After a brief greeting exchange between William and the priest, we left the cathedral and returned to our carriage. William sat beside the coachman to give directions while I sat at the back, thinking of the uniqueness of the origin spells I just witnessed.
"Are there origin spells for death magic?" I asked out of curiosity.
{Of course} Lin responded. {Origin spells and transcripts exist for all elements, pathways, and powers in existence today.}
"Then I'm looking forward to joining the academy." I felt a tinge of excitement in my chest.
Destruction and the thrill of power were the only emotions the death magic allowed me to indulge in. I looked out the window and frowned when I recognized the path we took led to the Blackwood Forest!
Of course, this was her only option since the city gates were closed, and Blackwood soldiers were prepared for her. But it was also a risky choice because the deeper parts of the forest were the territory of a magic beast.
These are extremely territorial beasts.
{It's her only choice of escape regardless. Her chances of sneaking past that magic beast are much higher than escaping thousands of trained soldiers.} Lin said and I shrugged.
"We will see."
Twenty minutes later, we had reached the edges of the Blackwood forest. I exited the carriage and looked towards the endless forest ahead. Here, resentment, violence, and cruelty existed even amongst beasts, so it would be hard to tell her apart from the animals. The only way to find this lady was by using the spectral compass.
William got off the carriage with his great sword strapped to his back and patted my shoulder with a small smile.
"You have done enough. Stay here with the guards where it's safe. I'll handle the rest. ." He said and walked away before I could respond.
I blinked in shock, trying to understand how I worked so hard alongside him in this case only to get sidelined and dumped. Smacking my face left it with a stinging pain, however, it was much better than the feeling of betrayal.
{You are not going to sit back and watch, are you?} Lin asked.
He probably sensed the mischievous thoughts in my mind and I simply nodded and went back into the carriage. I sat down and crossed my legs while counting silently.
Approximately ten minutes later, I got off the carriage and walked into the forest without saying a word to anybody. William was a heavy man, and in this journey, he didn't prioritize stealth but speed.
He needed to catch up to Mrs. Lotus so his messy footprints were easy to follow.
{What do you plan to do when you get there?} Lin asked.
"Watch. If possible, snatch Mrs. Lotus's soul while at it. I want to see what you meant by quality souls." I grinned devilishly.
______ William Blackwood POV ______
Rushing through the forest, my chest heaved up and down quickly, but I didn't dare rest. No one knew the kind of danger the city was in if this wicked woman carried out her plans.
When people hear about the word charm, they believe it is an ability that attracts the opposite sex, but that is wrong. Living in Blackwood Thicket all my life exposed me to a lot of supernatural beings with unique abilities, and none was as deadly as vampires and fox spirits.
These two beings possess the ability to control man or beast, regardless of gender. While it was much harder to achieve magical beasts, it wasn't impossible.
In the realm of magic beasts, there were five levels: common beasts, arcane beasts, greater beasts, mythic beasts, and ancestral beasts.
A common beast was the equivalent of a peak earth realm master. At my peak, I was an esteemed Earth realm master, but with age, my strength had declined to the amateur stage of the Earth realm. That was why I struggled a lot to deal with the fox.
If she successfully controls Vito, no one will be able to stop her escape or even retaliation. While I suspect Father Corbin was also a cultivator like me, on par or even stronger, I knew he wouldn't get involved until the danger reached the walls of the church.
The compass was the most he was willing to do. If not, he would have offered to join us in hunting down the fox spirit or offered to have some of their mages accompany us.
"Come on, Vito. Please hold out!" I mumbled with a deep frown while following the compass.
Traversing this forest was easy since I hunted here during my younger years and even met with the guardian of the forest, Vito. Just from the general direction revealed by the compass, I knew her destination.
The wind brushed past my face while my hair whipped against the wind. Twists and weak branches brushed against my shoulder. I was sloppy. After running at top speed for thirty minutes straight I emerged at a massive clearing with a forked cliff with a view of a massive waterfall on the other side of the valley.
The river in between had strong currents, causing the wooden bridge connecting both sides to sway to and fro, but I have never attempted to go beyond this edge. I can't even if I wanted to because everything from this clearing and down to the other edge belonged to Vito according to his agreement with the founding fathers of the Blackwood family.
It was silent and empty, with the compass pointing at the other end of the bridge. I clenched my fists tight and gritted my teeth. I was torn between turning back and leaving, hoping Vito would deal with this problem.
Or
I could cross the bridge and risk incurring Vito's wrath while fighting a fox spirit.
