Chương 226: Old And New Faces

"... Miss Maeve?"

"Who?"

"The steel she-monster. You met her before""Oh…"

"What are you doing here, exactly–And more importantly, where is the Blood-Cursed Tree?"

"Blood-Cursed Tree? W–What do you want with su–such a thing, Fire Boy?" Standing opposite me, a fair distance away, were two figures, one taller, wearing a crimson cloak, and a smaller one, wearing a black cloak. I had immediately recognised them–They were the former enforcers of Beelmart. The murderous siblings, Denaiel and Halini. Out of all people, I certainly wasn't expecting to run into them, but amongst a list of powerful folks, they were probably the best option since we actually knew each other.

It opened the way for a civil discussion, as there was no way I could reliably win a fight against either of them. Their fire magic wasn't too scary with how advanced my resistance to flames was, but they held enough power to turn me into scrap even without using an inferno. I had heard from Leou that Denaiel had actually fought Salael Vomhargon…

This old fucker had been around since even before my untimely death, and he was reputed as a monster with the sword, so the simple fact that Red Snow wasn't only alive, but in good shape after fighting him was enough for me to know that a fight between us would definitely end up in my loss. As for Halini… I didn't know that much about her. She might have a burnt face, but the way she acted and held herself told me that she was probably an adorable little sister, even if a bit demented.

"Fire Boy…?" He sighed as his sister snickered at my silly joke.

"I know that you are a smart woman, so I'll tell you without lies–My sister and I now work as mercenaries. Well, we steal the jobs of mercenaries since we are wanted criminals, but anyway… We were hired by some secretive organisation to find and destroy a Blood-Cursed Tree located here. They don't want other secretive organisations to get it""If you happen to be seeking this tree for one of such other groups, we would have a problem, but you are definitely aware that a fight is not to your advantage. So…

Do you know where that tree is?"

"Oh. That–hat's it? I ate it" Denaiel blinked a few times, but his poker face didn't falter.

"... I suppose you do eat curses, but this tree was supposed to be quite large, and you just ate it all? Where was it?" I pointed behind me.

"Huh… Can we get our payment if someone else did the job for us?"

"We can lie, Halini. Miss Maeve, were you hired to do this, or did you find your way here purely because you wanted to feast upon the tree?"

"Devour–Devouring curses is imp–orta–nt for me, I was wan–wandering around… Eating flesh and sightseeing–ing, when I ran into a pur–purple cat near this h–ho–hole" Denaiel had been a bit wary of me. I had been sensing it clearly, but it seemed like my words convinced him as he relaxed a bit, his emotions changing from suspicion and alike to slight confusion.

"Did you kill this purple cat?"

"Ate it too–too–too""Of course you did… This beast is one that I know fairly well. I've met it a few times. I didn't realise that this fucker would be on this job as well…

It means that this location is far less of a secret than originally thought, a whole bunch of organisations either want the tree, or want it gone, we might-" He didn't finish his sentence, but I knew that what he was getting at had come to realise as yet another figure appeared, crawling headfirst into the pit, looking at everyone present with unusual dark eyes, only two white dots visible amidst the obscure sclera.

"If it isn't the brother and sister duo…" I definitely had no clue who this guy was, but he had a very deep voice… Very… Huuh… Alluring, I guess. Bastard sounds like he is whispering sweet nothings right next to my ear–Unfortunately, it seemed that only his voice was enjoyable. His looks were a bit bizarre.

He was clearly a rabbitfolk like the oblivious guy from before, such was obvious by the two long ears that came into view before anything else, but he wasn't a kind of beastfolk I was familiar with–Dressed in what looked like clerical robes, he came slithering down, his body bending so that he would land feet first. It was like looking at a contortionist, but if they were so committed to the bit that they removed their bones…

His bones didn't even pop one bit during the whole process, and when he stood up, he still had to tilt his head to the side–He was taller than the ceiling was high, and this place had been housing a freaking giant tree not so long ago. This man was tall, lanky, and spindly beyond belief.

If he wasn't speaking so casually and clearly demonstrating that he had interacted with the siblings before, I would have thought that he was a genuine monster–But no, Nara whispered to me that he was absolutely a 'regular' rabbitfolk. The cat from earlier was only a beast, but they were somewhat related–He has the same purplish coat of fur. He doesn't appear to be the one who had been communicating with the feline, though…

Anyway, I looked through my knowledge, and it would seem that they are hailing from some kind of beast-type that deals with the mind Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He is a beastfolk variant of a rabbit of that kind I have no clue what 'looking through knowledge' means, but thanks for the information. It should mean that he isn't that big of a danger to me if his whole schtick is similar to the kitty's.

"Lopst. Long time no see…"

"Likewise, Denaiel–Nice to see you, Halini. You've become even more charming since the last time I saw you""Big Brother… This creep is hitting on me again…"

"My reputation is still stained, I see. Anyway! What are you here for? Destroy the tree, or collect samples of it. I would appreciate it if we weren't in opposition for once, we could work together and… Where is the tree?"

