Chapter 184: 184

There will be a recent drop on my release of Chapters since i have a school project that will last for about 5 weeks. I would still post Chapters when I have the chance or opportunity to do so but I would like you guys to know that. Thanks for your support all this while.

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Brix and Aqua looked at the deer easily their height before answering “This is our new friend Wardenwild”

The deer in question looked at Ikem before responding “We meet again your highness” saying that it bowed its neck when Ikem saw a pattern he was familiar with.

“You are that deer I met once in the forest,” Ikem said surprised as he looked at the red root-like streak running across the deer’s neck all the way to its back.

The deer smiled cheekily at Ikem staring as it said “The red really adds a charm to me don’t it?”

Ikem didn’t answer back as he remembered how this deer taught him the limitations of his red roots. When Ikem met the deer he was intrigued by it but because he had a destination in mind he let the deer go but not before putting a mark on it.

Ikem over estimated the abilities of his marking as one day when the thought of the deer came to him, Ikem tried tracing back his mark to find where the deer resides but he got nothing back as if the root was dead.

But Ikem doubted that as Bara will know once a part of him died, so the only conclusion both him and Bara came to at the time was the deer and mark was so far away and hidden that it is hard to find.

Right now as Ikem stood before the deer, he once again felt a connection with the mark but unlike before Ikem was sure that the consciousness within the root was no longer Bara.

Looking at Aqua and Brix, Ikem asked “Do you trust him?”

Brix and Aqua meanwhile was taken back by the whole encounter but when they heard Ikem’s question they said “We do, his other counterparts might have shown us their bad side but from our view he has been doing a lot of good, besides I believe you have heard of his story around this parts”

Ikem confused asked “There are too many stories, how am I to know which one falls on him”

Aqua smiled as he pointed at the deer before saying “You certainly must have heard about, a spirit of the forest who always bring back corpses of those lost in the forest”

Ikem eyes widened as he looked at the deer “You are the one known as the nature custodian”

The deer demon morphed as it took a humanoid form as he stretched out his hand for a handshake and said “We might have had a bad start in our first meeting but right now we are on the same side”

Ikem had a bit of hesitation before he shook the deer’s hands. Still a bit taken back on learning that the deer is the one referred to as the custodian.

The custodian is something of a spirit or what was thought to be a rumor matching even the tales of the gods.

Before the sprung of cities and kingdom when people were still living out in the forest with no walls to protect them.

Occasionally humans leave their home to hunt only for some to make it back safe or injured but at the least they came back.

A lot of the human tradition at that time had the habit of burning or burying their dead comrades, that was a middle finger to nature and animals that killed their comrades, they understood it as if they can’t feed themselves then in no way will they let nature or other animals feed off their fallen comrades.

It was also a way for those that lost their loved ones to have something of them, but not all the time are the humans lucky to get back with their dead comrade body. That was where the custodian came in as he roamed the forest and when he came across dead bodies he for some reason knew where they had to be and so he brings the dead body back to where it was needed.

People call it a spirit because he not only does that on one side of the continent, his works cover every part of the planet.

Ikem intrigued asked the deer “What made you do what you do that, You have proved yourself to be different from other demons but it’s a huge change in character for such a selfless act”

Wardenwild looked at Ikem before answering with a thing of sadness to his voice “It all started because of the loss of a loved one, this world was an opportunity for a new life to me after being stuck in a hivemind state where we are all under the main consciousness. After my separation from you I started my one family or herd”

“Deer usually aren’t animals that feed on flesh and blood but because of what I am, my offspring has developed a taste for it. Nothing was wrong with it at the time but it became a problem when three of my spawn fed off a rotten dead human corpse, I didn’t know at the time but as they fell sick i did the best i could but ultimately they died”

“It was later that I found out that it had something to do with the dead corpse” The deer closed its eyes before speaking once again.

“I was furious and blamed the humans, I was so close to falling into the habit of my counterparts but remembering my promise of leading a new life, I held off but I turn I made it a habit to teach my children on what meat to feed and which one not too and to avoid any miss happens I started putting back the dead bodies littered in the forest back to where they belong”

“I could have buried them but I know that won’t stop my children or any other animal to dig them up so rather i put them back to the human civilization, with my abilities I can trace the blood relative of the corpse and leave them off for them to handle” Wardenwild answered before looking at Ikem.

“As for the reason why I continued doing it. It boils down to human uniqueness” Wardenwild chuckled.

Ikem curios asked “What do you mean?”

Wardenwild pointed at Ikem’s chest and said “You would understand as it will be your next stage in strength, but to make matters short. My behavior has led to the humans believing in me bring about a concept which I plan on adjourning to cement my existence in this world”

“This even got more concrete, when the humans learned of the existence of the gods, in my case leaning more towards her highness Keles, their belief on me got stronger”

Aqua and Brix cut in this time, “That is why we are here today”

Ikem looked at them before asking Wardenwild a question of his own that he had concerning the rumors around the custodian “The rumor and stories about you states that you often share your knowledge to those who are luck enough to encounter you”

Wardenwild began laughing “That is partially the truth your highness, I don’t just share my wisdom if you happen to meet me, I only do that to those that have intrigued me enough so i don’t mind sharing on something that can make their life better. Besides most humans that come across me are those that are lost and haven’t found their way home so I help them out”

Ikem looked at the demon up and down and said “You are kind of making me feel bad for seeing all demon as bad”

Wardenwild smiled as he answered “You are right to do so, as there is microscopic chance of meeting demons who are like me, you might not know this your highness but it brings some demon pain when they do something good”

Ikem, Aqua and Brix raised an eye at the last part before laughing out loud “That right there is unique for sure” Ikem’s said as he imagined torturing a demon by forcing it to do good.

Aqua and Brix turned to the gaping hole while looking angrily at Ikem’s who was now nervously laughing as he scratched the back of his head “It wasn’t me, the demon I fought did all this”

Wardenwiild spoke up this time “The demon must have been extremely resentful of you killing it”

Ikem looked at the deer “What do you mean?”

Wardenwild said nothing as he raised his hand where dark purple smoke left from the ground around the gaping hole. The smoke gathered around the deer hand before condensing into purple which it proceeded to swallow.

Looking at Ikem, Wardenwild said “You know of the possessed forest in the western continent right?”

Ikem nodded before Wardenwild continued “Well the demon you killed, at its last breath contaminated the land around here. It was weak at the time so the contamination wasn’t noticed but I give about 50 years or more before this whole part of the land will look no different from the possessed forest and unlike the western one where the pollution was controlled and has a weak point, this pollution will be worse as it’s catalyst will have no source except for the land itself”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep