Elder Faust was not in any better condition and had already fallen to the floor on his knees.
Damien hadn't forgotten about him since the day he first set awakened in this world. He also knew that the ethereal seal on Valentina could only be removed by him as he learned that Elder Faust was the boss of the two men who had kidnapped Valentina.
Damien could do it but if he forcefully removes it, Valentina might suffer a backlash on her soul.
Elder Faust looked up at Damien as beats of sweat rapidly flowed down from his forehead. He felt nothing but blind terror as his body became wobbly.
The menacing aura of Misty had these two paralyzed on the spot making them unable to even use a strand of ethereal energy.
Mary Di was at the First Level of the Earth Ethereal Realm while Elder Faust was at the seventh level of the Earth Ethereal Realm. How could they possibly resist the dreadful huge bird looking down upon them?
"Heh...enlighten you? You dare to sell my personal disciple and ask me such stupid questions?" Damien growled.
Mary Di gulped and felt as if her heart would give out any moment realizing the blunder they had done. This was not her first rodeo and she had always sold off slaves after making sure there weren't any consequences.
Elder Faust was also surprised hearing that they had basically tried to sell the personal disciple of the most promising alchemist in the world. And that's not taking into account the Xeton Empire backing him.
"Please s-senior, we would never do something like that. It must be all a misunderstanding. A-Allow us to make...it up to you." Elder Faust said as his voice tremored.
Damien scoffed as he clutched Mary Di's neck, "Make it up to me? When you tried to sell her off as an exotic 'item'?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Mary Di felt like she was under the clutches of a demon and felt as if her neck would be crushed any moment. She gasped trying to breathe as she tried to move her hands to tell Damien to stop.
"S-senior, you may take her as compensation. I am sure...my daughter would do well to serve you." Elder Faust said earnestly as he hoped Damien would be taken by her beauty just like any other man out there.
Damien was a bit surprised to hear that these two were father and daughter. But he wasn't surprised that Elder Faust was trying to sell off his daughter.
Damien said in his deep voice, "I don't want your ugly daughter. Why don't you start by removing the ethereal seal on my personal disciple?"
Mary Di was not that shocked when her father was trying to sell her off. In fact, he had already done so on many occasions. She wouldn't mind pleasuring an old geezer for some time to survive. But she winced when Damien called her ugly.
Elder Faust gulped thinking about how suicidal he was by not doing a proper background check.
It is not that he did not do a check. He even asked Valentina when she was brought to him whether she had any family to which she said no. Nor did he know of any family who had similar features as that of Valentina. Even in the whole world, he did not know of any affluent families having the same features as her.
Only when he observed the dress on her, he seemed a bit doubtful but when he found out her cultivation, he was flabbergasted realizing how powerful she was for her age. He weighed the risk and profits and decided to auction her off.
But now he realized how foolishly he was blinded by greed.
"Will you...still bear a grudge towards the Dark Sky Guild after I remove her ethereal seal? It's not...g-good to be enemies with us...since the people backing this organization are not simple." Elder Faust asked anxiously.
Damien immediately gripped his neck and lifted him off the ground, "Does it look like I am asking? Your death is set in stone if you don't do it anyway. Your so-called backing isn't here to save you now. So better get to it." He said in a gripping tone.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Elder Faust nodded stiffly and Damien dropped him to the ground.
Elder Faust tried to catch his breath as he crawled towards Valentina who was glaring at him with a stone-cold face, no longer having the innocent and naive expression from before.
Valentina tugged at Damien's cloak and looked at Damien.
"It's okay, he will remove that nasty seal from your soul." He reassured her.
Elder Faust's finger trembled as he raised it towards her forehead. He saw those blood-red ruby eyes glaring at him and wondered why he was feeling scared from just looking at her eyes.
He quickly touched her forehead and removed the ethereal seal on her soul.
"HISSSS"
But just as he did, Valentina lunged at him with killing intent!
She bit into his neck and tore away a part of his flesh with her sharp canines.
"Arghhhhhh!!" Elder Faust screamed in horror as fresh blood gushed out from his neck. He tried to shake off Valentina but couldn't even barely struggle against her. With his cultivation sealed, how could he fight back Valentina who was at the First Level of the Spirit Ethereal Realm.
Damien was surprised seeing her sudden outburst, but he didn't stop her. He was also shocked that Valentina was capable of exuding killing intent at such a young age.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})However, he didn't mind it since he knew she must have undergone heavy torment on her soul because of Elder Faust casting an ethereal seal on her soul by force, and it was only natural she would hold malevolent feelings towards the person who cast the seal on her.
Even though he felt that a girl of her age should not exude killing intent, he also knew that Valentina had to grow up mentally and be stronger to survive in this world.
That was how cruel this world was. Not even kids had the luxury to properly enjoy their childhood if they were pursuing the ethereal way. They were bound to come upon difficulties and face cruel setbacks in their life. Of course, unless one was born in a sheltered family.
Sharp claws slowly emerged out of Valentina's fingertips and clawed at Elder Faust's face.
"AHHHHHH….PLEASE STOP!!!" Elder Faust screamed in horror as his voice became hoarse.
"You should have said that on the day you made a cripple fight against ethereal beasts." Damien sneered.
Elder Faust didn't understand what Damien was talking about but a sudden outrageous revelation popped in his mind which he instantly shook off in disbelief. He couldn't even think much about Damien's words amidst the torture he was suffering.
Valentina didn't budge even after hearing his screams and with her blood red eyes radiating her bloodthirst, she continued to claw at his face, clawing out his eyes, nose, mouth in a frenzied manner till his face was a bloody mess.
Blood splattered on her face but she still didn't stop.
Within a few moments, Elder Faust's body no longer made any movements, having breathed his last.
"Valentina, that's enough. He's already dead." Damien said gently as he held her shoulder.
Valentina's eyes regained their shine upon hearing her Big Brother's voice. She stopped clawing and looked at Elder Faust's face which was disfigured beyond recognition and one couldn't even tell whether it looked like a face anymore.
However, Valentina didn't feel anything but instead felt satiated as she got up. But when she thought of Damien witnessing what she did, she turned towards him and said, "Big Brother, I—"
Damien hugged her and caressed her head, "It's fine, he deserved it. But are you feeling okay?" He asked in a concerned tone.
Valentina nodded and was relieved that Damien didn't mind what she did. Her cold expression changed back to her usual warm and innocent expression being in his embrace. She then asked him in a low voice, "Big Brother...I want to...feed on his blood."
Damien was a bit taken aback by hearing her request. But then he understood that she raises her cultivation by feeding on the blood of others, especially ones having stronger cultivation than her.
He remembered that she was also an ethereal beast in the end and they would have their own needs.
Damien nodded, "Sure, go ahead."
Valentina turned to look at her dead victim and chomped down on his wrist, sucking out every single drop of blood within him.
Within a minute, she finished and then looked at Damien with blood all over her mouth, "His blood tastes too bad. Big Brother's blood is the best." She said with a smile.
Damien didn't know what to think and simply patted her head while wryly smiling. He felt that something changed in her but didn't mind it as long as nothing changes between them.
Mary Di was too shocked and terrorized witnessing the bloody scene in front of her. Even for a person like her, watching someone be clawed to death and have their blood sucked dry was too much. She wondered what kind of a horrid monster this little girl was and whether she was even human in the first place.
Damien looked at Mary Di, "It's time I left a mark on the Dark Sky Guild forever, don't you think?" He asked in a sardonic tone.
