In the end, Torne manages to transform Dax's soul into a ghost after his death. He used an ancient ghost technique to force the creation of new creatures of this type.
That was not the best way to obtain a ghost, as it diminished the power the being had in life. However, Torne did it to please his master and soon gave Vicente another slave.
Vicente didn't want one of his mother's murderers by his side, so before leaving the area, he ordered Dax's ghost to go after any members of the Bone Mountains who appeared there.
Ghosts couldn't go far from where they were created, so Dax's ghost couldn't go to the Bone Mountains headquarters to wreak havoc.
But Vicente had already expected the elders of that sect to go to the place where he had dealt with Dax, so the limited range of this new ghost wouldn't be too bad for his plans.
Soon, he was out of that area, heading for the place he had arranged with Casey and Layla to meet and head north to the Kenyth Empire.
Vicente, of course, collected Dax's spatial ring, just as he had done with Chase's and Caleb's rings, as well as the wife and son of his enemy killed moments before.
...
"So? How did you do?" Casey asked Vicente as he looked at his friend and saw that he didn't look exhausted or have any signs of combat on his body.
Vicente didn't look like someone who had fought a Sovereign, so not only Casey but also Layla was concerned about the success of their leader's mission.
Vicente smiled with satisfaction as he showed Dax the spatial ring. "I did it. He's dead."
The two were happy for him, both smiling back and offering their congratulations.
"Anyway, let's continue our journey and cross the border," Vicente pointed north, eager to get to the Fallen Angels and deal with Malik.
The two agreed and soon headed for the border, a few dozen kilometers from the Oldbarrow area.
Vicente used one of his swords to make Casey fly alongside him, while Layla could move at almost the same speed as him without much effort.
"How do we cross the border between these two states?" Casey asked Vicente and Layla. "The dynasty and the empire are enemies. Won't it be difficult to cross their border?"
"There are points on the border between these two states that are guarded by forces from both sides, where anyone who crosses the area will run into problems with both sides or possibly get involved in other people's battles," Layla explained to Casey.
"However, there are passes between the two states for merchants and ordinary civilians. As much as the two states are enemies, they each have their special businesses and resources to sell or trade.
The repressive forces of both states make a lot of money from the tolls paid by ordinary people crossing the border, so there is a corridor of peace between these two states, where people like us can go to the empire by paying the fees charged by both sides."
Vicente finished Layla's speech. "Fortunately, I have coins to pay for it."
"I didn't expect that. It seems that coins are above even historical rivalries." Casey commented.
"Absolutely." Vicente laughed. "But that only works for civilians and merchants. If a member of either side's force tries to cross the border as we will, no matter what level that person is, they will be arrested by one of the two sides.
Either the forces of that person's own state will arrest them for the crime of treason, or the forces of the enemy state will arrest them for the crime of espionage.
Except for people with special permits, members of the relevant forces on either side cannot cross the border casually."
"I didn't expect the situation to be this complex," Casey muttered as the group could already see in the distance one of the peaceful corridors of the great border between these two states.
In the next few minutes, they would pay a fee to leave the Chutha Dynasty and then another fee to enter the Kenyth Empire, which would cost the three of them a total of 3,000 gold coins.
Vicente agreed to pay the fee because of the delicate situation they would be in if they stayed in the Chutha Dynasty after killing five members of Bone Mountains.
Thus, the group safely escaped from the Chutha Dynasty and entered the historical enemy of that state, which bordered the Seidel Kingdom to the north of the home kingdom of the three youths traveling together.
...
Meanwhile, near Oldbarrow...
The elders of the Bone Mountains, who had been moved by Dax's strange behavior minutes ago when he received a new gift from his enemy behind the deaths of his family members, arrived at the place where he had died.
Upon arrival, Eloise and three other high-ranking members of her sect looked around while narrowing her eyes in concern, feeling something disturbing.
'That feeling...' She thought to herself as she noticed an evil aura lingering in the area. The elders next to her also realized that something was amiss.
While they tried to understand what was behind it, a ghost unexpectedly appeared from the ground beneath one of the elders. Dax's ghost didn't hesitate to attack the weakest of those elders, trying to weaken that target and possess that body.
"Aaaaaagh!" A scream came from the man's mouth, catching the attention of the others around until Eloise's eyes widened as she looked at the ghost.
Ghosts didn't have the same appearance as the souls behind them before they became ghosts. However, the aura of a person and the ghost they could create were not completely different.
There were differences that had to do with the natural negativity of ghosts and the changing characteristics of that being's powers based on the soul left behind after a living being's death. But a close acquaintance of such a person could recognize the soul-generated ghost!
When she looked at that awful creature, Eloise understood what had happened.
"Shit!" She screamed as her eyes turned red, and she retreated a few meters away from Dax's ghost. "Someone killed him!" She said to those nearby. "That's his ghost!"
"What?"
"How is that possible?" Asked the man who was trying to escape the attacks of Dax's ghost.
"Only other ghosts could do that!"
Eloise commented as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. "If that's the case, we could be in serious trouble. One of us needs to go back to the sect and put everyone on alert. We could be on the verge of a massive attack."
"Elder, you should go back. Old Lee and I will take care of Dax's ghost." The man said as he prepared to attack the creature that was trying to weaken Lee.
Eloise clenched her fists, feeling bad about Dax's death and what the old man intended to do. But Dax was already dead, and it would be better if they eliminated the ghost.
So she set off to warn the sect, while no one there bothered to follow Vicente's tracks for the time being.
