775 The Enigmatic Puppeteer
"SALISTER KANE!"
Ren and the others stood in stunned silence as the rogue, who had just revealed himself as Salister Kane, vanished into the shadows.
So this was where he was. Ren thought.
The connection between the Demon King, the Seven Warlords, the Rebellion Army, and Salister Kane left Ren pondering if they belonged to one story and that they were currently adventuring through it.
Ren couldn't help but wonder where this unexpected twist in the story would lead them.
Salister Kane's presence seemed to tie together threads Ren hadn't anticipated. He speculated that the Demon King, the Seven Warlords, and the Rebellion Army were all interconnected, and Salister Kane's was just the catalyst of it all.
Lorelai gnashed her teeth in frustration. "That bastard! So this is where he went!"
"Wait . . . why is Salister even here in this castle in the first place? Why did he turned Avaris in to stone?" Elena questioned, breaking the contemplative silence.
"Maybe he joined the Rebellion Army," Ren offered an explanation. "After all, his dead parents are one of the leaders of the rebellion, right?"
Elena nodded in agreement. "That could be it."
"If he joined the Rebellion Army, then we need to stop this Salister as well," Vivi declared, her eyes focused on the potential threat.
"He had turned Avaris into stone, of course we have to find him and forced him to return Avaris back to normal. With this type of ancient magic, only the caster could undo it." Desira turned her gaze to Azazel, questioning him. "What do you plan to do, my lord? Can you still extract the corruption from Avaris at his state?"
Azazel's response sent shockwaves through the group. "It's already extracted."
The declaration left everyone baffled.
"What?"
"What did you say?"
"Already extracted? Meaning it's not there anymore?" Lorelai sought clarification.
Azazel nodded with a grave expression. "That demon, Salister, must have took it."
The revelation fueled a flurry of questions and speculations.
How could Salister accomplish such a feat, and what did it mean for Avaris?
Desira, deep in thought, mumbled to herself, considering the possibility that someone within the Rebellion Army possessed extraordinary crafting or alchemical skills, enabling them to create a legendary-grade tool capable of extracting corruption from a demon.
The group found themselves at a crossroads, faced with new challenges and uncertainties.
As they grappled with the implications of Salister Kane's involvement, the path ahead became shrouded in an even greater veil of uncertainty.
"Isn't it good that the corruption can be extracted and trapped by an item?" Evie asked, her curiosity evident in her voice.
Desira, however, shook her head in response. "You can only extract that large amount of corruption using a specialized tool and trapped it in a living item or something similar, something that resembles flesh and is alive. Otherwise, you can't extract such a massive amount of corruption from the host.
"Corruption can only enter living creatures, after all, rejecting everything else. Additionally, the host needs to be powerful, like a warlord, to absorb such a massive amount of corruption; otherwise, the hosts simply go mad and explode.
"Just like I did with those demons back in my territory. I had placed half of my corruption in them, but placing them half to another host took me hundreds and hundreds of demons and devils," Desira added, recalling the intricate process.
"Something that's alive and can withstand that large amount of corruption . . . if such an item truly exists, then that's good news, right?" Evie asked. "You can all just placed all this corruption inside this item and you no longer need a host or Azazel to contain it."
Azazel, Desira, and Vivi exchanged glances, silently communicating their thoughts.
Vivi broke the brief silence and voiced her concerns. "That's a concerning aspect because corruption always corrupts its host. Who knows what might happen if this living item is left unchecked. Corruption doesn't decrease over time; it only grows and grows."
Desira nodded in agreement. "Like I said, whoever made something that could extract that large amount of corruption and contained it on a living host or something similar must be a master alchemist."
Ren considered the possibilities, and suggested, "Should we extract the information from Lethargia? There's nothing showed when the corruption was stolen from Avaris."
Elena and Lorelai's faces brightened at the prospect.
"That's right! Wake that sloth up!" Lorelai exclaimed with newfound enthusiasm. "What she showed us was missing some crucial parts!"
"You're so clever, Ren. Teeheehee. That's my husband for you," Elena said, seizing Ren's hand and purring as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.
Evie wasn't going to miss out and did the same thing to Ren while the latter was squash between the two beauties.
"If Lethargia only revealed that part, then there's nothing more we can do," Vivi stated, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
Perplexed, Lorelai inquired, "What do you mean?"
Desira patiently explained, "Someone must have used an item to block that part. There must be someone else other than Salister Kane in there, the one who extracted the corruption when Avaris turned to stone."
"You can do that?" Elena asked. "Can you block a seer's ability to recall the past? But if that's the case . . ."
Desira nodded knowingly. "This someone was prepared and must have known about Lethargia's abilities."
Azazel and Vivi's expressions turned grim, while Lethargia even managed to crack open an eye.
"In the Netherworld, only a few knew about Lethargia's abilities, given that she's mostly a recluse who spends her days sleeping in her room. Most of them are either dead or too old to recall anything about her," Desira explained.
"However, all of the seven warlords perfectly knew Lethargia's abilities from inside and out."
"D-don't tell me . . ." Ren and the others dreaded the next words that would escape Desira's lips next.
Desira closed her eyes momentarily, as if struggling to believe it herself. "Someone who is a master Alchemist, knew about the corruption and even Avaris's personality, and familiar with Lethargia . . . there's no doubt about it, it could only be Malifira, the Warlord of Envy."