But there was a third option. Walk to the other side of that bridge and slay any fox spirit and anything that stands in your way for the sake of Robert.
This was the choice I planned to follow.
___ William Blackwood POV ____
On the other side of the bridge, the lush trees bore scars of battle— claw marks, broken branches, uprooted trees, and even blood prints. I followed the path of chaos, reliving deeper into what seemed like an endless forest until I finally arrived at a small clearing and the first thing I saw was Vito.
Vito was a colossal beast that resembled a fusion of a living tree and a golem. Its body was composed of thick, bark-like armor reinforced by dense layers of intertwined roots and vines. Large, crystalline emeralds protruded from its shoulders and chest and its eyes burned with an eerie green light.
In front of Vito was Mrs Lotus on her knees, her body battered and broken—her left hand had been snapped like a twig. She gasped and painted heavily but a sinister smile played on her lips even in her desperate condition.
Her sinister smile widened as she glanced in my direction, and she muttered inaudibly, but I could tell what she said by reading her lips.
"I win." She said,
Ka! Ka!
What followed next left me horrified. Bone-breaking sounds resonated from her body as her hands twisted back in shape while her bruises and cuts slowly closed up. Vito stood beside her, glaring at her calmly with its burning eyes, and even offered a hand to help her up.
"You have broken our sacred promise and crossed the boundary, little William." Vito's voice caused the entire forest to tremble. "You must be punished."
I frowned and instinctively reached for my sword hanging on my back, however, I didn't unsheath my weapon. It was too early to make assumptions.
"Guardian of the forest. I came for the fox, fearing she may harm you." I said but Vito wasn't buying it.
His emerald eyes burned brighter and his attention shifted to Mrs. Lotus briefly before returning to me.
"I have chosen to make her my bride. How can this feeble woman harm the great Vito?" Vito's voice was laced with contempt. "You are the one wielding a weapon in Vito's land. How can I be sure it is not you who wants to harm Vito?"
Before I could respond, Mrs. Lotus's laughter caught me off as she slowly rose to her feet—her wounds completely healed!
"It's too late. There is no use trying to talk, he has become my darling." She grinned devilishly and her eyes revealed a cruel gleam.
Buzz!
I frowned and tightened my grip on [Tyrant] while mentally preparing myself for the inevitable.
"Your son killed my mother." Mrs. Lotus continued, her crazed smile widening. "Now I will kill you and bruh your entire territory to the ground. No one will be spared!"
To her threats I was unmoved. A decade ago, the fox spirit infestation was serious, and Blackwood Thicket was the resting place of the supposed self-proclaimed fox queen, who was only three-tailed at that time.
During that time, there was a rise in beautiful courtesans, and with it came lots of mysterious murder cases, and all evidence pointed towards the in.
I personally led my troops with Robert by my side and there was a great slaughter. However, we quickly lost our advantage as the owner of the inn turned out to be a three-tailed fox—equivalent to a peak Earth realm master.
In her true form, she was formidable and managed to escape with some of her subordinates. But it didn't stop there, from time to time, people went missing in the city. While we caught a few fox spirits and killed them, we never found the queen until a year ago—five months before I found Derek.
Robert had completely taken over my duties as the city Lord and continued looking into the fox queen's movement, tracking her down to a small village at the edges of my territory borders where she was happily married to a human and also had a daughter.
Robert attacked all with the intent to slaughter the fox queen, her daughter, and the human traitor who harbored this demon. Robert was only an esteemed Earth realm master and his guards were ordinary trained guards but took advantage of her vulnerable child and husband to gain the advantage.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. The battle ended in a draw in which both sides wiped out the other.
Realizing that this girl was probably five years or so at most but had grown into a beautiful, mature woman was all the reminder I needed that they were not humans. They age fast and can only survive through the essence of their victims which in turn grants them what I refer to as false immortality.
Any form of immortality that requires one to feed off another being is not true immortality. That I why I will never stop looking down on beings like vampires and fox spirits!
To think this abomination returned to my territory to seek revenge for her mother who is responsible for the death of over fifty humans?
Not just on me but the entire city?
This fight had gone beyond my personal vendetta with Fox Spirits. It has become a battle for House Blackwood and Blackwood Thicket.
"Be it man or beast. Anything that stands in my way of avenging the death of my son will die today. Even if that person is you, Vito!" I said decisively and my eyes steeled with resolve.
The first plan was to kill Mrs. Lotus before she could corrupt Vito. However, the second plan was to kill Mrs. Lotus and Vito, if corrupted.
"You leave me no choice, Vito," I muttered and sadness flashed through my eyes.