunately, no. This is one of the ingredients in making one. I have this, but I don’t know how to make the cure itself.”

Suddenly, a smile crossed Axerion’s face. He stood up straight and crossed his arms.

“If that’s the case, there’s no need to worry.”

Dhein turned to him, confused.

Axerion added:

“Because Zarria has probably figured it out.”

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