"Miss Maeve ate it. You probably couldn't help but notice that the energy and air are also purified""Now that you mention it… But this is bad. I needed a sample""Seems like we were doomed to be in opposition, but alas, the objective was already gone when we got here""Urgh, this is terrible. Why would anyone eat an entire cursed tree?"

"It is ta–tasty" The rabbitfolk marked a pause and stared at me for a few moments as though the sound of my voice had stunned him.

"Hold on a second. A weird repeating voice, and… Maeve? Red Snow! Is this… Is this the progenitor of the Nightmare Plague?! Why didn't you tell me immediately?!"

"I dislike speaking with you, Lopst" The tall bunny–Or I guess, hare–Shook his head, causing his big ears to be flung around and hit his own face as he suddenly moved closer to move. This bastard was fast, way too fast. All he did was grab hold of my hand, however.

"My name is Lopst. I am a missionary of the Deep Sleep. Down in the Cave of Somn, we are big fans of your work! How does it work? Is there a dream variant? Would you be willing to hear about our saviour, Prophet Irjalumn, and how he will bring salvation to all sinners through endless sleep and eternal dreams?"

"Calm down, Buddy" This sentence came out pristine. Instead of pushing him away, I took the occasion to grab one of his ears–This is some high-grade fluff right there, not quite as nice as Leou's in my opinion, but definitely another type that had my interest. Lopst didn't seem to react to my action and instead let go of my hand.

"My apologies for the sudden outburst, Miss Maeve""Don't worry about him, he's just a lunatic from a group of lunatics" The beastfolk grunted.

"You are a blasphemer, Denaiel. You'll definitely end up spending some time in the nightmares to purge yourself of sin" This guy is weirdly calm about blasphemy despite seemingly being a cult member. I had never heard of this so-called 'Deep Sleep', 'Cave of Somn', or 'Prophet Irjalumn'. I suppose he was here because the Blood-Cursed Tree held some value to his faith… Are any more people going to show up?

I am not exactly enjoying being surrounded by potential enemies while secretly carrying a box full of the samples from the Blood-Cursed Tree. The fiery siblings were here to erase evidence, and the bunny was here to collect some of it himself. The situation could easily turn ugly. … And it did. The pit everyone had entered from was suddenly blasted open wider than it had been, and a flood of figures came crashing down–Including a prominent one riding upon what looked like a pavise shield floating in the air.

"Apologies for crashing whatever is going on down here, but I am in need of the Cursed Essence contained inside of the… The… Alright, who the hell did this?"

"Who the hell took my tree?!"

"Don't be so entitled, Kyrtian. Did you plant this tree or something?"

"My great-grandfather planted it, actually. Specifically so that it would eventually condense enough curse energy and curses to turn its sap into Cursed Essence, it was supposed to have come to fruition a mere few days ago at most, and perhaps even today precisely!"

"Sucks to be you, would you consider joining the Deep Sleep?"

"Shut up. I don't know why I bother asking, one of you clearly got here first–The one who killed the Mindstep Panther!" Is that the actual name of the species? Not a bad one. The screen of dust and dirt created by his entrance settled down, revealing that the many other figures accompanying him were rotten, shambling corpses animated by what I would assume was necromancy.

"This Cursed Essence was clear–clear–ly much older than what you are–are saying. It was refi–fined like wine""Silence, thief! I'll execute you for your crime!" He suddenly pulled out some sort of pendant, doing something that caused the object to shatter, and in the blink of an eye, I was suddenly somewhere else entirely. The surroundings were no longer a rough, cavernous structure, but a wide room made from dusty stone bricks, where the ceiling was supported by thick pillars.

I immediately noticed an odd structure hidden behind iron bars in the distance. If I'm not mistaken, it looks a bit like a teleportation array. A heavily simple one–Too simple to possibly function, but it seems like we aren't in a real place per se. This is some sort of alternate space Did that pendant of his allow him to do this? It was odd, my clothes and the box inside my chest were still here, but I suppose my warping and proper teleportation–If this was actually what this was–Were different.

The countless zombies and their necromancer soon appeared inside this place as well, but I had already run to take cover behind one of the pillars by then.

"This item's creation process was invented by my great-grandfather, also. It is only fitting that you are doomed by one of his creations for stealing from his hard work…" What did I even do to get into this situation? I just ate a big plant, it can not possibly be that big of a deal that you pull out a freaking item that transports people to what is essentially a freaking pocket dimension. That is absolutely overreacting. He is extending his mana sense"You can not hide from me.

Justice shall be served" He fired a crescent blade of mana, and although the thing was surprisingly slow, it packed some real power. It sliced right through the pillar and ground, bearing some form of acidic effect. What kind of magic is this? Be careful, Big Sis! This is death magic, do not get hit by any of it under any circumstances! Shit. For all of my undead-like traits, I was still very much alive… I need to close the distance for just a second. As long as I can do this, I can win.